The conference "Pop after Communism. The Transformation of Popular Culture after 1989/90" was opened on 15 November 2023 with the book presentation of "No Limit. Die Neunziger – das Jahrzehnt der Freiheit" ("No Limit. The Nineties - the Decade of Freedom") by Jens Balzer. Of course, we already have the book in our collection (ZZF 39323), but we would like to take the conference as an opportunity to draw attention to a very special collection of journals that we have been able to add in the last two years. The magazines look at the 1990s from a very unique perspective, namely that of the music journalist Matthias Hopke, who died in 2021 and was an important figure in the heavy metal scene in the GDR, with his weekly radio show "Tendenz Hard bis Heavy" on the youth radio station DT 64. After the end of his radio career, Matthias Hopke turned his attention to the 1920s. As DJ Grammophon, he played shellac records for years. Our former trainee Fiona Caspary trawled through the internet to find information on fanzines, some of them small, in the most obscure corners of the internet, which not even the "Zeitschriftendatenbank" (ZDB) knew about. The library team wishes you lots of fun browsing, reading, putting on old records – and at the conference!
Z 716 Heavy-Metal-Lexikon (ZZF holdings: 1.1993 [New edition] – 5.1996)
In five volumes, the "Heavy-Metal-Lexikon", written single-handedly by Matthias Herr and published between 1983 and 1996, secured a special place in the hearts and bookshelves of its readers. Herr was tired of heavy metal being treated as a marginal phenomenon in conventional encyclopaedias on rock and hard rock. His encyclopaedia is regarded as an important reference work for well-known and unknown bands in the scene, especially as it was published at a time when the Internet was not yet available as a resource. The author got to know most of the bands himself at concerts. As a fan who wrote a magazine for fans, Matthias Herr was remembered by his readers for his subjective style, which was loved by some and hated by others. After the encyclopaedia, Matthias Herr wrote the "Black Metal Bible" (1998). Since then, he has left the commentary on the metal scene to others.
Z 737 Debüt: Zeitschrift mit LP (ZZF holdings: 1983 – 1984)
The editors of "Debüt" had a completely new idea: a monthly music magazine with an accompanying LP. This concept, which can later be found in the CD supplements of most popular music magazines, was, as the name suggests, a debut. The magazine itself had 62 pages of interviews, reports and news, which gave the context to the record. Unfortunately, the Debüt publishing and production company seems to have been somewhat ahead of its time. Only ten issues were published between 1983 and 1984, after which the magazine was discontinued. But the international market was not yet ready for the concept either, as the English edition (published from 1984 to 1985) was not successful either. The German-language edition of the magazine can be admired in the display case in the basement of the library.
Z 738 Gaffa: Musik, Film, Buch & Z 753 Cab-nightflight (ZZF holdings: 1998 – 2000)
Gaffa" was an advertising and event magazine published from 1996 to 2001 and distributed free of charge in clubs and record shops. One of its editors was Christian Hentschel. In 2000, "Gaffa" initiated the double CD sampler "Generation East. Musik aus Neufünfland", on which 39 tracks by artists from East Germany appeared, including new and well-known ones. However, the sampler was criticised somewhat because some of the musicians were under contract to the publisher's own production company, which gave the record the reputation of being an advertising campaign. In 2001, "Gaffa" was sold to Hopf & Schmitz. From 2001 to 2003 it appeared there under the name "Cab-nightflight". Christian Hentschel, who today publishes the "Schall. Musikmagazin", remained chief editor until the end and revitalised the popular GDR music magazine "Melodie & Rhythmus" in 2004.
Z 739 Melodie & Rhythmus (ZZF holdings: incomplete 1958 – 1991)
Melodie & Rhythmus was the (pop) music magazine in the GDR: it has been published since 1957. At the beginning, the magazine followed the cultural policy guidelines of the SED and focussed on music from the GDR. Later, the focus loosened and articles about musicians from Western countries were also printed. At its peak, the magazine had a circulation of 300,000 copies, but it is likely that far more people read it. After reunification, "Melodie & Rhythmus" was published by Henschel Verlag until 1991. In 2004, it was re-established by Christian Hentschel, Andreas Fack and Tino Eisbrenner and was published until July 2022 by Verlag 8. Mai, which also publishes the daily newspaper "junge Welt".
Z 741 Ablaze: Metallic Voice of the Underground (ZZF holdings: incomplet 1994 – 2001)
This magazine is so small and obscure that not even the "Zeitschriftendatenbank" (ZDB) knew about it – until we pointed it out to them. "Ablaze" was founded by Marc Spermeth, who published it from 1994 to 2003 and mainly presented bands from the black and death metal scene. This made "Ablaze" one of the first extreme metal magazines to be available in magazine shops and newsagents. For this very reason, however, there was resistance from parts of the scene who saw this attempt to make the underground accessible to the public as a betrayal or sale of the scene. These accusations were mixed with anti-Semitic stereotypes against Spermeth, particularly in the right-wing extremist part of the underground. The magazine of the same name, which has existed since 2007 and is published by the well-known neo-Nazi Hendrik Möbus, can therefore not be seen as a formal or ideological successor to the original "Ablaze".
Z 742 Down.Under: Magazin der Unkultur im Niemandsland (ZZF holdings: 2004 – 2005)
The next find from the blind corner of the ZDB: This magazine, published from 2002 to 2013, was a joint project by live music organisers from eastern Saxony. "Down.Under" was published by the Neukirch Youth Club and distributed free of charge in clubs, bars, cult stores and schools. The magazine was intended to be a platform for the local scene in eastern Saxony, in its own words "for the subversive realms, for the musical subcultures, their bands, clubs and venues."
Z 744 Schlagzeug: das Jazz-Magazin (ZZF holdings :incomplete 1958 – 1960)
This initially inconspicuous magazine turned out to be one of the most exciting in our new collection. "Schlagzeug" was published from 1958 to 1960 by Äquator Verlag under the publishing director Karl-Heinz Marbach and reflected Western jazz magazines in both form and content. The magazine could be bought in record shops, at newsagents and at jazz concerts. For example, the head of state security in Czechoslovakia stated that "the West Berlin-based 'Äquator-Verlag' was carrying out systematic ideological agitation against the people's democratic countries and the Soviet Union". Among other things, the Jazzbrücke campaign, which the magazine called for in 1960, was criticised. As part of this campaign, used records were collected and sent to addresses in the GDR, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Czechoslovakia. Writers for "Schlagzeug" included Horst Lange, Werner Burkhardt, Heinz Lukasz, Joachim Ernst Berendt and Siegfried Schmidt-Joos. During research for one of his books, the latter discovered that the accusations made by the secret services were not unfounded: Publishing director Marbach had been hired by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to propagate the Western way of life using America's most popular export, jazz. The magazine allegedly received DM 50,000 per quarter from the CIA. More detailed information on this exciting story can be found in Schmidt-Joos' book "Die Stasi swingt nicht" (ZZF 28709).
Z 745 Melodie: Illustrierte Zeitschrift für Musik-, Film-, Theater-Freunde Magazin (ZZF holdings: 1947)
The magazine "Melodie", which was published monthly from 1946 to 1949 with the permission of the French military government, is a little lightweighted. However, it could be ordered by post in all occupation zones. "Melodie" was one of a series of post-war newspapers that dealt with culture, not only music, but also film, theatre, art, architecture and the preservation of historical monuments. However, the publisher Gerhard Froboess is better known for another melody, namely for composing the hit song "Pack die Badehose ein", which was sung by his eight-year-old daughter Cornelia and became a hit.
Z 746 Jazz-podium (ZZF holdings: 1996 – 1999)
The self-confessed traditional magazine "Jazz-podium" has existed since 1952 and is still published today. The magazine was founded by Dieter Zimmerle in Vienna. Under the name "Podium", it was initially dedicated to cinema culture. However, as Zimmerle was already the president of the "German Jazz Federation", consisting of 23 jazz circles, as well as the director of the jazz house "Der Schlüssel", a change of focus to jazz was hardly a surprise. Zimmerle made no money with the magazine; on the contrary, he paid extra for each edition. Even today, all text and picture authors work for free. Only the publishing location has changed; instead of Vienna, Jazz Podium is now published in Bernried on Lake Starnberg.
Z 747 Rolling Stone (ZZF holdings: incomplete 1994 – 2009)
The German edition of the "Rolling Stone", founded in San Francisco in 1967, has existed on paper already since 1981. However, the German "Rolling Stone" with Klaus Böhler as editor initially had little success, and it was only with the new edition in 1994 that the magazine was able to gain popularity in Germany. "Rolling Stone" was initially published by DRS-Verlag, which was founded specifically for this purpose, but since 2002 the rights have been held by Springer publishing house in Berlin. "Rolling Stone" is not just a music magazine, but also publishes articles on politics, art, film and literature.
Z 748 Orange Agenten (ZZF holdings: 3 issues from 1996 and 1999)
From extremely well-known to extremely obscure: the ZDB had never heard of the "Orange Agents" either. The East Berlin fanzine is particularly notable for its black and orange print and unusual A3 format. The magazines were published by former members of the flat-sharing community and artists' group "Tschika Chybulski" Matt Legde, punk musician Frank "Tschaka" Schackert and underground literature publisher André Henze from 1996 to 2001. The editorial team caused a lot of fun and confusion with the quirky issue numbering (3.1, 2x45 minutes, 0.8%) and the constant change of subtitle ("Zeitschrift für Jugendkultur und Randale", "Zeitschrift für Passivsportler & Kettenraucher", "Zeitschrift für niedere Reproduktionsarbeiten"). A special feature of the magazine was that the interviews with artists were – unlike usual – often printed unabridged.
Z 749 Iron Curtain (ZZF holdings: 11 issue from 1993)
At first glance, "Iron Curtain" makes a serious impression, but it is virtually unknown. At the end of the 1980s, the editor Jens Molle presented the programme "Tendenz Hard bis Heavy" on the youth radio station DT64 together with, of all people, Hopke. The authors of "Iron Curtain" included radio announcer Peter "Pluto" Neuber, who later became famous for his role as Mike Lehmann on the radio station Fritz. In terms of content, the magazine is dedicated to death, thrash, grind and doom metal, but unfortunately also attracted attention due to conspiracy theories, such as that "AIDS/HIV was imported to Europe from American gay prisons as a secret weapon of the CIA". The magazine was immediately cancelled in 1993, the year it was first published.
Z 750 Metal Hammer (ZZF holdings: incomplete 1990 – 2001 and 2 issues from 2008)
"Metal Hammer", founded by Dietmar Wagner and Jürgen Wigginghaus, started out as a newsstand magazine in 1983. Initially, an English magazine of the same name, founded by Wilfried F. Rimensberger, was published in parallel. However, the editorial teams quickly decided to work together. The presentation of international festivals such as "Monsters of Rock" and cooperations with ZDF and BBC soon helped "Metal Hammer" to become known worldwide. From the mid-90s onwards, the magazine drifted more and more towards the mainstream, with the word metal being printed smaller and smaller in the title. This alienated some of the original fans and led to a dispute between Jürgen Wigginghaus and the publisher MVG, who eventually sold the magazine to Springer publishing house. Under a new editor-in-chief, the magazine returned to its metal roots in the 2000s.
Z 751 Musik-Express (ZZF holdings: incomplete 1990 – 2003 and 2 issues from 2008/09)
"Musik-Express" is one of the oldest German music magazines still in circulation; it has been published monthly since 1969 and is now published by Springer publishing house. It was preceded in 1956 by the founding of the Dutch "Muziek Expres", which was conceived as an advertising medium for events. The magazine received its first major attention when it printed the programme of the illegal radio station "Veronica". The editorial team moved to Hamburg in 1973, right on the doorstep of rival magazine "Sounds." Both were bought by the Marquard Media Group in 1982 and from then on appeared as one magazine under the name "Musikexpress/Sounds." The traditional music journalism of "Musik-Express" was able to assert itself against the progressive formats of "Sounds". When Springer bought the magazine in 2000, the subtitle Sounds was dropped again.
Z 752 NM!-Messitsch (ZZF holdings: incomplete 1990 – 1993)
Published between 1991 and 1994, the magazine represented the merger of the Leipzig fanzine "Messitsch : Comics & Sex & Rock'n'Roll", founded in 1987, with the (East) Berlin magazine "Neue Musik-Information", which had existed since February 1990. Both saw themselves decidedly as music magazines focussing on underground music from the GDR. The development of this subculture after reunification was accompanied with critical and loving commentary, and the international avant-garde and independent scene, which was now freely accessible, was also scrutinised. Almost all of the authors came from the GDR, which gave the magazine a unique selling point alongside established punk zines such as "ZAP" and "Trust".
Z 755 The Flying Revolverblatt (ZZF holdings: Issue 5 from 1994)
Another title that has not yet been catalogued: "The Flying Revolverblatt" was a Dresden fanzine that was supported by the Rock-Strukturfond of the Free State of Saxony. 27 issues were published between 1993 and 2006.
Z 756 Wahrschauer (ZZF holdings: 1995 – 1996)
The "Wahrschauer" is one of the longest-running independent music magazines in Germany. It was published from 1988 to 2009 as a print edition, initially by the publisher Troll and later by the specially founded Wahrschauer Verlag. The magazine provides information about the alternative music scene and later also appeared with a CD supplement. Today, Wahrschauer still exists – albeit as an online edition without a fixed publication schedule.
Z 757 Maul mit Biss (ZZF holdings: 2 issues from 1996/97)
This magazine was also previously unknown to the ZDB: The Berlin satirical fanzine by the band "Die Untoten" was published by the art office Sonic Malade. The homemade magazine from the squatter scene aimed to be a musical and opinion-forming mouthpiece as well as a mirror of the autonomous scene. Although "Maul mit Biss" was only published in 21 issues, it still achieved a circulation of 3,000.
Z 759 Rock Hard (ZZF holdings: incomplete 1990 – 2002 and 2 issues from 2008 und 2019)
Compared to similarly successful magazines, "Rock Hard" has a kind of Cinderella story behind it: It began in 1983 as an underground fanzine modelled on the Dutch magazine "Aardschok". The founders of "Rock Hard" got to know each other in the classified adverts of the German translation of this very magazine. The first three issues were not printed, but photocopied in an edition of 110 copies. Just four years later, the Christmas edition of "Rock Hard" was published with a circulation of 10,000 copies. In the meantime, "Rock Hard" has branched out under the same name in Brazil, France, Greece, Italy and Spain.
(15.11.2023)