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Kicker: Background music

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WORLD Radio - Kicker: Background music

A German warship plays “The Imperial March” on deck while visiting London


Tower Bridge over the River Thames in London fazon1/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

NICK EICHER, HOST: As a person of German descent, I can say this, our people do have a reputation for aggression. Even the language sounds like fighting words. A German can’t say something as funny as tongue twister with making it sound threatening.

Zungenbrecher!

See what I mean?

But then, sometimes they go and feed the stereotype—as here, listen to this:

AUDIO: [THE IMPERIAL MARCH]

That is the sound coming from a German Navy vessel, sailing down the River Thames in the center of London. Someone recorded this with his phone.

So why the Darth Vader vibe—given everything?

Well, because a German captain gets to play whatever he wants. And he’s a Star Wars fan. A statement from Deutsche Marine: “Die Musikauswahl hat keine tiefere Botschaft.

Meaning, “The choice of music has no deeper message.”

You know you don’t have to dig all that deep. The criticism isn’t the subtlety.

It’s The World and Everything in It.


WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.

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