So yesterday I was reading an interview with Chris Pohl of BlutEngel, Terminal Choice (my personal likes among his bands) and I've been reflecting on this quote ever since:
"CP: I have alot of fans in Germany because that is where Blutengel is from… but when It comes to having fans in the United States, some of them aren’t okay with that because [of the war], so that is probably the only reason why my German fans do not like my fans in America, but I have many fans in America as well and they do not care that Blutengel is a German band which is great." - source: https://savampyrenews.wordpress.com/2012/08/31/interview-with-a-vampire-band-chris-pohl-blutengel-by-val/
While I understand and 100% appreciate why so many foreigners do not like Americans (I don't like the majority of what my government does either - but who does like their own government? I don't know) it still greatly bothers me to see differing politics overrules the common love of music.
This just really bothers me on a very personal level. I spend a lot of my time thinking about Germany, and appreciating it. In case you didn't know - my last name, Snyder, comes from the German name Schneider. I haven't been able to trace that particular line of my family tree all the way back to Germany (yet.) However, much of my mother's family (and more of my father's) came from Germany many years ago. I am Pennsylvanian Dutch on many branches of her tree. Yes, one of my ancestors was a Hessian. I have no control over what my ancestors did or did not do any more than the German today could control what his ancestors did or did not do.
I did not grow up with an overwhelming feel of being German. Not at all. I never really felt it was important in my upbringing in the least. I did however grow up with my great grandmother Slusser and her sister, Laurie Sluss, passing along many traditions from their Swiss parents. Their Germanic Swiss parents. Both my great grandmother and aunt married men of Germanic heritage. No surprise there. I will never forget those traditions they passed along, nor will I forget the 1/8th Germanic Swiss blood which courses through my veins.
I may have been born in America, but much of my blood is German.
The first man I ever loved was from Berlin, and because of him I took 3 years of German in high school. I don't remember it much (brain injuries and uncontrolled seizures, you know) but I'm working on relearning it. Sebastian broke my heart, and that alone would be enough for some women to hate all Germans. They say you never forget your first love, and I think that's true. I don't hate Germany, and I don't hate Germanic men. On the contrary, I think I will forever and always be painfully attracted to them. (Cue some pictures, me thinks ;)
Sven Friedrich
As testimony of this, nearly all of the men in the stories I'm writing
have Germanic names (or at least the significant ones do.) There's just
something about the German language I have always loved, and their names
reflect this. I know some people think German sounds strange or ugly
but to me it is beauty.
Chris Pohl - and I have to say, this picture creeps me out to no end. Chris has one of those weird faces where he looks quite different depending upon the angles. I just started listening to his music within the past month or so yet I've seen his face in my head for months. He looks so similar to how I imagine some of my characters, its freaky. Sven as well reminds me of a few of my characters, even before I saw his face. Freaky.
Chris Harms
Nearly all of the music I listen to these days comes out of Germany - Dreadful Shadows, Zeraphine, Solar Fake (anything by Sven Friedrich, seriously. Best musician ever, hands down), BlutEngel, Terminal Choice, Project Pitchfork, Lord of the Lost, Harms und Kapelle. Even IAMX, who is now based in Germany, and Peter Gabriel's version of Shock the Monkey I prefer the Deutsch version.
So I'm not sure where I'm going with any of this.. I think I mostly just wanted a good excuse to put some sexy men on my blog haha. But seriously, it is one of my goals to relearn German and learn it better, and thankfully I have the music mentioned above to help me with that.
I think I'm just going to end this with a select few of my favorite videos from these guys... and Chris P. I'm totally jealous of your nails! Seriously, look at those claws, and he says they're real! His nails are nicer than mine now :P
No comments:
Post a Comment