Michael Ahlers has studied music education, German, and musicology. He worked as an editor and ran a company for music production. His PhD was on human-machine interfaces in music production software. He is Professor of Music Education and Popular Music at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany. His main research is on empirical music pedagogy, creativity and improvisation, as well as popular music studies.Christoph Jacke has studied communication and media, politics, and English. He has worked as a music journalist. He is Professor of Theory, Aesthetics and History of Popular Music, and Director of the BA and MA programme in Popular Music and Media at the Department of Music at the University of Paderborn, Germany. His research focus is on media, culture and communications theory, cultural studies, celebrity studies and popular music studies.

"You can find numerous good, and some excellent, articles within Perspectives on German Popular Music which, even in their brevity, are important to further the academic discourse surrounding popular music in German in its entirety."- Timor Kaul, Pop-Zeitschrift"This edited collection offers interesting kaleidoscopic reflections on German popular music cultures, through musicological, sociological, and media studies perspectives. (...) It is a welcomed introduction to a large linguistic and cultural musicscape, for too long neglected and which international scholars should start embracing."- Giacomo Bottà, University of Helsinki, Finland"The book offers fascinating studies of artists and genres that have been marginalized in popular music studies, including West German heavy metal, Frank Farian, Helene Fischer, Modern Talking, and the Hamburger Schule, to name only a few. It stands as an important contribution to the study of popular music from German-speaking countries, the historiography of popular music studies in these countries, and the continuing project of legitimizing this discipline in the academy."-Mario Dunkel, l'Université Carl von Ossietzky Oldenburg, Germany"The book provides an excellent,‘bird’s eye’ view of popular music studies and pop-rock music in the German-speaking countries. It amounts to a recommended read for anyone interested in the study of pop-rock music in its globalized context, beyond the Anglo-American core." -Motti Regev, The Open University of Israel, Israel

• Part 1: Histories and Foundations1. A Fragile Kaleidoscope: Institutions, Methodologies, and Outlooks on German Popular Music (Studies) Michael Ahlers and Christoph Jacke2. Popular Music Studies in Germany: from the Origins to the 1990s Helmut Rösing3. Looking East: Popular Music Studies between Theory and Practice Peter Wicke Part 2: Arts and Experiments4. Kosmische Musik: On Krautrock’s Take Off Jens Gerrit Papenburg5. Kraftwerk: The History and Aesthetics of a Pop-Cultural Concept Dirk Matejovski6. Pophörspiel: Popular music in radio art Holger SchulzePart 3: Mainstreams and Masses7. Hit Men: Giorgio Moroder, Frank Farian and the Eurodisco-Sound of the 1970/80s Thomas Krettenauer8. A Re-encounter with the Scorpions’ ‘Wind Of Change’: Why I couldn’t Stand it Then – What I Learn from Analysing it Now Ralf von Appen9. Modern Talking, Musicology and I: Analysing and Interpreting Forbidden Fruit André Doehring10. Rocking granny’s living room: The new voices of the German Schlager Julio MendívilPart 4: Niches and Subcultures11. The Popularisation of Electronic Dance Music: German Artists/Producers and the Eurodance Phenomenon Nico Thom12. Restless and Wild: Early West German Heavy Metal Dietmar Elflein13. No Escape from Noise: Geräuschmusik Made in Germany Till Kniola14. German Gothic: From Neue Deutsche Todeskunst to Neo-Victorian Steampunk Birgit Richard15. ‘The Interesting Ones’: Hamburger Schule and the ‘Secondariness’ of German Pop Till Huber16. Music, Line Dance and Country and Western-Themed Events: Insights into German Country Music Culture Stefanie Jäger and Nils KirschlagerPart 5: Politics and Gender17. Music of the Right-Wing Scene: Text Content, Distribution and Effects Georg Brunner18. Rammstein Under Observation Susanne Binas-Preisendörfer and Arne Wachtmann19. Rap Music in Germany Ayla Güler Saied20. ‘Heulsusen-Pop’: New Male Sensitivity in German Independent Music Maren Volkmann21. From ‘Frauenfest’ to ‘Bitchsm’: Feminist Strategies in German Language Popular Music from the 1970s until Today Sonja EismannPart 6: Germanness and Otherness22. ‘White Punks On Dope’ in Germany: Nina Hagen’s Punk Covers Moritz Baßler23. Singing in German: Pop Music and the Question of Language Diedrich Diederichsen24. Neue Deutsche Welle/NDW: From Punk to Mainstream Barbara Hornberger25. Integrated Music Media Analysis: An Application to Trio Christofer Jost26. Punk in Germany Philipp Meinert and Martin Seeliger27. Popular Music from Austria Rosa Reitsamer28. From Soundtrack of the Reunification to the Celebration of Germanness: Paul van Dyk and Peter Heppner’s ‘Wir sind Wir’ as National Trance Anthem Melanie SchillerPart 7: Electronic Sounds and Cities29. Concepts of Cologne Hans Nieswandt30. Who Said It’s Got to be ‘Clean’? Stereotypes, Presets and Discontent in German Electronic Sound Studios Johannes Ismaiel-Wendt31. The Berlin Sound of Techno Daniel Mateo and Sandra Passaro Part 8: Media and Industries32. The History of the German Popular Music Industry in the Twentieth Century Klaus Nathaus33. Pop on TV: The National and International Success of Radio Bremen’s Beat Club Detlef Siegfried34. German Music Talent Shows Nick Ruth and Holger Schramm.BibliographyIndex