Wide World of Sport: Sportfreunde Stiller and "Ein Kompliment"

Today's random tune is by a German indie band named Sportfreunde Stiller. I was introduced to this band by a young German guy who was staying with Megan and me when a volunteer position that he had taken in El Paso didn't work out for him and he needed a place to crash while he looked for another position. He eventually ended up in New Orleans. We asked him to give us some ideas about German music that we could highlight on our show. Among the groups he suggested was this one.

The song is just what the name implies, a romantic compliment from one person to another. What makes it interesting is the imagery that takes it a little above the usual romantic pap that you find out there. "You are my chill-out area...my sweets department in the supermarket." You don't usually see such vivid imagery in these types of songs, and as a wannabe poet, I like such imagery.

Sportfreunde Stiller was founded in 1996 in Germering, region of Bavaria, Germany. They based their original name, Stiller, on the manager of their local football side. However, they had to change the name because a different band already owned the rights to the name, so they added Sportfreunde (friend in sports) as it is commonly used in names of sports teams in Germany. One of their songs, Independent, was used in the video game FIFA 2003. They are five time nominees for Best German Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards. They are also only the sixth German group to perform for the MTV Unplugged series. Ein Kompliment can be found on their 2009 CD Die Gute Seite. This version is from their 2009 MTV Unplugged appearance.