Die Kassierer ("The Cashiers"), also Die mächtigen Kassierer ("The Mighty Cashiers"), are a satirical
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
band from
Bochum
Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous Germany, German federal state o ...
-
Wattenscheid
Wattenscheid () is a Stadtbezirk of the city of Bochum. Until 1975, it was a separate town in the Ruhr area of North Rhine-Westphalia. Wattenscheid has a population of about 80,000 citizens. Some notable firms have their headquarters in there ...
, Germany. The group was founded in 1985 by
Wolfgang Wendland
Wolfgang Wendland (born 9 November 1962 in Lünen, Germany) is a German musician, actor, film producer and politician.
Wendland is lead singer of Die Kassierer, a German punk rock band.
His films concern the regional problems of the town of ...
(vocals), Nikolai Sonnenscheiße (guitar), Volker Kampfgarten (drums, jazz guitar) and Mitch Maestro (bass guitar).
The lyrics of ''Die Kassierer's'' songs are mainly about drugs, sex, violence, strange phenomenasuch as aliensand the region the band comes from. Generally their lyrics are extremely
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
and therefore often misunderstood.
''Die Kassierer'' have been criticized for making what has been considered aggressive and socially as well as sexually disorienting music, but up to now only the album ''Habe Brille'' (I got glasses) has been officially indexed as harmful by the "Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien" (
Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons
The Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons (german: link=no, Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien or ''BPjM'') is an upper-level German federal censorship agency subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Family Affair ...
). This indexing was due to the original album's pornografic cover. Shortly after the indexing the cover was changed, so that the LP was acceptable for sale in Germany again. Further attempts to label other LPs of ''Die Kassierer'' have been blocked by the courts because their songs were deemed satirical and socially critical enough to qualify as art.
In honor of the 20th anniversary of the band in 2005 nineteen artists, including the
Donots
The Donots are a German punk rock band from Germany, formed in 1993 in Ibbenbüren.
Band history Early years (1993-1998)
The Donots were founded in 1993 by Ingo Knollmann on lead vocals, his brother Guido Knollmann on guitar, Jan-Dirk Pogge ...
, Die Lokalmatadore, Hennes Bender, Emscherkurve 77 and
Mambo Kurt
Mambo Kurt (born Rainer Limpinsel; 11 April 1967 in Hagen) is a German comedy and novelty act who performs covers of mainstream and classic rock hits.
Mambo has performed at the Wacken Open Air festival and provides music for a German televisio ...
recorded songs of ''Die Kassierer'' for a tribute album, also called "Kunst".
Bela B.
Dirk Albert Felsenheimer (born 14 December 1962),''Die Ärzte. Ein überdimensionales Meerschwein frisst die Erde auf'', p. 80 better known under his stage name Bela B (formerly Bela B.), is a German musician, songwriter, actor and author, b ...
and
Rodrigo González from
Die Ärzte
Die Ärzte (; ) is a German rock band from Berlin. The band has released 14 studio albums. The group consists of guitarist Farin Urlaub, drummer Bela B and bass player Rodrigo González. All three write and perform their songs.
History Ea ...
played under the pseudonym ''2 fickende Hunde'' (2 Fucking Dogs). 4 years before ''Die Kassierer'' had played a song for the Die Ärzte- tribute sampler "GötterDÄmmerung". They had transformed the song "Du willst mich küssen" (You want to kiss me) into "Du willst mich fisten" (You want to fist me).
Famous songs
* "Mein Glied ist zu groß" (My Dick is Too Big)
* "Ich töte meinen Nachbarn und verprügel seine Leiche" (I Kill My Neighbor and Beat Up His Corpse)
* "Sex mit dem Sozialarbeiter" (Sex with the Social Worker)
* "Menschenkatapult" (People Catapult)
* "Tot, tot, tot" (Dead, Dead, Dead)
* "Gott hat einen IQ von 5 Milliarden" (God has an IQ of 5 Billion)
* "Abschaum der Nacht" (Scum of the Night)
* "Wenn das Wasser der Ruhr... blondes Pils wär" (If Only the Water in the
Ruhr
The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...
River was Golden Pilsner...)
* "Bin ich oder hab ich?" (Am I or Have I?)
* "Kommste mit ins Stadion?" (Wanna Come Along to the Stadium?)
* "Im Jenseits gibts kein Bier" (In the Afterlife There is No Beer)
* "Thomas Wenner" (Thomas Wenner was the chief of the police of
Bochum
Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous Germany, German federal state o ...
and had a bitter argument with Wolfgang Wendland)
* "Sauerlandlied" (
Sauerland
The Sauerland () is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited.
The Sauerland is the largest tourist region in ...
Song)
* "Mit meinem Motor" (With my Motor)
* "Das Leben ist ein Handschuh" (Life is a Glove)
* "Ich onaniere in den kopflosen Rumpf von
Uwe Seeler
Uwe Seeler (; 5 November 1936 – 21 July 2022) was a German footballer and football official. As a striker, he was a prolific scorer for Hamburger SV and also made 72 appearances for the West Germany national team. Widely regarded as one of t ...
" (I Masturbate into the Headless Trunk of Uwe Seeler)
* "Das Schlimmste ist, wenn das Bier alle ist" (The worst Thing is, When the Beer is Gone)
* "Blumenkohl am Pillemann" (Cauliflower on my Wiener)
* "Erdrotation" (Earth Rotation)
Albums
*1987: "Fit durch Suizid" (Fit through Suicide) (production stopped in 1994)
*1989: "Sanfte Strukturen" (Gentle Structures)
*1993: "Der heilige Geist greift an" (The Holy Spirit Attacks)
*1995: "Goldene Hits, teilweise in Englisch" (Golden Hits, Partly in English)
*1997: "Habe Brille" (I Got Glasses)
*1998: "The Gentlemen of Shit" (completely in English)
*1998: "Taubenvergiften" (Poisoning Pigeons) / cover CD of songs from
Georg Kreisler
Georg Kreisler (18 July 1922 – 22 November 2011) was an Austrian–American Viennese-language cabarettist, satirist, composer, and author. He was particularly popular in the 1950s and 1960s. From 2007 he lived in Salzburg, Austria, with his fou ...
*2000: "Musik für beide Ohren" (Music for Both Ears)
*2000: "Jetzt und in Zukunft öfter" (Now and Even More Often in the Future)
*2003: "Männer, Bomben, Satelliten" (Men, Bombs, Satellites)
*2005: "Kunst - 19 Künstler und sie selber spielen Lieder der Kassierer" (Art - 19 Artists and they themselves play songs of ''Die Kassierer'')
*2006: "Das schlimmste ist, wenn das Bier alle ist" (The Worst Thing Is, When the Beer is Gone) (split with Too Strong).
*2010: "Physik" (Physics)
References
Other sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kassierer, Die
German punk rock groups
German musical groups
Musical groups established in 1985
1985 establishments in Germany