It is December of 2010, and Rammstein guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe sits on a Central Park bench by himself, one day removed from a sold out show at Madison Square Garden and about a dozen years removed from a 2 a.m. show at The Bank on the Lower East Side of Manhattan where there were about 20 people in the crowd.
He reflects on being German, and how his experiences through the years touring America has shaped how he views himself as a German. He insinuates that he had felt at one time that the outside world would have a negative perception of Germans, but has found, optimistically, that this is not only not the case, but that some Germanic traits have been widely embraced ("punctuality and reliability"). It is through the eyes of the foreign world that he is able to get a more complete picture of himself as a German man.
It brought a smile to my face to see this scene, which appears at the very end of 'Rammstein in Amerika' (at least the director's cut, which is the version I watched, which runs a little over two hours - currently streaming on Amazon Prime), because as I was watching this film, I thought the same thing to myself, only in reverse.
As a musician and music fan, I will watch virtually any music-related documentary, regardless of my own fandom of the subject. But, generally speaking, most documentaries that focus on a specific artist cater specifically to that artist's fanbase. For example, the 2013 Descendents' documentary, 'Filmage', was professionally done and exactly the type of biographical film any Descendents fan would want. But, there would be very little to recommend it to someone who wasn't already a fan of that band.
Occasionally, though, you do get a documentary about a band that transcends being a mere historical reading. The 2008 Anvil documentary, 'Anvil: The Story of Anvil', which I believe I discussed in this very blog a decade or so ago, is one such film. In fact, I almost hesitate to consider it a true Anvil documentary, because the actual history of that band is only touched upon and their own music virtually ignored. The focus of that documentary was the story that filmmaker Sacha Gervasi was able to generate from the relationship between vocalist/guitarist Lips and drummer Robb Reiner, two Jewish working-class kids from Canada who loved metal and have grown-up together in this band, constantly chasing the carrot on the stick. The story of two lifelong friends never giving up on their dreams is something all of us can appreciate. The actual music and nitty-gritty details of Anvil's history is not (a disclaimer is that I'd be one of the few to actually appreciate a full-blown Anvil documentary which focuses on their music because I'm a fan - but I know there were a lot more people who loved this film than the actual band).
Where 'Rammstein in Amerika' succeeds is that it is both an excellent documentary of the band AND creates a story that is accessible to those who have no real interest in the band themselves or their music.
For the uninitiated, Rammstein are a band from Berlin, Germany, who have been together since 1994. Emerging from that city's punk rock scene, the band is a mixture of heavy metal, industrial, gothic rock and dance music. Their music is heavy, often repetitive, often simple, danceable and hypnotic. Their lyrics are almost exclusively German and their concerts are some of the most mind-blowing pyrotechnical displays ever staged. And for their 26 year existence, they have been comprised of the same six men: vocalist Till Lindemann, guitarists Richard Z. Kruspe and Paul Landers, keyboardist Flake Lorenz, bassist Oliver Riedel and drummer Christoph Schneider.
I'm not sure when Rammstein came into my consciousness. It was probably sometime in the late '90s when they were one of the openers on big tours with bands I had no interest in (i.e., nu-metal bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit). They seemed like a parody to me. I threw them onto the nu-metal pile that I would never come to care about and moved on.
In 2017, I was invited to see them at the Jones Beach Theater on Long Island - one of the regular summer outdoor shed tour stops. Leading up to the show, I listened to all of their albums, and in so doing, became a fan. My lumping them into the nu-metal pile was completely wrong (although it's understandable why a Korn fan would also love Rammstein) and found their records to be captivating and catchy and great driving music. Their show was absolutely spectacular. It was pure spectacle. The show is their canvas, the music a soundtrack to a theatrical experience that uses flamethrowers and fireworks and all sorts of pyrotechnics that you cannot take your eyes off of. I promise you that it is unlike anything you've ever seen (or felt for that matter).
The documentary is smart to limit its subject to Rammstein's own experience in touring America, rather than try to document the entirety of their history. Accompanied by footage spanning over a decade, the band, along with those who worked with them and some celebrity guests, discuss their rise from playing in front of almost no one at small clubs while touring in a modest, cramped bus, and culminating in that sold-out show in 2010 at one of the world's most famous venues with all the luxuries involved. Although, as one member articulates, in many ways, the massive success has brought along with it a separation in this band of brothers - each travels on their own bus now, they barely see each other except when it's show time - and thinks to himself that it was all probably a lot more fun in the old days when they were with each other 24/7 fighting their uphill battle - to become a successful band in America on their own terms (most significantly, finding success while not having to sing in English).
Going back to the beginning, where this film takes the next step, is that, for Americans, it is a bit of a reflection of ourselves as seen through the eyes of these six men - each a distinct personality, each intelligent and well-spoken, each captivating in their own way - who have visited our country here and there over the years and have developed their own relationship with it.
I have found that Americans rarely concern themselves with what non-Americans think of them. Either they don't have the time to think about it, or they don't care, or perhaps in some way find it threatening - as if they simply don't want to hear what the rest of the world might think about what it means to be American from their point of view. Those who insist on saying things like, "we're the best country in the world" (as if there needs to be some competition between societies in the first place) without giving any metric by which to measure "being best" that seem to simply think it's beneath them entirely to ever consider how we as Americans are perceived.
But, as Kruspe finds a certain self-reflective completeness in viewing his own Germanic heritage through the eyes of others, I found myself doing the same thing in this film - viewing what it means to be an American through the eyes and perceptions of these German men.
As Americans, we often view ourselves as being part of this great free, liberated and liberal country ("liberal" not necessarily in the political sense). But, when viewed through the eyes of these Germans and their own experiences, it's impossible not to question that. Behind closed doors, we might consume more pornography than anywhere else on Earth. But as a society, as it is pointed out, we are extremely puritanical. We are open to all ideas - as long as they are not ideas that offend us. We are quick to bash that which makes us uncomfortable, the band themselves having been locked up for several hours in jail for nothing more than an on-stage artistic expression that made some people uneasy or challenged their own sexuality.
There is nothing weak about self-reflection or learning more about one's own self by exploring how those without your own daily experiences perceive your culture and society. While Rammstein are proudly German, there is clearly a strong connection to America that they have built - there are cities they love, and some cities that they find a bit boring. Through their own experiences and discovery, they have uncovered many hypocrisies about America and being American - and while those revelations might not always be comfortable to hear, without them, how we view our own Americanism is simply incomplete.
While Rammstein might never make any "top 10" lists for me, this documentary, for the way it balances the story of the band with a story that transcends the band, is one of the most successful rock documentaries I have seen in quite awhile.
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