A great power-pop number from the Giessen band Juli featuring singer Eva Briegel, who is vegetarian and active in the animal rights group PETA. Kopfhörer aufsetzen, Musik aufdrehen!

The Monsters of Liedermaching are again coming up with the funniest lyrics out there, this time wishing for a horsey for Christmas — one that steals friends! Kopfhörer aufsetzen, Musik aufdrehen!

Louis and Elias of the street band Guaia Guaia are about as close to The Big Lebowski's "The Dude" as you could expect any pair of twenty-something German guys to be. Watch this video as an excercise in learning to chill out and live free! Kopfhörer aufsetzen, Musik aufdrehen! (video copyright dpa)

The three women from Hamburg who are the Die Heiterkeit are the closest thing to the Velvet Underground you are likely to hear out of Germany these days: very cool, restrained, minimal, a bit gothic, and… they rock! Kopfhörer aufsetzen, Musik aufdrehen!

Singer-songwriter Jan Wittmer gives us a home performance of his “Weihnachtslied” (“Christmas Song”), which includes some very thoughtful social commentary on the real meaning of Christmas. Frohe Weihnachten!

Singer-songwriter Philipp Poisel has a powerful, minimalist style, great lyrics and a fine feel for a good song. Kopfhörer aufsetzen, Musik aufdrehen!

The German band Jupiter Jones pays homage to the German New Wave classic song Eisbär with a track that is beautifully minimalist, yet with some pretty serious angst-tinged lyrics. Kopfhörer aufsetzen, Musik aufdrehen!

Blumio is a German-Japanese rapper from Düsseldorf with some really great socially relevant lyrics. He is a real style chameleon too, from party songs about Düsseldorf liquors to protest songs about the neo-Nazi National Socialist Underground murders. Kopfhörer aufsetzen, Musik aufdrehen! Copyright: Deutsche Presse Agentur [The German Press Agency]

Born in Siberia to Russian-German parents, singer and entertainer Helene Fischer delivers one of her hit recordings about love and jealousy.

German rockers Luxuslärm dish out another heavy spoonful of heavy rock in the number "Does She Love You Like I Do?"

The German Schlager duo Die Amigos are an excellent example of the kind of music that appealed to your grandparents’ generation, yet for some reason still command an audience today in Mitteleuropa. Strictly for fans of the surreal! Kopfhörer aufsetzen, Musik aufdrehen!

The third single from their third record, the song “Krieger des Lichts” (“Warrior of Light”) was a top-ten German hit for Silbermond, a pop band from Bautzen in Saxony. Kopfhörer aufsetzen, Musik aufdrehen!

Another great power ballad from from Austrian singer Christina Stürmer featuring the band rocking out and some nice shots of a hawk attacking a mouse… does it get away? The poetic metaphors abound, but don’t let that distract you from the music! Kopfhörer aufsetzen, Musik aufdrehen!

For “Muppet Show” and “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” fans alike, this funny video from the Augsburger Puppenkiste features some hilarious puppetry and a good song to boot. Don’t be put off by a couple of words in Southern German dialect — Yabla makes it easy to learn! Viel Spaß!

Using metaphors of war and espionage for a love relationship, the singer Maxim delivers a powerful hit song with “Meine Soldaten” [“My Soldiers”]. Not only is the mix of electronic beats and orchestra great, but film and TV actor Frederick Lau gives a fine performance that feels like outtakes from a feature film — if only somebody would make it! Kopfhörer aufsetzen, Musik aufdrehen!