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Pegida: Top of the pops

Nicole GoebelDecember 30, 2015

An instrumental piece called "Together we're strong" by German anti-immigrant movement Pegida briefly climbed to the top of the German Amazon charts. But the song has been mocked heavily.

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Deutschland Pegida
Image: picture alliance/dpa/S. Kahnert

The track "Gemeinsam sind wir stark - Die Pegida-Hymne" ("Together we're strong - the Pegida hymn"), available for download for 1.29 euros, managed to temporarily kick Adele's "Hello" off the top spot of Amazon's German download charts, despite being, arguably, a less sophisticated piece of music.

Pegida leader Lutz Bachmann had offered the song for free on his Facebook account shortly before Christmas.

The piece, which could be described as sounding like the first attempts of a teenager being let loose on his synthesizer keyboard in the 1980s, was composed by Peggy Sounds in honor of the anti-Islam and anti-immigrant group's first anniversary.

The track is available on Amazon.de, which informs the inclined shopper that the proceeds of the download sales will go to organizations and charities supporting refugees.

The track has been mocked heavily on Youtube, where it's also available. Users made fun of the fact that it has no lyrics, and the humming and "lalala" sounds were appropriate for Pegida fans, who are widely seen as uneducated and ignorant.

User Lukas Henke says "the hymn is very fitting for Pegida, both have zero content."

User Friesenstahl calls it "excellent lift music," alluding to its blandness.

Paka1918 says it's "the perfect music for cleaning the toilet." Chistina Sommer calls it "musical flatulence."

RheumaKai asks "What's wrong, Pegida? Have asylum seekers now stolen your lyrics,too?"

Amazon reviewer Chris Maxim Hoffmann says, "I'd rather by a Doner kebab for that money."

But many reviews on Amazon.de were more positive, with many praising the track, saying it was for a "good cause."

And Pegida leader Bachmann also remained defiant. On his Twitter account, he thanked the "idiot lefties" and the "lying media" for mocking the video, calling it "free publicity."

Bachmann was referring to the reviews and comments as well as several media reports in Germany about the reaction to the track.

Pegida stands for "Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the Occident." The movement, which started in the eastern city of Dresden in October 2014, has become notorious for its marches through major cities and its anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant stance.

It also calls all media the "lying press," accusing it of generally having a skewed, leftist agenda.