We heard the news last night, and it weighed us down.  Our hearts go out to those who lost their lives at the Love Parade techno music festival in Duisburg, Germany yesterday, along with their families and friends.

Words fail.  But music doesn’t.  Almost immediately we thought of the great Clem Snide, and Eef Barzelay’s stunningly and eerily relevant song.  Different contexts and messages, perhaps, but the devastation is nonetheless  similar.  Once again Eef has provided the perfect soundtrack to our lives.

Clem Snide–The Sound of German Hip Hop

“I woke up to the sound of German hip hop in my head
A great unholy clatter quickly filling me with dread
I wondered then if silence had forever disappeared
What, with everybody yelling the end was finally here

I scrambled for the television, desperate for its light
Hoping that my favorite stars could stop this endless night
I waited for instructions, I waited for a sign
I listened very carefully when told just what to buy

Lovers became bitter, mathematicians counting crumbs
Some were filled with angry lust, the rest felt mostly numb
The sun became the enemy, they’d hunger after dark
And kill time swapping partners at a club called Noah’s Arc

Those who spoke of doom impending, suffering and such
Had found the place in people’s heart that beauty had once touched
They filled the auditorium, the tickets far from cheap
Those that couldn’t get in started fighting in the street

The day came so we gathered in a field behind the mall
A noted scientist predicted there we’d see it all
The city council members came, they told us not to fear
The king and queen of homecoming both shed a poignant tear

Just like that it happened, the starling blinked its eye
The molecules collided and became part of the sky
All my life I’ve never known a moment quite so still
Like space that’s being emptied at the same time that it’s filled

I woke up to the sound of German hip hop in the air
It sounded like a hum of insects nesting in my hair
I wasn’t so much tired but I felt that I should sleep
So I closed my eyed and mumbled something about a soul to keep”

Clem Snide–The Sound of German Hip Hop

[audio:https://www.thelefortreport.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/04-The-Sound-Of-German-Hip-Hop.mp3|titles=04 The Sound Of German Hip-Hop]

And then of course we thought of Flying Lotus’s mournful dirge, German Haircut, which seems so fitting this morning.  Peace to you.

Flying Lotus–German Haircut

[audio:https://www.thelefortreport.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/12-German-Haircut.mp3|titles=12 German Haircut]