Gallic and teutonic song
April 11, 2020 6:06 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for recommendations for popular music sung in the languages of Goethe or Molière.
I'm very familiar with classical European 'art song' such as the Lieder of Schubert or the mélodies of Fauré. I also like to listen to popular music in English of all stripes - rock bands, punk bands, R&B, country music, blues artists, songwriters of many and various styles. I'm also a big fan of Portuguese fado. But I know next to nothing about popular music sung in French or German. What should I give a listen to?
I'm very familiar with classical European 'art song' such as the Lieder of Schubert or the mélodies of Fauré. I also like to listen to popular music in English of all stripes - rock bands, punk bands, R&B, country music, blues artists, songwriters of many and various styles. I'm also a big fan of Portuguese fado. But I know next to nothing about popular music sung in French or German. What should I give a listen to?
If your musical tastes include the heavier side of things, try Rammstein for German. Start with the album Mutter, here’s Track 1.
posted by doctord at 7:46 PM on April 11, 2020
posted by doctord at 7:46 PM on April 11, 2020
Anna Depenbusch is a German singer-songwriter who writes in a variety of musical styles. I find her singing easy to understand. She's recorded both orchestrated and piano solo versions of a couple of her albums.
Judith Holofernes (the lead singer of Wir sind Helden) has gone on to record two solo albums, so if you like Wir sind Helden then definitely check those out. Brennende Brücken is one of my favorites of hers.
Similarly, a guitarist and bassist from Wir sind Helden went on to form the group Gloria, which has recorded three albums.
Die Ärzte and Die Toten Hosen are both classic German punk groups. Die Fantastichen Vier are a classic German hip hop / pop rap group.
posted by jedicus at 10:00 PM on April 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
Judith Holofernes (the lead singer of Wir sind Helden) has gone on to record two solo albums, so if you like Wir sind Helden then definitely check those out. Brennende Brücken is one of my favorites of hers.
Similarly, a guitarist and bassist from Wir sind Helden went on to form the group Gloria, which has recorded three albums.
Die Ärzte and Die Toten Hosen are both classic German punk groups. Die Fantastichen Vier are a classic German hip hop / pop rap group.
posted by jedicus at 10:00 PM on April 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
So some friends & I asked someone the same question once, except it was in 1983 and the country was Austria (so--German-speaking, at least). Our Austrian friends hemmed and hawed around and talked amongst themselves and they finally came back with, "Well really we just listen to about the same thing you do, probably."
And by and large that is true, especially if you are are thinking of the sort of pan-European pop scene which has a lot of crossover with U.S. hits etc. You are welcome to verify that by looking at the Austrian Top 40 list from about this time in 1983 or any other time. So in 1983 you'll see David Bowie-Let's Dance, Michael Jackson-Billie Jean, Culture Club, Nena (mentioned above) etc.--all things I recall hearing on the radio & MTV in the U.S. Pan-European hits tend to use a fair bit of English, maybe mix in a few different languages, and/or be released in different-language versions, like 99 Luftballons & Major Tom, mentioned above. Along those same lines is something like Rock Me Amadeus (Falco).
But you'll also see . . . other things that don't necessarily make the leap across the Atlantic or even the Austrian border. Roger Whitaker Wenn es dich noch gibt springs to mind here, as well as, for example, Kiz - Die Sennerin vom Königssee.
"But surely there must be something that's on the pop charts and is really, really Austrian, right?"
Again, they hemmed and hawed but finally came up with: "OK, Tauchen-Prokopetz, DÖF." We had a devil of a time trying to figure out what they were even saying and they couldn't explain it very clearly, either (Tauchen & Prokopetz are the name of two guys, comedians, but it also sounds like it could be some kind of diving apparatus or something, and DÖF stands for Deutsch-Österreichisches Feingefühl, which is similarly difficult to explain/understand. Also DÖF sounds quite a bit like doof--dumb--especially if you don't really know how to pronounce it, which we didn't).
But we dutifully copied this down and made our way to a record store, where we again had the difficulties trying to explain to the clerk exactly what we wanted, even though it was like a #1 hit at the time. I think the difficulty there was, they couldn't really conceive that the bumbling American students would be asking for something like that, or even know what it was.
Anyway, in this way I managed to acquire a very nice cassette copy of Tauchen-Prokopetz, DÖF, which I must have listened to at least 900 times over the next few years. Even though I understood maybe 2% of it--lots of it is in Viennese dialect, it includes a number of spoken-word tracks that are 100% dialect.
35 years later I can make out maybe 20-30%, or more in some cases if it's not too dialect-y. Or maybe still the 2% if it's really dialect-y.
I was still listening to it long after it had fallen off the Top-40 charts in Austria, I'm sure.
Point is, take this for what it is worth--recommended by a pair of young Austrian men in 1983, and listened to by me, who knows practically nothing about it:
posted by flug at 10:51 PM on April 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
And by and large that is true, especially if you are are thinking of the sort of pan-European pop scene which has a lot of crossover with U.S. hits etc. You are welcome to verify that by looking at the Austrian Top 40 list from about this time in 1983 or any other time. So in 1983 you'll see David Bowie-Let's Dance, Michael Jackson-Billie Jean, Culture Club, Nena (mentioned above) etc.--all things I recall hearing on the radio & MTV in the U.S. Pan-European hits tend to use a fair bit of English, maybe mix in a few different languages, and/or be released in different-language versions, like 99 Luftballons & Major Tom, mentioned above. Along those same lines is something like Rock Me Amadeus (Falco).
But you'll also see . . . other things that don't necessarily make the leap across the Atlantic or even the Austrian border. Roger Whitaker Wenn es dich noch gibt springs to mind here, as well as, for example, Kiz - Die Sennerin vom Königssee.
"But surely there must be something that's on the pop charts and is really, really Austrian, right?"
Again, they hemmed and hawed but finally came up with: "OK, Tauchen-Prokopetz, DÖF." We had a devil of a time trying to figure out what they were even saying and they couldn't explain it very clearly, either (Tauchen & Prokopetz are the name of two guys, comedians, but it also sounds like it could be some kind of diving apparatus or something, and DÖF stands for Deutsch-Österreichisches Feingefühl, which is similarly difficult to explain/understand. Also DÖF sounds quite a bit like doof--dumb--especially if you don't really know how to pronounce it, which we didn't).
But we dutifully copied this down and made our way to a record store, where we again had the difficulties trying to explain to the clerk exactly what we wanted, even though it was like a #1 hit at the time. I think the difficulty there was, they couldn't really conceive that the bumbling American students would be asking for something like that, or even know what it was.
Anyway, in this way I managed to acquire a very nice cassette copy of Tauchen-Prokopetz, DÖF, which I must have listened to at least 900 times over the next few years. Even though I understood maybe 2% of it--lots of it is in Viennese dialect, it includes a number of spoken-word tracks that are 100% dialect.
35 years later I can make out maybe 20-30%, or more in some cases if it's not too dialect-y. Or maybe still the 2% if it's really dialect-y.
I was still listening to it long after it had fallen off the Top-40 charts in Austria, I'm sure.
Point is, take this for what it is worth--recommended by a pair of young Austrian men in 1983, and listened to by me, who knows practically nothing about it:
- DÖF - Codo (and don't miss the Jinglish version)
- DÖF - Taxi
- DÖF - Arafat
- DÖF - So ein Zufall
- DÖF - In der Tierhandlung (links to parts 2 & 3 in description)
- DÖF - Love me
- DÖF - Deutsches Mädel (für Katherina)
- DÖF - Rein gar nix
- DÖF - Trude, die Teufelstaube - "Accompany Trude, the diabolical pigeon-monster, on its deadly foray through the cities of Europe in search of sustenance. Today: Vienna . . . "
posted by flug at 10:51 PM on April 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
More Stromae:
Alors on danse in Montreal
Ave Cesaria (official video)
posted by nangar at 3:32 AM on April 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
Alors on danse in Montreal
Ave Cesaria (official video)
posted by nangar at 3:32 AM on April 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
If you want to dip into past hits, there was a whole style of music in France in the early 60s called yé-yé that may be fun; it's kind of bubblegummy with a little bit of flirt. There's a famous scene from Mad Men where Megan serenades Don on his 40th birthday that uses a yé-yé song, "Zou Bisou Bisou".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:19 AM on April 12, 2020
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:19 AM on April 12, 2020
You know about Serge Gainsbourg, right?
My two favorite French artists are Alvin de la Simone and Elista. Both acoustic-y indie pop, kind of like a French Shins.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:08 AM on April 12, 2020
My two favorite French artists are Alvin de la Simone and Elista. Both acoustic-y indie pop, kind of like a French Shins.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:08 AM on April 12, 2020
A couple of my favourites from the Québecois indie rock boom of the 00's: Karkwa, Malajube
posted by btfreek at 11:58 AM on April 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by btfreek at 11:58 AM on April 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
If you like musicals at all (and especially if you're familiar with Wicked), I highly recommend the German cast recording of Wicked - Die Hexen von Oz. With Willemijn Verkaik as Elphaba (she's also played the role in English and Dutch!) and Lucy Scherer as Galinda. (If you're looking for Defying Gravity, it's Frei und schwerelos, and For Good is Wie ich bin.)
A few artists/songs I've been introduced to via German TV/movies:
- Freundeskreis feat. Déborah - Esperanto
- Joy Denalane - Nie wieder, nie mehr
- Selina Müller - Weit weg von mir
- Jupiter Jones - Still (if you read the Three Investigators detective series, yes the band name was inspired by it)
- Clueso - Zu Schnell Vorbei, Gewinner
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 5:07 PM on April 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
A few artists/songs I've been introduced to via German TV/movies:
- Freundeskreis feat. Déborah - Esperanto
- Joy Denalane - Nie wieder, nie mehr
- Selina Müller - Weit weg von mir
- Jupiter Jones - Still (if you read the Three Investigators detective series, yes the band name was inspired by it)
- Clueso - Zu Schnell Vorbei, Gewinner
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 5:07 PM on April 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by azalea_chant at 6:30 PM on April 11, 2020 [1 favorite]