Die Ärzte were formed in 1982 by Jan Vetter (alias Farin Urlaub), Dirk Felsenheimer (alias Bela B.) and bassist Hans Runge (alias Sahnie). Bela and Farin had previously played together in the punk band Soilent Grün; after that band broke up they decided to form a band playing fun songs, in contrast to the mostly political bands of the punk scene at that time. While deriving from that punk scene, their early music was heavily influenced by pop and rock and roll, especially The Beatles, whom Farin heard a lot as a child due to his mother playing their records.
In the first two years they mostly played in clubs of their hometown of Berlin. Their first release was a contribution to the sampler "20 schäumende Stimmungshits" (roughly, "20 exuberant mood hits"), which contained a strong alcohol theme. In 1983 they won a rock contest in Berlin; with the prize money they recorded their debut EP "Uns gehts Prima" ("We're doing great"). Finally Columbia Records signed them, and they released their first LP "Debil" in 1984 and the second one ("Im Schatten der Ärzte") a year later.
After the second record they parted ways with Sahnie due to internal problems. On the third record he was replaced by producer Miccey Meuser; later Hagen Liebig, better known as The Incredible Hagen, played bass for them during live performances until their breakup.
In 1987 the German Federal Centre for Media Harmful to Young Persons put the songs Geschwisterliebe ("Sibling Love", a song about incest, from Die Ärzte), Claudia hat 'nen Schäferhund ("Claudia has a German Shepherd", about zoophilia, from "Debil") and Schlaflied ("Lullaby", about a monster coming and eating you after falling asleep, also from "Debil") on the German List of Media Harmful to Young People. This prohibited the band from performing the songs live and, more importantly, promoting the two albums, and shops from openly displaying the records in their shelves. After several trials against shops that still openly sold the records a lot of shops removed Die Ärzte completely from their stock. The result was a drop in record sales and big financial problems for the band. In response they released the compilation "Ab 18" ("Adults Only") with all their songs on the index and some other old and new tasteless songs, and the greatest hits album "Ist das alles?"("Is this everything?" but also can be translated as "Is this the end?"). The album and the new singles were fairly successful, partly because of growing media interest due to the previous censorship.
The following album "Das ist nicht die ganze Wahrheit" ("That is not the whole truth") was even more successful, climbing into the top 10 in the German album charts. They decided to go out on a high note in 1988, breaking up after doing one last tour and recording a live double album that became their first number one in the album charts.
Neither Farin's new band King Køng nor Bela's Depp Jones were really successful, so in 1993 they decided to do a reunion. As bass player they invited Rodrigo Gonzales, who was guitarist in Depp Jones and a friend of Bela. Their comeback single was Schrei nach Liebe ("Cry for Love"), their first ever political song, that they published as a statement against what was perceived as growing racism and right wing extremist violence in Germany at that time.
The album was more diverse than ever, with ballads, punk, rock and traditional German sounds. Both album and single became big hits in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The follow-up "Planet Punk" was also very successful.
In 1996 they wanted to make an EP just about hair, but they wrote too many songs for an EP and made the Album "Le Frisur" ("The Hairdo") instead. It was slightly less successful than its predecessors. Apart from their own tours they also supported Kiss in that year, a dream come true for Bela and Rod.
1998 was perhaps the most successful year of their career, the single "Männer sind Schweine" ("Men are Pigs") being their first Number 1 single in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and the album 13 also being Number 1 in Germany and Switzerland. After a lot of promotion and touring in that year they decided to take a break, deciding also to never play again "Männer sind Schweine" at a concert due to the too great success this song had. They did not like the upcoming unwanted and rather unoriginal remakes by other bands as e.g. "Frauen sind Schweine" ("Women are pigs") and also did not like to see their song played at mass tourist beach parties at places like Mallorca/Spain.
In 2000 they came back with another very successful album, "Runter mit den Spendierhosen, Unsichtbarer!", and two top 10 singles. As the third single from the album they released the 30-second-song "Yoko Ono", which, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the shortest single ever released - another example of their sense of humour. On their tour in 2001 they sold the limited Album "5, 6, 7, 8 Bullenstaat" consisting of short punk songs that were written and recorded while recording the full length album published a year before, and some cover songs published in 1994 on a tour only EP.
After that they again took a break: Bela did some acting, Farin recorded his first solo album (Endlich Urlaub!). In late 2002 they did an MTV Unplugged in a school auditorium together with the school band. After that they made a new double album Geräusch that was released in 2003. On the next tour a Live DVD was recorded and published one year later.
On 2 November 2007, Die Ärzte released their latest album, Jazz ist anders ("Jazz is nothing like this", literally "Jazz is different").
In August 2011 the band announced that they are working on a new album which is set to be released in 2012 with a tour called "Das Ende ist noch nicht vorbei" ("The end is not over yet") following in the summer 2012.
The official homepage for Die Ärzte is www.bademeister.com
B S L
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Und dürfen nicht losgelöst von dieser behandelt werden"
Musik hab ich schon als Kind gern gehört
Die Brüllmöbel an, dass es nur noch so röhrt
Jetzt kann ich kaum noch hören, meine Ohren sind zerstört
Die Nachbarn holten immer sofort die Polizei
Ein bisschen zu viel Lärm, was ist denn schon dabei?
BSL, ich hör so gerne BSL, Tag und Nacht nur BSL
Darf's auch was anderes sein? Nein! Leise is' scheiße
Die Nachbarn sind leider völlig daneben
Nach dem dritten Akt haben sie aufgegeben
Zum Abschied gab es noch ein Erdbeben
Wie es weitergeht? Oh, ich hab keinen Schimmer
Wenn ich genervt bin, dreh ich auf in meinem Zimmer
Und genervt bin ich eigentlich sowieso immer
BSL, ich hör so gerne BSL, Tag und Nacht nur BSL
Darf's auch was anderes sein? Nein! Leise is' scheiße
Mach noch etwas lauter, ein kleines bisschen lauter
BSL, ich hör so gerne BSL, Tag und Nacht nur BSL
Darf's auch was anderes sein? Nein BSL
BSL, ich hör so gerne BSL, Tag und Nacht nur BSL
Darf's auch was anderes sein? Nein! Leise is' scheiße BSL
The phrase "Die folgenden Klangbeispiele sind Ergänzungen zum methodischen Aufbau der Textbeilage Und dürfen nicht losgelöst von dieser behandelt werden" translates to "The following sound examples are additions to the methodical structure of the text supplement and must not be treated separately from it." This line serves as an introduction to the song and may suggest that the band is attempting to create a specific sound or style with their music.
The first verse reflects on the singer's love for music, starting from a young age. He enjoyed playing his music loud, but now suffers from hearing damage. The singer acknowledges that his neighbors did not enjoy his loud music, often calling the police when he played it too loud. The singer believes that without the volume, the music lacks quality, making a pun on the term "Hi-Fi."
The chorus of the song repeats the acronym "BSL," which stands for "Basstölpel Syndikat Lübeck," a club in which members would listen to music together. The singer claims that he loves only BSL and cannot stand anything else because "Leise is' scheiße" or "Quiet is shit." The second verse of the song continues this attitude, with the singer claiming his neighbors are "completely insane" and can't handle good music. As the song ends, the singer requests his music be turned up with the repeated line "Mach noch etwas lauter, ein kleines bisschen lauter," which means "Make it a bit louder, a little bit louder."
Overall, "BSL" seems to be a song about the love of loud music and the frustration with those who can't appreciate it. The song reflects on how music can affect people differently and how some may not enjoy it as much as others. The repeated chorus emphasizes the importance of finding one's favorite music and sticking with it, even if others don't understand or appreciate it.
Line by Line Meaning
Musik hab ich schon als Kind gern gehört
I have always enjoyed music since I was a child
Die Brüllmöbel an, dass es nur noch so röhrt
I turn my speakers up so loud that they almost burst
Jetzt kann ich kaum noch hören, meine Ohren sind zerstört
Now I can hardly hear, my ears are destroyed
Die Nachbarn holten immer sofort die Polizei
My neighbors always called the police right away
Ein bisschen zu viel Lärm, was ist denn schon dabei?
What's the big deal about a little too much noise?
Wenn es nicht laut ist, ist es auch nicht Hi-Fi
If it's not loud, then it's not high fidelity
BSL, ich hör so gerne BSL, Tag und Nacht nur BSL
I love to listen to BSL, day and night, nothing else will do
Darf's auch was anderes sein? Nein! Leise is' scheiße
Do I want to listen to something else? No way! Quiet is shit
Die Nachbarn sind leider völlig daneben
Unfortunately, my neighbors are completely crazy
Nach dem dritten Akt haben sie aufgegeben
After the third act, they gave up
Zum Abschied gab es noch ein Erdbeben
As a final goodbye, there was an earthquake
Wie es weitergeht? Oh, ich hab keinen Schimmer
As for what happens next? Oh, I have no idea
Wenn ich genervt bin, dreh ich auf in meinem Zimmer
When I'm annoyed, I turn up my music in my room
Mach noch etwas lauter, ein kleines bisschen lauter
Make it even louder, just a little bit louder
Nein BSL
No, just BSL
BSL, ich hör so gerne BSL, Tag und Nacht nur BSL
I love to listen to BSL, day and night, nothing else will do
Darf's auch was anderes sein? Nein! Leise is' scheiße BSL
Do I want to listen to something else? No way! Quiet is shit - BSL
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Farin Urlaub
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind