Dem
51
GOP
49
Before we get to the theme of last Friday's headline songs, allow us to address another musical matter. On Tuesday, in the item "Trump Legal News: 99 Luftballons," we wrote that "Three songs predominantly in German have made the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the United States." One of them was "99 Luftballons" and the other two, revealed at the bottom of the page, are "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco and "Sailor (Your Home Is the Sea)" by Lolita. We got many e-mails telling us we had missed a song or two. Allow us to address those "misses":
| Song | Comments |
| "Wind of Change," by The Scorpions | The English-language version made it to #4, but not the German version |
| "Major Tom (Coming Home)," by Peter Schilling | Did well on some of the specialty charts, but peaked at #14 on the Hot 100 |
| "Der Kommissar," by Falco | Not released as a single in the U.S., and so not eligible for the Hot 100 |
| "Wooden Heart," by Elvis Presley | Only partly in German; didn't make the Hot 100 |
| "Danke Schoen," by Wayne Newton | Only partly in German; topped out at #13 on the Hot 100 |
| "Du Hast," and other songs by Rammstein | We actually did miss a Rammstein song, but not "Du Hast," which wasn't released as a single in the U.S. "RAMMSTEIN" made it to #9 in 2019. |
| "Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand," by The Beatles | "Sie Liebt Dich" made it to #97; "Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand" did not chart. |
| "Sagt Mir wo die Blumen sind," by Joan Baez | Didn't chart. |
| "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön," by The Andrews Sisters | Partly in Yiddish, not German, but did make it to #1 in 1937 |
An impressive display of pop culture knowledge on the part of the readers. And we should note that some correspondents acknowledged that their suggestion did not actually fit the established parameters. We did miss "RAMMSTEIN," though.
Moving on, the songs last week were:
We initially gave the hint that the theme only works for the Junkie XL version of "A Little Less Conversation" and not the original. On Saturday, we added the hint that it's "much easier to figure it out if you have a fever... or if you're impersonating Bruce Dickinson. Yes, THE Bruce Dickinson." Reader B.K. in Champlin, MN, was the first to get it: "As a percussionist, you weren't going to sneak this one past me... I've got a fever and the only prescription is I gotta have more cowbell."
Indeed, all of these songs feature a cowbell. Perhaps most obviously "Don't Fear the Reaper," wherein the cowbell was the basis of one of the most famous Saturday Night Live sketches the show has ever produced, featuring Christopher Walken as Bruce Dickinson. Yes, THE Bruce Dickinson.
The first 10 readers to get it:
As to this week's theme, we'd say it's an 8 of 10 in difficulty, until we give the hint. The hint is: You you have have to to think think about about it it to to solve solve it it. That should take it down to a 5 or so.
If you have a guess, send it here. (Z)