BM Northern reports on the German ‘pop’ music scene…..
A new phenomenon seems to be taking hold in Germany: parody songs that concern immigrants and immigration. The underground success of ‘Auslander Raus’ earlier this year, despite all of the threats of prosecution and the loss of employment, didn’t stop a controversial new song from making the charts.
The song track was created by artificial intelligence, featuring music, vocals, and artwork, and reached the Top 50 most popular songs in Germany in the summer, potentially marking a first for a major music market regarding immigration. Less than a month after its release, the song had 3.5 million streams on Spotify and reached No. 3 on the streaming platform’s global viral chart.
The lyrics are a satire of the typical “good girl falls for bad boy” narratives of 1960s songs like the Shangri-Las’ Leader of the Pack. The object of the AI-generated singer’s desire wears “a Louis belt, a Gucci bag, and Air Max trainers” and “smells like an entire perfume shop.” When her lover gets angry, she ponders, “He’s as sweet as baklava” – presumably an attempt to identify him with a Turkish background.
The song, Verknallt in einen Talahon (In Love with a Talahon), is a humorous take on music with the catchy sounds of 60s schlager pop. Artist Butterbro was accused of walking a fine line between parody and discrimination and helping make what some perceive to be a racial slur mainstream.
The song has captured the interest of the German media, not just for its innovative production techniques but also for its thought-provoking lyrics. In Love with a Talahon incorporates a Germanised take on the Arabic phrase “taeal huna,” which translates to “come here.” This phrase has evolved in Germany to refer to groups of young men with immigrant backgrounds, frequently carrying negative connotations.
A contributor to the music magazine Diffus, described the song’s widespread appeal as “doubly problematic.” She pointed out that the term “talahon” has become a well-known insult used by young people in Germany and Austria towards migrants. There is a link to the song below. We suffered for about 20 seconds before having to turn it off!
This is the chorus, complete with our schoolboy translation:
Chorus
I think I have a crush on a Talahon
With a Louis belt, Gucci cap and Air Max shoes
He does shadow boxing and is the coolest of his bros
And that the knife in his pocket is definitely not just for bread and butter
The fact that young Germans are beginning to express a love of their country and pride in being German, is a welcome sign that the years of feeling ashamed of the past are fading. The rise of populist, civic Nationalist organisations like the AfD is further proof that the stigma of the past is being replaced by a new feeling of patriotism, a feeling that Germany is special.
For many years, German pop music has been seen as a bit of a joke in the UK. I can only recall two popular bands/songs ever being a hit over here, one being the electronic band Kraftwerk, who were from Düsseldorf, and Nena with her 1983 hit ’99 Luftballons’ (99 Red Balloons in the English version). I may be wrong, but that’s it.
But now, with the help of artificial intelligence, Nationalists are beginning to produce songs that are catchy, political and appeal to the masses at the same time. The remigration** song below fits perfectly into that category. It first came to our attention after it was published on X by Junge Alternative, the youth organisation of the AfD.
*We have linked to the song for illustrative purposes only.
Credits:
Main Image: Youtube.
Video: Youtube.
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