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NotAProghead 
Special Collaborator
Errors & Omissions Team
Joined: October 22 2005
Location: Russia
Status: Offline
Points: 7908
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 Topic: English or native language?
Posted: February 05 2006 at 01:06 |
Bands from non English-speaking countries.
Some of them sing in their native language, some - in English. Sometimes they make both versions of albums.
What do you think is better?
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Who are you and who am I to say we know the reason why... (D. Gilmour)
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andrea
Prog Reviewer
Joined: May 20 2005
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 2071
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Posted: February 05 2006 at 01:10 |
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I think that is better sing in your native language and put the translation of the lyrics in the booklet than sing with a bad accent...
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BaldFriede
Prog Reviewer
Joined: June 02 2005
Location: Germany
Status: Offline
Points: 10266
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Posted: February 05 2006 at 04:13 |
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It depends; early Amon Düül 2 combined both; they have a little accent when singing English, but it is not annoying, and their mastery of the English language is good. It is all the more astonishing that "Nada Moonshine #" from 1995 seems to prove the opposite; Renate Knaup has a horrible accent on this one, and the lyrics are school English at best.
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 BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue.
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Snow Dog
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: March 23 2005
Location: Caerdydd
Status: Offline
Points: 32995
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Posted: February 05 2006 at 04:49 |
Every band should do as they want. I have no problem with someone singing with an "accent".
I prefer English though, but will listen to any language.
Edited by Snow Dog
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Rockin' Chair
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 15 2005
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 153
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Posted: February 05 2006 at 05:33 |
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I prefer English
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BaldFriede
Prog Reviewer
Joined: June 02 2005
Location: Germany
Status: Offline
Points: 10266
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Posted: February 05 2006 at 05:37 |
Let's not forget Magma sing in their native language too! 
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BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue.
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arcer
Prog Reviewer
Joined: September 01 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 1239
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Posted: February 05 2006 at 05:39 |
Take PFM singing in English and in their native Italian (Photos of Ghosts and Per Un Amico). The English lyrics are awful and the band really seems to struggle with them. The Italian vocals on Per un Amico are much more natural sounding, fluid, and comfortable. They also sound amazing (even if I haven't got a clue what they're about, it's such a beautiful language). Not understanding makes no difference to me. And Peter Sinfield's English lyrics ruin PFM for me.
It's the same with Sigur Ros. I don't care that they're singing in Icelandic on Agaetis Byrjun and care even less that it's a made up language on (), they're still great records.
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Publius84
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 11 2005
Location: Poland
Status: Offline
Points: 1043
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Posted: February 05 2006 at 07:10 |
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Language is not most important.
The most important are feelings.
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I know what I like and I like what I know...
Prog is in my heart, in my mind, in my soul...
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Ricochet
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: February 27 2005
Location: Nauru
Status: Offline
Points: 46301
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Posted: February 05 2006 at 07:17 |
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IN THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE!!!
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Tony Fisher
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 30 2005
Location: England
Status: Offline
Points: 967
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Posted: February 05 2006 at 07:58 |
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One of my favourite bands is Runrig (Scottish Celt rockers).
They sing about 60% of their songs in English and 40% in Scots Gaelic. Capercaillie do likewise. I prefer the Gaelic songs as they are singing about Gaelic culture and the language is far more beautiful. I've also learned Gaelic as a result (well enough to get by, anyway).
Horslips also sing songs in Irish Gaelic on some early albums and they sound so right.
But it doesn't matter as long as they do it well and the key is that these bands are all top notch.
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Zenith
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 21 2006
Location: Norway
Status: Offline
Points: 331
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Posted: February 05 2006 at 08:33 |
 Publius84 wrote:
Language is not most important.
The most important are feelings. |
Indeed, you hit the nail there .
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We're only in it for the music!!!
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Publius84
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 11 2005
Location: Poland
Status: Offline
Points: 1043
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Posted: February 05 2006 at 08:35 |
Zenith wrote:
Publius84 wrote:
Language is not most important. The most important are feelings. |
Indeed, you hit the nail there. |
Tnaks man
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I know what I like and I like what I know...
Prog is in my heart, in my mind, in my soul...
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Rosescar
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 07 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 715
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Posted: February 05 2006 at 08:48 |
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The singer from CAN kicks so much ass when he sings in Japanese.
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My music!
"THE AUDIENCE WERE generally drugged. (In Holland, always)." - Robert Fripp
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Syzygy
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: December 16 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 7003
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Posted: February 05 2006 at 09:34 |
Rosescar wrote:
The singer from CAN kicks so much ass when he sings in Japanese. |
If you're referring to Damo Suzuki, he sang in what he referred to as the language of the stone age - a mixture of German, English, Japanese and gibberish. I can't think of any Can song where he sang more than a couple of odd words of Japanese, but I'm not familiar with his more recent work.
Apart from Magma, Sigur Ros and Ruins/Koenji Hyakkei also sing in languages of their own devising, which works extremely well.
PFM's albums are much better in their Italian versions IMO, although I do think that Peter Sinfield did a better job than he's generally credited with writing English lyrics to fot the mood of their music.
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'Like so many of you
I've got my doubts about how much to contribute
to the already rich among us...'
Robert Wyatt, Gloria Gloom
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sleeper
Prog Reviewer
Joined: October 09 2005
Location: Entropia
Status: Offline
Points: 16449
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Posted: February 05 2006 at 16:30 |
Snow Dog wrote:
Every band should do as they want. I have no problem with someone singing with an "accent".
I prefer English though, but will listen to any language.
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same here
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Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005
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Drew
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 20 2005
Location: California
Status: Offline
Points: 12600
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Posted: February 05 2006 at 16:35 |
sleeper wrote:
Snow Dog wrote:
Every band should do as they want. I have no problem with someone singing with an "accent".
I prefer English though, but will listen to any language.
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same here
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yep
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razifa
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 21 2005
Location: Costa Rica
Status: Offline
Points: 224
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Posted: February 05 2006 at 16:52 |
I like lyrics in the native language but it is a fact that I prefer they are in English. The accent is not important for me as long as the grammar is OK...
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**********
**razifa**
**********
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Ridge
Forum Groupie
Joined: September 29 2005
Location: Mexico
Status: Offline
Points: 96
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Posted: February 05 2006 at 17:09 |
I have no preference for a particular language but if a non english speaking (or singing if you will) band is to sing in english, just like razifa said: get the grammar good (joke!).
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Discipline is never an end in it self, only a means to an end.
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goose
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 20 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 4097
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Posted: February 05 2006 at 17:37 |
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Generally, I'd prefer bands to sing in their native language. As Friede said though, it's very much dependent on the group. I'd add, though, that for folk based music singing in a language foreign to the instruments seems a bit pointless, ultimately.
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Politician
Forum Senior Member
Joined: July 02 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 521
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Posted: February 05 2006 at 18:07 |
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Native language for sure, if the band's command of English is shaky. I can
think of several Italian albums in particular where the shocking English
pronunciation makes the music very difficult to listen to.
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English or native language?
