From “12tone”. ( YouTube / Nebula )

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The New Wave movement is a fascinating cultural moment to me, with new technologies merging with older practices to create some truly weird and wonderful music. But within that scene is the Neue Deutsche Welle, a specifically German take on the genre that grew up in a country living more than most in the shadows of the Cold War, and perhaps its most famous members were the band Nena. A surprise breakout hit that crossed language barriers to rise up the charts, 99 Luftballons is a fun, accessible piece that still manages to tell a very personal and important story of the struggles of living in West Berlin, surrounded on all sides by Soviet forces. Even if most people who heard it didn’t know that’s what it was about. The blending of exciting, upbeat synthpop with dark, dangerous stories is a staple of New Wave, and few songs do it better than 99 Luftballons.

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