Do you listen to music in languages you cannot understand?

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Music is supposed to go beyond words but that rarely happens. The difficult part is obviously discovering good bands in other languages. After all why should you go beyond bands like Metallica, Linkin Park and Three Days Grace when they keep producing quality stuff to keep you satisfied.

But sometimes you do come across good music, mostly on Youtube that does blow your mind off even if you cannot unerstand a word of it. It has probably happened to VERY few people and I do not expect many replies in this thread, but I felt like sharing my experiences nonetheless.

The song I am talking about is this one:

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]EZTqg1MgkTY[/YOUTUBE]

Peterpan are like the Linkin Park of Indonesia and are very popular in that part of the world. The manner in which I discovered the song is somewhat embarrasing. This song has been plagiarised in a Bollywood Movie that I was watching. It really created a lot of bad publicity for the Indian Film and Music industry but I am kind of glad it happened because it helped me discover this fabulous band.

The song is a brilliant one. I love how it builds up slowly with the guitar sounds and then just explodes towards the chorus part. The arrangement and the music is brilliant and I think that a special mention should go to the lead vocalist. The guy has a really unique voice. The song is obviously about love and seperation as is apparent from the video and I think that I can appreciate the beauty of this song even without understanding it.

Even if you do not reply in this thread, I would advise you to check out the song. Trust me, you won't regret it.

If you have similar experiences of listening to music in languages you do not understand, share them here. Post a video if you can.

 

[Craig-O-Mac]

Interesting thread...

I watched a video on Youtube about a year ago by a Japanese Acapella group doing Air on a G-string. I had no idea what they were saying or even what language it was in but my oh my it sounded heavenly, angelic. It goes to show you that music can transcend language and is universal.

[YOUTUBE]8eN9kiyIv-Q[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

99%+ of the music I listen to is by bands who sing in English. I tend to listen to a very wide range of music, including many bands that my friends have no knowledge of. However, I have had very little exposure to foreign languages, thats just the way it is.

That being said, I am certainly not arrogant enough to say that I would not listen to music from other countries. I listen to several French reggae bands and really enjoy their music, I have several Rammstein albums and I am going to try and get hold the song posted by the OP, as its pretty good.

I guess that because the vast majoirty of popular music is dominated by US and UK bands, that I tend to only listen to them. I am guessing that if I was from another country then I would listen to alot of English music, as those bands are certainly popular all over the world, and many people will listen to them without really understanding the lyrics.

I do like to know what a song is about, great stories can be told through song and I like trying to work out what an artist is saying through their music, as you can learn about the passion and meaning of the song if you focus on the words. However, you can still enjoy a piece of music in a foreign language quite easily.

As another poster before me has said, music can trancend language and is universal. Anyone can appreciate a great song, no matter the language.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I'll listen to songs in other languages because whether the lyrics are in english or not is not the deciding factor in me listening to the song in the first place. I have no preference. The important thing to me is the guitars and drums if it's a rock song, or the beat if it's a techno or rap song. Foreign lyrics do not bother me. In fact, I prefer all foreign songs in their original language instead of english translations. Things are often best when left in their original form.

 

[WWWYKI777]

I absolutley do not listen to music in other languages , it just ruins it for me

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

For rock music, Rammstein. Sometimes to get the blood pumping for Mario Kart a bit of German beats are called for.

However I'm also a big fan of ambient music too, a lot of which is largely instrumental or features little words. One band who I think some will have heard and not known who they are, are:

Sigur Ros

Icelandic 4-piece band who started off making very haunting music and gradually evolved and explored more avenues. I know what some of the song titles means, but sometimes the idea the listener has of what the song is about is better than the actual words!

Anyways, here's a link to one of their songs, video is my favourite of theirs.

 

[Pepperoni_Commander]

I'm pretty sure a lot of those that are interested in Japanese culture or are Otakus enjoy listening to Japanese music (J-Pop, J-Rock etc.) as do I. It's not a matter of not understanding what's being said in these songs but the way they are presented.

I listen to some music in Russian and Chechen, and considering they emphasizes the accordion instrument (my favorite instrument), it's literally music to my ears.

 

[FSWWE]

Since i'm portuguese 99% of my musics are in a language that i'm not fluent xD

But there is one that everybody knows, likes and it's in an understandable language...

It's Called
"O Fortuna"
Waseome song, and you know the song, maybe not by it's name xD

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

I do indeed listen to music in languages I don't understand. I mainly listen to English language music of course, but I do enjoy other languages. Here's two examples:

[YOUTUBE]YicJPLT1dWU[/YOUTUBE]​

La Bamba's quite a famous song and a lot of people will recognise it, but not a lot of people here will understand the lyrics. I certainly don't. It's sung in Spanish and as such I'm not really surer what is being said, but it's got a nice beat and an upbeat tone, plus it's very catchy.

[YOUTUBE]9ua1B_qS_M4&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]​

Shuffle's not that well known outside of Japan and I doubt it's that well known in Japan, but I know it as the 2nd opening theme from Yu-Gi-Oh! It's got a repetitive sound that drives you through the song and reflects the arc of the season in Yu-Gi-Oh! I listen to quite a few anime opening and closing themes, most of which will be in Japanese.