German pub quiz

Two weeks ago, approximately 40 students from Aston University and the University of Birmingham gathered at Beorma Bar, eager to test their knowledge on German culture at our annual German pub quiz. Nine teams competed in five strenuous rounds (geography, general facts, music, TV shows, sports) to win goody bags full of Austrian, German and Swiss prizes. Everyone did fairly well with UoB’s final year team “Top Marx” edging the joint staff team in the challenging final round (who would have expected that German winter sports athletes are not well known in the UK???) to take the victory. Many thanks to everyone who participated. We hope you enjoyed the quiz as much as we enjoyed preparing the questions!

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The winner team “Top Marx”:

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Here’s your chance to test your knowledge on Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Would you have known the answers…?

Round 2: General Knowledge

  1. What is the name of the president elect of the Federal Republic of Germany?
  1. How many neighbouring countries does Switzerland have?
  1. What is the name of the longest river in Austria?
  1. Name the largest island of Germany?
  1. Rank the following German cities according to their population, starting with the smallest one: Kiel, Bielefeld, Düsseldorf, Ulm, Rostock.
  1. How many cantons does Switzerland have?
  1. On which date was the first German republic declared?
  1. Name the objects, which the eagle on the Austrian coat of arms holds in his claws.
  1. How is the Swiss parliament called?
  1. What was the year in which Austria joined the Euopean Union?

 

Round 5: Sports – Anagrams

Solve the anagrams below. They are all names of famous athletes. The initials are given, but also included in the anagram.

Example: NAIVSTE UNI STORY: A_____ U_____ = Aston University

1. SCHREIN DÖNER SD
deutsch, männlich, Basketball
German, male, basketball		 D         S  
2. RACHEL ER SCHIRM
österreichisch, männlich, Ski Alpin
    Austrian, male, alpine skiing		 M         H  
3. GEIER QUERBALKEN
deutsch, weiblich, Tennis
German, female, tennis		 A         K  
4. MOBIL LOT
deutsch, männlich, Tischtennis
German, male, table tennis		 T          B  
5. CAPTAIN SUEDLICHE
deutsch, weiblich, Eisschnelllauf
German, female, speed skating		 C         P  
6. KINO TORSO
deutsch, männlich, Fußball
German, male, football		 T          K  
7. AAL GURT
schweizerisch, weiblich, Ski Alpin
Swiss, female, alpine skiing		 L          G  
8. STUMMES MAHL
deutsch, männlich, Fußball
German, male, football		 M         H  
9. ADMIRAL EHER LAU
deutsch, weiblich, Biathlon
German, female, biathlon		 L          D  
10. SALADIN TRIOLE
deutsch, männlich, Eishockey
German, male, ice hockey		 L          D

___________________________________________

 

Answers:

Round 2:
1. Frank-Walter Steinmeier; 2. Fünf; 3. Donau; 4. Rügen; 5. Ulm, Rostock, Kiel, Bielefeld, Düsseldorf; 6. 26; 7. 9. November 1918; 8. Hammer und Sichel; 9. Bundesversammlung; 10. 1995

Round 5:
1. Dennis Schröder; 2. Marcel Hirscher; 3. Angelique Kerber; 4. Timo Boll; 5. Claudia Pechstein; 6. Toni Kroos; 7. Lara Gut; 8. Mats Hummels; 9. Laura Dahlmeier; 10. Leon Draisaitl

Documentary by former LTS student to be shown at Flatpack film festival

This year`s Flatpack film festival in Birmingham (4th – 9th April) will feature a never-seen-before music documentary about one of England`s most promising and unconventional rock bands. The duo “Sleaford Mods” from Nottingham is singing about timeless problems like unemployment, underfinanced towns and hopelessness in a monotonous world, all topics which especially appeal to young people. One of these young people is Christine Franz, a former LTS student from Aston University. Right after listening to the band for the first time it was clear to her that she had to do a music documentary about this exceptional band. The result is a highly anticipated documentary about two musicians following their dreams against all the odds.

The documentary will experience a limited UK cinematic release this spring and is definitely worth watching, especially because it was made and directed by one of our former students, Christine Franz.

Launch of new research project on German Pop Music

This event marks the launch of a new project on German Popular music at Warwick/ Aston unis. It takes place on Wed 8th Feb, 5-7pm in the Occulus building, OC1.09. Warwick Uni Campus. No tickets. Event free. Come along!

This ia a new research intiative that seeks, through collaboration with Warwick University, to promote the serious academic treatment of German popular music and its (much underrated) cultural value and contribuiton to world culture. The topic, perhaps oddly, remains something of a blindspot within German Studies as a discipline. We start with two venerable speakers, David Pattie and Luis-Manuel Garcia.

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Aston academic discussesTrumponomics

Earlier this month, Dr Stefan Manz was a guest on Radio Sputnik where he explained how US president Donald Trump’s unpopularity in Germany and his threat to impose import tariffs on German cars could have negative consequences not just for the German economy, but for the US as well.

Click here to read a write-up and hear the audio clip of the conversation.

Review of “Futur II” by Gruppe Ja, Panik

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Uwe Schütte has contributed an extensive review of the literary debut of Berlin band Ja, Panik to the magazine Volltext. Their singer and songwriter, Andreas Spechtl, was DAAD Songwriter in Residence at Aston in 2015. Futur II commemorates the tenth anniversary of the band. You can read the review by Uwe here. Ja, Panik have also released a new song called Futur II to accompany the album – watch the video here.

“Mal ordinär / mal neureich nobel / hängt man so ab / zwischen unten und oben”

German Pop Music. A Companion

Out now is a new book by our colleague Uwe Schütte. He has edited a collection of essays on major musical styles and bands in the history of German pop music. The contributors comprise a range of international experts on popular music from across Germany, the UK and the US.

The volume is chronologically structured: following the introduction by Uwe, it starts with a chapter on German Schlager, followed by chapters on Krautrock, German Punk, German Industrial, Techno and Rap. There is also a chapter dedicated to Kraftwerk, written by Uwe.

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The survey is concluded by an interview with Diedrich  Diederichsen, the leading scholar in the field who has recently published his major study Über Pop-Musik. For more info see the publisher’s website here or order the book, reasonably priced at £18,71 from Amazon or any other online retailer.

Read an illustrated excerpt from Uwe’s chapter on Kraftwerk on the CUEPOINT music blog.