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.
Beauty
Einstürzende Neubauten Lyrics
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maybe saturn, maybe jupiter, in the early night sky over
berlin, from the windows of a taxicab, near potsdamer platz.
you think: beauty
no, this is not beauty, maybe not, maybe, this is the rest of it,
maybe not, maybe, the rest of beauty, maybe not, maybe, what remains of beauty, maybe not, maybe, what is visible, certainly, uncertain.
to form an adequate gesture for beauty
(you know that, don't you?)
so beauty remains in the impossibilities of the body.
The lyrics of Einstürzende Neubauten's song "Beauty" describe a unique experience of looking at the night sky over Berlin from a taxicab near Potsdamer Platz. The singer observes the crescent moon and one of the planets, possibly Jupiter or Saturn, and is struck by the sight. The lyrics suggest that the singer associates this vision with beauty, but then questions whether this is truly beauty or merely a fragment of it.
The song then explores the concept of beauty through a series of contradictions and uncertainties. The singer suggests that the rest of beauty, or perhaps what remains of it, may be elusive or impossible to grasp. Even the body, with its limitations and imperfections, cannot fully capture the essence of beauty. The lyrics leave the meaning of beauty unresolved, posing questions about its nature and significance.
Overall, the song "Beauty" offers a complex and introspective meditation on the concept of beauty. It challenges conventional assumptions about beauty and suggests that this elusive quality may exist beyond our ability to fully comprehend or articulate it.
Line by Line Meaning
you see half the moon, its crecent, and one of the planets,
Observing the half crescent moon and possibly Saturn or Jupiter in the night sky above Berlin, near Potsdamer Platz while riding in a taxi.
maybe saturn, maybe jupiter, in the early night sky over berlin, from the windows of a taxicab, near potsdamer platz.
Uncertainty of whether the planet seen is Saturn or Jupiter or the exact location of the observation in the early night from the window of a moving taxi near Potsdamer Platz, Berlin.
you think: beauty
A thought about beauty comes to mind in response to the observation.
no, this is not beauty, maybe not, maybe, this is the rest of it,
A rejection of the beauty thought and consideration that it may not be beautiful or the perception is incomplete.
maybe not, maybe, the rest of beauty, maybe not, maybe, what remains of beauty, maybe not, maybe, what is visible, certainly, uncertain.
Exploration of the possibilities of what constitutes beauty, whether it includes the perception and observation of what is visible or extends beyond that. There is a certain level of uncertainty in this consideration.
your arms would not be able to stretch as far as necessary
The physical limitations of the body are acknowledged as insufficient to capture or express the essence of beauty.
to form an adequate gesture for beauty
The formation of any gesture or action to represent beauty is deemed inadequate by the physical limitations of the body.
(you know that, don't you?)
An acknowledgment that the listener could relate to the idea that the body is incapable of expressing beauty to its fullest extent.
so beauty remains in the impossibilities of the body.
The ultimate conclusion that beauty exists beyond the capacity of the body to express and that what remains is the ability to appreciate the beauty that cannot be fully captured or expressed through physical means.
Lyrics © Freibank Musikverlags und vermarktungs GmbH, THE ROYALTY NETWORK INC.
Written by: BLIXA BARGELD, SIMON FISHER TURNER, ALEXANDER HACKE, ANDREW CHUDY, BORIS WILSDORF
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