Happy 20th, Berlin!

As the 20th anniversary of the falling of the wall is celebrated today, one can't help but wonder the massive influx of art which would've of occurred during November of 1989. "Nazi Germany was the only genocidal regime that made aesthetics and art an important component of regime ideology," according to Johnathan Petropoulous in his book Art as Politics in the Third Reich. So what do you get in Berlin at the end of the '80s? Massively suppressed music behind the curtain and people who are now able to shop for music which is in good supply.


Finally, Kraftwerk, Alphaville, and Einstürzende Neubauten, who were popular German bands all at the time, could be bought by people as they were most likely on sale in the west. The Sex Pistols is another example, in examining the underground Punk scene there. Even the Scorpions, who formed in Hanover, were not behind the curtain. For some, it may have even meant getting their hands on legitimate copies of U2, Queen, Hall and Oates, or Michael Jackson and ect. They also banned 1984, so I wonder if they got the hint about Pink Floyd.

For the most part, the Beatles and the rolling Stones had made it into the Red half of the world and were giving a hazy view of rock and roll. Local scenes sprang up in large numbers due to government oppression of radio and other important media, there was also a lack of record labels. Bard music, or songwriters making music against the grain of Soviet establishment, was popular in the 60s and began merging with rock and roll over the next two decades. Soon enough, folky renditions of the Gulags, fascist governments, city living, crime, and the Great Patriotic War (WWII) would be merged with full 5 piece bands with amps.

The gasp of hope for these bands might be the above LP from a 1980 rock festival was held in Tbilisi Georgia. Officials there awarded prizes to bands Mashina Vremeni and the Magnetic Band, a Credence Clearwater Revival sound alike and a metal band, respectively. 9 Years later, several bands from the festival would hit the world. Awards also went to Autograph, Labyrinth, Integral, VIA-75, and Gunresh, all of whom were featured on the LP. It should be noted, the two first place bands had the same front man in Gunnar Grap, who had been touring at the time.

Of course now we have the complete westernized bastardization of the whole event.