"Das Model" ("The Model" in English) is a song recorded by the German group
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...
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 1970, and became the only consistent member of the band (although he brief ...
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 a ...
, 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 Diet ...
collaborating on the lyrics. It is featured on the album, ''Die Mensch-Maschine'' (known in international versions as ''
The Man-Machine'').
In 1981, the song was re-released to coincide with the release of the studio album ''Computerwelt'' (''
Computer World
''Computer World'' () is the eighth studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released on 11 May 1981. It was accompanied by four singles, including a double A-side UK no. 1 featuring " Computer Love".
The album is themed around compu ...
'' in English). It reached no. 1 in the
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,
Big Black
Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded first as a solo project by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band became a trio with an initial lineup that included guitarist Santiago Dur ...
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 ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...
.
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.
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 guttural-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 it is common to refer to this as champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that word for products exclusively produced in the Champagne r ...
" 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 with humour that 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 ...
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, pat ...
explains:
Charts
Certifications and sales
Rammstein cover
German rock band
Rammstein
Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German 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, drummer Christoph ...
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 stock, film which increasingly involves the use Digital cinema, of digital ...
Mathilde Bonnefoy. The single contains three non-album tracks taken from the ''
Sehnsucht'' recording sessions. In the special version of "Alter Mann",
Bobo (Christiane Hebold) sings alongside
Till Lindemann
Till Lindemann (; born 4 January 1963) is a German singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and lyricist of Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein and solo project Lindemann (band), Lindemann. Rammstein has sold over 25 million records worldw ...
in the chorus.
Track listings
Promo CD
Enhanced CD
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
See also
*
List of UK singles chart number ones of the 1980s
References
External links
*
"Das Modell" covers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Model, Das
Songs about models
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