Musical impressions of Germany. This list of 21 songs covers a variety of modern popular music genres and eras. Many of the classical composers worked in Vienna rather than Germany, but I kept one of the most classic of the German classics. The modern popular music is distributed across the 70s (1), 80s (4), 90s (3), 00s (4), 10s (7), and 20s (1). Several are sung in German, but electronic music has gone global since its largely German origins, such that many songs are thus in English. As punk transitioned to synthesizer-rich New Wave in the late 1970s and early 1980s, several German-language artists broke out internationally. Similarly, as the sounds of metal went mainstream in the 1980s, some German artists again transcended. In the 2010s, it was electronic dance music that helped international audiences find contemporary German music again.
About half of these songs have direct Berlin connections. The songs are listed below in chronological order. I included the title, artist, year of release, and genre. I also added a sentence or two of background and context. Finally, I also embedded video links.
You can find the Spotify playlist here.
Cello Suite No 1 Johan Sebastian Bach 1717 Classical-Baroque
Bach lived all over central Germany, but closed his career with several decades in Leipzig. Based on their difficulty, the cello studies were little known until a 20th-century revival and now they are a signature of accomplished cellists. Chinese-American Yo Yo Ma is the world’s foremost cellist and this 2018 recording is his third (the first was in 1985). He keeps striving for perfection.
Spacelab Kraftwerk 1978 Electronic
Formed in 1970 in Düsseldorf in western Germany, and mostly based there ever since. Part of a mid-1970s electronic music movement in West Germany, they have been a hugely influential band. In a 2009 interview, Moby said, “Kraftwerk are to contemporary electronic music what the Beatles and Rolling Stones are to rock music.” The video below is from a 2018 concert where they played a duet of their famous song ‘Spacelab’ live with German astronaut Alexander Gerst orbiting in the International Space Station (!). Gerst played on a tablet and gave a short space lesson. This part lasts the first five minutes of the video and then the band plays the original song afterwards.
Da Da Da Trio 1982 New Wave
German New Wave (Neue Deutsche Welle), and this band, and this song, were so popular that this one is the 19th-biggest selling single worldwide, of all time (physical copies, before streaming). Think Elvis, Beatles, Madonna, Whitney Houston, and Trio. [Note that there are now separate categories for most sales by download.] Trio’s ethos was to make songs as simple as possible, and they used a ridiculously basic Casio keyboard and simple one-handed drum lines. This song was huge globally, but did not make the Top 40 in the US. They recorded versions in several languages, and even the original German one had English lines as well. So it’s fitting that the English one kept the German tag line: Ich lieb dich nicht du liebst mich nicht = I don’t love you, you don’t love me. In the video, he pulls the keyboard out of his pocket about halfway through. Also, the guitar player naps when it’s not his turn to play.
99 Luftballoons Nena 1983 Neue Deutsche Welle
She moved to West Berlin in 1982 to reach a more international audience. It worked. This became one of the very rare non-English songs to become huge in the US (it reached number 2). An inferior English version was also released, but was less popular. This global hit is an anti-war song. It was inspired by thinking about balloons floating over the Berlin Wall, and then planes are sent to shoot down the balloons, launching a cataclysmic war. The final lines follow “99 years of war” and then upon finding a balloon, “I think of you and let it go.” Nena is an absolute legend in Germany.
Major Tom Peter Schilling 1983 Neue Deutsche Welle
He is from Stuttgart and was basically a one-hit wonder. But the one hit was a big one. This song reached number one in several countries (including Canada), made it to number two on the US dance charts, and is considered an 80s classic. Following the success of the original German version, an English version was released and it was that one that became big in North America. The character is based on Bowie’s classic Space Oddity from 1969.
Rock You Like a Hurricane Scorpions 1984 Metal
These guys started rocking in Hanover in 1965, but they became globally huge during the hair-metal 80s. This one is widely considered one of the greatest hard rock songs ever.
Wind of Change Scorpions 1991 Metal
Every self-respecting metal band has a power ballad to balance their thrashers. This one is about the end of the Iron Curtain and is strongly associated with the positive feelings with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union. Those feelings propelled this to the 15th-highest sales of any (physical) single ever. Yes, two German bands are in the top 19 highest-selling songs of all time. So, think Elvis, Beatles, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Trio, and also the Scorps.
For an Angel Paul van Dyk 1994 Trance
Raised in East Berlin without access to pop music, he clandestinely listened to modern music over forbidden radio broadcasts from the American sector of West Berlin. This track is considered one of the most important trance/house songs of all time.
Du Hast Rammstein 1997 Industrial Metal
Formed in Berlin in 1994. Germany has a rich history of metal bands. These guys are the most famous of those. They are intense. “You, you have, you have me.”
Junge Die Ärzte 2007 Punk
Formed in Berlin in 1982, these guys (The Doctors) are popular in Germany, but never made it internationally. This song (‘Boy’) is about teen rebellion (“And your hair! Words fail me!”).
Jumping All Over the World Scooter 2008 Hardcore/Rave
From Hamburg, but they are among the most commercially successful rockers in Germany. In the mid-2000s, Euro ravers used to compete jump style vs shuffle style. Hamburg is close to the Netherlands, where jumpstyle was king.
Sky and Sand Paul Kalkbrenner 2008 Chill/House
He was 13 when the Wall fell and it opened a whole new world to him, and he became a respected DJ in Berlin. He was hired to create the soundtrack for a movie about a Berlin DJ whose drug abuse lands him in a psychiatric hospital and during the planning for the film, the director realized Kalkbrenner should also star in it. Berlin Calling is considered a cult classic, and this song was a key part of the soundtrack. In Germany this song has the longest ever run on the charts by a German song: 129 weeks.
Evacuate the Dance Floor Cascada 2009 Pop
German Britney-inspired pop. They are from Bonn in western Germany without real Berlin connections, but they have had a lot of commercial success in Germany and internationally. This one reached number one in the UK (it peaked at number 25 in the US).
Clarity Zedd, Foxes 2012 House
He’s a DJ and producer from the far western part of Germany, but he’s now known globally. You know him from 2018’s The Middle with Maren Morris and Grey, which was nominated for the Song of the Year Grammy. Clarity hit number one on the US dance charts. Foxes is a British singer.
Stolen Dance Milky Chance 2013 Alternative/Indie
From Kassel in central Germany, this duo’s first single became a global hit, reaching number 1 on the US Alternative chart. They played on Jimmy Kimmel and at Coachella.
Kaleidoskop Jennifer Rostock 2014 Rock
Formed in Berlin in 2007. They are from northern Germany (near Rostock), and the lead singer is named Jennifer (Weist). Not as commercial as some of the others on the list, but they are legit, versatile (heavily-tattooed) rockers. She’s tough, but she still wants to be seen. “Kannst du mich sehen… Ich rasier mir fleißig beide Beine” – “Can you see me…. I shave both legs diligently”.
Katharine Katharine Montreal 2014 Pop punk
Formed in Hamburg in 2003, rocking and touring continuously with German-language songs. This one is a cover of a NDW gem.
Sugar Robin Schulz, Francesco Yates 2015 House/EDM
DJ and producer, this one features teenage Canadian Francisco Yates singing – and an impressive video. The song reached number 1 in multiple countries, and was number 2 on the US dance chart.
Zu Asche, Zu Staub Severija 2017 Nightclub jazz
The atmospheric ‘To ashes, to dust’ is the theme to the Netflix show Babylon Berlin about the roarin’ 20s in Weimar Berlin. Severija is a Lithuanian actress, who has the rare distinction of becoming well-known separately in Russia, Germany, and also now the US. In the show, her performance of this song was featured in a memorable Josephine Baker-inspired show. This became the number 1 downloaded song in Germany.
Ich Wünsch Dir Sarah Connor 2019 Pop
She’s been famous in Germany for 20 years, starting in two reality shows and judging on X Factor Germany. And still putting out hits. “I wish you…” (all the happiness in the world).
Control Zoe Wees 2020 Pop
She’s a new artist and this was her first single. It went to number 1 in France. She wrote the song about her struggles with epilepsy. Her voice and style are reminiscent of a German Adele.