Classical Composer Reaction/Analysis to Sonne (Rammstein) | The Daily Doug (Episode 483)

[@josefinenagy4136]

This song was actually written for Vitali Klitschko (Ukrainian boxer) as an opener for his fights. That's why there is counting to ten. But the mangement of Klitschko thought it was a too heavy song. What a missed opportunity for Klitschko! This is one of Rammstein's best songs and a great song in live concerts!

[@declan4456]

Wow I never knew that!! Big boxing fan and metal head here so that was a cool fact to learn!! 🤘

[@richardbland4303]

I agree wholeheartedly!

[@hannu8755]

This is new information for me! 👍 Always loved this song! 🤘 Thank you very much Josefine.🌹

[@not-a-theist8251]

hes also the mayor of Kiev lol

[@jobesfernseher1985]

Once you learn that, all of a sudden the lyrics make sense: ... the sun shines out of my hands can burn, can blind you when she breaks out of my fists lie hot on your face lays painful on your chest the balance come to loss lets you go down hard and the world counts loud to ten ...

[@carpedukem]

Singing "it will not set tonight" at an open air concert at dusk, when you know you will not see darkness for next hour because of pyrotech is just perfect

[@jeannettesimpson9778]

Rammstein are best viewed live. They're a brilliant performance band that really bring their songs to life.

[@LongandWeirdName]

Yes. I mus... ...gree with you. They are inde... ...perior live when Till Lin...an's mic...hone never fails to re...i...er his voice. Not once in thei... ...story has that e...r h...ned.

[@theinvisibleneonrainbowzeb2567]

@@LongandWeirdName lol, ok, but help me out here please, second word on the second line is bugging the heck outta me, you wrote "... never fails to re...i...er his voice." [sic] What is the R word!?!!

[@LongandWeirdName]

@@theinvisibleneonrainbowzeb2567 register

[@Broccoli_Highkicks]

The pyro on the last tour for this song was insane - literally felt like there was a "tiny" sun blazing above the stage. Rammstein make top shelf videos, but there is no live show on Earth quite like a Rammstein live show. They seem kind of heavy and simplistic on the surface, but everything about this band is art.

[@joelmacdonald6994]

I agree. I don’t feel like their music is incredibly technical, but the way they put it together is masterful. 100% true artists.

[@Barbarian75]

Even when they do those show as part of festivals, they are amazing. Even tough on a smaller scale. Download 2016 was a good one. And very wet.

[@module79l28]

@@joelmacdonald6994 - Industrial Metal is all about repeating riffs and beats, not about technical composition.

[@joelmacdonald6994]

@@module79l28 this is true.

[@angc214]

I was there for the Chicago show. Truly amazing experience. Flames all over the stadium almost like you're inside the sun.

[@riccardobassani7405]

The hook is so melancholic, I love it

[@metalmark1214]

There was a song? lol

[@PotatoL001]

@@metalmark1214 obviously

[@ccb1127]

Nice profile picture

[@rajput36000]

@@metalmark1214why do you feel the need to ask? Are you deaf?

[@ziggypernot9780]

One of my favorite Rammstein songs. I was unaware that it was originally written for a boxer so now the counting makes sense (it never did before). It sounds like a ref counting down a boxer and at 10 you're "aus".

[@KhordLizardMage]

Check out the live version from their most recent tour. Great pyrotechnics during this song (the whole show actually). On the recent tour they had 2 female pianists playing Rammstein covers as an opening act, including a version of Sonne. It was awesome.

[@wildwine6400]

Sound is poor quality for first time reacting

[@brusecco]

5:12 yes, the female vocals are a sample… from EastWest’s “Symphony of Voices”, if i remember correctly. i used it myself, along with other phrases from that library.

[@Dqaniel]

Spectrasonics Symphony of Voices.

[@agustindetlefsen6944]

Zeit is a very emotional song personally, they wrote it during the pandemic while things were at its worse (as far as i know) and open up about their worries, the time that push us closer to the end. Deep song. I really recommend it to you. They also released Angst, which is very much like Amerika, a political critic. Dicke Titten is great if you want to have fun, its silly in every way. As well as Zick Zack. Lügen is also an open social critic about how we lie to ourselves constantly. Good insight on the song, cheers.

[@sulliken77]

This song Live was absolutely amazing. Even though we were like 20 meters (60-ish feet) away from the nearest "Flame Tower" and those were just as high, it felt like we suddently basked in in the sun. They flamed up on every count. One of the coolest live experiences I've ever had. There are a lot of vids of this on KZbin. Just check it out, and imagine beeing there.

[@christianwilliamson9752]

Supposedly the video is referencing the older German version of snow white. Where she is wicked and the dwarves are her slaves. So she is the sun. I think in the German poem sonne is used as her name I think

[@thomaskrutzmann2231]

Hi Doug, I love your thoughtful and competent reactions for so many different pieces of music as they broaden my musical universe. I'm in my late 50s and discovered Rammstein some months ago. Sometimes they're a bit over the top, but there are real gems in their catalogue. From a musical perspective I really would like to see your reaction to "Mein Herz brennt" (Piano Version), somehow reminding me of a Brecht/Weill-Song, with an exceptional Vokal and theatrical Performance of the singer. No explicit things to see there. And "Zeit", the official Video, a masterful combination of Video, lyrics and music with an existential and universal topic. It's epic in the best way and said to be one of the Best Videos ever produced. One (more or less) explicit scene in the middle - pictures of newly born babys (Fake, of course). More or less, because this is the most natural thing on the world but might not be for everyone. Regards and keep going!

[@georgekeiper5208]

They have an entire album of piano versions of their music called Klavier with the sheet music for liner notes.

[@liberatoreZ]

The "aus" would mean "over" in this case. Like counting out a boxer. And like you said in the beginning: this was supposed to be the entrance music for Klitschko. So, that's what the lyrics are about. The sun comes out of my hands... The visuals of the video don't have much to do with the lyrics though.

[@thunderk552]

Thank you for doing another Rammstein analysis. They are a greatly under-appreciated musical group.

[@SuperUltimateLP]

There is a official piano version of sonne, you can hear it in the end credits of "Deutschland" :)

[@neilbradley]

I saw Rammstein in September in LA. AWESOME Show. You should also check out Duo Jatekok - fantastic classical pianists that Till apparently said "bridged the gap between classical and metal". The vocal patch is Omnisphere (VST plugin).

[@jamesogle5889]

You are truly a musical genius my friend!

[@timglas]

Great vid as always, Dr Helverin, and nice to see you using the keyboard again. I love this song, the power in the song is extraordinary.

[@ehhhhcudddddddd]

My favorite song by them, got to see them do this live back in September. Was absolutely insane, will never forget it!

[@frankiethevoice]

I did just see some lIve Concerts Clips from the USA a couple days ago from Sept. in TX and CA. The crowd can sing the lyrics in german too. Amazing ! Rammstein is a phenomenon. Like your reaction video ! :-D ;-) Greetz from Germany. Oh. And by the way. The singer is an educated pyrotechnician. You can see that on stage shows.

[@Swollen_Goat]

I got this album when it came out. As a kid in middle school, it changed my life for many years. Mutter will always be my favorite album by them, but Rammstein still kills it and I love their most recent two albums almost as much.

[@geeemm135]

what josefine nagy said. in addition to that - the lines "the sun shines out of my hands" and "if she breaks out of my fists lie hot on your face, lays painful on your chest the balance come to loss" kind of refers to klitschko landing hands on his opponents and going down. the counting then would be the crowd and the ref doin the ko count.

[@martinbriese4305]

the women voice is Christiane Hebold!

[@xDamageProducer]

Well kinda, they sampled her singing one note and then created a keyboard patch with it. So while it is her voice she didn’t actually perform the part.

[@trulybtd5396]

Dougs attempts at German are adorable.

[@heltongoncalves5996]

Doug, listen to REISE REISE - Rammstein - Orkester Mandolina Ljubljana - dir. Andrej Zupan. They are amazing! :)

[@ostermalmi1]

Such a nice feeling guy. Very pleasant channel thank you

[@OldDavo1950]

I remember the first Rammstein album I ever bought Sennsucht. Was on special on one of those clearance tables. Scary album cover but being into metal but not extreme stuff. Thought why not. Firm fan ever since.

[@oscardiggs246]

I know you like to listen to the studio versions, but for Rammstein it's probably a good idea to do a quick look at the end of the video for a live version. This one is stunning in every live version they've done.

[@haroldmurrayDFW]

Any Sonne video from Mexico City is absolutely outstanding.

[@halmycroft194]

I have heard that the count refers to the long/slow count in boxing where a fighter knocked down is given a count of ten to rise, otherwise they are considered to be knocked 'aus'. I gather that Vitaliy's nickname was 'The Sun'. In that context, this is a sort of solar ode to his power and strength as a boxer, the brightest star with the sun shining from his eyes. The counting underlying it all is like a microscopic focus on the seconds where a match is decided, where that spark of consciousness is either blazing or knocked out. Seconds matter. There's a sense of time slowing, possibly of willing oneself to get up before the count winds down. It's a very simple but effective device :)

[@not-a-theist8251]

Vitali Klitschko is the current Mayor of Kiev btw.

[@bpetrikovics]

And after this, listen again to the outro of the Deutschland video :)

[@JoriDiculous]

Great song, very good live! Do have a peek at a couple when you find time. They Always end their shows with the Instrumental/Piano) version of Sonne. A few more New Rammstein to must watch: Zick Zack (Hilarious video), Angst and Dicke Titten (Yup, that one is exactly what it sounds like)🤭

[@marcoseduardofonseca147]

the keyboard part is a library of sounds. I don't remind the name buy you can find it online

[@michaelendres337]

My favorite Rammstein song! Seeing this live is other-worldly.

[@Depipro]

An association I just got from the video clip (in line with other Rammstein songs and themes) was of Snowwhite as the charismatic leader figure, who gets away with bossing the miners thanks to her charisma (in part in the form of sex appeal). And still based on the video clip one can take this association a lot further (including the glass coffin), but I won't dictate my own interpretations now. ;)

[@mattk070]

I’m surprised no one has mentioned it yet and I scrolled back a ways reading comments so I don’t repeat things. For me it was quite obvious immediately the Sonne was Snow White. When he says here comes the sonne as Snow White is walking through the door. She’s the brightest star ect…. The dwarves were enamored and worshipped Snow White. So she is who they were referring to in the video for being the Sonne. At dinner table the Sonne won’t set tonight, she just did a line of gold dust lol. You get it? At the end the Sonne rising and she comes up out of the glass….

[@KenpachiZarakiX]

Glad I got to see them in San Antonio this past Sept. The freaking Alamodome was filled with smoke at the end of the show 😆 fugging epic!

[@tosa2522]

I loved your musical analysis of the song.

[@dirkcz9987]

Indeed, just amazing when people who have such a great understanding of music can immediately recreate parts for example on the piano

[@Blankp1anet]

Would love to see you do some Pineapple Thief, the other prog PT with Gavin on drums haha. I love 'What Have We Sown?' but that's 27 minutes long, I'm sure your fans have lots of recommendations from them, I feel like they don't get enough love and this channel would be great for them. Thanks again for all the great content

[@singingfan]

Yes more Rammstein!! Try their newest single "Adieu" or the single before it called "Angst"! Or the guitarist Richard Kuspe's band Emigrate (Rammstein's guitarist's solo project)?? There's even a couple of duets with Till Lindemann, also lead singer of Ghost Tobias (known as Cardinal Copia)!! How about some Ghost?? How about some Tori Amos??

[@raunopellaofficial]

The soprano voice is not digital at all. It is a real soprano recorded in a studio. There are 4 different samples of vocal laments in "Sonne" that were originally recorded by the company "Spectrasonics" (company mainly known for keyboard software Omnisphere). Spectrasonics produced a number of sampling CD-s back in the day such as "Distorted Reality", "Symphony of Voices" etc. These specific vocal laments are all taken from the latter - The Symphony of Voices CD collection. Flake the keyboardist simply sampled the sounds to his keyboard in a sequence that produces the melody we know today. If you read the official album booklet's liner notes, you can find "Symphony of Voices" being mentioned there as well. Another subject I wanted to correct is the chorus harmony. It starts with the B chord, but the key signature is actually not B-minor, rather E-minor instead. They start with a minor dominant chord and go V, I, flat VII, flat VI and repeat the pattern. The second half starting with E (as the real key center for chorus) goes I, V, III, II and repeats. What I mean by that is that not all sections have to start with the root of a key signature. Other than that an interesting analysis and the song itself is classic Rammstein.

[@thefluxcapacitor1]

Live versions of this song are amazing. I need to upload mine from Los Angeles and share it.

[@peterblissett9076]

you really are VERY good doug , your ear is a revelation !!!

[@Morris1581]

At the end of the Song "Deutschland" from Rammstein is a Beautyfull Piano Version of Sonne.

[@CavHDeu]

Rammstein is a perfect reason to learn or refresh German 😉

[@dieterelsen1586]

You recognized the melody, the closing part of Deutschland/credits? It’s from this song Sonne

[@conallmclaughlin4545]

Zeit.... Its unbelievable and an amazing video

[@ryttu3k]

Can't talk about the lyrics because I've forgotten basically all my high school German, but this album came out when I was a fourteen-year-old baby goth, and was one of my absolute favourites. This isn't my favourite track (that's Spieluhr), but definitely up there.

[@Jflonsn]

I recommend Zeit, preferably with subtitles, it's a masterpiece

[@rolffleischer9852]

Some passages of the german lyrics indicate that the song is about boxing. I am German speaking and, loosely translated, the sun is the force that comes out of the fists, hits the opponent in the face, makes him lose his balance and falls to the ground. And then count to 10!

[@prchise]

Wintersun. Song called Time. Most overlooked metal band ever.

[@davehueglin2147]

I highly recommend listening to "Du Hast", the Live in Paris version. Awesome video and performance. "Zeit" is another excellent song and video.

[@dralock1]

This might get buried, but Nina Hagen does the vocals for Apocalyptica's excellent cover of Seeman. It's worth experiencing at least once.

[@andersgranstrom7128]

Fine reaction as always, sir - thank you! More Rammstein, when you can...please! 🙂

[@RAMMSTEINGEORGIA]

❤️❤️Thank you!!

[@LuisRdzG10]

You haaaave to see a live video of this song. Pyro as its best!

[@bendjohans3863]

yay finually a really great song from them :)

[@MaikSeyring]

If you check the Outro of "Deutschland" you will recognize the "Sonne" theme in the piano part.

[@pelletsburnerandpower]

I'm a native German speaker and I agree with your interpretation.

[@ievazagante5527]

I read there was an idea to make video of this about present mayor of Kyiv when he was a boxer.

[@ievazagante5527]

If you are going to do "Mein Hertz brennt", I think that music video is more impressive. Though probably it is only the imagery,

[@wildwine6400]

You should check out one of their new songs "Angst" or "Zeit". Important to do a version with English lyrics. User "EducatedMarine" has them uploaded with English cc. Very visual music videos to pay attention to that suit the lyrics

[@kolt4d559]

Definitely Angst!

[@I_am_oLii]

I'm German and that was solid pronounciation on all German words in this video!

[@ulrikbrndsted9891]

If you like live recordings, DEFINITELY watch it for this song. Or better yet, go see a show. An experience like none other.

[@renemuller5114]

FUN FACT: Snow White in this video was actually played by a 7 foot tall GUY!

[@Malik_Mudassir382]

No shit She's russian model at that time not guy Her name is Yulia Stepanova

[@renemuller5114]

Maybe they used her face, BUT the rest of the body was a 7 foot tall MAN, check out the making of of the "Sonne" video, there you can clearly see him!

[@josecarlosamador]

My favourite Rammenstein's song.

[@Explorerda]

I lost it at 3:21 🤣

[@mikaelpersson2273]

Hello Doug, i really would like to hear what you as a classical composer think about Rammsteins piano version of "Mein herz brennt" .

[@yigithenden126]

What would i not give to watch another Opeth reaction from you right now

[@Arrow2theACL]

Doug just reacted to the entire Damnation album on his Pateron.

[@yigithenden126]

@@Arrow2theACL holy shiiiiiit whaaat

[@morphinmartian6266]

You can hear the full musicianship in all its glory live with vocals muted kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4nHlKiwatZ0j5o

[@1982jeepcj8]

Disney was Pissed, the mouse did NOT approve

[@johnnylemon9610]

really a great song. i think you should watch the video again, though, paying more attention. the dwarves are working for, pretty much worshipping snow white. shes the sun referenced in the video. they long for her to come out and even though she abuses them, they revel in it. it may have been bittersweet when she od'd, but when the apple wakes here, theyre right back to work. if you like rammstein, you should check out black light discipline. another great industrial band. the video for their song on fire is also really good.

[@Chiefmonks]

whats that album on the right side, middle shelf? The cover seems familiar but i cant name it...

[@Mountfailmore]

Weekly Rammstein appreciation episode please!

[@KimOfDrac]

Rock Symphony has done an awesome version of this with a live soprano and choir👍

[@ramirospinelli6453]

Would love to see you analyze something from Thank You Scientist.

[@fabriziogonzales9719]

I highly recommend you do a video on Alter Mann or Heirate Mich. they aren’t the most popular (not by a long shot) so I doubt some one sends these ones in but they are definitely interesting songs. Specially Alter Mann it’s a bit more different from what you’ve heard from Rammstein than Heirate Mich. Thanks for the video btw, enjoyed it a lot

[@CavHDeu]

Please analyze Klavier. This bell sound is also referring to boxing like the counting to 9

[@daicullinane7746]

Doug, how about listening to early Rammstein? Du Hast, Sehnsuct or Engel.

[@TheXlen]

1) the count is for a box ring 10&you're out 2) afaik that soprano is just concerto saw 3) I think that the word sonne is used as a double meaning, sun and sons(sohne) which actually makes a whole lot of sense when you start to think about it

[@liberatoreZ]

Flake 'polishing his apple'... :D

[@shallowlord]

You must do Mein Herz brennt... It was in the movie Lilja 4-ever.

[@mat_beek]

3:12 greatest drum drop ever

[@noahhallman9174]

One Dich is a really good one too I recommend.

[@Hangar1969]

I would recommend Rosenrot. The lyrics come from a poem by Goethe.

[@kobehighlander]

Not sure if someone commented this, but "aus" can also mean "over" as in "Es ist aus" = "It's over".

[@Bobbias]

Mutter is the only Ramstein album I've really listened to, but it's got a ton of great songs on it.

[@Gohn9508]

How old were y'all when "Aus" found out to be "out" not "ten"? I've known it just now 🥺🥺🥺

[@demidevil666]

As a German native I'm eager to hear your opinion on your opinion of Rammstein's song "Seemann" ("seafarer/sailor") from their debut album. :)

[@tomtom34b]

Soooo. This is something I only realized through your video: 2:33 You count up the numbers, but they only get to 9, and then it is "Out". Later in the song, "the world" counts up to ten. Does the world really count up to ten? I think there is deeper meaning by Rammstein into this, although idk what specifically it could be. The miners want to reach "ten", but they only can reach 9 and want to close to ten? There are a lot of philosophycal meanings that can be interpretated into Rammstein texts. This is one of them imo.

[@tomtom34b]

Just addendo: Sometimes you think you are at 9, but 10 is close and you are working towards 10? Have you ever felt that? I did. I never reached 10... I reached 9, but never 10. Maybe that is the meaning of the song...

[@rikardgustafsson5345]

i love rammstein

[@maximusemperor]

Great video! Suggestions: zeit or seemann

[@stb55555]

I love the video but they cut out the bridge. You should definitely check out the album version.

[@morpheus778]

I have a very underrated Band for you: Vanden Plas, a German Progmetal band. They make great songs. My recommendation is "Stone roses edge." Listen to this song. A great piece of music.

[@xcforce9067]

It's a 10 count in boxing done by a ref. If you don't get up in time 10 becomes "out".

[@Raysboss302]

I never give up.

[@iamthewell]

The "out" was actually what they say when a boxing opponent is knocked down. You count from 1 to 10, and when you reached 10, you are out.

[@goymenyalcin4926]

great choice! the video clip is about master-slave dialectics.

[@synthplayer1563]

Finally something interesting again. 😉