Inspiration: Falco

Johann (Hans) Hölzel aka Falco was an Austrian pop/rock star predominantly active in the 70's, 80's and 90's, characterized by his singing in both German and English. Falco began to show signs of unusual musical talent very early. As a toddler, he was able to keep time with the drumbeat in songs he heard on the radio. At age five, he auditioned for the Vienna Music Academy, where it was confirmed that he had perfect pitch. He reached No. 1 on them US Billboard charts with Rock Me Amadeus, making him the first and only artist whose principal language was German to score a number-one hit in the United States. His estate claims he has sold 20 million albums and 15 million singles, making him the best selling Austrian singer of all time.
Below are three of his songs: Rock Me Amadeus, Vienna Calling, Jeanny and Der Kommissar.



Rock Me Amadeus, 1986
This video is insane. The song is about musician Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and how he would have been perceived in his time as we perceive musicians now. This is reflected in the video- Mozart had dyed hair, hangs out with punks, his equals "out-of-time". He lives the life that Falco has, and Falco lives the life he has- he sings for an audience dressed in fantastic18th century clothing. What I love about the video is the coming together of the time periods, everyone is their own clothing enjoying music together. The clothing and mise en scene is simply fantastic, as well as the haphazard camera work/angles
English Lyrics: http://www.lyrics007.com/Falco%20Lyrics/Rock%20Me%20Amadeus%20%28English%29%20Lyrics.html



Vienna Calling, 1985
The dancing in this video is brilliant, as well as the 80's special effects. The constant motif of phone's is also interesting. I find the colour scheme's overuse of oyster pink rather strange.I interpret the song to be about the famous Vienna Rotlichtviertel or red light district- a urban place with a high concentration of prostitution and sex-related business. I like that the video does not explicitly show this, forcing the audience to listen to the lyrics (if they can). What they do see is a "classy" establishment, with "classy" women, warping the standard audience's perceptions. A true 80's video.
English Lyrics: http://german.about.com/library/blmus_falco04e.htm


 
Jeanny, 1986
Jeanny caused major controversy when first released, as it is sung from the perspective of a rapist or stalker, but the lyrics don't actually contain any direct reference to the act of rape or abduction. It is left to the listener's imagination. Falco argued that it is about the musings of a stalker. The NewsFlash part of the song was read by a real German Newsreader and has obvious parallels to the case in the song, but doesn't explicitly mention the girl's name.
Some TV and radio stations in West Germany agreed and didn't play the song "for ethical reasons", while others just played it on their charts shows. In East Germany the song was not on air and playing it in dance clubs was prohibited. I personally love the colour scheme, it gives and air of both fun and danger.
English lyrics: http://german.about.com/library/blmus_falco05e.htm



Der Kommissar, 1981
Purely because it has the best green screen work of all time.
English Lyrics: http://german.about.com/library/blmus_falco02e.htm