I love this song... What the hell's he saying though?

With all the J-pop fans I remember this board having, this thread might well accepted. Picky bastards.

How many, if any, bands/artists/groups do you like that sing in a foreign language you don`t have a complete, if any, grasp of? I thought about this when my various nephews and nieces constantly ask me to translate all the American music they listen to. Unfortunately, most of what they listen to is R&B and rap, which I now even more then ever realize how ridiculous these genres can be (not all the time) now that I have to pay extra attention to the lyrics.

For the most part I only ever really got into Rammstein. Especially that one song Engel that I can hear a good ten times in a row right now. Never gave J-pop a chance though. Ah well.

Also, do you sometimes investigate and try to find the translations to songs you enjoy?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

MOTHERFUCKIN' KAIZERS ORCHESTRA!

Sure my Norwegian is pretty rusty (read: I can't speak the fucking language), but even though I still can't understand a goddamn thing they're still one of the most in' bands I've ever heard in my life. Here's a couple videos: Kontroll På Kontinentet & Maestro.

I also love Bollywood musicals to a fault. My favorite one is called Dil Se and I actually OWN the fucking movie. For those who have seen Inside Man, you might remember the opening song, which is actually one of the musical numbers in Dil Se. Just for the record: I don't speak Tamil.


EDIT: Also... One of my favorite songs that I've ever heard is the ending theme for Samurai Champloo: Minmi - Shiki No Uta and I still don't speak a lick of Japanese either. :/

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Sex Machineguns, B'z, and Pierrot are the Japanese bands that I listen to and can't understand. The music kicks ass though.

A couple of songs by Dimmu Borgir are done in Norwegian, which I actually like more than their English songs. There are also a few other metal bands, mainly of the folk metal sub-genre that sing in their native tongue, yet I can't remember it at this moment. Of course most death metal, even in English, I can't understand it.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Sigur Ros is really the only band I have a deep interest in that I also can't understand the language being spoken. Translation is kinda pointless, though, because the emotion of the song comes through just fine, and translation can actually make it seem less interesting when you see the dumbass things some of the bands say.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

There are a few Spanish/Mexican songs I like that I wish could be translated for me. As far as bands I listen to, I would guess Pastilina Mosh. On the other hand, I haven't really listened to them since I guess 1998, so I don't know if I would have the same interest.

I'm afraid to have a lot of Japanese songs translated, and I fear if I actually knew what they were saying, I would get distracted by the words too much to enjoy the music.

I was speaking idiomatically.

For some reason, I have trouble understanding words when they are sung, even in English. As a result, pretty much every song I listen to, I have no clue what is being said, or what the meaning is. For me, the voice is just another instrument added to the mix, not the focal point of the song as so many others see it to be.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I love German music. There's something about the language that just .. makes me happy. XD Rammstein's one of my favorite bands, as well as Kraftwerk (though the latter has English versions of pretty much all their songs).

Japanese music can be good too. Sometimes I look up translations but usually I just listen to the song and enjoy the melody.

FELIPE NO

I'm an opera afficionado, so that includes a lot of works where I don't understand a lick of what they're singing. I also listen to a bit of extreme metal, but oddly enough many of the European bands prefer to sing in English anyway (not that much of it is comprehensible from the songs).

Sometimes I would seek out the lyrics if I hear they are meaningful, but most of the time I just don't bother because there are even fewer good lyricists than there are good songwriters.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I second Kaizers Orchestra. I would like to get more exposure to Euro music myself, other than the aforementioned and Kyo. I listen to a variety of Jpop, like back in the day. The Pillows, for example. It's actually kind of fun to sing along when you don't know what the heck you're singing.

I usually do try to find the lyrics, and almost everytime I do it makes the song much more interesting and intriguing. It's like deciphering a subliminal message. I love it.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Definately seconding Rammstein. No idea what he's singing but I love their music. I like a lot of visual kai bands but the lyrics are a mystery to me. And also there are some parts of Breed 77 songs which are written in spanish. Actually those ones are kind of easy to vaguely work out but I could be completely misinterpreting.

A friend of mine sent me this one song by a band I've never heard of from Norway (I think it is Norway, I might be wrong). I love it but yet again, I'm clueless when it comes to the lyrics. It's Rukous by Maj Karma.

I keep meaning to ask this German guy I know if he could help me with the lyrics to Rammstein, and to look up the translations for other bands but I either forget or can't be bothered >.<;

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I listen to J-Pop such as Utada Hikaru, I also listen to Vienamese music, Punjabi music, German music, Chinese Melodies etc.,

I kinda got into foreign language music when a friend of mine had me listen to You Yi Ge Gu Niang !

That's a cute song.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I don't listen to a lot of Japanese music, but I do listen to a lot of stuff with vocals in another language. Voices of Life by the Bulgarian Women's Choir is one (see MEC), as is Niyaz by Niyaz (Urdu I think). When you can't understand the language a song is sung in, it makes the voice become a melodic isntrument of sorts, which is covered up with English songs somewhat. Also, it makes the songs harder to remember, adding replay value to it.

And thirding Rammstein. Especially Engel.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

The three bands that posed this issue for me were Rammstein, In Extremo, and Tanzwut. Rammstein and In Extremo having been around for a while have numerous fan sites with english translations, Tanzwut however i haven't been able to track any down yet. I still listen to all three. My German isn't good enough to get all of it, but i'm getting better.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Supercar has some very nice songs, I don't know what they say but I'm trying to look for more of their songs anyways ^_^
I sometimes listen to spanish music too though but I dont like it. Reason I bring it up is cause I find it funny that they always sound drunk and I dont get what they say, thats the old type of country songs though.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

lurker told me she`d send me some Norwegian music when I got out. Hmm. Any notable groups, Enceph?

FELIPE NO

Morten Harket's "Vogts Villa" album is pretty damn good, if you want to try something Norwegian.

How ya doing, buddy?

Apologies for thread necromancy, but I just discovered a wonderful example. It's not actually in a foreign language, but the Irish brogue on the singer is so thick I still had no clue what was being sung after a good 5 listens.

The song is "Waxie's Dargle" by the Young Dubliners, a Celtic rock band whom I discovered at the Milwaukee Irish Fest this year.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Wow...how could I come to this thread late???

Seriously, over half of my music is in languages I can neither understand nor speak, predominantly Norwegian and German with a sprinkling of Spanish, Japanese, Hebrew and Romanian.

Speaking as the grand-mistress of Kaizers Orchestra fandom on this board , I have to say that they are the best ambassadors that Norway could have hoped to have for their language. Seriously, I am trying to learn Norwegian because of them. I always look up the meanings of the lyrics, even though they're nice enough to include english translations in their CDs. But for now, I only know a few random words and next-to-no grammar.

Originally Posted by OctoberOmicron

lurker told me she`d send me some Norwegian music when I got out. Hmm. Any notable groups, Enceph?

I'm not Ence (obviously), but I don't think he'd mind me giving you some recommendations :

- Kaizers Orchestra.
You cannot listen to Norwegian-language music and not listen to them. They are that fucking awesome.

-Ulver
A really interesting band that used to sing in Norwegian, but their latest offerings are in English. Whatever. It's actually hard for me to find Norwegian-language bands, unfortunately.

-Gåte
Seconding Yama's recommendation on that one, because Gåte are really awesome folk-influenced alternative music.

-Jokke Neilsen med Valentinerne [Jokke and the Valentines]
Jokke is like, one of the big names in Norwegian rock... he had the whole rock star thing down, right up to and including his death due to drug overdose . 'Prisen for Popen' might be a good starting place, since it's his greatest hits.

In passing I'll mention Skambankt (Norwegian punk), Einherjer (viking metal), Wunderkammer, Turbonegro and Gluecifer -- but most of those sing in English.

Originally Posted by CelticWhisper

The song is "Waxie's Dargle" by the Young Dubliners, a Celtic rock band whom I discovered at the Milwaukee Irish Fest this year.

The Young Dubs are a pretty solid Celtic Rock band, but there are others that have the genre...erm...better, should I say? I don't know. I prefer [old] Seven Nations, Flogging Molly or the Pogues for my irish rock/punk.

How ya doing, buddy?