My Gen X Playlist: Masquerade – Berlin

I was reading Rebuilding Rob’s blog the other day. He was discussing the fall of the Berlin Wall. It made me think of my time backpacking through Europe.

The Berlin Wall fell in November 1989. I was in college and remember how historic it was. Still, it seemed so far away and in a different world. After graduation in 1991, my buddy and I took a month off to backpack through Europe. I remember going to Berlin to see the fallen wall. What stays with me are two things. First was the graffiti on the west side of the wall. The wall was a canvas of protest. The murals and graffiti were awe inspiring.

There was an absence of graffiti on the other side of the wall. I can only imagine the consequences of lending a voice. It made me think of a repressive government stifling ideas, creativity and people’s voices. What a sad thought.

The second thing that stayed with me came from our train ride from Berlin to Prague. As we ventured deeper into the east, we notice the sudden absence of color. Everything felt like it was covered in a cloak of drab grey. It weighed heavy on us as we looked outside the train windows. It was such a stark difference from where we came from days before. We couldn’t imagine a lifetime full of grey.

This seems like forever ago and I’d forgotten the dreariness from outside that train window. The good news is, I’m sure color eventually found its way through the cracks. That’s a taste of good change. Recently, though, I’ve had this feeling that not all change is welcome. And the world is so susceptible these days and seems like monumental shifts change in nothing flat. To be honest, I’m not quite comfortable with that. Will color ever be muted or disappear? Who knows what the world will be like in ten years, let alone two. Your guess is as good as mine.

I searched for songs about walls, Eastern Europe and the color grey. Nothing jumped out at me. While listening to Pandora, Berlin came on and that seemed a much better choice. I like a number of Berlin songs, but one of my favorites is Masquerade. It’s a great 80’s tune and it definitely brings me back to my youth.

I was born in 1967 and worked in the record stores in the 80s and 90s. I was ADDICTED to MTV when I was a teenager. I could tell you the shifts of the VJ’s and when I started to work in the record stores, I knew the goddamn record labels for the acts (because MTV would list them). I can say with certainty that if I had to pick ONE band/person/act that sums up the 80s musically, would unequivocally be Berlin. They had the sound, the look and the sleek, understated cool no one else had.

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

The painted faces on the street
Caricatures of long ago
Oh they were young and oh so sweet
Down beyond the boulevard
Knock on doors and empty halls
And still sometimes remember
The masquerade's forever

When you see the price they paid
I'm sure you'll come and join the masquerade

The reeling figures pass on by
Like ghosts in some forgotten play
Beneath the black and empty sky
Music plays and figures dance
With partners chosen by chance
And still some times remember
The masquerade's forever

They reached for tomorrow
But tomorrows, more of the same
So they reached for tomorrow
But tomorrow never came

When you hear the price they paid
I'm sure you'll come and join the masquerade

One by one and two by two
Past eight by tens in shattered frames
The players try to leave the room
Frantic puppets on a string
And all the while the music sings
And still sometimes remember
The masquerade's forever