Not if it's in XXXXXX!!

[SckizoBoy]

Now, before the usual paltry dribble of comments comes in for one of my threads, listen to the below.

Spoiler: Riding the Clouds

I'm playing Sleeping Dogs at the moment (yes, I'm late, but I'm like that with every game, pretty much), and the topic of discussion is not the fact that the main character is voiced by a freakin' Korean-American when just about the entire cast is Hong Kong Chinese, all the background voicing is in Cantonese (most of which is hilarious, not just the Chinglish, Tran - 'I need a coop!').

As a general rule, I've avoided any pop music (or anything with vocals for that matter) in Cantonese. I'm not as bothered about Mandarin, but I still avoid it anyway. To clarify, I'm HK Chinese, and whenever I listen to GD pop, my natural instinct is either to laugh or cringe with absolutely no other possible reaction.

However, after listening to H-Klub, some of the songs were quite catchy and the lyrics weren't entirely stupid to my BBC ears. I'm now looking for other stuff by KIDGOD... -.-

So, anyone else tend to avoid music based on what language it's in? Or conversely, is there a particular language that you like music sung in despite not understanding it?

*Thread awaiting sponsorship* ...(!!)

 

[Teoes]

Well I'm falling asleep at the moment so my brain's shutting down, but I can't think of any languages that I particularly like/dislike hearing music in. Sorry! What a shit contribution to your thread. I do in general love listening to other languages, just to hear the different sounds and rhythms. A trip I made to HK about 10 years ago was fascinating for all sorts of reasons, but high among them was hearing so much Cantonese and Mandarin around about.

Not sure I can remember ever remember knowingly hearing pop music in Cantonese though (that link's Cantonese, isn't it? Sorry for my ignorance). That sounded.. weird. I don't dislike it, but it's sort of like it doesn't quite fit. Is that anything like your usual aversion to it?

 

[Hazy992]

I'll listen to music regardless of the language if I like the sound of it.

With that being said, I really like French Hip-Hop. I just think the way French sounds goes well with Hip-Hop.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Not sure I can remember ever remember knowingly hearing pop music in Cantonese though (that link's Cantonese, isn't it? Sorry for my ignorance).

S'OK... this song's in both... 璐璐 is singing in potunghwa, KIDGOD is... whatever he's doing, in Cantonese.

I think it was something to do with how 90's and early 00's HK-pop was basically trying to ape western music and doing it badly. And recording artists had rather shit voices, and their lyrics, my knowledge of Cantonese and the musical style just did not lend me to enjoying HK-GD sappy love songs which seemed to be prevalent. -.-

 

[Teoes]

Frenchy snip

I always found that too - the language naturally has a lovely flow that lends itself well.

 

[Queen Michael]

Gotta be honest: If I don't understand the language of a song, it makes it easier to tolerate stupid lyrics.

 

[Hazy992]

Frenchy snip

I always found that too - the language naturally has a lovely flow that lends itself well.

Absolutely, couldn't agree more.

I think I heard somewhere once that France is the largest producer of Hip-Hop outside of the US, which is great for people who listen to it

 

[Kieve]

I may get flamed for this, but "Ebonics" / Gangsta Rap.
To be clear, I may understand the words, but I'm sure I must be missing something in the translation. However you slice it, I simply have zero tolerance for that kind of music - it literally makes my teeth grate.

Conversely, I've always wondered if the Latin-sounding choirs in many soundtracks are actually saying something. The tone is lovely, but if there are words at all, they're so drawn out that it's impossible for me to piece it together properly. Throw on the fact that I don't actually know much Latin and... well, I enjoy the music but it'd be nice to know if there was a meaning behind it.

 

[Queen Michael]

I may get flamed for this, but "Ebonics" / Gangsta Rap.
To be clear, I may understand the words, but I'm sure I must be missing something in the translation. However you slice it, I simply have zero tolerance for that kind of music - it literally makes my teeth grate.

Conversely, I've always wondered if the Latin-sounding choirs in many soundtracks are actually saying something. The tone is lovely, but if there are words at all, they're so drawn out that it's impossible for me to piece it together properly. Throw on the fact that I don't actually know much Latin and... well, I enjoy the music but it'd be nice to know if there was a meaning behind it.

Sometimes they just sing complete nonsense. It still works, but don't ask me how.

 

[Heronblade]

Not in particular no.

However, I greatly prefer to be able to actually understand any lyrics that are present, so I do end up passing over most songs that are not in English. (I end up passing over quite a few songs that are in English for that matter. Several heavy metal artists for instance seem to think that groaning the facsimile of words at the microphone sounds good...)

The primary exception to this is in terms of music that at least to me is more about atmosphere than imagery/storytelling. Celtic folk, Gregorian chants, etc.

 

[Nouw]

Language isn't much of a deal-breaker to me in music. Most of the time the tone conveyed through the song is good enough for me and really at the end of the day it comes down to whether I like it or not. Even if I don't understand the language, singing it and listening to it can be enjoyable. I've sung songs, albeit to a standard that would make a native-speaker cringe, in Gaelic, French, German, Latin, Italian and English. Now I've always had a basic understanding of the subject matter and personally for me that's quite often enough. I won't dismiss the translation completely but when I'm singing or listening I won't be thinking of the translation, I'll be thinking of the context. For example, I know that in a Requiem it's going to be strictly biblical and knowing that much is fine by me. Call me a pleb but knowing that Rex Tremendae Majestatis means King of Tremendous Majesty and Dies Irae means Day of Wrath isn't very compelling for me.

Spoiler: Most of the time I'll be completely oblivious to what these people are going on about but the music is still very enjoyable

 

[Hero of Lime]

I don't care what language a song is in, if it sounds nice, then I'll like it. Good example, Sephiroth's theme, sounds awesome right? Well the Latin lyrics are a little silly to say the least. Then again, my favorite types of music involve little to no lyrics. I prefer instrumentals and simple yet catchy melodies.

 

[Last Hugh Alive]

I generally won't listen to music with lyrics in another language. Even when there's no lyrics I still feel like I'm missing some cultural context when I hear certain tones and instruments.

With games, I keep noticing lots of open world crime games like Saints Row and GTA often specifically include a Latin rap station. I don't know how popular that kind of hip hop is in the U.S. but it's the one I keep noticing.

I'm actually kind of comfortable listening to the Chinese music in Sleeping Dogs though, because it felt quite appropriate for the environment and wasn't out of place to listen to.

 

[JagermanXcell]

I don't care if can't understand the language of the lyrics as long as the overall quality of the song is great.
There are even some versions of popular songs I prefer in a language i'm far from fluent in


Another good example is Persona 4's music. Can't understand the lyrics? Thats ok, its backed up by the fact the singer has such a lovely voice, great tone, and instrumentals so upbeat and fun that it ends up clicking with you.

 

[krazykidd]

I avoid songs in french . I am fluent in english and french , but french songs ( and movies and tv shows, and comedians) annoy the hell out of me . Whats worst is that i live ( born and raised ) in Quebec (. French canadian province). I don't mind reading french books or having conversations in french though.

[small]Also fuck Celine Dion .[/small]

 

[KOMega]

Well as long as it sounds good I could hardly care what the language or what the lyrics are even.

That being said, I find it a little bit funny when I heard all that cantonese rap in Sleeping Dogs.

Also a side note for background voices, the best line in sleeping dogs is "My cock is the best!" XD

It makes sense in context (The cock fighting rings) I guess but oh gawd was that hilarious.

 

[FPLOON]

It doesn't matter to me... If the beat is hot, the melody is awesome, and/or the lyrics flow well with the instrumentals... That shit's my JAM!!!

However, most of the songs I do end up listening to either have little-to-no incoherent vocals, speak hardcore nerd-talk, and/or speak Japanese...

Sure, I can barely stand listen to the music that I'm "suppose" to listen to (which is gangster rap, by the way), unless your style feels like it came out of the 20th Century and/or was kept too underground for even mainstream radio (or, in some cases, ends up being showcased off Adult Swim), however if it's used in an AMV or something that contradicting, its both funny and fitting to me...

Music that's usually portrayed in video games more or less fits with what's presented in the game in general... so, why would a song talking about "smacking a ***** up" make me not want to hear it with "my heritage" undertones? I can basically listen to anything and not feel like I shouldn't have... (It's a bit scary the more you think about it... I may not stand it, in the end, but damn can I tolerate the shit out if it...)

 

[FFP2]

I love J-pop/K-pop but I have no clue what they're saying. I had Suki Sugite Kiresou by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu on repeat for like 2 hours straight yesterday. I can't find a good vid on Youtube for it so here's another song by her that's equally amazing:


Shit, her whole album (Pamyu Pamyu Revolution [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamyu_Pamyu_Revolution]) is amazing. Cop that shit!