halb it all
We were blessed with the availability and opportunity to visit a laundromat. It was wonderful. We not only laundered, but accessed (FREE) Internet, and drank tea; it was refreshing, and I needed it.
I gave my presentation a few days ago on Deutschpunk, and I’d like to share some parts that were significant to me:
“The repercussions of this disillusionment are found in the very veins of German punk, especially noted in “Halb und Halb”, a song by City written in 1987. The song speaks of the harsh price it is to be half and half; whether in a glass, or in the appearance of the moon, division leads to a dismal existence. The later imagery of men and gods cut in half present the listener with the truth: Germany is not whole, and so neither are we.
The decline of punk seemed to die with the GDR, in the eighties, but in a way that cemented their symbiosis. One can imagine the sound of so many voices rising up, when the Wall fell down a few years, later. Yet, it was not the cry to tear Germany down, but the call of hope to build again. To no longer be “Halb und Halb.”
