This reminds me of Charlie Chaplin's Nonsense song:
It's Gibberish, But Italian Pop Song Still Means Something
51–60 of 88 posts
Re: It's Gibberish, But Italian Pop Song Still Means Something
#52I'm amazed at how well he has the sounds down. I'd never peg him as Italian, and I probably wouldn't realize it was gibberish until the backup singers did it slowly; I'd think I was just failing to get it, like listening to Dylan on a bad day. I'm amazed at the contrast with British actors trying to do American accents, which never fool me; is it easier to do it with gibberish, or is he just unusually good at mimicki…
As a young man, Richard Feynman was fascinated by the sounds of Italian, and faked Italian sounding gibberish, even to the point of "performing" it in front of his sister's Girl Scout troop. http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-surely-youre-joking-mr-fe...
Even McNulty on The Wire? When I saw him later on some talk show and he was speaking and holding himself as a posh Brit (ie himself) it almost broke my brain. So, yeah, he fooled me.
Re: It's Gibberish, But Italian Pop Song Still Means Something
#53Reminds me of when I was a child, didn't understand English (not my native language) yet, and heard American songs on the radio!
Perhaps Gangnam Style is more of a novelty in the English-speaking countries, where foreign pop music is uncommon, than in those countries where it is common: Italian teenagers might not care that much whether it is in Korean or English, whereas English teenagers will notice that they are dancing to a song whose lyrics they cannot possibly understand.
I'm a European and unless I focus, the lyrics of English songs just blends in with the instruments. The song has no meaning unless I want it to. But when I hear other languages, it's hard not to notice that I don't understand.
Re: It's Gibberish, But Italian Pop Song Still Means Something
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
Interesting, what condition was this and how did you recover from it? P.S.: If you miss those whimsical-sounding lyrics, there's always Purity Ring (band).
Oh, I have atypical cystic fibrosis -- in short, I have a long, long history of ear infections (and I am still wrestling with how to explain how I recovered, which I am trying to document at healthgazelle.com). Probably not directly relevant to your situation. Though I spent a lot of time on alternative med sites. Off the top of my head, my recollection is that some people with capd benefit from magnesium. My son, wh…
Interesting about the magnesium - I like chocolate, almonds and cashew nuts. All high in magnesium.
Re: It's Gibberish, But Italian Pop Song Still Means Something
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
"I sang it with an angry tone because the theme was important. It was an anger born out of resignation. I brought to light the fact that people don't communicate." He sang it with an angry tone because he was angry. Nothing there says that "American English sounds like anger born out of resignation to non-English speakers."
Note that immediately after that point in the article: But is that really what American English sounds like? "Yes," he says. "Exactly like that." I apologize if it's not totally clear in my original comment, but I was referring to Celentano's affirmation that American English sounds like anger born out of resignation.
From what I understand, he's not saying that, the anger is towards the lack of communication. English sounds the way he speaks, but the tone (and the question) is unrelated.
As an italian, I can tell you American English may sound many ways but I'd never define it "angry".
Re: It's Gibberish, But Italian Pop Song Still Means Something
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Really never, or do you just never notice?" Indeed. Folks seem unbelievably harsh on accents they know not to be the native one, which is every time a famous actor does an accent , but all those no-names doing even not very good ones fly straight under their radar, making me highly skeptical it's not just confirmation bias. Christian Bale often keeps his American accents for interviews and press. There might be some…
> Folks seem unbelievably harsh on accents they know not to be the native one, which is every time a famous actor does an accent Either Hugh Laurie isn't famous, or you don't have any idea he's British. ;) Every time he plays House, he's doing a fake American accent. He just does it really, amazingly well. Here's Hugh Laurie as the Prince of Wales (the total idiot) in a short segment from the series "Blackadder the T…
Great example, and I believe complementary to my observation. If talk show interviews are to be believed then when Hugh Laurie began on House he wasn't famous in America, and most people didn't have any idea he was British. The show was a hit, everyone loved him, and then it's far too late for anyone to erroneously pick apart his flawless accent.
It's almost impossible to imagine, but if Hugh Laurie had been popular in America, and his natural voice widely known, then the reception to that series could have been very different, purely from unfounded criticism of the accent. And if this is starting to sound a little far-fetched, let's not forget it all began with someone saying "British actors trying to do American accents, which never fool me".
Re: It's Gibberish, But Italian Pop Song Still Means Something
#57The trilled 'r' sound at 0:29 is definitely not American English. Native English speakers from America can hardly pull that off, which is why it's funny to hear them try speaking spanish.
Re: It's Gibberish, But Italian Pop Song Still Means Something
#58I can't for the life of me remember where I had originally seen this video, but the version I remember seeing was this, which looks like a (visual) remix and is the far more nonsensical (and memorable) one, IMO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZXcRqFmFa8
You saw it on reddit, a while ago.
Re: It's Gibberish, But Italian Pop Song Still Means Something
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
Oh, I have atypical cystic fibrosis -- in short, I have a long, long history of ear infections (and I am still wrestling with how to explain how I recovered, which I am trying to document at healthgazelle.com). Probably not directly relevant to your situation. Though I spent a lot of time on alternative med sites. Off the top of my head, my recollection is that some people with capd benefit from magnesium. My son, wh…
Interesting about the magnesium - I like chocolate, almonds and cashew nuts. All high in magnesium.
We tend to crave the things we need. If you need magnesium, you likely also need calcium and then there are a couple of other things you need to absorb calcium properly (I believe vitamins K and D). You could do a little googling, give it a whirl, see if self treating for a presumed chronic magnesium deficiency helps with your capd-like symptoms.
Best of luck.
Re: It's Gibberish, But Italian Pop Song Still Means Something
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
Note that immediately after that point in the article: But is that really what American English sounds like? "Yes," he says. "Exactly like that." I apologize if it's not totally clear in my original comment, but I was referring to Celentano's affirmation that American English sounds like anger born out of resignation.
From what I understand, he's not saying that, the anger is towards the lack of communication. English sounds the way he speaks, but the tone (and the question) is unrelated. As an italian, I can tell you American English may sound many ways but I'd never define it "angry".
Out of curiosity, how would you describe it? As a American I can't get enough distance to tell.