Pussy (Rammstein song)
{{Short description|2009 song by Rammstein}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Pussy
| cover = pussy_Cover.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Rammstein
| album = Liebe ist für alle da
| B-side = Rammlied
| released = 18 September 2009
| recorded =
| studio = Sonoma Mountain Recording Estate {{small|(San Rafael, California)}}
| venue =
| genre = * Neue Deutsche Härte
| length = * 4:00 {{small|(album version)}}
- 3:48 {{small|(radio edit)}}
| label = * Universal
| writer = * Richard Kruspe
| producer = * Jacob Hellner
- Rammstein
| prev_title = Mann gegen Mann
| prev_year = 2006
| next_title = Ich tu dir weh
| next_year = 2010
}}
"Pussy" is a song by German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein. It was released as the lead single from the band's sixth studio album, Liebe ist für alle da (2009) on 18 September 2009. The song was released with a controversial and sexually explicit music video in which the band members, portrayed by body-doubles during some of the close ups of specific body parts, are seen having sex with women.{{cite web|url=http://bravewords.com/news/rammstein-guitarist-on-filming-pussy-video-it-was-really-fun-our-drummers-girlfriend-came-to-the-set-and-he-ended-up-sending-her-home|title=RAMMSTEIN Guitarist On Filming 'Pussy' Video - "It Was Really Fun; Our Drummer's Girlfriend Came To The Set And He Ended Up Sending Her Home"|work=bravewords.com|accessdate=10 January 2015}}
The first promotional video for the single was released online on 16 September 2009 at the Gauntlet.{{cite web|url=http://www.thegauntlet.com/article/307/16877/Rammstein-releases-video-for-Pussy.html|title=Rammstein releases video for Pussy|date=16 September 2009|work=The Gauntlet|accessdate=10 January 2015|archive-date=14 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214003449/http://www.thegauntlet.com/article/307/16877/Rammstein-releases-video-for-Pussy.html|url-status=dead}} The video also confirmed the new album title.
"Pussy" was Rammstein's first number one single in Germany. The song was remixed by Scooter, a fellow German artist, and the remix later appeared on the "Ich tu dir weh" single. It was the first Rammstein song to be released after their three-year hiatus.
Music video
The video was directed by Jonas Åkerlund and released online on 16 September 2009. The video features the band playing the song wearing leather outfits, interspersed with six hardcore pornographic videos featuring each of the band members as a different stereotypical pornographic character: Till as the playboy, Christoph as the CEO, Paul as the cowboy, Oliver as Mr. Pain (a BDSM fetishist), Richard as the party boy, and Flake as the shemale. Each scene features a band member engaging in foreplay with a different woman, and the scenes become more explicit as the video progresses until they engage into unsimulated sexual intercourse with graphic nudity. However, some body doubles were used. At the end of the video, the band members ejaculate.
Lyrics
The lyrics are partially in English and deal with sex tourism with lines like "Alleine in das Ausland fahren" ("drive alone to a foreign country") and "I can't get laid in Germany". A mention of the Autobahn and the seemingly nonsensical line "Reise, Reise, Fahrvergnügen" are a reference to appearances of German culture in American commercialism (the latter from a Volkswagen advertising campaign, the former from one of Rammstein's own previous albums). Together, these aspects of the song create a contrast between the sexual mores of German society and that of America.
Live performances
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2015}}
File:Rammstein - Pussy LIVE.JPG
"Pussy" debuted live, as most of Rammstein's songs, during fan exclusive concerts held in Berlin in October 2009. "Pussy" was the last song of the main set of the Liebe ist für alle da tour, and continues to be in the Made in Germany tour. The song was dropped temporarily from the setlist in the middle of the 2023 leg of the Rammstein Stadium Tour due to sexual assault allegations against singer Till Lindemann.Maija Alander (23 June 2023). [https://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/art-2000009644878.html "Rammsteiniin kohdistuvien syytösten ketju on herättänyt keskustelun, jota rockmusiikin maailma ei voi enää paeta"] (in finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. Retrieved 23 June 2023.{{cite web | url=https://www.setlist.fm/stats/songs/rammstein-3bd43cd0.html?songid=13dc7945 | title=Pussy by Rammstein Song Statistics | setlist.fm | website=setlist.fm }}
Track listings
;CD
{{tracklist
| title1 = Pussy
| note1 = radio edit
| length1 = 3:48
| title2 = Rammlied
| note2 =
| length2 = 5:19
}}
;Vinyl
{{tracklist
| title1 = Pussy
| note1 =
| length1 = 4:00
| title2 = Rammlied
| note2 =
| length2 = 5:19
}}
- The 7" vinyl edition only contains "Pussy".
Versions
Release history
| class="wikitable"
! Country ! Date |
| Europe
| 18 September 2009 |
| United States
| 22 September 2009 |
Charts
=Weekly charts=
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|Country !align="center"|Position |
| align="left"|Germany{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.de/charts/Single_Jahrescharts_2009 |accessdate=May 26, 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100125020024/http://www.mtv.de/charts/Single_Jahrescharts_2009 |archivedate=January 25, 2010 |title=Offizielle Single Top 100 - Musik Charts | MTV Germany |website=MTV Germany }}
|align="center"|42 |
Legal issues
On April 28, 2021, the former coordinator for the Arkhangelsk offices of anti-corruption politician Alexei Navalny, Andrei Borovikov was sentenced to 2.5 years for sharing the music video on VKontakte back in 2014.{{Cite web|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/04/29/navalny-ally-sentenced-to-25-years-in-prison-for-reposting-music-video-a73787|title = Navalny Ally Sentenced to 2.5 Years in Prison for Reposting Music Video|date = 29 April 2021}}{{cite web |title=Russia: Navalny supporter faces three years in jail over sharing of Rammstein video |date=28 April 2021 |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/04/russia-navalny-supporter-faces-three-years-in-jail-over-sharing-of-rammstein-video/ |publisher=Amnesty International |access-date=3 May 2021}} However, the charges were only issued six years after the initial posting and only then after the original post had been deleted and only seen by two of his closest friends. He was charged with breaking Article 242(3)(b), "production and distribution of pornography," a charge which is disputed to be politically motivated. Natalia Zviagina, the director of Amnesty International's Moscow office, described the charges as "utterly absurd" and clearly politically motivated.{{cite news|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/04/29/navalny-ally-sentenced-to-25-years-in-prison-for-reposting-music-video-a73787| title=Russia: Navalny supporter faces three years in jail over sharing of Rammstein video|newspaper=The Moscow Times}} Previously, in September 2019 he was sentenced to 400 hours of community service over his involvement with peaceful, anti-landfill demonstrations, a violation of Article 212.1.{{Cite web|title=Russia: Navalny supporter faces three years in jail over sharing of Rammstein video|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/04/russia-navalny-supporter-faces-three-years-in-jail-over-sharing-of-rammstein-video/|access-date=2021-07-26|website=www.amnesty.org|date=28 April 2021|language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Rammstein}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pussy (Rammstein song)}}
Category:Music videos directed by Jonas Åkerlund
Category:Universal Music Group singles
Category:Spinefarm Records singles
Category:Number-one singles in Finland
Category:Number-one singles in Germany
Category:Music video controversies