Should I be worried that this is growing on me :)
I've done a bit of reading from a Google-translated page. Apparently 'Döf' mean 'fine feeling'. And their song, "Codo" made number 1 in the German single charts in July 1983.
Band member Inga “Di Lemma” Humpe has explained the story behind the song:
Codo is an abbreviation for Cosmi Dolm or also Cosmi Depp. Codo was an extraterrestial nature without certain sex, which overcomes the hate and us verstressten and negatively everything brings adjusted humans, which we miss: a good mood, jokes, charm and above all love.
Rough English translation of lyrics:
For 2000 years the earth without love lives
It governs the master of the hate
Ugly, I am so ugly
So grässlich ugly
I am the hate
Hate, completely ugly hate
I kann's do not leave
I am the hate
Attention, attention
Unknown flying object appoaching the planet
Identify unknown flying object
Codo third
From the star center
I am third from left
Unknown flying object identified as
Codo
And I nozzle, nozzle, nozzle, nozzle
In the rushing step
And the love bring along
Of my sky ride
Because the love, love, love, love
Those makes much fun
Much more fun
As something
Incoming goods, emergency
We do not need any love on this planet
If Codo kills, the love destroys
Target acquisition gamma delta 7-3-1 over area
Codo from the distance
The bright stars
I nozzle so gladly
Through all
And I nozzle, nozzle, nozzle, nozzle
In the rushing step
And the love bring along
Of my sky ride
Because the love, love, love, love
Those makes much fun
Much more fun
As something
Object overcomes the hate screen
Corrosive
I am like that corroding
All decomposing
I am the hate
And I nozzle, nozzle, nozzle, nozzle
In the rushing step
And the love bring along
Of my sky ride
Because the love, love, love, love
Those makes much fun
Much more fun
As something
It governs the master of the hate
Ugly, I am so ugly
So grässlich ugly
I am the hate
Hate, completely ugly hate
I kann's do not leave
I am the hate
Attention, attention
Unknown flying object appoaching the planet
Identify unknown flying object
Codo third
From the star center
I am third from left
Unknown flying object identified as
Codo
And I nozzle, nozzle, nozzle, nozzle
In the rushing step
And the love bring along
Of my sky ride
Because the love, love, love, love
Those makes much fun
Much more fun
As something
Incoming goods, emergency
We do not need any love on this planet
If Codo kills, the love destroys
Target acquisition gamma delta 7-3-1 over area
Codo from the distance
The bright stars
I nozzle so gladly
Through all
And I nozzle, nozzle, nozzle, nozzle
In the rushing step
And the love bring along
Of my sky ride
Because the love, love, love, love
Those makes much fun
Much more fun
As something
Object overcomes the hate screen
Corrosive
I am like that corroding
All decomposing
I am the hate
And I nozzle, nozzle, nozzle, nozzle
In the rushing step
And the love bring along
Of my sky ride
Because the love, love, love, love
Those makes much fun
Much more fun
As something
EDIT: Changed 'Dof' to correct band name,. 'Döf'
EDIT:
The band emailed me:
Update! I already got a response from Nerf Herder:
That video is awesome!!! Thanks for the link. I'll have to say that melody similarity is purely coincidental...seeing that I'd never heard of Döf until now. But I'm an instant fan, because they rule!
-Steve
-Steve
[ edited by paxomen on 2006-10-07 19:39 ]
[ edited by paxomen on 2006-10-08 00:06 ]
jaynelovesvera | October 07, 02:27 CET
Loving the pinwheel-head alien chick and friends. Um, periwinkle taffeta? I'm seeing leftovers from someone's stint as a bridesmaid.
Love's Bitch | October 07, 02:27 CET
The Least | October 07, 02:55 CET
OK, someone's gotta be messing with us. Right?
*looks around for the candid camera*
Tmas | October 07, 04:13 CET
jam2 | October 07, 04:31 CET
By the way, the band isn't "Dof" - it's either "Doef" or "Döf". Just incase people want to google the band, as I did.
chosenkitty | October 07, 04:38 CET
giles (yes, it is my real name) | October 07, 04:43 CET
jaynelovesvera | October 07, 06:54 CET
It's like trying to come up with a truly original story despite the fact that there really is no such thing anymore. You just reach a point where everything has already been done and all you can hope for is to create something that, whilst not original, is at least unique enough to not sound like an intentional copy.
I'm not entirely sure whether this example would best be described as a "cover", a intentional homage or a totally unintentional coincidence. I'd imagine only Nerf Herder would be able to clear that up for us.
WhedonTrivia | October 07, 07:31 CET
kballgetlost | October 07, 08:28 CET
Paul_Rocks | October 07, 09:17 CET
Nebula1400 | October 07, 10:15 CET
I am very curious though as to whether this is a coincidence, or whether "Codo" inspired the Buffy theme. Just sent a message to Nerf Herder's myspace account but since the last time they logged in was mid-July, I'm not counting on a quick response.
paxomen | October 07, 12:35 CET
cityof | October 07, 12:54 CET
(wear them on your hands if you like, that's just very weird, not dangerous)
Did they nick it ? It's not impossible I suppose, i'd guess not though (or maybe only in the heard obliquely and then 're-composed' sense). Seems kind of risky to assume no-one in Germany would a) hear the Buffy theme and b) put 2 and 2 together (or is it such a short riff that it's not protected by copyright ?).
Saje | October 07, 12:58 CET
Madhatter | October 07, 13:13 CET
--edited due to stupidity
[ edited by jaynelovesvera on 2006-10-07 20:28 ]
jaynelovesvera | October 07, 13:26 CET
Oh and for everyone wondering ... the 80´s music in Germany was very very strange. Honestly I´d be surprised if the Nerf Herder guys even knew the song
Kessie | October 07, 14:02 CET
I think in music, as in film, it's easy to crib a small element (a riff, a shot) and attribute it as inspiration or homage, especially if you build your own creation around it.
"Everybody steals from everybody."
- from Swingers, right before they steal the walking shot from Reservoir Dogs.
jam2 | October 07, 14:02 CET
patolver | October 07, 14:06 CET
(so, nope, not old enough to remember the 'My Sweet Lord' case but I feel for George)
Saje | October 07, 14:09 CET
impalergeneral | October 07, 14:55 CET
Go on, pull the other one!
Next you'll try to tell me that the TV show was based on some Rutger Hauer movie....
phred | October 07, 14:58 CET
Madhatter | October 07, 15:08 CET
Saje | October 07, 15:10 CET
Tonya J | October 07, 15:27 CET
Madhatter | October 07, 15:32 CET
Either way, that youtube video made my day!
orphea | October 07, 15:50 CET
On the Buffy connection: I don't believe this is a coicidence, the chord progression is too complicated - it's not just a few notes, it's the entire chorus. If you hum along the chorus with the Buffy theme, you realise that it is practically the entirety of the Buffy theme. I can't believe it's taken the fandom almost ten years to uncover this scandal :)
robocod | October 07, 16:16 CET
Tonya J | October 07, 16:26 CET
I started a wiki-article about Music in the Buffyverse. And the Wikipedian Lofote made a change to the article about "Codo" back in June. I didn't look into it further until a few days ago, when I uncovered the song on YouTube, iTunes, Amazon and elsewhere, and heard the song for the first time. They were so similar I just assumed that Nerf Herder had made a cover that's why i reported it at Whedonesque that way. Plus I thought there was something funny about the song (or possibly everything about the song).
paxomen | October 07, 16:48 CET
-Steve
paxomen | October 07, 17:02 CET
Love's Bitch | October 07, 19:23 CET
futile | October 07, 19:57 CET
Well done on asking and then getting such a quick reply paxomen.
Paul_Rocks | October 07, 20:09 CET
cityof | October 07, 20:33 CET
dreamlogic | October 07, 21:58 CET
The entire "Codo" humming bit, and first 16 notes (first 32 beats) of the Buffy theme are identically the following (though Buffy has a faster tempo).
F (Minum&half),
G (Quaver),
A (Quaver),
E (Semibreve)
E (Minum&half),
F (Quaver),
G (Quaver),
E (Semibreve)
F (Minum&half),
G (Quaver),
A (Quaver),
E (Semibreve)
E (Minum&half),
F (Quaver),
G (Quaver),
E (Semibreve)
..the second half of the Buffy theme (32 more beats?) follow very similar patterns at higher notes. Like the "Codo" chorus, these repeatedly use minum&half-quaver-quaver-semibreve, and bars that aren't made up of a semibreve begining with a minum&half... the main difference being some use of high pitched quavers at the end of some bars (twanging of strings) to essentially revert to a similar pattern of notes.
robocod | October 07, 23:18 CET
1. That they own the song, meaning they can prove they copyrighted it.
2. That the alleged infringer had access to the original work. In George's case, he freely admitted to the the judge he had heard He's So Fine in his youth, but said he hadn't copied it. Access doesn't have to be proved to a certainty, but there must be a strong likelihood that the defendant heard the original song. Since these guys are Austrian I suspect it would be difficult to prove Nerf Herder was likely to have heard the original.
3. Substantial similarites in the song. There is no hard and fast rule as to the number of consecutive identical notes, it's up to the judge's discretion.
jaynelovesvera | October 07, 23:21 CET
jaynelovesvera | October 07, 23:26 CET
ETA: I take it back. It was the octave change, more obvious on piano, that was throwing me off.
I still think they didn't steal it. It's a walk up and down a mode.
edited again to add: I think I could even find which mode, though it might take some time, as I haven't studied music recently.
[ edited by dreamlogic on 2006-10-08 06:50 ]
[ edited by dreamlogic on 2006-10-08 07:01 ]
dreamlogic | October 07, 23:41 CET
(and well done on the checking up, paxomen, yay you and yay intarwebs)
Saje | October 08, 05:13 CET
twa_corbies | October 08, 09:03 CET
This reminds me of an old Paul McCartney interview. He said he rolled out of bed one morning, sat at the piano, and pretty much just started playing the melody of "Yesterday". It came forth in its entirety so effortlessly that for weeks afterward he played it for everyone he knew and asked them where they'd heard it before. After a month of "never heard it before"s, he finally assumed the muse just struck him extra hard that morning.
jaynelovesvera | October 08, 10:29 CET
gossi | October 08, 11:44 CET
That's a very interesting story, janelovesvera. Paul McCartney is one lucky bastard. I write music sometimes, because I can't help it, but never from my dreams. The music in my dreams is always awful.
dreamlogic | October 08, 12:37 CET
If that's the size of the condoms you use, gossi, as a matter of self-preservation, all of humanity must stay away from you.
Nebula1400 | October 08, 16:27 CET
Love's Bitch | October 08, 16:50 CET
[ edited by dreamlogic on 2006-10-09 04:57 ]
dreamlogic | October 08, 18:30 CET
If that's the size of the condoms you use, gossi, as a matter of self-preservation, all of humanity must stay away from you.
This is my new favourite post ever.
gossi | October 08, 19:09 CET
Pointy | October 08, 20:21 CET
And it's one, two three, what are we fightin' for?
Don't ask me I don't give a damn. Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven, open up the pearly gates, aint no time to wonder why, whoopee! we're all gonna die!
Any other ridiculously old people remember that song?
[ edited by jaynelovesvera on 2006-10-09 09:25 ]
jaynelovesvera | October 09, 02:23 CET
I remember the song, but I'm not sure where you're getting that.
Nebula1400 | October 09, 09:35 CET