Best foreign artists & songs you don't understand?

I really like two Russian bands, both have phenomenal vocalists:

Louna - Пока не поздно

And

Arkona - Nevidal

Даваи, Маша, даваи!

I don't think it's a great song, but I certainly don't get the fascination with Gangam Style.

Lavern08 said:

I don't think it's a great song, but I certainly don't get the fascination with Gangam Style.

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Nor do I. Actually, I don't get the huge fascination with K-Pop all over Asia (except South Asia).

Zobi la Mouche. Love this song. No idea what it's about. Don't think I wanna know, actually.

Anything by Brazilian Tropicália band Os Mutuantes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB4BBLNLow0

Love Malajube. They're a French band that my French professor would play for us before class. I can only decipher bits and pieces of their work (as I only have made it through Beginning French) but they have great music and it's fun to listen and perhaps imagine what the song could be about.

And the song "Matalii ja Mustii" by Finnish band Varttina. Love that one!

Anything by A.R. Rahman who wrote the score for Slumdog Millionaire.

Lyriel is one of my favorite bands evar. They're a German band with mostly English songs, but I love when she sings in her native language. Here's my favorite German song by them:

Aus Der Tiefe

It just makes me so happy.

Sayuri Ishikawa. No idea what she is singing here, but it has a peacefulness about it which calms me. I really don't think you need to know, sometimes, the specifics if the intent and overall mood is powerful enough. Same with Eros Ramazzotti, whom I could listen to all day.

Dreity said:

Lyriel is one of my favorite bands evar. They're a German band with mostly English songs, but I love when she sings in her native language. Here's my favorite German song by them:

Aus Der Tiefe

It just makes me so happy.

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Lyriel is awesome, especially the old stuff.

Here's one piece that's perfect background music for dystopian sci-fi stories:

Einsturzende Neubauten - Steh Auf Berlin

Industrial music from West (or was it East?) Germany, off their second album, Kollaps that came out in 1981, if my memory serves me right. I discovered the band when a lecturer played it for the class at the uni.

Actually this applies to nearly EVERY song. I'm one of those people who can never understand the lyrics.

Lavern08 said:

I don't think it's a great song, but I certainly don't get the fascination with Gangam Style.

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It's just this year's Macarena/Who Let The Dogs Out.

I think Gangnam Style is brilliant!

Probably the voice cast version of the opening song of Kimi ni Todoke.

I have no idea what they are saying, but it sounds good.

I love all music Icelandic. Something about it that just makes me smile

I like Gangnam Style, and the translated lyrics are very different from what I expected.

I listen to a lot of J-Rock/J-Rap/J-Pop from watching anime and certain video games (Persona series), but the only non-English language artist I'll actively seek out is Rammstein.

Lavern08 said:

I don't think it's a great song, but I certainly don't get the fascination with Gangam Style.

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Me, my sister, and wife looked up the English translation . . . maybe we didn't get a good one because it didn't seem very coherent!

But we do think it's fun to watch our kids dance to the song haha.

Really digging Rokia Traoré right now. I can get some of her lyrics, like "j'ai eu le courage de ne rien faire" (I had the courage to do nothing), in her song Zen - here's a wonderful rendition from Later... with Jools Holland. What a sweet, groovy tune.

She's also divinely beautiful.

Eluveitie (folk metal but they have an album which is more folk with a metal edge which i love) and Manu Chao who sings in various languages and it's really fun party music.

Tyr. Some of their songs are in their native Faroese, though a lot are in English, and they're all awesome.

Ramstein.

Watching their music videos is like participating in a really twisted and hilarious game of charades.

See for yourself: Sonne, Amerika

Also, Inner Universe and Rise by Origa (from the Ghost in the Shell soundtrack) use a beautiful combination of Russian, English and even some Latin.