However, Neubauten soon outgrew the confines of even the broad scope of industrial music. In their 25-plus years, they have produced a dozen studio albums, live records, a remix album and EP, scored theatre pieces, and more.
Lead vocalist Blixa Bargeld is perhaps the best-known member of the group, both for his work with Neubauten and as guitarist for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. His fellow founding members Alexander Hacke and N.U. Unruh have likewise been active in various musical roles outside the group over the years.
Bassist Mark Chung was a member of the group from 1981 to 1994. He founded the publishing house Freibank Music Publishing to handle business affairs for Neubauten and other groups, and has continued in this role (concurrently serving as a senior vice-president of Sony Music International for nine years). Percussionist FM Einheit, was a member from 1981 to 1995, and has also been active as a solo artist and member of groups such as Gry.
Since 1997 the group has also included guitarist Jochen Arbeit and percussionist Rudi Moser.
Neubauten's most recent work has been available exclusively to subscribers to their online home, www.neubauten.org. Neubauten completed the third incarnation of their online project in November 2007 and were touring Europe in 2008 in support of their latest album Alles Wieder Offen.
Currently Einstürzende Neubauten is celebrating their 30th anniversary with a tour through Europe and the United States. In October/November 2010 the band is releasing Strategies Against Architecture IV, the fourth album in the archival compilation series by Neubauten which collates the band’s output from 2002-2010.
26 Riesen
Einstürzende Neubauten Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
einer nach dem andern
alle sind sie Riesen
und alle aus dem selben Ort
jeder einzelne
ist der Beste
in seiner Profession
alle alphabetisch
ist Arzt
E
ist Einbrecher
in einer Versammlung der Riesen
steht er hinterm Vorhang und lauscht / (raucht?)
während A die anderen untersucht
um sicher zu gehen
dass alle Riesen bleiben
oder Riesen werden
P
ist übrigens
Präsident
The song "26 Riesen" by Einstürzende Neubauten is about a group of giants who all come from the same place and are listed alphabetically. Each giant has their own profession, and they are all considered to be the best in their field. The song paints a picture of a group of giants gathered together in a meeting, with one giant standing behind a curtain listening in on the conversation while another giant, characterized as a doctor, examines the others to make sure they stay giants or become even larger.
The song also introduces a giant who is identified as a burglar, named E. This giant stands outside the meeting room, possibly smoking a cigarette while he listens to the conversation. The final giant mentioned in the song, P, is revealed to be the president of the group, although it is not clear what kind of organization they are a part of.
Line by Line Meaning
Alphabetisch
In alphabetical order
einer nach dem andern
One after the other
alle sind sie Riesen
All of them are giants
und alle aus dem selben Ort
And all from the same place
jeder einzelne
Each one
ist der Beste
Is the best
in seiner Profession
In their profession
alle alphabetisch
All in alphabetical order
A
A is a doctor
ist Arzt
Is a doctor
E
E is a burglar
ist Einbrecher
Is a burglar
in einer Versammlung der Riesen
In a meeting of the giants
steht er hinterm Vorhang und lauscht / (raucht?)
He stands behind the curtain and listens / (smokes?)
während A die anderen untersucht
While A examines the others
um sicher zu gehen
To make sure
dass alle Riesen bleiben
That all the giants stay
oder Riesen werden
Or become giants
P
P is by the way
ist übrigens
By the way, is
Contributed by Jack D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.