psych0naut ([info]psych0naut) wrote,
@ 2008-04-07 22:16:00
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Current location:London
Current music:Die Alpenrammler - Lieschen Lieschen
Entry tags:music

Laß uns schmutzig Liebe machen

In 1999, a little-known band called the Bloodhound Gang released the single "The Bad Touch", a hormone-fueled lust song whose catchy chorus propelled it to the top of the American charts:

You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals
So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel
Do it again now
You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals
So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel
Gettin' horny now
Though the song was hugely popular at the time, I never really cared for it. This is because I couldn't figure out if the lyrics were meant to be tongue-in-cheek or actually taken seriously. I'm not a big fan of macho posturing, unless it's taken to almost comical, self-parodying extremes (à la Dave Wyndorf). "The Bad Touch"'s lyrics aren't quite over-the-top enough to be obviously satirical, and moreover they're delivered straight and without any indication that the singer is pulling your leg. If the Bloodhound Gang was trying to be funny, as many of my friends insisted, then I think they failed miserably.

So why am I talking about this song at all? Well, four years before "The Bad Touch", an even littler-known band pulled the exact same stunt, except they got it right. The band in question is Die Schröders, a German punk band which is pretty much unknown among English speakers, and their song, "Laß uns schmutzig Liebe machen" ("Let's Make Dirty Love") hit the top of the German pop charts in 1995. The chorus, which also contains an invitation to indulge in wild, horny animal sex, is similar enough to "The Bad Touch" that one wonders if the Bloodhound Gang ripped off the idea. But whereas "The Bad Touch" comes across as pretentiously macho, "Laß uns…" is quirky, coy, and charming. That may not be apparent from the lyrics and rough translation I've posted below, because most of the song's magic comes from its delivery. The arrangement is bouncy, jangly, and upbeat, with lots of "la la la"s, drunken cheering and chattering, and even a tuba thrown in for good measure. You can almost hear the goofy grin on the singer's face as he belts out his ha-ha-only-serious sexual imprecations.

Anyway, even if you don't understand German, the song's well worth a listen. It's really catchy, and is one of my favourites.

Original German lyricsRough English translation

Samstag nacht, halb zwei,
Alle sind bedient, nur ich bin noch dabei.
Den ganzen Abend war ich tapfer,
Hab gebaggert und geschaut
Neben dir, du süße Braut.
Wir reden über Filme,
Was dein Ex-Freund grad' studiert.
Ich schlaf' schon fast im Stehen ein
Und tu' doch interessiert.
Du sagst, du stehst auf Liebesfilme
Und auf Pferdesport.
Ich denke: Jockey wär ich auch ganz gerne,
Doch, wenn's geht sofort.

Laß uns schmutzig Liebe machen,
Alle diese wilden Sachen,
Die man nur aus Filmen kennt,
Die man nie beim Namen nennt.
Laß uns schmutzig Liebe treiben,
Körper aneinander reiben.
Laß's uns wie die Tiere tun,
Hier und jetzt und nun.
Come on, baby!

Hör' gut zu was ich dir sage
Zu mir oder zu dir, das ist hier die Frage.
In der Hose ist der Teufel los,
Und du kapierst es nicht.
Ich schaue in deine Bluse, Kleines,
Du in mein Gesicht.

Laß uns schmutzig Liebe machen,
Alle diese wilden Sachen,
Die man nur aus Filmen kennt,
Die man nie beim Namen nennt.
Laß uns schmutzig Liebe treiben,
Körper aneinander reiben.
Laß's uns wie die Tiere tun,
Hier und jetzt und nun.

Saturday night, half past one
Everyone's been served, I'm the only one left
I was plucky the whole night,
I dug and looked
Beside you, you sweet girl.
We talk about films
Which your ex-boyfriend is studying
I'm almost sleeping while standing up
But pretend to be interested.
You say you fancy love films
And equestrian sports
I'm thinking, I'd also love to be a jockey
Especially if I could do it right now.

Let's make dirty love
All those wild things
Things we know only from the movies
Things we never refer to by name
Let's make dirty love
Bodies rubbing aginst each other
Let's do it like the animals do
Right here and right now
Come on, baby!

Listen well to what I'm saying to you
Your place or mine, that's the question
The devil's loose in my trousers
And you don't even know it
You may be looking in my face, honey
But I'm looking down your blouse.

Let's make dirty love
All those wild things
Things we know only from the movies
Things we never refer to by name
Let's make dirty love
Bodies rubbing aginst each other
Let's do it like the animals do
Right here and right now


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[info]rokica
2008-04-08 01:15 am UTC (link)
The deadpan delivery is part of what makes Bad Touch work. I'm also of the opinion that it's tongue-in-cheek.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

[info]psych0naut
2008-04-08 10:57 am UTC (link)
If it's tongue-in-cheek, then the deadpan delivery is also what makes it ambiguous and too mistakeable for arrogant machismo. You speak German; what do you think of "Laß uns schmutzig Liebe machen"? (My OP contains a link to the song.)

(Reply to this)(Parent)

[info]klockwerk
2008-04-09 05:24 am UTC (link)
Another good tongue-and-cheek style band/musician is punk rocker Andrew W.K.

His entire first album I Get Wet is over-the-top party style punk rocking with horrible lyrics all having to do with either ogling women or chugging beers. On top of that all the tracks sound the same.

I just can't come to the conclusion that his music is not tongue-in-cheek somehow or just manufactured to cater to head banging unintelligent punk rockers. It's impossible to take seriously, though in his live shows he gives a fairly genuine performance one would expect from this style of music.

Obligatory YouTube music video URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZyhB1-Yb4U

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