Taylor, Michael ThomasRyszka, Michael Andrzej2012-10-032012-11-132012-10-032012http://hdl.handle.net/11023/259In this thesis I examine the music of West Berlin experimental music group Einstürzende Neubauten. The unique social, political, and economic conditions of West Berlin during the 1980s created a distinct urban environment that is reflected in the band’s music. The city has been preserved by Einstürzende Neubauten in the form of sound recordings, and conserved in the unique instruments originally found by the band on the streets of West Berlin. The band’s music is evidence of their refusal to conform to pre-existing structures and expectations of society. The band challenged the architecture of the urban landscape and of the mind by manifesting Walter Benjamin’s Destructive Character in their art, and restructured the framework of the pop song. They also confronted the contemporary rock music performance with a revolutionary stage performance that relied on physical brutality, emotion and freedom of expression inspired by playwright Antonin Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty. To this day, the work of Einstürzende Neubauten continues to exist as both a representation of the society and youth of 1980s West Berlin, and as a progressive art that challenges and restructures the framework of music and performance.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.MusicMusicSocial SciencesAnthropology--CulturalMusicCultureGermanywest berlinberlin wall1980seinsturzende neubautenpost war architecturePhilosophywalter benjaminantonin artaudPerformancetheatresquattingmaster thesis10.11575/PRISM/28149