2002's Auswaertsspiel [away game] was a return to form for one of the two giants of popular German punk, after their album Unsterblich received a perhaps less favourable reception with critics than usual. Almost the antithesis of a depro band like EA80, The Toten Hosen used this album to write songs as varied as the stunningly beautiful 'Nur zu Besuch' about singer, Campino visiting his mother's grave, and a cover of 'Cokane in my Brain', as uncontroversial as 'Du lebst nur einmal' [you live onl...
2002's Auswaertsspiel [away game] was a return to form for one of the two giants of popular German punk, after their album Unsterblich received a perhaps less favourable reception with critics than usual. Almost the antithesis of a depro band like EA80, The Toten Hosen used this album to write songs as varied as the stunningly beautiful 'Nur zu Besuch' about singer, Campino visiting his mother's grave, and a cover of 'Cokane in my Brain', as uncontroversial as 'Du lebst nur einmal' [you live only once], and as difficult to understand as 'Kein Alkohol ist auch keine Losung' [no alcohol is also no slogan], since their lead guitarist Kuddel has reputedly had a long battle to give up alcohol. It is perhaps less of a concept album than many of the Hosen's previous, but none the worse for that, in fact there is almost a feeling of a return to the old drinking song days, except for the methinks-they-protest-a-bit-too-much 'Grave Panther' song, which positions the band as old punks looking back at their youth. The material may at times seem dark, but the music is so uplifting, that it seems liberating and even revolutionary in inspiration. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
