I like to listen to music that has a great feel to it and in languages I do not speak or understand. That way I can enjoy it without the burden terrible lyrics. ☺️
I have a few that I listen to a lot:
Amatz by Shanti Dope - Filipino rap
Mundian To Bach Ke by Punjabi MC - upbeat Bollywood style
Life on Mars by Seu Jorge - just him and a guitar
Update: I have created a Spotify playlist with the songs so far. I will continue to update the list as new songs get added. If you find your song on the list but meant a different version please DM me a link to the one you want. Enjoy!
Liu Yuning - Unintentional Big Dream (Fangs of Fortune OST)
刘宇宁 - 无心生大梦
This song is a departure from LY’s usual genre. It goes hard and is so exciting. All my friends know this song and can sing the chorus because I made them listen to it many times.
Several Japanese songs, such as Summer of Goodbye, Message in Rouge and Contrails
Garland of a Hundred Flowers - My neighbours’ national anthem can’t be this cute! (Nepali)
Halls of Hueyteotl and Baba Yetu (both Swahili, both from video games)
The lyrics of Rouge no Dengon are really good. It’s about a woman who’s on a train, leaving town to get away from her cheating husband. She left a “message in rouge” for him to find in the bathroom, that she won’t be back until he changes his ways. She’s actually going to his mother’s house, and she’ll have his mother call him to scold him in the morning.
If you’re familiar with the song as the opening theme to Kiki’s Delivery Service, it really really fits Kiki’s character as she listens to the song while leaving home for the first time. You might get the feeling that the themes of the song are things relates to herself: independence, anxiety, maturity, and female solidarity. And of course, if you watch the movie, those are all things she experiences in her new town.
Basically it’s a REALLY REALLY good song and absolutely perfect choice for the movie it’s in. I also love the singer’s other Ghibli movie song you mention, Contrails/Hikoukigumo.
Dragostea Din Tei (“Numa Numa”) is unironically one of my favourite songs. It wouldn’t have blown up as a meme if it didn’t go so hard.
Pepas by Farruko is another bop.
- INTERNETFREUNDIN by SALÒ (I’m learning German though and the lyrics aren’t hard to understand)
- Cần Một Ngày by Cá Hồi Hoang
- La fin du Monde by Juniore
- Les Garçons de L’Été by Sébastien Delage
I could go on and on…
Pentagram - Bir (Turkish metal) Arkona - Yarilo (Russian folk metal)
I married an Indian woman and have been getting into Bollywood music, and honestly there’s so many good songs!
Two of my favorites are:
Qaafirana
Khuda Jaane
I’m a basic bitch, so some of the first that came to mind have already been mentioned by others:
- Papoutai - Stromae (along with some other of his songs)
- Baba Yetu - Christopher Tin
- Dragostea Din Tei - O-Zone
To those, I’ll add some other meme songs / songs that have been used in English-speaking media:
Also the ultra-popular ones everybody already knows and I won’t bother to link, such as Bad Apple, Gangnam Style, the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack, etc.
A rap about abes odyssee. Probably. Thats what the title and video say. Got some serious flow.
Rush Job - Sheena Ringo
Swamp - Mid-Air Thief, but the whole album Gongjoong Doduk is pretty good.
Dixie - Harmonium
Le tombeau est vide - Chromb!
For fun:
El Corazón - Hard n Phirm
Honorable mention that might not technically count:
Prisencolinensinainciusol - Adriano Celentano
Con Te Partirò - Andre Bocelli
遙か彼方 - ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION
アイワナビー - Stance Punks
I Samma Bil - Bo Kaspers Orkester
A 67-Es Út - Republic
Papaoutai - StromaeI believe the appropriate response is Yellow Ledbetter by Pearl Jam. No but seriously. Band Maid, Die Antwoord, The Hu, all great bands that sing on different languages. Oh also The Warning.
The Seatbelts, “The Real Folk Blues”
The Pillows - because of FLCL
