Das Model Explained

Das Model
Cover:Kraftwerk Das Model single cover.jpg
Caption:German sleeve
Type:single
Artist:Kraftwerk
Album:The Man-Machine
Language:German, English
Released:22 September 1978
Genre:
Length:3:38
Prev Title:Die Roboter
Prev Year:1978
Next Title:Neonlicht
Next Year:1978
The Model
Cover:Kraftwerk The Model single cover.jpg
Caption:UK sleeve
Type:single
Artist:Kraftwerk
Album:Computer World
B-Side:Computer Love
Released:7 December 1981
Genre:Synth-pop
Prev Title:Computer Love
Prev Year:1981
Next Title:Showroom Dummies
Next Year:1982

"Das Model" ("The Model" in English) is a song recorded by the German group Kraftwerk in 1978, written by musicians Ralf Hütter and Karl Bartos, with artist Emil Schult collaborating on the lyrics. It is featured on the album, Die Mensch-Maschine (known in international versions as The Man-Machine).

In 1981 the song was re-released to coincide with the release of the studio album Computerwelt (Computer World in English).[3] It reached no. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. Both the German and English versions of the song have been covered by other artists, including Snakefinger, Hikashu, Big Black and Robert.[4]

Background

The lyrics were written by Emil Schult, who was in love with a model when he wrote the song. He also composed music for the song, though it was too guitar-heavy for the musical concept of Kraftwerk and it was rewritten by Bartos and Hütter to fit the sound of the band.[5]

As with all of the songs on The Man-Machine, The Model was released in both German- and English-language versions. The lyrics are very close between two versions, with the exception of a guttural-sounding "Korrekt!" added after the line "Sie trinkt in Nachtclubs immer Sekt" in the German version. (The English lyric is "She's going out to nightclubs, drinking just champagne.") This was an in-joke by the band. In his autobiography, I Was A Robot, former Kraftwerk member Wolfgang Flür explains:

Charts

Chart (1982)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] 33
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[7] 20

Rammstein cover

Das Modell
Cover:Das modell.jpg
Border:yes
Type:single
Artist:Rammstein
Released:1997
Length:4:46
Label:Motor
Prev Title:Du hast
Prev Year:1997
Next Title:Du riechst so gut '98
Next Year:1998

German Neue Deutsche Härte and industrial metal band Rammstein covered the German version of "Das Model" in 1997 as "Das Modell". It was released as a non-album single. "Das Modell" is introduced by a French phrase spoken by film editor Mathilde Bonnefoy. The single contains three non-album tracks taken from the Sehnsucht recording sessions. In the special version of "Alter Mann", Bobo (Christiane Hebold) sings alongside Till Lindemann in the chorus.

Track listings

Promo CD

Enhanced CD

Charts

Year-end charts

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Reynolds, Simon . Simon Reynolds . 2009 . . . 978-0-5712-5227-5 . A few weeks later, another song from 1978 — Kraftwerk's 'The Model', the catchiest song on The Man-Machine — was released as a single and, as if to proclaim the Düsseldorf group's ancestral centrality for synthpop, promptly soared to number 1.
  2. Web site: Pitchfork Staff . The 100 Best Albums of the 1970s . . June 23, 2004 . But the inhumanity is suddenly broken towards the end with the wry, pop-art commentary of “The Model”.... April 16, 2023.
  3. Web site: Kraftwerk International Discography: Great Britain . https://web.archive.org/web/20060206171821/http://www.poecker.homepage.t-online.de/01/kwdisca.htm#britain . 6 February 2006.
  4. Book: Bussy, Pascal . 2004 . Kraftwerk: Man, Machine and Music . 106 . SAF . 9780946719709 . Being their most accessible song it has been covered on a number of occasions by other artists. A notable early version being by long-time Residents' collaborator Snakefinger (Philip Lithman). Other versions include one by the Japanese band Hikashu, a rock version by Big Black on their Songs About Fucking LP and the French female singer Robert who recorded a version in German..
  5. Web site: Interview .
  6. Book: Kent, David . David Kent (historian) . 1993 . Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . illustrated . Australian Chart Book . St Ives, N.S.W. . 170 . 0-646-11917-6.
  7. Book: Pennanen, Timo. Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021. 2021. Kraftwerk. 136. Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. Helsinki. 29 June 2022. fi.
  8. Web site: Jahrescharts – 1998 . Offiziellecharts.de. GfK Entertainment Charts . 9 May 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150509002431/https://www.offiziellecharts.de/charts/single-jahr/for-date-1998 . de.