As much as I love traveling in Germany I will be the first to admit that I am just another tourist who gets giddy when I discover a piece of heaven for the first time. I always feel that I need to share it with everyone else - as if it hasn't been discovered before... A small farm in a hidden valley - a castle ruin on a remote hillside - a Gasthaus that just exudes friendliness and Gemütlichkeit. This note is not only to share a new discovery but to find out how many of you German Fodorites have already found it also. For the three decades that I have been visiting Germany I have also been evolving in my appreciation of German musik. Over the years I have become a fan of Schlager musik - first enjoying the sounds of Roger Whittaker (a man who I was astonished to find out speaks no German - other than what he sings) - then I found the sweet sounds of Angela Wiedl and for several years thought I would never find anyone better. From Angela I moved to Gaby Albrecht - Claudia Jung and finally to the more modern, husky tones of Andrea Berg. For awhile I thought Andrea was the top of the mountain for female Schlager stars. Until a few years ago when I 'discovered' this incredibly beautiful creature with the voice of a real angel - Helene Fischer. I must say that I have been totally enraptured by this gorgeous lady and her musik. She seems to have many German fan clubs but I haven't found an English one yet. I guess that's why I'm posting this on the Fodor's board - to find out if there are those amongst you who are as enchanted by this young lady as I am. I've already sold my Stammtisch group on her. Don't know her?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_xge...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsrFh...eature=related

Sounds like a German ABBA. It reminds me of what I pick up on the radio when driving around over there. She certainly is a looker.

I know them but, sorry, Schlager is not my style of music.

*Ducks and runs*

I'm with quokka on this one. Schlager is not my style, nor is the Dutch equivalent.

What quokka said.

Wow - I guess I stepped in it when I put this subject on the board. I know I should ask the question - but I'm almost afraid of your possible answers. And I think I should remove myself from saying I like 'all' Schlager. I admit that I don't care for most of it - especially the male singers and anything older than ten years. But Helene Fischer? How can someone not like that. Maybe it's a man thing - or an old man's thing. Maybe I fell in love and can't see past her beauty. One of my Stammtischers - an old German - always tells me that he can't stand Schlager. Says it's way too schmaltzy for his tastes. I'm beginning to wonder if I just don't have any taste. I know I don't care for a lot of music and most of what I listen to is considered smooth jazz. So here it is - what type of German listens to Schlager?

LOL... No German under 70 will admit in public that he or she does like Schlager.

As soon as you play these songs to an audience who is a *bit* drunk, however, you'll discover that everyone, no matter what age, knows the lyrics by heart and is able to sing along...

There are some fancy dances on certain Andrea Berg songs...

A decade or so ago, so-called "bad taste parties" with nothing but Schlager music were highly en vogue among people in their 20s and 30s...

Let's discuss this matter after a couple of beers.

I'd much prefer to sit and stare at Helene than endure an evening of listening to a bunch of fat women warble. I know Europeans are so much more sophisticated than us Americans, but opera does nothing for me at all. And that Techno stuff......

Just awful. I'm proud to say I never heard that name.
What you should listen to are things like
"Wir sind Helden"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVmXgOQNtNQ
or "Die toten Hosen" or "Die Ärzte" or...

She is sweet ;-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyaC0gs50YQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3XRbncTRc0

Bavariaben,

the majority of Germans is with you. Germany's leading radio station - WDR 4 - is a Schlager station. "Leading" means by number of regular listeners.

However, I have to admit that I personally prefer other music styles.

I'd say that Schlager music is targeted at an older, less urban audience. Think of people 50 or older in rural or small town areas.
The effect of playing Schlager music (with the possible exception of the Bad Taste Parties and a *few* camp Schlager singers) to a more urban audience would be as if you tuned into the Country classics station at a Manhattan or SF vernissage.
The alternative to Schlager is neither opera or techno, but real AC music.

Thanks Cowboy - that's pretty much the only Germans I have contact with anyway (people 50 or older in rural or small town areas). I'm just a country boy from Texas who loves rural Germany. I don't know what I was expecting to find from putting this subject on the board. I guess I'm just a little disappointed that something that I thought was pretty good is not as appreciated as I thought it would be. But hey - that's what makes the world go round. Some folks think I'm crazy for staying on farms when I travel. Different strokes for different folks. Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond... (Just awful Logos? Wow!)

>Just awful
Yeah, it's so horrible, there's just no other word for it. It's inflicting physical pain, having to listen to this "music". (And do try to translate the lyrics into English.)

And wouldn't say it's just aimed at an older or rural audience. It's aimed at "lower working class people".


Did you try "Silbermond" or "Wir sind Helden". Those otoh I believe are really good German songs.

Schlager musik: It's a bit like US country music. I know lots of Swiss who like it too.

My favourite is still: Ein bisschen Frieden and Teddy Bear. (Don't know many modern Schlagers.)

I drove by the Kastelruthspatzen Festival in Castelrotto. I've never seen such a huge tent. And it gets filled to the brim.

Many of these Schlager songs are simply translations of songs in English and other languages - originals that are widely considered acceptable even by Schlager haters. (Someone mentioned ABBA.) I think it's a problem about the German language. The lyrics of many English songs are by no means more intelligent. German texts of, for example, low-level love songs, however, usually sound extremely tacky and kitschy. Much tackier and kitschier than English ever could be.

There is worse than Schlager! Ever heard of Volksmusik, again to be divided into "Volksmusik" (old traditional songs) and "Volkstümliche Musik" (new songs in Volksmusik style). This is really music that caters for the 60+, rural and lower class people who detest 'all that English stuff' by principle because they do not speak English. Everyone else will run.
I don't mind this music in a hut in the mountains or a beer hall in Bavaria - that's where it belongs. But I do not need those almost daily Volksmusik shows on TV - ARRGGHH!

(Silbermond? That girl's voice is completely untrained, she has never learned anything about singing. No I do not like that style, or better lack thereof. There are several bands and singers who use that half-speaking "Nena style" singing and are very popular with the young generation, I have no idea why. To me they all sound alike.)

I have read that opera is an "acquired taste". I suspect that all music is an acquired taste.

A work friend asked me to start carpooling with him. His carpool members all liked different music so they decide on silence. He hated the quiet drive. He thought that I might like 90 minutes a day of "rock-a-billy" music. I politely declined, silently thinking that I would rather be beat with a stick.

Ever notice how the younger generation can sometimes listen to an older generation's music but less often the opposite is true. My kids can sing along with the temptations but I can not name a single artist that they like. It was the same between my parents and I.

Regards, Gary

So is Hansi Hinterseer a Schalger singer?

I always wondered about those German TV shows with the lipsynchers. Volksmusik! They're great for getting a glimpse of the tourist spots.

I'm glad you posted this, ben.

Hansi Hinterseer is a nightmare. He should have continued his career as a downhill skier. I don't know if he considers himself a Schlager singer.. (but he surely isn't)

Schlager died with Dieter Thomas Heck. In the sixties and seventies we had great songs and great Schlagerstars.