Do you like listening to music that's in a language you don't speak? -

[LagoonaBlue]

North Korean music is one of my guilty pleasures and has been for a while. I know the lyrics to a LOT of the songs that come out of that country are propaganda, but look past that and you have some lovely melodies.

Here's two with melodies I genuinely think are lovely. The second song has translated subtitles (turn on CC).

Here's a North Korean cover of "Brother Louie".

 

[Ginger Piglet]

OOoooohhh, aaaahhh.... PURESUSMOMENTSU...

 

[Hatoful Dandy]

Of course, most of them through anime, foreign movies and videogames

This one I first heard back in the mid 90's since it was used as the opening for a K-1 kickboxing game

One of the best motivational songs you'll hear

The opening for the HK movie "A Man Called Hero"

 

[Positron]

If you are in the mood for a litte Allah Hoo to commemorate the date, the infectious enthusiasm of Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali can't be bettered.

 

[BeanBidan]

For old Jazz I usually listen to Yuropoors.
But i'm a yuge fag for Japanese City Pop and punk.

 

[Positron]

Psarantonis is a singer and lute player from Cretes. He is very well regarded in Greek and aboard and has a lot of CD releases. Unfortunately I only managed to get hold of one.

 

[chunkygoth]

I went through a bad breakup a few weeks ago and since then I have started getting into j-rock. Most of my english songs were either about love or being sad about love. So I started listening to J-rock because I don't understand what the heck the song is about. Also, it's good.

 

[Kari Kamiya]

Probably no real surprise that I listen to J-pop and J-rock 'cause that's one part of my weeb stage I haven't broke because the music's actually not all that bad. But more often than not, I prefer listening to soundtracks to my favorite (or even not-so-favorite) anime. I also still have a soft spot for character image songs since listening to the Digimon soundtrack in high school kept me further motivated for two years of Japanese. Singing the songs are honestly the only times I ever "speak" Japanese anymore.

About a couple of years ago, though, I found myself looking up Japanese covers (or versions, anyway) of English songs 'cause I was just curious as to how it was done to reach a wider foreign audience. It's quite fascinating given Western music has a different tone to Eastern music (and the songs are written as such), so though it sounds a little weird, I'm honestly impressed they can make it work. Currently, after a good few years of knowing about it but never coming across it 'til now, I'm listening to the original Japanese cast of Phantom of the Opera. It's really surreal, but I love it.

Partially because as a Mewtwo fan I'm listening to it for Masachika Ichimura (who is just heavenly as the Phantom, it's so hard for me to not fangirl over it), but Ryoko Nomura as Christine is great. She's, dare I say, better than Sarah Brightman. There's other language recordings of PotO, but I haven't taken a listen to them yet. "Prima Donna" and "Il Muto" are fun to listen to in general, and hearing them in another language is pretty whimsical.

Have the playlist if you wanna take a further listen. It's sadly not as complete as the London recording, but I don't know if the official album's like that.

 

[CephalopodEnthusiast]

Yes:

German music - I'm a Rammstein fan

Japanese music - Vocaloid is one of my guilty pleasures

Korean music - Hangul is a pretty language. This is one of my favorites

 

[Positron]

Sardinian polyphony is, of course, traditionally an exclusively male art form, but in the past 20 years or so a few women group has emerged. Actores Alidos is a group that adapt the male polyphonic style to women's songs, such as working songs, lullaby, and this devotional song:

"Tittia" ("So Cold") is gossip of village women in song form.

 

[Positron]

Ann Mulqueen, great sean-nós singer from County Limerick.

 

[CephalopodEnthusiast]

Russian: (Some v e g e t a b l e s songs are in english)

Icelandic:

Italian: (Personal fave)

Latin:

 

[Guts Gets Some]

All the time.

I don't need to know lyrics or even judge by genre when it comes to music. I'm open to anything so long as it just appeals to me.

 

[MadDamon]

 

[Judge Holden]

'nuff said

 

[Faggot Gift]

Anyone have krautrock recommendations outside the obvious?

 

[Winnie the Poohnani]

I can't help but be distracted by lyrics when they're in english, so when I'm reading I listen to either instrumental or something in another language.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan:

King Sunny Ade:

and the late, great Cesaria Evora, whose every recording is sublime:

 

[Stab You in the Back]

I listen to a lot of the French singer Zaz. She does big band jazz infused with a pop sensibility.

(goddamn the ruskies really know how to bootleg a concert)

 

[MacMasonry]

Call me a boomer if you must, but ska still isn't dead to me. Especially German ska

 

[frozenrunner]

I don't think I've ever heard anything by Susumu Hirasawa that I didn't love, and I have no idea what the fuck he's singing about.