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Celebration: Texte und Bilder zur Nacht
Wir dachten ja plötzlich, wir machen jetzt alles zusammen. Auch das Schreiben.
Feiern, trinken, reden sowieso. In Montreux, in Tokio, in New York und San Francisco, Parties, Reisen, Interviews, all over the world. So war das Gefühl, rock ’n’ roll-style-mäßig, zu Beginn der Mitte der 90er Jahre. Als man nicht mehr daran dachte, war das Jahrzehnt auf einmal da und ereignete sich. Der Ort dieser Zeit war die Nacht. Und der Augenblick, als uns bewußt wurde, was wir da dauernd erleben, war auch der Einfall der Krise, der Beginn der Arbeit am Text.
Differenzen wurden führend. Die Auflösung, die wir gemeinsam erlebt hatten, ließ sich nicht fassen … Ich schrieb an der Nachtleben-Erzählung Rave und an dem Kunst-Theaterstück Jeff Koons. Jede Ablenkung war mir willkommen. Immer auf der Suche nach Formen des Schreibens, näher dran am Leben, als die Schrift von sich aus, freiwillig, automatisch sein möchte. Auch auf der Suche nach einem Buch, das man eigentlich nicht mehr lesen muß. Das einfach so rum liegt, in dem man bißchen blättert, das einen angenehm anweht, fertig.
So entstand dieser Band: die Bilder, die Texte, auch eine Feier der Nacht, dieser Jahre
Feiern, trinken, reden sowieso. In Montreux, in Tokio, in New York und San Francisco, Parties, Reisen, Interviews, all over the world. So war das Gefühl, rock ’n’ roll-style-mäßig, zu Beginn der Mitte der 90er Jahre. Als man nicht mehr daran dachte, war das Jahrzehnt auf einmal da und ereignete sich. Der Ort dieser Zeit war die Nacht. Und der Augenblick, als uns bewußt wurde, was wir da dauernd erleben, war auch der Einfall der Krise, der Beginn der Arbeit am Text.
Differenzen wurden führend. Die Auflösung, die wir gemeinsam erlebt hatten, ließ sich nicht fassen … Ich schrieb an der Nachtleben-Erzählung Rave und an dem Kunst-Theaterstück Jeff Koons. Jede Ablenkung war mir willkommen. Immer auf der Suche nach Formen des Schreibens, näher dran am Leben, als die Schrift von sich aus, freiwillig, automatisch sein möchte. Auch auf der Suche nach einem Buch, das man eigentlich nicht mehr lesen muß. Das einfach so rum liegt, in dem man bißchen blättert, das einen angenehm anweht, fertig.
So entstand dieser Band: die Bilder, die Texte, auch eine Feier der Nacht, dieser Jahre
- GenresGermany
Paperback
Published May 31, 2004
1 person is currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Rainald Goetz
26 books78 followersRainald Maria Goetz is a German author, playwright and essayist.
After studying History and Medicine in Munich and earning a degree (PhD and M.D) in each, he soon concentrated on his writing.
With his first works, especially his novel "Irre" ("Insane"), published in 1983, he became a cult author for the intellectual left. To the delight of his fans and the dismay of some critics he mixed neo-expressionist writing with social realism in the vein of Alfred Döblin and the fast pace of British pop writers like Julie Burchill. During a televised literary tournament in 1983, Goetz slit his own forehead with a razor blade and let the blood run down his face until he finished reading.
Goetz made his name as an enthusiastic observer of media and pop culture. He embraced avant-garde philosophers like Foucault and Luhmann as well as the DJs of the techno movement, especially Sven Väth.
He kept a written a daily diary, or blog, on the web in 1998–99 called Abfall für alle ("trash for everybody"), which eventually was published as a book.
Goetz won numerous literary awards.
After studying History and Medicine in Munich and earning a degree (PhD and M.D) in each, he soon concentrated on his writing.
With his first works, especially his novel "Irre" ("Insane"), published in 1983, he became a cult author for the intellectual left. To the delight of his fans and the dismay of some critics he mixed neo-expressionist writing with social realism in the vein of Alfred Döblin and the fast pace of British pop writers like Julie Burchill. During a televised literary tournament in 1983, Goetz slit his own forehead with a razor blade and let the blood run down his face until he finished reading.
Goetz made his name as an enthusiastic observer of media and pop culture. He embraced avant-garde philosophers like Foucault and Luhmann as well as the DJs of the techno movement, especially Sven Väth.
He kept a written a daily diary, or blog, on the web in 1998–99 called Abfall für alle ("trash for everybody"), which eventually was published as a book.
Goetz won numerous literary awards.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 28, 2025
Rainald Goetz is a prominent member of the German techno scene, although he's not a musician: As part of the pop literature movement, archiving the present is a major aim of his poetics, and no other author has a catalog like him when it comes to capturing electronic music in Germany. While his autofictional Rave is his most prominent work in the field, "Celebration" is a more hybrid and yet more accessible work: In a mixture of journalistic reports and interviews, he goes deep into the philosophical and societal roots and meanings of the techno scene as it reflects 1990's Germany as a whole. His fascination is closely connected to another pop lit staple: Pulverizing the line between entertainment and serious art (which is still strict in Germany) and thus marrying the Dionysian and the Apollonian.
Let's look at the chapters:
1. Sven Väth
Goetz accompanies the famous DJ to Tokyo, first published in Tempo (a now defunct magazine that produced people like Christian Kracht and Moritz von Uslar), 1994.
2. Frontpage
Interview with Jürgen Laarmann, publisher of techno magazine Frontpage, first published in 1995.
3. Westbam
A conversation with, you know, DJ Westbam that goes very deep into the production and function of techno music and mass events, first published in Merve 204, 1997.
4. Albert Oehlen
This is an outlier: Goetz talks to the neo-expressionist artist Albert Oehlen about how and why he produces his paintings, and IMHO, they both come off as insufferable here. First published in Fama and Fortune, 1998.
5. Love Parade
Analyzes the political power of the techno parade, first published in Zeit-Magazin, 1997.
6. Praktische Politik
This is the most interesting chapter of the book: A discussion with two journalists from Texte zur Kunst who challenge Goetz' "Love Parade" text, especially his positive outlook on mass events and the political potential of techno. First published in Texte zur Kunst, 1997.
7. Die Banalität des Prolligen
Goetz answers questions sent from Der Tagesspiegel via fax, and it really is both banal and tacky. First published in 1997.
Throughout the book, there are photographs of people and scenes connected to the text, not staged and raw (which also means intentionally unprofessional and not aesthetically pleasing). They are treated like text in the sense that they remain unexplained, so you either know the people in them or you don't, which means you have to feed off the vibes (of course that connects to techno and mixing art forms blablabla you get the idea).
Overall an intriguing project, also for this reader who has never cared one bit about techno.
Let's look at the chapters:
1. Sven Väth
Goetz accompanies the famous DJ to Tokyo, first published in Tempo (a now defunct magazine that produced people like Christian Kracht and Moritz von Uslar), 1994.
2. Frontpage
Interview with Jürgen Laarmann, publisher of techno magazine Frontpage, first published in 1995.
3. Westbam
A conversation with, you know, DJ Westbam that goes very deep into the production and function of techno music and mass events, first published in Merve 204, 1997.
4. Albert Oehlen
This is an outlier: Goetz talks to the neo-expressionist artist Albert Oehlen about how and why he produces his paintings, and IMHO, they both come off as insufferable here. First published in Fama and Fortune, 1998.
5. Love Parade
Analyzes the political power of the techno parade, first published in Zeit-Magazin, 1997.
6. Praktische Politik
This is the most interesting chapter of the book: A discussion with two journalists from Texte zur Kunst who challenge Goetz' "Love Parade" text, especially his positive outlook on mass events and the political potential of techno. First published in Texte zur Kunst, 1997.
7. Die Banalität des Prolligen
Goetz answers questions sent from Der Tagesspiegel via fax, and it really is both banal and tacky. First published in 1997.
Throughout the book, there are photographs of people and scenes connected to the text, not staged and raw (which also means intentionally unprofessional and not aesthetically pleasing). They are treated like text in the sense that they remain unexplained, so you either know the people in them or you don't, which means you have to feed off the vibes (of course that connects to techno and mixing art forms blablabla you get the idea).
Overall an intriguing project, also for this reader who has never cared one bit about techno.
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October 13, 2020Das ist einfach absolut wahnsinnig
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews