Mein Teil (single)
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| Mein Teil | ||
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| Missing image MeinTeil.gif Single cover | ||
| Single by Rammstein | ||
| Released | 26 July, 2004 | |
| Recorded | ??? | |
| Genre | Industrial | |
| Length | 23 min 11 sec | |
| Record label | Motor Music | |
| Producer | Jacob Hellner with Rammstein | |
| Professional reviews | ||
| Rammstein chronology | ||
| Mutter (2001) | Mein Teil (single) (2004) | Amerika (single) (2004) |
"Mein Teil" is a single by the German industrial band Rammstein from the album Reise Reise.
Mein_Teil_Video_1.jpg
"Mein Teil" is the first single released from Rammstein's fourth full-length studio album, Reise Reise. The translation of "Mein Teil" is literally "My Part", slang for "penis." A prominent phrase in the song is "Denn du bist was du isst" ("Because you are what you eat"), and the story is indeed based on cannibalism.
The song is inspired by the infamous case of Armin Meiwes and Bernd Jürgen Brandes. In March 2001, in Rotenburg, Hessen, Germany, the two men in their 40s met each other, cut off Brandes' penis and ate it. Afterwards, Meiwes killed Brandes--apparently with his consent--and ate his remains. As a result, Meiwes was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in jail for manslaughter.
According to Rammstein's bassist Oliver Riedel, the song came about after "one of our members brought a newspaper to rehearsal and it had a story about the cannibal guy in it. We were fascinated, shocked and amused at the same time." [1] Singer Till Lindemann comments that "It's so sick that it becomes fascinating and there just has to be a song about it" [2]
Mein Teil attracted considerable controversy in Germany (the media dubbed it the "Kannibalensong"), which helped to boost it to second place in the German music charts after its release in early August 2004. The song has since been covered by the Pet Shop Boys.
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Live Performance
This song is one of the most spectacular live performances of the 2004-2005 Reise, Reise tour.
From the central backstage access, Till Lindemann appears dressed as a blood-stained chef holding a microphone with a large butcher's knife attached to the end. He pulls out a giant cooking pot with a portable keyboard attached to one side. Keyboardist Christian "Flake" Lorenz appears in the pot, with metal cylinders attached to his arms and legs, and plays the keyboard during the song. After the second chorus, Till takes a flamethrower and roasts the bottom of the pot, "cooking" Flake. Flake escapes from the pot and starts running around the stage with flames erupting from his arms and legs, while chased by a knife-wielding Till.
Asked about what it is like to perform this, Flake comments: "It's fine. It is only pain. Although you can't breathe in because then you will inhale the flames and die." [3]
Music Video
The controversy over Mein Teil prompted MTV Germany to restrict the airing of the music video to after 11pm. It shows Till eating and copulating with an angel; Flake performing ballet; Richard Kruspe-Bernstein wrestling his twin; the whole band fighting in a mudpit; and five of the band members crawling out of a Berlin U-Bahn (subway) station while held on leashes carried by "Frau" Christoph Schneider, who is dressed as a woman.
Track Listing
- Mein Teil
- Mein Teil (You Are What You Eat Edit, Remix by the Pet Shop Boys)
- Mein Teil (Return to New York Buffet Mix, Remix by Arthur Baker)
- Mein Teil (There Are No Guitars on This Mix, Remix by the Pet Shop Boys)
References
- "Strange tastes", Sunday Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia), October 24, 2004
- "German cannibal inspires hard rockers Rammstein to new hit", Agence France Presse, August 27, 2004
- "Shock'n'roll Circus", The Times (London), January 29, 2005da:Mein Teil