Give me fun foreign music!

April 8, 2008 12:33 PM

So I just introduced some of my friends to the sheer awesomeness that is Dschinghis Khan's Moskau. I am now looking for similar funny/cheesy foreign songs, preferably in German.

This song has since become a staple at all of our parties. I want more fun songs auf Deutsch!

So tell me, are there any ridiculously bad/awesome German songs that you blast when you make party?

posted by pumpkin11 to media & arts (32 comments total)

Schnappi, das kleine Krokodil!

Schnee schna schnappi, schnappi schnappi schnapp!
Schnee schna schnappi, schnappi schnappi schnapp!

posted by moonmilk at 12:46 PM on April 8

Well, Gilla's version of Boney M's "Rasputin" springs to mind.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 12:49 PM on April 8

Falco, Jeanny You can act the spoken parts with emotion.
posted by Free word order! at 12:51 PM on April 8

Putting "Eurovision Germany" into YouTube's search facility brings up a whole load of DeutschEuropop, all of which I am too scared to click on. But I guarantee there'll be something to please in there.
posted by essexjan at 12:52 PM on April 8

May I suggest "Oh Shit, Frau Schmidt" by Wolf? I assure you, it is quite adequately godawful (random modulations, monotonous bass line, gratuitous use of English swearing).
posted by Flipping_Hades_Terwilliger at 12:55 PM on April 8

Anything from Army of Lovers
posted by Free word order! at 12:57 PM on April 8

Am I to understand that neither you nor your friends actually speak German? Hmm. Though I suppose my suggestion doesn't really change whether or not you speak German. Otto Waalkes is a German comedian-parody artist with a rather crude and loud sense of humour. Lots of puns and fun stuff if you speak the language, decent beat and random English words if you don't.
posted by Phire at 1:03 PM on April 8

Here's a slightly remixed version of Lotto King Karl's Liebe ist wie Malaria ("Love is like malaria"). Here are the lyrics.

The gist of the song is that the singer is comparing love to malaria based on their similar symptoms (nausea, vertigo, sweating, etc).

Also by Lotto King Karl is "Ist macht so ungeheuer Spaß mit dir zu ficken" (Loosely translates as "it's incredibly to fun to have sex with you"). Here's the music (ignore the video) and here are the lyrics

Both of these are better if you speak German, especially if you can understand the idioms and slang in the second one, but there you have it. I couldn't find any good music videos to accompany them, though.
posted by jedicus at 1:09 PM on April 8

Oh, crap, that should be "Es macht so ungeheuer Spaß, mit dir zu ficken."
posted by jedicus at 1:10 PM on April 8

Heino
posted by rhizome at 1:11 PM on April 8

Check out Aquagen for hilarious German techno.
posted by Schlimmbesserung at 1:24 PM on April 8

Das Schutzenfest is a pretty goofy, raunchy song. (In German, but not German.)
posted by cog_nate at 1:33 PM on April 8

(Ein Zwei Drei...) Schweine by Glukoza is pretty odd and has a pig-snort-sound in it that's irresistible---you just can't not snort along with it. It seems that the verses are in Russian, not German, but the chorus is "Ein zwei drei, shiggy shiggy schweine.... Uh Oh! Ein zwei drei, shiggy shiggy schweine... *snort snort*" Funny stuff.
posted by slenderloris at 1:49 PM on April 8

"Er Hat Ein Knallrotes Gummiboot," in pretty much any version you can find. I have a dance mix, but the original oompah version is good too :)

"Cool in the Pool" by Holger Czukay is not IN German, but it certainly has that wacky vibe.

"Lotto," by Fantastic Plastic Machine, is in German but by a Japanese guy. But it's awesome.
posted by Madamina at 1:55 PM on April 8

A friend once picked up a cover of "Informer" (y'know, that early 90s rap song by Snow) in German that was wrong and wonderful, but hell if I can remember the performer.

Did Hasselhoff sing in German? His English songs certainly are ridiculously bad.

Is Bigod20 the industrial band that did a German cover of a Queen song?
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 2:10 PM on April 8

I just showed my German girlfriend that Dschinghis Khan video and asked her, "Hey, what other really crappy German hits can we give this guy?" She looked at me with disbelief in her eyes and said, "What? This is good! This is really really good!" Then she proceeded to dance around the room doing that leg kicking thing.

Anyway, these are our suggestions..

Sandra - Maria Magdalena: Not in German but the English accent is so bad, it might as well be. Plus, there's a Keytar.

Hans Albers - Auf der Reeperbahn Nachts um Halb Eins: An ode to Hamburg's red light district and all the trouble one can get into. Sounds like something the Muppets would sing.

Heino - Blau Blüht Der Enzian Dude, Heino! Halt Dein Bier fest, Alter!

Roberto Blanco - Ein bißchen Spaß muß sein and also Auf dem Kurfürstendamm sagt man Liebe

Modern Talking - Cheri Cheri Lady and Brother Louie. Not in German but Oh My God, file it under BAD. I'm sorry you have to see this. This is like the German version of Hall and Oates. Except, you know, really really bad.

Boney M - Ma Baker^: Not a German act per se, but the "mastermind" behind them was Frank Farian. Check out Rasputin. Oy.

Torfrock - Beinhart German Biker / Viking rock. My old band opened up for them a few times. Nice guys!

Truck Stop - Der Wilde Wilde Westen In the 70s-80s in Germany there was a Country Western movement in Germany that blended Nashville with Schlager.

Bonus, Bonus 2
posted by chillmost at 2:28 PM on April 8 [3 favorites]

I don't know if I'd call it bad or cheesy, but the Beatles recorded a couple of their early hits in German, and that's pretty fun.

Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand

Sie Liebt Dich
posted by lore at 2:30 PM on April 8

There's a German version of the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" called "Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand." What it lacks in techno-wackiness I think it makes up for in (a) being a Beatles song (b) the fact that the singer(s) sound as if they're having a really hard time not cracking the hell up.
posted by Flipping_Hades_Terwilliger at 2:31 PM on April 8

AH! Beaten to the punch by lore. :)
posted by Flipping_Hades_Terwilliger at 2:31 PM on April 8

Der Bonker
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:36 PM on April 8

Hey, what other really crappy German hits can we give this guy?

And by "this guy" I mean ganz süßes Fräulein.
posted by chillmost at 2:38 PM on April 8

Nana Mouskouri's Guten Morgen Sonnenschein was a hit in boarding school.
posted by stereo at 2:48 PM on April 8

You must see the music video to Schweine, mentioned above: http://www.transbuddha.com/mediaHolder.php?id=768
posted by Hargrimm at 2:57 PM on April 8

My lovely german wife, who was quickly falling asleep just started humming the tune to Moskau while I played the video. I'll have to wait till tomorrow to give any other suggestions though as she's too tired right now.
posted by smcniven at 3:05 PM on April 8

For those who asked, my friends and I do speak German... if you have any other suggestions keep them coming as I will surely be checking back here.

I am excited to test out these gems on my friends. DANKE ALLE!!
posted by pumpkin11 at 3:25 PM on April 8

Die Schröders - Ich und Frau Schmidt (Schmidt! Schmidt! Schmidt!)
posted by Wolfdog at 4:15 PM on April 8

I always want to dance when Culcha Candela's Hamma comes round on my iPod.
posted by Kattullus at 4:28 PM on April 8

Dieter Thomas Kuhn is really, really cheesy, but also a lot of fun. He does over the top cover versions of songs that were cheesy to begin with.
This is the original, this is the more modern version of DTK.
Sadly, youtube seems to only have live versions where the lyrics are really hard to understand, but you can listen to snippets in the amazon.de links above.
His discography should be a rich resource for youtube mining, too.
posted by mmkhd at 5:32 PM on April 8

Apache, by the late great Tommy Seebach. (Warning: very heavy on the cheese.)
posted by Zonker at 6:52 PM on April 8

You can't go wrong with Italian 70s queen of camp Raffaella Carrà - a guaranteed dancefloor filler for anyone who's seen the incredible video to Hay Que Venir Al Sur (the Spanish version of Tanti Auguri). She did A Far L'Amore Comincia Tu in German too - Liebelei.
posted by creeky at 11:28 PM on April 8

The lyrics aren't quite as campy as some of the ones above, but for 70s cheese you definitely need Tanze Samba mit Mir.
posted by whatzit at 6:58 AM on April 9

The genre is called "Schlager". Now I'm not sure where Schlager ends and just a normal hit begins, but it's clear to me that Dschengis Khan is on the Schlager side of that division.

Some songs to consider:

Nico Haak, Schmidschen Schleicher

Wolfgang Petry, Verlieben Verloren, Vergessen Verzeihn

Trudi Herr, Ich will keine Schokolade

Marianne Rosenberg, Er gehört zu mir is a song I think that all young Germans know.

There's a lot more that you can find if you just start searching for the schlager hits of the 70s and 80s, you'll get the high points. The german language wiki seems to have a much more exhaustive listing than the english one.
posted by cotterpin at 2:14 PM on April 9