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For the benefit of of our American cousins, who perhaps do not have the 
benefit of understanding European languages and have not travelled in 
the new Germany, the band name is usually translated into English as 
"Collapsing New Buildings". "Collapsing" here is a participial 
adjective, not the progressive participle of a transitive verb, i.e. the 
intended meaning is "buildings that are collapsing". Neubauten ("new 
buildings" in English) is a general term referring to buildings 
constructed in Germany after 1945. These are often regarded as cheaper, 
flimsier, and less aesthetically attractive than Altbauten, or pre-1945, 
especially pre-modernist buildings. Due to the extensive destruction 
throughout Germany during the Second World War, and the extensive 
rebuilding thereafter, Neubauten constitute a very familiar element of 
German cities.

Brandon Burke wrote:
> Hi David,
> 
> Dumb question: Did you mention Neubauten in the subject line to be cute
> or because we know that they have/had unique Neubauten recordings?
> 
> thanks,
> Brandon
> 
> 
> On Mar 3, 2009, at 11:23 AM, Dave Lewis wrote:
> 
>> http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090303/ap_on_re_eu/eu_germany_building_collapse 
>>
>>
>> The sub-standard building practices of the 1970s are coming back to 
>> haunt us, and unfortunately a fair number of such structures are used 
>> to house archival materials, as this one was.
>>
>> While I'm not Bill Schurk, and apologize for sticking my neck out in 
>> speaking out about what is not my problem, a few years ago the Center 
>> for Popular Music at BGSU was moved out of its 1970s poured concrete 
>> building -- where the materials were organized and well cared for -- 
>> and placed in deep storage elsewhere on campus. Last I heard it was 
>> inaccessible. There is another poured concrete structure at the 
>> University of Cincinnati -- thankfully one that does not hold an 
>> archive -- that will need to be torn down at some point, as it is both 
>> sinking and tipping over.
>>
>> Of course, none of us in the 1970s knew that the poured concrete fad 
>> would primarily result in buildings that would turn out to be 
>> non-functional in the long term. As this story unfolds, the effect on 
>> archives of all kinds -- including sound recordings -- will be better 
>> known. If your archive is in a 1970s university building, you might 
>> need to develop a good "Plan B" in order to avoid the fate of the 
>> Center for Popular Music. And if that facility has reopened, I sure 
>> would like to know about it.
>>
>> Uncle Dave Lewis
>> Ann Arbor, MI
> 
> ____________________________________
> Brandon Burke
> Archivist for Recorded Sound Collections
> Hoover Institution Archives
> Stanford University
> Stanford, CA 94305-6010
> vox: 650.724.9711
> fax: 650.725.3445
> email: [log in to unmask]
> 
> 

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