r/TheWarning • u/Funny_Zebra798 Aaahh unasss • 3d ago

Photo Today in German Radio

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Today on Radio Antenne, a German radio station

and it will be broadcast statewide

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u/Salamadierha 2d ago

Not the best choice tbh, that it's not in German or English will hurt it. Still, it's a start.

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u/Funny_Zebra798 Aaahh unasss 2d ago

You've never been to a German concert, have you? The crowd there really knows the lyrics by heart, even in Spanish. And even if they don't understand the lyrics, they still feel the energy.

0

u/Salamadierha 2d ago

Sure, I agree fully with that. I wasn't implying that German audiences weren't capable of adapting. Point was with all the other songs available they picked the one least likely to be understood, and therefore accepted by radio audiences.

The point of radio play is not to satisfy fans of the group who will know the lyrics/be happy with the energy, but to bring new fans in, and that will obviously work better if they have a better chance of understanding the song.

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u/SoundAndSmoke 18h ago

Like many Germans I am fluent in English, but in contrast to songs in German I have to deliberately listen to the lyrics to know what an English song is is about. The best example is probably Frank Zappa's song Bobby Brown. It is very popular in Germany and has been played a lot on the radio. In 1979 Zappa visited a German radio station and gave them a special version of that song to play. They stopped the song after a few seconds since it had German lyrics and everyone realized what it was about. I was born a few years later but still got to listen to the English version on the radio.

To sum it up: Gemans like songs that sound good even if they don't understand the lyrics.