Search - Die Toten Hosen :: Kauf Mich

Cruel / grausam

Christopher | 07/27/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Die Toten Hosen are a super great punk rock band from Düsseldorf, Germany. They sing in German, but that should not spoil the fun at all, in case you don't speak German. This cd contains both fast and slower songs. I like the speedy stuff best. By the way they sing about stupid subjects, but also real problems like how they dispise the hatred towards foreigners. Note: please listen to the hidden track, which is the best of the cd. Enjoy it! Robbert"

Welcome to Germany

Christopher | Wengen-en-esprit | 03/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In case you're wondering what the UPC number for this CD is, it's 0777 787873 27.



Kauf MICH! (Buy ME!) blatantly advertises Die Toten Hosen's sense of humor. If I understood German, I would understand their wacky (but rockin') songs about soccer playing and politics. Should you open the jewel case, you'll find a nice big Danke. on the inside.



Their music, however, is utterly serious and extremely well produced. Kauf Mich! has a bit of echo throughout, giving the album an extra depth to it. The songs sound raw, overlayed with rattling lyrics, and some of the best recorded drums I've heard in a long time. While my favorite album of theirs so far is "Unsterblich," this record has one of my favorite tracks ever recorded on the face of the planet: Willkommen in Deutschland (Welcome to Germany). Campino sings about his country and how foreigners look upon it, and that his country is everyone's country. I tend to think of the cover photograph of "Unsterblich" a bit here. It's a beautiful piece and, since I can't understand the lyrics, I've made my own associations with it.



Other tracks that stand out for me:



Track 1, Umtausch ausgeschlossen! ("Conversion Impossible"), is hilarious. The first half is yacking, but the music half, a short track, is heavy yelling and music playing, but what's so funny (to me anyways) are the added sound effects of guitars squealing in the background, like it's a difficult piece to play.



This track smash cuts directly into Niemals einer Meinung (Never an Opinion). The three notes that lead into this song always give me shivers. Bam-bam-BAM, song explodes and the album starts off at a crazy speed with ultra-catchy tunes.



The anthemic track 12, Alles aus Liebe (Everything From Love) is also a favorite. I phonetically memorized much of this track and then finally downloaded the lyrics and got the wording correct. Both of these tracks I loved singing to. Of course, now I'm getting older and can't recall the words. Ah well.



Track 14, Mein größter Feind (My Largest Enemy) is a gem of a composition. With a translator, I could find out what his largest enemy is referring to, but this song holds such a haunting melody and is mysteriously beautiful on its own, I prefer it the way it is: unknown.



Finally, track 15, Katastrophen-Kommando (Disaster Commando) fits the bill as another DTH anthem. This song simply rocks and is great fun to sing along with. The chorus is actually easy to remember. It's a great way to end the album as it's heavy and moving, a somewhat touching goodbye, somehow. (Don't forget the secret track of course! Talk about screaming...)



The entire album is heavy, drooling with adrenaline and testosterone, a blend of electric acoustic and heavy electric guitars. There isn't any experimenting going on, here, just pure simple German rock."

Good basic rock.

Christopher | 08/07/1998

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this CD in Germany in 1993 on the recommendation of three German teenagers. The band is older but kids like them. Some of their music is anti-racist. It's heavy for a German band but middle-of-the-road rock for an American band. The music has a good beat and strong melodies."