Multicultural Music Video Appreciation Thread

[tushantin]

It's ironic: I'm not actually big on Bollywood pop-culture compared to my other friends and relatives in India, and yet the best thing I can offer to the Compendium here regarding culture is something from my culture. Because who else is Indian here? (Sometimes I feel like an outcast due to the fact I'm an "Indian", conversing with people from the First World)

Anywho, I went to the cafe just to visit my buddies working there (and get some peace-time for writing; that's the most "peaceful" place in my locality, despite all the rush and talking), and heard them play this song. I found it beautiful (even though it's contemporary / mainstream, and quite stereotypical), and it was pretty uplifting for my creativity.

(There are actually two versions of the same song, having different lyrics. For now, I'll just share one.)

[youtube]ZGEGEeANyO8[/youtube]

saari raat aahen bharta
pal pal yaadon mein marta
maane na meri mann mera
thoda thoda hosh madhoshi si hai,
neend behoshi si hai,
jaane kuchh bhi na mann mera..

all night it sighs,
it dies in memories all the time..
my heart doesn't listen to me..
My waking moments are intoxication ...
and sleep is just unconsciousness too...
my heart doesn't know a thing..

kabhi mera tha par ab begaana hai ye
deewana deewana samjhe na
kabhi chup chup rahe,
kabhi gaaya ye kare
bin poochhe teri taareefein sunaya ye kare
hai koi haqeeqat tu ya koi fasana hai,
kuchh jaane agar to itna ke ye
tera deewana hai re
mann mera,
maane na mann mera..

It was mine some time, but belongs to someone else now,
The mad heart doesn't understand..
sometimes it remains quiet,
sometimes it sings..
it tells good things about you without even asking..
whether you're some truth or a story (it doesn't know)
all it knows is that it's mad for you..
this heart of mine,
doesn't listen to me..

rag rag wo samaya mere
dil par wo chhaya mere,
mujh mein wo aise jaise jaan..
gire barsaat mein paani jaise,
koi kahaani jaise,
dil se ho dil tak jo bayaan..
aashiq dil tera puraana hai ye..
deewana deewana samjhe na..

she's in my every vein,
she's all on my heart.
she's in me as my life..
the way water falls in the rain..
like a story..
which is being told from heart to heart..
this heart is your old lover..
this mad one doesn't understand..

kabhi chup chup rahe,
kabhi gaaya ye kare
bin poochhe teri taareefein sunaya ye kare
hai koi haqeeqat tu ya koi fasana hai,
kuchh jaane agar to itna ke ye
tera deewana hai re
mann mera,
maane na mann mera..

tujhko jo dekhe,
ye mujh ko le ke,
bas tere peechhe peechhe bhaage..
tera junoon hai
tu hi sukoon hai
tujhse hi baandhe dil ke dhaage

when it looks at you,
it takes me,
and runs behind you..
it's passionate for you..
you alone are the relief..
with you only the threads of heart are tied..

mann mera,
maane na mann mera..

[Thought]

[youtube]vxIOUJ7by6U[/youtube]

Lindsey Stirling. She's what you get when you mash violins, popular music, and dance together.

[Mr Bekkler]

Lindsay Stirling's great stuff I found her on Pandora on a Bond/Escala station. Speaking of, check out Bond or Escala! Either group. It's what you get when you have four ladies on strings and epic production value.

[idioticidioms]

[youtube]w_DKWlrA24k[/youtube]

Israel 'Iz' Kamakawiwo'ole - Somewhere Over the Rainbow

[Thought]

I'd say that you miss some of Lindsey's artistry if you just listen to her, rather than watch the videos (or a live performance, of course). Sort of like Steam Powered Giraffe in that regard.

Bond's great, though I tend to have to rediscover them every other year before I forget. Haven't heard about Escala, though, thanks!

Idioticidioms, sorry, I greatly dislike Iz music. No fault of his, really: I was just forced to listen to it, and other very similar music, for a week straight. It drove me a bit batty.

[tushantin]

Did someone say violin?! Golly, that is just the call of the many variations of the Crested Hens / Les Poules Huppées!

(The "Solas" version is the closest to Chrono Cross OST)

[youtube]hps62WLisGg[/youtube]
[youtube]Z0Ct9Ra2M2A[/youtube]
[youtube]Ga__6ZD75-s[/youtube]
[youtube]BuK1FN8wv9w[/youtube]
[youtube]GPQwyJaCyg8[/youtube]
[youtube]FbxACH-0zr0[/youtube]




....

I can't ever forget the Celtic influence on my mystified psyche... 

Going with the flow, here's some more from Solas

[youtube]74dddknwo68[/youtube]

[youtube]Lh-Sdamyp8Q[/youtube]


Hey, don't you guys blame me for this! If you mention Violins, I instantly think Celtic / Welsh / French, and rest assured I'll bombard you with as much Celtic art as I can. 

[idioticidioms]

A violin by itself is good. A violin with accompaniment is even better. A violin with the right accompaniment? Can't be matched.

[youtube]sf6LD2B_kDQ[/youtube]

[youtube]t3khTAhEL_M[/youtube]

[youtube]faKFcfytlxU[/youtube]

And to be quite frankly honest without intending to offend anyone: I don't much care if you dislike music or for what reason you dislike it. Sounded kind of snooty to be saying 'I didn't like this because someone made me listen to it too much.' Good for you. Or, bad for you. whatever. Point is, can we leave the negative out of this? If ya got nothin' good to say, don't say nothin', right?

One of my hobbies is finding and listening to music I've never listened to before, whether it's in english or not. Most times, it's while I'm listening to music on youtube and it brings up options based on what I just listened to. Could be anything from indie bands just starting out to classical to pop, to rap or r&b, country, etc. Could be english, spanish, japanese, etc. I consider myself to have a broad spectrum of taste when it comes to music and movies and books. I just want to absorb as much as I can and process it and learn from it; love it; embrace it all.

[youtube]QPeNUfc8hGk[/youtube]

some local bands from my area:

[youtube]_oT3c1JTVxk[/youtube]

[youtube]0pIHFhBHz38[/youtube]

[youtube]2aSZ-07suIY[/youtube]

[youtube]ZW11rK_VtZM[/youtube]

The last couple of bands will most likely be at Seattle Hempfest this year.

[tushantin]

I went in search for Bob Ross videos. But what I found was anti-Eminem (inspired by Bob Ross).

[youtube]lifycTz6D2Y[/youtube]
[youtube]bzI_NnBSANM[/youtube]

"There are no mistakes. Only happy accidents." -- Bob Ross

[Kodokami]

Whoo, glad to see some Lindsey Stirling fans here! Everyone in my family loves her music.

There is another violinist (electric violinist, to be exact) whom I'm also fond of but can't remember his name. I first saw/heard him play during a Cirque du Soleil Jungle Fantasy performance. I'll come back when I find his name again.

Edit: May have been Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy.

[Shee]

Was on a big Brazilian kick for a while, still bust it out from time to time

God Of Bass, Arthur Maia:
[youtube]wsd5XI4QS3M[/youtube]

Damn.  Haven't heard that in a while.  Is a tasty.  Bout a minute of intro in what I can only assume is Portuguese.

Gilberto Gil
[youtube]iAFyL5hw298[/youtube]

I actually like the more mellow version, but ya know whatcha gonna do.  It's in English as well.

EDIT:  Holy sh(eeee)it, been so long I can't even embed the vids.  I suck.

[FaustWolf]

Videos embedded Shee, you just have to leave out the "v=" part.


Time for some more German: Polarkreis 18. Well, I guess it's more like a quarter German as far as the lyrics go; it's pretty groovy how European groups sometimes mix languages freely.

[youtube]zl9e8e3Vowg[/youtube]

[tushantin]

MOAR CELTIC! But this time, it's the Horned God.

Why the Horned God?

Because he's got horns. It's awesome.

(I love Cernunnos! He shares much in common with the Harappan god Pashupathi -- Lord of the Beasts -- the latter which eventually evolved into Shiva / Mahesh / Mahadev. He also relates with a character from Blake's prophetic works, the attributes of which Syna is quite fond of. Christianity and Islam may have demonized the original Horned God, so the character is no longer something you worship but more of an interesting concept for artistic and literary use, but the original stories and interpretations of it thus still thrive. In other words, Gods such as Cernunnos have been liberated from the confines and influence of organized religion, and now are capable of showing their purity and glory to their fullest through Art alone. And it's awesome for any literature buff!)

(Yep, you can tell that I'm almost always ecstatic about mythological poetics. It's one of my best anti-drugs. If I could, I'd gladly re-write the entire Celtic mythos in order to adapt it to modern times. Or, heck, make a movie out of it.)

[youtube]mFvpMObnzB8[/youtube]

"I'm the Horned God,
I'm the face in the trees,
I'm the breath of the wind that rustles the leaves,
I'm the Green Man
in the wildwood I roam,
Cernunnos, I'm Pan and I'm Herne."

[tushantin]

Jannie just finished the prologue of her comic. Reading through, one music kept echoing through my mind, bringing me to tears somehow (even though her comic is "slice of life", bordering on "comical").

Here's the song. ( And translations HERE: http://realityviews.blogspot.in/2012/08/lyrics-with-english-translation-of-song_26.html )

[youtube]mwKBCQKuXWE[/youtube]

[FaustWolf]

Just discovered this absolute gem from the Belgian artist Stromae. It's called "Papaoutai," which I'm thinking refers to the French phrase, Papa, ou te? or "Father, where are you?" (my French speaking friends, please feel free to let me know if I'm bludgeoning that!)

[youtube]oiKj0Z_Xnjc[/youtube]

I love how the visuals and tone of voice so effectively communicate a story even if you don't know a lick of French. The narrator's watching all these other child/parent pairs going about their day in lockstep, but all he has as far as his father is concerned is a vision he can't meaningfully interact with. He's totally pissed about it, and at the same time he longs for this relationship he's missing out on.

At the climax it seems the narrator will emerge victorious - that he can will this vision of his dad to life like Pinocchio - but the denouement reveals the victory could only be achieved in his mind after all, and he continues going about his life as-is. Still trying to figure out what the closing moments mean: is the narrator at peace with his reality, or does he realize he's doomed to become like the father, absent for his own children? I think I need a box of tissues for this one.

Not coincidentally, Stromae grew up without knowing his dad.