I'm quite good at learning other languages, and I enjoy doing so. Two years ago I was conversant in German; however, after two years of very little use my command of the language isn't so hot. I'm trying to use it slightly more now.

To that end, does anybody have any German-language music they can recommend? Rammstein, Kraftwerk and Einstürzende Neubauten are all frequent appearances on my playlists; any more?

Edit: Poetry would also be appreciated.

BlutEngel are very good, as are Das Ich and Feindflug. Don't have any German poetry though :-( I love the German language, it's so harsh yet flowing and sexy :-)

Welle: Erdball are good

If you can find original Rainier Maria Rilke poetry, the German is said to be much better than any translation into English. I enjoy reading his poetry but don't know quite enough German yet to identify much; just some words/phrases/select sentences.

For the bands: just out of interest, which genres are they?

Sort of electro kind of stuff for Welle: Erdball, iots a bit hard to describe!

I have a fondness for German death metal. No bands in particular, I've loved all I've come into contact with. I've been told that several bands just sing things like cooking recipes and random nonsense that sounds harsh and hardcore. Wish I knew enough to be able to tell. I only know enough to pick out the naughty words. If you happen to run across any death metal that is like this, could you please PM me? I've always been curious.

As for stuff you'd probably like more, I'm really fond of Wagner's opera Götterdämmerung. Wagner's Tristan und Isolde and Beethoven's Fidelio are spectacular, too. I actually love German opera altogether. Beauty, harshness, and lyricality meshed together so finely....

The bands Ive mentioned are EBM/ Industrial orientated :-)

Check out Die Fantastische Vier (sp?) - German for the Fantastic Four - they're a bit of a German institution. It's German hip-hop - imagine if the Beasties were born in Berlin.

It's suprisingly listenable, and the fact that it's in German is simultaneously more interesting to the ear, and absolutely hilarious.