STRØMBLOCQUE PHANTASIËN
Title
STRØMBLOCQUE PHANTASIËN
Subject
Coolhaven – Strømblocque Phantasiën
Description
The 'Strømblocque Phantasiën' is a song cycle inspired by Die Winterreise by Franz Schubert and Wilhelm Müller. The subject of the cycle is a contemporary version of Schubertian romanticism: the inner struggle of man with nature, his nature and himself.
As a leitmotiv of the cycle, this can be translated into the struggle with technology and knowledge (is lettuce good for you or not? / why can't I connect to the net?) of modern man, with the not unimportant underlying theme of the urge for simplicity, clarity and safety and freedom, about which it is difficult to reach a consensus.
The lyrics are distilled from the life story of David Hasselhoff, the actor and rock star – he is particularly successful in Austria – who became famous by maintaining an intimate relationship with his car 'KITT', and frequently staring 'Ins Blaue Hinein' during his work for 'Baywatch'. The lyrics, which were in principle written for a large audience, have remarkably enough, when a number of separate sentences are isolated, a depth that is reminiscent of Greek pathos of the purest kind and deal with almost all subjects that modern man (can) worry about. The lyrics can be interpreted as 'modernist romanticism', i.e.: the belief in the feasibility of the world. The language in which the cycle is sung is of course German, the language of technology, Weltschmerz and Goethe (of course with surtitles).
Coolhaven's Strømblocque Phantasiën were eventually published several times; as a stage piece at various locations (including the Crossing Border festival in The Hague, Club Transmediale in Berlin and November Music in Den Bosch) with an extensive cast (Mariska Simons and Martijn van Boven, plus three young sexy dancers), as a radio play, produced by the Worm Sound Studio and broadcast by the VPRO and also as a CD on the one-off Taple Records.
As a leitmotiv of the cycle, this can be translated into the struggle with technology and knowledge (is lettuce good for you or not? / why can't I connect to the net?) of modern man, with the not unimportant underlying theme of the urge for simplicity, clarity and safety and freedom, about which it is difficult to reach a consensus.
The lyrics are distilled from the life story of David Hasselhoff, the actor and rock star – he is particularly successful in Austria – who became famous by maintaining an intimate relationship with his car 'KITT', and frequently staring 'Ins Blaue Hinein' during his work for 'Baywatch'. The lyrics, which were in principle written for a large audience, have remarkably enough, when a number of separate sentences are isolated, a depth that is reminiscent of Greek pathos of the purest kind and deal with almost all subjects that modern man (can) worry about. The lyrics can be interpreted as 'modernist romanticism', i.e.: the belief in the feasibility of the world. The language in which the cycle is sung is of course German, the language of technology, Weltschmerz and Goethe (of course with surtitles).
Coolhaven's Strømblocque Phantasiën were eventually published several times; as a stage piece at various locations (including the Crossing Border festival in The Hague, Club Transmediale in Berlin and November Music in Den Bosch) with an extensive cast (Mariska Simons and Martijn van Boven, plus three young sexy dancers), as a radio play, produced by the Worm Sound Studio and broadcast by the VPRO and also as a CD on the one-off Taple Records.
Creator
Coolhaven
Date
2006
Format
CD
Language
English, Dutch
Type
Glitch, Novelty, Synth-pop, Experimental
Identifier
ELE.COO
Coverage
Netherlands
Files
Collection
Citation
Coolhaven, “STRØMBLOCQUE PHANTASIËN,” WPB, accessed October 18, 2024, https://tpb.worm.org/items/show/14460.