this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2026
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I like to listen to music that has a great feel to it and in languages I do not speak or understand. That way I can enjoy it without the burden of terrible lyrics. ☺️

I have a few that I listen to a lot:

Amatz by Shanti Dope - Filipino rap

Mundian To Bach Ke by Punjabi MC - upbeat Bollywood style

Life on Mars by Seu Jorge - just him and a guitar

Update: I have created a Spotify playlist with the songs so far. I will continue to update the list as new songs get added. If you find your song on the list but meant a different version please DM me a link to the one you want. Enjoy!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5MpR8Tio1klnb85LLqimgX

Update: Thanks to all who have participated so far! The playlist is getting long and very eclectic. I am being introduced to what will soon become some of my favorite songs and styles. I will keep updating the playlist as new music is added.

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[–] LeTak@feddit.org 21 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Dragostea din tei (română) from O-Zone Heard it a lot when I was junger.

[–] FriendOfDeSoto@startrek.website 5 points 3 weeks ago

Numanumanei numanumanumanei

[–] ValiantDust@feddit.org 12 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

As a younger millenial I can't help it – Gangnam Style was and still is great

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[–] itsathursday@lemmy.world 11 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Music from Sigor Ros comes to mind.

[–] teawrecks@sopuli.xyz 2 points 3 weeks ago

Yeah, my first thought was Kveikur. Such a vibe.

[–] cRazi_man@europe.pub 10 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] yilian@sopuli.xyz 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] cRazi_man@europe.pub 3 points 3 weeks ago

They've also done a cover of The Trooper. Some of their best ones also include Shoog Shoog and Yuve Yuve Yu.

Thats taken me down the rabbit hole of other Mongolian throat singing songs. These will start playing in the car and my wife is like "WTF is this".

[–] AndyMFK@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Not individual songs, but Kraftwerk and Rammstein come to mind.

Alien weaponry have a track called Kai Tengata that includes Maori vocals

Although I listen to quite a lot of music from countries where English is not the native language, most bands just sing in English anyway

[–] Geki@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 weeks ago

Kraftwerk is such a gem. They sound exactly like a 80s computer in music form, and I love it.

[–] Monkyhands@feddit.dk 7 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I don't speak any Irish, but I am obsessed with Kneecap at the moment. Some of their lyrics include English of course, some tracks are fully in Irish. Either way, they are great!

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[–] grue@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I'm a basic bitch, so some of the first that came to mind have already been mentioned by others:

To those, I'll add some other meme songs / songs that have been used in English-speaking media:

Also the ultra-popular ones everybody already knows and I won't bother to link, such as Bad Apple, Gangnam Style, the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack, etc.

[–] FistingEnthusiast@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] GrantUsEyes@lemmy.zip 4 points 3 weeks ago

*Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, great pick btw. ;)

[–] onemancult@crazypeople.online 5 points 3 weeks ago

I believe the appropriate response is Yellow Ledbetter by Pearl Jam. No but seriously. Band Maid, Die Antwoord, The Hu, all great bands that sing on different languages. Oh also The Warning.

[–] NABDad@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

I don't speak Portuguese, but sometimes I get in a mood to listen to bassa nova. I like the rhythm.

Mas Que Nada - probably my go to. I listen to that enough to annoy people around me.

I also like Águas de Março, particularly Elis Regina's duet with Jobim.

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

"Baba Yetu" - we learned it for the choir. Luckily, i found a translation, so we now know that we are not ordering fridges or something. Look for "baba yetu stellenbosch" for a nice version.

[–] Quilotoa@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 weeks ago

I love their version. Also Maytree.

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[–] beccaboben@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

Lisa LeBlanc - self titled album, heard about her from the show Letterkenny, in French.

[–] Quilotoa@lemmy.ca 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Baby Yetu, theme from Civilization 4, won a Grammy ( a first for a video game). It's the Lord's Prayer in Swahili.

[–] tangible@piefed.social 2 points 3 weeks ago

I can HEAR this comment.

[–] white_plume_m0th@lemmy.ml 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

if anyone here likes goth music, i highly recommend:

  • she past away, most of their discography tbh (turkish)
  • lebanon hanover (german, some of it)
  • στο σκοτάδι (sto skotadi) by selofan (greek)
  • nasha by aurat (urdu)
  • reflejos by vacíos cuerpos (spanish)
  • fantasmas by twin tribes (spanish)
  • à contrecœur by hante. (french)
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[–] Zer0_F0x@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
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[–] GaumBeist@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Con Te Partirò - Andre Bocelli
遙か彼方 - ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION
アイワナビー - Stance Punks
I Samma Bil - Bo Kaspers Orkester
A 67-Es Út - Republic
Papaoutai - Stromae

[–] confuser@lemmy.zip 3 points 3 weeks ago
[–] yilian@sopuli.xyz 3 points 3 weeks ago

Liu Yuning - Unintentional Big Dream (Fangs of Fortune OST)

刘宇宁 - 无心生大梦

This song is a departure from LY’s usual genre. It goes hard and is so exciting. All my friends know this song and can sing the chorus because I made them listen to it many times.

[–] fascicle@leminal.space 3 points 3 weeks ago

The Pillows - because of FLCL

[–] zemon@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 weeks ago

Pentagram - Bir (Turkish metal) Arkona - Yarilo (Russian folk metal)

[–] emergencyfood@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Several Japanese songs, such as Summer of Goodbye, Message in Rouge and Contrails

Garland of a Hundred Flowers - My neighbours' national anthem can't be this cute! (Nepali)

Halls of Hueyteotl and Baba Yetu (both Swahili, both from video games)

[–] isyasad@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

The lyrics of Rouge no Dengon are really good. It's about a woman who's on a train, leaving town to get away from her cheating husband. She left a "message in rouge" for him to find in the bathroom, that she won't be back until he changes his ways. She's actually going to his mother's house, and she'll have his mother call him to scold him in the morning.

If you're familiar with the song as the opening theme to Kiki's Delivery Service, it really really fits Kiki's character as she listens to the song while leaving home for the first time. You might get the feeling that the themes of the song are things relates to herself: independence, anxiety, maturity, and female solidarity. And of course, if you watch the movie, those are all things she experiences in her new town.

Basically it's a REALLY REALLY good song and absolutely perfect choice for the movie it's in. I also love the singer's other Ghibli movie song you mention, Contrails/Hikoukigumo.

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[–] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago

La Forêt by Lescop

[–] Rich_Benzina@feddit.it 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

A lot of Kino songs:

Группа Крови

Восьмиклассница

Место для шага вперёд

Перемен

[–] pillowtags@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I married an Indian woman and have been getting into Bollywood music, and honestly there’s so many good songs!

Two of my favorites are:

Qaafirana

Khuda Jaane

[–] Corporal_Punishment@feddit.uk 3 points 3 weeks ago

Hoppipolla by Sigur Ros

[–] ZiggyTheZygote@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 weeks ago

German song "Redukt" by Einsturzende Neubauten

[–] dubyakay@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 weeks ago

Cafe Tacvba - Hola Adiós

[–] YaksDC@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I am going to make a playlist just from this thread, thank you all who have participated so far.

[–] ctrl_alt_esc@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] YaksDC@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 weeks ago

Shared in the original message

[–] JakenVeina@midwest.social 2 points 3 weeks ago

Basically anything by Ado. This one's probably my favorite.

[–] AlexLost@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

Seu Jorge's full album of Bowie covers is so epic. Love it, and really adds to the Life Aquatic

[–] Una@europe.pub 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] lukalix98@programming.dev 2 points 3 weeks ago

Säkkijärven polkka mentioned before Ievan polkka?

[–] blechlawine@feddit.org 2 points 3 weeks ago

Two Steps From Hell - Never Give Up On Your Dreams

[–] zeppo@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

Ongaku by Yellow Magic Orchestra

[–] Ftumch@lemmy.today 2 points 3 weeks ago

Zuco 103 - Zabumba no Mar - Portuguese

Leningrad - Fish - Russian

Mohammed Rafi - Jaan Pehchan Ho - Hindi(?) (That song from the movie "Ghost World")

[–] osanna@thebrainbin.org 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

kate ryan - desenschantee. (no idea how to spell it)

Lafee - prinzeschen

rammstein - du hast

[–] tangible@piefed.social 3 points 3 weeks ago

If you like Kate Ryan's version I can also recommend the original by Mylène Farmer.

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