Tag Archives: schlager


Al Martino (RIP)

‘Volare’ (1976) by Al Martino (*October 7, 1927 – †October 13, 2009). 

See the ‘Volare‘ post from about a month ago.


Joseph Beuys vs America

 

‘Sonne statt Reagan’ (1983) popsong by Joseph Beuys

A protest song against America and its use of nuclear weapons.

‘I like America and America likes me’, Beuys’ famous performance in New York (1974).

In May 1974 Beuys flew to New York and was taken by ambulance to the site of the performance, a room in the René Block Gallery on East Broadway. He shared this room with a wild coyote, for eight hours over three days. At times he stood, wrapped in a thick, grey blanket of felt, leaning on a large shepherd’s staff. At the end of the three days, Beuys hugged the coyote that had grown quite tolerant of him, and was taken to the airport. Again he rode in a veiled ambulance, leaving America without having set foot on its ground.


Volare

klein

Yves Klein, ‘Saut Dans le Vide (Leap Into the Void)’ (1960).

“Volare”, that famous song and kitsch schlager, was about… Yves Klein!

The chorus of the song goes “volare”, but the original title is “Nel blu dipinto di blu” (“In the Blue Painted Blue”), a reference to the famous blue that the artist Yves Klein made his signature.

The song has been covered at least over 100 times. Many recorded versions exist.
I collected some of the best:

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