ONE HIT WONDERLAND: "99 Red Balloons" by Nena
This was supposed to be done by the end of February but other projects, personal shit and illnesses got in the way. Here it is! Help me out and catch any errors.
And please vote in the Song vs. Song poll! Next one we're doing is "Glamorous" by Fergie vs. "Jenny from the Block" by Jennifer Lopez. https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-poll-jenny-80508122
Comments (65)
I think I’ve been waiting for this video since Todd started this series
Hey it's the line that's become more associated with fun.'s "Some Nights"!
"Nine-and-ninety red balloons" scans better than "ninety-nine red balloons".
Speaking of German dubs of bad fantasy-action movies, Nena was also the voice of Saphira in Eragon, although this was post-comeback.
It's interesting that you didn't think Falco deserved better overseas on the basis of having too much German in his music in an overcrowded market, compared to Nena absolutely deserving more despite the same language barrier. Perhaps the two "Jeanny" songs factor into that, similar to the negative subconscious effect Dr. Luke has on Doja Cat?
Well Falco's music got kinda creepy at times with both parts of Jeannie so kinda understandable that Todd wasn't as hot on him.
I discovered Nena's stuff a bit over 5 years ago, and it made me want to learn German just so I could appreciate it all the way.
CORRECTION if not too late: "The failed follow-up" better translates to: "Die gescheiterte Fortsetzung" Otherwise absolutely stellar work again, Todd. I was apprehensive, as I love this song to bits and a negative review would have just crushed me and broken my heart. Thank you for this!
THIS is how I find out Nena is a Querdenker?
Genau das habe ich auch gedacht :-)
As a historian, I am happy to confirm that history is, indeed, very stupid.
"Irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann" is a song I distinctly remember being forced to listen to and study by our non-German German teacher at school. I was begging for her to play some Rammstein instead
German fan here. You did good with the video and the German. I had four years of french and can't speak it anymore too.
A+ ending with the Goldfinger cover.
Great video! I'm curious, who's performing the cover during the end credits?
Good job with the German! Good choice for a video too.
Another great episode, really excited to dig into their discography, the other singles sounded great. Though, knowing you’d be using Goldfinger’s cover for the end credits, I still long for any third wave 90s ska band to end a subject for OHW.
For that German news article at 19:16 I'm just marveling at the mouthful that is "QANON-Vershworungsglaubigen". (that 's' in the middle must be pronounced like a 'z' because otherwise "gsg" is impossible to say together without sounding like a demon)
I don't think I say it like a 'z'. It's more of a glide from one 'g' to the next with a quick tongue reset
YESSS I've been waiting for this one for so long.
I love the section of Weird Al's "Hooked on Polkas" polka medley where he goes into 99 Luftballons.
- The lack of Balloon Boy regarding American Balloon Stupidity needs to be addressed. - I'm not sure if the graphic at 4:09 showing a nipple in a see-through shirt is going to cause monetization issues or anything like that on YouTube since I don't know how that stuff works, but I've heard of YouTube taking down videos for lesser things.
I now have seven arms and an external hard drive growing out of my scalp, Todd. Thanks for asking.
One of those follow-up singles sounded like something Alvvays would write this year. They were really ahead of their time.
I have been waiting since 2012 for you to review this song. Thanks buddy.
I’m glad I’m not the only one to take 3 years of German in high school to have learned nothing.
Would the drawing at just after 4:00 count as nudity? I don't know how to classify it, and more importantly I don't know if it would affect YouTube monetization.
Yeah, 1983 is easily the best year for pop music. New Wave was still experimental, but was starting to get some polish in a *good* way (in that it was still fresh and edgy, because by 1986, things started getting BAD...but 1986 is the peak year for metal).
I'm sure you have a long list of One Hit Wonderland ideas, but I would highly recommend "Into the Night" by Benny Mardones for a future video! The music video is wacky, and the story behind the song is really interesting. It's peak one-hit wonder; since he can't make a song more successful than that, he's re-recorded it a billion times...
hell yes! i'd love to hear Todd cover that one.
The gag with Kirk firing a torpedo at the House from Up had me cackling with glee. Lovely episode!
I was really hoping the cover stinger at the end was the Goldfinger version and Todd delivered.
Fun fact (or fun urban legend): The explosions in the video scared the living crap out of the band, so when you see them getting out of there, that's real.
The editing and time-shifting at 6:40-6:50 is a little weird. Some awkwardly short clips and an uncomfortably slow shot of Nena licking her lips. I'm loving the video so far, though!
Always loved the song (both versions); I had no idea the German version was so different!
Despite loving this song I did not know what it was about before this video. It was one of those songs that was always around and it just never occurred to me to go back and check if it was about anything more than the title implied.
Your german pronounciation is pretty good! Awesome video, Dude. :)
Goldfinger has a pretty good ska cover of the song. They even attempt the German!
Yep and it plays during the credits.
Crossing a big one off the list. Now we just need a Sex and Candy episode next
and Fountains of Wayne, though given the depressing ending of that one with the lead singer dying of COVID I wouldn't blame Todd for putting that one on the backburner for a while.
Sorry to be a meanie, but I gotta play the mean German here: "The failed follow-up" best translates to "Der gescheiterte Nachfolger"! ...great video. Nena was still quite popular here, I still liked her. Unfortunately, she really did end up being an antivax-crank during the Covid pandemic. I was very disappointed, always liked her music (Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgendwann is an absolute banger)
sucks how many talented musicians turned out to be fucking idiots about COVID, Meat Loaf, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Ted Nugent(though it honestly would've been a bigger surprise if he wasn't given his already horrible track record of awful viewpoints). I'm thankful I have pretty much zero familiarity with her outside of this song(and even that memory is vague at best).
As an American person born in the mid-80s, I didn't hear the English version of this song until VH1 did that one-hit wonder countdown hosted by Shatner.
Lopping Falco into NDW is an affront to every Austrian but otherwise great video, possibly your best. Also your German in the video is honestly pretty spot-on, save for the "failed follow-up" translation. If that one wasn't a joke, the correct translation would be "Gescheiterter Nachfolger" or possibly "Gescheiterte Fortsetzung".
(And yes, probably best to ignore her COVID-denialism, which sadly is true)
That was a very good and interesting video. Good job Todd! Gave me a lot of context about german new wave.
That quest for Camelot drop had my jaw on the floor
Amazing timing Todd, I had my stag in Berlin only last week
Oh hell yeah, finally!
That open was absolutely perfect.
Wow, didn't expect Todd to say that many good things about Nena! °.° EDIT: And I don't mean that as a slap against her music - I think you make a good point for that. It's just that I grew up with those kids'-movies she acted in, and... well, those are always a little more cringe thanks to her involvement. She took over Madonna's role in "Arthur and the Mini-Moys", and... well, that was not an improvement. And yeah, her involvement with Covid-Denialism only doubles that.
she's a denier? Oh great, first Meat Loaf and now her.
Still absolutely love this song.
Nice! I've listened to a fair share of Neue Deutsche Welle songs last year. In a weird alternate universe, this song would've been the 1983 crossover hit single from Germany: https://youtu.be/xXYBh_ut-fo
Oh yes, Joesi Prokopetz. Another former NDWler* who went off the deep end. * And yes, he counts despite being Austrian.
i’m sorry but she completely midded out after the hit
When the German version came out, many radio stations reported the actual lyrics. Not so much for other German songs like those of Falco or Trio.
This is one of my favorite episodes ever. I've always loved this song, and I love how much research and behind the scenes information you bring to it. I've always preferred the German version, but after watching this, I prefer the storyline in the English version better.
One of the all time greats released on my birthday. Hell yeah!
Congrats! ☺️
I've wanted to see this for years! 💖 Can't wait to watch!
Ooh, it's been a while since I had heard of a OHW song! Looking forward to watching!
The way I yelled OH HELL YEAH and woke up my sleeping cat. Excited for this one!
hope you're doing well Todd!