By Ida Büsch – Kleve, Germany
To get to know our newest international students (Freshers) a little bit better, Catcher on the Rhein asked students from five different countries what are their current favourite songs. Less than 4 months into their German experience these individuals listen to music that makes them think about promises, diversity and home.
Amrinder, 20, studies Industrial Engineering in Kleve. He is from India.
“My favorite song would be “The Fire” by The Roots,” Amrinder said.
“The reason I am so into it is because ever since I gained enough sense to set my personal goals, I have been very motivated to achieve more and be more than who I am currently.”
“But in the process of running after your dreams, sometimes you run out of motivation and you forget that you’re the same person who made such huge promises to yourself and who has come so far from where he was.”
“This song reinstates my lost focus and my “fire” and helps me set things into perspective,” said Amrinder about feeling he gets when he listens to the song.
Giannina Surya is 19 and from Indonesia. She studies Gender and Diversity. Her favourite song is “Girls Like You” by Maroon 5 ft Cardi B.
“I know it's kinda old, but it's still in Billboard 100 charts,” Giannina said.
“I always like Maroon 5`s songs since they have nice beats. But personally I really like the concept of “Girls Like You”, especially the Music Video.”
Giannina says what she likes most about the video is the diversity shown in it.
“The Music Video is really simple yet empowering,” Giannina said. “It features a lot of diverse women–colors, races, backgrounds, shapes and so on. And I like how Maroon 5 invited Cardi B to be featured in their song since Cardi B is currently the most famous female rapper.”
Omar Abdelwahab, 18, studies Bioengineering in Kleve. He is from Egypt and chose “Music Rescues Me” by German artist Paul van Dyk as his favourite song of the month.
“The lyrics talk about why music is so special, and the song has a rather uplifting and happy beat,” Omar said.
“The genre of the song is called Trance and apart from the rather uplifting sub-genre of this song, it also has a psychedelic sub-genre. In general, the BPM of Trance songs is faster than usual.”
Omar says he can listen to this song at any time, but especially when he needs something to brighten his mood.
Nitin Bahtis studies Information Engineering and Computer Science in Kamp-Lintfort. He came to Germany from India. He chose “The Hills” by the Weeknd as his favourite song.
“I am enthralled by the intensity of the song and also by the passion with which the guy sings for his beloved,” Nitin said.
“But, in spite of all the love which the guy offers, the women wants to keep this love affair secret,” Nitin said. “The guy believes that this relationship is more of physical desire than love from her. Because of all these, Abel (the artist), confronts her and tells her that he doesn’t like her trying to be emotional with him, because he knows she just wants physical love. He then gets in to drugs and feels good only when he is high on drugs, not because of her fake love.”
“The last phrase of the song is absolutely alluring. It is in Amharic, a language spoken in Ethiopia. Ewedishalehu means ‘I love you very much’, yene fikir means ‘my love’, and yene konjo means ‘my beautiful.’”
Bioengineering Fresher Khalid Barelvi`s favourite song is “Windowpane” by Opeth.
“As an international student living far from my family, friends, and all familiarity, at some point in my life here a sense of longing lingers in my heart, though maybe only for a brief moment,” Khalid said.
“Windowpane, in my opinion, delivers a gentle, smooth atmosphere, which although, the song itself carries a gloomy atmosphere, provides a place for me to channel my homesickness and sadness too, and somehow ends leaving me dreamy and soothed, at least for the moment,” said Khalid about why he likes this song.
Udit Saxena, from India is 20. He studies Mechatronics.
“My favourite party song is Wildcard by kshmr,” Udit said. “KSHMR is an american-indian DJ and he is phenomenal.”
“If I have two or three hours I like to go to clubs or pubs to drink, dance on the beats, meet new people and get close to the world,” Udit said.
“My favourite party place is Heinrich Heine Allee in Düsseldorf. I go there sometimes and I recommend for people to go there for parties.”
Baljinder Singh or better known as Bobby studies Information Engineering and Computer Science at Kamp-Lintfort.
He chose “Never say Never” by Justin Bieber, which is the title song of the film “Karate Kid”.
“It’s a bit old but truly an inspiring song, and it impacted me several times positively,” Bobby said. “A song can’t be lame if a Smith rapped in it.”
Bobby says he listens to this song almost all the time.
“But, specially, sometimes I am upset and need something to boost up the confidence,” Bobby said.
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