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
Frankenstein
Die Ärzte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Was bin ich für ein mieser Frankenstein?
Ja, mein Vorfahr dreht sich um in seinem Grab
Was soll ich tun? (Was soll er tun?)
Ich weiß doch, wie es geht (Was soll er tun?)
Noch mal von vorn (Was soll er tun?)
Es ist noch nicht zu spät
Und ich habe Mittel wie niemals zuvor
Wär ich doch Astronaut geworden
Dann käm ich mir nicht so bescheuert vor
Was soll ich tun? Das war jetzt viel zu viel
Als Sahnie Nummer 3 sofort zu Asche zerfiel
Ohoho – ein neuer Tag bricht an ...
(Farin! Go, Farin, go!)
Ich glaub, es ist jetzt Zeit zum Aufhörn
Denn auch Monster Nummer 4 klappte nicht
Ich baute eine Frau zum Zeitvertreib
Doch sie stieß mich weg, denn sie war wählerisch
Was soll ich tun? (Was soll er tun?)
Sie war, wie's mir gefällt (Was soll er tun?)
Doch ich vergaß (Was soll er tun?)
Ihr Gehirn war von 'nem Fotomodell
Ohoho – ein neuer Tag bricht an ...
Ohoho – ein neuer Tag bricht, Tag bricht an
The lyrics to Die Ärzte's song "Frankenstein" can be interpreted as a commentary on the struggles of trying to create something new and groundbreaking, but ultimately failing. The singer laments his failures in creating monsters and wonders if he is a "miserable Frankenstein." Despite having all the resources and knowledge, he cannot seem to make things work, causing frustration and disappointment. He even ponders if he should have pursued a different career, such as becoming an astronaut, to avoid feeling foolish.
The second verse introduces a new element: the singer creates a female monster out of boredom, but she rejects him because he forgot to give her a brain worthy of her looks. This failure drives home the idea that knowledge and skill are not enough to create something successful; attention to detail and understanding the needs and desires of the creation are equally important.
Overall, the lyrics of "Frankenstein" can be seen as a cautionary tale about the dangers of hubris and the importance of humility and empathy when trying to create something new and original.
Line by Line Meaning
Das Ding ging wieder in die Hose, obwohl ich alle Mittel hab
Despite having all the resources, still failed to achieve the desired outcome
Was bin ich für ein mieser Frankenstein?
Asking oneself about the inadequacy in being unable to create a successful monster
Ja, mein Vorfahr dreht sich um in seinem Grab
Acknowledging the failure to live up to the reputation of the successful ancestor
Was soll ich tun? (Was soll er tun?)
Expressing helplessness and asking for guidance
Ich weiß doch, wie es geht (Was soll er tun?)
Having knowledge but still unable to put it into practice
Noch mal von vorn (Was soll er tun?)
Starting over again from the beginning
Es ist noch nicht zu spät
Hopeful that there is still time to achieve success
Es steht doch alles in den Büchern!
Reminding oneself that everything needed is already written in books
Und ich habe Mittel wie niemals zuvor
Having more resources and tools than ever before
Wär ich doch Astronaut geworden
Regretting not choosing a different profession
Dann käm ich mir nicht so bescheuert vor
Feeling foolish and inadequate in the current situation
Das war jetzt viel zu viel
Overwhelmed by the number of failures
Als Sahnie Nummer 3 sofort zu Asche zerfiel
Referring to the failure of the third monster which resulted in ashes
Ich glaub, es ist jetzt Zeit zum Aufhörn
Realizing that it might be time to give up
Denn auch Monster Nummer 4 klappte nicht
The fourth attempt has also failed
Ich baute eine Frau zum Zeitvertreib
Creating a woman out of boredom
Doch sie stieß mich weg, denn sie war wählerisch
The woman was not interested in the creator and rejected him
Sie war, wie's mir gefällt (Was soll er tun?)
Having created the woman according to personal preferences and still failing
Doch ich vergaß (Was soll er tun?)
Realizing the mistake of not considering the woman's feelings and desires
Ihr Gehirn war von 'nem Fotomodell
Realizing that the woman's brain belonged to a model, not suitable for the intended purpose
Ohoho – ein neuer Tag bricht an ... (Farin! Go, Farin, go!)
Starting over and trying again with renewed energy and determination
Ohoho – ein neuer Tag bricht an ...
Welcoming the opportunity of a new day to try again
Ohoho – ein neuer Tag bricht, Tag bricht an
Excitedly looking forward to a new day full of possibilities
Contributed by Brody A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.