Die Ärzte (pronounced DEE AIR-TS-teh, German for "The Doctors" or "The Phys… Read Full Bio ↴Die Ärzte (pronounced DEE AIR-TS-teh, German for "The Doctors" or "The Physicians") are a punk rock band from Berlin, Germany. Die Ärzte are one of the best-known German rock bands and have released over 20 albums. The band consists of guitarist Farin Urlaub, drummer Bela B. and bass player Rodrigo González. All three write and sing.

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

Rock Rendezvous
Die Ärzte Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Glaubst du an die Liebe auf den ersten Blick? Mir ist sie passiert
Und ich denk gern zurück an unsere Anfangszeit
Denk ich daran, erfüllt es mich immer mit Traurigkeit
Was warn wir fröhlich, unbeschwert, zu jedem Scheiß bereit
Doch etwas will ich dir gestehn schon seit geraumer Zeit
Und heut ist es so weit

Farin, ich will dich ficken – und das schon seit 17 Jahrn

Ich will dich ficken – will mich einfach mit dir paarn
Ich will dich ficken – komm schon, Farin, mach mich froh
Ich will an deinen süßen Po, ohohoho, will an deinen süßen Po

Dein Geständnis trifft mich wie ein Donnerschlag
Du hast vielleicht gemerkt, dass ich dich auch sehr mag
In meiner Fantasie tummelten wir uns nackt
Wie Griechen der Mythologie und ich aß Brei aus deinem Nabel
Aber irgendwie zu der erhofften Vereinigung kam es leider nie
Doch ich ersehnte sie

Bela, ich will dich ficken – und das schon seit so langer Zeit
Ich will dich ficken – heut bin ich dazu bereit
Ich will dich ficken – will dich überall berührn
Ich will deine Stärke spürn, ohohoho, will den kleinen Bela spürn

Jungs, ihr macht mir Angst, was ist bloß los mit euch?
Die Liebe unter Männern ist doch Teufelszeug
Hört sofort auf damit, sonst kommt ihr nicht in den Himmel
Und kriegt einen Tritt vom lieben Herrgott, der so was nicht sehen kann
Also hört auf mit dem Scheiß und seht mich nicht so an
Ich lass euch niemals dran

Rod ''(Was? Was? Was?)'', wir wolln dich ficken ''(Aha)'' – du bist jung und gut gebaut ''(Naja)''
Wir wolln dich ficken – bist auch ein klein wenig versaut ''(Naja, klar)''
Wir wolln dich ficken – denn es fliegt ruckzuck aus der Band ''(Also wenn das so ist, ruf ich sofort die Hosen an)''

Wer nicht mit Vorgesetzten pennt ''(Ha. Wär ja noch schöner!)''
Wir wollen nur, dass dir die Poperze ein bisschen brennt ''(... Au, aua ...)''

Overall Meaning

The Die Ärzte song "Rock Rendezvous" is a cheeky and irreverent take on love, lust, and desire. The lyrics describe the nostalgic memory of the beginning of a relationship, and then turns into a confession of feelings of physical attraction to each bandmate. The chorus is repetitive and explicit, with the lead singer declaring a desire to have sex with each of his bandmates. The song is humorous, and it is clear that the singer does not take his desires seriously.

The lyrics are a satire on the hypermasculine nature of rock and roll, and the societal stigma against homosexual desire. The band is making light of the irony of the rockstar stereotype, which involves wild and hedonistic behavior, but does not include homosexual desire. Instead of hiding their attraction, the band members are openly declaring their lust for each other, and the lead singer's fantasies about them.

The song is not meant to be taken seriously but is a commentary on the music industry and cultural perceptions of masculinity. By subverting the expectations of the genre and playing with the taboo nature of homosexuality, the band is able to be humorous and provocative simultaneously.

Line by Line Meaning

Glaubst du an die Liebe auf den ersten Blick? Mir ist sie passiert
Have you ever believed in love at first sight? I have experienced it.

Und ich denk gern zurück an unsere Anfangszeit
I reminisce about the good old days when we first met.

Denk ich daran, erfüllt es mich immer mit Traurigkeit
However, it often saddens me whenever I think about it.

Was warn wir fröhlich, unbeschwert, zu jedem Scheiß bereit
We were carefree and joyful then, willing to have fun with anything.

Doch etwas will ich dir gestehn schon seit geraumer Zeit
For a while now, there's something I've been wanting to confess to you.

Farin, ich will dich ficken – und das schon seit 17 Jahrn
Farin, I want to have sex with you - and I've been feeling this way for seventeen years now.

Dein Geständnis trifft mich wie ein Donnerschlag
Your confession has hit me like a thunderbolt.

Du hast vielleicht gemerkt, dass ich dich auch sehr mag
Maybe you've noticed, but I like you a lot too.

In meiner Fantasie tummelten wir uns nackt
In my mind, we were naked and having fun.

Aber irgendwie zu der erhofften Vereinigung kam es leider nie
Unfortunately, we never got to have the hoped-for union.

Bela, ich will dich ficken – und das schon seit so langer Zeit
Bela, I want to have sex with you - and I've been feeling this way for a long time.

Jungs, ihr macht mir Angst, was ist bloß los mit euch?
Guys, you scare me. What's wrong with you?

Die Liebe unter Männern ist doch Teufelszeug
Love between men is the work of the devil, isn't it?

Also hört auf mit dem Scheiß und seht mich nicht so an
So stop this nonsense and stop looking at me like that.

Rod ''(Was? Was? Was?)'', wir wolln dich ficken ''(Aha)'' – du bist jung und gut gebaut ''(Naja)''
Rod ''(What? What? What?)'', we want to have sex with you ''(Aha)'' - you're young and handsome ''(Well)''

Wer nicht mit Vorgesetzten pennt ''(Ha. Wär ja noch schöner!)''
Who doesn't sleep with their superiors ''(Ha! As if!)''

Wir wollen nur, dass dir die Poperze ein bisschen brennt ''(... Au, aua ...)''
We just want your butt to burn a little ''(... Ow, ow ...)''

Contributed by Elliot V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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