Titties and Beer

A Hungarian friend just sent me this cynical article in Der Spiegel (in English) about the arrival of Hooters to Germany. The article and my friend's point of view is it's just another example of crass Americanism invading Europe and that due to cultural differences it's likely to fail. To which, my response to my friend was this:

When's the last time you were in Germany? I spent about two weeks there before I moved to Hungary (1990), and my impression was it had all the worst characteristics of Amerika — loud, boorish, affluent, arrogant, nationalistic, materialistic, willfully ignorant people — with quainter architecture and an uglier language. They're the only national group more dreaded than the Americans throughout Europe when it comes to a reputation as obnoxious tourists (though English yobs run a close third).

When I was there, one of the young German guys I was hanging around with told me about an interview he'd read with Frank Zappa, where Zappa said he was always surprised how much Germans loved his song "Titties and Beer," which of course was ironic from Zappa's point of view. Apparently, Zappa said that invariably at every concert in Germany the crowd would relentless chant the title till he played the song. The guy I was with couldn't understand Zappa's confusion: "Those are the two things we German's love most: titties and beer."

I am sure Hooters will make a fortune in Germany.