Rammstein - Rammstein (Official Making Of)
About the video of "Rammstein" and David Lynch.
Schneider : We sat in the village where Till was from, in a local eatery, scribbled lines together on a scrap of paper, and imagined how this catastrophe had happened. Images formed before our eyes, each of us wrote a line, and thus the finished text emerged.
Richard: The record company said to us, "Guys, you're a band now, and a band needs a video. Can you find someone to shoot it?" We thought about it and suggested David Lynch.
They stared at us and probably thought we'd fallen from the moon.
"Why not? Ask him."
Till: It's not that we had delusions of grandeur, it's just that we've always believed that nothing ventured, nothing gained. We still feel that way today.
Richard: So, the record company sent Lynch a package.
He was filming "Lost Highway" at the time. The mailman came to see him that morning.
He was getting into his car and getting ready to go to work.
He received the package and was so delighted that, according to Bill Pullman, the film's lead actor, he played our music for the actors.
They liked it so much that they started jamming to it. Our dark music appealed to him.
Paul: When we were asked for permission to use our songs in his film, we naturally agreed: we'd probably be heard on the car stereo or the kitchen radio while the main character was eating his eggs.
The fact that our music was actually given such a prominent place amazed and delighted us.
Schneider: It was absolutely amazing that David Lynch, who makes intellectual films, used our music.
For us, it was like being knighted. Back then, there were very conflicting opinions about us in Germany: What kind of music is this? Who needs it?
Paul: I think it's all about our uniqueness compared to American bands.
German voices, music. And the song begins to represent something new to an American. That's why he liked it.
Schneider: The immediate impression was that David Lynch didn't understand what we were singing and that he wasn't capable of evaluating it.
But something inspired the film crew, the people.
Paul: We've always been treated much more calmly abroad, because no one there is as afraid of us and of themselves as here in Germany.
Till: At first it was just the sleeves, then the neck was added. The fire zone kept getting larger.
More and more incendiary gel was needed, and the flames grew higher.
It's a ready-made pyrotechnic trick; the coat burns for almost four minutes.
But we'll still tinker with it. It will burn even longer. It's still the same coat. By the way, it has even already learned to speak.
Paul: It's an honor to be part of a David Lynch film.
It doesn't matter what country you're from. I don't even know if we deserved it.
At football, no one asks how it happened either. The main thing is winning.
Many people around the world were delighted, but many Germans were puzzled: "We have so much good stuff here, why did Lynch choose this?"
So we were happy to give those eternal critics a hard time.
Richard: I tried really hard, but I still couldn't get it.
There were images and stories that you can't understand, and maybe you shouldn't, but they fit so well. The moment the music came into the film, everyone immediately said, "Oh, this is cool!"
Paul: Whenever we're in Los Angeles, we talk about stopping by to see him, but we're too lazy.
I'd be interested to hear what the maestro has to say about all this.