Who is the most iconic/popular musician of your country ?

11 comments

1. Maybe [Udo Jürgens](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udo_J%C3%BCrgens) who passed away a few years ago.

   [STS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.T.S.) are pretty good, too, and they sing in Austrian dialect.

2. In the Netherlands André Hazes Sr comes to mind regarding “Volksmuziek” (Dutch version of Schlager, Fado and other national working class/common people genre in own language) and The Golden Earring when you talk about Anglophone/international music. 50 years or so later most youths my age still can sing Bloed, Zweet & Tranen and Radar Love in a pub.

3. Most iconic? I think Johann Sebastian Bach. Ludwig van Beethoven as well.

   Most popular? I think Scorpions, Udo Lindenberg, Helene Fischer, Andrea Berg, Herbert Grönemeyer have the most fans.

4. I think [Björn](https://sv.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bj%C3%B6rn_Ulvaeus) and [Benny](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Andersson) still take the cake. Avicii is the closest one IMO but for obvious reasons he can’t grow his music anymore.

5. When Kim Larsen died in 2018, 3 generations literally took to the streets and sang his songs. Memorial concerts were held in Denmarks 4 largest cities and most of his albums sold out. I doubt that’ll ever happen again. He was largely unknown outside of Scandinavia and was known as Denmarks national bard.

6. **DJ Snake** might be the most popular French artist worldwide at the moment. **Daft Punk** comes to my mind too, even though they retired recently.

7. Honestly we have so many iconic singers, countless songs that where written 100- 80-60 years ago and they are still loved and treasured by the Greeks. Rembetico music genre of course is super influential and as one of the most iconic rembetes I will say Tsitsanis and his song [Cloudy Sunday ](https://youtu.be/yuTWdVn0kn8). He wrote the song during the German occupation and when I listen to this song I always cry, thinking what my grandparents and the Greek people endured in the hands of the Nazis. When they asked Tsitsanis about the inspiration of the song he said:

   ” I wrote Cloudy Sunday, during the tragic circumstances that were happening in our country at the time(aka German occupation), with extreme hunger, misery, fear, oppression, arrests and mass executions. The material that inspired the lyrics also inspired the melody. The inspiration came out of the cloudiness of the occupation, from the despair that beat us all – when everything was overshadowed by horror and mocked by slavery. I wanted to shout about the black despair, but at the same time about the pride of our people who do not tolerate bridle and slavery. Cloudy Sunday is not only about one incident of the occupation, but encloses within itself the whole tragic period.”

8. In Latvia the most iconic musician I would say is a rock group called ‘Līvi’ who are known for 80s pro-independence and anti-Soviet songs.

   In addition to this composer Raimonds Pauls is a very respected public figure whose name almost never gets used without calling himself `maestro`.

9. Nobody hates Mani Matter, died 1973. His songs are rather simplistic, just his voice, Bernese dialect, and few chords on the guitar, easy melodies; the lyrics often seem a bit silly, but are very profound, sometimes kafkaesque.

   There’s one about a guy who went to the barber’s and saw his reflection multiplied to infinity because there were mirrors to both sides of him; he feels a metaphysical horror and leaves the barber shop immediately.

   Another one is about an Eskimo who buys a harpsichord for two bottles of cod liver oil. A polar bear is attracted by his playing and finds and eats the poor Eskimo. It’s silly insofar as all the rhymes are in -o, but it’s also sad, and reminds the listener that art is always a risky business and that we should never buy a harpsichord.

   Another one is about a guy who tries to dissuade an anarchist of blowing up the parliament building. He succeeds, but later at night, thinking about the event, he is reminded that democracy and our parliament building are only ephemeral and all it takes to blow it all up are two bags of dynamite.

10. Most iconic? Probably composed George Enescu (classical music).

    But most popular? Differs based on preferred genre.
    But i think i found the band that nobody seems to dislike, no matter the genre that they prefer – B.U.G. Mafia (hip hop).

11. I don’t know about enjoyed but the most iconic would be Maryla Rodowicz, who started out in [early 60s](https://youtu.be/O3kLCJqFM4M) and [still sings](https://youtu.be/PXIRlZVxFm8) even though she’s almost 80 and uhh, she really shouldn’t anymore.

    Damn, she’s gonna have a funeral this country hasn’t seen since 1935 when she passes away, sure they’ll make a movie about her right after that.