{"id":3799,"date":"2024-09-03T17:10:46","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T15:10:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/?p=3799"},"modified":"2025-07-09T08:59:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T06:59:15","slug":"mdwp006-ch7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/mdwp006-ch7\/","title":{"rendered":"Popular Music, Populism in Germany, and the Politics of Critique"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 class=\"author\"><em>Mario Dunkel <a href=\"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2178-1275\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/orcid.png\" alt=\"orcid\" width=\"19\" height=\"19\" \/><\/a> , Reinhard Kopanski<\/em><\/h3>\n<p><head><\/p>\n<style>\n        .tsquotation strong {\n            font-weight: bold;\n        }\n        blockquote.tsquotation p em {\n            font-style: italic !important;\n        }\n        .bibliography {\n            margin-top: -1em !important;\n            padding-left: 22px;\n            text-indent: -22px;\n        }\n        figure {\n            margin: 0;\n        }\n    <\/style>\n<p><\/head><br \/>\n<div class=\"one_third\">\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class='bdaia-btns bdaia-btn-medium' style=\"background:#e6e1e1 !important;color:#000000 !important;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/mdwp006-ch6\/\" style=\"color:#000000 !important;\">&#129028;<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"one_third\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class='bdaia-btns bdaia-btn-medium' style=\"background:#e6e1e1 !important;color:#000000 !important;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.degruyter.com\/document\/doi\/10.1515\/9783839474303-007\/pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" style=\"color:#000000 !important;\">PDF Download<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div><div class=\"one_third last\">\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span class='bdaia-btns bdaia-btn-medium' style=\"background:#e6e1e1 !important;color:#000000 !important;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/mdwp006-ch8\" style=\"color:#000000 !important;\">&#129030;<\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"clear-fix\"><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"bdaia-toggle close\"><h4 class=\"bdaia-toggle-head toggle-head-open\"><span class=\"bdaia-sio bdaia-sio-angle-up\"><\/span><span class=\"txt\">Zitieren<\/span><\/h4><h4 class=\"bdaia-toggle-head toggle-head-close\"><span class=\"bdaia-sio bdaia-sio-angle-down\"><\/span><span class=\"txt\">Zitieren<\/span><\/h4><div class=\"toggle-content\"><p>\n<div id=\"zotpress-39ed7577439005884f28d55cbac56d03\" class=\"zp-Zotpress zp-Zotpress-Bib wp-block-group\">\n\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_API_USER_ID ZP_ATTR\">4511395<\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_ITEM_KEY ZP_ATTR\">{4511395:KTR46ZII}<\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_COLLECTION_ID ZP_ATTR\"><\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_TAG_ID ZP_ATTR\"><\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_AUTHOR ZP_ATTR\"><\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_YEAR ZP_ATTR\"><\/span>\n        <span class=\"ZP_ITEMTYPE ZP_ATTR\"><\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_INCLUSIVE ZP_ATTR\">1<\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_STYLE ZP_ATTR\">chicago-author-date-16th-edition<\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_LIMIT ZP_ATTR\">50<\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_SORTBY ZP_ATTR\">default<\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_ORDER ZP_ATTR\"><\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_TITLE ZP_ATTR\"><\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_SHOWIMAGE ZP_ATTR\"><\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_SHOWTAGS ZP_ATTR\"><\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_DOWNLOADABLE ZP_ATTR\">1<\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_NOTES ZP_ATTR\"><\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_ABSTRACT ZP_ATTR\"><\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_CITEABLE ZP_ATTR\">1<\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_TARGET ZP_ATTR\"><\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_URLWRAP ZP_ATTR\"><\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZP_FORCENUM ZP_ATTR\"><\/span>\n        <span class=\"ZP_HIGHLIGHT ZP_ATTR\"><\/span>\n        <span class=\"ZP_POSTID ZP_ATTR\">3799<\/span>\n\t\t<span class=\"ZOTPRESS_PLUGIN_URL ZP_ATTR\">https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/zotpress\/<\/span>\n\n\t\t<div class=\"zp-List loading\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"zp-SEO-Content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"ZP_JSON ZP_ATTR\">%7B%22status%22%3A%22success%22%2C%22updateneeded%22%3Afalse%2C%22instance%22%3Afalse%2C%22meta%22%3A%7B%22request_last%22%3A0%2C%22request_next%22%3A0%2C%22used_cache%22%3Atrue%7D%2C%22data%22%3A%5B%7B%22key%22%3A%22KTR46ZII%22%2C%22library%22%3A%7B%22id%22%3A4511395%7D%2C%22meta%22%3A%7B%22creatorSummary%22%3A%22Dunkel%20and%20Kopanski%22%2C%22parsedDate%22%3A%222024%22%2C%22numChildren%22%3A0%7D%2C%22bib%22%3A%22%26lt%3Bdiv%20class%3D%26quot%3Bcsl-bib-body%26quot%3B%20style%3D%26quot%3Bline-height%3A%201.35%3B%20padding-left%3A%201em%3B%20text-indent%3A-1em%3B%26quot%3B%26gt%3B%5Cn%20%20%26lt%3Bdiv%20class%3D%26quot%3Bcsl-entry%26quot%3B%26gt%3BDunkel%2C%20Mario%2C%20and%20Reinhard%20Kopanski.%202024.%20%26%23x201C%3BPopular%20Music%2C%20Populism%20in%20Germany%2C%20and%20the%20Politics%20of%20Critique.%26%23x201D%3B%20In%20%26lt%3Bi%26gt%3BPopulismus%20Kritisieren.%20Kunst%20%26%23x2013%3B%20Politik%20%26%23x2013%3B%20Geschlecht%26lt%3B%5C%2Fi%26gt%3B%2C%20edited%20by%20Evelyn%20Annu%26%23xDF%3B%2C%20Ralf%20Von%20Appen%2C%20Sarah%20Chaker%2C%20Silke%20Felber%2C%20Andrea%20Glauser%2C%20Therese%20Kaufmann%2C%20and%20Susanne%20Lettow%2C%2083%26%23x2013%3B100.%20Wien%20und%20Bielefeld%3A%20mdwPress.%20%26lt%3Ba%20class%3D%26%23039%3Bzp-ItemURL%26%23039%3B%20href%3D%26%23039%3Bhttps%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fdoi.org%5C%2F10.1515%5C%2F9783839474303-007%26%23039%3B%26gt%3Bhttps%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fdoi.org%5C%2F10.1515%5C%2F9783839474303-007%26lt%3B%5C%2Fa%26gt%3B.%20%26lt%3Ba%20title%3D%26%23039%3BCite%20in%20RIS%20Format%26%23039%3B%20class%3D%26%23039%3Bzp-CiteRIS%26%23039%3B%20data-zp-cite%3D%26%23039%3Bapi_user_id%3D4511395%26amp%3Bitem_key%3DKTR46ZII%26%23039%3B%20href%3D%26%23039%3Bjavascript%3Avoid%280%29%3B%26%23039%3B%26gt%3BCite%26lt%3B%5C%2Fa%26gt%3B%20%26lt%3B%5C%2Fdiv%26gt%3B%5Cn%26lt%3B%5C%2Fdiv%26gt%3B%22%2C%22data%22%3A%7B%22itemType%22%3A%22bookSection%22%2C%22title%22%3A%22Popular%20Music%2C%20Populism%20in%20Germany%2C%20and%20the%20Politics%20of%20Critique%22%2C%22creators%22%3A%5B%7B%22creatorType%22%3A%22editor%22%2C%22firstName%22%3A%22Evelyn%22%2C%22lastName%22%3A%22Annu%5Cu00df%22%7D%2C%7B%22creatorType%22%3A%22editor%22%2C%22firstName%22%3A%22Ralf%20Von%22%2C%22lastName%22%3A%22Appen%22%7D%2C%7B%22creatorType%22%3A%22editor%22%2C%22firstName%22%3A%22Sarah%22%2C%22lastName%22%3A%22Chaker%22%7D%2C%7B%22creatorType%22%3A%22editor%22%2C%22firstName%22%3A%22Silke%22%2C%22lastName%22%3A%22Felber%22%7D%2C%7B%22creatorType%22%3A%22editor%22%2C%22firstName%22%3A%22Andrea%22%2C%22lastName%22%3A%22Glauser%22%7D%2C%7B%22creatorType%22%3A%22editor%22%2C%22firstName%22%3A%22Therese%22%2C%22lastName%22%3A%22Kaufmann%22%7D%2C%7B%22creatorType%22%3A%22editor%22%2C%22firstName%22%3A%22Susanne%22%2C%22lastName%22%3A%22Lettow%22%7D%2C%7B%22creatorType%22%3A%22author%22%2C%22firstName%22%3A%22Mario%22%2C%22lastName%22%3A%22Dunkel%22%7D%2C%7B%22creatorType%22%3A%22author%22%2C%22firstName%22%3A%22Reinhard%22%2C%22lastName%22%3A%22Kopanski%22%7D%5D%2C%22abstractNote%22%3A%22%22%2C%22bookTitle%22%3A%22Populismus%20kritisieren.%20Kunst%20%5Cu2013%20Politik%20%5Cu2013%20Geschlecht%22%2C%22date%22%3A%222024%22%2C%22originalDate%22%3A%22%22%2C%22originalPublisher%22%3A%22%22%2C%22originalPlace%22%3A%22%22%2C%22format%22%3A%22%22%2C%22ISBN%22%3A%229783839474303%22%2C%22DOI%22%3A%22%22%2C%22citationKey%22%3A%22%22%2C%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fdoi.org%5C%2F10.1515%5C%2F9783839474303-007%22%2C%22ISSN%22%3A%22%22%2C%22language%22%3A%22%22%2C%22collections%22%3A%5B%22BDIAKMPB%22%5D%2C%22dateModified%22%3A%222024-08-29T10%3A39%3A41Z%22%7D%7D%5D%7D<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"zp-ID-3799-4511395-KTR46ZII\" data-zp-author-date='Dunkel-and-Kopanski-2024' data-zp-date-author='2024-Dunkel-and-Kopanski' data-zp-date='2024' data-zp-year='2024' data-zp-itemtype='bookSection' class=\"zp-Entry zpSearchResultsItem\">\n<div class=\"csl-bib-body\" style=\"line-height: 1.35; padding-left: 1em; text-indent:-1em;\">\n  <div class=\"csl-entry\">Dunkel, Mario, and Reinhard Kopanski. 2024. \u201cPopular Music, Populism in Germany, and the Politics of Critique.\u201d In <i>Populismus Kritisieren. Kunst \u2013 Politik \u2013 Geschlecht<\/i>, edited by Evelyn Annu\u00df, Ralf Von Appen, Sarah Chaker, Silke Felber, Andrea Glauser, Therese Kaufmann, and Susanne Lettow, 83\u2013100. Wien und Bielefeld: mdwPress. <a class='zp-ItemURL' href='https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1515\/9783839474303-007'>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1515\/9783839474303-007<\/a>. <a title='Cite in RIS Format' class='zp-CiteRIS' data-zp-cite='api_user_id=4511395&item_key=KTR46ZII' href='javascript:void(0);'>Cite<\/a> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .zp-Entry .zpSearchResultsItem -->\n\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .zp-zp-SEO-Content -->\n\t\t<\/div><!-- .zp-List -->\n\t<\/div><!--.zp-Zotpress-->\n\n\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"bdaia-toggle close\"><h4 class=\"bdaia-toggle-head toggle-head-open\"><span class=\"bdaia-sio bdaia-sio-angle-up\"><\/span><span class=\"txt\">Abstract<\/span><\/h4><h4 class=\"bdaia-toggle-head toggle-head-close\"><span class=\"bdaia-sio bdaia-sio-angle-down\"><\/span><span class=\"txt\">Abstract<\/span><\/h4><div class=\"toggle-content\"><p>\nIn this chapter, we first seek to define the nexus of popular music and populism. We argue that musical performances of populism cannot be reduced to party politics or musical politics, but that they are are widespread in popular music culture, both in Germany and beyond. Against the backdrop of this broad approach to the field of popular music and populism, we ask: what does it mean to critique populism in (German-language) popular music? And what are the challenges of critiquing populism in popular music?<br \/>\nWe discuss these questions by focusing on the music video \u201cDer Osten rockt\u201d (2015) by the East German Deutschrock band Goitzsche Front, one of the most popular and successful Deutschrock bands since the early 2010s. We demonstrate how the music video of \u201cDer Osten rockt\u201d exemplifies a specific variety of populist performances based on the construction of an East German underdog identity. Based on our analysis of this video, we argue that developing a nuanced understanding of practices of critique inherent in populist performances is a prerequisite for a differentiated critique of populism.<br \/>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"bdaia-toggle close\"><h4 class=\"bdaia-toggle-head toggle-head-open\"><span class=\"bdaia-sio bdaia-sio-angle-up\"><\/span><span class=\"txt\">\u00dcber die Autoren<\/span><\/h4><h4 class=\"bdaia-toggle-head toggle-head-close\"><span class=\"bdaia-sio bdaia-sio-angle-down\"><\/span><span class=\"txt\">\u00dcber die Autoren<\/span><\/h4><div class=\"toggle-content\"><p>\n<strong>Prof. Dr. Mario Dunkel<\/strong>\u00a0is\u00a0professor\u00a0of music education at the Music Department of the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Germany. He holds a PhD in American studies from TU Dortmund University. His main research areas are music and politics, the history and practice of jazz, as well as transcultural music pedagogy. He was the principal investigator of the European research project \u00bbPopular Music and the Rise of Populism in Europe\u00ab (2019-2023, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation).<br \/>\n<strong>Dr. Reinhard Kopanski<\/strong> holds a PhD in musicology from the University of Siegen; his dissertation was published in March 2022 (Bezugnahmen auf den Nationalsozialismus in der popul\u00e4ren Musik. Lesarten zu Laibach, Death In June, Feindflug, Rammstein und Marduk. M\u00fcnster: Waxmann). His fields of research include (amongst others) music and politics\/ideology\/religion, metal music, music and technology. He was the scientific coordinator of the research project \u00bbPopular Music and the Rise of Populism in Europe\u00ab and is associated member of the Collaborative Research Centre SFB 1472 \u00bbTransformationen des Popul\u00e4ren\u00ab.<br \/>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"bdaia-toggle close\"><h4 class=\"bdaia-toggle-head toggle-head-open\"><span class=\"bdaia-sio bdaia-sio-angle-up\"><\/span><span class=\"txt\">\u00dcbersicht<\/span><\/h4><h4 class=\"bdaia-toggle-head toggle-head-close\"><span class=\"bdaia-sio bdaia-sio-angle-down\"><\/span><span class=\"txt\">\u00dcbersicht<\/span><\/h4><div class=\"toggle-content\"><p>\n<a href=\"#1\">1. Introduction<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#2\">2. Critiquing Populism, Populism as Critique<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#3\">3. Populist Aesthetics in Goitzsche Front\u2019s \u201cDer Osten rockt<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#4\">4. Conclusion<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#5\">References<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#6\">Discography<\/a><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<hr>\n<h4 id=\"1\">1. Introduction<\/h4>\n<p>The term populism is currently omnipresent. Politicians are quick to criticise statements and demands made by their colleagues as populist, and it is difficult to keep track of the number of academic papers, scientific articles, and journalistic writings on populism. In public discourse, at least in Germany, where the term is strongly associated with the political right, populism has predominantly negative connotations. It also tends to be used in association with party politics in general and the party Alternative for Germany (AfD) in particular.<a href=\"#fn1\" class=\"footnote-ref\" id=\"fnref1\" role=\"doc-noteref\"><sup>1<\/sup><\/a> Although populism in Germany cannot be reduced to the AfD, it is worth mentioning that music does play an important role in the party\u2019s politics. The AfD\u2019s musical strategy mostly relies on appropriating music that is not directly related to the party for their own purposes. As we have demonstrated elsewhere, the AfD\u2019s musical strategies include the use of populist songs by mainstream artists such as Reinhard Mey, Gunter Gabriel (Dunkel 2021a, 129), and Xavier Naidoo (Dunkel and Kopanski, forthcoming), appropriating German-language folk music (in particular the music of the mid-19<sup>th<\/sup> century democratisation movement), Hollywood film music, German Schlager, and German classical music (e.g. Richard Wagner). In addition, their strategy includes the creation of sonic \u201cthreat scenarios\u201d \u2013 for instance by playing Islamic religious music at demonstrations (Dunkel 2021b, 154).<\/p>\n<p>However, the AfD is not the sole representative of populism in Germany and the populism of the AfD is not equivalent to other kinds of populism we may find endorsed in the vast field of popular music. Elements of populism are widespread in popular music beyond party politics, and they are by no means limited to the political right. In this chapter, we will therefore take a broader view of the relation between popular music and populism in Germany. Against the backdrop of such a vast field, what does it mean to critique populism in (German-language) popular music? What are the challenges of critiquing populism in popular music?<\/p>\n<p>We would like to discuss these questions by focusing on the song and music video \u201cDer Osten rockt\u201d (in English: \u201cEast Germany rocks\u201d) (2013) by the Deutschrock band Goitzsche Front, which, we argue, can be approached by applying the frame of populism \u2013 but not necessarily right-wing populism. \u201cDer Osten rockt\u201d is one of the band\u2019s best-known songs: by March 2023, it had been streamed about five million times on Spotify and the official music video has had more than 10 million views on YouTube since its release (Goitzsche Front 2013). We chose the video clip for three reasons: first, Goitzsche Front is representative of a number of bands from the genre of so-called \u2018Neuer Deutschrock\u2019, many of which are highly successful in German-speaking countries. Second, many of these bands \u2013 including Goitzsche Front \u2013 are criticised by both anti-fascist and centrist writers for allegedly providing affordances for right-wing populism (e.g. Betzin 2016; Sommer 2018a; Majewsky and dpa 2020). Third, this video clip, in particular, is interesting because it contains numerous (nostalgic, but also ironic) references to the German Democratic Republic (GDR). We argue that popular music with populist affordances should be approached as a form of critique which we need to take seriously when critiquing populism. Formulating such a critique requires a nuanced concept of populism.<a href=\"#fn2\" class=\"footnote-ref\" id=\"fnref2\" role=\"doc-noteref\"><sup>2<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<h4 id=\"2\">2. Critiquing Populism, Populism as Critique<\/h4>\n<p>There are quite divergent scholarly approaches to populism. It has been defined as a historically grounded social movement dating back to the People\u2019s Party in the late-nineteenth-century US (Postel 2009; Kazin 2017; Goodwyn 1976), a type of economic policy (Dornbusch and Edwards 1991), a communication style (Block and Negrine 2017), a political strategy (Weyland 2017), a \u201cthin-centred\u201d ideology (Mudde and Kaltwasser 2013), a discourse (Wodak, KhosraviNik, and Mral 2013; Laclau 2005), and a performative style (Moffitt 2016). It has also been subclassified into various varieties: left-wing, right-wing, inclusionary, exclusionary, Latin American and European, among others (Rovira Kaltwasser et al. 2017; Moffitt 2020).<\/p>\n<p>Despite these differences, there is a broad consensus in populism research that populism is based on a binary distinction between two groups: \u2018the people\u2019 and \u2018the elite\u2019. These two groups are conceived as being antagonistic to each another (Moffitt 2020). This antagonism can be described as primarily vertical: cast as a \u2018power bloc\u2019, \u2018the elite\u2019 is placed on top of the social order, seeking to maintain its hegemony by exerting control over \u2018the people\u2019 at the bottom (De Cleen and Stavrakakis 2017; 2020). Importantly, we do not regard populism as an inherent threat to democracy, or as essentially anti-pluralist or anti-democratic. Our approach thus differs from what may be termed a \u201cpopulism as threat\u201d-approach, which is popular in German-speaking contexts and is associated with political scientist Jan-Werner M\u00fcller (2016) and the populism surveys (\u201cPopulismus-Barometer\u201d) of the Bertelsmann foundation (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2020). In our view, such a generalizing perspective on populism as an inherent social threat risks actually being elitist itself, since it entails an attribution of the roots of illiberalism and anti-pluralism to political phenomena that are primarily characterised by their determination to oppose an elite. By contrast, we hold that populism is highly adaptable; it may have authoritarian and egalitarian, anti-democratic and democratizing functions, varying from case to case.<\/p>\n<p>We mostly draw on discursive-performative approaches to populism. Developed by the political theorist Benjamin Moffitt (2020) and drawing on Ernesto Laclau\u2019s (2005) discursive definition of populism, discursive-performative approaches focus on how populist discourses and performances articulate, affirm, and emotionally charge \u2018the people\u2019, \u2018the elite\u2019, and elements that help to construct the antagonism between these groups. Populist performances, for instance, may negotiate group identities, group resentments, and affective communities or \u201ccommunities of feeling\u201d (Berezin 2002). A shared group identity of \u2018the people\u2019 can, for instance, be constituted by what populism researcher Pierre Ostiguy (2017, 73) has called the \u201cflaunting of the low\u201d \u2013 that is the celebration and circulation of what is widely considered lowbrow: seemingly \u201cbad\u201d manners, transgressive and uncouth behavior, coarse language, rawness, disregard for social etiquette, and so on. The \u201clow\u201d, in Ostiguy\u2019s sense, is a culturally relative concept; it can be framed differently depending on its cultural and historical context (Ostiguy 2017, 73). In general, however, the performance of antagonistic styles and aesthetics is a central aspect of populism. In addition, although populism is not nationalist in and of itself, it is often enmeshed with a potentially wide range of other political discourses, which may include socialism, nativism, and nationalism, among other discourses (Moffitt 2020).<\/p>\n<p>In European and US contexts, the last decade has seen the rise of what Lawrence Rosenthal (2020) calls \u201cpopulism\u2019s toxic embrace of nationalism\u201d. We may add that populism and xenophobic nationalism had embraced one another long before the 2010s \u2013 if we think of Austrian politician J\u00f6rg Haider, for instance.<a href=\"#fn3\" class=\"footnote-ref\" id=\"fnref3\" role=\"doc-noteref\"><sup>3<\/sup><\/a> However, the large-scale rise of far-right populist discourses throughout European countries is a rather recent phenomenon. Many factors have been identified that led to this development, from the political response to the financial crisis of the late 2000s, and the neoliberal financial regime that caused this crisis, to an increase in economic insecurity, the erosion of the welfare state, changes in migration dynamics (such as the so-called refugee crisis of 2015), larger technological transformations and developments in media culture (Wodak, KhosraviNik, and Mral 2013, xvii; Reckwitz 2019), progressive value change leading to a far-right populist backlash (Inglehart and Norris 2019), and the diminishing influence of an \u201cold establishment\u201d in various social, political, and economic sectors (Levitsky and Ziblatt 2018), among others.<\/p>\n<p>Notwithstanding these explanations, we hold that the large-scale popular success of populism and nationalism would be unthinkable without corresponding changes on a cultural level \u2013 in the structures of feeling, systems of meaning, and orders of knowledge with which people make sense of their everyday lives. Popular music is a fundamental aspect of those changes. Popular music culture not only provides a realm in which politics, in a narrow sense as the business of government and party politics, is reflected upon, but is also political itself in a broader sense, as it helps to create bonds between people, to form affective communities, and to negotiate interests and meanings. As John Street, Sara Inthorn and Martin Scott (2013, 4) emphasise, the practices of popular culture \u201care closely allied with the ways in which citizenship is lived\u201d.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"3\">3. Populist Aesthetics in Goitzsche Front\u2019s \u201cDer Osten rockt\u201d<\/h4>\n<p>Performances of populism in popular music that lack a direct association with political programmes are difficult to pinpoint and assess. For this reason, they may prove to be quite instructive when discussing the intricacies of critiquing populism. In our view, populist affordances in popular music are exemplified in the music video \u201cDer Osten rockt\u201d (2013) by the East German rock band Goitzsche Front (see Dunkel 2021a). The band is anything but a niche phenomenon on the German music market. After forming in 2009 in the East German town of Bitterfeld-Wolfen (Saxony-Anhalt), the band achieved its first major chart success in 2016 with the album <em>Mo[nu]ment<\/em>. Since then, three of the band\u2019s albums have been in the Top 10 of the German album charts. <em>Deines Gl\u00fcckes Schmied<\/em> [Smith of Your Happiness] (2018) made it to first place of the German charts, and the album <em>Ostgold<\/em> (2020) reached second place.<a href=\"#fn4\" class=\"footnote-ref\" id=\"fnref4\" role=\"doc-noteref\"><sup>4<\/sup><\/a> The band\u2019s live album, <em>Live in Berlin<\/em>, released in December 2020, is their most recent chart success.<\/p>\n<p>Musically, Goitzsche Front can be located in a development that has been called \u2018New Deutschrock\u2019 or \u2018Neuer Deutschrock\u2019 (Hindrichs 2014, 156). However, this genre designation, like many genre labels, is quite inadequate. On the one hand, it is understood to comprise those bands that oriented themselves thematically and stylistically to the B\u00f6hse Onkelz<a href=\"#fn5\" class=\"footnote-ref\" id=\"fnref5\" role=\"doc-noteref\"><sup>5<\/sup><\/a> in the 2000s and 2010s and tried to build on their success. Among the most popular bands of this kind are the South Tyrolean groups Frei.Wild, Unantastbar, and a number of other groups with similar aesthetics and themes, including a self-staging as underdogs antagonizing an elite. In particular, the band Frei.Wild has been criticised widely in this context for their ethnonationalist songs (e.g. Schiedel 2014; B\u00fcchner 2019) \u2013 and ethnonationalism is not uncommon among other bands in the scene<a href=\"#fn6\" class=\"footnote-ref\" id=\"fnref6\" role=\"doc-noteref\"><sup>6<\/sup><\/a> (see Hindrichs 2014). On the other hand, the popularity of Frei.Wild should not narrow the view of the entire \u2018Neuer Deutschrock\u2019 scene too much. For example, leftist bands with strong punk rock leanings, such as the Broilers, could also be subsumed under this label (Ahlig 2012). In recent years, there have also been political disputes within the scene. \u2018Neue Deutschrock\u2019 bands such as Berliner Weisse have repeatedly attacked Neo-Nazis in their lyrics (ASP n.d.)<a href=\"#fn7\" class=\"footnote-ref\" id=\"fnref7\" role=\"doc-noteref\"><sup>7<\/sup><\/a>, and the band Haudegen has sharply criticised Frei.Wild and other bands of the ethnonationalist spectrum (Sommer 2018b).<\/p>\n<p>Goitzsche Front must be regarded against the backdrop of these developments within the scene. Although the group is not known for actively criticizing the political attitudes of specific bands, it has clearly distanced itself from Nazism and the alt-right. To give just one example, singer Pascal Bock said in a documentary produced by Central German Broadcasting (MDR): \u201cI am against hatred and racism and things like that. I don\u2019t know if this point of view is left-wing. If one speaks out against the political right, that one is automatically a leftist, I don\u2019t know. The fact is, if that is the case, well then I am a leftist.\u201d (Lakato\u0161 2021, 8:59, our translation).<a href=\"#fn8\" class=\"footnote-ref\" id=\"fnref8\" role=\"doc-noteref\"><sup>8<\/sup><\/a> Goitzsche Front achieved their commercial breakthrough following Frei.Wild\u2019s wave of success in the early 2010s, when three consecutive albums of the South Tyrolean band reached first place in the German album charts. Like Frei.Wild, Goitzsche Front turned their local origins into a trademark from the very beginning. Even the name, which derives from the Goitzsche open pit mine in the Bitterfeld mining district that was closed shortly after reunification, refers to the region where the band members grew up and live.<a href=\"#fn9\" class=\"footnote-ref\" id=\"fnref9\" role=\"doc-noteref\"><sup>9<\/sup><\/a> Subsequently, the construction of a larger, \u201cEast German\u201d identity became one of the band\u2019s most important themes. The band\u2019s last major German tours were titled \u201cOstgold\u201d and \u201cOstgold Part 2\u201d, and the music video for the track \u201cDer Osten rockt\u201d is one of the band\u2019s most popular videos. However, the \u201coi\u201d in the band\u2019s name can also be read as a reference to the \u2018Oi!\u2019 music style \u2013 a common naming practice within this music scene (e.g. Loikaemie). The music of Goitzsche Front also echoes \u2018Oi!\u2019 music stylistically. The scant, simple, but robust guitar sounds as well as the singer\u2019s brusque, abrasive vocal style recall central \u2018Oi!\u2019 music characteristics. In addition, the band thematically refers to \u2018Oi!\u2019 music: The vocals glorify masculinity and excessive drinking, for instance, although in an ambivalent way that seems at the same time affirmative and playfully tongue-in-cheek.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDer Osten rockt\u201d is essentially staged as a performance clip with some narrative elements. It starts with the arrival of three band members who stop in an old car \u2013 a Wartburg 353<a href=\"#fn10\" class=\"footnote-ref\" id=\"fnref10\" role=\"doc-noteref\"><sup>10<\/sup><\/a> from the GDR \u2013 in front of the entrance to a run-down warehouse. The predominant colour is grey, the windows of a building opposite the warehouse are secured with heavy iron bars holding a basketball hoop. Weeds have taken root in the cracks in the walls, and the street seems to be in need of repair (Goitzsche Front 2013, 0:08). The band members get out of the car and walk towards the warehouse gate. The singer knocks at the entrance (Goitzsche Front 2013, 0:22), whereupon the door opens and the three men go inside. In the warehouse, they are welcomed by a small, cheering crowd while the band\u2019s drummer is already playing the drums inside, providing a somewhat brash, metallic soundtrack to the video\u2019s first scenes before the beginning of the actual song.<\/p>\n<p>The musicians walk to a stage set up on the loading platforms of two lorries parked back to back, where they join their drummer. After the singer puts his foot on a black-and-white television in which a carefully reproduced scene from the film <em>Go Trabi Go<\/em> (Timm 1991) is screened (Goitzsche Front 2013, 0:43), the band begins to play.<a href=\"#fn11\" class=\"footnote-ref\" id=\"fnref11\" role=\"doc-noteref\"><sup>11<\/sup><\/a> This is followed by shots alternately showing the band or individual musicians and the audience, consisting of 20\u201350 people. Some shots show how concertgoers are drinking beer from plastic cups. The predominantly male audience is made up of young adults whose visual appearance evokes reminiscences of both punk and skinhead aesthetics (Goitzsche Front 2013, 0:49; 1:13; 2:35). Only a few shots show women singing along and moving rhythmically to the music (Goitzsche Front 2013, 1:14). While the band is performing the song, there are individual shots showing a mechanic working on a car with a welding machine (Goitzsche Front 2013, 1:00) and the bass player smashing an acoustic guitar on a wooden block in a decrepit backyard (Goitzsche Front 2013, 1:30). About halfway into the song, some of the male audience members start pogoing. Until the end of the song, such shots can be seen repeatedly (Goitzsche Front 2013, 2:35). In the third verse, there is a change of place: now the singer is driving around in a Trabant car (Goitzsche Front 2013, 2:16). This is followed by a shot of the band toasting with bottled beer. The rest of the video clip again consists of shots of the band and its audience, with individual shots showing the guitarist playing his instrument in the body of a Trabant car suspended on chains (Goitzsche Front 2013, 2:39).<\/p>\n<p>Drawing on a performative concept of populism, it would be quite accurate to describe the aesthetics of this video as populist. The video helps to construct a proud \u201cEast German\u201d identity in contrast to an unnamed other. The visuals underscore this trope of East German pride. The tattoo \u201cProud\u201d on the singer\u2019s upper arm is clearly visible in several shots (Goitzsche Front 2013, 2:51). In addition, the chorus says: \u201cWe will show you what it means to be an East German.\u201d (\u201cWir werden es Euch zeigen, was es hei\u00dft, ein Ossi zu sein\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>Although it remains unclear who is being addressed in the second person, the piece generates the \u2018us vs. them\u2019 antagonism common in populism, in order to articulate and celebrate a shared group identity. The self-designation as \u201cOssi\u201d is remarkable, as the term \u2013 at least in West Germany \u2013 is used rather pejoratively for people from the GDR. In the song, however, the term serves as a proud affirmation of an East German identity. This identity hinges on positive reinterpretations of objects that are commonly regarded as backward, worthless, and out of date, but are held in high esteem by people in the video, who are staged as local. This is facilitated by the video clip\u2019s setting, a large workshop hall, where GDR Trabant cars are repaired. The black-and-white television that is sitting on the stage and playing the film <em>Go Trabi Go<\/em> seems technologically antique. The film clip shown at the beginning of the music video \u2013 in which a father from the town of Bitterfeld tells his daughter<a href=\"#fn12\" class=\"footnote-ref\" id=\"fnref12\" role=\"doc-noteref\"><sup>12<\/sup><\/a> \u201cto turn off this monkey music\u201d (Goitzsche Front 2013, 0:40) \u2013 can certainly be read as an example of nostalgia or \u201costalgia\u201d (nostalgia for the GDR) (see Littlejohn and Putnam 2010). However, it also exemplifies a West German gaze transfiguring a supposedly East German culture after the fall of the Berlin wall. After all, <em>Go Trabi Go<\/em> was central to derisive West German depictions of an ostensibly East German awkwardness and provinciality. The film excerpt suggests that the second person in the line \u201cWe will show you what it means to be an Ossi\u201d may indeed indicate a West German addressee and that the song\u2019s main antagonism is between an underdog East German position and a vaguely insinuated, potentially West German elite. Music, lyrics, and visuals combine to create an intermedial narrative style which, in the course of the video, serves to revaluate cultural artefacts that are read as \u201cEast German\u201d, constituting an ostensible \u201cEast Germanness\u201d that is imbued with defiance and pride. This includes references to the welding work on cars associated with working-class aesthetics, as well as to the simple clothing styles of band members and concertgoers, and to toasting and \u201cpogoing\u201d exclusively with bottled beer. If populism has to do with the enactment of a transgressive style that distinguishes one\u2019s own group from an \u201celite\u201d \u2013 \u201cthe flaunting of the low\u201d, to cite Ostiguy again (2017, 73) \u2013 then this music video exemplifies a central aspect of populist aesthetics. East Germany is not only a geographical region here, but it is also a marker of a classed identity.<\/p>\n<p>The distinction between the in-group (\u201cus\u201d) and the out-group (\u201cthem\u201d) is also performed via the prism of gender. Both the band and the majority of the audience consist of (white) men; the welding is done by men; and self-pride is likewise associated with pride in one\u2019s own masculinity. Men are clearly in charge in this video. A sign reading \u201cI Love My Penis\u201d hangs from the rearview mirror of a Trabant driven by the lead singer, and the lyrics praise East German men for having \u201cthe hottest chicks and concerts\u201d (\u201cwir haben die geilsten Weiber, Konzerte sowieso\u201d). The sexism at play here, even if it is performed with a degree of self-irony, serves to assert male dominance. At the same time, it also functions as a marker of social distinction. The trashiness of the singer\u2019s \u201cI Love My Penis\u201d sign, for instance, not only distinguishes men from women, but it also separates the band\u2019s social milieu, characterised by the performance of male sexual pride, from other milieus. It is a performance of transgressive \u201cbad manners\u201d \u2013 of the flaunting of the low \u2013 as much as it is a performance of male power. Class, social milieu, and gender are inextricably entwined here.<\/p>\n<p>A problematisation of \u201cDer Osten rockt\u201d as nationalistic is supported especially by the inherent nativism evoked by lines like \u201cour homeland, yes we were born here\u201d (\u201cunsere Heimat, ja hier sind wir gebor\u2019n\u201d), which are quite common in the genre of \u2018Neuer Deutschrock\u2019. According to this line, people who were not born in East Germany do not belong to the in-group \u2013 no matter how long they have lived there. The nativism inherent in this line ethnicises the notion of belonging to a region, so that not only people who were not born in East Germany, but also people with a migration history are excluded. Moreover, the song contains various catchwords that can also be found in the lyrics of far-right bands, such as the notion of an \u201cunbroken will that still lives in us today.\u201d The absolute will (to the cause) is a central pillar of National Socialist ideology and a motif often used in so-called \u201cRechtsrock\u201d (e.g. Sleipnir <em>Glaube &amp; Wille<\/em> [Eng. <em>Faith &amp; Will<\/em>], 2017). Phrases like \u201chold up the flag\u201d are similarly reminiscent of National Socialist songs, such as the \u201cHorst-Wessel-Lied\u201d, and overlap with the language of the extreme right. The musical style of Goitzsche Front also creates sonic similarities to the \u2018Oi!\u2019 genre \u2013 and may therefore echo the sound of far-right bands within this genre \u2013 despite the fact that the genre is actually politically quite diverse (see Worley 2013, 606). In sum, from an ideology-critical perspective, the song conveys a form of nativism that, if it remains unfractured, lends itself to ethnonationalist uses.<\/p>\n<p>A reading of this video as an example of ethnonationalism, however, is complicated by some major differences between Goitzsche Front and songs by such bands as Frei.Wild that do reaffirm ethnonationalism: first, the song lyrics and the music video accentuate how the concept of \u201cOssi\u201d is constructed as that of a <em>social<\/em> group rather than as an ethnic one \u2013 even though these categories are at times blurry, as the association of home and birthplace suggests. Nonetheless, the video performs East Germanness as a primarily social category, with references to cultural practices rather than unfractured transhistorical continuity, family lineage, and ancestry. Consider the selection of <em>Go Trabi Go<\/em>, for instance. Not only is the film excerpt a gesture of self-ironic mockery, but the sequence also underscores generational conflict between a father and his daughter rather than family unison. Second, despite the \u2018us vs. them\u2019 antagonism, the song does not devalue the outgroup. Quite the contrary, the line \u201cWe will show you\u201d contains a reference to representation: it centers on a struggle for recognition that depends on, and thus includes, the addressee. Third, (self-)ironic refractions are prevalent in the work of Goitzsche Front. Consider how the bassist plays with performances of hypermasculinity by awkwardly smashing a wooden guitar in a backyard. In the song \u201cMen Made of Steel\u201d (\u201cM\u00e4nner aus Stahl\u201d), the band ironically celebrates East German Trabant cars. singing \u201cOnly men made of steel \/ Drive cars made of cardboard\u201d (\u201cNur M\u00e4nner aus Stahl \/ Fahren Autos aus Pappe\u201d) (Goitzsche Front 2016). In sum, Goitzsche Front oscillate between reaffirming and playfully undermining fragments associated with ethnonationalism and hypermasculinity.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"4\">4. Conclusion<\/h4>\n<p>The video clip raises a number of questions regarding the practice of critiquing populism. Our first question concerns the social position of those who engage in the practice of critique. To what extent does one\u2019s social position condition the view of populist performances in music?<a href=\"#fn13\" class=\"footnote-ref\" id=\"fnref13\" role=\"doc-noteref\"><sup>13<\/sup><\/a> As we (the authors) grew up in the countryside and tried to play songs by such punk rock bands as Die Toten Hosen and Die \u00c4rzte, as well as songs by B\u00f6hse Onkelz, when we were kids, we do have a certain biographical connection to the musical aesthetics of Goitzsche Front. However, our musical preferences have changed since then, and we are not personally drawn to the piece or the video. As academics raised in West Germany and employed at West German universities, we can only listen to and watch this music video from a great cultural distance. Thus, the first time we watched this video, we were immediately put off by the obvious sexism. We still think that this sexism is problematic, yet we also wonder to what extent the milieu-specific style in which sexism is performed here contributed to our immediate affective response. As we discussed this video with other members of our research project, we debated whether the way some of our team members experienced the line \u201cWe will show you what it means to be an Ossi\u201d as menacing had to do with our social position as economically privileged, West German or Austrian academics. After some reflection, we (the authors) think that the music video does not really warrant such an interpretation: the band members and their audience are mostly shown doing harmless things such as driving slowly in a tiny Trabant car, smashing a cheap acoustic guitar against a wooden block, drinking beer, and watching clips from a trashy 1991 movie.<\/p>\n<p>Second, to return to our question about the adequacy of populism as a concept, we believe that this example demonstrates the importance of a nuanced use of populism in dealing with popular culture. At first viewing, we may be quick to make associations between the musical aesthetics of the band and the great success of the far-right populist AfD in East Germany, for instance. In the 2021 federal election, the AfD was the strongest party in Saxony and Thuringia, and it continues to be highly popular, especially in East German states. However, not only has the band repeatedly distanced itself from the far-right and the alt-right, but its music videos in some ways thwart appropriations by the far-right political spectrum.<\/p>\n<p>Goitzsche Front, up to this point, have refrained from the unfractured ethnonationalism we find in the music of Frei.Wild and some other Deutschrock bands. Although Goitzsche Front do talk about being proud of the place where they were born, unlike Frei.Wild, they do not want enemies to \u201cburn in hell\u201d (in the song \u201cS\u00fcdtirol\u201d) (Frei.Wild 2003\/2009), and they do not refer to East Germany as the transhistorical place tied to their ancestors (in the song \u201cWahre Werte\u201d) (Frei.Wild 2011; also see Hindrichs 2014), but rather as a culturally defined concept.<a href=\"#fn14\" class=\"footnote-ref\" id=\"fnref14\" role=\"doc-noteref\"><sup>14<\/sup><\/a> By simply labeling Goitzsche Front \u201cright-wing populist\u201d we would make the mistake of lumping them together with the AfD. At the same time, the great popularity of the song \u201cDer Osten rockt\u201d with (not only) East German audiences does go some way towards explaining why election campaigns that promise to restore respect for cultural achievements that are framed as \u201cEast German\u201d may have been successful in East Germany.<a href=\"#fn15\" class=\"footnote-ref\" id=\"fnref15\" role=\"doc-noteref\"><sup>15<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Of course, a song like \u201cDer Osten rockt\u201d can be instrumentalised by right-wing populists, for example by decontextualizing individual lines and charging them ideologically. However, this use is not inherent to the song, but results from practices of appropriation. And this is rather common in popular music culture. The song \u201cDer Druck steigt\u201d (Eng. \u201cThe Pressure Is Rising\u201d) by the rap-rock musician Casper, who identifies as left-wing alternative, was repeatedly played at the anti-Islamic PEGIDA demonstrations in 2015, to name just one example (Schimanski 2015). The populist core element of an \u201cus\u201d against \u201cthem\u201d antagonism is an integral part of rock music, which ultimately finds expression in \u2018Neuer Deutschrock\u2019. Certainly, it is a task for us as scholars to keep an eye on such phenomena and to criticise them when necessary. However, not only is popular culture often messy and contradictory, but the problem of different and sometimes conflicting readings always remains (see Kopanski 2021; 2022). It is therefore important to consider where the interpretive authority over such phenomena lies. By hastily labeling bands right-wing populist, we may unjustly push them into a corner, thus providing fodder for reactionary audiences and political actors. Hence, developing a nuanced view of such phenomena that considers the critic\u2019s positionality is central to critiquing populism.<\/p>\n<p>The great challenge in addressing a music video like \u201cDer Osten rockt\u201d, then, lies in developing a mode of critique that, on the one hand, is able to criticise politically problematic aspects \u2013 such as the fragments of sexism and nativism we find in this music video \u2013 for what they are, while at the same time avoiding reproduction of the classism and placeism that may result from the critic\u2019s situatedness in an economically privileged cultural milieu. This can only be achieved if we understand populist performances in popular music as a form of critique that we need to take seriously when critiquing populism.<\/p>\n<h4>Endnotes<\/h4>\n<hr>\n<ol>\n<li id=\"fn1\">\n<p>For a discussion of populism discourses in contemporary Germany, see Dunkel 2021a.<a href=\"#fnref1\" class=\"footnote-back\" role=\"doc-backlink\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn2\">\n<p>This article is part of the research project \u201cPopular Music and the Rise of Populism in Europe\u201d which was funded by the German Volkswagen Foundation grant (project number 94754).<a href=\"#fnref2\" class=\"footnote-back\" role=\"doc-backlink\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn3\">\n<p>Ruth Wodak, Majid KhosraviNik and Brigitte Mral also refer to the rise of syncretic and far-right varieties of populism in Europe as the \u201cBerlusconisation\u201d and \u201cHaiderisation of politics\u201d (Wodak, KhosraviNik, and Mral 2013, xvii).<a href=\"#fnref3\" class=\"footnote-back\" role=\"doc-backlink\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn4\">\n<p>See https:\/\/www.offiziellecharts.de<a href=\"#fnref4\" class=\"footnote-back\" role=\"doc-backlink\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn5\">\n<p>The band B\u00f6hse Onkelz was founded in 1980 and, after a brief start in the punk scene, quickly turned to the political right and started playing \u2018Oi!\u2019 music \u2013 a musical genre rooted in the working-class which emerged around 1980 and combined aspects of punk and skinhead aesthetics (see Worley 2013). In 1984, the band released the record <em>Der nette Mann<\/em>, an album that provided a blueprint both thematically (violence, nationalism, etc.) and stylistically for right-wing extremist, German skinhead bands of the following years \u2013 many of which played \u2018Oi!\u2019 music. Nevertheless, there are also \u2018apolitical\u2019 and leftist bands within the \u2018Oi!\u2019 genre. After a few years, the B\u00f6hse Onkelz turned away from the skinhead scene and musically transformed into a German-language (hard) rock band. Although the band became more and more successful in the 1990s, it remained controversial for a long time due to its past. Today, the B\u00f6hse Onkelz are one of the most successful German-language (hard) rock bands. For further reading see Schwarz (1995) and Elflein (2014).<a href=\"#fnref5\" class=\"footnote-back\" role=\"doc-backlink\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn6\">\n<p>We understand the term \u2018scene\u2019 in the sense of Roland Hitzler and Arne Niederbacher (2010) as a loose network in which an unspecified number of persons are interconnected (Hitzler and Niederbacher 2010, 16).<a href=\"#fnref6\" class=\"footnote-back\" role=\"doc-backlink\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn7\">\n<p>Songs by Berliner Weisse expressing disdain for neo-Nazism include \u201cThor Steinar\u201d (2008), \u201cKeine Toleranz\u201d (2009), and \u201cFahnen im Wind\u201d (2013). \u201cFahnen im Wind\u201d, in particular, calls out the \u2018Neue Deutschrock\u2019 scene for its openness to neo-Nazism. The lyrics contain the lines: \u201cYou don\u2019t give a fuck \/ That the brown soups \/ Are applauding for you \/ The main thing is that the dough is right.\u201d (\u201cEs ist euch schei\u00dfegal \/ Dass die braunen Suppen \/ F\u00fcr euch applaudieren \/ Hauptsache die Kohle stimmt.\u201d).<a href=\"#fnref7\" class=\"footnote-back\" role=\"doc-backlink\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn8\">\n<p>Original: \u201cIch bin gegen Menschenhass und gegen Rassismus und sowas. Ob das jetzt links ist, wei\u00df ich nicht. Also wenn man sich gegen rechts ausspricht, dass man gleich links ist, wei\u00df ich nicht. Also Fakt ist, wenn das dann halt so ist, dann bin ich halt ein Linker.\u201d In addition, the drummer has repeatedly been shown wearing a shirt with the line \u201cFCK NZS\u201d (Fuck Nazis) at live shows and in music videos. The shirt is commonly associated with antifascism.<a href=\"#fnref8\" class=\"footnote-back\" role=\"doc-backlink\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn9\">\n<p>The word \u201cFront\u201d is likewise controversial. According to the band\u2019s singer \u201cBocki\u201d [Pascal Bock], \u201cthe word \u2018Front\u2019 has a rather negative reputation for historical reasons. For us, this word simply stands for friendship and solidarity. We knew from the beginning that this name will trigger diverse discussions. We decided to use it nonetheless. We want to prove that the word \u2018Front\u2019 does not always have to be associated with right-wing extremism or war, but can also have a peaceful and communal meaning (\u201c\u2018Front\u2019 hat ja, nicht zuletzt geschichtlich bedingt, einen eher negativen Ruf. F\u00fcr uns steht dieses Wort schlicht f\u00fcr Freundschaft und Zusammenhalt. Wir haben von Beginn an gewusst, dass dieser Name diverse Diskussionen ausl\u00f6sen wird. Dennoch haben wir uns daf\u00fcr entschieden. Wir wollen beweisen, dass das Wort \u2018Front\u2019 nicht immer mit Rechtsextremismus oder Krieg in Verbindung gebracht werden muss, sondern auch eine friedliche und gemeinschaftliche Bedeutung haben kann.\u201d) (Bocki in Clio69 [Nickname] 2013). The band\u2019s explanation \u2013 which in and of itself could be read either as sincere or as a far-right justification technique common to the far-right\u2019s culture war \u2013 has to be seen within the larger context of the band\u2019s politics discussed below.<a href=\"#fnref9\" class=\"footnote-back\" role=\"doc-backlink\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn10\">\n<p>This model of the Wartburg, which was produced between 1966 and 1988 and of which more than one million vehicles were sold, was the second most produced car in the GDR. Only the 601 model of the Trabant brand, produced between 1964 and 1990, was more successful; almost three million vehicles were sold.<a href=\"#fnref10\" class=\"footnote-back\" role=\"doc-backlink\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn11\">\n<p>There is no doubt that Goitzsche Front re-shot the scene for the video clip (see Czerwonn 2021). However, it remains unclear why the band did not use the original scene from the film.<a href=\"#fnref11\" class=\"footnote-back\" role=\"doc-backlink\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn12\">\n<p>The father calls his daughter by her name Jaqueline \u2013 a popular name in the 1990s and a socially deprecating, classist code to refer to people from a poor social milieu especially in East Germany and West German post-industrial areas.<a href=\"#fnref12\" class=\"footnote-back\" role=\"doc-backlink\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn13\">\n<p>Our self-reflection is inspired by what Ol\u00faf\u1eb9\u0301mi O. T\u00e1\u00edw\u00f2 discusses as \u201cstandpoint epistemology\u201d (T\u00e1\u00edw\u00f2 2022, 71\u201380).<a href=\"#fnref13\" class=\"footnote-back\" role=\"doc-backlink\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn14\">\n<p>The special meaning of the song \u201cS\u00fcdtirol\u201d for Frei.Wild is shown by the fact that the band still plays the song at their concerts (H\u00e4nky 2022).<a href=\"#fnref14\" class=\"footnote-back\" role=\"doc-backlink\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn15\">\n<p>For an AfD campaign video seeking to capitalise on this sentiment, see the 2019 spot for the state elections in Thuringia (AfD Th\u00fcringen 2019). For recent statistics regarding the continuing under-representation of people from East Germany in elite positions in the areas of politics, economy, science, justice, and media, see OWF (2022).<a href=\"#fnref15\" class=\"footnote-back\" role=\"doc-backlink\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h4 id=\"5\">References<\/h4>\n<p><\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">AfD Th\u00fcringen. 2019. \u201cWahlwerbespot der AfD zur Landtagswahl 2019 in Th\u00fcringen\u201d. <em>YouTube.com<\/em>. October 9, 2019. Campaign video, 1:29. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UxkKicBFmCs. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Ahlig, Enrico. \u201cDeutschrock-Special: Von Broilers bis Frei.Wild\u201d. <em>metal-hammer.de<\/em>. October 22, 2012. https:\/\/www.metal-hammer.de\/deutschrock-special-von-broilers-bis-frei-wild-178656\/. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">ASP (= Agentur f\u00fcr soziale Perspektiven e.V.). n.d. \u201cMilieuzeichnung: Deutschrock.\u201d https:\/\/grauzonen.info\/hintergrund\/Milieuzeichnung:%20Deutschrock. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Berezin, Mabel. 2002. \u201cSecure States: Towards a Political Sociology of Emotion.\u201d <em>The Sociological Review<\/em> 50, no. 2: 33\u201352. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/j.1467-954X.2002.tb03590.x. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Bertelsmann Stiftung. 2020. \u201cPopulismusbarometer 2020.\u201d <em>https:\/\/www.bertelsmannstiftung.de<\/em>. https:\/\/www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de\/fileadmin\/files\/BSt\/Publikationen\/GrauePublikationen\/ZD_Einwurf_2_2020_Populismusbarometer.pdf. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Betzin, Tobias. 2016. <em>Tief in der Grauzone: Der Fall Goitzsche Front und das Identit\u00e4tsangebot \u201cOssi\u201d<\/em>. Leipzig: Schwarz Druck.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Block, Elena, and Ralph Negrine. 2017. \u201cThe Populist Communication Style: Toward a Critical Framework.\u201d <em>International Journal of Communication<\/em> 11: 178\u201397.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">B\u00fcchner, Timo. 2019. <em>Der Begriff \u201cHeimat\u201d in rechter Musik: Analysen \u2013 Hintergr\u00fcnde \u2013 Zusammenh\u00e4nge<\/em>. Frankfurt am Main: Wochenschau Verlag.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Clio69 [Nickname]. 2013. \u201cInterview mit der Band Goitzsche Front.\u201d <em>clio69-musicworld.de.<\/em> October 16, 2013. https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20150721205302\/http:\/clio69-musicworld.de\/interview-mit-der-band-goitzsche-front\/#selection-357.183-357.655. Accessed April 26, 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Czerwonn, Frank. 2021. \u201cDas Kinderlied-Album vom \u2018Goitzsche Front\u2019-S\u00e4nger und eine lebenslange Freundschaft aus Thalheim.\u201d <em>mz.de.<\/em> May 29, 2021. https:\/\/www.mz.de\/lokal\/bitterfeld\/das-kinderlied-album-vom-goitz&#8230;nt-sanger-und-eine-lebenslange-freundschaft-aus-thalheim-3177849. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">De Cleen, Benjamin, and Yannis Stavrakakis. 2017. \u201cDistinctions and Articulations: A Discourse Theoretical Framework for the Study of Populism and Nationalism.\u201d <em>Javnost &#8211; The Public<\/em> 24, no. 4: 301\u201319. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/13183222.2017.1330083.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">De Cleen, Benjamin, and Yannis Stavrakakis. 2020. \u201cHow Should We Analyze the Connections Between Populism and Nationalism: A Response to Rogers Brubaker.\u201d <em>Nations and Nationalism<\/em> 26, no. 2: 314\u201322. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/nana.12575.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Dornbusch, Rudiger, and Sebastian Edwards, eds. 1991. <em>The Macroeconomics of Populism in Latin America<\/em>. A National Bureau of Economic Research Conference Report. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Dunkel, Mario. 2021a. \u201cPopulismus und autorit\u00e4rer Nationalismus in Europ\u00e4ischen Musikkulturen als musikp\u00e4dagogische Herausforderung.\u201d <em>Zeitschrift f\u00fcr Kritische Musikp\u00e4dagogik<\/em>, Special Edition 5: 121\u201337. https:\/\/zfkm.org\/sonder21-Dunkel.pdf. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Dunkel, Mario. 2021b. \u201c\u2018Dorfkind und stolz darauf\u2019: Populismus in Musikkulturen als Musikp\u00e4dagogisches Handlungsfeld.\u201d <em>Die Tonkunst<\/em> 15, no. 2: 148\u201357.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Dunkel, Mario, and Reinhard Kopanski. Forthcoming. \u201cPop Stars as Voice of the People: Xavier Naidoo, Andreas Gabalier and the Performance of Populism During the Corona Crisis.\u201d In <em>Popular Music and the Rise of Populism in Europe<\/em>, edited by Mario Dunkel and Melanie Schiller. New York: Routledge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Elflein, Dieter. 2014. \u201cAllein gegen den Rest der Welt: Repr\u00e4sentationen von M\u00e4nnlichkeiten im Deutschrock bei Westernhagen und den B\u00f6hsen Onkelz.\u201d In <em>Typisch Deutsch. (Eigen-)Sichten auf popul\u00e4re Musik in diesem unseren Land<\/em>. Beitr\u00e4ge zur Popularmusikforschung 41, edited by Dietrich Helms and Thomas Phleps, 101\u201326. Bielefeld: Transcript.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Goodwyn, Lawrence. 1976. <em>Democratic Promise: The Populist Moment in America<\/em>. New York: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Hindrichs, Thorsten. 2014. \u201cHeimattreue Patrioten und das \u2018Land der Vollidioten\u2019: Frei.Wild und die Neue Deutschrockszene.\u201d In <em>Typisch Deutsch? (Eigen-)Sichten auf popul\u00e4re Musik in diesem unserem Land.<\/em> Beitr\u00e4ge Zur Popularmusikforschung, 41, edited by Dietrich Helms and Thomas Phleps, 153\u201383. Bielefeld: Transcript.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Hitzler, Ronald, and Arne Niederbacher. 2010. <em>Leben in Szenen. Formen juveniler Vergemeinschaftung heute<\/em>. 3. completely revised edition. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Inglehart, Ronald, and Pippa Norris. 2019. <em>Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism<\/em>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Kazin, Michael. 2017. <em>The Populist Persuasion: An American History<\/em>. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Kopanski, Reinhard. 2021. \u201cVoicing Outrage? Ignoring the Matter? Explaining the Problem! \u2013 A Model of Analysis for Engaging with Aesthetic References to National Socialism during Times of Emerging Far-Right Populism Using the Example of Rammstein\u2019s \u2018Deutschland\u2019.\u201d <em>Zeitschrift F\u00fcr Kritische Musikp\u00e4dagogik<\/em>, Special Edition 5: 138\u201360. https:\/\/zfkm.org\/sonder21-Kopanski.pdf. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Kopanski, Reinhard. 2022. <em>Bezugnahmen auf den Nationalsozialismus in der popul\u00e4ren Musik. Lesarten zu Laibach, Death In June, Feindflug, Rammstein und Marduk<\/em>. Popul\u00e4re Kultur und Musik, 35. M\u00fcnster and New York: Waxmann.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Laclau, Ernesto. 2005. <em>On Populist Reason<\/em>. London; New York: Verso.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Levitsky, Steven, and Daniel Ziblatt. 2018. <em>How Democracies Die<\/em>. New York: Crown.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Littlejohn, John T., and Michael Putnam. 2010. \u201cRammstein and Ostalgie: Longing for Yesteryear.\u201d <em>Popular Music and Society<\/em> 33, no. 1: 35\u201344. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/03007760802332714.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Majewsky, Marek and dpa. 2020. \u201c\u2018Wir gegen die da oben\u2019: Deutschrock wird immer attraktiver \u2013 auch f\u00fcr Rechtspopulisten.\u201d <em>https:\/\/www.ga.de<\/em>. January 30, 2020. https:\/\/ga.de\/news\/kultur-und-medien\/ueberregional\/deutschrock-wi&#8230;attraktiver-auch-fuer-rechtspopulisten_aid-48661693#successLogin. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Moffitt, Benjamin. 2016. <em>The Global Rise of Populism: Performance, Political Style, and Representation<\/em>. Stanford: Stanford University Press.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Moffitt, Benjamin. 2020. <em>Populism<\/em>. Medford, Massachusetts: Polity Press.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Mudde, Cas, and Crist\u00f3bal Rovira Kaltwasser. 2013. \u201cPopulism.\u201d In <em>The Oxford Handbook of Political Ideologies<\/em>, edited by Michael Freeden, 493\u2013512. Oxford: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">M\u00fcller, Jan-Werner. 2016. <em>Was ist Populismus? Ein Essay<\/em>. Berlin: Suhrkamp.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Ostiguy, Pierre. 2017. \u201cPopulism: A Socio-Cultural Approach.\u201d In <em>The Oxford Handbook of Populism<\/em>, edited by Crist\u00f3bal Rovira Kaltwasser, Paul Taggart, Ostiguy, Pierre, and Paulina Ochoa Espejo, 73\u201397. Oxford: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">OWF. 2022. \u201cNeue Datenerhebung: Ostdeutsche in F\u00fchrungspositionen nach wie vor stark unterrepr\u00e4sentiert.\u201d <em>https:\/\/www.ostdeutscheswirtschaftsforum.de<\/em>. https:\/\/ostdeutscheswirtschaftsforum.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/PM_OWF_Elitenstudie.pdf. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Postel, Charles. 2009. <em>The Populist Vision<\/em>. Oxford: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Reckwitz, Andreas. 2019. <em>Das Ende der Illusionen: Politik, \u00d6konomie und Kultur in der Sp\u00e4tmoderne<\/em>. Berlin: Suhrkamp.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Rosenthal, Lawrence. 2020. <em>Empire of Resentment: Populism\u2019s Toxic Embrace of Nationalism<\/em>. New York: The New Press.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Rovira Kaltwasser, Crist\u00f3bal, Paul A. Taggart, Paulina Ochoa Espejo and Pierre Ostiguy, eds. 2017. <em>The Oxford Handbook of Populism<\/em>. Oxford Handbooks. Oxford: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Schiedel, Heribert. 2014. \u201cFrei.Wild: Zum Rechtsrock, der keiner (mehr) sein will.\u201d In <em>\u201cHeimatliebe\u201d, Nationalismus, Rassismus. Von Frei.Wild bis Rechtsrock<\/em>, edited by AKJS. Kiel. https:\/\/akjs-sh.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Grauzone.pdf. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Schimanski, Annette. 2015. \u201c\u2018Der Druck Steigt\u2019: Casper distanziert sich von Nutzung seiner Songs durch PEGIDA.\u201d <em>https:\/\/www.musikexpress.de<\/em>. January 20, 2015. https:\/\/www.musikexpress.de\/der-druck-steigt-casper-distanziert-sich-von-nutzung-seiner-songs-durch-pegida-156918\/. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Schwarz, David. 1995. \u201cOI! Musik, Politik und Gewalt.\u201d <em>PopScriptum. Schriftenreihe herausgegeben vom Forschungszentrum Popul\u00e4re Musik der Humboldt-Universit\u00e4t zu Berlin<\/em> 4 \u2013 Rechte Musik: 1\u201322. https:\/\/edoc.hu-berlin.de\/bitstream\/handle\/18452\/21003\/pst04_schwarz.pdf?sequence=1&amp;isAllowed=y. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Sommer, Stefan. 2018a. \u201cDer Neue Deutschrock: W\u00fctende Musik f\u00fcr w\u00fctende M\u00e4nner von w\u00fctenden M\u00e4nnern.\u201d <em>https:\/\/www.br.de<\/em>. March 19, 2018. https:\/\/www.br.de\/puls\/musik\/aktuell\/deutschrock-goitzsche-front-freiwild-haudegen-100.html. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Sommer, Stefan. 2018b. \u201cInterview mit Rechtsrock-Experte Dr. Thorsten Hindrichs: Ist die deutsche Popmusik nach rechts ger\u00fcckt?\u201d <em>https:\/\/www.br.de<\/em>. March 16, 2018. https:\/\/www.br.de\/puls\/musik\/aktuell\/freiwild-boehse-onkelz-goitzsche-front-deutschrock-interview-100.html. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Street, John, Sanna Inthorn, and Martin Scott. 2013. <em>From Entertainment to Citizenship: Politics and Popular Culture<\/em>. Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">T\u00e1\u00edw\u00f2, Ol\u00faf\u1eb9\u0301mi O. 2022. <em>Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took over Identity Politics (And Everything Else)<\/em>. Chicago: Haymarket Books.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Weyland, Kurt. 2017. \u201cPopulism: A Political-Strategic Approach.\u201d In <em>Oxford Handbook of Populism<\/em>, edited by Crist\u00f3bal Rovira Kaltwasser, Paul Taggart, Paulina Ochoa Espejo and Pierre Ostiguy, 48\u201372. Oxford: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Wodak, Ruth, Majid KhosraviNik, and Brigitte Mral, eds. 2013. <em>Right-Wing Populism in Europe: Politics and Discourse<\/em>. London: Bloomsbury.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Worley, Matthew. 2013. \u201cOi! Oi! Oi!: Class, Locality, and British Punk.\u201d <em>Twentieth Century British History<\/em> 24, no. 4: 606\u201336. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/tcbh\/hwt001. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"6\">Discography<\/h4>\n<p><\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">B\u00f6hse Onkelz. <em>Der nette Mann<\/em>. Rock-O-Rama Records, RRR 40, 1984, vinyl record.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Frei.Wild. 2003\/2009. \u201cFrei.Wild &#8211; S\u00fcdtirol.\u201d <em>YouTube.com<\/em>. August 7, 2009. Video clip, 3:45. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ifb4EZE81OU\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ifb4EZE81OU<\/a>. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Frei.Wild. 2011. \u201cFrei.Wild \u2013 Wahre Werte [Video Vom Album Gegengift].\u201d <em>YouTube.com<\/em>. February 8, 2011. Video clip, 5:21. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Ki_D9JjmdzE\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Ki_D9JjmdzE<\/a>. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Goitzsche Front. 2013. \u201cGoitzsche Front \u2013 Der Osten Rockt!!! (Offizielles Video).\u201d <em>YouTube.com<\/em>. June 21, 2013. Video clip, 3:55. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lbb2zdpubHg\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lbb2zdpubHg<\/a>. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Goitzsche Front. 2015. \u201cGoitzsche Front &#8211; M\u00e4nner Aus Stahl (Offizielles Video).\u201d <em>YouTube.com<\/em>. October 16, 2015. Video clip, 3:51. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vmRfiY0PYIo\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vmRfiY0PYIo<\/a>. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">H\u00e4nky, Christian. 2022. \u201cFrei.Wild &#8211; S\u00fcdtirol Live Alpen Flair 22.\u201d <em>YouTube.com<\/em>. June 26, 2022. Video, 4:03. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-vTNAsVWhqw\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-vTNAsVWhqw<\/a>. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Lakato\u0161, Jasmin. 2021. <em>East Side Stories \u2013 Standpunkte einer Generation<\/em>. Hoferichter &amp; Jacobs. Documentary film, 44:55. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardmediathek.de\/video\/mdr-dok\/east-side-stories-standpunkte-einer-generation\/mdr-fernsehen\/Y3JpZDovL21kci5kZS9iZWl0cmFnL2Ntcy8wYjhmZDQwNi1iZGQxLTQ4NGYtOGFhMi05NGI4YjhjYTEwMGI\">https:\/\/www.ardmediathek.de\/video\/mdr-dok\/east-side-stories-standpunkte-einer-generation\/mdr-fernsehen\/Y3JpZDovL21kci5kZS9iZWl0cmFnL2Ntcy8wYjhmZDQwNi1iZGQxLTQ4NGYtOGFhMi05NGI4YjhjYTEwMGI<\/a>. Accessed March 10, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Sleipnir. <em>Glaube &amp; Wille<\/em>. Sleipnir Shop, 2017, compact disc.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bibliography\">Timm, Peter. 1991. <em>Go Trabi Go<\/em>. Constantin Film. Feature film, 91:00.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mario Dunkel , Reinhard Kopanski 1. Introduction The term populism is currently omnipresent. Politicians are quick to criticise statements and demands made by their colleagues as populist, and it is difficult to keep track of the number of academic papers, scientific articles, and journalistic writings on populism. In public discourse, at least in Germany, where &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[132],"tags":[156,157,158,160,159,155,153,154],"class_list":["post-3799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pop-krit","tag-critique","tag-deutschrock","tag-east-germany","tag-frei-wild","tag-identity","tag-nationalism","tag-popular-music","tag-populism"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mario Dunkel, Reinhard Kopanski: Popular Music, Populism in Germany, and the Politics of Critique &#8211; mdwPress<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mario Dunkel, Reinhard Kopanski: Popular Music, Populism in Germany, and the Politics of Critique &#8211; mdwPress\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mario Dunkel , Reinhard Kopanski 1. Introduction The term populism is currently omnipresent. Politicians are quick to criticise statements and demands made by their colleagues as populist, and it is difficult to keep track of the number of academic papers, scientific articles, and journalistic writings on populism. In public discourse, at least in Germany, where &hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"mdwPress\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-03T15:10:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-09T06:59:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/orcid.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Max Bergmann\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Verfasst von\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Max Bergmann\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Gesch\u00e4tzte Lesezeit\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"37\u00a0Minuten\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Max Bergmann\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/baeca6376964344151955aa663964c9c\"},\"headline\":\"Popular Music, Populism in Germany, and the Politics of Critique\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-03T15:10:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-09T06:59:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/\"},\"wordCount\":7316,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/orcid.png\",\"keywords\":[\"critique\",\"Deutschrock\",\"East Germany\",\"Frei.Wild\",\"identity\",\"nationalism\",\"popular music\",\"populism\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Populismus kritisieren\"],\"inLanguage\":\"de\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/\",\"name\":\"Mario Dunkel, Reinhard Kopanski: Popular Music, Populism in Germany, and the Politics of Critique &#8211; mdwPress\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/orcid.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-03T15:10:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-09T06:59:15+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"de\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/orcid.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/orcid.png\",\"width\":64,\"height\":64,\"caption\":\"orcid\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Popular Music, Populism in Germany, and the Politics of Critique\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/\",\"name\":\"mdwPress\",\"description\":\"Der Open-Access-Universit\u00e4tsverlag der mdw\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"de\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"mdwPress\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/mdwpress-logo-schwarz.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/mdwpress-logo-schwarz.svg\",\"width\":\"1024\",\"height\":\"1024\",\"caption\":\"mdwPress\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/baeca6376964344151955aa663964c9c\",\"name\":\"Max Bergmann\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8d70bd4c0fdd1c7b1e0cc01d3227105dd4c7480471a25b60baa1861af82e6a2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8d70bd4c0fdd1c7b1e0cc01d3227105dd4c7480471a25b60baa1861af82e6a2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Max Bergmann\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/author\/bergmann-max\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mario Dunkel, Reinhard Kopanski: Popular Music, Populism in Germany, and the Politics of Critique &#8211; mdwPress","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/","og_locale":"de_DE","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mario Dunkel, Reinhard Kopanski: Popular Music, Populism in Germany, and the Politics of Critique &#8211; mdwPress","og_description":"Mario Dunkel , Reinhard Kopanski 1. Introduction The term populism is currently omnipresent. Politicians are quick to criticise statements and demands made by their colleagues as populist, and it is difficult to keep track of the number of academic papers, scientific articles, and journalistic writings on populism. In public discourse, at least in Germany, where &hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/","og_site_name":"mdwPress","article_published_time":"2024-09-03T15:10:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-07-09T06:59:15+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/orcid.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Max Bergmann","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Verfasst von":"Max Bergmann","Gesch\u00e4tzte Lesezeit":"37\u00a0Minuten"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/"},"author":{"name":"Max Bergmann","@id":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/baeca6376964344151955aa663964c9c"},"headline":"Popular Music, Populism in Germany, and the Politics of Critique","datePublished":"2024-09-03T15:10:46+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-09T06:59:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/"},"wordCount":7316,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/orcid.png","keywords":["critique","Deutschrock","East Germany","Frei.Wild","identity","nationalism","popular music","populism"],"articleSection":["Populismus kritisieren"],"inLanguage":"de"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/","url":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/","name":"Mario Dunkel, Reinhard Kopanski: Popular Music, Populism in Germany, and the Politics of Critique &#8211; mdwPress","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/orcid.png","datePublished":"2024-09-03T15:10:46+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-09T06:59:15+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"de","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de","@id":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/orcid.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/orcid.png","width":64,"height":64,"caption":"orcid"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/mdwp006-ch7\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Popular Music, Populism in Germany, and the Politics of Critique"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/","name":"mdwPress","description":"Der Open-Access-Universit\u00e4tsverlag der mdw","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"de"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/#organization","name":"mdwPress","url":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de","@id":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/mdwpress-logo-schwarz.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/mdwpress-logo-schwarz.svg","width":"1024","height":"1024","caption":"mdwPress"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/baeca6376964344151955aa663964c9c","name":"Max Bergmann","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de","@id":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8d70bd4c0fdd1c7b1e0cc01d3227105dd4c7480471a25b60baa1861af82e6a2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8d70bd4c0fdd1c7b1e0cc01d3227105dd4c7480471a25b60baa1861af82e6a2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Max Bergmann"},"url":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/author\/bergmann-max\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3799"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5313,"href":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3799\/revisions\/5313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mdw.ac.at\/mdwpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}