honoring the pretension inherent in me by having a commonplace book but the first entry is lyrics from cobra starship's "prostitution is the world's oldest profession (and i, dear madam, am a professional)"

(June 20 ,2017) The frontman of the Rammstein band, Till Lindemann, is one of the most famous and popular rock musicians of our days. Recently he came to St. Petersburg for an autograph session. Pavel Sokolov, editor-in-chief of publishing house eksmo.ru [that's the publishing house that issued the book In Quiet Nights in Russian], managed to meet up with Till and interviewed him. Q: You were born and grew up in the GDR. Could you tell us about your life in this country? After all, for people born in this century, it is difficult to imagine what it was like for your generation. T: Firstly, there was an oppressive atmosphere and the inability to get out of the country, the feeling of constantly being watched. The Stasi in the GDR were as good as KGB. Secondly, there was the rigid regulation of life. There was the same pioneer organization in which you had to be involved. In general, there was everything that was also present in the Soviet Union. But on the other side there were also a sense of brotherhood and eagerness to help. Q: Speaking about the life in the USSR: it was quite difficult to get records and tapes of Western artists because of the iron curtain. And bear in mind I consciously choose to use the verb "get". Was it difficult to get records of Western musicians in the GDR? T: There were only two ways to get the treasured records. First, to beg some old lady on you knees to bring it for you from West Germany (the old people still had an opportunity to go to West Germany from time to time). But to transport the records across the border was quite difficult. Suitcases with a double secret bottom existed, but if a person was caught with some banned goods, they might have serious problems. And, also of course, there was a black market. But there for one record it could cost you half of your monthly salary. Q: And which western musician's album did you have first? T: "Welcome to My Nightmare" by Alice Cooper. Q: In the USSR there was a powerful underground rock movement in the 80s. When did you find out about this movement and what Soviet rock bands did you listen to first? T: If we talk about Soviet music: my mother was very fond of the songs of Vladimir Vysotsky. We had his records at home. It was my first acquaintance with a high-quality Soviet music. And for the first time I visited the USSR at the age of 10 on the exchange program for junior athletes of the Olympic reserve: we went to Novosibirsk, Kiev ... But about rock musicians we only learned after Perestroika and after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Then we learned about such bands as "Aria" and "Mumiy Troll". But when the Berlin Wall collapsed, the wind of freedom and change blew. Of course, we initially focused on Western rock music. Like most of German musicians of the time, we tried to copy Kurt Cobain and Pink Floyd. We sang in English and copied their poses. But then we realized that it was all too vulgar and bad taste, and decided to sing in German, to find our own voice in our native language. Q: In fact, the same thing happened with you as with some Soviet and post-Soviet rock bands. T: It's important to remember your roots. Copying other people's samples, even the best ones, is not a good option. As a result, you can simply lose yourself, your uniqueness, the connection with your people and language. Q: Let's turn from the musical theme, to the books. What were your favourite books in your childhood? T: My father was a writer. He had a large library with literature from various countries: from Iran to Kazakhstan. They forced me to read classics - the same "Quietly Flows the Don" by Sholokhov and "War and Peace" by Tolstoy. But I did not like them. After all, I was a child. At the age of 13 I read Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" and was totally amazed. I also liked the books of Chingiz Aitmatov, his work was very different from that of official Soviet literature, which was usually translated and published in our country in that time. He was beyond ideology. The story "Early Cranes" is my most favorite work of his. The writer described the life of ordinary people, the same collective farms, but how skillfully he did it! Without demagoguery and stamps. So Chingiz Aitmatov is my favorite Soviet writer. Q: He died in 2008 in Nuremberg. T: And how old was he? Q: He was about 80 years old. He was among the likely candidates for the Nobel Prize for Literature. T: He definitely deserved it. But there must be a monument built to commemorate him. That's for sure. Q: He has it in his homecounty in Kyrgyzstan. And, while we're in this literary topic, could not you name five of your favorite writers? T: I like the novels of Michel Houellebecq, the poetry of Bertolt Brecht, the work of a Swiss writer of Hungarian origin Agota Kristof, the novel "Natura Morta. Cemetery of Bitter Oranges" by the Austrian author Josef Winkler. And, of course, "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov. I also like the novel "Homo faber" by Max Frisch. Of modern American literature, I like "American Psycho" by Bret Easton Ellis most of all. When I first read it, I got goose bumps ... Q: In Russia he is more known for the film adaptation with Christian Bale in the title role. T: This tape is complete garbage. It is impossible to film this novel. In this film they tried to copy Frank Sinatra, but it turned out to be quite vulgar. There are things that are better not to make into movie. Let's just say, a legend should remain a legend. Q: And what do you think about the film Lolita by Stanley Kubrick than? T: It is impossible to convey in the film the depth of the struggles and pain of the protagonist. Kubrick focused on the pedophile moments, and this makes the tape coarse and vulgar. Q: Let's move on to the final questions that all your fans want to ask. Will there be a new album by the band Rammstein. And if so, when? T: In the summer or autumn of this year we will finish the album. Now we are in the process of work. Q: And will there be songs based on poetry from your book "In Quiet Nights"? T: Literally no more than two quatrains. Q: Does the band plan to tour the major cities of Russia at any point (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod, etc.)? T: We've been trying to allocate time for such a tour for the past 10 years. And it would only take 3-4 days. And we need to somehow combine everything, because quite often we give concerts in Europe and in Germany. And at some point we need to allocate time just for Russia. Q: So do you mean that theoretically such tour is possible? T: And practically too! Q: And the final question. Last year, Nobel Prize in literature was given to to Bob Dylan. If this award were given to you, what would be your reaction? T: To be honest, I'm surprised why I have not yet been awarded with the Nobel Prize! Full interview: https://eksmo.ru/interview/intervyu-s-tillem-lindemannom-ID7033111/ From: Rammstein Belgium // Made In Germany 1996-2011 Facebook page.