Foreign Music (Part 1)

Last night, I was watching one of my favorite movies, Braveheart. At the start of the movie, the main character, William Wallace, is still a young boy living in Scotland. When his father dies in battle, he witnesses his dad's friends honoring him by playing the bagpipe by his grave. Listening to this traditional Scottish music made me think about the foreign music that I like. So, I decided to write this post on bands/groups from other countries who have some songs that I listen to. I'll be excluding England from this list because there are too many English bands and musicians that are amazing. I could spend hours writing about all of them, so I'll probably dedicate a whole post to that subject later. Also, even though this is a blog about rock and alternative music, there will be some pop music mentioned in this post. What can I say? Foreign pop is kind of my guilty pleasure.

Since there are so many foreign groups to discuss, this post will be in two parts. The second will come sometime later this week.

RUSSIAN: t.A.T.u.

In 1999, a Russian dance-pop duo called t.A.T.u. was formed. The group was made up of two teenagers, Yulia Volkova and Lena Katina, who were said to be in a lesbian relationship together. It came out later, though, that their supposed homosexuality was only a gimmick used to draw listeners to the idea of two teenage, Russian lesbians. t.A.T.u. was interesting, controversial, and they made really good music. Although I don't normally listen to pop, these girls can really sing and draw people in with the catchiness of their songs. They also performed a cover of The Smith's "How Soon is Now?" which I really enjoyed. Their music has been recorded in both Russian and English, but I tend to listen to the Russian versions since they're performed in such a beautiful language. Here's t.A.T.u's "Pokazhi Mne Lyubov," which translates to "Show Me Love."

GERMAN: Tokio Hotel

The German rock band, Tokio Hotel, started when its members were just kids, and went all the way through their teenage years. This band put out some terrific music in both German and English but, just like t.A.T.u., I usually listen to the songs in the foreign language because it's so interesting. Other than their music, Tokio Hotel was also known for their singer's stunning appearance. Bill Kaulitz's striking facial features and lion's mane became just as world famous as their songs. Another interesting fact about the band would be that the singer, Bill, and guitarist, Tom Kaulitz, are indentical, vegetarian twins. The way they do their hair and the clothes they wear easily distinguish one from the other, though. Without further ado, here's Tokio Hotel's music video for "Übers Ende der Welt:"

KOREAN: Miss A and 2NE1

It's time to reveal my guilty pleasure: I occasionally find myself listening to Korean pop music. What may surprise you even more is that there is actually good Kpop besides PSY's "Gangnam Style." One thing that I can say about this Korean musical performers is that they're not only great singers; they're also amazing dancers. The first Kpop, or Korean pop, group that I discovered was Miss A. I only know two songs from this four-piece, but both are catchy, well-sung, and have amazing dances that go along with them. I don't know of a lot of Kpop groups but, from the ones I do know of, Miss A has the best dancers. Their song "Breathe"  is upbeat and, even though I'd never thought I would ever like something like this, it's hard to stop listening to once I've started. You can check this song out below:

Because of this song, I was able to find 2NE1's "I Am the Best." 2NE1 is another Korean pop group made up of four young ladies. They're able to be edgy, while still being upbeat. I love the video for "I Am the Best" for successfully being dark and glamorous at the same time, which is something many groups don't attempt to do. 2NE1 (pronounced like the number 21), has a number of great, addictive songs like "Ugly" and "I Love You," but "I Am the Best" will always be my favorite by them because of its cool vocals, electronic aspects, and four-on-the-floor beat on the drums.

SCOTLAND: Franz Ferdinand and Glasvegas

From what I've heard by them, Franz Ferdinand, the Scottish rock band, doesn't seem to be capable of releasing a bad song. I first heard of them from my friend, Ian, when he suggested that our band learn their song "Take Me Out." Surprised that I'd never listened to them before, I checked out the song on YouTube and fell in love with it. It's beyond marvelous. There isn't one part of this song that is boring or unenjoyable. It's the kind of song that you just want to get up and dance to with your friends. The drum parts are always outstanding and perfectly straightforward and, as a drummer, they're really fun to play. Alex Kapranos, singer and lead guitarist, has a really unique voice that is fun to listen to on all of their songs.

Another Scottish rock band is Glasvegas from Glasglow. I've only heard one song by this band, but it's just too good to ignore. "Flowers and Football Tops" was a song that I found through my favorite band, My Chemical Romance. It's a perfect mixture of beauty and darkness. I never realized how sad this song really was until I looked up its lyrics. Never once have I heard someone sing like James Allan does in "Flowers and Football Tops." His one-of-a-kind voice adds something very special to this lovely and gloomy song.