Tokio Hotel’s band members are young, but their music has depth and style. They are from Magdeburg, an ancient city in the former communist East Germany, where the first Holy Roman Emperor is laid to rest, according to Wikipedia. The complexity of growing up in post-unification eastern Germany, as ruins are rebuilt and remnants of communist thought are cast off, has given these musicians ample material. With their musical talent, each of their songs is a uniquely crafted artifact, and a piece of living history expressed by the next generation.
Tokio Hotel’s thus-far limited repertoire, here are my choices for the group’s top ten songs. They express themselves more poetically in German, so I prefer the original in many cases. Two big advantages to all their material are: It’s not just angsty teen rock; there is clear insight and intensity, and yet they have a naturalness that goes beyond manufactured American pop, Europop or the rock equivalent. Watching them in concert or video rarely seems staged, and reveals their songs as true vocal interpretations of their experience.
Top Ten:
Love is Dead – wonderful, strong emotions in the music and words.
Wo Sind Eure Haende – great rock! The German lyrics seem more natural for this kind of rock.
Break Away – layered sound, with lots of energy.
Rette Mich – a great mood, the singing is like a thread through the song, very balanced and a great environmental song.
Der Letzte Tag – a basic rock song, but in a style of troubadors recalling ancient times, exploited in their video.
1000 Meere – the instrumentation is fantastic, the words build feeling, the video uses anachronisms in a wonderfully paradoxical way.
Spring Nicht – wonderfully simple guitar work, a beautiful female voice singing with surprising restrain, but words that belie the self-control.
By Your Side – a great power ballad-like song, very satisfying.
Sacred – digs deep, it’s plaintive and powerful.
Schrei – again, German lyrics are a must. Toe-tapping energy turns foot-stomping, bridges and dynamic voicework make it fascinating and powerful.
Germany has for decades been a source of innovative, introspective and powerful rock music. It’s a country of contrasts, and its musicians seem to derive a deep insight through growing up in the post-war and post-unification environments. Tokio hotel carries on this heritage in their own way.
“Magdeburg”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdeburg
“Tokio Hotel – ofizielle homepage”, http://tokiohotel.pop24.de/tokiohotel2/index2_de.php
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