The latest piece of news on Wumpscut’s official website updates us on the progress of the upcoming album Fuckit - it’s finished, and it’ll be available for hearing on Wumpscut’s website on Christmas Eve, 24th December! What exactly this means is as of yet unknown, as the English update only mentions the album being “online” then, whereas the German version says the album “wird zu kriegen sein”, which is pretty much “will be available” in English. Maybe you’ll actually be able to download the full album for free? Who knows? Just under two weeks until the 24th, so you’ll have to hold your horses until then.

Rudy “Merch Factory” Ratzinger is also announcing a new line of :W: merchandise for Fuckit and Wumpscut. Alongside previously announced rings and belts you’ll have the chance to really fuckit (oh my god, I’m sorry! But I’m sure horrible puns are exactly what Rudy’s been aiming for) with Fuckit-themed condoms. In addition to those, on 24th will also be revealed more fantastically unexpected fan swag. Whatever could that be? It’s not like Wumpscut’s had any sort of dearth of creativity for its merchandise, there’s been just about everything from mousepads to fridge magnets, and from energy drinks to metal shields… And now there’s supposed to be something even more extraordinary. You could say Ratzinger goes sometimes - no, make it all the time - a bit overboard with the insane amounts of merchandise, but hey, at least it’s all consistently really, really good and of high quality. And who said you have to buy absolutely everything?

Lots of you have contacted me asking where to find certain CDs. Others have asked why Germaniac doesn’t have a shop to go along with the blog. So far, I have simply been helping those of you find whatever it is you’re looking for because a shop hasn’t really been a top priority, but the emails just keep coming. Now I’m beginning to wonder just how big the demand for an exclusively German music shop based in North America really is, and I’m asking you for the answer.

Should Germaniac.com open an online shop? If so, what should we have? Would you buy from us? And perhaps more importantly, what features would make you more likely to buy from us than from some other site?

The whole reason for this last question is because it’s very difficult and expensive to import loads of CDs from Europe and then try to offer all kinds of benefits like the lowest price in the world plus free shipping and other features like that. I would love to do all of that for you, but honestly I’m not made of gold so it’s just not possible with anything that has to be imported. Anyone who has bought music from overseas knows that it’s not exactly cheap. I want to help you get the music you want to hear and own, but I don’t want to go bankrupt doing it either. So…

What’s the best way to make this work? Do you have any ideas? Please share your opinions and answers to the questions in a comment. By doing so, you will help us create the best possible shop for everyone. Thanks!

About Threadless
Threadless is one of my favorite websites. It’s a T-shirt printing company, but it’s completely different than any other T-shirt company because it’s 100% community-oriented. Anyone can create designs and submit them to the site, and then everyone votes on them and the best ones get printed. It’s a genius idea, the designs are practically guaranteed to to be great. If you’re not already a member or a customer, I would definitely suggest signing up to vote, submit a design, or go on a shopping spree.

How does this relate to German music?
Just entered into this week’s round of voting is a very awesome Kraftwerk-themed shirt by Webbins that features the classic image of the 4 members a la the Man-Machine cover, but Florian decided to be a bit more expressive than the typical uniformity of the band’s appearance with a yellow and green striped necktie. I just started laughing when I first saw it, it’s really funny if you are at all familiar with Kraftwerk. Go see the design here and be sure to vote 5$ for it!

Last friday I picked up a large parcel from my local post office. Guess what it contained?

click for larger image

Yep, the limited box edition of the electro-industrial legend :Wumpscut:’s record for 2008. It was one of those “well, why the hell not”, spur-of-the-moment impulse buys, the first :W: box I’ve bought. What wonders could await inside?

Find out just what, a review of the album and more behind the link!
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Documentary about Einstürzende Neubauten planned
The Berlin-based film maker Uli Schueppel is planning a documentary about Einstürzende Neubauten’s first concert which took place on December 21st, 1989 in what was then East Berlin. This should be really interesting to see when it’s completed, but for now Uli is in search of anyone who attended that concert and who can provide some additional information for his documentary. Anyone who can help should contact him at info@schueppel-films.de.

Diary Of Dreams has a clothing collection
I don’t know how old this news is, but it caught me by surprise as I was browsing Infrarot.de. Apparently Diary Of Dreams has launched a clothing line in association with the gothic clothing company Aderlass. They have several different styles of jackets, trench coats, pants and skirts available. You can see them all on Infrarot.de here, but I have to warn you, they are pretty expensive. The prices range from €89.90 to €239.90.

Lacrimosa begins work on new album
Lacrimosa, the Swiss gothic metal band headed up by Tilo Wolff, has begun working on their next album. This will be the band’s 10th studio album since they formed in 1990, and their first major release since their 2007 live album Lichtjahre. If you’re in Europe, be sure to catch one of their upcoming concerts or the Blackfield Festival in Gelsenkirchen where they will be headlining.

Normally I wouldn’t post something like this on Germaniac, but I thought this was pretty creative (and it kind of fits the site). It’s a T-shirt with a bunch of pictures on it to help you communicate with the locals next time you’re in a foreign country. If you happen to be in Berlin at the Popkomm festival and you don’t know how to ask where the best show is, just point to the guitar on your shirt and someone will direct you to a concert. You can get your own International Translation T-shirt for $15 from Threadless. Check out some of their other awesome shirts, too. via Uncrate.

As we posted before (and are now re-posting because the original post was lost), the latest Rammstein newsletter announced that there are now many new items available for purchase in the Rammstein Shop for the Summer 2007 season. Among the new items is a new messenger bag, a Völkerball-themed Zippo lighter, and a leather belt with a Völkerball-themed buckle. As for new clothing products, there is a cutely designed Engel T-shirt for children, as well as my personal favorites, the return of the Du Hast “flaming man” and Live Aus Berlin logo T-shirts.

Check out RammsteinShop.de for all the available merchandise. And for American fans looking to save money on shipping, check out the US Rammstein shop on MusicToday.com. The US shop has less of a variety, but it’s possible that new items may be added in the future there as well.