Spartan Daily

Fizzy Logic: Enjoying the beauty of foreign music

Julie Tran is a Spartan Daily staff writer. Her column "Fizzy Logic" appears every other Thursday.

When I was little, I remembered my sister and me singing along to 80s hits from the Eurythmics to Shania Twain in the 90s, but we also had a taste for music outside of the English-speaking world.

At first, we listened to a lot of Japanese pop and rock from musicians such as Hikaru Utada, Asian Kung-Fu Generation and Perfume.

From all of the anime we’ve both watched as children, we started to develop an appreciation for songs performed in different languages.

Fast-forward to today, I heard about a little segment called MTV Iggy, which displayed various singers and bands from all over the globe.

Needless to say, I was extremely excited to hear about a station that would feature international acts for everyone to see and hear.

However, it ticks me off when people listen to foreign music acts and start to complain about how they can’t understand the language.

“Oh man, I really want to enjoy the music, but why can’t the song be performed in English?”

Well, first and foremost, it wouldn’t make sense for singer who is performing in his or her native tongue to switch over to a language that the audience wouldn’t understand.

Second, we’re now living in a world in which global influences are interweaving into our lives, and there are people that exist who don’t speak English as their first language.

Even though I have a lot of music from American singers, I also have a slew of albums from musicians that come from South Korea, France and even Venezuela.

There’s another thing that makes me irritated, and that is when people say that an international artist is copying American music.

Excuse me, but I don’t remember music being an exclusively American thing.

The song "Stronger" by Kanye West samples "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" from the French duo Daft Punk in the background.

I don't see anyone complaining about Kanye mashing up French electronica with his his rap.

Like art or fashion, I believe music will truly flourish and develop when there is a mashup of diverse styles to create something amazing.

One of the bands I’ve been into recently is the Venezuelan alternative-rock group La Vida Boheme, and I must say their album “Nuestra” is grungy yet smooth perfection.

Hailing from Caracas, the quartet hammers out songs reminiscent of Franz Ferninand-meets-The Ramones, and they have powerful messages within their tunes.

Their hit single, “Radio Capital” has wonderful guitar riffs that I believe anyone can enjoy, regardless if the song is performed in Spanish.

La Vida Boheme was also featured with three other musicians in MTV Iggy’s “Best New Band” competition held Dec. 2011, and they were amazing live.

One of the other bands featured in MTV Iggy’s “Best New Band” competition is a quartet of an entirely different kind with a devoted international fanbase.

The South Korean electro-pop band 2NE1 (pronounced “to anyone” or “twenty-one”) was crowned “Best New Band” in the competition, and I have to agree with their victory.

The group is one of the forerunners of the Korean pop phenomena called the “Hallyu Wave,” which is currently taking a hold of Asia and slowly creeping  its way into Europe and North America.

Fans of 2NE1, called “BlackJacks,” live in countries ranging from the Philippines to Sweden, and it’s a powerful reminder that people can appreciate the music despite a language barrier.

Even though today’s incarnation of MTV isn’t as great as it used to be, I am grateful that the station decided to make MTV Iggy a reality.

Diversity in music is something that is highly important to me, and the creation of MTV Iggy could be the start of a better global understanding.

Music, whether performed in English or another language, is a universal medium that connects everyone.

MTV Iggy could be the start of a better global understanding of foreign music.
MTV Iggy could be the start of a better global understanding of foreign music.