Customer Reviews

Strategies Against Architecture 2

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am impressed and enjoy this CD by the Dada band from Germany, Einstürzende Neubauten. STRATEGIES AGAINST ARCHITECTURE II is described in the notes as "a short history of Einstürzende Neubauten in the years 1984 - 1990". Mr Blixa Bargeld, the guiding light of the band, writes brief notes about each of the songs. I found this to be quite interesting and helpful. My favourite pieces are KEIN BESTANDTEIL SEIN, described as "Serie atonal beauty. F.M. [Einheit] played on a chair, processing the sound through pipes of various lengths to prduce notes of inderterminate pitch"; BILDBESHCHRIBUNG - "A soundtrack, built around Mark's [Chung] ingenious dominant one note bass line and miked up shopping cart" and ARMENIA which was featured in the film HEAT. I feel energised by the raw power, naturally, even more, the primal force transcends any preconceptions about music. I feel comfortable and connected with a fundamental emotional centre given voice. I admire the ingenuity of the band members as they produce unconventional sounds from conventional apparati. The noise of an electric jackhammer, for example, which is heard on KANGOLICHT, is an electric jackhammer. There is something honest about that that I find is lost with digital sampling. If you are interested in truly industrial music by one of the few truly innovative and original bands, this CD will interest you.

An amazing compilation that took me 3 years (and two purchases) to appreciate. Not an easy listen, but one of the few works that I can call unique. Blurs the boundaries between rock, musique concrete and industrial to a monolithic whole. Quite simply, I don't believe that music post-1988 is truly comprehensible without at least a casual familiarity with this band in general (and this album, in specific). E.N.'s impact cannot be underestimated...

A superb compilation of the bands middle years. I didn't discover EN until they released Strategies III so at first I didn't care too much for this record due to it's a lot more raw than their later work... however, once I gave it a few listens it didn't take long to realize just how brilliant this band's entire career has been. Strat II has been in regular rotation in my cd player now for about three months.... If your a fan of experimental music this one is a can't miss.

If you are wondering where to start listening to Neubauten, this is the title. It is not as harsh as their earlier recordings (btw- harsh does not = bad!) and it will "gently" bring you onto the Neubauten world. After this, get albums like Kollaps and Strategies 1. Also, if you ever get a chance to see them live, take it! They are one of the best live bands in existence.

This is quite simply the most artistically valid and innovative collection of "popular" "music" ever produced. The live version of "Haus der Luge" alone (which is a thousandfold better than the album version) is worth the price of the full album. "Ramstein" should be ashamed to think they can exist on the same planet as these "musical" Picassos.

If you enjoy First-Wave Industrial acts, such as Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle, you will certainly want to add this masterpiece to your collection. EN is perhaps the quintessential Industrial act in a widely misunderstood and underrated genre of exotic music. Industrial music is said to come from the Dadaist movement, which was about anti-art sentiments, and, for example, produced poetry by the random picking of words from a dictionary. Many Americans today believe that acts such as Nine Inch Nails are Industrial, when in fact, NIN is not Industrial. NIN is "Industrial Rock", which is basically Rock with a hard, electronic edge. Not all fans of NIN will appreciate EN-- and vice-versa. In fact, their respective sounds are worlds apart. For people already into EN, this particular title is an excellent compilation of various pieces from a particular span of the band's career. It is well worth what little money it costs.
-Anne Hartley, HEIDE (USA Industrial act)

It was around May 1990. I was a nerdy, quiet, respectable 17 year old and I'd heard of Neubauten, their Haus der Luege stuff was being played on the local community radio station but I didn't pay too much attention. Then they played my town. I actually went because one of my best friends was the vocalist in the support act (Toxic Airborne Event). Little did I know what a night it would be. Neubauten came on and did their thing. An hour later my life was changed forever, totally changed. The next day I went and bought this album. It was more or less the only thing playing on my CD player for a long time. I lost friends who couldn't cope with me playing Armenia all the time. I almost dropped out of school because suddenly nothing much else except Neubauten seemed to matter anymore. I took up drinking beer and smoking marijuana. I dyed my hair black and started wearing black eyeliner. I begged my parents for black leather pants. I even wrote a fan letter to Blixa Bargeld telling him he was God.
Then I went to Uni. and majored in German just so I could sing along with Blixa. Anyway, you get the picture. If you don't know Neubauten, you need to try this. Who knows? It might just turn your life upside down too.

If that one reviewer were able to compare Neubauten to chewing sand, they obviously had tried chewing sand!!! Would you chew sand? Would you condsider someone who chews sand sane?

At any rate, this is a very strong release by Einsturzende Neubauten, who have influenced so many. From the obvious industrial contingent, to Tom Waits, who adopted the junk-percussion thing!

In life there comes an experience of utter perfection only once in a great while. Like seeing a super nova, or having a memory of impact, or a moment of realization of something that is greater than you can explain. These shimmering moments are called epiphanies, and that is what I experienced while listening to this album. They may be hard for others to find or respect as well as I do, but having patience with it will lead you to the unmistakable brilliance and beautiful emotion that was put into each song. While some of these songs on the surface seem abrasive, they are merely an expression of some primal pain.
Einsturzende Neubauten (translation:Imploding New Buildings) started what we now know today as "Industrial" music, this was derived from Einsturzende's use of experimental and ambient machinery sounds in the background. These noises take on the form of an amalgam of musical notes that portray more emotion than traditional instruments ever could. This band doesn't garner immediate recognition, mainly because they are a German band, but some of the songs are English (not that it matters). Their songs take an idea and push it to its extremes, and the result is raw musical power. One of my favorites on this album is "Z.N.S." (or CNS:Central Nervous System), which consits of amazing, rhytmic German shouting and harsh whispers, backed by head-stomping beats that pound and echo through your very being. My other favorite here is "Kangolicht," which opens whith several earth-shatteringly, inhuman shreiks that are amazing because they dont seem like they could resonate from anything human. Every song on this album isnt neccesarily a "song," but rather profound pieces of instrumentation which go beyond previous notions of music, and delve into your subconscious. Other songs of interest here are: "Intermezzo"(Futter Mein Ego), "Seele Brent", "Sand", "Ich bin's", and "Haus der Luge"; because these songs will gain semi-immediate acceptance. Yet, there is so much more to Einsturzende that everyone who cares to find will find. Other albums I recommend are: "Strategies Against Architecture" (1,2,and 3), "Ende Neu", and "Silence is Sexy." Only when you delve into the synapsis of this music will you appreciate all of it, and it will be something you can be thankful that you found for the sake of moments of shimmering realization.

Here is my story. I received this dastardly double disc collection today, October 31st. On the right side of my porch, I set up a boombox and blasted the strangling sounds of Blixa from 6pm to 8pm. In the center of the porch, my lovely lady coaxed innocent children up the steps with sweets. On the left side of the porch, I set up a lean-to with a camouflage tarp and hid underneath with a battered Jag, amp, mask, and many metal implements. Needless to say, I created a cauldron of marauding memories for the kids in my neighborhood. One poor soul even left a puddle! Thank you, Master Bargeld, for frightening the world at large! Trick or Treat or Z.N.S.