Weekly Recommendation: "Hi Freaks" by Tocotronic
Hey there!
Here’s your weekly German media recommendation from Monoglot Anxiety. This time, it's the song "Hi Freaks" by Tocotronic.
But first, a quick note from me:
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"Hi Freaks" by Tocotronic
Tocotronic is a German band worth knowing. One of the bigger names in what's called the influential Hamburger Schule or Hamburg School of indie-rock that bubbled up (mostly) in northern Germany in the 1980s and 1990s, Tocotronic can sound a bit like a page out of a teenage diary... but in a good way? Their sound feels somehow hazy or dreamy to me, combining influences from punk, lo-fi, and grunge without ever feeling hard-edged or screamy. People seem to either love Tocotronic or hate them, so give them a listen and decide for yourself.
"Hi Freaks" is Tocotronic's most popular song on Spotify. I also happen to like it best of the Tocotronic songs I've heard, but I can't claim to have listened through their entire discography.
A German, Swiss, and Austrian discuss (and attack, and defend) the Hamburger Schule
I was tipped off to Tocotronic by an episode of Servus. Greuzi. Hallo. — a "trans-alpine" podcast in which 3 journalists representing Austria, Switzerland, and Germany discuss issues in the German-speaking realm. The episode, which aired on May 4, hits on the Hamburger Schule and why it might just be a bit "too German" for Austrian and Swiss tastes.
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That's all for this week,
Elise from Monoglot Anxiety