As we know from Groove magazine photographer Ragnar Schmuck‘s popular photographic series on DJs’ living rooms, Germans tend to put a premium on keeping their Musikzimmer tidy. (Well, most of them do. Dominik Eulberg, not so much.) Now, Berlin resident Peaches sings an ode to keeping one’s wax sorted: “Me, My Shelf, and I.”
No, that’s not a joke, and it’s not a cover of a Weird Al parody of De La Soul. It is, in an oblique way, a kind of product placement: The lyrics were written by Rafael Horzon, a furniture maker known for his understated, modular, stylish-yet-affordable record shelves. I purchased some last year, and I can attest that they rule, although I may be biased, as the guys who came to install them complimented me on my record collection. (Try getting that kind of treatment when you buy your next Expedit.)
The music to the Schlager-tinged techno-pop ditty was written by Milch, a former associate of Harold Faltermeyer (yes, that Harold Faltermeyer). The German lyrics, by Horzon himself, attest to a philosophy that we might call (pace Ayn Rand) “The Virtue of Shelfishness”:
I don’t need any sand
I don’t need any beach
I don’t need any scarf
I need a shelf
I don’t need any gnome
I don’t need any mountain
I also need no valley
I need a shelf
Me, my shelf and I
The video, starring Horzon and one of his characteristically sleek units, is a touching love story between a man and his furniture. Whether or not you speak German, if it doesn’t move you, you probably have Ikea meatballs in place of a human heart.
Ludwig Amadeus Horzon feat. Peaches’ “Me, My Shelf and I” is out now on the new Martin Hossbach label. Cool hunters, take notice: This looks like the beginning of a new trend combining furniture with electronic music. This week, Berlin’s Italic label will release “The Italic Chair,” a chair made out of Finnish birch that pays sneaky homage to Aphex Twin’s classic logo. However, priced at 357 Euros, it won’t leave you much budget for shelves.
