Die Arzte

Left to right: Farin Urlaub, Bela B, Rodrigo Gonzalez.

Die Ärzte (lit. The Doctors) are a punk rock/pop-punk band from Berlin, Germany. Along with Die Toten Hosen (lit. The Dead Pants) they are the most successful German punk act. In the nineties they made a music video starring Lara Croft. They modestly refer to themselves as die beste Band der Welt; "the best band in the world."

For most of their career they have consisted of:

• Farin Urlaub (Vox, Guitar)
• Bela B. (Vox, drums)
• Rodrigo Gonzalez (Vox, Bass)

Formed in 1982, they broke up briefly in 1989, reuniting in 1993. They have released 11 studio albums with a twelfth planned for release in 2012. Their discography:

• Debil ("Moronic," 1984)
• Im Schatten der Ärzte ("In the Shadow of Die Ärzte," 1985)
• Die Ärzte (1986)
• Das ist nicht die ganze Wahrheit... ("That is not the whole truth...",1988)
• Die Bestie in Menschengestalt ("The beast in human form," 1993)
• Planet Punk (1995)
• Le Frisur (Gratuitous French, "The Hairstyle" 1996)
• 13 (1998)
• Runter mit den Spendierhosen, Unsichtbarer! ("Enough with the generosity, Mr. Invisible!" 2000)
• Geräusch ("Noise,"2003)
• Jazz ist anders ("Jazz is Different," 2007)
• Auch ("As well," 2012)

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Die Ärzte and their songs provide examples of:

• All Men Are Perverts: Parodied in Männer sind Schweine. The song starts with calling them the "usual" pejorative terms; pigs, rats, etc., but by the end it's the nonsensical "men are cars."
• An Aesop: Quite a few especially on their recent album "Jazz ist anders"
• Audience Participation Song: They will turn any song into this.
• Blasphemous Boast: "There is only one god: Bela Farin Rod"
• Be Yourself: The message of Lied vom Scheitern.
• Black Sheep Hit: "Nur einen Kuss" (Just One Kiss) is a surprisingly depressing ballad, especially coming from the band that brought us "Lasse redn".
  • Lampshaded on their spoof album "We don`t want the song, Farin. (...) I`ve talked to Rod and he doesn`t think it`s funny either"
• * Break Up Song : "1/2 Lovesong" of the "Please don`t go"- and "Mach die Augen zu" (Close your eyes) of the "Teetering at the brink of a breakup"-variety
• Brother-Sister Incest: Their song "Geschwisterliebe" (Siblings` Love) is the Trope Namer for the german page.
• Everything's Deader with Zombies: Farin and especially Bela are quite fond of the horror genre. Cue the "Pro Zombie Song", the !anti Zombie Song" and the video for "Junge"
• Filk Song: The "Grotesksong", a parody (or is it?) of filk protest songs.
• Heavy Metal Umlaut: Their logo is a parody of this; it's an A with three dots on top of it.
• I Am a Humanitarian: The song "Gebt Schweinen eine Chance" (lit. ~give pigs a chance) jokingly advices cannibalism against hunger and for a better world.
• Ironic Nursery Rhyme: Played for Laughs. Their song "Schlaflied" is a lullaby about... stuff that lullabies normally aren't about.
• Long Runner: They have been around (with one short break) for now 30 years. They just released the album Auch.
• Obligatory Bondage Song: Parodied in "Bitte, Bitte"
• Self-Parody: Their spoof album "Jazz ist anders - Economy Version"
• Take That: "Lied über Zensur" (Song about censorship), as well as the video to "Bitte, Bitte"
• The Pete Best: Their first bass player Sahnie. To an extend his temporary replacement, The Incredible Hagen.
• Three Chords and the Truth: Often a bit more than three chords, but often true to their punk roots.
• You Screw One Goat: Once again played for laughs in "Claudia hat `nen Schäferhund" (Claudia has got an alsatian).