metal umlaut

— Metallurgists from Motörhead to Mötley Crüe have proven the eensy diacritic as iconic as Spandex, pyrotechnics and Aqua-Net. Spin̈al Tap’s David St. Hubbins explains the umlaut’s universal appeal: “It’s like a pair of eyes. You’re looking at the umlaut, and the umlaut is looking at you.” But unlike the legitimate ’louts gracing the names of Björk or Hüsker Dü, the metal umlaut doesn’t have any phonetic purpose, simply serving as shorthand for “We rawk!” and making confused Germans shout “Mo-ET-ley Cru-UH!”