(no subject)

[gordin.livejournal.com]

I've been monitoring the community for some time and came up with something to say.

We all know a nice way to learn a language is to listen to music and follow the lyrics.

But in a search for simple language some of you start listening to Russian pop, which has an incredible amount of disadvantages:


Bad quality of the musci product (even if you love pop, by the american standartsrussian artists are terrible)

The language is more than simple - the lyrics are designed to be loved by not (yet or ever) educated, low-cultured mass (I know I'm rough but hey, let's be honest) - you guys should have better standarts.

Thay make a lot of mistakes, ignore the language rules


So I'd say if you advanced from the very basic level, or even if you are still there, but are looking for some quality simple Russian, you have to make a better choice.


So I wanted to try making up a list of good bands and artists, splitting'em into genre groups and by difficulty, also giving a short description and a link for their website.
This table could be linked on the community main page and availible to anyone interested.

I guess the process would be fun for all the members (share your experience!!), we'll quickly come up with the first version of the list and later will add things there.

Huh?
I'll start with a comment, I guess. :)
Please try not just naming the artist, but giving some info on the level and type of language, type of music and official sources of downloads.


P. S.
I know it was discussed a lot of times, but it's just another reason to finally create a compehensive source of info.

Comments

[nadyezhda.livejournal.com]

great idea! My Russian professor in college started us out with "Chto takoe ocen'?" by DDT.

[froeken-snork.livejournal.com]

I would recommend Vysotsky. His texts are very straightforward, but by no means simplistic... well, it's really simple yet high-standard poetry. One mor thing -as you listen the music does not prevent you from actually hearing the text - whic Is the case with many songs...

[gordin.livejournal.com]

Just a couple of different items for example:

Ундервуд [Undervud]
http://undervud.ru/
Level: extremely high, very challenging, idiomatic, highly poetic expressions, a lot of cultural hyperlinks
Genre: smart pop
Description: A brilliant duo, playing easy-to-listen, not at all heavy music using different instruments, modern and wel-crafted, but not too innovative music with very good lyrics. Probably the best poets in Russian music, they're lyrics are not depressive, ironic and charged with a lot of positive energy, even when they make your eyes water.

Кирпичи [Kirpichi - The Bricks]
http://kirpichi.msk.ru/ - unofficial, but holds the mp3s, while the official site doesn't work right now
Level: Differs from quite advanced to really simple (not always easy to understand while listening, though), the band uses a great lot of common youth expressions, some offensive language (not much, really)
Genre: Ironic hip-hop/rock/punk
Desc: Interesting band, started as something-like-punk, still changing to hip-hop and back to rock/punk constantly. Extremely ironic, sometimes mocking the russian reality, still never really political nor agressive, even when the sound is rough. Can teach you some bad words, but also give an idea of how some of the russian youth talk. Can require asking some native speakes to clarify the expressions, you won't find in dictionaries.

Машина времени [Mashina Vremeni - The Time Machine]
www.mashina.ru
Level: pretty basic
Genre: straight-forward pop with guitars
Desc: a widely recognized, extremely popular band, started back in the USSR yet never really confronting the regime, making (they still do) simple songs about general things. The lyrics sre simple, yet very well-built, showing good quality and language. Recommended for the starters.


Ok for now. ;)

[gordin.livejournal.com]

I used the word 'music' three times in a row in the first paragraph. And not only this. :/ So please note it's 2 am here. ;)

[lirrana.livejournal.com]

Well I'm afraid you won't find any of our pop-bands as good ;)) (hm, in my opinion all of them are terrible). Maybe some groups playing in other musical styles will be interesting for you? :)

"Мельница" Folk… Celtic..


http://www.hellawes.ru/
http://www.melnitsa.net/

"Машина Времени" A very good group with not very hard language but… mm… good meanings of lyrics. Rock

http://rmp.ru/catalog/singer.phtml?id=212
http://www.mashina-vremeni.com/


And «Пикник»… But they songs are very hard to understand… even for me :)

http://www.mp3up.ru/mp3.php?artist=%CF%E8%EA%ED%E8%EA&search=1&search_in=0
http://www.piknik.info/

And «Пикник»… But they songs are very hard to understand… even for me :)

http://www.mp3up.ru/mp3.php?artist=%CF%E8%EA%ED%E8%EA&search=1&search_in=0
http://www.piknik.info/

[lirrana.livejournal.com]

Sorry for my English :) I'm afraid there are lots of mistakes as usually -__-‘

Hm, yes, I forgot! I wanted to give some links for the songs of «Мельница», to be downloaded at first if someone will be interested of group )) Links for songs and for lyrics

http://www.hellawes.ru/songs/mp3/music/moonday/0513!S.MP3
http://www.hellawes.ru/songs/texts_chords/MoonDay/12_PrivorotnoyeZelye


http://www.hellawes.ru/songs/mp3/music/dreamroad/0602!S.MP3
http://www.hellawes.ru/songs/texts_chords/MoonDay/15_DorogaSna


http://www.hellawes.ru/songs/mp3/music/solo/02_werewolf.mp3
http://www.hellawes.ru/songs/texts_chords/Solo/02_Werewolf

[soidisantfille.livejournal.com]

Does anyone have any good recommendations for good Russian electronic music (NOT dance music, but more like industrial or ambient)? I can't remember who told me this, but apparently a lot of interesting Russian techno was made on equipment that was only available in the former Soviet Union.

Obviously this music would have zero pedagogical value. I just think it would be cool!

[gordin.livejournal.com]

he best russian electronic I know is Mescherin's band. They used to work in soviet times and did wonderful things.
But it's not techno - I'm... let's say "not into that". ;)

[ex-eugzol340.livejournal.com]

Completely agree with you. I like heavy & power metall =)))) Rich music and poetic lyrics.. that's what we need.

Ария
Эпидемия
Catharsis

That what i'm listening to =)))

[gordin.livejournal.com]

Ou-kay.
Try describing them for the learners.

I'm not sure though Aria is anything except pop. ;)
(sorry for discussing tastes, just can't help).

[joliecanard.livejournal.com]

Сплин
http://www.splean.ru/index.php?obj_id=news
Easy to understand, pop-rock. The language is pretty simple.

5'nizza
http://www.5nizza.ru/doc/lyrics
Very difficult level but great music.
Reggae-influenced rap, generally an interesting amalgam of many styles.

[ulfurinn.livejournal.com]

The language is pretty simple

...yet lately too cryptic even for native speakers ;)

[ars-longa.livejournal.com]

Несчастный Случай - The Unfortunate Incident

http://www.ns.ru/ (http://www.ns.ru/)

They call themselves pop-group, and I agree - it's pop. It just exceeds the usual standards for Russian pop-music by... I can't even calculate this difference. They lyrics vary from aching love songs to highly ironic and sometimes abstract. Well worth to hear, regardless of your level of knowledge in Russian.

[gordin.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't say so.
I love them, but not being, say, intermediate, one just won't understand anything.
And musically - they are not better than a lot of non-russian bands.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_origa/]

We all know a nice way to learn a language is to listen to music and follow the lyrics.
to watch movies is a good way too ;)

I recommend Zoya Yashenko and "Belaya Gvardiya" (Зоя Ященко и "Белая Гвардия")
http://www.bgvmusic.ru/mast.htm (http://www.bgvmusic.ru/mast.htm)
http://web.ru/bards/Yaschenko/index.htm
their lyrics aren't very simple, and i think the songs are rather suitable to learn Russian
I don't know how to describe their music - it's a good music to listen and relax. (at least for me) ^_^'

Oh, it's so difficult to speak... to type English >_ (http://web.ru/bards/Yaschenko/index.htm) ()

[gordin.livejournal.com]

well...
Never heard of'em and from your message I couldn't figure out anything. ;)
Except for the word 'bards' in the link. ;)

It's just if I make this list i won't be able to put the artists I know nothing about, so if you think it's worthy - provide some more extended info, please.

[sisyphus.livejournal.com]

The two I listen to the most are спЛин ( Splin? Splean? Spleen? http://splean.ru):
SONG: http://slipf-18.com/~dallas/mp3/15%20Moe%20Serdtze.mp3

and, when I feel more energetic, Ленинград (Leningrad http://leningradspb.ru )
sample songs (WARNING - bad language in here):
http://slipf-18.com/~dallas/mp3/Leningrad-Birthday.mp3
http://slipf-18.com/~dallas/mp3/01%20Menya%20Zovut%20Shnur.mp3

[portugalist.livejournal.com]

Leningrad? hehe, yeah, it's a great choise for learners of our language! :D

[kara-karina.livejournal.com]

How about Линда (Linda) ? Album “Плацента» (1999)
http://www.bazamp3.ru/?menu=music_db&from=pop%7Cpop%7C%CB%E8%ED%E4%E0%7C%CF%EB%E0%F6%E5%ED%F2%E0%7C100#album

One of her really successful albums while she was still with Max Fadeev. Good lyrics, not straightforward but with subtle double meaning. Again you can hear the words clearly. Not sure about the style though..

Total, album “1+” (2002), another project of Max Fadeev (sorry, I’m pretty fond of him). Somebody named this girl “Russian Guano Apes”, but obviously she is far far from this J. This album is pretty good. These are probably examples of Russian “alternative” music, I mean alternative to Russian pop (honestly guys, I know our pop-music is disgraceful, but you haven’t listened Thai pop for a change! We are not at the bottom of the list)
http://www.bazamp3.ru/?menu=music_db&from=rock%7Calternative%7CTotal%7C1%2B%7C100#album

Soundtrack to the cult Russian movie “Брат-2” (Brother 2) is just the best, very well made, excellent examples of good Russian music, every song is great on it’s own.
http://www.bazamp3.ru/?menu=music_db&from=soundtrack%7Csoundtrack%7C%C1%E8-2%7C%C1%F0%E0%F2%202%7C100#album
This is all for today. Too late, I'll come up with sth tomorrow

[bolnaia-sobaka.livejournal.com]

I know it's not always ultra popular, but I think Кино is perhaps the best band to listen to for beginners. I know it really helped me, because the vocabulary and the sentences are really simple and the singer articulates well. It's 80s rock. Oh yeah.
http://www.tsoy.by.ru/

And just a note: I found Vysotsky to be wayyy to hard for me when I was beginning. Heck, I can still only barely understand what he's singing about. But it's hard not to love him! :o)

[gnomygnomy.livejournal.com]

Same for me. What I've taken from listening to Russian music is a better vocabulary. And yes, Кино is awesome. :)

[llill.livejournal.com]

Любэ [Lu:'be] www.matvey.ru/lubeh
Typical russian songs.

[svyatogor.livejournal.com]

> (even if you love pop, by the american standartsrussian artists are terrible)
by 'american standarts'?! убей сибя апстену! (sorry, untranslatable, absolutely)

in general though I have to admit that average pop is not the best source of language. And I'd like to add to the list above one more artist: Николай Басков http://www.nbaskov.ru/ I would classify his songs as advanced.

[gordin.livejournal.com]

Заменить by на according to и никакой стены.

[baidit.livejournal.com]

Зимовье Зверей (http://www.zzverey.spb.ru/html/index.php). It's the band with well-written lyrics.

[onute.livejournal.com]

This band has very nicely written lyrics indeed. And I would classify its music as a soft rock. But, I guess, this lyrics will be rather complicated for the beginners.

[temcat.livejournal.com]

Russian bards can be very useful when leaning Russian. Take for example Иваси (Ivasi.ru; sorry, no mp3s there - gotta find somewhere else) - a singer/songwriter duo consisting of Georgy Vasilyev and Alexey Ivaschenko. Mostly humorous, but occasionally lyrical material, musically advanced, with some elements of jazz and blues. Lyrics of invariably high quality. Recommended ;-)

[ex-ex-5h001.livejournal.com]

Bards sucks. Go off trolls.

[robomarkov.livejournal.com]

For people learning English, I reccommend Country/Western music. The lyrics are clear to understand (the artistry in this type music is the lyrics, not so much the musical notes) and are not too complex to understand. The grammer is sometimes questionable (for example, the use of "ain't"). Is there a Russian equivalent?

[gordin.livejournal.com]

Not really.
Western music is all you have here in the comments with few exceptions ;)
And country... We have some people copying the americans but they mostly sing in English...

[ran-bao.livejournal.com]

Майк Науменко
http://www.mikenaumenko.ru/

>The language is more than simple
>...
>Thay make a lot of mistakes, ignore the language rules

It's not a language I think.

[ex-ex-5h001.livejournal.com]

I would recommend Detsl, Alena Apina and, of course, Boris Moiseev. They rocks.

[dvd-long.livejournal.com]

I suppose, boris moiseev fits.

[mrplastikbrains.livejournal.com]

Listen to the group Fabrika, Korni, Masskva. It is great )))

[zimbler.livejournal.com]

ZYKINA!!!
iiiizdaaaaleeeekaaaa dooolgoooo techet rekaaa vooooolgaaaa,
ed2k://|file|liube%20-%20Techet%20reka%20Volga.mp3|4832196|CB769CA98107A43BC5611E5148139CD8|h=G477LXYK2WRZLYQ4NKPBCYD4XGXV3SZU|/
here with Vyacheslav Rastorguev

[ex-svgmzr291.livejournal.com]

I'd rather recommend russian rap project "Krovostok".

+1

[spl1nter.livejournal.com]

yeah it's cool, look here:
http://music.lib.ru/k/krowostok/

[smee-again.livejournal.com]

Russian postfolk: http://undesigned.ru/=sound/

[ex-hevioso.livejournal.com]

Alexander Laertsky, http://laertsky.com

True.

[shayd13.livejournal.com]

Azzkaya Sotona, Tenebraectum...

[h1tman.livejournal.com]

Пси(х)ея
http://www.psyshit.ru/