overlap

Two of the best gigs I've seen this year have been The Scorpions and Europe, which is how I'm moved to ponder the appeal of songs written by non-native English speakers. Abba were early masters of the art, of course, and there does seem to be a marked difference between the Scandinavian and Germanic nations compared with the Romance language ones. I'm guessing it's a matter of simplicity; for someone like me who always hears the words a long way in advance of the notes and chords, it seems strange to claim low expectations are a good thing. It's certainly true that mother tongue linguistic infelicities really grate, but for our fellow europeans I'm prepared to be a lot more tolerant. The Scorpions can make no great claims of erudition and philosophical sophistication, and even in what might be argued to be their most worldly song, Europe aren't that gifted either. What it comes down to is that I love bawling along with a straightforward melody, even though I couldn't carry a tune in big pink sparkly suitcase with my initials tastefully stencilled on the side. And maybe this is my musical equivalent of a feelgood film you can just switch off and be mildly diverted by without thinking too hard.

Labels: Europe, rock, The Scorpions