How do you feel when you hear a song in a language you don't understand?

[Xipe Totec]

I would make this a poll, but I genuinely don't know what options to choose!

To me, listening to songs in a foreign language is a trip!

I love that I can't understand the words; it helps me focus on the melody and the emotions of the music.

The more alien, the better...

But it occurs to me, that not everyone feels this way, and I am genuinely curious.

So, how do you feel when you hear a song in a language you don't understand?

I'm taking notes...

:hi:

[GOPisEvil]

1. I wonder if the song is making fun of me.

Just kidding. I do wonder what it's about, but I just try to enjoy the music.

[Xipe Totec]

2. I know what you mean

it is hard to let go of the defensive reflex, and just immerse yourself in the music.

I always search for the lyrics afterwards and, lo and behold, they are not making fun of me!

:hi:

[woo me with science]

3. I want to pass a law.

English-only radio in America, dammit! For all we know the terr'ists are sending secret messages in there!

[Xipe Totec]

4. And how do you think they feel?

NASA and The Beatles Celebrate Anniversaries by Beaming Song 'Across The Universe' Into Deep Space WASHINGTON -- For the first time ever, NASA will beam a song -- The Beatles' "Across the Universe" -- directly into deep space at 7 p.m. EST on Feb. 4.

The transmission over NASA's Deep Space Network will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the day The Beatles recorded the song, as well as the 50th anniversary of NASA's founding and the group's beginnings. Two other anniversaries also are being honored: The launch 50 years ago this week of Explorer 1, the first U.S. satellite, and the founding 45 years ago of the Deep Space Network, an international network of antennas that supports missions to explore the universe.

The transmission is being aimed at the North Star, Polaris, which is located 431 light years away from Earth. The song will travel across the universe at a speed of 186,000 miles per second. Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney expressed excitement that the tune, which was principally written by fellow Beatle John Lennon, was being beamed into the cosmos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj-4t9drUlM


http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/jan/HQ_08032_NASA_Beatles.html

[jobycom]

5. Pisses me off that they could be paying royalties to a good American singer instead.

Makes me want to fight the politicians that allowed outsourcing of our entertainment industry, and to rename foods which incidentally mention the name of the singer's country in them to better reflect our national hatred of anything not American. If we can literally build a wall along the Mexican border, we can figuratively build a wall around the ears and minds of our music-listening youth.

And build a wall along Canada, too. Keep out Rush and Celine Dion, or however you spell that foreigner's name.

[Xipe Totec]

9. I know you are yanking my chain...

That's why I'm giving you this link...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1135453

:hi:

[jobycom]

15. Nice post.

:thumbsup:

[Heidi]

27. Love that post, Xipe Totec.

English is my first language, but I live in a country with four official languages and am fluent in none of them -- a fact that used to inhibit me quite a lot. Now, I focus much less on my lack of fluency and work harder at relaxing, being understood and understanding. Interest, respect and small demonstrations that one is _trying_ are much more important than perfect fluency, I've learned. :)

[MajorChode]

6. Sometimes when it's in my own 1st language I still don't understand it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NZjHKfbbiQ

[Xipe Totec]

7. Oh, I can translate that one for you!

It says...










Shut up and DANCE!!!!!!

[MajorChode]

8. I'm not buying it

I'm pretty sure there's some subliminal mind control shit in there and it has more to do with taking a hammer to the radio than dancing. I'm damn sure not going to try and play it backwards.

[Xipe Totec]

10. Argue with Susana, then...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFjQEE2XnEs

[gratuitous]

11. If it's Pink Martini's Cante E Dance . . .

I feel molto bene!

[SKKY]

12. As long as it's not J-Lo trying to sing in Spanish, I'm fine with it...

[Zavulon]

13. I don't care, actually.

I don't focus on lyrics in English, either, so I can hear a popular song dozens of times without knowing what's being said. Music to me is background noise, nothing more.

[Kali]

14. shit I can't understand a lot of songs in English so it doesn't bother me

I love music from around the world.

[DeepBlueC]

16. that's how it is for me

on both counts. Love world music.

[Richardo]

17. Love it.

Even if a song's in English, I may not really listen to the lyrics ever. I enjoy rhythm, melody and the sound of voices, not necessarily what the voices are saying. (c.f. Ladysmith Black Mambaso)

[GoddessOfGuinness]

18. You haven't lived until you've heard The Messiah sung in Korean.

:)

[Xipe Totec]

30. I bet that's wicked interesting to hear.

I love Carmina Burana, though I do not speak latin.

And I love to listen to Nana Mouskouri, who sings so beautifully in so many languages, but especially when she sings in Greek.

And I love the harsh guttural voice of Vladimir Vysotsky singing in Russian.


:hi:

[Xipe Totec]

31. Regarding Vladimir Vysotsky...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3egEIUZhls

[Mugu]

19. I have tinnitus

That's the way most songs sound.

[LeftyMom]

20. I barely even notice most of the time

I grew up in South Sacramento, so half of my neighbors spoke languages I didn't understand (or barely did) and several of them had a habit of hosting noisy parties. So if anything I have a habit of tuning out snatches of songs I don't understand, between that and a later neighbor who would blast his car stereo and obsessively wash and detail his truck and his wife's car every Saturday morning right outside my bedroom window.

[Xipe Totec]

34. I have a cousin who can sing flawlessly in Hebrew

She, like me, does not speak Hebrew.

A neighbor gave her a recording of songs in Hebrew, which she learned to recite be heart.

This was when she was a child, but she can still sing those songs, today, well past her 50th birthday...

[PBS Poll-435]

21. I listen to a lot of music that is not in my native language.

It is a lot like Opera.

If you are tuned in, then you will get it.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

24. Opera needs Supertitles. They have those now.

I did not understand opera until I went in 1990 and they projected the words on a little screen above the stage, in English, at the same time as the person were singing, so I could understand it.

That rocked my world. Ever since that production of "Samson and Delilah", I dig most operas (unless it's R. Strauss).

I listen to songs in Italian and Spanish and French. I understand a few of the words, but it is still fun and motivates me to study those languages and learn them.


My fast audition number, that I know cold, is "Non so piu cosa son" by W.A. Mozart from The Marriage of Figaro.

My slow audition number, is "Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix" from "Samson and Delilah" by Camille Saint-Saens.

[pokerfan]

22. Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?

[ghostsofgiants]

23. Kinda frustrated because I like singing along. One of my all time favourite songs is in Japanese tho

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrgjZzuvU8c

[Sebastian Doyle]

25. I can remember a certain huge hit from the 80's.

Sung in German. I understood exactly two words in the lyrics...... "Captain Kirk".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQYQTFudrqc
True, they did put an English version of the song out, but nobody seemed to care. We were all used to singing along in German ... or trying to, anyway.

Though the cover version by 7 Seconds was great, and that was in English.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z3eAEtYkeQ

[Richard Steele]

26. I love it. It STIMULATES my subconcious; I've madeCD's of such songs to listen to when I'm painting

My "Paintin Music" CD currently in my car stereo starts with
the "Teen Titans" Anime theme song as performed by by
the Japanese Idoru Duo "Puffy Ami Yummi", in the original Japanese...

and contains such other great stuff as Nitzer Ebb's "Du Hast",
Muhammed Raffi's "Jaan Pehechan Ho",
and the amazingly GREAT russian-language version of "Russian Bellydance"
by the one and only "Red Elvises".

And 15 other things in languages that I only understand a word or two of.

[HughBeaumont]

28. Makes me want to get Rosetta Stone Italian because I really lovz my Italian Prog.

That damned 400 dollar price tag for something that (from what reviewers say) won't make you fluent is what's keeping me from doing it.

[BlueStateGirl]

42. Try Livemocha.com's free onlime language classes. They are really

good. I have been studying Italian and Spanish. And while I doubt I will ever be fluent, I am getting a lot out of it.

[Forkboy]

29. I love it. Good music is good music.

I listen to a lot of bands in Japanese and German, and have many other languages mixed in (even a record of pop songs from Thailand that rules). You listen to them so much that you can actually start to sing along, even though you have no clue what you're actually saying. Singing along to Rammstein with a good buzz is a blast! :)

I also listen to the Melvins. They're from Seattle, but you try to make sense of this....

Los ticka toe rest. Might like a sender doe ree. Your make a doll a ray day sender bright like a penalty.
Exi-tease my ray day member half lost a beat away. Burst in like a one way sender war give a heart like a fay.
Cuz I can ford a red eed only street a wide a ree land.
Die-mond make a mid-evil bike a sake a like a ree caste.
Cuz I can ford a red eed only street a wide a ree land.
On a ree land. Find a ree land.
You sink a my swan. Rolly a get a worst in. Maybe minus way far central poor forty duck a pin.
Milk maid dud bean. Master a load a head. Pill pop a dope a well run general hash pump a gonna led.

:wtf:

[Rob H.]

32. Depends on the genre

I've come to the conclusion that there are few languages better for metal than German--there's something about it that sounds aggressive no matter what the lyrics translate to in English. There's a German band called Eisbrecher that I love to listen to when I'm driving to and from work, and it's actually made me want to learn the language.

[Xipe Totec]

33. Silbermond - "Irgendwas bleibt"

East German Rock.

It's not metal, but I love this band...

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1305025354?bclid=336002323&bctid=10463767001

Irgendwas bleibt - (Something is Still Unchanged)

Tell me that this place is safe here
and everything is good here still.
And that the word that you give me today,
tomorrow you will keep.

This world is fast
and has constantly to be unlearned.
Because Temptations continue their deadline.
But please swear that when I come back,
everything will be the same.

Give me a little bit of security
in a world in which nothing seems safe.
Give me that one thing in this difficult time.

Give me just a little bit of a grip.
And just cradle me to safety.
Get me out of this fast time.
Give me a little bit of speed.

Tell me that something... is still unchanged.

Even if the world goes,
that 'here' is not affected.
.. Nothing happens ..

Give me a little bit of security
in a world in which nothing seems safe.
Give me that one thing in this difficult time.

Give me just a little bit of a grip.
And just cradle me to safety.
Get me out of this fast time.
Give me a little bit of speed.

Tell me that something... is still unchanged.

[Rob H.]

36. Nice! I'll have to check out more of their music

She has a beautiful voice, too--thanks for the recommendation. :hi:

[Iggo]

38. East German...not metal.

DOES NOT COMPUTE!

DOES NOT COMPUTE!

[sammythecat]

35. Perplexed

[Amerigo Vespucci]

37. I have a HUGE collection of JPOP CDs...

Seiko Matsuda, Every Little Thing, MAX, Hitomi, Shizuka Kido, Nanase Aikawa, Noriko Sakai, ZARD, Miki Imai...

...Japanese pop borrows VERY heavily from American and British pop / rock.

One group in particular, "My Little Lover," really traffics in the whole "Baroque" overtones of The Beatles (which I tend to attribute more to George Martin and less to John and Paul)...the whole "I Am The Walrus" trippy orchestral overdubbed stuff.

I just put together a mix CD last week of some of my favorites.

:toast:

[Sebastian Doyle]

39. Ever heard of Electric Eel Shock?

These guys are incredible live.... even if you don't know what the Hell they're singing.... and they may not either.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7eQjLrgmdI

[ornotna]

40. "Good music is good music."

I agree with Forkboy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aenDJAVGffM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac8AjlP5CQE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmig5DTCYKk

I may not understand the words but I understand the music.

[Xipe Totec]

41. Loved it!

Outstanding!


:bounce:

[ornotna]

46. The last one

Del Castillo, I've seen them perform live. If you get a chance to see them, go. Fabulous show.

[Xipe Totec]

47. You might enjoy this Greek music...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gKkVVXuVpo

[ornotna]

53. Very nice

:thumbsup:

So, you like Rembetika?

Have you seen this site? http://www.greecetravel.com/music/rembetika/

Some good reading and some music to check out.

[Xipe Totec]

58. Thanks!

Very deep roots...

Though, in the vein of this thread, I want to appreciate the music for it's own sake.

:hi:

[bikebloke]

43. I listen to the sound.

There are songs I've listened to repeatedly over the years and I couldn't tell you what half the lyrics are. Maybe that's why I have so much foreign music.

[Shell Beau]

44. I think it is cool. We are supposed to be a melting pot and all!

I only wish I could understand it.

[Forkboy]

45. Here's some cool examples from the company Sublime Frequencies.

They make DVDs/Cds of various music from different cultures, from Thailand to Africa and all points in between. SF is run by Alan Bishop of The Sun City Girls (a fascinating band in their own right) and Mark Gergis (from the band Porest). The Sumatran Folk Cinema DVD is jaw dropping at times, and packs an added punch because it's filmed in the Aceh area that one year later was nearly wiped off the map by the tsunami. There's a part where they're showing fishermen at the docks, and you know that many of those people were probably killed a year later.

Sumatran Folk Cinema
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weI9CNhihTU

niger sahara africa tuareg group inerane
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weI9CNhihTU

Mauritania Group Doueh Sahara Africa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyStrt0f5cQ&feature=related

Phi Ta Khon Thailand Isan Morlam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0VyM6B_v4o&feature=related

http://www.sublimefrequencies.com/

[Xipe Totec]

48. Impressive

thank you!

[Arugula Latte]

49. Makes me wish I could speak another language (besides English & Spanish)

Spanish language songs -- I can understand some of them, depending on how fast the words come at me.

[Tikki]

50. Though most of this song is sung in German...I totally...

get it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj8td0WxFi4
"Ich kenne nichts"....Xavier Naidoo


Tikki

[Starbucks Anarchist]

51. I think it makes the song sound classier.

Even if it's a generic pop song on par with those in English, the fact that it's a different language seems to give it a certain cachet.

[leftyclimber]

52. When I hear fado it makes me want to weep.

And learn Portuguese, which I think is sexy anyway.

They're probably all singing about puppies and rainbows and cotton candy. I want to weep anyway. In the good way.

When I hear anything in Spanish I pick up about every fourth word and kick myself in the ass that I didn't keep up with the language. :rofl:

[Xipe Totec]

62. You like Fado?

Luz Casal & Carlos Nuñez - Negra sombra

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdnVZE5I8Os

[rucky]

54. This calls for some Hoppipolla!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EyI4p0yjDQ

Icelandic

[Strong Atheist]

55. Love the original of this:

http://www.eightyeightynine.com/music/nena-99luftballoons.html

[redqueen]

56. Same as you...

it's nice to just appreciate the melody and music and the sound of the voice without getting caught up in the lyrics and what they mean. I get so caught up in that that I don't like some songs just because of the words.

[donheld]

57. This is Italian, I don't understand any of it but I love it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA

[Xipe Totec]

59. Simply beautiful! n/t

[Xipe Totec]

60. "Miserere" Pavarotti - Bocelli - Zucchero

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piGZ5sOH6ag

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

61. JPop and KPop girl groups are fun

even though I only understand the occasional English word (usually "baby" or "darling"). Sugar's "Heart and Soul" (sung in Japanese except for the title phrase ?? :silly:) is one of the most perfect pop singles ever - it sounds like a Yellow Magic Orchestra production of an ABBA tune sung by four incredibly cute Korean girls.

Unlike many of their US counterparts, Sugar could not only sing, but sing very well. Apparently in Japan and Korea the producers find attractive young women who can actually sing, then teach them some basic dance moves. Here the producers find dancers and try to teach them how to sing, usually without much success.

[Pacifist Patriot]

63. Depends on the song. The music makes all the difference in the world.

I love songs in foreign languages. I get a huge kick out of French and Spanish songs where I can make out every second or third word. Sometimes I can understand a phrase and imgagine I am getting the gist of the meaning. Only to have a friend or exchange student totally disavow me of that notion. Totally cool to find out a song you've adored for a particular reason means something else entirely.