Jürgen Becker - Deine Disco

History in Slices—How Music Shapes Politics

Without the revolutionary invention of the electric guitar, history would have unfolded differently: The ’68ers had Jimi Hendrix, the hippies had Janis Joplin and Woodstock, the squatters had Ton Steine Scherben, the peace movement had Bots & BAP, the women’s movement had Ina Deter, and the punks had Patti Smith. It is the soundtrack and its resonance in society that make a movement successful. Today, the climate movement lacks its own sound and is in danger of losing ground; the Earth is getting hotter and hotter. A catastrophe that Jürgen Becker perfectly analyzes in “Deine Disco.” A cabaret show unlike any other: politics, records, protest, and punchlines are mixed live on stage into a rousing radio show; the performance dives satirically deep into the sound files of a turbulent youth and, in the end, even saves the future: Follow the Science. But don’t forget the emotions!

It’s no coincidence that when asked whether art could change the world, Joseph Beuys replied, “Only with art!”