Ask Lemmy

99 Luftballoons - Nena https://open.spotify.com/track/2IJftBfq7pJ43tfnOR0RB3?si=Tj9rOKguQkOmpb3jJM27uw

Rammstein

Snow - Informer

So many. I like music and I like languages so when there are lyrics there's a good chance it's not English.

• Dead can dance - The Host of Seraphim - moody female vocals with backing instruments and synth that resembles religious sad hymns (not even in a real language)
• 王菲 Faye Wong《四月雪 April Snow - melancholy mandarin pop from 2003
• Hocico - Ecos - Mexican electro-industrial on the aggressive side
• Juno Reactor - Conquistador (part 1 and 2) - technically 2 songs, in Latin, Spanish and I think Xhosa. Same person who did the music from the matrix, these are sort of a musical interpretation of South American history
• Sepultura - Ratamahatta - Brazilian metal
• All about Lily Chou-Chou OST - Arabesque(アラベスク) - fictional band with female vocals, beautiful melancholy song in Okinawan
• Fly, Fly My Sadness - The Bulgarian Voices Angelite with Huun-Huur-Tu and Moscow Art Trio - Mongolian throat singers (if you've never heard this technique, it's incredible and unlike anything else, this song isn't the best example though, search for huun huur tu videos) and an ethereal Bulgarian choir.
• The Mirror Conspiracy ft. LouLou - Le Monde - French lyrics, chillout downtempo electronic
• Björk - Úm Akkeri - Icelandic version of her song The Anchor Song
• Yothu Yindi - Djäpana (Sunset Dreaming) - a classic 1989 Australian song in Yolŋu and English. Not my favourite but I wanted to have the continent represented here.
• Thievery Corporation - Satyam Shivam Sundaram - another downtempo chillour from the same group, this time in Hindi
• Daler Mehndi - Tunak Tunak Tun - too catchy not to mention, Punjabi pop, hilariously cheesy video clip

There are so many more. I didn't even touch Caribbean patois or Arabic or Polynesian languages etc. I'm very big on global music though, especially with a strong beat and lyrical themes on anti-colonialism...

Off the top of my head,

Psy - Gangnam Style

Rammstein - entire catalog

The Hu - most of their stuff

Manu Chao - clandestino

I got really into German punk a few years ago. Some of my favorites.

Die Ärzte Schrei nach Liebe

Wizo Raum Der Zeit

Die Toten Hosen Hier kommt Alex

Numa Numa Yay, Numa Numa Yay, Numa Numa Numa Yay!

Eivør - Trøllabundin

I have listened to it so much that I know the lyrics perfectly, and it's even possible my pronunciation is close to correct, yet I don't speak a word of Faroese.

Bella Ciao

Tunak Tunak Tun will forever be a banger.

Anything by stromae really. In some of his songs you can even hear the emotion he conveys without understanding any French

La Bamba

Stromae - Papaoutai (I found out it existed because Pentatonix did a cover of it)

That guy's also got some other interesting songs, with quite a bit of social commentary: carmen, Fils de joie, tous les mêmes, Santé

The entire sound track for FLCL by The Pillows.

When that show was new, I could sing them all. Kinda. I certainly had no idea what the words were, but I listened to them enough that I could fake it lol

Anything by Sigur Ros.

Any from the Buena Vista Social Club, album is beautiful, their song Chan Chan is one of my all time favorites:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5cELP06Mik

France Gall - Ella, Elle L'a

I think that would describe half my catalog :-/

• Finnish Iskelmä
  • Stig - Puumaa mä metsästä
  • Arttu Wiskari - Sirpa
  • Lemon - Nainen Tummissa (cover of Lady in Black)
• Thai
  • จ๊อบ บรรจบ - ดูเธอทำ (Job 2 Do - Doo doo doo)
  • Soreng Santi (สรวง สันติ) - Kuen Kuen Lueng Lueng (cover of Iron Man … sort of)
• most versions of Bella Ciao (except La Casa de Papel for some reason)
  • Bella ciao cantata dal coro R'Esistente del Pratello
• the “fun” stuff coming out of Ukraine
  • О.Пономарьов М.Хома Т.Тополя Є.Кошовий Ю.Ткач П.Чорний - УКРАЇНА ПЕРЕМОЖЕ
  • Andriy Khlyvnyuk x The Kiffness - Ukrainian Folk Song ARMY REMIX
  • Cвітоглядець - Bayraktar

All of Warduna and Heilung. Don't understand a single word but love the music.

Basically anything Sigur Rós does.

Though, half of their music is in a "language" nobody speaks.

I recently found this song, Kai Tangata, by Alien Weaponry. They're a New Zealand band, and the song features a lot of Maori warriors and the entire song is sung in Maori. Really amazing imagery in the video, shows off a lot of combat and Haka.

Gangnam Style

All of Sigur Ros. Makes me want to move to Iceland and be confused all day long.

Love this thread. Here are some of my favs off the top of my head. My music tastes are all over the place.

• Elis Regina - Aguas de Marco
• Molchat Doma - Sudno
• DakhaBrakha - Baby
• Vinicio Capossela - Ovunque proteggi
• Francis Bebey - Sanza Nocturne
• Silvio Rodriguez - Al Final de Este Viaje
• Amadou & Mariam - M'Bifé
• Mariah - 心臓の扉 (Shinzo No Tobira)

Ave Maria

My playlist of Armenian music is inappropriately huge. You will regret asking this question.

• Garabala - Habrban

• Serj Tankian ft. Larisa Ryan - Ari Im Sokhag

• Serj Tankian - Artsakh

• Garik and Sona - Mayro I do not have a huge crush on Sona Rubenyan shut up.

• Adana Project - Gini Lic maybe turn off the subtitles unless you hate Turkey as much as Armenia does...

• Sevak Amroyan - Yarkhushta aw fuck yeah

• Nare Gevorgyan - Mer Ergire

I have many, MANY more. I am not remotely Armenian, just a huge SOAD fan who fell down a youtube rabbit hole one day...

Camille - Ta douleur

Äppelknyckarjazz by Movits! Such a great album.

Yelle - A Cause Des Garçons (Tepr Remix)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqYhuwu614Y

Surprised there are no mentions of BTS more generally, lol

Although I guess for most they are a bit of a "gateway drug" to the K-pop genre.

Dragostea Din Tei (aka, the "Numa numa" song) is always a hit.

I quite like stromae on occasion. And I'm a fan of rammstein, but while I don't speak German I do understand it reasonably well so I'm not sure that counts

Poi E - Patea Māori Club

The whole genre of City Pop is awesome.

The entirety of NieR and NieR Automata's vocal tracks. Most of them are actually just gibberish.

Leva's polka

I have an entire playlist for this. But the my favorite ones are

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7cuTnbF-2c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J9FuvPmMoI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbaAxgufFA8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nfziCIMrHs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvfFJGeZH_w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVkGRoLicuA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWl5NcRB8UI

Pretty partial to Japanese pop myself. I'm learning Japanese partially so i can understand the songs. Yoasobi's songs are a good general recommendation, I would recommend Yoru ni Kakeru, Gunjou, and Seventeen.

French?

• Florina - Va Va Vis
• The Longest Johns - Santiano (only partly in french, but damn bro)
• Cedric Watson - La Vieille Chanson De Mardi Gras

Discovered Leningrad - Fish
in a similar post on Reddit a while back

Anything from Ningen Isu.

Ningen Isu - Heartless Scat

I listen to a lot of K-pop. I don't know more than a very small handful of Korean.

Great thread - I'll throw in a few although I'm late to the party.

Gaspar Nali - Abale Ndikuwuzeni

Anything from the Afro-Cuban All Stars or Buena Vista Social Club albums

Orchestra Baobab - Sey

Mory Kante - Yeke Yeke (Hardfloor mix)

Lexicon Avenue - Here I Am (Rutabaga mix)

Jane Air, Junk

Rammstein, Moskau

Afterhours, Vedova Bianca (There's an English version that was used in Mr. Robot)

There are a lot of operas that I thoroughly enjoy that are largely in Italian that are just incredibly moving. Pavarotti singing Pagliacci is insanely moving, as one example.