5/16/2023 0 Comments Falco dair songWhat these hairsplitting, nitpicking questions get at is how to treat the songs that change the lyrics of a song. Should a translation be considered a cover, or should there be a separate category for versions of a song performed in a separate language? If so, then many of the versions in my review of “Vamos A La Playa” would not be considered covers. After The Fire’s version is a translation of Falco’s version. In the case of “Der Kommissar,” I have similar questions. What complicated the matter was trying to figure out the relationships that covers of “Jet Boy, Jet Girl” had with covers of “Ça Plane Pour Moi.” Or did they have any relationship at all? Their shared backing track meant that the songs were connected, but neither one could be considered a cover of the other. When I reviewed covers of “Jet Boy, Jet Girl” and “Ça Plane Pour Moi,” I struggled to define the relationship the two songs had to each other. You listened to it, yes? And I was right, yes? Goes well with the jarring cover art for the album, yes? Over the years, both the English and German versions of “Der Kommissar” have been covered, not to mention the covers that translated the song into another language altogether.Īfter The Fire’s version spawned several other covers that same year, including versions by blues singer Ronnie Jones… Three weeks earlier, After The Fire’s “Der Kommissar” had peaked at Number 5.įalco went on to have a Number 1 hit with “Rock Me Amadeus,” but After The Fire never recreated the success of “Der Kommissar.” After all, the band had already announced its breakup before the song became a hit. “Solitaire” peaked at Number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May of 1983. Branigan and her label worried that the newfound popularity of “Der Kommissar” could negatively impact sales of “Deep In The Dark,” so they opted to release the single “Solitaire,” originally written by Martine Clémenceau and Diane Warren. As a result, Falco’s original also began to climb the charts. They announced they were breaking up.Īnd yet, just before “Deep In The Dark” was to be released, After The Fire’s “Der Kommissar” began to gain traction in some markets. Dismayed after years of trying to have success, the members of After The Fire were ready to call it a day. They’re rappin’ here, they’re rappin’ there, but she’s climbin’ on the wallīut just like Falco’s version, After The Fire’s “Der Kommissar” didn’t fare well in English-speaking markets when it was first released. Well, we meet Jill and Joe and brother Herr with the whole cool gang and, oh (Ja ja) Der Kommissar’s in town, whoa oh ohĪnd if he talks to you and you don’t know why When she rides with the others in the subway singin’ She said, “Babe, you know I miss Jill and Joeīut my street understanding was just enough to know what she really meantĪnd I got to thinking while she was talking But when the single was released in the US, it initially failed, despite being a hit in Austria and Germany.Īn English band called After The Fire decided to translate “Der Kommissar” into English, staying faithful to Falco’s original story: Though it was mostly in German, he wrote some of it in English in the hopes that “Der Kommissar” could cross into the US market. Translating to “the commissioner,” Falco’s “Der Kommissar” told the story of a police captain who attempted to go after a cocaine user and her dealer. Falco then took the song and restructured it as a quirky German-English rap called “Der Kommissar.” Ponger initially offered the song to an Austrian pop singer, but the singer declined. One of the songs that Falco included had been written by a songwriter named Robert Ponger. He returned to Austria, and in 1979, he played bass on punk band Drahdiwaberl’s album, “Psycho Today.” Falco then started his solo career, releasing his debut album, “Einzelhaft,” in 1982. Upon graduation, he moved to Berlin, and though he had been a classically trained child prodigy, he began playing in a jazz-rock band. Regardless of how he became Falco, the artist who would be Falco grew up in Austria and graduated from the Vienna Conservatoire in the 1970s. One story is that he began calling himself Falco after German skier Falko Weissflog another states that he picked the name because “it sounded better. There are conflicting reports as to how Johann Holzel became known as Falco. You can listen to the songs in a Spotify playlist. Read about it here and see the list of previous songs here. A new post about a different song is posted each Monday. This is the 97th post in a weekly series.
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