English translation of ’abfackeln’
Verb Table: TRANSITIVE VERB
(= verbrennen) to burn off
[Dschungel, Wald] to burn
(= in Brand stecken) to torch
So that’s cut & paste from Collins dictionary website, linked here. Anyone who knows German can tell me if it’s pretty right? Or how wrong it is like google translator?
That’s 1983 Einstürzende Neubauten track Abfackeln! Which was song number four on the album entitled Zeichnungen des Patienten O. T. or in English, that’s something like Drawings of Patient O. T. and is the second studio album by this Germany band. By the way, O.T. is Oswald Tschirtner an artist from Austria who had schizophrenia and comes from when an Austrian psychiatrist Leo Navratil, who published a book in 1974 of his artworks. The song also featured in ½ Mensch the 1986 Japanese film, which I did blog about this only a month or two ago so I am repeating myself? But I didn’t included this song in that post, linked here. Just above is the studio version and then below is the film version as well, if you are like me and do want more than one version of same track?
Also it can be found also as the opening song on the band’s comp album called Strategies Against Architecture II which was released in 1991. If you know nothing about them? Their band name translate in English tooo: Collapsing New Buildings. I don’t think I type that last time, did I? Most likely not going to be the last time I blog about them so I shouldn’t say everything I know about them? I guess, if you really want to know more, google them? EN line-up in 1983 was: Blixa Bargeld, Mark Chung, Alexander Hacke, FM Einheit, N.U. Unruh. So here’s link to their website if you for some mad reason want to buy the album on vinyl or CD? More likely you just want to stream it? Streaming full album here:
Does anyone want to say anything about any of this now?
Cheers 🙂
a1000mistakes 
I like both versions. But I think I like that film version a bit more. Hard to say, really. They are so different.
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Oh well, they did have a bit of a live reputation of never playing their songs the same way twice! I guess, they never make video clips in the early year so that warehouse film you can seen them plus almost everything is on fire too! 🙂
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Yes, it’s a great clip!!
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Not heard these guys before…..industrial sound!
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Oh well, i think you’ll know Blixa Bargeld because of The Bad Seeds? that’s the same singer who sung on The Weeping Song, duet with Nick Cave and founding member from 1984 to 2003! Should have say that in the post, i guess but telling you that now! 🙂
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Blixa was a young Punk, a school-dropout without future plans. He went to Westberlin and became a junkie and a poet without clear direction. But with a big talent for combining words.
It all sounds good and shocking. And around 1980 somthing was the very right time to start something new.
He does that citizen-shock-thing, like other Bands from the “Berlin-Scene” at this time: Interzone (more blues, but shockin’ lyrics), Ideal (more punk), and there are the “geniale Diletanten” a bunch of Bands of No-Musicians, who tried to put their Emotions (and especially anger) in some Noises.
The Einstürzenden Neubauten topped them all.
Westberlin was the Center of all young dropouts of the old westgerman Republic before the wallfall in 89. Young men, who don’t want doing their army-time, needed a flat and adress in Westberlin, so the army couldn’t catch them. Because Westberlin wasn’t part of the westgerman Republik offically. So many angry young men are livin’ in Westberlin as Punks, Underground-Artists, Barkeepers, Junkies, Dreamers of a better world. High level of Aggression against Police, against Kapitalism, against everything.
“Abfackeln!” has not a clear message. Its a kind of “burn all down you hate!” “Fight for (your own) freedom!” what ever it means to you.
Its the same thing with “Feurio!” on “Haus der Lüge”.
May be, Blixa likes Randy Newman “Lets burn down the cornfield” (Joke.)
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Oh yeah, LOL! i guess, Blixa is totally just like Randy! Cheers for very detail explanation! BTW Did you know? Brand new EN album next year! 🙂
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