# 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:** 4
**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, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/61 "2023-11-04T00:27:47Z")
> [@Drsunflower1](#): > > Manu Chao Oh man I will never forget seeing him when he was fronting Mano Negra, opening for Iggy Pop. That was truly something else. He was very much into stage diving at the time so I got a few bear hugs from him for being the big guy he chose to land on several times. ---
**Author:** ![Digger11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@Digger11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digger11)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2023, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/62 "2023-11-04T00:36:16Z")
I don’t know any Japanese, but I like a lot of Kyu Sakamoto’s songs. This is probably my favorite. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C35DrtPlUbc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C35DrtPlUbc) ---
**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:** [November 6, 2023, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/63 "2023-11-06T14:25:39Z")
Wow! My husband and I have followed him since those days. Puta’s fever ftw!🤘 ---
**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:** [November 6, 2023, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/64 "2023-11-06T16:57:48Z")
> [@martyg](#): > > The actual trick to understanding what Jon Anderson is going on about is to consider alternate meanings of each word or phrase. You’re right that each listener must consider “alternate meanings of each word or phrase,” and while I don’t, and wouldn’t, disagree with your interpretation of the phrase you quoted, I wouldn’t have interpreted it that way at all. Nor would I have understood his lyrics in the way that _Anderson himself_ explains them in interviews. My longstanding view towards Yes lyrics is that they _evoke_ rather than _connote_. I think they end up being a Rorschach test for each listener, and can bear nearly any possible interpretation, and probably a few _impossible_ ones, too. I think Anderson’s lyrics are in many ways similar to Joyce’s _Finnegan’s Wake_, a book I have never read, and do not intend ever to read, even though I did closely study _Ulysses_ in college, and have read most of his short works. I hope Anderson would take that as a compliment. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2023, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/65 "2023-11-06T17:15:53Z")
The big hits aren’t nearly always the best, most worthwhile songs on any given album. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2023, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/66 "2023-11-06T17:32:29Z")
Probably the majority for me: New World Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Hindi and related, Greek, Italian, and many more. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2025, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/67 "2025-07-06T19:49:25Z")
I listen to anime songs that I’ve liked, often having viewed their shortened version with subtitles. So I have a general idea of what the song is about. If I find a band I like, I’ll sometimes listen to one of their albums or playlists. Plug! My anime playlist at Spotify: [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0p4HanuSSzYe1MBfbyPOIa](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0p4HanuSSzYe1MBfbyPOIa) An older one at tidal: > **[Anime](https://listen.tidal.com/playlist/1c5bccb9-5ba0-400c-bf49-9d9b3d8f666c)** > > Playlist - Anime - 32 items I also endorse Sony’s FirstTake Channel, which gained some popularity during COVID: > **[THE FIRST TAKE](https://www.youtube.com/@The_FirstTake)** > > A microphone and a white studio. > And 1 rule. > > You’ve got 1 TAKE. > Perform anything you like. > > Show us everything you’ve got for that 1 moment. > > THE FIRST TAKE > > ■「THE FIRST TAKE」 SNS > Instagram: 　https://www.instagram.com/the\_firsttake/ > Twitter:　 ... Here’s one of their earlier performances, featuring LiSA, garnering 1.5 million likes and a number of reviews by various English speaking vocal coaches: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/MpYy6wwqxoo/maxresdefault.jpg "LiSA - 紅蓮華 / THE FIRST TAKE") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpYy6wwqxoo) * * * Yes, I play instrumental music as background music. Foreign language music is more distracting than that, but not as distracting English language music. I also find that Japanese language music can cross the “Can listen to it” threshold. As always your mileage varies. Fun fact: Japan is the second largest music market in the world. (No, I don’t remember what that means.) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2025, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/68 "2025-07-06T21:43:56Z")
I speak pretty poor French, but I sometimes listen to music from Quebec. Most recent song was **Bacon en bedaine** (translation: bacon while topless) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/agDHc7JDkQA/maxresdefault.jpg "Bleu Jeans Bleu - Bacon en bedaine - (Clip Officiel)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agDHc7JDkQA) ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/69 "2025-07-07T17:39:54Z")
I listen to Il Volo - I adore all their albums, in Italian, though I have no idea what they’re singing. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2026, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/70 "2026-04-25T20:07:27Z")
As I noted earlier, I find English vocal music to be somewhat distracting, instrumental music typically less so, vocal music in a foreign language somewhere in between. I calibrate what I listen to depending upon my activity: [ambient](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambient_music) gets a lot of play time. For those who enjoy world music, I recommend the global channel at listener suported Radio Paradise: > **[An eclectic musical adventure...](https://radioparadise.com/player/info/global)** > > Radio Paradise streams highly curated, eclectic mixes of music -- chosen by real humans -- with unparalleled audio quality. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2026, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/71 "2026-04-25T21:03:51Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Don’t understand much of it, except they really like saying “voce” and “saudade”. Only three years late answering this. Very funny. _Saudade_ is more of a feeling than just a single descriptive. It’s pretty much a state of mind for the Portuguese, longing for the past as well as sadness for things lost. It figures strongly in Fado music in Portugal, which was originally a song style popular among prostitutes and poor people. Amalia Rodrigues elevated the music to new heights and she became wildly popular until her death. We saw her sing when we lived in Lisbon. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/72 "2026-04-28T06:50:21Z")
No, not really. I remember dialing up a handful of Blackpink videos on YouTube a little while ago when I wanted to finally investigate what the whole K-Pop phenomenon was all about. The dancing was pretty terrific, but not being able to understand what they were singing greatly limited my interest in exploring further. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2026, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/73 "2026-04-28T10:59:29Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > For those who enjoy world music, I recommend the global channel at listener suported Radio Paradise And for a completely UNcurated experience, enjoy the amazing Radiogarden site – at least a thousand radio stations live streaming worldwide, witha Google Earth-like interface: > **[Explore live radio by rotating the globe](https://radio.garden)** > > Explore live radio by rotating the globe. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2026, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/74 "2026-04-29T21:36:12Z")
Cool website! Thanks for the link. ---
**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:** [April 29, 2026, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/75 "2026-04-29T22:09:33Z")
You’re welcome! I use it as an assignment for my World Cultural Geography students (college undergrads, but most of them lack basic knowledge of the world). The have to listen to several stations in a few countries of their choosing, and write a mini-essay on how musical styles (and languages) can be local, or generic pop (with manly US/Western roots)…or surprises, like reggae in Nepal or whatever. Cultural diffusion, colonialism… ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/76 "2026-04-30T22:32:41Z")
Excellent question.. I listen to more songs than albums, but there is one. Nino Ferrer - Blanat ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/77 "2026-05-04T16:04:37Z")
I have quite a few albums in Gaelic. My problem with them is my mouth doesn’t know those sounds, so I can’t sing along even phonetically. ---
**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:** [May 5, 2026, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/78 "2026-05-05T12:54:03Z")
Yes. For decades, one of my top twenty favorite albums has been [Clannad 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUFlEbCjs84). I can sing every line of every track, but I have no idea what I’m singing. (Well, I did look up a translation of the titles, once. One word at a time, in a physical Irish-English dictionary, in a college library in Galway, in 1990.) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/79 "2026-05-05T15:50:44Z")
I have a couple, but I don’t prefer it. I like to know more or less what the song is about. (I yes, I know more than a few songs totally in English that I have no idea what they are about, or even what they are saying!) So entire albums, not really. Individual songs? Mostly if they are from soundtracks, like Rammstein tunes in Lost Highway, or Ça plane pour moi which is probably unintelligible in French, too. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633/80 "2026-05-05T17:01:26Z")
For me, listening to a song in a foreign language is like listening to an instrumental, such as a classical symphony. In fact, a good example is Beethoven’s #9: I don’t know any German, so I have no idea what they’re singing (without looking up the translation), yet I love it. The vocals are just part of the music. It’s the same with popular music. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-albums-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/991633.md?page=5)