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.
Robert Fuzzo
Einstürzende Neubauten Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Es ist ziemlich dreckig. Wer den Gang hinunter will muss durch herunterfallende Hummerkrabben waten.
Shoko Asahara von Aum Shinrikyo ist hier, er ist aber schon sehr alt und klapprig. Und: Tony Curtis, der bei den Waertern recht beliebt ist weil er seine Exkremente immer ordentlich festklopft.
Er kommt und geht wie und wann er will, schmuggelt sich nach draussen, in die Nachbarwohnung, die neue Mieter hat. Niemand ist da...
Er geht durch eine lange Zimmerflucht, links sind immer wieder Tueren ins Treppenhaus, am Ende ist die Kueche. Er entwendet aus einer Handtasche die dort auf einem Hocker steht ein paar Kreditkarten und einige kleinere Dollarnoten, auch von hier fuehrt eine Tuer ins hintere Treppenhaus, unten, an der Tuer nach draussen, kommt ihm die Mieterin entgegen:
"Ah! Sind Sie Robert Fuzzo?" – "Nein, aber Robert kommt gleich."
– und weg.
The lyrics of Einstürzende Neubauten's "Robert Fuzzo" describe a prison that is located in a New York apartment building. The environment depicted in the lyrics is one of decay and filth, with the characters having to wade through falling lobster crabs in order to get through the hallways. The song mentions the presence of Shoko Asahara, the founder of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, who is described as being old and feeble. Tony Curtis is also mentioned as a popular figure among the prison guards due to his habit of neatly disposing of his excrement. The main focus of the song is on a character named Robert Fuzzo, who seems to be a mysterious figure that is able to come and go from the prison as he pleases. Fuzzo is described as stealing credit cards and cash before encountering a woman who mistakes him for Robert, the person he presumably stole the identity of.
Overall, the lyrics of "Robert Fuzzo" are quite cryptic and open to interpretation. The song suggests a sense of lawlessness and chaos within the prison environment, with characters like Fuzzo able to break free from their confinement and carry out illegal activities undetected. The references to real-life figures like Asahara and Curtis add to the sense of disorientation and confusion that permeates the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Das Gefaengnis ist sinnigerweise in einem New Yorker Mietshaus untergebracht.
The prison is appropriately located in a New York tenement building.
Es ist ziemlich dreckig. Wer den Gang hinunter will muss durch herunterfallende Hummerkrabben waten.
It's pretty dirty. Anyone who wants to walk down the hallway has to wade through falling lobsters and crabs.
Shoko Asahara von Aum Shinrikyo ist hier, er ist aber schon sehr alt und klapprig. Und: Tony Curtis, der bei den Waertern recht beliebt ist weil er seine Exkremente immer ordentlich festklopft.
Shoko Asahara from Aum Shinrikyo is here, but he's very old and feeble. And Tony Curtis, who is popular with the guards because he always firmly taps his excrements.
Er kommt und geht wie und wann er will, schmuggelt sich nach draussen, in die Nachbarwohnung, die neue Mieter hat. Niemand ist da...
He comes and goes as he pleases, smuggles himself outside to the neighboring apartment, which has new tenants. Nobody is there...
Er geht durch eine lange Zimmerflucht, links sind immer wieder Tueren ins Treppenhaus, am Ende ist die Kueche. Er entwendet aus einer Handtasche die dort auf einem Hocker steht ein paar Kreditkarten und einige kleinere Dollarnoten, auch von hier fuehrt eine Tuer ins hintere Treppenhaus, unten, an der Tuer nach draussen, kommt ihm die Mieterin entgegen:
He walks through a long series of rooms, to the left there are doors to the staircase, and at the end, there is the kitchen. He steals a few credit cards and some small dollar bills from a handbag sitting on a stool. There is also a door leading to the rear staircase from here. At the bottom, at the door leading outside, the tenant meets him.
"Ah! Sind Sie Robert Fuzzo?" – "Nein, aber Robert kommt gleich." – und weg.
"Ah! Are you Robert Fuzzo?" - "No, but Robert is coming soon." - and he's gone.
Contributed by Madelyn A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.