Music

Etes-vous prêt à danser ?

Acefantastik.

Posted to Music on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 10:03:24 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

"I was saying things that since I was saying them in English, they were funny."

Meet Malajube, a Francophile indie rock band that is capturing America's sensitive heart. Mixing English stage banter with French lyrics, the band has electrified the hipster nightclub scene and their fashionable slacks. I invite you to discuss your favorite music whose lyrics you don't understand, and for bonus discussion, speculate on why the Swedes are so excellent at writing English pop songs. Have you heard the new Sounds album? Its great!

Tags: edited by Port1080, written by Acefantastik, music, indie rock, Canadians, Montreal, Quebec, cream cheese, Sean Moeller (all tags)

This story: 16 comments (8 from subqueue)
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1

Anime Theme Songs

port1080.

Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 10:19:17 AM EST

none

On a slightly different note, I've found that Japanese anime theme songs can be quite catchy. Berserk, Full Metal Alchemist, and Neon Genesis Evangelion all have theme songs that sound like something you'd hear on the radio - except half the lyrics are in Japanese (for some reason, the other half are in broken English, which makes the whole experience even more surreal).

Other anime have more sophisticated soundtracks. Cowboy Bebop, aptly named, uses jazz throughout to frame the story line. The soundtrack itself is excellent, and worth purchasing even if you're not crazy about anime. In a similar vein, Samurai Champloo (directed by the same guy that did Bebop) has a hip-hop themed soundtrack, and also makes excellent use of the music (although in my opinion, the story's not quite as good as Bebop, even though the animation itself is much better).

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Re: Anime Theme Songs

zyxwvutsr.

Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 10:26:20 AM EST

none

Test.

Can you read this? Good.

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Re: Anime Theme Songs

Ellen Ripley.

Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 05:10:07 PM EST

none

Let's fighting love! South Park does it again.

3

Lyrics I don't understand

tomc.

Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 10:46:32 AM EST

none

I don't understand most lyrics, since for some reason, they don't mean as much to me as the music.

My theory (which is my own), is that men don't pay as much attention to lyrics as women do. "How can you enjoy this song?", I've had many girlfriends say. "Whaddaya mean?"  "Don't you understand the lyrics?"  "Never really paid attention to them."

But in my later years, I'm a bit more sensitive to this.  My youngest (!2 years old) likes Rammstein, and even though she can't understand German, I don't let her listen to the song "Mein Teil".  I listen to it, though, and understand what the song is about.

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Not Every One

uncarved block.

Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 10:12:36 PM EST

none

   I have noticed much the same, but appear to be the exception that proves the rule-- in fact, it's why I can't take modern Country, but like (sometimes love) the older stuff. If I still cared about music as much as before, I'd probably seek out some of the alt.country bands. For me, the fusion of good music with good lyrics is worth celebrating, which is why my rotation consists of groups like Steely Dan, Jurassic 5, Soul Coughing, Elastica (first CD), Captain Beefheart, and so on. (And it's yet another reason why I despise punk, especially ska punk.) Insipid "chorus-repeat" bands may make the list for a while, but rarely last very long.  
    That said, if there's no English at all to distract me, some of the Japanese stuff I've heard is a lot of fun, and Bollywood tunes bring a smile to my face.

Ex ignorantia ad sapientiam; e luce ad tenebras

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Re: Lyrics I don't understand

thefadd.

Tue Mar 06, 2007 at 08:59:02 PM EST

none

that's interesting. I was brought up essentially exclusively on classical orchestral music so when I started listening to "the stuff with words," the lyrics were preeminently important to me to the point were I almost didn't understand why people wouldn't love a song just because I found the words deep. The musical accompaniment was just about entirely worthless to me. But I guess the first music with lyrical accompaniment that I was exposed to was also hippie protest music.

escalators never fail; they just become stairs

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Re: Lyrics I don't understand

tomc.

Wed Mar 07, 2007 at 02:19:13 PM EST

none

I was brought up on classical music, too - Italian arias and German cantatas I couldn't understand... Hell, even when opera singers sang in English I couldn't understand what they were saying.  

I assumed Joan Sutherland was a scat singer who didn't like jazz.

4

Re: Etes-vous prêt à danser ?

gerrymander.

Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:04:16 AM EST

none

My favorite French band right now is the Prototypes --  kind of a mix between Blondie and the Ramones.

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Re: Etes-vous prêt à danser ?

1fastdog.

Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 02:29:54 PM EST

none

Hey, that's good stuff! Liked the stuff on their myspace page enough to put 'em on my shopping list.

Somewhere in my soul, there's always Rock -n- Roll... Joe Strummer

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Re: Etes-vous prêt à danser ?

rEvolution inAction.

Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 05:23:05 PM EST

none

Stefie Shock, Les Cowboys Fringants, Saez, Les Rita Mitsouka.

Tipping Sacred Cows

5

Also from Montreal

Lou.

Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:11:11 AM EST

none

My new hero.

It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine

6

Re: Etes-vous prêt à danser ?

MinusOne.

Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:45:41 AM EST

none

You would think that people had never heard of Plastic Bertrand
Oh well, everything old is new again.

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Re: Etes-vous prêt à danser ?

rEvolution inAction.

Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 05:24:08 PM EST

none

Don't remind us! besides.. Mon Onc'Serge  is way better.

Tipping Sacred Cows

8

Benn loxo du taccu

1fastdog.

Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 03:36:56 PM EST

none

I invite you to discuss your favorite music whose lyrics you don't understand
Well, I happen to like African music very much and most of the lyrics are sung in the native tongue, whatever it happens to be. If you're at all interested in African music, I'd suggest you head over to Benn loxo du taccu (That's Wolof for "one hand can't clap") and check out what's available. He's got all kinds of MP3s from all over Africa and they encompass many, many styles of music. Old stuff, new stuff, and everything in between. Informative and highly recommended.

Somewhere in my soul, there's always Rock -n- Roll... Joe Strummer

12

Chips, chips.

Steve Urkel.

Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 06:18:22 PM EST

none

I like Paolo Conte, who sings in gravelly Italian, ocassionally with bits of French and English mixed in. He's a talented composer. To me a nice thing about foreign lyrics is, unlike stupid lyrics in English, they don't grate on me when they are inane or ludicrious because I don't really know what's being said.

14

Selected non English Rock

Acefantastik.

Mon Mar 05, 2007 at 06:38:52 PM EST

none

I really enjoy Os Mutantes, who came up in Brazil back in the late 60s---they kind of pulled a Bob Dylan by appearing at a tropicalia festival playing hated electric instruments, which got them first booed, then loved. Takako Minekawa is a Japanese lady who sings some in English, but her accent is so undecipherable that it might as well be foriegn. Blonde Redhead sings mostly in English, but they put out an EP with Italian and French versions of some of their songs. Very nice work. Shadmehr Aghili: Persian house music. You don't have to be gay to like it, but it may help. And of course, let's try to remember the time when Shakira was good. The album Donde estan los ladrones still gets me going.

This story: 16 comments (8 from subqueue)
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