Weekly Recommendation: "Taxi Driver" by Der Nino Aus Wien
Hey there!
Here’s your weekly German media recommendation from Monoglot Anxiety. This time, it's the song "Taxi Driver" by Der Nino aus Wien.
But first, a quick note from me:
I hope you liked my last recommendation for Klingendes Österreich, because this January is Austria month! I'm visiting my boyfriend and his family in Austria this month and it just feels right to recommend Austrian media while I'm here. So don't worry if you don't understand everything in this week's song — Austrian German takes some getting used to.
If you want to complain about (or perhaps, compliment) my recommendations, you can get in touch on Twitter @monoglotanxiety or by shooting an email to hello@monoglotanxiety.com. You can also get in touch, support the blog, or send a one-time donation from the Buy Me A Coffee page.
With that all out of the way, on to the recommendation!
"Taxi Driver" by Der Nino aus Wien
I spent yesterday exploring Vienna with my boyfriend for the first time, so it only seems appropriate to recommend some Viennese music. Alternative pop/rock artist Der Nino aus Wien is one of my favorite Austrian musicians, and even though his lyrics are tough to understand for learners (they're most definitely not in High German), they're often worth puzzling out. The lyrics of "Taxi Driver" definitely fall into the worth-puzzling out category — the song is almost a monologue, sung from the perspective of a Viennese taxi driver reflecting on life and offering his perspective to a passenger.
You can listen to the song on YouTube.
A tip for listening: listen along with the lyrics
I had a lot of trouble understanding Der Nino aus Wien and other Austrian artists at first (and I still have trouble, I'm bad at understanding songs in general, even in English!). But things got easier as I listened more — and after I figured out that I could read along with the songs. Even though the lyrics aren't written out in High German, seeing them written down makes it easier to follow along and notice the patterns in how the German you're familiar with maps to the Austrian German you're hearing. Here are the lyrics to "Taxi Driver."
That's it for this week. Happy New Year everyone!
Elise from Monoglot Anxiety