Die Sterne

Die Sterne is a pop/rock band from the area around Hamburg/Germany. The band was formed in 1992 when frontman Frank Spilker (guitar & vocals) asked his acquaintances Thomas Wenzel (bass, also bassist of "Die goldenen Zitronen" (the golden lemons)), Frank Will (keyboard) and Christoph Leich (drums, also member of the famous German band Kolossale Jugend) if they didn't want to join his band project Die Sterne ("the stars", not like movie stars but the stars that are found in the sky, these: *) he kept running for a while as a solo project. The basic idea of Die Sterne was to play their favourite passages of other songs and to amend them with German lyrics.

In the same year they released their first single Fickt das System ("Fuck the system", this sentence is usually not translated into German), followed by their first two albums Wichtig (Important, 1993) and In Echt (For real, 1994) on the German label L'Age D'Or. Both albums are known for their live-playability, translated quotes from other songs and commentaries about social structures. In 1996 their most popular album "Posen" (Poses) containing the hit "Was hat dich bloß so ruiniert" (What has ruined you so much) was released, followed by excessive touring, all of their concerts being sold out.

After the release of their next two albums Von allen Gedanken schätze ich doch am meisten die Interessanten (Of all thoughts I admire the interesting ones most, 1997) and Wo ist hier (Where is here, 1999) Frank Will decided to leave the band to concentrate on his job as horticultural architect. Because the keyboard is necessary for their music a new keyboarder, Richard von der Schulenburg was engaged. Their next two albums, who are generally slower and less loud than their previous ones, were published by Virgin Records, their titles are Irres Licht (Lunatic light, 2002) and Das Weltall ist zu weit (und der Rest ist schon verteilt) (The universe is too large (and the rest is already given out), 2004).

Album releases

Wichtig (Important, 1993)

1. Mach die Tür zu, es zieht (Close the door, the air draft)
2. Telekomm (Telecome*)
3. Baustoffhandel, 1. Stock (Building material store, 1st floor)
4. In Klammern (In brackets)
5. Wichtig (Important)
6. Anfang verpasst (Missed the beginning)
7. Rockmühle (Rockmill)
8. Alles oder niemand (Everything or nobody)
9. Sowieso drin (Anyway in it)
10. Ohne Titel (Without title)
11. Jenseits von Eden (Beyond Eden)
12. Meine Oma (My grandma)
13. Idiotensport (Idiot's sport)
14. Unter Geiern (Under vultures)
15. Hier (Here)

In Echt (For real, 1994)

1. Einzugsermächtigung (Collection authorization)
2. Du darfst nicht vergessen zu essen (You must not forget to eat)
3. Universal Tellerwäscher (Universal dishwasher)
4. Nüchtern (Sober)
5. Es möchte echt sein (It wants to be real)
6. Franzi & Crack
7. Kein Mitleid (No pitifulness)
8. Vorabendprogrammredakteur (Editor of the evening-program)
9. Il Silenzio
10. Zum Totschlagen zu schön (Too beutiful to strike dead)
11. Unland (Uncountry)
12. Offenbarungseid (Oath of disclosure)

Posen (Poses, 1996)

1. Scheiß auf deutsche Texte (Fuck German lyrics - yes, this is indeed the title.)
2. Inseln (Islands)
3. Risikibiographie (Risk-biography)
4. Zucker (Sugar)
5. Themenläden (Stores for topics)
6. Unter Geiern II (Under vultures II)
7. Swinging Safari
8. Was hat dich bloß so ruiniert (What has ruined you so much)
9. Stell die Verbindung her (Establish the connection)
10. Trrrmmer ("Trümmer" means debris)
11. Frank Orgel (Frank Organ)
12. Schnorrvögel (Cadging birds)

Von allen Gedanken schätze ich doch am meisten die Interessanten (Of all thoughts I admire the interesting ones most, 1997)

1. Die Interessanten (The interesting ones)
2. Ganz normaler Tag (Completely normal day)
3. Abstrakt (Abstract)
4. Widerschein (Reverberation)
5. Merg.Id
6. Klebrig-vermutlich (Gluey-presumably)
7. Tourtagebuch (Tour diary)
8. Kannst du dich nicht endlich entscheiden (Can't you eventually decide)
9. Sofern die Winde wehen (Provided that the winds are blowing)
10. 1-2-3-Tier (1-2-3-animal* - "Tier" (german for animal) rhymes with vier (4))
11. Bis 9 bist du O.K. (Until 9 you're O.K.)
12. Hidden Track: Gesprächs-Collage (Collage of conversations)

Irres Licht (Lunatic light, 2002)

1. Nur Flug (Flight only)
2. Hängen hart (Hanging hard)
3. Wahr ist was wahr ist (True is what is true)
4. Wenn dir St. Pauli auf den Geist fällt (When St. Pauli is getting on your nerves)
5. Ich bringe euch beide um (I'm gonna kill both of you)
6. Schier Herzattacke (Mere cardiac infarction)
7. Irrlicht (Fen fire)
8. Du hast die Welt in deiner Hand (You've got the world in your hands)
9. Ich will nichts mehr von dir hören (I don't want to hear anything from you anymore)
10. Wir verstehen so manches nicht (There are a couple of things we don't understand)
11. Alles vergeht (Everything goes by)

Das Weltall ist zu weit (und der Rest ist schon verteilt) (The universe is too large (and the rest is already given out), 2004)

1. Was ist hier los (What's going on here)
2. In diesem Sinn (In this sense)
3. Sie werden dafür bezahlen (They're going to pay for it)
4. Das Weltall ist zu weit (und der Rest ist schon verteilt) (The universe is too large (and the rest is already given out)
5. Hier ist mein Standpunkt (Here's my point of view)
6. Hau drauf und hau ab (Smash it and run*)
7. Hier kommt die Kaltfront (Here comes the cold front)
8. Du schwingst im Wind (You're swinging in the wind)
9. Verstehen ist nicht dasselbe wie Überstehen (aber auch schön) (Understanding is not the same as enduring (but also nice)*)
10. Wir sind wie du (We're like you)
11. Wir rühren uns nicht vom Fleck (We're not moving away from here)
12. Wir/Ihr (We/You)

* not (really) translatable puns