"Das Model" ("The Model" in English) is a song recorded by the German group

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...

in 1978, written by musicians

Ralf Hütter Ralf Hütter (born 20 August 1946) is a German musician and composer best known as the lead singer and keyboardist of Kraftwerk, which he founded with Florian Schneider in 1969. On May 12, 2021, Kraftwerk was announced as one of the inductees of ...

and

Karl Bartos Karl Bartos (born 31 May 1952) is a German musician and composer known for his contributions to the electronic band Kraftwerk. Career Karlheinz Bartos was born on 31 May 1952 in Marktschellenberg, Germany, named after his grandfathers Karl and ...

, with artist

Emil Schult Emil Schult (born 10 October 1946) is a German painter, poet and audio-visual artist. Biography After studying Sinology in Münster, Schult joined the Academy of Art in Düsseldorf in 1969 to study Fine Arts in the printmaking class of Dieter ...

collaborating on the lyrics. It is featured on the album, ''Die Mensch-Maschine'' (known in international versions as ''

The Man-Machine ''The Man-Machine'' (german: link=no, Die Mensch-Maschine) is the seventh studio album by German electronic music band Kraftwerk. It was released on May 1978 by Kling Klang in Germany and by Capitol Records elsewhere. A further refinement of the ...

''). In 1981 the song was re-released coinciding with the release from then studio album ''Computerwelt'' (

Computer World ''Computer World'' (german: link=no, Computerwelt) is the eighth studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released on 10 May 1981. The album deals with the themes of the rise of computers within society. In keeping with the album's con ...

in English). It reached no. 1 in UK Singles Chart. Both the German and English versions of the song have been covered by other artists, including

Snakefinger Philip Charles Lithman (17 June 1949 – 1 July 1987), who performed under the stage name Snakefinger, was an English musician, singer and songwriter. A multi-instrumentalist, he was best known for his guitar and violin work and his collab ...

Hikashu Hikashu (ヒカシュー) are a Japanese rock band led by pseudo-Kabuki vocalist, Makigami Koichi, known for their highly experimental music. They are often referred to by their alternative English moniker, Hikasu. The group's most recent album, ...

Big Black Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Nake ...

and

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

Background

The lyrics were written by Emil Schult, who was in love with a model when he wrote the song. He also composed music for the song, though it was too guitar-heavy for the musical concept of Kraftwerk and it was rewritten by Bartos and Hütter to fit the sound of the band.https://www.ox-fanzine.de/interview/40-jahre-spaeter-kraftwerk-die-mensch-maschine-lp-kling-klang-1978-6212 As with all of the songs on ''The Man-Machine'', ''The Model'' was released in both German- and English-language versions. The lyrics are very close between two versions, with the exception of a guttaral-sounding "Korrekt!" added after the line "Sie trinkt in Nachtclubs immer

Sekt Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne regi ...

" in the German version. (The English lyric is "She's going out to nightclubs, drinking just champagne.") This was an

in-joke An in-joke, also known as an inside joke or a private joke, is a joke whose humour is understandable only to members of an ingroup; that is, people who are ''in'' a particular social group, occupation, or other community of shared interest. It i ...

by the band. In his autobiography, ''I Was A Robot'', former Kraftwerk member

Wolfgang Flür Wolfgang Flür (born 17 July 1947) is a German musician, best known for playing percussion in the electronic group Kraftwerk from 1973 to 1987. Flür claims that he invented the electric drums the group used throughout the 1970s. However, pa ...

explains:

Charts

Certifications and sales

Rammstein cover

German

Neue Deutsche Härte Neue Deutsche Härte (; "new German hardness"), sometimes abbreviated as NDH, is a subgenre of rock music that developed in Germany and Austria during the early-to-mid 1990s and during the early 2000s. Alluding to the style of Neue Deutsche Well ...

and

industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine In ...

band

Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, ...

covered the German version of "Das Model" in 1997 as "Das Modell". It was released as a non-album single. "Das Modell" is introduced by a French phrase spoken by

film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film edit ...

Mathilde Bonnefoy Mathilde Bonnefoy (born 11 March 1972) is a French film editor and director who was nominated for an ACE Eddie Award for the editing of the film '' Run Lola Run'' (1998) and who won the award for editing the documentary ''Citizenfour'' (2014). S ...

. The single contains three non-album tracks taken from the ''

Sehnsucht () is a German noun translated as "longing", "desire", "yearning", or "craving". Some psychologists use the word to represent thoughts and feelings about all facets of life that are unfinished or imperfect, paired with a yearning for ideal alte ...

'' recording sessions. In the special version of "Alter Mann",

Bobo Bobo may refer to: Animals and plants * Bobo (gorilla) a popular gorilla at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle from 1953 to 1968 * Bobo, Vietnamese name for Job's tears, a plant of south-east Asia Entertainment, arts and media * ''Bobo'' (maga ...

(Christiane Hebold) sings alongside

Till Lindemann Till Lindemann (; born 4 January 1963) is a German singer, songwriter and poet. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein and solo project Lindemann. Rammstein has sold over 25 million records w ...

in the chorus.

Track listings

Promo CD Enhanced CD

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

*
"Das Modell" covers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Model, Das 1978 songs 1978 singles 1981 singles 1997 singles EMI Records singles Kraftwerk songs Rammstein songs Songs written by Emil Schult Songs written by Karl Bartos Songs written by Ralf Hütter UK Singles Chart number-one singles

Background

Charts

Certifications and sales

Rammstein cover

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

See also

References

External links