Blumfeld und die Hamburger Schule

The terms “Hamburger Schule” (Hamburg school) and “Diskurspop” (discourse pop) have been used since the beginning of the 1990s for groups such as Blumfeld, Die Sterne and Tocotronic. The works of these bands have been characterized by intellectualized, hermetic and abstract lyrics, which represent an entirely new approach to language in German pop music. They reflect upon the invevitable entanglements of their work, the pop industry, and the logic of capitalism (including Germany and the city of Hamburg as the place of production). Till Huber presents the first comprehensive study on the phenomenon of “Diskurspop”. The early work of the most important band of the “Hamburger Schule”, Blumfeld, is profiled as an attempt to critically engage in the medium of pop music without falling behind the level of complexity of poststructuralist theory.