Die Ärzte



Die Ärzte (lit. The Doctors) are a punk rock/pop-punk band from Berlin, Germany. Along with Die Toten Hosen (lit. The Dead Pants) they are the most successful German punk act. In the nineties they made a music video starring Lara Croft. They modestly refer to themselves as die beste Band der Welt; "the best band in the world."

For most of their career they have consisted of:
 * Farin Urlaub (Vox, Guitar)
 * Bela B. (Vox, drums)
 * Rodrigo Gonzalez (Vox, Bass)

Formed in 1982, they broke up briefly in 1989, reuniting in 1993. They have released 11 studio albums with a twelfth planned for release in 2012. Their discography:
 * Debil ("Moronic," 1984)
 * Im Schatten der Ärzte ("In the Shadow of Die Ärzte," 1985)
 * Die Ärzte (1986)
 * Das ist nicht die ganze Wahrheit... ("That is not the whole truth...",1988)
 * Die Bestie in Menschengestalt ("The beast in human form," 1993)
 * Planet Punk (1995)
 * Le Frisur (Gratuitous French, "The Hairstyle" 1996)
 * 13 (1998)
 * Runter mit den Spendierhosen, Unsichtbarer! ("Enough with the generosity, Mr. Invisible!" 2000)
 * Geräusch ("Noise,"2003)
 * Jazz ist anders ("Jazz is Different," 2007)
 * Auch ("As well," 2012)

Die Ärzte and their songs provide examples of:

 * All Men Are Perverts: Parodied in Männer sind Schweine. The song starts with calling them the "usual" pejorative terms; pigs, rats, etc., but by the end it's the nonsensical "men are cars."
 * An Aesop: Quite a few especially on their recent album "Jazz ist anders"
 * Audience Participation Song: They will turn any song into this.
 * Blasphemous Boast: "There is only one god: Bela Farin Rod"
 * Be Yourself: The message of Lied vom Scheitern.
 * Black Sheep Hit: "Nur einen Kuss" (Just One Kiss) is a surprisingly depressing ballad, especially coming from the band that brought us "Lasse redn".
 * Lampshaded on their spoof album "We don`t want the song, Farin. (...) I`ve talked to Rod and he doesn`t think it`s funny either"
 * * Break Up Song : "1/2 Lovesong" of the "Please don`t go"- and "Mach die Augen zu" (Close your eyes'') of the "Teetering at the brink of a breakup"-variety
 * Brother Sister Incest: Their song "Geschwisterliebe" (Siblings` Love) is the Trope Namer for the german page.
 * Everythings Deader With Zombies: Farin and especially Bela are quite fond of the horror genre. Cue the "Pro Zombie Song", the !anti Zombie Song" and the video for "Junge"
 * Filk Song: The "Grotesksong", a parody (or is it?) of filk protest songs.
 * Heavy Metal Umlaut: Their logo is a parody of this; it's an A with three dots on top of it.
 * I Am a Humanitarian: The song "Gebt Schweinen eine Chance" (lit. ~give pigs a chance) jokingly advices cannibalism against hunger and for a better world.
 * Ironic Nursery Rhyme: Played for Laughs. Their song "Schlaflied" is a lullaby about... stuff that lullabies normally aren't about.
 * Long Runner: They have been around (with one short break) for now 30 years. They just released the album Auch.
 * Obligatory Bondage Song: Parodied in "Bitte, Bitte"
 * Self Parody: Their spoof album "Jazz ist anders - Economy Version"
 * Take That: "Lied über Zensur" (Song about censorship), as well as the video to "Bitte, Bitte"
 * The Pete Best: Their first bass player Sahnie. To an extend his temporary replacement, The Incredible Hagen.
 * Three Chords and The Truth: Often a bit more than three chords, but often true to their punk roots.
 * You Screw One Goat: Once again played for laughs in "Claudia hat `nen Schäferhund" (Claudia has got an alsatian).