Questions of Happiness – Alphaville interviewed by fans; #005 Nicole Krauchun: when you write your songs, how do you come up with such great lyrics? How long does it take you to write a song, such as Forever Young? Marian Gold: There exist many techniques to write a song’s lyric. The classic and most regular approach is simply to start writing about the subject you have in mind e. g. SUMMER IN BERLIN, which sentimentally recalls my time in Westberlin during the late 70ies by assembling a number of anecdotic memories. Then again it matters quite a lot in which language you are writing. SIB was immediatly written in English. I am bilingual, German and English, the „official“ languages of Alphaville. If I, for one, start with a German lyric it often becomes fascinating how the transfer from German to English changes the meaning of the original. If it offers an interesting variation of the theme I sometimes curiously follow that trail and end up with something completely new. SUMMER RAIN is a good example for that. It is so to say the younger brother of SIB, primarily describing the dazzling heat of midsummer. By translating the original German text, this idea resulted in the description of some apocalyptic landscape infused into a total stillstand of time which again formed further associations becoming more and more surreal. You probably know that feeling when you are lying on the beach in the warm sun and this curious sleepiness creates all kinds of weird images in your mind?? Well, here we go with lion tamers, circus girls, atomic lizards and so on… you better run for shadow then. Another positive impact translations produce is the effect of clarifying the substance of the text. Translations require an explicit understanding of the original. What seems to be an implicitness in, say, scientific scripts becomes a quite complicated task with poetic texts which often bear on loose connotations. In fact those translations sometimes give even me, the author, a more thorough understanding of my writings. For those who speak German I give an example of how translations alter the original. The german text, some kind of desperate love poem was called „SCHLAG MITTERNACHT“ (STROKE OF MIDNIGHT), the shortened English version was intended for „RAYS“, our last album. It will now probably go on another DREAMSCAPES release. Here it is: Schlag Mitternacht vorbei am roten Rathaus Durch menschenleere Straßen breit genug für Panzerkreuzer Ein neonkaltes Lächeln auf dem Herzen Das soll mich unbesiegbar machen Nicht schlecht wär jetzt ne Zigarette Gern spräng ich über alle Gräben Die ich gezogen hab in vielen Jahren In diesem Kaff, genannt Berlin Und würd so gerne flüstern was von nun an andre flüstern Und tun was andre tun an meiner statt Ich hör mich reden wie ich red und red Das ist so blöd, so blöd, so blöd, so blöd Ich könnte heulen, wenn ich mich so reden hör Wenn nur dies Wort, dies eine Wort nicht wär Das meine andern Worte jagen, um es aufzufressen Wenn doch nur jemand käm und riss es aus mir raus: Das kalte Grinsen und die tiefen Gräben Das Neonlicht, die blöden Reden Das ganze öde Kaff genannt Berlin Das ich gebaut mit all den menschenleeren Wegen Schlag Mitternacht vorbei am roten Rathaus Wenn doch nur jemand käm und riss es raus Das Wort, das niemand nennt, auch wenn ers weiß Wer ist bereit? Wer will es wagen? Kenn ihren Namen, doch ich wag sie nicht zu fragen One might remark that the English version in comparison to the original is so short, it can’t possibly recreate it. True for the plain text but not for the whole song which replaces the missing words with its music and by that transcends it into an even more universal context. At the stroke of midnight - past the city hall Through the deserted streets wide enough for battle cruisers A neon-venomed snakelike smile is resting on my face Just like a mask to make me strong and inexpugnable How much I’d like to leap across the trenches that I ripped into the night How much I’d like to whisper words of love… I listen to the stream of stupid words that keep on flowing from my mouth Just to avoid the unimaginable thought If only someone came along to rip it from my mind The one that all these words are trying to devour How much I hate this town that I have built With all the nightmares one could call his own Damned to live here for all times… Besides the above mentioned, there are lots of other strategies in writing. For instance, one can mix up the lines of a lyric randomly, which, in best case, grants it a thrilling twist one would have never come up with by any stretch of one’s imagination. What I personally often find intriguing is to read aimlessly through movie- or book- titles and arrange them according to sudden inspirations. A prominent example for that is FOREVER YOUNG. „Heaven can wait“, „Diamonds are forever“, We are watching the skies“ and so on are all more or less quotations from movies. The creative part is to put them into a new environment where they miraculously change their meaning into the desired direction. Here’s a lyric I recently wrote for a theme concerning a really cool lady, a vamp, if you will, which is mostly inspired by titles or subtitles from mystery murder novels from the 50ies. Other sources are also easily to distinguish. It’s called THE WINE OF ASTONISHMENT and goes as following: The wine of astonishment she poured into my glass, Doorways in the sand Creep, shadows, creep, dwellers in the mirage, seven footprints to the devil And a hunger for thrills Love’s a lovely counterfeit, she was my big time girl… She sang for her supper but did something else for her midnight snack She’s just a cat of many tails He was a wolf in the asphalt jungle, fair game for a tigress on the prowl I studied the gay science and the birth of tragedy, the will to power I was caught beyond the good & the evil, frozen in the twilight of idols How green was my valley but murder steals the spotlight, yeah… She sang for her supper… The teeth of evidence, a kingdom for a hearse, bats are flying at dusk The beckoning doors, a streetcar named desire Saints play with fire, they ride the pink horse… She sang for her supper… If you are interested you should be able to find most of these lines in the internet. All in all I think whatever you do, the most important thing in writing is to create a flow and then follow it. It will take you to „shores never seen before“ (SHIP OF FOOLS). (photos: Gold, Prohl, Zargarinejad - provided by alphaville, used with kind permission)
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Questions of Happiness – Alphaville interviewed by fans; #005

Nicole Krauchun: when you write your songs, how do you come up with such great lyrics? How long does it take you to write a song, such as Forever Young?

Marian Gold: There exist many techniques to write a song’s lyric. The classic and most regular approach is simply to start writing about the subject you have in mind e. g. SUMMER IN BERLIN, which sentimentally recalls my time in Westberlin during the late 70ies by assembling a number of anecdotic memories. Then again it matters quite a lot in which language you are writing. SIB was immediatly written in English. I am bilingual, German and English, the „official“ languages of Alphaville. If I, for one, start with a German lyric it often becomes fascinating how the transfer from German to English changes the meaning of the original. If it offers an interesting variation of the theme I sometimes curiously follow that trail and end up with something completely new. SUMMER RAIN is a good example for that. It is so to say the younger brother of SIB, primarily describing the dazzling heat of midsummer. By translating the original German text, this idea resulted in the description of some apocalyptic landscape infused into a total stillstand of time which again formed further associations becoming more and more surreal. You probably know that feeling when you are lying on the beach in the warm sun and this curious sleepiness creates all kinds of weird images in your mind?? Well, here we go with lion tamers, circus girls, atomic lizards and so on… you better run for shadow then.

Another positive impact translations produce is the effect of clarifying the substance of the text. Translations require an explicit understanding of the original. What seems to be an implicitness in, say, scientific scripts becomes a quite complicated task with poetic texts which often bear on loose connotations. In fact those translations sometimes give even me, the author, a more thorough understanding of my writings. For those who speak German I give an example of how translations alter the original. The german text, some kind of desperate love poem was called „SCHLAG MITTERNACHT“ (STROKE OF MIDNIGHT), the shortened English version was intended for „RAYS“, our last album. It will now probably go on another DREAMSCAPES release. Here it is:

Schlag Mitternacht vorbei am roten Rathaus

Durch menschenleere Straßen breit genug für Panzerkreuzer

Ein neonkaltes Lächeln auf dem Herzen

Das soll mich unbesiegbar machen

Nicht schlecht wär jetzt ne Zigarette

Gern spräng ich über alle Gräben

Die ich gezogen hab in vielen Jahren

In diesem Kaff, genannt Berlin

Und würd so gerne flüstern was von nun an andre flüstern

Und tun was andre tun an meiner statt

Ich hör mich reden wie ich red und red

Das ist so blöd, so blöd, so blöd, so blöd

Ich könnte heulen, wenn ich mich so reden hör

Wenn nur dies Wort, dies eine Wort nicht wär

Das meine andern Worte jagen, um es aufzufressen

Wenn doch nur jemand käm und riss es aus mir raus:

Das kalte Grinsen und die tiefen Gräben

Das Neonlicht, die blöden Reden

Das ganze öde Kaff genannt Berlin

Das ich gebaut mit all den menschenleeren Wegen

Schlag Mitternacht vorbei am roten Rathaus

Wenn doch nur jemand käm und riss es raus

Das Wort, das niemand nennt, auch wenn ers weiß

Wer ist bereit? Wer will es wagen?

Kenn ihren Namen, doch ich wag sie nicht zu fragen

One might remark that the English version in comparison to the original is so short, it can’t possibly recreate it. True for the plain text but not for the whole song which replaces the missing words with its music and by that transcends it into an even more universal context.

At the stroke of midnight - past the city hall

Through the deserted streets wide enough for battle cruisers

A neon-venomed snakelike smile is resting on my face

Just like a mask to make me strong and inexpugnable

How much I’d like to leap across the trenches that I ripped into the night

How much I’d like to whisper words of love…

I listen to the stream of stupid words that keep on flowing from my mouth

Just to avoid the unimaginable thought

If only someone came along to rip it from my mind

The one that all these words are trying to devour

How much I hate this town that I have built

With all the nightmares one could call his own

Damned to live here for all times…

Besides the above mentioned, there are lots of other strategies in writing. For instance, one can mix up the lines of a lyric randomly, which, in best case, grants it a thrilling twist one would have never come up with by any stretch of one’s imagination. What I personally often find intriguing is to read aimlessly through movie- or book- titles and arrange them according to sudden inspirations. A prominent example for that is FOREVER YOUNG. „Heaven can wait“, „Diamonds are forever“, We are watching the skies“ and so on are all more or less quotations from movies. The creative part is to put them into a new environment where they miraculously change their meaning into the desired direction. Here’s a lyric I recently wrote for a theme concerning a really cool lady, a vamp, if you will, which is mostly inspired by titles or subtitles from mystery murder novels from the 50ies. Other sources are also easily to distinguish. It’s called THE WINE OF ASTONISHMENT and goes as following:

The wine of astonishment she poured into my glass,

Doorways in the sand

Creep, shadows, creep, dwellers in the mirage, seven footprints to the devil

And a hunger for thrills

Love’s a lovely counterfeit, she was my big time girl…

She sang for her supper but did something else for her midnight snack

She’s just a cat of many tails

He was a wolf in the asphalt jungle, fair game for a tigress on the prowl

I studied the gay science and the birth of tragedy, the will to power

I was caught beyond the good & the evil, frozen in the twilight of idols

How green was my valley but murder steals the spotlight, yeah…

She sang for her supper…

The teeth of evidence, a kingdom for a hearse, bats are flying at dusk

The beckoning doors, a streetcar named desire

Saints play with fire, they ride the pink horse…

She sang for her supper…

If you are interested you should be able to find most of these lines in the internet. All in all I think whatever you do, the most important thing in writing is to create a flow and then follow it.

It will take you to „shores never seen before“ (SHIP OF FOOLS).

(photos: Gold, Prohl, Zargarinejad - provided by alphaville, used with kind permission)

Alphaville – always expect the unexpected: Last minute change of the price for the winners of our QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS fan interview event Looking back, initially it wasn’t the song QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS which was announced as a reward, it was the wonderful tune LONDON SKY. When creating a special version for www.alphavillenow.com, Marian rediscovered the quality of this great tune an took into consideration to add it to the list of candidates for the upcoming album, working title STRANGE ATTRACTOR. As a result, we alternatively chose QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS as a reward then, as it’s name fitted so perfectly to the interview-event. We changed the name of the event accordingly, as you might have noticed. Meanwhile, almost a week ago, Marian started to put his magic hands on QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS in order to create a special version for the winners, and up to now he’s unable to let go. Haunted by a tiny glimpse of excursiveness (like we know him) he fell in love with QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS (again); but this time it seems to be something serious – he already created drafts for an album version and a single version of the song (can’t remember when he did something like that last time), and it seemed to be quite obvious that neither begging, crying nor threatening would work on him to release the song (like planned) for the raffle. So, we decided to go back to the initial plan to hand out a song which almost no one ever heard before, as it has never been performed live: We decided to let the winners receive LONDON SKY, and I sent it off quickly before my phone could ring again and … Congratulations to the winners, and thank y’all for contributing. Answers to your questions will pop up on this blog every now and then within the coming months.
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Alphaville – always expect the unexpected: Last minute change of the price for the winners of our QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS fan interview event

Looking back, initially it wasn’t the song QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS which was announced as a reward, it was the wonderful tune LONDON SKY. When creating a special version for www.alphavillenow.com, Marian rediscovered the quality of this great tune an took into consideration to add it to the list of candidates for the upcoming album, working title STRANGE ATTRACTOR.


As a result, we alternatively chose QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS as a reward then, as it’s name fitted so perfectly to the interview-event. We changed the name of the event accordingly, as you might have noticed.

Meanwhile, almost a week ago, Marian started to put his magic hands on QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS in order to create a special version for the winners, and up to now he’s unable to let go. Haunted by a tiny glimpse of excursiveness (like we know him) he fell in love with QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS (again); but this time it seems to be something serious – he already created drafts for an album version and a single version of the song (can’t remember when he did something like that last time), and it seemed to be quite obvious that neither begging, crying nor threatening would work on him to release the song (like planned) for the raffle.

So, we decided to go back to the initial plan to hand out a song which almost no one ever heard before, as it has never been performed live: We decided to let the winners receive LONDON SKY, and I sent it off quickly before my phone could ring again and …

Congratulations to the winners, and thank y’all for contributing. Answers to your questions will pop up on this blog every now and then within the coming months.

Questions of Happiness – Alphaville interviewed by fans; #004 Karen Roddis: Is there a question you have never been asked before that you would like to be asked? What is that question and how would you answer it? Marian Gold: I guess those questions you have to ask yourself. I don’t think you can receive them from another person. They belong to everybody’s personal quest on one’s journey through life. They are probably as hard to find as their associated answers. Amongst other things I try to find them (questions as answers) by creating music. Martin Lister: I have never actually been asked “what first inspired you to become a professional musician?” My answer would be, “after learning to play piano, I was listening to the Hunky Dory album by David Bowie and learned to play almost all the songs. I was so struck by the compositions and piano parts, that was the moment when i decided that a career in music was what I wanted”
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Questions of Happiness – Alphaville interviewed by fans; #004

Karen Roddis: Is there a question you have never been asked before that you would like to be asked? What is that question and how would you answer it?

Marian Gold: I guess those questions you have to ask yourself. I don’t think you can receive them from another person. They belong to everybody’s personal quest on one’s journey through life. They are probably as hard to find as their associated answers. Amongst other things I try to find them (questions as answers) by creating music.

Martin Lister: I have never actually been asked “what first inspired you to become a professional musician?” My answer would be, “after learning to play piano, I was listening to the Hunky Dory album by David Bowie and learned to play almost all the songs. I was so struck by the compositions and piano parts, that was the moment when i decided that a career in music was what I wanted”

Questions of Happiness – Alphaville interviewed by fans; #003 Jan Schoenmakers: With more and more influence in the band – co-writing and arranging songs rather than “just” performing them – how do you deal with the tradition and established reputation of 1980s Alphaville? Do you try to draw on that history, or is that something you rather try to block out while writing on new material to make it fresh? Martin Lister: I don’t consciously look back, influences are there of course but I just write and arrange music that I like the sound of and just hope that others do too. If you put that kind of pressure on yourself ( looking back at hits etc ) it’s a slippery slope downwards. Jan Schoenmakers: Synth-pop has strong English and German roots. Has Alphaville ever been a “German thing” – and do you think your ever more intense contribution has made it more English or international? Martin Lister: Alphaville were always an international group, singing in English 99% of the time. I guess that there is an influence from me that has my English pop/rock roots contained within. It’s not a concious move though. photos: kp, from the alphaville archives. proivided by alphaville / marian gold, used with kind permission
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Questions of Happiness – Alphaville interviewed by fans; #003

Jan Schoenmakers: With more and more influence in the band – co-writing and arranging songs rather than “just” performing them – how do you deal with the tradition and established reputation of 1980s Alphaville? Do you try to draw on that history, or is that something you rather try to block out while writing on new material to make it fresh?

Martin Lister: I don’t consciously look back, influences are there of course but I just write and arrange music that I like the sound of and just hope that others do too. If you put that kind of pressure on yourself ( looking back at hits etc ) it’s a slippery slope downwards.

Jan Schoenmakers: Synth-pop has strong English and German roots. Has Alphaville ever been a “German thing” – and do you think your ever more intense contribution has made it more English or international?

Martin Lister: Alphaville were always an international group, singing in English 99% of the time. I guess that there is an influence from me that has my English pop/rock roots contained within. It’s not a concious move though.

photos: kp, from the alphaville archives. proivided by alphaville / marian gold, used with kind permission

Questions Of Happiness: The winners are … … as you read in an earlier post on this blog in may 2013 had the chance not only to win an exclusive MP3* of the demo version of QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS, an unreleased Alphaville song, you also had the chance to raise a few questions and to do a fan-interview with Alphaville. The contest is closed now, answers to fan questions will be posted to alphavillenow.com constantly within the upcoming months. This post has been updated after each draw on may 12, may 19 and may 26 (5 winners each draw). Additionally, 10 more winners are drawn and announced right here on june 2, 2013. JUNE 2, 2013 – HERE’S THE FINAL SET OF LUCKY WINNERS:Terry Foster • Mike Shirk • Andrea Monroy • Bernd Friedrich • Juliana Oliveira • Denise Joyce • Raiko Götze • Phil Avengers • Dirk Schroeder • Jacob HolmPrices will be sent out by email to all winners on june 9. MAY 26, 2013 – HERE ARE THE LUCKY WINNERS:Andrea Inguane • Daniel Harrigan • Peter Salomon • Elena Amosova • Heike WeindlPrices will be sent out by email to all winners on june 9. MAY 19, 2013 – HERE ARE THE LUCKY WINNERS:Jan Schoenmakers • Jonas Persson • Ilya Shamshudinov • Roland Krude • Ronen PreislerPrices will be sent out by email to all winners on june 9. MAY 12, 2013 – HERE ARE THE LUCKY WINNERS:Frank Mühlberg • Sven Rinke • Colin Ybarra • Mark Ferrigno • David StarkPrices will be sent out by email to all winners on june 9. MAY 5, 2013 – HERE ARE THE LUCKY WINNERS:Nancy A. Acosta • Tina Gibson • James Mooney • Tomas Trolltoft • Herman BoelPrices will be sent out by email to all winners on june 9. All winners were randomly drawn from all accepted questions *(the smartphone is not part of the raffle) [photo: m. zargarinejad / universal music. provided by alphaville]
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Questions Of Happiness: The winners are …

… as you read in an earlier post on this blog in may 2013 had the chance not only to win an exclusive MP3* of the demo version of QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS, an unreleased Alphaville song, you also had the chance to raise a few questions and to do a fan-interview with Alphaville. The contest is closed now, answers to fan questions will be posted to alphavillenow.com constantly within the upcoming months.

This post has been updated after each draw on may 12, may 19 and may 26 (5 winners each draw). Additionally, 10 more winners are drawn and announced right here on june 2, 2013.
JUNE 2, 2013 – HERE’S THE FINAL SET OF LUCKY WINNERS:
Terry Foster • Mike Shirk • Andrea Monroy • Bernd Friedrich • Juliana Oliveira • Denise Joyce • Raiko Götze • Phil Avengers • Dirk Schroeder • Jacob Holm
Prices will be sent out by email to all winners on june 9.
MAY 26, 2013 – HERE ARE THE LUCKY WINNERS:
Andrea Inguane • Daniel Harrigan • Peter Salomon • Elena Amosova • Heike Weindl
Prices will be sent out by email to all winners on june 9.
MAY 19, 2013 – HERE ARE THE LUCKY WINNERS:
Jan Schoenmakers • Jonas Persson • Ilya Shamshudinov • Roland Krude • Ronen Preisler
Prices will be sent out by email to all winners on june 9.
MAY 12, 2013 – HERE ARE THE LUCKY WINNERS:
Frank Mühlberg • Sven Rinke • Colin Ybarra • Mark Ferrigno • David Stark
Prices will be sent out by email to all winners on june 9.
MAY 5, 2013 – HERE ARE THE LUCKY WINNERS:
Nancy A. Acosta • Tina Gibson • James Mooney • Tomas Trolltoft • Herman Boel
Prices will be sent out by email to all winners on june 9.
All winners were randomly drawn from all accepted questions



*(the smartphone is not part of the raffle)

[photo: m. zargarinejad / universal music. provided by alphaville]

Questions of Happiness – Alphaville interviewed by fans; #002 Herman Boel: Who is Patricia? (cf.. song Patricia’s Park) I have always wondered who was the girl the song is about. Marian Gold: If one has seen the video for PATRICIA in SONGLINES, the girl’s identity becomes more obvious. In short words she symbolizes the future of the human race, she’s so to speak the child of mankind and she can only be protected by preserving complete creation. photo: gold, from the alphaville archives. used with kind permission by alphaville. 
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Questions of Happiness – Alphaville interviewed by fans; #002

Herman Boel: Who is Patricia? (cf.. song Patricia’s Park) I have always wondered who was the girl the song is about.

Marian Gold: If one has seen the video for PATRICIA in SONGLINES, the girl’s identity becomes more obvious. In short words she symbolizes the future of the human race, she’s so to speak the child of mankind and she can only be protected by preserving complete creation.

photo: gold, from the alphaville archives. used with kind permission by alphaville. 

Questions of Happiness – Alphaville interviewed by fans; #001 Elena Amosova: Ever since I first saw a video for SLAM I was curious about it, but whenever I had a chance to ask you a question personally I kept forgetting that curiosity of mine. So it’s now or never! I’m not curious about that golden microphone, neither am I curious about those two-faced dancers. They’re all fine. What I’d like to know is WHY on Earth was the video filmed on ice??? Contrary to the common belief that there are roller dancers there, I can see ice lines and skating blades… So why was it the ice rink? Why was such unusual location chosen? Wasn’t it too cold there? And why didn’t you guys wear ice skates too? This would have made quite an interesting image I do believe. Marian Gold: Dear Elena, it was the idea of the video director to choose an ice rink for the shooting location. Maybe it was in order to add a kind of weightless feeling to the motions of the dancers. It was damn cold during the shoot and we were wearing nothing but our thin stage clothes. The outfit for our first single, the Norwegian pullovers we were so happy to get rid of, would have suited much better this time. There was a bottle of vodka instead which answers not only your question about the skates but also the vivid make up on my face; I have to say we all felt pretty weightless during the shoot, even without the skates. 
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Questions of Happiness – Alphaville interviewed by fans; #001

Elena Amosova: Ever since I first saw a video for SLAM I was curious about it, but whenever I had a chance to ask you a question personally I kept forgetting that curiosity of mine. So it’s now or never! I’m not curious about that golden microphone, neither am I curious about those two-faced dancers. They’re all fine. What I’d like to know is WHY on Earth was the video filmed on ice??? Contrary to the common belief that there are roller dancers there, I can see ice lines and skating blades… So why was it the ice rink? Why was such unusual location chosen? Wasn’t it too cold there? And why didn’t you guys wear ice skates too? This would have made quite an interesting image I do believe.

Marian Gold: Dear Elena, it was the idea of the video director to choose an ice rink for the shooting location. Maybe it was in order to add a kind of weightless feeling to the motions of the dancers. It was damn cold during the shoot and we were wearing nothing but our thin stage clothes. The outfit for our first single, the Norwegian pullovers we were so happy to get rid of, would have suited much better this time. There was a bottle of vodka instead which answers not only your question about the skates but also the vivid make up on my face; I have to say we all felt pretty weightless during the shoot, even without the skates. 

Free Alphaville-‘App’ and theme for your iPhone 5, iPhone 4 and iPod Touch! …well, at least almost. If you love to dress up your iPhone 5 with some Alphaville visuals please feel free to download the above shown graphics for your lock screen and your home screen right here for free. iPhone 5 users go here: https://www.sugarsync.com/pf/D6624198_96_8072922395 iPhone 3 or 4 users or iPod Touch owners go here:https://www.sugarsync.com/pf/D6624198_96_8073606759 The cool thing is, if you bookmark www.alphavillenow.com on any iPhone and chose the “add to homescreen” option, you’ll be able to use this blog (at least a bit) like an app: a smart alphaville icon will brighten up your home screen and the blog will open without any web browser elements. If you also own the “London Sky” ringtone we offered for a limited time back then, you’ll be having the perfect Alphaville device. Have a great day! [photos: universal (CROG-artwork by schiller design, photograph: zargarinejad) and provocateur (production: catherine ebser, photographer: stefan gergely). used with kind permission, provided by marian gold / alphaville – iPhone, iPod Touch and iPod are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries]  
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Free Alphaville-‘App’ and theme for your iPhone 5, iPhone 4 and iPod Touch!


…well, at least almost. If you love to dress up your iPhone 5 with some Alphaville visuals please feel free to download the above shown graphics for your lock screen and your home screen right here for free.

iPhone 5 users go here: 
https://www.sugarsync.com/pf/D6624198_96_8072922395

iPhone 3 or 4 users or iPod Touch owners go here:
https://www.sugarsync.com/pf/D6624198_96_8073606759

The cool thing is, if you bookmark www.alphavillenow.com on any iPhone and chose the “add to homescreen” option, you’ll be able to use this blog (at least a bit) like an app: a smart alphaville icon will brighten up your home screen and the blog will open without any web browser elements. If you also own the “London Sky” ringtone we offered for a limited time back then, you’ll be having the perfect Alphaville device.

Have a great day!

[photos: universal (CROG-artwork by schiller design, photograph: zargarinejad) and provocateur (production: catherine ebser, photographer: stefan gergely). used with kind permission, provided by marian gold / alphaville – iPhone, iPod Touch and iPod are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries]

 

Questions Of Happiness – raise them, read the lyrics and win an unreleased song. … as you read in an earlier post on this blog, in may 2013 you had the chance not only to win an exclusive digital copy (MP3) of the demo version of QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS (an unreleased Alphaville song), you also had the chance to raise a few questions and do a fan-interview with Alphaville. PS. The illustration above is pure fiction and for entertainment purpose only. Questions Of Happiness What is the name of your god? Is the sun floating ‘round a clock?And does time really matter or matters matter time?And who’s that in the mirror? Who´s that man with my face?Don’t you think that his smile looks a little bit, just a little bit out of place? And he’s all so true and he’s all so rightThey’re all so astounding these people of black and whiteCos’ they’re so full of lies, let them pray now And it’s all so cruel and it’s all so tightTo do or die, see you there on the other side I missed you last night, let me dream now… There are so many questions, there are so many marksThere are so many reasons, each of them good enough to kill forBut answers are rare because life just goes onAnd it consumes all the answers in an act of mercy And they’re oh so true and they’re oh so rightThey’re oh so astounding these people of black and whiteCos’ they’re so full of lies, let them pray now And it’s all so cruel and it’s all so tightTo do or die, see you there on the other side I missed you last night, let me dream now… I see you walking on a beach in the beautiful moonlightAnd the shells in the sand are answers the sea has washed ashoreThe sea has the answers, you see and you smile like a goddessYou’re too proud for all those answersYou look great and then we go for a swim… And it’s oh so cool and it’s oh so rightTo do or die, see you there on the other side Let me dream now… Gold/Diamond, Gold/Lister, Friday the 17th of November 2003, 0.30, Berlin & 10th of March 2004, London, room 369 and again London Monday 1. of August 2005 at Martin’s (finally the music came) Note: These are the initial written lyrics. The ones in the recorded demo version differ a bit.
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Questions Of Happiness –
raise them, read the lyrics and win an unreleased song.

… as you read in an earlier post on this blog, in may 2013 you had the chance not only to win an exclusive digital copy (MP3) of the demo version of QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS (an unreleased Alphaville song), you also had the chance to raise a few questions and do a fan-interview with Alphaville.

PS. The illustration above is pure fiction and for entertainment purpose only.

Questions Of Happiness

What is the name of your god? Is the sun floating ‘round a clock?
And does time really matter or matters matter time?
And who’s that in the mirror? Who´s that man with my face?
Don’t you think that his smile looks a little bit, just a little bit out of place?

And he’s all so true and he’s all so right
They’re all so astounding these people of black and white
Cos’ they’re so full of lies, let them pray now

And it’s all so cruel and it’s all so tight
To do or die, see you there on the other side

I missed you last night, let me dream now…

There are so many questions, there are so many marks
There are so many reasons, each of them good enough to kill for
But answers are rare because life just goes on
And it consumes all the answers in an act of mercy

And they’re oh so true and they’re oh so right
They’re oh so astounding these people of black and white
Cos’ they’re so full of lies, let them pray now

And it’s all so cruel and it’s all so tight
To do or die, see you there on the other side

I missed you last night, let me dream now…

I see you walking on a beach in the beautiful moonlight
And the shells in the sand are answers the sea has washed ashore
The sea has the answers, you see and you smile like a goddess
You’re too proud for all those answers
You look great and then we go for a swim…

And it’s oh so cool and it’s oh so right
To do or die, see you there on the other side

Let me dream now…

Gold/Diamond, Gold/Lister,
Friday the 17th of November 2003, 0.30, Berlin & 10th of March 2004,

London, room 369 and again London Monday 1. of August 2005 at Martin’s (finally the music came)

Note: These are the initial written lyrics. The ones in the recorded demo version differ a bit.

DOUBLE FEATURE: Your chance to interview Alphaville – and to win an unreleased song! UPDATE: This contest closed by may 30, 2013.   Ever wondered about a song’s meaning or inspiration or background? Ever wanted to know something about the production process of your favorite Alphaville album? Ever wanted to know about the story behind the cover of a specific Alphaville record? Ever wanted to ask Marian something, but never had a chance to do so? Or … alternatively Maja Kim? …or Martin Lister? … or Jakob Kiersch or Dave Goodes? Well, here’s your chance to interview Alphaville and, with a little bit of luck, to win one of 30 digital copies of the yet unreleased Alphaville Song “QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS” (studio recording, demo version). Please note: this exclusive song will NOT be on the upcoming album with the working title STRANGE ATTRACTOR!    [Update: Initially the song to win was LONDON SKY. When comparing versions with Alphaville, the band literally rediscovered this nifty tune – which now may make it’s way to some upcoming official release. For this reason we decided to give away QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS instead to the lucky winners; a song which has, by the way, a nice and fitting name for an interview-event.] How does it work? From april 24 to may 30, 2013, you have the chance to send in one ore more questions (to be more precise: as many questions as you like) you always wanted to ask any Alphaville member - to do so, please use the link at the bottom of this article. If you like to, you can also add a photo of yourself which might be published (in case your question is chosen). All questions which meet the rules below are accepted and will be forwarded to the musicians they are addressed to. Answers to selected questions will be published here on www.alphavillenow.com, later this year and step by step. Aaaand – how to win the song “QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS”? It’s easy: each sunday in may (5.5., 12.5., 19.5. and 26.5.) five winners will be randomly drawn from all submitted and accepted questions, the winners will be announced (with their full name) here on www.alphavillenow.com. Additionally, ten more winners will be drawn and announced on june 2 All winners will receive their prize per email on june 9.  Are only questions from winners to be answered? No. It’s up to the band to decide which questions will be answered. So wining a copy of QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS does not automatically mean that the questions sent in by the winner will be answered. And, vice versa, not winning a song might still mean that your questions could be answered later on.Answers to fan questions will be published here on alphavillenow.com from time to time later on. By participating you accept the following rules: Ask your questions to one (or more) band members. Start each of your questions with: “This question is addressed to” – so we know from whom you wish to receive an answer. The deadline for your submission is may 30, 12.00 CET. Questions like “When will you play live in..”, “When will you come to…”, “When will the new album (or single) be released?” or similar are not accepted, same goes for insulting questions or questions that contain harassment – ask a question you would ask in public and that can be answered in public as well. The audience of this blog is a global one, and the language most people understand is english - that’s why we’re communicating in english here. The question you submit has to be written in english. If you feel you are not able to write a question in proper english, please ask a friend for help – the better we understand you the more precise we can answer. Online-translation tools may be helpful but, in most cases, they don’t deliver a result that matches the initial input. Please understand that questions in other languages than english or that are not understandable can not be accepted. If you win or if your questions are selected to be answered, they will be published on alphavillenow.com, together with your full name (and, eventually, with your photo - if you submitted one). Please keep in mind: As alphavillenow.com runs on a social platform (tumblr.com), all content published can be and will be duplicated by other people on the web by reblogging posts or simply by sharing them. By submitting your questions for this raffle you agree that you are aware of this fact, that you are fine with the release and the possible duplication and that you release alphaville and alphavillenow.com from any responsibilities. It’s up to the band members to decide which questions will be answered, so even if you win an answer is not guaranteed. Of course the aim is to get as many questions answered as possible. In case that similar questions are received, one of them will be selected randomly. In case you win, you will receive your mp3 of QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS on june 9 via email. In case you win, you agree that you will not publish the song you received as a gift from Alphaville anywhere on the web. Else, legal action may be taken, and (even worse) further raffles like this may not happen – and still, we really plan to do so. Are you ready? then… – write down your questions (and whom you are asking) – double check if your questions meets the rules above – add your full name and, if you like, a photo of yours …next, use the link below to open an e-mail-window for your submission. SEND YOUR SUBMISSION TO xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Good luck and thank you for your involvement! [photo: m. zargarinejad / universal music. provided by alphaville / m.gold]
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DOUBLE FEATURE: Your chance to interview Alphaville – and to win an unreleased song!

UPDATE: This contest closed by may 30, 2013.
  
Ever wondered about a song’s meaning or inspiration or background? Ever wanted to know something about the production process of your favorite Alphaville album? Ever wanted to know about the story behind the cover of a specific Alphaville record? Ever wanted to ask Marian something, but never had a chance to do so? Or … alternatively Maja Kim? …or Martin Lister? … or Jakob Kiersch or Dave Goodes?
Well, here’s your chance to interview Alphaville and, with a little bit of luck, to win one of 30 digital copies of the yet unreleased Alphaville Song “QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS” (studio recording, demo version). Please note: this exclusive song will NOT be on the upcoming album with the working title STRANGE ATTRACTOR!
   
[Update: Initially the song to win was LONDON SKY. When comparing versions with Alphaville, the band literally rediscovered this nifty tune – which now may make it’s way to some upcoming official release. For this reason we decided to give away QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS instead to the lucky winners; a song which has, by the way, a nice and fitting name for an interview-event.]

How does it work?
From april 24 to may 30, 2013, you have the chance to send in one ore more questions (to be more precise: as many questions as you like) you always wanted to ask any Alphaville member - to do so, please use the link at the bottom of this article. If you like to, you can also add a photo of yourself which might be published (in case your question is chosen).
All questions which meet the rules below are accepted and will be forwarded to the musicians they are addressed to. Answers to selected questions will be published here on www.alphavillenow.com, later this year and step by step.

Aaaand – how to win the song “QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS”?
It’s easy: each sunday in may (5.5., 12.5., 19.5. and 26.5.) five winners will be randomly drawn from all submitted and accepted questions, the winners will be announced (with their full name) here on www.alphavillenow.com.
Additionally, ten more winners will be drawn and announced on june 2
All winners will receive their prize per email on june 9.
 
Are only questions from winners to be answered?
No. It’s up to the band to decide which questions will be answered. So wining a copy of QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS does not automatically mean that the questions sent in by the winner will be answered. And, vice versa, not winning a song might still mean that your questions could be answered later on.
Answers to fan questions will be published here on alphavillenow.com from time to time later on.

By participating you accept the following rules:
  1. Ask your questions to one (or more) band members. Start each of your questions with: “This question is addressed to” – so we know from whom you wish to receive an answer.
  2. The deadline for your submission is may 30, 12.00 CET.
  3. Questions like “When will you play live in..”, “When will you come to…”, “When will the new album (or single) be released?” or similar are not accepted, same goes for insulting questions or questions that contain harassment – ask a question you would ask in public and that can be answered in public as well.
  4. The audience of this blog is a global one, and the language most people understand is english - that’s why we’re communicating in english here. The question you submit has to be written in english.
    If you feel you are not able to write a question in proper english, please ask a friend for help – the better we understand you the more precise we can answer. Online-translation tools may be helpful but, in most cases, they don’t deliver a result that matches the initial input. Please understand that questions in other languages than english or that are not understandable can not be accepted.
  5. If you win or if your questions are selected to be answered, they will be published on alphavillenow.com, together with your full name (and, eventually, with your photo - if you submitted one).
    Please keep in mind: As alphavillenow.com runs on a social platform (tumblr.com), all content published can be and will be duplicated by other people on the web by reblogging posts or simply by sharing them. By submitting your questions for this raffle you agree that you are aware of this fact, that you are fine with the release and the possible duplication and that you release alphaville and alphavillenow.com from any responsibilities.
  6. It’s up to the band members to decide which questions will be answered, so even if you win an answer is not guaranteed. Of course the aim is to get as many questions answered as possible. In case that similar questions are received, one of them will be selected randomly.
  7. In case you win, you will receive your mp3 of QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS on june 9 via email.
  8. In case you win, you agree that you will not publish the song you received as a gift from Alphaville anywhere on the web. Else, legal action may be taken, and (even worse) further raffles like this may not happen – and still, we really plan to do so.

Are you ready?
then…
– write down your questions (and whom you are asking)
– double check if your questions meets the rules above
– add your full name and, if you like, a photo of yours
…next, use the link below to open an e-mail-window for your submission.

SEND YOUR SUBMISSION TO
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Good luck and thank you for your involvement!

[photo: m. zargarinejad / universal music. provided by alphaville / m.gold]