Einsturzende Neubauten was one the bands I was into in college. I had (where is it now?) the DVD of Halber Mensch. A sort of menacing art video of the band playing in a disused factory in Japan. From memory the bassist there was using a black '70s Jazz with block inlays, into an SVT. Blixa Bargeld was playing some sort of beaten up Hofner solid body. The other guys are playing lengths of pipe, shopping trolleys... cool elements of kabuki dance blended into the mix as well, and some cool jump-cut editing for the track 'ZNS'. My favourite is still the opening track Armenia, with Blixa Bargeld looking and sounding almost more like an injured dope-sick insect or dog-man than a human. This dangerously pale, thin man with clumps of hair missing.
As metalhead students we were totally into how brutal and abrasive the band was. I think there was a bonus clip or something on there, called 'Autobahn' or similar. The band are outdoors at a set of roadworks, and one guy is actually shoveling dirt and sand while Blixa sings through pitch-shifting delays and things. I wouldn't imagine a T-bird holding up very long in that sort of environment. There is footage of them playing in a small club somewhere and actually digging up the stage. It makes Pete Townshend, bouncing a Strat off the bottom strap button a few times, look positively childish and tame.
Odd to see Blixa these days as he looks so plump and comfortable; like some sort of rich German producer.