Songful Style: “Rock Me Amadeus”

Well, it’s been a long month, my friends. I’d love to tell you Nigel is walking and quite ambulatory. But, I would be lying. He continues to struggle. We see the surgeon this week and hope to hear, from him, that the way Nigel walks is normal for where he’s at in his recovery. As hard as this is on me, it is 1000% harder on him. He has been battling this hip thing for over three years. What is harder, I think, is he has to watch me do all the things he thinks he’s supposed to do. Anyway, welcome to the last Monday in June (can you believe it) and another edition of Songful Style! Suzy and Shelbee decided to riff (see what I did there) on Style Imitating Art only with music! Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge, Suzy of Suzy Turner, and I make up the bloggers in this group. You can find all of us on our blogs and Instagram.  Our ensembles (pun intended) may be inspired by the lyrics of a song, the artwork of the album cover, maybe the MTV video, or even a memory the song evokes. I chose this month’s song. Last time, Suzy selected “Build Me Up Buttercup” by The Foundations. Oh, and there’s a link party, too!

The artist…

Johann “Hans” Hölzel is better known as Falco.  He was born on February 9, 1957 in Vienna, Austria.  His mother, Maria, was a laundry branch manager, and his father, Alois, was a machine factory foreman.  So, young Falco was from the working class.  His mother said she had been pregnant with triplets.  But, she miscarried the identical twins in her third month of pregnancy.  Falco survived since he was conceived (luckily) from a separate ovum.  

A little more…

Young Hans began school at a Roman Catholic public school but switched to the Rainergymnasium in Margareten when he was ten. His mother raised young Hans when her husband left the young family. Hans, like the artist he would come to emulate, showed early signs of great musical talent. He could “keep time with the drumbeat in songs he heard on the radio.” For his fourth birthday, Hans received a child’s grand piano! His fifth birthday present didn’t come close to the prior year’s (in my opinion). It was a record player. Among the artists young Hans listened to were Elvis, Cliff Richard, and, of course, the Beatles. I’m not exactly sure who considered him this, but someone considered him the new Mozart. This, of course, led Hans to decide upon a musical career. His musical trajectory, however, didn’t include being a composer. Hans wanted to be a pop star!

Still more…

At the ripe old age of 16, Hans attended the Vienna Conservatoire. He soon left after becoming frustrated with something. So, his mom, being a mom, insisted he do something a little more practical, and he became an apprentice with the Austrian employee pension insurance institute. That didn’t last very long, either. When he was 17, Hans entered the Austrian army for eight months which doesn’t seem very long.

He liked the nightlife…

After leaving the service, Falco seemed to drift from band to band, all the while enjoying the Viennese nightlife.  This included, not only music, but striptease, performance art, and a “general atmosphere of satirizing politics and celebrating chaos.”  He also played under a few other pseudonyms including John Hudson and John DiFalco.  From 1977-1979, Falco was the bassist for The Hallucination Company, an Austrian rock group.  Hans played bass guitar in local bands such as “Drahdiwaberl” or “The Hallucination Company.”  It was at this time he changed his name to Falco due to his fascination with the German ski jumper, Falko Weisspflog.  He soon left these bands even though he had a single, “Ganz Wien” (“All of Vienna”) that was quite successful. 

Other bands…

As a part of the Viennese underground club scene, Falco stood out because he wore his hair short (due to his military service) and wore Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses (I’d love a pair of those).  Unlike his grubbier counterparts, he also wore suits!  From The Hallucination Company, Falco then joined the Anarcho-punk (got no idea on that one) band, Drahdiwaberl.  This band used shock tactics and stage antics which I’m pretty sure appealed to Falco’s dramatic side.  He was also a member of Spinning Wheel, which was a side project of Drahdiwaberl.  It was then he first began to sing and develop his unique style.

Solo career…

In May, 1979, Falco recorded demos and early sketches. A single was released posthumously 28 years later.  You may have read between the lines and figured out Falco was a bit difficult to work with since he considered himself the next Mozart!  In 1981, he became a solo artist and began composing his own music.  Along with that, he hired songwriter, Robert Ponger.  Falco intended “Helden von heute” (“Heroes of Today”) to be the A-side of his first single.  His manager, Horst Bork, said, “Nope!”  Instead, “Der Kommissar” was released.  Falco didn’t want that to be the A-side as it was a song about drugs and combined rap verses with a sung chorus.  At that time, rap was just beginning to become a thing in the US and was rare in Western Europe.  Bork won out, and the song became a number one in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Japan.  It also charted high in other countries.  It did not, however, become a hit in the UK or US.  After the Fire, a British rock band, covered the song.  It charted at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.  Then, Laura Branigan, of all people, recorded a version with new English lyrics under the title, “Deep in the Dark.”  Einzelhaft, the album containing “Der Kommissar” topped the charts in Austria and the Netherlands.

“Amadeus”…

In 1983, Falco, along with Ponger, returned to the studio and recorded Junge Roemer (Young Romans).  It was released in 1984 but didn’t really gain any interest internationally.  It did reach number one in Austria.  So, Falco began experimenting with English lyrics so that English speakers would appreciate his music.  He chose a new production team, the Bolland brothers, Rob and Ferdi, from the Netherlands.  He recorded “Rock Me Amadeus” which was inspired by the Oscar-winning movie, Amadeus.  It became a worldwide hit in 1986 and reached No. 1 in more than a dozen countries, including the US, the UK, and Japan.  It stayed in the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks.  It also reached No. 6 in the Billboard Top R&B Singles Chart.  The album, Falco 3, reached No. 18 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.  This was extremely unusual for a white artist, especially from mainland Europe. On top of that, Falco is the only artist in history to have a No. 1 hit with a German language song in the US. Falco 3 produced two more hits, “Vienna Calling” and “Jeanny.”  The latter was extremely controversial because it “was told from the point of view of and is sympathetic to a possible rapist and murderer. Several DJs and radio stations refused to play the ballad, which was ignored in the US.  However, it became a hit in many European countries, and inspired a sequel on his next album.”  Falco thought to cross over into the US market permanently by “working with American producers and collaborating with other American artists.”  Falco’s huge ego, combined with his addictions to alcohol and cocaine, ultimately prevented this from happening.  He is, however, known as the Father of White Rap!  I would never have guessed that!

Personal life…

Falco’s personal life was just as chaotic.  He was in a relationship with Isabella Vitkovic who gave birth to a girl, Katharina, in 1986. Married in 1988, Katharina described her parents’ marriage as a love-hate relationship.  In 1993, for some reason, DNA paternity testing was done and proved that Katharina was not Falco’s child.  This led to a strained relationship with his “daughter.”  They kept in contact, but Katharina claimed she was not included in his will.  In 2008, she wrote a memoir, Falco war mein Vater (Falco Was My Father). In 1996, Falco moved to the Dominican Republic for a few reasons, among them the cold winters of Austria, the “penetrating and indiscreet media in Austria,” and as a tax exile.  Falco was known for his “excessive and expensive lifestyle, for example buying a penthouse in Vienna for his family, but never moved in.”  On February 6, 1998, Falco died from his injuries when his Mitsubishi Pajero collided with a bus. He had been pulling out of a parking lot when a bus, driving too fast, crashed into his car. He had been planning a comeback with the album, Out of the Dark (Into the Light) which was successful after its posthumous release.  His body was returned to Vienna and buried at the Vienna Central Cemetery. It is one of the most visited graves in that cemetery. 

The lyrics…

What it means…

OK, I’m absolutely stumped on this one. I think Falco and Bolland & Bolland (his producers) had recently seen the movie (love it) with Tom Hulce and decided to just do a riff on it. I did see the AI response: “”Rock Me Amadeus” by Austrian pop-star Falco is a tribute to classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, reimagining the 18th-century musician as a modern, rock-star icon. The lyrics celebrate Mozart’s genius and superstar popularity while highlighting his rebellious lifestyle, debts, and relationships.” And, I can kinda see that in the video. I did a little digging and found that many of the claims in the movie and the song aren’t substantiated by anything. Mozart lived in Vienna where they like a little tipple now and then so he probably did drink. He actually lived quite sumptuously and was almost always in debt so the line referencing plastic money and the banks is probably true. And, he was a little bit of a ladies man in that he like to flirt, but that was also the norm. In fact, the records indicate his was a happy and loving relationship. So, simply put, this song is just about what Falco and the Bolland brothers imagined life would be like for Mozart had he lived in the 1980s!

The video…

Interesting covers…

Oh, my gosh! This video is like 1950s meets 18th century, and I can’t tell who wins! It’s Elvis gone baroque! Again, it’s in German, but it’s so worth it just to watch it!

This is a fun one. It’s a student-produced video, but you wouldn’t know it! I’d love to know where they shot some of those interiors! It’s also in German.

OK, I put this one in simply because of the beauty of the rendition. There’s no singing, only instruments and a strange figure dancing.

This video is pretty cool. I think they’ve got a body double as Falco and have just spliced in his voice in certain places. In any case, I love the dancing!

And, of course, I have to include my buddy, Leo! P.S. Everything after about the four minute mark is advertisement for his merch.

I was really hoping that Postmodern Jukebox had done a cover, but alas and alack, they did not.

Sources…

About the artist

About the artist

About the artist

About the song

Song lyrics

About the myths of Mozart

My interpretation…

OK, I am fully in my princess era! I kept seeing this magical dress on Instagram and Facebook. I had to check it out. Initially, I purchased both the Cinderella dress and the Evangeline slip in black. Unfortunately, the black didn’t show all the details of the dress. I could have kept the slip and used it, I know, but it’s a little on the spendy side. I have to say the customer service from Miss Rose Sister Violet is amazing! They were in constant contact with me throughout the entire exchange process. I didn’t want the ivory version of the dress yet I was a little worried about the color of the pink dress. If it’s the wrong pink, it’s a disaster against my skin. In the end, I love it! But, and it’s a bit but…hahaha!! I did have to do a bit of altering to the dress. It comes in two sizes…S/M and M/L. I got the S/M and it was large on me. So, I watched a couple of videos to take up the straps. Then, I took in the sides because it just hung like a sack on me. Here’s what you need to know should you decide to splurge on this dress (BTW…the pink is sold out at press time)…there are three layers to the bottom of the dress. The top is eyelet, and the bottom is a raw edge cotton. But, in the middle is a paper…yes, you read that correctly…paper layer. This was all bunched up in order to give it a poufy look. I thought it was just a bit much so I pressed a bit of that pouf out. Just bear that in mind if you see those videos of the two young women in this dress. Oh, and they have to have had the dress taken in quite a bit. It isn’t near as flowy as the videos look unless they’ve washed it and washed it and washed it. I don’t know how paper would hold up to that. The slip, though, is a work of art. I don’t know that I would wear it was a dress though some might! But, check out that lace! I also added a lace Halftee because I felt like it! Please click here if you decide to buy a Halftee as I will get credit for it. Oh, and the reason why I used this as my interpretation? I thought it looked most like some of the women in the video!

The Lewk!

These are the Freya flats from Miz Mooz! And, if possible, they are even more comfortable than my Farrah flats! I love the grommets and the edgy vibe they give this princess outfit. The jewelry is all Michael Michaud, but I don’t know what collection. I, of course, bought it in the museum gift shop!

Wrap it up, Marsha!

I remember this song only for the chorus! I had no idea it was all in German! I did find one video that was in English, but they had made up their own lyrics. I thought that was missing the entire point so I didn’t include it. I always thought this song was part of the movie, “Amadeus.” It seems as if Falco believed himself to be the 20th century version of Mozart, I think there are some similarities but not too many. So, can we talk? Which video do you like best? Did you think the song was from the movie? Would you consider Falco a rapper? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as quickly as I can.

Thank you!

Thank you so very much for reading today’s post. I hope you enjoyed it. I also very much appreciate those of you who comment, email and/or subscribe. It’s what keeps me going! If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.

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Just a reminder that Marsha in the Middle may use an affiliate link. Those links are usually italicized. If you click or make a purchase from an italicized link I provide, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.  My April Cornell code, MARSHA15, now works, but it’s good for only one use. You can get $15 off $100. I’d wait and use it during a really good sale! Use Marsha12 for 12% off any order of $65 or more at Buykud. I have also become a Halftee Partner. Use the code, MARSHA15, for 20% off any purchase. I am also an affiliate with Clara Sunwoo. You can use my code, MARSHA10, for 10% off your entire order. Use MARSHA15 at Katia Designs for 15% off your order. In case you didn’t know, bloggers must disclose the use of affiliate links. That’s why I include this in each post. I have now have a code for Tulip Clothing. Use the code, MARSHA20, for 20% off your order.

Where you can find me:

Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style,  Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, Suzy Turner, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World . I also link up with I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, Style Splash and Elegantly Dressed and Stylish as well as the Senior Salon Pit Stop and Slices of Life. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month as well as the Global Writing Challenge on the second Thursday. I now co-host Fashion Files with Amy at Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa every Tuesday. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda, Lisa, Cat, and Rena. I also host 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!

And, now, it’s your turn!

Please link up your favorite posts, DIY, baking, gardening, fashion…you name it…as long as it’s family friendly! Link up with me, visit a couple of others, and leave a comment or two! No worries if you don’t have a blog, just look around! You may find a new blog just waiting for you!

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