# Do you listen to albums in a language you don't understand? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [October 16, 2023, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633 "2023-10-16T03:08:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/41 "2023-10-18T02:41:44Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The idea there’s any sort of coherent artistic meaning or story arc or musical theme to an album as a whole is just amazing to me. You’re listening to the wrong albums then. Yes, a lot of them are just grab bags of songs recently recorded. In fact, most of them are. But there are plenty of albums that have more artistry than just within the songs themselves. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/42 "2023-10-18T02:55:18Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The idea there’s any sort of coherent artistic meaning or story arc or musical theme to an album as a whole is just amazing to me. Even stuff like the Taylor Swift albums have cohesive sounds/moods to them, at least to me. Something like, say, _folklore_ is miles away from _1989_, which itself is quite a departure from, say, her debut. They are all quite different moods to me. It doesn’t have to have an overarching story arc, but a good album has songs that all more-or-less gel together. The idea of an album just being a random mish-mash of songs that don’t go together is the odd idea to me. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/43 "2023-10-18T03:02:21Z")
Pretty much everything I listen to I don’t understand the lyrics. Even if they are in English. I just don’t listen or pay attention to the actual words. The voice is just another instrument to me. And most times when I actually do find out the words, it’s usually pretty dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/44 "2023-10-18T10:28:57Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The idea there’s any sort of coherent artistic meaning or story arc or musical theme to an album as a whole is just amazing to me. And it’s just amazing to me that this is just amazing to you. Maybe this is at least semi-off-topic, because the focus of the thread seems to be on the “in a language you don’t understand” part rather than the “Do you listen to albums” part. But I do wonder now if there’s a connection between not caring about lyrics and not caring about albums. ---
**Author:** ![Drsunflower1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drsunflower1/32/12711_2.png) [@Drsunflower1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drsunflower1)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/45 "2023-10-18T10:36:46Z")
The Hu, Wardruna, Rammstein (but I speak German), Goran Bregovic’ score for Underground, the filmscore for Waltz with Bashir and Vladimir Vyssotsky. And Brel. Occasionally Paolo Conte and of course Manu Chao. But I’m Dutch so pretty used to foreign languages. We don’t have that many native speakers. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/46 "2023-10-18T11:32:55Z")
Just yesterday I listened to _Close to the Edge_ by Yes: > Sudden call shouldn’t take away the startled memory > All in all, the journey takes you all the way > As apart from any reality that you’ve ever seen and known > Guessing problems only to deceive the mention, > Passing paths that climb halfway into the void > As we cross from side to side, we hear the total mass retain I’ve listened to that album for more than 50 years, and I still don’t understand it. I love it, but I don’t understand it. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/47 "2023-10-18T11:42:11Z")
I can listen to Brazilian music hours on end (mainly Bossa Nova) and never get tired of it. Don’t understand much of it, except they really like saying “voce” and “saudade”. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/48 "2023-10-18T15:56:03Z")
Woudl the Cocteau Twins count? From what I gather, thought there’s a fair bit of English and Scots Gaelic mixed in, Elizabeth Fraser sings in a made-up language (I only really know one album, the brilliant _Heaven or Las Vegas_, so any bigger Cocteau Twins fan, please correct me if I’ve widely missed the mark). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/49 "2023-10-18T20:28:12Z")
I was thinking this myself. When the link to Sigur Ros was posted earlier, I expected it to go to Cocteau Twins. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/50 "2023-10-18T22:30:02Z")
I have no choice. I can’t make out the lyrics in most music in any language. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2023, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/51 "2023-10-20T14:21:25Z")
Many. Recently have listened to: (German) Nena - Willst du mit mir gehen (Japanese) Sadistic Mika Band - Hot! (Japanese) Atarashii Gakko - Wakage (Portuguese) Seu Jorge - Life Aquatic (Bowie Covers) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2023, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/52 "2023-10-20T14:25:49Z")
Hungarian rock n’ roll can be rewarding; at least, I have [this album](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringasd_el_magad) by Locomotiv GT. The band is best known for the hit “Rock Yourself” (1976). Not all of their songs would fly these days, in particular “She’s Just 14”. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2023, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/53 "2023-10-20T16:25:17Z")
Shades of [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zWHjJt4833I/hqdefault.jpg "Benny Mardones - Into the Night ( Full Original Video 1980)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWHjJt4833I) But all four of them together aren’t nearly as creepy as Mardones. Yowza! ---
**Author:** ![martyg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@martyg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/martyg)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/54 "2023-11-02T04:54:18Z")
Absolutely, a lot more frequently than I probably realise. I have all of the Yaala Yaala label albums, and a near complete collection of Sublime Frequencies albums. I’m also a big fan of 60’s Eastern pop music (lots from Thailand, China, and Vietnam). I want to say my collection is about 30% music with lyrics in a language I don’t understand. It doesn’t stop me from singing along with them. I figure if it worked for the Cocteau Twins, it’ll work for me. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2023, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/55 "2023-11-03T04:31:20Z")
for me it’s Fado—Portuguese blues ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2023, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/56 "2023-11-03T17:43:53Z")
Almost never. I can’t think of any situation where I would buy or download an album that was _primarily_ in a language I didn’t understand, unless it was for some other purpose than leisure listening (like, say, teaching students what troubadour lyrics sounded like in performance). There are some albums I listen to regularly that have _some_ songs in other languages, mostly Irish; and one entire album of Burns’s poetry set to music that is, I guess, technically in Scots, but as a native speaker of English I can understand it just fine. I just … don’t get the appeal of listening to songs you can’t understand, at least not for any sustained amount of time. (I don’t really get the appeal of purely instrumental music either, come to think of it; like, classical or jazz-without-vocals is fine as background music and I don’t go out of my way to avoid it, but I would never _seek it out_, either.) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2023, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/57 "2023-11-03T18:23:04Z")
Depends on the mission. Music as background is far better with_out_ understandable vocals. Music to sit down and pay attention to as the main focus of your brain does better _with_ understandable vocals. For me that latter case lasts about 90 seconds tops before I’m bored shitless and need something else to think about. So then it’s time to go back to nonvocals. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2023, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/58 "2023-11-03T19:37:39Z")
That’s a very interesting idea you have. I have always loved instrumental music, e.g. classical, so it’s a simple step from there to music with vocals in a language I don’t understand. It’s just another musical instrument to me. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2023, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/59 "2023-11-03T23:52:24Z")
> [@Drsunflower1](#): > > Manu Chao Ha! When I lived in Mexico circa 2000, he was popular. His hits were typically in three or four languages in a single song (a line in English, then a phrase in French, a couple lines of Spanish…) — recognizable words, but strung together to make a mishmash of gobbledegook. Loved it. ---
**Author:** ![martyg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@martyg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/martyg)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2023, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/60 "2023-11-04T00:23:53Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Just yesterday I listened to _Close to the Edge_ by Yes The actual trick to understanding what Jon Anderson is going on about is to consider alternate meanings of each word or phrase. “Faster moment spent spread tales of change within the sound.” Faster moment spent – an event happened quickly just now. The sound isn’t what you hear, but a body of water. So, if something just suddenly jumped into the water, startling you, there are going to be ripples – the tales of change that occurred as a result of the splash. The rest of the song more or less uses that event as a metaphor for listening and responding to music, another definition of sound. Do you see how it works? It’s like a British crossword. To sum up what the verse you quoted says to me (and this is only my interpretation): When you are called to your spiritual journey, the suddenness of the calling shouldn’t negate anything you’ve learned in life before. When you embark on your spiritual journey, it’s a lifetime commitment, but the reward is that you will gain cosmic knowledge unlike anything you’d previously considered. Hurdles you might come across may not actually be hurdles. Your journey will lead you somewhere, but not into the void, because you’re passing paths that would lead you astray up. On our journeys, we’ll perceive that what we learn as we go is universal, and that the lessons it teaches you were always there to begin with. That phrase “total mass retain” is a sentence or clause with a subject but without an object, which is a frequent lyrical device for Jon Anderson. They do make sense but they have their own logic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633.md?page=4)