The writing prompts are an ongoing experiment that invites postcrossers to write about a different topic on their postcards’ messages every month. These are just suggestions though — if you already know what you want to write about, or the recipient gives you some pointers, that’s great too!
These days, music is everywhere in Europe as the continent gears up for the Eurovision song contest taking place soon. Millions of people throughout the world will be viewing the event and cheering for their favorite singers, and this got us thinking about a suggestion from Jetske on the forum:
So, what are your favorite singers or musicians from your country? What makes them special or dear to your heart? Writing about them is your mission for the month of May!
One national artist that we like here at the headquarters is called Rodrigo Leão. He’s an influential musician and songwriter in Portugal, whose best instrumental compositions can easily transport us to a different time and place.
Let’s share our musical heritage on the postcards we write this month… and hopefully finish the month with eclectic and multi-national playlists to write our postcards to!
54 comments so far
Levi Celerio of the Philippines was recently featured by Google to celebrate his 108th birth anniversary last April 30. He composed over 4,000 traditional Filipino songs and was known for his amusing talent: he can play music using a leaf!
Check out his Google caricature here:
https://www.google.com/doodles/levi-celerios-108th-birthday
I really like the Norwegian group Vamp, especially their songs Tir n'a Noir (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzcORqLFsZw) and Månemannen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3PbMZx4OJg).
There is a wonderful Russian musician, who is no longer alive - Ве́ня Д'ркин (Venya D'rkin) He was touching on many important topics in his work, and also sometimes there is a hidden subtext, symbolism. His songs are very beautiful and atmospheric, full of expression. It's like sitting with an old kind friend and guitar, a bit of nostalgia.
You can see, for example, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJT_ZmILjZs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIGF-sTBsHU
Everyone knows Galway Girl by Ed Sheeran but how many know The Galway Girl written by Steve Earle? Here is a link to the song as played and sang by Sharon Shannon and Mundy - https://www.google.ie/search?q=galway+girl+sharon+shannon&rlz=1C1GNAM_enIE676IE676&oq=galway+gril+sha&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.7659j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
My vote for a real Australian singer is Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu . Sadly a singer no longer with us. Most beautiful song Wiyathul https://youtu.be/x8-YMpYbRqY
One of my favourite Kazakhstani national music groups is Ulytau, they play on various instruments, not only dombra but also the bas guitar and violin. Therefore the music created is acmic of national and international western songs.
One of my favourite German group is *Die Ärzte* (The Doctors) - what else ;-)
I like them since the early 80th ;-)
My favourite Australian group of mucisians are 'The Beards'.
Our best composer-(jazz-but not only)pianist is definitively JEF NEVE. You can listen to him on youtube or check out his website.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL3byunqOGU&list=PLVM-qMiZnTOng5agzFz_8GeDshyD513Oc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9of6C2nufU&index=1&list=PLVM-qMiZnTOng5agzFz_8GeDshyD513Oc
https://www.jefneve.com/
Jef Neve is a great Belgian pianist, indeed! I'm a very big fan of our Belgian group Hooverphonic. Their music sounds very orchestral, they use a lot of strings in their songs. Great music that could be used in James Bond films :)
Have a listen: https://youtu.be/6EA-MIYY1bg
M. S. Subbulakshmi was an eminent Indian singer of the Carnatic music genre. She was honoured with several awards including the Ramon Magsaysay Award and the Bharatratna (India's highest civilian award).
You may hear a rendition by her of a multi-lingual invocation in 5 languages - Sanskrit, Arabic, Japanese, English & Tamil.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLDQzxO_eQE
My favorite musician is the violinist and singer Alexander Rybak. I discovered his music in 2009 when he won the Eurovision Song Contest and I fell in love with him right away. I have followed his musical career since then and he is a pillar in my life. I met Alexander last year after a concert and he was incredibly kind and polite! He also signed my arm and now... I have a tattoo with his name on it!
This year he will represent Norway again at the Eurovision festival.
I recommend you to give him an opportunity!
Old but gold: https://youtu.be/daqfr6DJsGc <3
A brilliant, local singer-songwriter in Fife, Scotland is King Creosote:
https://youtu.be/FG-PBM7BmMQ
A fabulous British musician is the jazz guitarist Martin Taylor now known mainly for playing unaccompanied in the chord melody style.
https://youtu.be/70X_HXsOG1c
I still remember Abba winning the Eurovision song contest - best contest ever
I checked on Top List 2018 in Poland - #5 is still Czesław Niemen DZIWNY JEST TEN ŚWIAT (from 1967)
This how it was in 1998:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djf7WrfyHew
I am American, but I love KPop (Korean music). It has a great beat to keep me riding the bike at the gym for an hour. One of my favorite groups is TVXQ. Their videos are so much fun; Watch " Spellbound", "Something", and "Keep your Head Down".
Alain Souchon is one of my favorite French singer. I love his poetic and intelligent texts which speaks about our lives.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7b9y8-zaUg
Well, I am a fan of AnnenMayKantereit, Roosevelt and Leyya( Austrian)
:)
One of my favorite Turkish band is definitely Yeni Türkü ! Also I love MFÖ as well. Both of them are really high quality. I have been in their concerts many times.
Yeni Türkü - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQNOCwhh5Z4
MFÖ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj7gEaHtkxw
My favorite musician is B'z, the Japanese rock band.
They’re the most successful musician in Japan, they sold theCD most in Japan.
We’re celebrating their 30th anniversary this year including exhibition and the tour.
http://bz-vermillion.com/index2.html
One of my favorite band-Thirty seconds to mars🔺
I’m loving their songs❤️ I’ve been listening this band for 15 year my life😊
I went to their concert last weekend in Moscow,and before concert we were meeting with Jared and Shannon Leto,it was the most unforgettable and incredible day❤️
I’m dreaming that one day I’ll visit their concert in Los Angeles,the own city of the band and camp mars in Malibu🙏🏻
And I’m loving their new album America🇺🇸
Hi, my favorite Canadian singer is KD-Lang. I saw her last year in our town and I'm in love with her music and personality. My favorite band, back in my "old" country, The Netherlands, was....because I think it don't exist anymore, Doe Maar.
A former classmate of mine is now a professional drummer and my mum once knew a German singer who was very popular in the 90's. But I'm now more into musicals and I have a couple of favourite actors of that kind. One of them made me meet two other Postcrossers and we're friends now.
Francis Cabrel est l'un des auteur/compositeur/interprète les plus célèbre en France. Jean-Jacques Golmann, Pascal Obispo, Georges Brassens et Michel Berger sont eux aussi d'excellent artistes Francais à connaitre.
Local musician and artist, Jimmy Willing is my favourite, and I have never heard his music! But I have forty or so ad cards featuring his artwork and promoting his performances :)
Bonjour,
my favorite French singer is Bernard Lavilliers, his music and lyrics are both great !
Jay Chou, Eason Chan, Sawano Hiroyuki
Pearl Jam. American band, from the 1990's. I've been their number 1 fan since I was 11 years old--which is, like, 26 years ago. They are not just rock stars--they are activists. Seriously. https://pearljam.com/acts
We are fans of Herbert Pixner Projekt - he and his band are just great: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CybJvgKynH4
I love traditional Spanish music in all its varieties, but especially North-Western where Celtic roots are evident. The Galician Carlos Núñez is an emblematic player of this kind of music, considered one of the best bagpipers in the world (maybe with the Asturian Hevia). I have been at some of its shows. He brings you to a magical world!
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_N%C3%BA%C3%B1ez_Mu%C3%B1oz
Here he's playing in front of Santiago de Compostela's cathedral:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ8SSMZtgss
As Belgians who live in France we were not sure whether to pick French or Belgian artists. We chose for France. As there are so many Eurovision Song Contest fans on Postcrossing, these are our 2 favorite entries :
AMINA :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqOnPyScS1g
FRIDA BOCCARA :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG57O5kFkv8
My favorite german rock singer since 1970 is Peter Maffay. He is very famous here in Germany, not only for his songs, but also for his commitment against Anti-Semitism and right-wing Radicalism. And he has build a foundation for caring of traumatized children.
My favourite singer was Gustavo Cerati, he was an important representative of the argentinian and latin rock. Argentinian post issued stamps about him https://wsec01.correoargentino.com.ar/content/idolos-populares-ii-gustavo-cerati
Unfortunately he passed away few years ago.
Here it is some of his music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAO7CEcCD3s
My favorite singer is Akdong Musician(AKMU). They are siblings and pure geniuses.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIcXK1CI8URMIqNO_1cehiQ
I'm a big Eurovision fan :) This year the contest is held in Lisbon, Portugal. I like so much Ukrainian representative - MELOVIN with the song 'Under The Ladder'. Here is a video clip of this song:
https://youtu.be/cKM8c-9rGC0
Since my first visit in the Philippines are Freddie Aguilar and Lolita Carbon are ny favourites. I met Lolita Carbon in Cagayan de Oro one time.
my most favorite VERY VERY american music is from the musical HAMILTON yaaaaaas, love it! HAMILTON is a musical by LIN MANUEL MIRANDA and it is about alexander hamilton, one of america's founding father... YES PLEASE LISTEN TO IT_ SO GOOD YAAAAAS
Hello, dear music lovers! One of my favourite singers of traditional music is Pelageya, the young Russian singer. Traditional Russian songs are often sad, melodic and always full of love. This song, I propose, is about love to Russia. The singer describes the night trip with a horse in an endless russian feild, to watch the night sky with stars and to meet the dawn. She performs the song with children, her pupils. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTn0ZbtPUso
My favourite singer is Ed Sheeran :)
I like a lot of diverend musicstyles. Rondo Venitiano (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjL5hyYe2mE), Abba, Marco Borsato ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvWbitibEGw) an our Eurovision contest musician Waylon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1sywE9Ca-0), our loca musicians Iris Rijnsewijn (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0_dEgJ-iHo) and De Troubadoers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOXy84ShN7k). And when Postcrossers give the name of their favorite musicians I'm looking on youtube to listen. This is one of the reasons that I so happy with Postcrossing.
My favorite is Depeche Mode :)
My favourite german Pop Duo is still " Rosenstolz ". The great female singer of Rosenstolz is called Anna R., who is now part of the Pop Group "Gleis 8". Check out for Songs like "Schlampenfieber", "Für dich mich dreh", "Greta hilf mir", "Königin", "Liebe ist", Amo vitam".
This is difficult for me to answer... I am very picky and feel most modern American music is horrible. I miss the days of musicians actually being MUSICIANS, and of tunes sounding different from each other, etc etc etc... BUT, given what is on the radio these days, I am in the minority...
I love this Spanish Renaissance song: "De los álamos vengo, madre" ("I come from the poplras, the mother"), by Juan Vásquez.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH7QqPGnsDk
(The singer is Carlos Mena; Juan Carlos Rivera plays the vihuela).
I do enjoy the craftmanship of the "old" days... Though Disney(C) does have it down to a science, even if the results are not up to expectations! I really appreciate Ms Connie Dover, her emotional and technique is moving. Plus the idea of religious (Gregorian etc) singing making a comeback is heartening!
I like Kent so much...! They’re from Sweden but disbanded in 2016.
http://youtu.be/lWV8gvdGLSQ
Happy Mother's day!
Arvo Pärt is an Estonian composer of classical and religious music. Since 2010 Pärt has been the most performed living composer in the world.
I love his music!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtFPdBUl7XQ
I live in New Orleans, LA, USA and I love the music here. It's creole, cajun, and french all together. It can be upbeat, jazzy, somewhere in between, or all of it at once. It is always filled with so much passion though. And walking the streets of NOLA you will find many, many musicians just playing their instruments ad singing on the sidewalks. I live it!
In Costa Rica we have wonderful musicians. I would like to invite you to listen to this group: http://www.grupomalpais.com/
They are AMAIZING!!
♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫
USA: I've been using musician stamps, instead of writing about musicians I love. So, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Sarah Vaughan. My favorite musicians are Joni Mitchell (Blue, especially), and Phoebe Snow (Never Letting Go.)
In France, a young singer is really fabulous. He has a big succes. His name is Eddy de Pretto. He has a splendid voice. His songs are very "strong". Even if you don't understand french, just listen to his voice, it's a very special one :-)
Nadine.
I like the Backstreet Boys very much. They are not from Germany, but I love the music.
My favourite german band are "Die Toten Hosen". i like rock music very much. They are very successful in Germany.
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