Stripped (Depeche Mode cover)

While most people seem to only acknowledge this song for its at a first glance; erotic message.

But I think this song works on 2 very powerful layers.

The Nostalgic layer:

This song is centering around a specific time period of Germany. More specifically the time period around the 30's and the late 20's. You might ask why I would make this seemingly absurd claim. And I shall answer you:

1. Rammstein clearly references the famous german Sci Fi Movie "Metropolis" from 1927(this movie is in the top 100 best movies of all time on IMDB, go check it out its an awesome movie!). They then continue in the setting of that movie, with the lines: "You're breathing in fumes. I taste when we kiss " Very relevant as Metropolis is a huge industrial city covered in smoke and fumes. And the movie centers around the love plot between the main characters a rich son of a corporation leader, and a robotic female).
2. Rammstein used another famous german movie, Leni Riefenstahl's movie "Olympia" from 1938, as the music video for this song. Again an emphasize on this specific time period of German history.

This nostalgic perspective brings renewed meaning to the chorus; "Come back to the land". Of course we now understand that the land the singer wants us to come back to is Germany in the 30's. and the continuation "Where everything is ours"... gets eerily close to a dark chapter in history. But with the line "For a few hours" we are reminded that this is merely a short nostalgic reminiscence.

The Mindless Consumerist layer:

First of; the Rammstein band is renown for vehemently attacking the consumerist culture. They have in many songs attacked capitalistic USA and the Mindless Consumerism that they associate with USA(listen to their song "America" for confirmation). Further confirmation can be found:

1. The lines: "Let me hear you. Make decisions. Without your television. Let me hear you speaking. Just for me." is a blatant attack on Consumerism. As the lyrics imply that a person is incapable of making decisions without the help of the television. Which is to say that the person is mindless. And that the person is incapable of speaking. That the person is a drone. Or one of the slave workers from Metropolis. The lines "Let me see you stripped" could also be a reference to see the mindless person described above, stripped of all his consumerist products; Televisions, computers, cars, etc. To find some core truth(which perhaps is to be found in the nostalgia layer).

2. Again the Metropolis quote becomes relevant. As Metropolis ultimately is a critique of capitalism. The movie depicts the relationship between workers and owners in its extreme. The workers are slaves that walk with their heads bend at all times, they live below the city, and frequently die due the terrible conditions of their fume and gas filled environment. Whereas the owners sit atop huge skyscrapers and live lives of pure luxury without ever experiencing or caring for the harsh lives of the many workers. Like Metropolis was a critique of Capitalism, this song is also a critique of capitalism and more specifically; the mindless drones it turns us into.

Conclusion. So what is this song really saying? Its saying something about how things were before and after the introduction of the consumerist society. He wants the listener to take his hand and take a short nostalgic trip back to Germany in the 30's, a time before MacDonalds, Radio, Television, Starbucks, Windows, MTV, Blockbuster, the internet and all the other things we associate with consumerism, to perhaps find some values which have now been forgotten. Since he want us 'Stripped' from all these things. I must assume he wants us to know that all these things are not important, and we should strip ourselves of these mindless idols.

I think this is one of the best songs too cuz 1: Its pornographic and 2: The guitars in this song kick ass. Rammstein does sound evil, but thats what makes them cool. If they sounded like a cheap mamma's boy like Vanilla Ice, would anyone wanna listen to them?

I thought it was about rape at first because he says "let me see you stripped." My brother told me that he's saying he wants to see who she really is deep down. He wants to get past looking at the physical things or a mask that hides who they really are. The line "Let me hear you make desicions without your television" kind of supports the idea.

All in all, kick ass song and a kick ass video.

RemyKilledElvis, I tend to agree with your brother's opinion on the song, but the chorus just sounds so evil it's great. It's erotic of course but it could also be making a point of 'let me know who you are without all the superficial things that influence you, look at yourself as yourself, nothing else'. Someone he loves but wants to show them how to be themselves? 'Metropolis Has nothing on this You're breathing in fumes I taste when we kiss'

He loves who she truly is as in her kiss, but shes breathing in the fumes of all these things that arent really true to who she is and he wants to have her "stripped".

Wow, you guys shure are horny. THIS SONG IS NOT PORNOGRAPHIC IN ANY WAY! its about hte real person, he wants to see the person for who they are. such as the lyrics "Make decisions Without your television Let me hear you speaking Just for me" its all about dont listen to the F*ckin media or anythign, just tell me about you!

Each version is darkly delicious in their own way.

Depeche Mode’s version speaks about pulling back the layers of the ‘self’, stripping away the metaphysical layers of the world until only the basest, most carnal elements exist. A kind of returm to Eden in a sense.

The Rammstein version speaks if stripping away materialism, discarding the need or desire of ‘stuff’ in order to find and belong in a world realised by commonality and love of fellow man.

The Shiny Toy Guns version speaks of stripping away boundaries such as race and status. It seeks to promote more of a unity amongst all man, and tries to teach equality by stripping down the boundaries society and status have backed us into.

In essence, this song is a perfect exhibit on how the same words can have incredibly different meanings.

I think this is one of the best songs on the CD, and no, not just because it says "stripped" or that it's in English. The electric guitar sounds like something from Wayne Static (Static-X). What also makes this song cool is that, with the combination of the lyrics and the vocals, it sounds like a pornographic love song sung by some evil Satan follower with a heavy-metal fetish. That is what makes Rammstein songs so cool. Odd lyrics sung in German by some dude that sounds totally evil. If they weren't German, I'd say it was just good, old-fashioned American music.

I have never heard the original by Depeche Mode although I'm sure it's not as good as this one. I hear it's hidden on the Live Aus Berlin DVD, I just have no clue where. Can someone help me with that?

P.S. I mean the video for the Rammstein version and not the original song, just in case that caused any confusion.

SilentAenima, its on the DVD but you got to put it in your computer, THEN beat TWO ROUNDS OF RAMMSTEIN TRIVIA! and holy crap its hard! you gotta know your stuff! I got it, but hey if you want to go easy on yourself, just get it off Kazaa! Oh and the song could relate to one of Rammsteins Almost olympic experience> cant remember which one, but he was a swimmer!