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
Frank’n’stein
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Obwohl ich alle Mittel hab
Was bin ich für ein mieser Frank'n'stein
Ja mein Vorfahr' dreht sich um in seinem Grahahahahab
Was soll ich tun (Was soll er tun)
Ich weiß doch wie es geht (Was soll er tun)
Nochmal von vorn (Was soll er tun)
Es steht doch alles in den Büchern
Und ich habe Mittel wie niemals zuvor (Vor)
Wär' ich doch Polizist geworden
Ja dann käm' ich mir nicht so bescheuert vohohohohor
Was soll ich tun (Was soll er tun)
Das war jetzt viel zu viel (Was soll er tun)
Als Willi Nummer Zwei (Was soll er tun)
Sofort zu Asche zerfiel
Ohoho ein neuer Tag bricht an
Ohoho ein neuer Tag bricht an
Ohoho ein neuer Tag bricht an
Ohoho ein neuer Tag bricht an
Ich glaub es ist jetzt Zeit zum aufhören
Denn auch Monster Nummer Vier klappte nicht
Ich baute eine Frau zum Zeitvertreib
Doch sie stieß mich Weg den sie war wählerihihihihisch
Was soll ich tun (Was soll er tun)
Sie war wie's mir gefällt (Was soll er tun)
Doch leider war'n in (Was soll er tun)
Madagaskar die Nutten schon bestellt (Die Nutten)
Ohoho ein neuer Tag bricht an
Ohoho ein neuer Tag bricht an
Ohoho ein neuer Tag bricht an
Ohoho ein neuer Tag bricht an, bricht an
The lyrics to "Frank'n'Stein" by Die Ärzte tell the story of the song's protagonist, who is attempting to create a monster in the same way that Dr. Frankenstein did in Mary Shelley's classic novel. The singer tries to follow the instructions in the books but despite having all the means, the creation fails miserably. The singer comments on how much of a terrible Frankenstein he is and how his ancestors must be turning in their graves. Undeterred, he tries again but fails, causing the creation to burst into flames. The lyricist then references the creation of Frankenstein's bride as an attempt to pass the time but even that fails as his creation is too picky.
The song is a humorous take on the classic Frankenstein story, poking fun at the idea of a mad scientist trying to create a monster. The lyrics are full of wit and irony, making light of the situation and the difficulties faced by the singer. The song also touches on themes such as societal norms, the desire for companionship, and the dangers of playing god.
Line by Line Meaning
Das Ding ging wieder in die Hose
My latest experiment failed once again
Obwohl ich alle Mittel hab
Despite having all the necessary resources
Was bin ich für ein mieser Frank'n'stein
I am a terrible Frankenstein
Ja mein Vorfahr' dreht sich um in seinem Grahahahahab
My ancestor is surely rolling in his grave
Was soll ich tun (Was soll er tun)
What can I possibly do now?
Ich weiß doch wie es geht (Was soll er tun)
I am knowledgeable about how this works
Nochmal von vorn (Was soll er tun)
I have to start again from the beginning
Es ist noch nicht zu spät
It's not too late yet
Es steht doch alles in den Büchern
All the information is in the books
Und ich habe Mittel wie niemals zuvor (Vor)
And I have more resources than ever before
Wär' ich doch Polizist geworden
If only I had become a police officer instead
Ja dann käm' ich mir nicht so bescheuert vohohohohor
Then I wouldn't feel so stupid
Das war jetzt viel zu viel (Was soll er tun)
That was way too much to handle
Als Willi Nummer Zwei (Was soll er tun)
Just like when I created 'Willi Number Two'
Sofort zu Asche zerfiel
He immediately turned to ash
Ohoho ein neuer Tag bricht an
A new day is dawning
Ich glaub es ist jetzt Zeit zum aufhören
I think it's time to stop now
Denn auch Monster Nummer Vier klappte nicht
Even 'Monster Number Four' didn't work out
Ich baute eine Frau zum Zeitvertreib
I created a woman for amusement
Doch sie stieß mich Weg den sie war wählerihihihihisch
But she rejected me because she had high standards
Sie war wie's mir gefällt (Was soll er tun)
She was just what I wanted
Doch leider war'n in (Was soll er tun)
But unfortunately, the prostitutes were already booked in Madagascar
Madagaskar die Nutten schon bestellt (Die Nutten)
The prostitutes were already ordered in Madagascar
Ohoho ein neuer Tag bricht an, bricht an
A new day is dawning, dawning
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DIRK FELSENHEIMER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind