Romanian Music Review

We’ve been here long enough to get a good feel for the popular songs and music videos for right now. Aside from the usual universal pop music that is enjoyed, tolerated or detested across the globe such as Lady Gaga, Timbaland, Rihanna or Justin Timberlake, the radio stations also play plenty of their own Romanian pop music.

When I first arrived I was a little thirsty for the Romanian pop music (as many of you know I’m actually a big fan of this stuff) but over the past few weeks I’ve leveled out a bit and feel that I can give an accurate account of what is good and what is crap on the airwaves. Here’s a short sample because I know that people have other things to do. Unlike me.

[Translations are in these bracket thingies]

New Romanian Hits:

“Locul Portivit” by Guess Who [The Alocated Place… or something close to that]
Most Romanian pop, ESPECIALLY Romanian pop and even more especially Romanian rap music tends to be looked on by those who wasted their college tuition on music classes as total garbage. I would argue that this song, and especially video, is an exception to the rule.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOBfGWcQ0TM


“V.I.P.” by Puya
This song is the rule and not so much the exception to the Romanian rap rule. If you want a Rihanna/Eminem duo that really isn’t Rihanna/Eminem, this is the video for you. It plays all of the time and it’s not even fresh.

Ok, so I can't find a real video for this but in Puya's defense, here's one that is (slightly) better. At least it's optimistic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOzsHsZmJKE&feature=PlayList&p=261DE933C746FB19&index=1


“Chica Boom” by Dan Balan
One of Moldova’s only claims to fame, Dan Balan was the mastermind of the band Ozone and their international hit “Numa Numa” (Dragostei Din Tei) [Love from the Linden Tree]. Amanda hates this song because she feels that Dan looks like he is… er… that is… has an IQ that would qualify him for special educational services in the US if you know what I mean. I feel that the song is catchy but definitely not sweet.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=E5E1845E4456FE87&search_query=boom+dan+balan


“Break Your Heart” by Taio Cruz
I don’t know if this song qualifies as Romanian because it’s in English and is not sung by a Romanian… Ok so it shouldn’t qualify at all but I never heard it before I came out here. The video isn’t anything special and the first time you hear it but the song grows on you and it’s Amanda’s favorite song now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFG6AoEScVE


Songs that you can’t NOT find on the radio but are not necessarily Romanian:

“Sexy ‘Chick’” [Sexy Bitch] by Akon and David Guetta
Of course you all probably know the song. You can’t escape it even on American radio but have you seen the video? Despite all the girls in the bikinis you can’t help but get the “golf party” feel, as my Uncle Bill would say (not that this is a bad thing… We love you Andrew). But still a good, catchy song. Try to get this one on MP3 and not MP4.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzNR9c82XLg


"Tick Tock" by Kesha
This song is pure filth. Barf starts to spray out of my mouth uncontrollably when I hear this song. This becomes uncomfortable when I’m in public places. The video makes you want to scrape out the insides of your eardrums with an ice pick when you finish listening to it. The video makes you hate yourself. Exercise caution when watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP_nlrfxpfM&feature=PlayList&p=4A3CAFA298B58DBD&index=2


Classic Videos that You Can’t Miss:

“Buna Dimineata”—[Good Morning] by Zdob si Zdob
This is a Moldovan band but they are also very popular out here. I love this video more than the song (but the song is cool too) because they don’t deny that Cyrillic and the Soviet Union was a big part of present-day reality they actually embrace this and have a good sense of humor. They try and maintain a realistic nostalgia and they don’t pretend that the USSR never happened. This is what Moldova needs right now. Also check out their biggest hit “Bunica Bate Doba” [Grandma Beats the Drum] which is also very good. These guys love Moldova and so do I.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=E7F597EA55B1132A&search_query=buna+dimineata+zdob+si+zdub


“Doar Cu Tine” [Only With You] by Activ
You can’t escape the awesomeness of this song even if you don’t understand it. This was their first major hit and they haven’t been so good lately but they are still great. The video struggles but the song goes hard. I promise. We hope to see Activ live at some point.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQmD6byvsGs&feature=PlayList&p=BC79549F94F41BAA&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=17


This is all that I have for now. Let me know what you think on our comment section. We love hearing from you.