God, I can hear this gif so well. One of my favorite songs/music videos.
For those of us less culturally educated, could you share the artist and title?
Oh, my moment! This song has some nice lore, here’s the Wikipedia article.
The song was released in 1998 and was a big hit in India, reaching the West in the 2000s where it quickly became one of the OG memes.
Even back then, at least by the time the song reached the West, the CG graphics were already considered awful, and still the song was so catchy that it didn’t matter.
It turns out that this was the whole point. Mehndi was already a big name in India, but was criticized for always using “an overabundance” of beautiful dancing women in his videos, and that this was the only reason he was popular.
He then recorded this video, featuring only himself, and grabbed another Indian #1 hit…
Thanks! Just saw the music video, and I can’t really say I get the hype, but the backstory makes this pretty amazing.
TBF English is an extremely common second language, so listening to English-language music as a German or French person doesn’t have quite the same impact as an American listening to German- or French-language music.
Du hast…
I do listen to Rammstein despite being mostly only English speaking. I’m picking up more and more of the the lyrics in the songs and what they mean.
They also play with words a lot, which is lost in translation. For example, in Du Hast, he begins saying:
Du hast (you have)
Du hast mich (you have […] me)
Which, to a native speaker, hearing it for the first time, may very well be interpreted as:
Du hasst (you hate)
Du hasst mich (you hate me)
But then he continues:
Du hast mich gefragt (you have asked me)
So when the verb “gefragt” arrives, the interpretation suddenly changes from “you hate me” to “you have asked me”. Which is cool.
This is just one tiny example - Rammstein lyrics are full of wordplay that only works in German. It would take forever to explain it all.
Yeah and my German is nowhere near good enough to pick up that kind of wordplay. I knew about that one, but only from reading about it.
It is interesting that I’ll be listening to a song I’ve heard many times before, and suddenly be like, oh I suddenly understand that lyric!
The song came out in '97. Either that is a really deep song, or you may need some help with your German…
I’m not listening to just Du Hast. Do you see where I said “songs” as in plural?
A couple of my favorite bands are Electric Callboy and Landmvrks who are from Germany and France respectively. They both sing in english (although Landmvrks does have a smattering of french here and there) and i can only assume that the higher likelyhood of commercial success in english markets factors in to why they dont sing in their native languages.
So a contributing factor may be not many native english bands would choose to produce music in another language but the opposite is true so the music pool of english is even more saturated.Yeah, another example of this is Tom’s Diner by AnnenMayKantereit, which ended up pretty popular in the US, at least in online circles, and the majority of their music is in German.
That’s definitely a thing, too. I can only imagine how bad it must be in smaller nations like Netherlands or Czechia, considering how much fewer native speakers they have compared to German or French.
This is an excellent time to mention my best friend The Eurovision Song Contest! It’s the longest running international music contest show and it gets hundreds of millions of views.
Here’s last year’s crop of music videos. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmWYEDTNOGULUJYEhh-EUa32rEcHuNXO7
Croatia’s Rim Tim Tagi Dim is a real banger. It’s about the stress of moving to a richer country or city for work and losing your culture.
Italy’s La Noia is amazing. Angelina Mango’s live performances are stellar, and if she’s not huge internationally in a few years I’ll be super disappointed. Her new song (not part of the contest) Melodrama is exceptional too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqF0MSpPcj8
Switzerland sent Nemo, who became the first non-binary person to win the contest. It was said that if he could nail the vocals from the video in the live performance, there would be no stopping them. And they did! Amazing work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO8cQpGNplc
I have so many recommendations, if anyone wants more!
Oh also: !lemmyvision@jlai.lu
Oh nice, I only knew about !eurovision@lemmy.world. Subscribed
Yo just because Europapa was disqualified doesn’t mean it’s not a banger.
Totally agree, and he performed it very well live! The story of the song is so good too. It’s about watching ESC as a kid with his parents, but more his parents have passed away and their old house burned down.
I like the song, and this is a catchy backstory, but I’ve got to admit - the actual lyrics are actually pretty terrible 😅
Eurovision got in trouble last year for allowing Israel to join. Israel is in the middle east of Asia, not in Europe. The only thing European about Israel is that white people are committing a genocide to steal land.
Well, Australia is also in the Eurovision.
They spent years broadcasting the contest without a license and people loved it so much the state broadcaster even held voting just for fun. They only got an official broadcaster booth in 2012; before that they snuck their commentators in on press credentials!
In 2013 they submitted a short video about how much Australia loves eurovision that was played during the contest.
In 2014 they were invited to send an interval act, and they knew they had to really do it if it would get them an invite to the actual contest! They sent a good song and were invited to the 2015 contest! It was supposed to be a one off, but they keep getting invited.
Yeah, I love that story. To me, that’s what Eurovision is about.
White people committing genocide to steal land. Checks out. That’s the criteria for entry.
They didn’t get “in trouble” though there was definitely some drama. I would argue that Israel should have been disqualified under the rules requiring independent national broadcasters, the way Russia and Georgia were.
Israel being part of Eurovision isn’t a new thing. The only difference is that they’ve been going mask off on their genocide aspirations lately.
Israel has been part of Eurovision since 1973, has won four times, and hosted the contest three times. Dana International was the first trans winner.
This year’s artist, Yuval Raphael, was attending the Nova Sukkot festival on October 7th 2023.
Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunesia, Algeria, and Morocco are eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. They have been mostly boycotting it because of Israel’s participation.
Holy shit that Nemo song was so good
It is SO GOOD!
My inner city Philadelphia friends even like it.
Updoot for ESC and Melodrama! I’ve had some of Mango’s songs on rotation lately
Will Ferrell did a Eurovision movie I enjoyed. Probably not everybody’s cup of tea, but it was fun.
It’s fun! Gotta say there’s not much Eurovision in the movie. Would have been fun to see more of the rules and semi finals and stuff.
The German version was #1 in America. The English version was #1 in Germany.
Guess the song?
99 Luftballoons?
checks link Yes!
French hip-hop and Norwegian doom metal are pretty good though.
Krav boca anyone?
Growing up a weeb ripped that bandaid off pretty early. If I like it, I like it. 👍🏾
Babymetal and The Hu are fantastic gateway artists.
I think you can find an awesome metal band in every major country or language.
Babymetal also did a song with Bloodywood which is pretty good.
Babymetal also did a song with Electric Callboy that’s awesome.
And bring me the horizon (kingslayer, it’s a BOP) and dragonforce.
They also toured with Dethklok. Really disappointed I couldn’t go to that one
I only just watched metalocalypse recently and I’m so upset I didn’t watch it sooner. It’s so much better that I expected.
I just listened to this a week ago. I’ve never heard of electric callboy and they have quickly become one of my favorites. Babymetal is also amazing. Anyone have any suggestions of similar artists to electric callboy?
THAT’S SO FUCKING COOL
I sometimes joke that BMTH is mid unless they have a feature. Kingslayer is probably my favorite overall.
I love some random foreign artists that I don’t speak the language of and can’t understand at all - Saian Supa Cru, Dengue Fever, Kent, Sigur Ros, Vicentico.
On a side note, I saw BTS on UK TV once and thought it was some kind of comedy pastiche act. What I heard and saw was really terrible, yet the panel on the show were lauding them when it was over, and I just didn’t understand. K-pop is likely not for me, I figure.
I’m curious what you saw. Was it their Graham Norton show appearance? I didn’t like that performance either. Afaik they were at their worst.
One of them couldn’t be there and another had a hurt foot, and they’ve said how self conscious the rest of them were to be missing those two.
K-Pop is for eight-year-olds. It absolutely seems like a joke the first time you see it.
K and J pop is absolutely grating to my ears, but they’re billion dollar industries for a reason. They took the west’s version of boy and girl bands from 30 years ago and turned it up to 11.
They certainly did.
I’m not a fan either, though in terms of musicianship and songwriting quality most of it is far above contemporary american pop. I completely understand why kids would prefer that to the endless “three chords and autotune without a hook” slop.
Yes, that’s probably true. I assume somebody is still making good music, but it doesn’t seem to be reaching me.
k-pop can still be bad even when it’s better then american slop
k-pop fans are very toxic and some of them even harbour Anti-Japanese sentiment which is a racist & misinformed sentiment
I’m not accusing the entire k-pop fandom of being like this but their are obviously factions within the fandom who can be very vocal and very hateful fueled by anger & negativity
Edit: typo that changed the meaning of what I was saying
LOL!
My short story about foeeign music
Wife and 6-year-old get back from dance class:
6yo: I want to add that song we heard in the car to my playlist
Wife: oh what was that song again
Me: do you remember any words, we can search for it
6yo: no Wife: no
Me: what station was it on?
Wife: satellite, TikTok radio
Me: ohh ok, I guess we just need to wait or maybe if you find it on TikTok…
Days go by
Wife: It came on in the car but the title of the song was all weird characters
Me: was it like little stick figures or big slashes or just weird drawn characters?
Wife: just wierd
Me: Google: Russian songs on tik Tok
Moreart
Ohh!
I listen to it. It absolutely slaps
Google then mentions controversy
Then I translate the song’s name.
LMAO. 'I will fuck"
Then I go to look for lyric translations
It’s so fucking cringe and not in a naughty or dirty way, it’s just lame cringe.
The beat of the music still slap though.
Reminds me of this funny commercial (nsfw language).
Rofl, That’s awesome.
Another short story: My GF (now wife) was doing event planning. This was an outdoor dog event. Everything was very rural, very unsanctioned. The company they were dealing with brought in all of the stages and equipment. One of her tasks was to provide the music.
I helped her make a nice lengthy playlist that would easily last the entire event. I did however have all of my mp3s with us.
About 30 minutes into the all day event, someone came up and made a request for a song. We were just using winamp, She didn’t see the harm in it so she just grabbed whatever they requested and shoved it in the playlist a couple of songs down. All of a sudden there was a line to make requests.
I already had a lot of the low hanging fruit like who let the dogs out in the queue.
Well apparently, five or six request later they asked for Nine Inch Nails - closer, oh yeah great dog themed song…
I didn’t have my phone with me. I was all the way at the other side of the event. I hear that familiar synth bassline queue up. Buum Dom Bop be boom boom de dibidibi.
I start running toward the stage. Trying to grab her attention to stop the song.
Buum Dom Bop be boom boom de dibidibi, you let me violate you
I’m running some more but I’m out of shape. The music is quite loud there’s no way I could scream loud enough for her to hear me.
Buum Dom Bop be boom boom de dibidibi, you let me desecrate you
I get a stitch in my side and shin splits at the same time… I have to slow down.
A couple more lines go by, I’m not going to make it in time
Buum Dom Bop be boom boom de dibidibi, you let me complicate you
Oh we’re almost through the precourse now
Boo dooo booodooo booOOODOOdeedee help me I broke apart my insides
I’m about 30 ft away but I am desperately out of breath.
Boo dooo booodooo booOOODOOdeedee. Help me get away from myself
A lot of the guys in the crowd around me are laughing their asses off because they know what’s coming
I want to fuck you like an animal
I want to feel you from the inside
Volume off
Scandalous! Mother’s holding their children’s ears, hundreds of bros sitting around thumbs up in the whole event.
We learned a few valuable lessons that day. Don’t take requests for Media that you’re not ultimately familiar with, Don’t bring any media with you that you don’t want the public to hear.
Zappa’s Bobby Brown topped the charts in several European countries, with most people oblivious to the lyrics, people thought it was just some pop song :)
OMG you’re right. Was guilty of that too :)
It’s such a catchy tune.
I listen to Japanese music but I’m also learning Japanese
But music shouldn’t be relied upon for learning Japanese because the pitch accent can be changed and wording is not standard in music because it can be changed to fit with the song
It can also be hard to hear words clearly unless you know them
Id personally consider foreign music you don’t understand to be instrumental only music like the voice was an musical instrument which it can technically be considered a musical instrument
I’m also trying to learn Japanese. I’ve been enjoying Atarashii Gakko. Any other musical recommendations?
Sigh.
Fujii Kaze, Yama, or Eve maybe.
If you dig Japanese music, take a look at The First Take yt channel. They showcase a wide range of artists.
I was tricked into liking K-Pop. AMA.
Are you as cringe about it as my teenage daughter is?
There’s nothing cringe about my BTS shrine and underwear.
So, the answer is yes?
How does it feel to be a minority?
Kpop girls are usually hot though. So great MVs at least.
I listen to music for sounds. I don’t listen to music to look.
And why do you think they are hot ?
Trying to figure out the intentions behind your comment
There is some really, really cool non-English music out there.
Jaan Pehchan Ho - I imagine this is what it was like for non-English speakers discovering Elvis for the first time.
Prisencolinensinainciusol - Artist wanted to make a song that sounds like English to people who don’t speak English. It doesn’t make sense in any language but still sounds amazing.
Ievan Polkka - Finnish song from 1928. Used in the gag site “leekspin”.
The lyrics are unintentionally hilarious.
https://genius.com/Eino-kettunen-ievan-polkka-english-translation-lyrics
Jaan Pehchan Ho - I imagine this is what it was like for non-English speakers discovering Elvis for the first time.
And here’s Indian rendition of Mozart’s Symphony no. 40.
Jaan Pehchan Ho
They used this in Ghost World, which was a great film early-ish in the careers of Scarlett Johansson and Thora Birch.
Prisencolinensinainciusol
Paradichlorbenzene - A chemical.
Absolute banger. Love Bloodywood
yeah Im not even into metal but Im a sucker for more instraments in rock and I love the message if I understand it right.
Can somebody hook me up with some good Japanese alternative music?
Moksori’s playlists on YouTube, really great collections
Wow! That’s great! Thank you very much
I am deeply convinced that the music of Ado is the best music in the world.
Just listen to うっせぇわ. I’ve started listening to her after starting to learn Japanese, but now it’s pretty much my main motivation to continue learning the language (through there are quite a lot).
I’m not entirely sure what you mean by alternative music (I’m not at all versed in musical styles). But in case you’re looking for music made by individuals (indie music?), may I interest you in vocaloid music (music made with a voice synthesizer)? It’s has quite much variety. And by snowballing (look e.g. at recommendations, other works by the producer, covers (usually by a so-called “utaite” (tried-to-sing-er)), other songs covered by a person, and various other ways) you can find more and more small-ish and small musicians. It all forms a network.
Here’s a little (quite arbitrary) start:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWOvhZBS9IA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsLxB_3ReL4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODKIyzSVLTY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl2qPxLlOFI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m10mNB8L9KwThank you for the reply, I will definitely check this out!
No buses band
This is SO good! Thank you!
I mainly listen to pop with YOASOBI coming to mind but commenting for anyone else’s reference’s
Sorry but I can’t help with recomendations
But I can link you this automatically playlist from YouTube for top 100 songs in Japan that might help you with finding them
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4fGSI1pDJn4-UIb6RKHdxam-oAUULIGB
Tricot and Toe are great math rock, Tricot is a bit more energetic and Toe a bit more chilled, but both are amazing.
Thank you very much! Great artists!
Hmm do you just mean not pop/boy/girl band type of stuff?
Shiina Ringo was pretty popular back when I was listening to a lot of Japanese stuff. She can do a lot of styles but I remember her being punk rock jazzy. In the other direction, I was also into Pizzicato Five who are more retro 60s French vibes.
Thank you for your suggestions! They’re right up my alley
I’m not sure if this fits for what you are looking for, but The Pillows are a great rock group from Japan. Some of their songs being portrayed in the anime FLCL.
The Pillows is the reason I asked for this kind of music!! They are the best!
I stumbled across their music when I was watching SoulEater. Recently I went through my old mp3-player, remembered the band and was curious about similar music, which sparked my comment.
I watched FLCL out of love for the band and, for me, this kind of anime hits just the right spot.
If I wouldn’t have known about either, FLCL or The Pillows, I would have kissed your feet for this recommendation. Spot on!
I admittedly don’t watch much anime, but FLCL might be my favorite, and what got me into the band. I haven’t heard of soul eater before but I’m excited to check it out. Thanks for letting me know!
Be warned, The Pillows only song is in the outro of the second season, though and, unlike FLCL, Soul Eater is a more… traditional anime.
Maybe some Mongol 800 (although I guess they’re more punk than alt)? They also sometimes do English lyric songs which are off enough to be funny but they still sound good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuu0sY6ho0g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SulBWEgSZusHaha sounds great! Thank you!
