Rammstein

Rammstein (German pronunciation: [ˈʁamʃtaɪn]) is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band, formed in 1994 in Berlin. Throughout its existence, Rammstein's six-man lineup has been unchanged—singer Till Lindemann, guitarists Richard Z. Kruspe and Paul H. Landers, bassist Oliver "Ollie" Riedel, drummer Christoph "Doom" Schneider and keyboardist Christian "Flake" Lorenz.

The majority of their songs are in German, but they have also performed songs entirely or partially in other languages including English, Spanish, French, and Russian. Rammstein's award-winning live shows are renowned for their pyrotechnic elements and both on and off-stage theatrics. Rammstein's entire catalogue is published by Universal Music Group.

History

Founding and Herzeleid, 1989–96

In 1989 East German guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe escaped to West Berlin and started the band Orgasm Death Gimmicks. At that time, he was heavily influenced by American music, especially that of rock group Kiss. After the Berlin Wall came down, he moved back home to Schwerin, where Till Lindemann worked as a basket-weaver and played drums in the band First Arsch (loosely translated as "First Ass" or "First Arse"). At this time, Kruspe lived with Oliver Riedel of the Inchtabokatables and Christoph "Doom" Schneider of Die Firma. Kruspe had come to realize that the music he had previously created did not really suit him. He envisioned something that would combine machines as well as the sound of hard guitars. Kruspe, Riedel and Schneider started working together on a new project in 1994. Finding it difficult to write both music and lyrics, Kruspe persuaded Lindemann, whom he had overheard singing while he was working, to join the fledgling group.

Links 2-3-4

"Links 2-3-4" (German for Left 2-3-4) is a song by the Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein, released on their third studio album, Mutter (Mother).

Overview

The lyrics were written in response to allegations of fascism/nazism directed at the band. In the song they say "my heart beats to the left, 2-3-4", insinuating they are on the left of the political spectrum. The refrain is an allusion to the revolutionary song Einheitsfrontlied, written by Bertolt Brecht for the Communist Party of Germany in the 1930s and re-popularized by Hannes Wader in the German Democratic Republic.

The song uses an alternate pronunciation of the German two, using zwo (pronounced tsvo) rather than zwei (tsvy). "Zwo" is more commonly used within the German military, or in the Austrian dialect, and this song presents a strong, militaristic theme, 'left - two - three - four' being a common drill instructor's chant to keep a marching formation in step.

Music video

The music video for the song uses CGI to portray the struggle of an ant colony against attacking beetles. The ants in the video are doing human-like tasks such as playing football, watching television, and dancing. During the video, the band can be seen playing on a movie theater screen. Also a Rammstein logo can be seen with two crossed hammers which symbolize the Communist proletariat working party. During the movie theater scene the beetles attack killing many ants. The beetles symbolize Nazism and the ant colony Communism. One ant is seen watching what the beetles are doing. The same ant then goes underground to rally the other ants and kill the beetles which symbolizes how the Left may crush the Right if they work together. There is also a right hand belonging to a body lying near a grave with a cross on it, covered by ants near the end of the video. Symbolizing the defeat of the Right hand parties.

Link

Link or Links may refer to:

Common meanings

Arts and entertainment

Music

Television and film

Official

An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either his own or that of his superior and/or employer, public or legally private).

A government official or functionary is an official who is involved in public administration or government, through either election, appointment, selection, or employment. A bureaucrat or civil servant is a member of the bureaucracy. An elected official is a person who is an official by virtue of an election. Officials may also be appointed ex officio (by virtue of another office, often in a specified capacity, such as presiding, advisory, secretary). Some official positions may be inherited. A person who currently holds an office is referred to as an incumbent.

The word official as a noun has been recorded since the Middle English period, first seen in 1314. It comes from the Old French official (12th century), from the Latin officialis ("attendant to a magistrate, public official"), the noun use of the original adjective officialis ("of or belonging to duty, service, or office") from officium ("office"). The meaning "person in charge of some public work or duty" was first recorded in 1555. The adjective is first attested in English in 1533, via the Old French oficial.

Video

Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media.

Video systems vary greatly in the resolution of the display, how they are refreshed, and the rate of refreshed, and 3D video systems exist. They can also be carried on a variety of media, including radio broadcast, tapes, DVDs, computer files etc.

History

Video technology was first developed for Mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode ray tube (CRT) television systems, but several new technologies for video display devices have since been invented. Charles Ginsburg led an Ampex research team developing one of the first practical video tape recorder (VTR). In 1951 the first video tape recorder captured live images from television cameras by converting the camera's electrical impulses and saving the information onto magnetic video tape.

Video recorders were sold for $50,000 in 1956, and videotapes cost $300 per one-hour reel. However, prices gradually dropped over the years; in 1971, Sony began selling videocassette recorder (VCR) decks and tapes to the public.