I’ve noticed that when meeting a foreign person, mentioning that you like a beloved artist from their country is one of the best way to create a good vibe.
Which revered artist/group (not necessarily musician) from your place should I learn about?
A few examples I’m thinking about (correct me if I’m wrong):
| Country | Artist |
|---|---|
| Argentina | Carlos Gardel |
| Australia | Powderfinger |
| Austria | Mozart, Falco, Thomas Bernhard |
| Beligum | Jacques Brel, Stromae |
| Brazil | Raul Seixas, Zé Ramalho |
| Cabo Verde | Cesária Évora |
| Canada | Leonard Cohen, Céline Dion, Gordon Lightfoot |
| Egypt | Umm Kulthum |
| France | Daft Punk |
| Germany | Kraftwerk, Die Ärzte, Franz Kafka |
| Iceland | Björk |
| Italy | Elio e le Storie Tese |
| Malawai | Evison Matafale |
| Mali | Salif Keita |
| Scotland | The Proclaimers, Sean Connery |
| Sweden | Astrid Lindgren |
| USA | Dolly Parton |
Edit: Spent my Saturday morning vibing, adding the “consensual” suggestions to the table.
Daft Punk in France. They’re national icons, and even Macron likes them.
My first thought was De Funès/Bourvil, but that works too
Belgium , you can go for “Stromae” if you want to appeal to a younger public :-)
Sweden: Astrid Lindgren the childrens book author is pretty much as beloved as a person can get. She’s even on our money.
How about Sean Connery?
Depends who you ask, I think. I’m not much of a fan, personally.
Billy Connolly would be a good shout too I think.
+1 for proclaimers. However I’m from Kirkcaldy (Raith fan) so it feels tough to agree on something.
Gordon Lightfoot!
You’re not wrong but kind of surprised to see him over the Tragically Hip.
My husband holds a Hip marathon every Sunday. But Gordon is the true test of time.
Hey there fellow Canadian. Glad you got in before someone mentioned Anne Murray or Justin Bieber.
I almost said Leonard Cohen but he wrote a depressing song about my name.
Even if depressing, it’s probably a rather good song. At least based on Suzanne; So Long, Marianne; and Joan of Arc. (I know, I know, the later is about the historical character, but still.)
If I were asked to mention a Canadian musician I’d think of Celine Dion long before Justin Bieber. Hell I’d think of Woods of Ypres.
I’m watching this thread with great interest 👀
For the US, maybe Dolly Parton?
Unfortunately, Taylor Swift is probably the most traditionally american top 40 artist, given her genre inspirations, but the US is probably too large to pick just one artist. I bet it’d be far more interesting to find out what each state has contributed to our national artistry.
I have a feeling that in 20 years time more people will know who Dolly Parton was than Taylor Swift
By that logic, Elvis or Michael Jackson would be a better contender.
Sticking to popular, mainstream rock and pop options I’d say Bernard Fanning/Powderfinger is a good representation of Australian rock that doesn’t really polarise as much as the more cultural cringe options like Darryl Braithwaite, John Farnham or Jimmy Barnes. There’s also Kylie Minogue who might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but is unlikely to be actively disliked by most.
Midnight oil, INXS would be good picks too.
Germany is big, but I think a good one that ruffles no feathers is Santiano (a sea-man shanty like band), though obviously Ramstein is bigger, but some people think that they are nazis (which they aren’t, they are provocative)
Santiano is not universally loved. They’re too close to Schlager for that. And the issue with Rammstein isn’t really alleged nazism (which only came up briefly when they used Leni Riefenstahl’s footage) but rather their singer’s alleged backstage raping.
So far, I haven’t met people who hated Herbert Grönemeyer, Marius-Müller Westernhagen, Jan Delay, Nina Hagen, die Ärzte, die fantastischen Vier or Reinhard Mey. A little more recent music that I have rarely seen associated negatively would be by Kraftklub, Peter Fox or Deichkind. None of this is particularly progressive, but it’s decent stuff that is so universally liked that e.g. weddings often rely on them to get people to dance.
Just realised that this isn’t just about music. Those were all musicians or bands, but Germany of course has people from all trades.
To universally loved artists I’d count
- Janosch, a children’s books author. Love his work. Never met anyone who didn’t.
- Franz Kafka. Like… Depressing stories? Dunno. It’s just that, despite his work being quite dark, it’s just pretty damn good.
- Peter Lustig moderated a kids’ TV show, Löwenzahn. He eventually stopped due to his age and his successor does a good job, but he was just… Chef’s kiss, you know?
- Michael Ende wrote what I guess would be some of the most famous German children’s books for older kids. The Neverending Story, for example. All his books are considered modern classics.
- There are a lot of famous actresses and actors, but when it comes to being loved for their work without any attached drama, I guess Bjarne Mädel takes the cake. Tatortreiniger is brilliant and I haven’t heard anything negative tied to him.
- Armin Maiwald und Christoph Biemann spearheaded the German kids show “Die Sendung mit der Maus” and are very much loved for their work.
Ich bin Schnappi, das kleine Krokodil.
My personal suggestion list would be:
- Die Ärzte
- Peter Fox
- Nina Hagen
Given that recent scandals and Lindemann, right wing connotations are the least of their worries.
For the uninformed: he allegedly used the backstage area as a sex dungeon, including drugs, minors, rape, etc.
What about Kraftwerk. They’re so influential and iconic.
Another Idea I had is The Sandmännchen (A berry young kids show that runs every day since 1959) there almost no talking so you could say that “your kids love it” or something
Santiano
Interesting! I knew the French version of this song by Hugues Aufray, which happens to be the inspiration for this band’s name. Although, Aufray’s inspiration is the sea shanty Santianna referring to the Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna, which has many variations.
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How about Kraftwerk?
Technotronic, from Belgium, had that 1989 techno anthem, Pump Up the Jam.
I’m American but when I visited Iceland everybody loved Björk and loved talking about Björk. She’s like a national icon
Chuck Tingle has some good literary art. I believe he’s from the USA
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Italy: Elio e le storie tese… They are somewhat of a “mainstream niche band”; Italians would be astonished that you know of them, you should mention the song Mio cugino (my cousin)
Hmm I love them, I really love them, but I don’t think everybody likes them, especially older people
Really cool instrumentation !
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In Argentina it must be Carlos Gardel - the most prominent exponent of Tango. You can walk around a corner in Buenos Aires on a Sunday to find a bunch of people dancing tango … all dressed up to the nines (sorry!). It’s amazing. Beautiful country and such an elegant city.
For Austria, you can mention an old internationally known classic, falco
or e.a.v.
these will never have you out of place
