Is he still singing now?

Anyone who perceives the satirist and TV presenter Jan Böhmermann primarily as a rioter who is constantly embroiled in legal skirmishes and sometimes even knows how to conjure up diplomatic upsets overlooks too quickly that music has played an important role for several years, especially in Böhmermann's television formats "Neo Magazin Royale " and "ZDF Magazin Royale" played and plays.

Christian Riethmuller

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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Not only that in the latter show the radio dance orchestra Ehrenfeld usually provided cover versions of well-known songs for lively interludes and transitions, Böhmermann also slipped into roles as a rapper, protest singer or pop singer to sing parodic songs.

There are now enough of them to be able to compete in a concert program that Böhmermann and the Rundfunk-Tanzorchester Ehrenfeld are currently taking through sold-out halls such as the Centennial Hall in Frankfurt.

On the "Intergalactic Ehrenfeld Tour" it's not extraterrestrial, but quite true to life, since Böhmermann has mainly selected songs for his set whose satirical half-life has not yet expired.

"Intergalactic" is therefore only the cover of the Beastie Boys hit of the same name, intoned by the orchestra, during the two-hour performance, a skilful parody of the interludes of those brave ensembles, which in earlier television entertainment played everything from polka to swing to rock 'n' had to play roll.

Böhmermann himself is particularly convincing as a parodist, whose songs such as “Ischgl-Fieber (Husti Husti Heh!)”, which was played at the start and was written during the height of Corona, are successful satires on the respective aesthetics of music genres such as the après-ski Ballaballa are.

In view of the amusing atmosphere in the hall, Böhmermann only has to address a few old-fashioned clichés of "Offebach" or "Aschebersch" in his mocking announcements to receive a big hello.

He may have remembered this eternal trigger from his time as moderator of the hr morning show, but much more convincingly, because nastier, he comes up with satirical songs like "Hello, Herr Joke Lawyer" about a lawyer named Witz, who of course only depraved creatures would immediately think of a media lawyer named Schertz.

A notorious police union official in "Rainer Wendt (You're not a real policeman)" can see himself being attacked much more directly, just as Böhmermann, son of a policeman, is not only friendly and helpful to his friends and helpers, but also in the role as Rapper POL1Z1STENS0HN in songs like "I have the police" rubs down misconduct, for which the satirist, who testified as a witness in the "NSU 2.0" trial, also identified examples with the Hessian police.

With Rocko Schamoni you can sing "Against the State" in a lively way, but that doesn't fight true criminality.

Böhmermann does that anyway in the environment of public broadcasting, for example at MDR, as his song dedicated to an enemy of music "Micha (Was hast du mir nur done?)" proves, which the entertainment-addicted spirit secretly hopes, but no should have consequences.

Otherwise there would be no more all the wonderful satires.