In the continued spirit
of trying something different, today I'm going to provide
a brief history of one of my favorite songs, one usually overlooked
by English-speaking audiences. The song "Blaue Augen"
("Blue Eyes") is an odd blend of English pop, German punk,
and international new wave, a combination usually labeled Neue
Deutsche Welle ("German New Wave"). There are a variety of
bands associated with the classification, but this song, with its
unusually complicated history, involves two of the best.
The story starts with
Neonbabies, a West Berlin-based band started in 1979 by two sisters,
Annette and Inga Humpe. After quickly rising in the live circuit,
they recorded their debut EP, self-released in March 1980. This was
the first appearance of the song "Blaue Augen", but not the
last. Annette, the writer of the song in question, founded a second
band, Ideal, in early 1980, and by summer she had left Neonbabies to
focus on the new group. Annette brought the song with her, and a new
arrangement appeared on Ideal's eponymous debut album in November
1980. "Blaue Augen" became the band's second single (after
the amazing "Wir stehen auf Berlin"), and it quickly became
a hit. Meanwhile, Neonbabies kept active with Inga at the helm, and
they recorded another version for inclusion on their own debut
eponymous album, released in 1981. Both bands' debut albums were
among the best-selling independent albums in German at that time.
[Neonbabies – "I
Don't Want to Loose You" (sic) EP]
I first encountered the
original EP version on the Verschwende deine Jugend
compilation that I heard through my sister. It features Annette on
lead vocals, Inga on backing vocals, the punkiest sound of any of the
versions, and several bizarre saxophone segments. Ideal's version
naturally also features Annette's vocals, but the song was rearranged
for a more syncopated reggae rhythm. The lyrics were revised, and the
verses were downplayed in favor of a big chorus sound, featuring a
bright keyboard accompaniment. The second Neonbabies version is
similar to the original, but what it gains in higher production
values it loses in raw energy and enthusiasm. Inga takes the lead on
this version, but her voice is just a bit thinner than her sister's.
[Neonbabies.]
I still find the first
version to be the best. The vocals more consistently display the
alternation between the frustration of the verses and the excitement
of the chorus without going into excess. The Humpe sisters working
together brought their best strengths to the original arrangement,
and it rocks in a way the others don't, even if Ideal's version has a
good but different groove. I also prefer the weird saxophone over
Ideal's guitar solo.
It's worth taking a
look at the lyrics. Again, the original features the best variation,
but they're all similar. A translation of Ideal's version can be
found here
(alongside the German text), but I will provide my own translation of
the original Neonbabies text:
"Blue
Eyes"
Neonbabies
on TV
Leaves
me cold inside,
And
the whole artists' scene
Is
just too much for me.
So
I stay cool – no emotion.
Garish
rags from the 50s, 60s –
All
hollow and rotten.
I
won't be going anymore
To
Skoda or Fiorucci.
So
I stay cool – no emotion.
But
only your blue eyes
Make
me so sentimental.
Those
blue eyes!
When
you look at me
Nothing
else matters at all.
Nothing
at all!
Your
blue eyes are phenomenal.
Hard
to believe –
But
what I feel
Is
not normal anymore.
This
is dangerous, life-threatening!
So
much emotion, not cool anymore.
So
much emotion, not cool anymore.
The
insider parties put me to sleep,
And
I don't want to be in London.
I
get bored to tears
With
sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll.
I
stay cool, no emotion, no emotion!
All
the hassle for dough
Leaves
me deaf and dumb.
I
won't bend over backwards
For
a meager luxury.
Only
the Sheik is really rich.
Diligent readers may
know that love songs often bore me. However, I admire a song that can
take a common theme and twist it. "Blaue Augen" is a great
example – at face value, hearing only the chorus, one would clearly
think this is a standard love song. "But only your blue eyes /
Make me so sentimental" and "When you look at me / Nothing
else matters at all" might be the epitome of cliché, but just
consider the bridge! "This is dangerous, life-threatening"
– maybe there's more going on here!
In truth, the verses
express exhaustion and disaffection with the rock 'n' roll lifestyle.
I appreciate the anti-commercial, anti-capitalist sentiment, and I
like that she takes it to the extreme of even opposing the artistic
or musical scene that the singer is caught up in. She seems genuinely
surprised at herself for being so emotional about the titular blue
eyes, considering how worn out she sounds in regards to everything
else.
Sadly, like most songs
sung in any language except English, this song has hardly ever
received attention in the English-speaking world. As far as I can
tell, the Neonbabies versions were never even pressed in any country
except Germany, and while the album has never been reissued or
released on CD, the original version was included on the Verschwende
deine Jugend compilation in 2002. Ideal's Ideal saw
limited international release throughout Europe as the album became
more popular in Germany and Austria, but certainly never made it so
far as the USA. It was issued on CD in 1987 and reissued in 2005.
[Ideal.]
Lest one think that was
the end of the careers of the Humpe sisters, allow me to disprove
that idea. After both bands released three albums each, they split
up, but the sisters reunited briefly for the weirdo Tauchen-Prokopetz
project, also known as DÖF (Deutsch-Österreichisches Feingefühl),
then later formed Humpe & Humpe (known as Swimming with Sharks in
the UK). Both women have extensive careers as top producers in
Germany, and both still keep active with their own creative projects:
Annette can be found in Ich + Ich and Inga with 2raumwohnung.
And now that you know
more than you ever possibly wanted to know about these bands, how
about actually listening to the song? The original Neonbabies version
can be heard here
(despite the appearance of the debut album cover!) and the Ideal
version can be seen and heard here.
Sources:
Nice BLOG :))
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