Music in Berlin

Though one of my previous posts touches on this issue, I have to say that music in Berlin definitely merits it’s own topic. Berlin is considered by many to be the global capital of Minimalist music. Being a fan of it myself, I had never previously encountered any fans of the genre, but a few of the students at IMK were big fans of it, and pretty much everyone had at least heard of it. When I went to see Steve Aoki at club Weekend, I was pretty excited to see that the DJ that played before and after Aoki was Minimalist. It was a pretty soulful experience to see everyone grooving to the beats that were being played by the DJ.

Another interesting only-in-Berlin moment was when I went out to a movie-theater-turned-club and saw these two bizarrely dressed DJ’s spinning extremely old tracks. Among which were “We Like To Party” by the Vengaboys, “All Around the World” by ATC, and, of course, The Backstreet Boys. The only thing odder than their playlist was their outfit. They wore fit pink hoodies with wife beaters that had kittens bedazzled onto them. Throughout the night they distributed sparklers to the crowd, jumped up and down, and just had a really good time. I mean, this would never take place in America: between the liability issue that is the sparklers, the kids that are “too cool” to dance to crappy 90’s techno, and the fact that the whole thing is taking place at a functional cinema, this wouldn’t be possible.

(Yeah, it can get ugly)

My favorite encounter with Berlin’s underground music scene was going to Trésor, an abandoned generator turned club where every inch of concrete wall was covered in graffiti. It felt like it was my first time experiencing something genuine, even though we had class the next morning. See, this party starts at 2:00AM, but it doesn’t end until 9:00PM the next day. Did I mention it started Wednesday night?

The room within the club itself was awesome. The room was lit mainly by the projector, which was displaying some sort of rotating Vitruvian Man-like figure, as well as some other nonsensical English phrases. There was also a window that let you see into the rest of the building: a few concrete pillars ominously stretching into the void that was the poorly-lit roof. The DJ was playing house, which does have an audience in the United States, but nothing compared Berlin or Trésor.

Overall, I feel that Berlin is fertile soil for electronic music. I really think that electronic music is a part of Berlin’s culture, even though it’s not part of the mainstream. Berlin’s prevalent subcultures make up it’s culture, which I believe has given the city its character. I mean, just take a look at all the graffiti!

Language Barriers

Since this wasn’t my first time in Berlin, it wasn’t my first time encountering language barriers. Still, overcoming them is challenging even if you’re prepared with some basic German phrases.

I feel that the language barrier’s presence is most felt when ordering food, especially when you first get there. It’s funny, I was trying to order garlic sauce on my doner, and the woman wasn’t sure if my “garlic” was her “knoblauch,” so she asked me “you mean what vampires don’t like?"

Other times, the language barrier was disheartening. You miss out on a lot of the humor and wit of people that simply can’t communicate in English. Even with some of the German students from IMK, it felt like it was often times hard to get to know them completely because of these language barriers.

However, I didn’t feel the language barrier ever made it any harder to live in Berlin. I always got the food that I wanted to order, never got scammed (that I know of), or got lost because of it. Also, I was never discriminated against or thought less of, as a Spanish speaker probably would be in the United States. Even though the subway system wasn’t all that English-friendly, it was easy to navigate and easy to ask for help.

So yeah most of the time the language barrier wasn’t much of a barrier at all. The German students were usually considerate and spoke in English while the rest of the city was English-friendly enough for me to get by. And when it wasn’t, these two phrases were always enough: “entschuldigen” and “Ein Warsteiner bitten.”

Differences Between German Culture & My Own

A lot of people hold stereotypes about the Germans with them being “cold” and all that but I’d have to disagree. Most of the Germans that I came across were very warm and friendly, and were actually more open to things than most Americans that I know. In my experience with the Germans, I also found them to be more genuine and honest than your average American. Even total strangers would go out of their way to help me. Like the first time I was trying to find Schönnefeld Airport, I asked a woman waiting for her train and even though she didn’t speak English, she walked over to the train schedule to make sure I was on the right train, and made sure that I more or less understood what she was telling me. Another time when I wasn’t sure I was on the right train, I asked someone if they spoke English, trying to see if they’d be willing to help me. She didn’t speak English, but the woman next to her said, “I do!” When I asked her if I was going in the right direction, when she said that I was, about five other people on the train nodded their heads “yes” in agreement.

Anyways, my favorite difference between Americans and Germans is their taste in music. As anyone who knows me knows: I love electronic music. And so do the Germans. The underground music scene is huge in Germany. Even in the more mainstream clubs, house tracks are played more often than in America. Also, the clubs are much cheaper, and far more luxurious. For example, I paid $15 to see Steve Aoki in Tallahassee at a club that was part of a strip mall. In Berlin, I paid 14€ ($17) to see Steve Aoki at a way smaller club on the fifteenth floor of a skyscraper in downtown Berlin. Seriously?!

Another thing that I’m sure all Americans found funny was the label “Black Music” for hip-hop. Also mistakenly called R&B, this “Black Music” is actually extremely popular, as are most American mainstream songs. I’m not talking just the Top 40 Hits either: on numerous occasions The Backstreet Boys were played full blast with the German kids rocking out and singing along. Which brings me to my next point: most of the Germans I came across don’t really care what others think of them. They don’t feel like they’ll be judged for rocking out to The Backstreet Boys, while I find it hard to just jam out to “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back).”

Then again, that may just be me…