J.H. – Joern Heitmann (Director).
R.P. – Randy Pike (Nasa Space Suits Operator).
S.S. – Survey Squad.
T.L. – Till Lindermann (Vocalism).
R.Z.K. – Richard Z. Kruspe (Solo-guitar).
P.H.L. – Paul Heiko Landers (Rhythm-guitar).
C.S. – Christoph Schneider (Drums).
C.F.L. – Christian Flake Lorenz (Keyboard).
O.R. – Oliver Riedel (Bass-guitar).
(Shooting video "Amerika" on screen).
C.F.L.: We hope the Americans like the song and find it amusing, and think: "At last the Europeans realise how good we are!" That's what this song is for: to sneak ourselves into their hearts.
P.H.L.: We're not a band with a real message, except maybe "Meat! Meat!", or "Yes", or "I want". But in this case we had to make an exception, because America was so annoying at the time we were making the album.
O.R.: The war was on whilst we were in the practice room, and the media coverage was so enormous that we couldn't ignore it.
C.S.: We found a good way of approaching the subject in our own style with many double meanings without directly naming it.
(Shooting video "Amerika" on screen).
J.H.: (On shooting stage) Dry it and change the magazine.
Very good, Till.
P.H.L.: The more ambiguous something is, the more space people have for reflection. There's no space left for the imagination when you present one definite opinion. When we played "Sehnsucht" in America, the fans always thought the text was "chainsaw" (singing) and they really liked it (singing). Then I told them it is "desire" and they were really disappointed.
O.R.: We felt it was important to make sure foreign people realised that this is not really a love song, so this bit of text was perfect.
T.L.: It's about this American phenomenon that so much shit happens out there. On the contrary, they are so progressive. Just like the landing on the moon.
R.Z.K.: It's not about good and bad for me. I must say I like a lot of things that symbolise American culture.
C.F.L.: I've rarely seen such an urinal as in America. Perfect height, wide as a Cadillac, a great flush. Perfect!
C.S.: It's fine that everyone can watch American movies and listen to American music. But when one culture starts to export their values and try to manipulate for their own gain, like in Iraq, then it's just too much.
J.H.: We're filming at double speed, and afterwards we play it back at normal speed. So, the movements are much softer, like being on the moon. That's why the music is twice as fast as well. That's hard for the band, because it's like a punk concert for them.
(Shooting video "Amerika" on screen).
P.H.L.: Like everything else in Eastern Germany, this factory has been closed, destroyed and got shot apart during the filming of "Stalingrad". We're being forced to shoot the new video in these ruins.
J.H.: You can't build a moon surface in a normal studio. I need about thousand square metres space and complete darkness. That's why we're here in this warehouse, where we are allowed to do this. We got 240 tons of ash sand delivered. That was six trucks full. Then we hung 120 metres of black material and plastic on the walls, up to a height of 10 metres. The moon-landing module is about six metres wide and 5,5 metres high. That's the original size. The astronaut suits are original from America too. There are huge costs involved, but it's the only way to make it look real.
C.S.: (On shooting stage) We're preparing the first guitar solo in space!
S.S.: (On shooting stage) Hang him up first. We'll try a test-run without the helmet.
J.H.: (On shooting stage) The earth is behind you, the sun will be reflecting in your helmet. So let's try some weightlessness, in slow motion!
R.Z.K.: (On shooting stage) I'd prefer to move forward, not just straight.
J.H.: (On shooting stage) Sink it, please.
(Shooting video "Amerika" on screen).
J.H.: (On shooting stage) Great!
R.P.: (On shooting stage) (He is talking on English without subtitles).
T.L.: Donald Sutherland wore it and they zipped his penis.
R.K.: (Laugh) (Talking on English without subtitles).
T.L.: And then he got in serious trouble.
S.S.: (On shooting stage) Now I jump.
R.P.: (He is talking on English without subtitles) (Laugh).
S.S.: (On shooting stage) So I go down, then I wait and then I jump again.
Okay.
(Shooting video "Amerika" on screen).
J.H.: (On shooting stage) Perfect! Thank you!
R.Z.K.: We looked for a way to shoot the video without pointing the finger directly at anyone. Then we had the idea of this great conspiracy theory that the Americans were never really on the moon, that they just faked it!
J.H.: (On shooting stage) And action!
(Shooting video "Amerika" on screen).
J.H.: (On shooting stage) Salute! And away. Very good.
P.H.L.: We attempt to show in this video to what extent America's culture has infiltrated the rest of the world.
J.H.: We wanted to show the whole world watching the live-broadcast of Rammstein playing on the moon. I can't travel around the world to film everyone. It's hard to teach the German lyrics in Indonesia anyway. So I bought some archive footage, and I will film a few extra scenes where the people really sing the text, as if the whole world is singing along.
C.F.L.: We see America more of a make-believe and movie world, where things which don't exist can often seem real.
R.Z.K.: What differentiates America is their tendency to exaggerate. The good as well as the bad things. You see it in everything. In America you can buy a 10 litre bottle of orange juice, here you get only 1 litre or 2 litre bottles. It's so difficult to understand the people there, because they usually exaggerate. So as a European you basically have to re-interpret everything to give it some kind of sense.
J.H.: (On shooting stage) Till and Richard, you have to get closer together so that Paul's feet can be on your shoulders. Yeah, that's good! Everyone out the picture. On "three" I want you all to pose. Yeah, that's good... 1-2-3!
(Shooting video "Amerika" on screen).
J.H.: (On shooting stage) Great, that's it.
C.F.L.: The Indian story is a jump back to the times when people associated America with these black and white cowboy films. As a child, playing cowboys and Indians was the only thing I associated with America.
J.H.: (On shooting stage) Okay. Quiet. We shoot without clapperboard.
(Shooting video "Amerika" on screen).
C.F.L.: There was a rumour in East Germany that America didn't exist. That it's not true. No one knew anyone who had been there and had came back. Or it could have been a lie. People only spoke about "over there" or "beyond the ocean", but nobody knew where it is and why. Only after the German reunification did we discover that America really exists.
