Ever since Wustfest last week I've been on a Falco kick. Which isn't unusual, as I have long enjoyed the music of that late Austrian pop star ever since he hit it big in the U.S. with "Rock Me Amadeus." So it is understandable how baffled I am that I am only now discovering this cover of "Rock Me Amadeus" by the supremely talented group, Amadeus-The Electric String Quartet. This is a magnificent interpretation of the song, combining Falco's pop hooks with Mozart's classical compositions in an elegant, high-energy, gonzo presentation. Seriously, this is gloriously nuts.
Julie London started out as an actress but made an unplanned foray into jazz, where she became an absolutely dominant torch singer in the 50s and 60s despite having only a handful of actual hits. "Cry Me A River," is probably her best-known song, although she recorded close to three dozen albums in her career before smoking ruined her voice and forced her to stop singing. This sequence from the 1956 film "Girl Can't Help It" gives a hint of the charisma that made London such a star.
