Rock Me, Falco

December 19, 2011 11:48 PM

Johann (Hans) Hölzel was born in Vienna on February 19, 1957. He adopted a stage name taken from a ski jumper, played in a couple of bands, and then struck out on his own. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present for you, the only truly international Austrian pop, rock and rap star: Falco!

His first real hit was with Drahdivaberl, a 1981 song which he remade and released on his first solo album. The lyrics to Ganz Wien (All Vienna) spoke of the city's vibrant drug culture, and was quickly banned from airplay.

His 1982 solo album Einzelhaft (Solitary Confinement) was a hit in several countries, and spawned the massive worldwide hit single, Der Kommissar. A song (again) about drug culture, it drew the attention of British band After The Fire and American artist Laura Branigan, who both remade it in their own ways.

Einzelhaft: Zuviel Hitze (Too Much Heat) [lyrics, english], Der Kommissar (The Commissioner) [lyrics, english], Siebzehn Jahr (Seventeen Years) [lyrics, english], Auf der Flucht ("On The Run" or "Fleeing") [lyrics, english], Ganz Wien (All Vienna) [here live from 1993], Maschine brennt (Machine Is Burning) [bonus: ZDF Hitparade performance from 1982] [lyrics, english], Hinter uns die Sintflut (After Us, The Deluge) [lyrics], Nie mehr Schule (No More School) [lyrics], Helden von heute (Heroes Of Today) [lyrics, english], Einzelhaft (Solitary Confinement) [lyrics, english]

bonus track: Maschine brennt 12" Mix

For Falco's second album, 1984's Junge Roemer (Young Romans), Falco became the first artist to create a full video playlist for an album release. These videos can be seen in "Die Falco Show: Helden Von Heute", a basically dialogue-free television movie filled with silent film tropes, music video clips, clever editing, and filmed mainly in the US (in twelve parts: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12). [Possibly NSFW due to european sensibilities about boobies] The album did not perform as well as the previous one, although it did achieve great success in Austria and (curiously) Spain.

Junge Roemer [all original lyrics here]: Junge Römer (Young Romans) [english], Tut-Ench-Amon (Tutankhamen), Brillantin' Brutal (Brutal Brilliantine), Ihre Tochter (Your Daughter), No Answer (Hallo Deutchland), Nur mit dir (Only With You), Hoch vie nie (Higher Than Ever), Steuermann (Taxman), Kann es Liebe sein (Can It Be Love)

bonus track: Junge Roemer (12" Dub Version)

After the "flop" of his second album, Falco retreated into the studio with a new production team, Rob and Ferdi Bolland. He continued experimenting with his cross-lingual lyrics, mixing German, English, French, and other languages, and eventually they emerged in 1985 with Falco 3. Inspired by (or is that riding on the coattails of) the hit movie Amadeus, the song Rock Me Amadeus [here, The American-friendly Salieri Mix] quickly climbed nearly every chart imaginable around the globe (except France), and pushed Falco into a superstatus he had never imagined. This single alone inspired no fewer than 17 different versions distributed to different places around the planet over the years.

This success catapulted Falco onto the world stage, setting the stage for mild success with the follow-up single Vienna Calling [again, here the American Metternich Arrival mix]. It doesn't shield Falco from controversy, however, and he finds the third single from this album, Jeanny [another American-centric remix], is shunned by many radio programmers due to its lyrical content, possibly about a rapist and murderer.

The album includes a cover of The Cars' "Looking For Love" (Munich Girls), and Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue".

Falco 3 would prove to be the high point of Falco's global career. It would chart in several countries and turn Hans Hölsel's stage persona into a household name around the world.

Falco 3 [all lyrics here]: Rock Me Amadeus (original version) [english], America [english], Tango The Night [english], Munich Girls, Jeanny [english], Vienna Calling [english], Männer des Westens (Men Of The West), Nothing Sweeter Than Arabia, Macho Macho, It's All Over Now, Baby Blue, Without You (demo version) [track cut from original album]

bonus tracks: Rock Me Amadeus (8-bit version), Vienna Calling (Full Remix), Vienna Calling (Tourist Version), Jeanny (12" extended version), Jeanny (UK-only English version), Männer des Westens (1998 remix), Männer des Westens (T. Börger Version 2007), Midnight Train To Vienna (Vienna Calling B-Side)

Falco 3 Tour, 1985, Rathausplatz (City Hall Square), Vienna: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Falco and the production team of Boland & Boland continued with 1986's Emotional. His musical style was evolving well beyond the synth-pop of earlier; this album paid specific tribute to American musical styles, including 50s doo-wop/rock and big band jazz, even appropriating some mid-80s Prince funk. Despite being very well reviewed, this album wouldn't perform anything near as well as its predecessor. Its three singles, The Sound Of Musik, Coming Home (Jeanny Part II), and Emotional did okay in the charts, but none of them made the international splash seen by songs from Falco 3.

Emotional [all lyrics here]: Emotional, Kamikaze Cappa [dedicated to war photographer Robert Capa, who covered five wars including the landing on Omaha Beach] [english], Crime Time, Cowboyz and Indianz [english], Coming Home (Jeanny Part II, One Year Later) [english], The Star Of Moon And Sun [english], Les Nouveaux Riches [english], The Sound Of Musik [english], The Kiss Of Kathleen Turner

bonus tracks: Emotional (Extended Remix), Emotional (New York Mix Edit), Emotional (Remix), The Sound Of Musik (Original Extended Mix), The Sound Of Musik (7" Rock'n'Soul Version) Her Side Of The Story (Emotional B-Side)

This album release would see Falco undertaking a very successful world tour across Europe and into Japan. He planned on using his shows in Japan as a gateway to a US leg of the tour, but homesickness and the pressure of international stardom led Falco to decide not to tour America. His rocket had reached its apex, and would never fly so high again.

Emotional Tour 1986, Frankfurt, November 4, 1986 [quality varies]: The Star Of Moon And Sun, Junge Roemer, Männer des Westens, The Kiss Of Kathleen Turner, Crime Time, Jeanny, Munich Girls, Emotional, Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2), Vienna Calling, Rock Me Amadeus

Emotional Tour 1986, Domplatz, Salzburg: Vienna Calling, No Answer (Hallo Deutchland), The Sound Of Musik, Der Kommissar, Männer des Westens, Jeanny, America, Macho Macho, Munich Girls, Rock Me Amadeus

Emotional Tour 1986, Stadthalle, Vienna: Der Kommissar, Auf der Flucht, Männer des Westens, Hoch vie nie, Munich Girls, America, Jeanny, Vienna Calling, It's All Over Now, Baby Blue, Rock Me Amadeus

Falco took much of the next year off, recovering from the past few years' extreme activity. He announced his return in late 1987 with the Giorgio Moroder-produced single Body Next To Body, a duet with Danish model and singer Brigitte Nielsen.

Back in the studio, Falco worked hard on his next album, Aya (taking the last three letters from Himilaya for its name), but finally he had to admit that he was unsatisfied with the final product and he abandoned the project. He finally got back together with his buddies Bollard & Bollard to move forward on a new project. After rounding out the album with a couple of other production teams (and some songs from the abandoned album), Falco finally released Wiener Blut (Viennese Blood) in the summer of 1988. The album was a disappiontment, being the first album of his solo career not even to reach Number One in his native country of Austria.

The album features a cover of Steely Dan's "Do It Again".

Wiener Blut [all lyrics here]: Wiener Blut [english], Falco Rides Again [english], Untouchable, Tricks [english], Garbo, Satellite to Satellite, Read A Book, Walls Of Silence, Solid Booze, Sand am Himilaya, Do It Again

bonus tracks: Wiener Blut (Club Mix), Wiener Blut (Extended Remix), Satellite To Satellite (Extended Mix)

Still trying to regroup his faltering career, Falco turned back to the producer of his first two albums, Robert Ponger, and together they created 1990's Data de Groove, an introverted album in which Falco examined his life over the past few years and reflected on the cost of fame and success. The album itself failed to even crack the Top 10 in Austria, and none of its singles charted anywhere. It is the only Falco album currently out of print.

The song "Bar Minor 7/11 (Jeanny Dry)" is speculated to be an unofficial third chapter to the Jeanny story, partly because of the one-sided dialogue at the end of the song with an unheard woman named Jeanny, and partly because the subtitle "Jeanny Dry" is a cross-language pun, suggesting the German word for 3 (drei).

Data de Groove [all lyrics here]: Neo Nothing - Post Of All, Expocityvisions, Charisma Kommando, Tanja P. nicht Cindy C. [about Cindy Crawford and Tatjana Patitz], Pusher, Data de Groove, Alles im Liegen, U.4.2.P.1 Club Dub, Bar Minor 7/11 (Jeanny Dry), Anaconda 'mour

bonus tracks: Data de Groove (12" Club Mix), Charisma Kommando (12" Club Mix)

After such a poor reception for his last album, Falco was in full retreat. In a 1991 interview, he said Data de Groove "was an introverted, very private album. People do not want to participate in my semester at the university until they understand it. I will no longer produce texts such as, "The mega the score desto mono de chrome" [quoting a line from the title track] I want to make it better. I feel stronger now than I did five years ago. At that time, I was a mess, but now I'm working on my career like never before." [Well, okay, he said it in German.]

Retreating at this point meant getting back together with the Bollard brothers for 1992's Nachtflug (Night Flight). This was the beginning of a rebound for Falco. The album went to No. 1 in Austria (something his last two hadn't achieved), and the second single, Titanic, actually made it to #3 in the Austrian charts.

Nachtflug [all lyrics here]: Titanic [english], Monarchy Now, Dance Mephisto [english], Psychos [english], Skandal, Yah-Vibration, Propoganda [english], Time [english], Cadillac Hotel [english], Nachtflug

bonus tracks: Titanic (Dance Mix), Monarchy Now (Schönbrunner-Flieder Mix) Monarchy Now (Schönbrunner-Flieder Dubmix), Dance Mephisto (Dance Mix)

The success of Nachtflug led Falco to go on his first tour since Emotional in 1986. This included a show at the Vienna Donauinselfest in front of 100,000-150,000 people [estimates vary], where weather plagued the entire show, and flooding eventually cut the power and ended the show.

Donauinselfest 1993: Les Nouveaux Riches, Junge Roemer, XXX, Der Kommissar, Ganz Wien, Jeanny + Coming Home, Männer des Westens, XXX, XXX, Vienna Calling, Nachtflug, XXX, Helden von heute

However, in 1994, Falco was invited to perform with the J.M. Hauer Conservatory Orchestra as part of the 800th anniversary of the founding of the city. This was recorded and filmed, and Symphonic was finally completed after his death (after fancy studio work and re-recording of the orchestra parts which weren't recorded properly during the actual show). Upon its release in 1998, the album quickly climbed to the top of the Austrian sales charts.

Symphonic: The Sound Of Musik, Vienna Calling, Jeanny & Coming Home, Titanic, Rock Me Amadeus, Les Nouveaux Riches, Nachtflug [audio only, studio recording], Dance Mephisto, Monarchy Now, Der Kommissar [audio only, studio recording], Die Königin von Eschnapur [audio only, studio recording], Europa [audio only, studio recording], Helden von heute, Junge Roemer, Ganz Wien, Helden von heute - Reprise [audio only]

With his career seemingly back on track, Falco released the 1995 single "Mutter, den Mann mit dem Koks is da" (Mother, the man with the coal is here) [lyrics], an adaptation of a hugely popular operetta song from the 1880s. (The songs have little in common other than the chorus and the implications therein.) Because the style of this song was so different from typical Falco material, he created the pseudonym "T>>MB" for this release. The single was successful in Austria and Germany.

1996 saw the release of the dance single Naked by "Falco feat. T>>MB" [NSFW due to, well, naked boobies]. While it was a Top 5 hit in Austria, it didn't do well anywhere else, even in Germany. This led Falco to start to rethink the album he was planning, tentatively titled "Egoisten" (Egotists), and he began once more to try to reshape a project already in the works to something he felt would be more marketable. Sadly, Naked would be the last track Falco would release in his lifetime.

After a mammoth 40th birthday party for himself in February of 1997, and a New Years Eve party for 1998 where he previewed his work-in-progress, Falco retired to his new adoptive homeland of the Dominican Republic to put the finishing touches on his new release. On February 6, 1998, he called his guitar player and asked him to come visit so they could work on the new album. Later that day, his SUV was struck by a bus as he left a nightclub parking lot [auf Deutsch, Teil 2]. Initial reports of large amounts of alcohol, cocaine, and marijuana in his system were later discounted.

Falco was finally laid to rest [auf Deutsch, Teil 2] in the Vienna Central Cemetary, with a grave which celebrated his life and achievements.

This wasn't the end of Falco's success, however. The album he'd spent longer working on than any other in his career was finally released as Out Of The Dark (Into The Light) shortly after his death. More melodic, more techno-oriented (and in context more affecting) than his recent work, it quickly reached great success both in German-speaking countries and elsewhere.

The song "Out Of The Dark" was promoted as yet another Jeanny sequel, although it remains unclear whether that was part of Falco's plan or just a marketing gimmick.

Out Of The Dark (Into The Light) [all lyrics here]: No Time For Revolution, Out Of The Dark [english], Shake, Der Kommissar 2000 [live performance from before his death], Mutter, der Mann mit dem Koks is da, Hit Me [english], Cyberlove, Egoist [english], Naked (Full Frontal Version), Geld (hidden track) [english]

bonus tracks: Mutter, der Mann mit den Koks is da (Long Line Mix), Mutter, der Mann mit den Koks is da (Mother's Favourite Remix)

In 1999, Verdammt, wir leben noch [Damnit, we're still alive] was released. Made of tracks which Falco created for earlier projects as far back as the sessions for Wiener Blut (and abandoned for various reasons), the album pulls together many unreleased tracks from Falco.

Verdammt, Wir Leben Noch [all lyrics here]: Verdammt wir leben noch, De Königin von Echnapur [Pulp Fiction video], Qué pasa hombre, Europa, Fascinating Man, Poison, Ecce Machina, We Live For The Night, Krise, From The North To The South, Der Kommissar (Club 69 Remix), Verdammt wir leben noch (Remix)

Also in 1999 came the new single Push! Push!, with a clever video which edits together an appearance by Falco at a private industry performance with new footage of a crowd clamoring during a show.

Several other Falco tributes followed. In 2000, "F@lco: A Cyber Tribute", a concert/theater show featuring Falco's band leader, with a loose plot depicting Falco in struggle with his super-ego, toured with success. 'Falco Meets Amadeus" played in Berlin, with a plot which paralleled Hans Hölsel with Wolfgang Mozart as comrades who were both subsumed by the pressures of fame and musical genius (with a bit of Faust thrown in for good measure).

Also released in 2000 was the DVD "Falco - Everything", which featured many of his videos, along with a new track from the Bolland brothers, Tribute To Falco (feat. Alida). The DVD included a few interviews and retrospective videos with Falco, even subtitled into English (it was rare for Falco to give interviews which weren't in German.)

Falco - Everything Interviews and Videos: Making of... (part 2) [excellent overview of Falco's video-making career], Falco private, Falco talks...

In 2007, on Falco's 50th birthday, the double album retrospective Hoch vie nie was released. It leapt straight to the top of the charts in the German-speaking world. It included the b-side to the single for Rock Me Amadeus, Urban Tropical. Also available in an extended mix.

The Spirit Never Dies was released in 2009, with yet more unreleased material from Falco. It includes yet another chapter in the Jeanny saga, which was released back in 1988 as part of an extended single. At this point there are five "official" parts to the Jeanny song cycle (Jeanny, Coming Home, Bar 7/11 (Jeanny Dry), Out Of The Dark, and The Spirit Never Dies). Exactly which order these belong in the supposed story remains a matter of debate.

The Spirit Never Dies: Return To Forever, Nuevo Africano, Jeanny Part 1, Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2: Ein Jahr Danach), The Spirit Never Dies (Jeanny Final), Que Pasa Hombre, Poison, Sweet Symphony, Kissing In The Kremlin, Dada Love, The Spirit Never Dies (Jeanny Final) The Special Mix, Forever

Falco continues to fascinate and inspire, with documentaries, biopics, and even tribute bands springing up in his wake. His unique style and energy remains an influence into the 21st century. Long Live Falco!

Bonus Track: Nina Hagen covers Ganz Wien

posted by hippybear (42 comments total)

There's a metric fuckload more Falco material online, much of it interviews in German, much more of it live performances. Those interested, I suggest starting with this YouTube account. There's a lot there to appreciate.
posted by hippybear at 11:50 PM on December 19, 2011

a metric fuckload...more?!

hippybear, it will be well into 2012 before I make it through this...anthology...thank you!
posted by squasha at 12:07 AM on December 20, 2011 [2 favorites]

I liked his work on the Simpsons.
posted by migurski at 12:54 AM on December 20, 2011 [4 favorites]

We're listening. I'll just make a cup of tea while you tell us more about this Falco fellow.

tl;dr
posted by pracowity at 12:58 AM on December 20, 2011 [2 favorites]

I had Einzelhaft on cassette tape - as soon as I heard Maschine Brennt, I could smell the plastic of the tape and the boombox - a little synesthesic nostalgia.

This is unapologetic 80s music. Euro synth pop to the max. Surprisingly it has aged well, at least to me.
posted by Xoebe at 1:07 AM on December 20, 2011

Excellent work, hippybear. A couple of additional notes:

His first real hit was with Drahdivaberl, a 1981 song which he remade and released on his first solo album.

To be clear, Drahdiwaberl is a band, not a song. The song he played with them, and which you linked to, was Ganz Wien. In the US, Drahdiwaberl would be called 'shock-rockers' [NSFW - fake blood, vomiting, violence, sex acts, brief nudity]. Falco played bass guitar for Drahdiwaberl and also recorded the single "Die Galeere" with them in 1983.

The word Drahdiwaberl refers to anything that turns, a carousel, may be similar to 'lazy Susan', is often used to describe a person who is an opportunist or easily swayed. It's a Viennese dialect/slang compound word where Drah=Drehst (turn), di=dich (yourself) and Waberl=Austrian dialect for girl, may come from childspeak for the name "Barbara".

Which brings me back to Falco's line in the German version of Der Kommisar, Drah di ned um=Drehst du dich nicht um=Don't turn around. One of the reasons Falco was so popular in Austria, and probably in Germany, as well, was his use of thick Viennese dialect in the German versions of his songs. This use of dialect made him 'belong' to the Austrians, whereas the Germans probably found it 'cute' or 'entertaining'.

With his career seemingly back on track, Falco released the 1995 single "Mutter, den Mann mit dem Koks is da " (Mother, the man with the coal is here)

It's probably relevant to mention that the more common meaning of Koks (German slang) is cocaine. The noun's even been verbed, with Koksen meaning 'to take or do cocaine'.
posted by syzygy at 1:34 AM on December 20, 2011 [4 favorites]

Tremendous FPP hippybear, but there would appear to be one lacuna. All of that Austrian music not one song about keeping sex slaves in the cellar?
posted by three blind mice at 1:43 AM on December 20, 2011

I just came here to say:
Eat me, I'm a danish
I'm a danish, I'm a danish

Falco sure did a lot more than we Americans knew about at the time.
posted by jdfan at 1:51 AM on December 20, 2011 [2 favorites]

On the one hand, I love this post; on the other, I now have 'Rock me, Amadeus' going through my head. Possibly forever.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 1:59 AM on December 20, 2011 [5 favorites]

And there I thought Falco was a wonder. A one-hit wonder.
posted by chavenet at 2:25 AM on December 20, 2011

I guess before now I didn't realize that hippybear was autistic.

Just kidding. Also, I'm not entirely sure that the "magnificent obsessions" we're looking for were supposed to be realized here, rather than discovered elsewhere and reported. But, hey, regardless, this is a pretty amazing post.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 2:32 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

How can we discuss Austrian pop music and not mention the legendary musicmeisters Opus and their international hit "Life is Life".

Rock Me Amadeus? Pah. Did it reach #1 in Canada? I think not.
posted by MuffinMan at 2:47 AM on December 20, 2011

ntk.net used to give an award named after Falco. I miss NTK.
posted by bystander at 2:58 AM on December 20, 2011 [4 favorites]

As Willie Nelson once said, "Thank you, Taco, for that loving tribute to Falco."
posted by jeffen at 4:26 AM on December 20, 2011 [3 favorites]

DJ Schmolli presents "Falco re:loaded"
posted by Slothrup at 4:46 AM on December 20, 2011

Falco's "Der Kommissar" was the first single I ever bought - I was looking for the After the Fire version, but could only find his, so bought that instead and was actually happier with it. If I remember correctly, the Falco version ended up charting better in Australia. And what a great b-side in the form of "Helden von Heute" (this is the original mix; hippybear's is a 1998 remix, although that's great too) - the Bowie influence is strong in that one.
posted by rory at 5:00 AM on December 20, 2011

Thank you, hippybear, for what can only be described as an exhaustive offering. It is indeed awe-inspiring and will take time to digest.

I remember this band well, too well. Thanks to this, earworms infest my brain afresh.
posted by kinnakeet at 5:01 AM on December 20, 2011

Hippybear, thank you for this amazing post. Falco had just broken through with Der Kommissar when I first started studying German in high school. That and Nena's 99 Luftballons are pretty much the only German I can remember without digging into the academic centers of my brain.
posted by xingcat at 5:29 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

Falco's "Der Kommissar" was the first single I ever bought

I absolutely adore his running-towards-the-camera move in that video. Iconic MTV moment.
posted by Devils Rancher at 5:51 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

Liked him when he was a big hit, had no idea he kept going, and no idea he was no longer with us. Great post, danke schon hippybear!
posted by Meatbomb at 6:00 AM on December 20, 2011

To be clear, Drahdiwaberl is a band, not a song.

Yeah, that's what I meant. My wording was not clear. Thanks for clarifying that for the thread.
posted by hippybear at 6:05 AM on December 20, 2011

Superb post hippybear, takes me right back to my youth. Tons of material to work through.
posted by arcticseal at 6:08 AM on December 20, 2011

I remember liking many Falco songs (starting with Der Commishar), and owning a few of his 80s CDs. I used to argue with people even as a kid that he wasn't a one hit wonder, but this post is incredible and reveals a full career I wasn't aware of.
posted by mathowie at 6:48 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

Thanks hippybear, will digest this post properly tonight. Here in .nl Falco was mostly known for the same records as in English speaking countries, while his Viennanese background and influences barely registrering. I do remember the fuss that was made about Jeanny, with several djs refusing to play this "obscene" song.

Other Austrian acts that made it big abroad, apart from Falco and Opus: Grauzone, with the NDW hit "Eisbar". Or were they Swiss?
posted by MartinWisse at 6:52 AM on December 20, 2011

Falco nets an iPad?

(seriously, this post has to have been ruminating for weeks if not months. Well done!)
posted by ShutterBun at 7:19 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

I used to argue with people even as a kid that he wasn't a one hit wonder, but this post is incredible and reveals a full career I wasn't aware of.

Indeed. He was at least a 1 1/2 hit wonder.
posted by ShutterBun at 7:46 AM on December 20, 2011

This is a crossover with the dull rock n roll anecdotes, but a friend of mine is married to the girl from the Jeanny video.
posted by kingv at 7:52 AM on December 20, 2011

Hippybear, this is FANTASTIC!

Falco was all the rage amongst my peers when I lived in Germany, in 1987 and 1988, and I had been introduced to him some years before by an exchange student friend. I still have all of my Falco vinyl!

He still gets major play at my house. Elder Monster garnered an "attaboy" from his music teacher in eigth grade when he presented her with a copy of the US Radio Edit of Rock Me, Amadeus and a lyrics translation a few years back, when they were learning about Mozart. Younger Monster just scored major brownie points with his German teacher last week - he burned a disc for her with seven different mixes of the song. And I recently demonstrated that you can bellydance to anything by doing exactly that to an extended Falco mix.

Long live Falco! Thanks for putting so much work into this.
posted by MissySedai at 8:00 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

Eh, he's no Anton aus Tirol
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 8:29 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

(but damn this is an epic post)
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 8:31 AM on December 20, 2011

We gonna drop this next bomb for a money-makin' playa that ain't with us no mo'...
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:45 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

Holy sheep dip, Mister! Now I finally get the reference to the line "On behalf of Captain Hölzel..." in The Tourist Version mix of Vienna Calling. The whole spoken vignette is an amazing bit of egotism on the part of Falco, wherein he also refers to himself as "the Pride of Austria" LOL
posted by kuppajava at 8:49 AM on December 20, 2011

Perfect timing! We drank so much vodka at our open studios thing this weekend that we decided buying "Vienna Calling" and having an impromptu dance party sounded like a Very Good Idea. Love Falco!
posted by bitter-girl.com at 8:49 AM on December 20, 2011

(And we WANTED to buy the Tourist Version, kuppajava, but we couldn't find it. Damn).
posted by bitter-girl.com at 8:50 AM on December 20, 2011

And what a great b-side in the form of "Helden von Heute" (this is the original mix; hippybear's is a 1998 remix, although that's great too) - the Bowie influence is strong in that one.

It is a great song. I've still got my 45 of this.
posted by oneirodynia at 9:17 AM on December 20, 2011

ntk.net used to give an award named after Falco. I miss NTK.

NTK

Simply send us, now, a list of companies that you think are
going to go bust in the next year. When they *do* go bust,
we'll announce it - as ever - in Anti-News, but follow it
with a FALCO!, together with the names of those who
successfully predicted their demise. So, for instance, we
might say "Intel calls in receiver (Davy Winder, Vint Cerf
- FALCO!)". You can, of course, choose to remain anonymous.

The Falco competition is so named in honour of Falco, the
prominent Austria techno-rap artist, who passed away
earlier this week.

I miss ntk too.
posted by unliteral at 9:52 PM on December 20, 2011

You've been Popbitched (final link)
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 9:31 AM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]

You've been Popbitched (final link)

*heh* Yeah, that's hilarious. Especially the part where "this week" means the end of December includes the 19th of February.
posted by hippybear at 6:37 PM on December 22, 2011

Great stuff - missed it the first time but caught it via the Best Post Contest Results MeTa (congrats!). Big Falco fan, and "The Sound of Musik" is one of my most played songs over the past 20 years (and one of the few extended 12" versions I have on my MP3 player). I thought I was up on my Falco, but you uncovered stuff I never knew. Thanks!
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 8:11 PM on January 2, 2012

A few months ago I made this observation via Twitter: I just realized that Robbie Williams' entire schtick can be traced directly to Falco's "Sound of Musik" video.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 8:12 PM on January 2, 2012

Wow, I have never loathed Laura Branigan more than I do now! "Der Kommissar" in both its versions was one of my favorite songs when I was 12 or so.

Also, Drahdivaberl seems to bridge the gap between Krautrock and Yachtrock.

This is an awesome post indeed. I've learned more about and spent more time listening to Falco than I'd ever intended to.
posted by not_on_display at 11:12 PM on January 3, 2012

This is probably the wrong place to admit that I only know of Falco because of the Bloodhound Gang's Mope. This is interesting, I'm going to get to discover an artist when there's only up from here.
posted by litleozy at 11:00 PM on January 7, 2012