I apologize to anyone who reads this blog for being such a slacker in posting the notes from Fall Quarter. I have the notes for each session handwritten and fully expected to post the notes to our discussions retroactively, but with the trip to Mali/Senegal, then lots of work when I got back, then Christmas... I just didn't get to it. Now I want to write the story/blog for the whole trip to Mali and that will take priority over posting the old class notes from Fall Quarter.
Nonetheless, in Winter Quarter we *will* be holding the conversation group every Thursday from 4.30-5.30pm as usual and I *will* post notes! Next class is Thursday, 3 January. I hope to see my 3 regular students, from Fall Quarter that day and I hope we get some new students to join us the next week.
The next class will be held Thursday, 3 January, 4.30pm in the usual room at BCC.
28 December 2007
14 November 2007
Next class = Thursday, 6 December
I apologize to my students -- and anyone else who reads this blog -- for not posting notes from our classes for the the past few weeks. We have been meeting as usual and I have hand-written notes from each session, so the notes and links will be posted, but not for a few weeks yet as I am off on a musical pilgrimage to Mali, Africa(!).
The next class will be held Thursday, 6 December, 4.30pm in the usual room at BCC.
The next class will be held Thursday, 6 December, 4.30pm in the usual room at BCC.
18 October 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
"When it rains, it pours."
This is a phrase in English we use for when everything goes wrong at the same time.
Events today conspired to prevent the Language Of Music Class from taking place. :-(( A big wind storm hit the Seattle area in the afternoon and made traffic very slow to get from Microsoft to BCC. So I arrived 15 minutes late, at 4.45pm. And then I discovered that the door to the room was locked! No students were waiting outside the room, so I guess anyone who came to class had left. How frustrating!
The fact that class didn't happen today was justdue to a one-time series of bad luck events -- class will be held as usual, starting at 4.30pm next Thursday.
Steve
13 October 2007
Thursday, Oct 11, 2007
After a break of a few months a new session of The Lanaguage Of Music English conversation class started again -- now at Bellevue Community College! I am doing it at BCC now because it is close to Microsoft and on Thursdays I can leave work a bit early to do class in the afternoon.
Without any more delay I asked who wanted to hear a song. There were a lot of shy looks, but soon a student from Russia raised her hand and suggested "Wishmaster" (video, lyrics) by Nightwish (bio).
I asked if any of the other students knew this band and song but no one else did. Indeed, I think that a lot of the other students were a little dismayed by such heavy music -- especially those who said in their introductions that they like classical and pop music. I hoped that the next choice of songs would have a wider appeal among the students.
The next songs chosen was "Alcoholic" (video, lyrics) by Starsailor (bio). Definitely a song with broader appeal, though I think it was a still a unfamiliar to most students. The student who chose it said he likes the melancholic mood of the song.
I called on the student who in his introduction said that he liked R&B. He chose "21 Questions" (video, lyrics) by 50 Cent (bio). The student who chose it said he likes the way 50 Cent sings. When I asked the group who of them knew this song quite few knew it, but not that many seemed passionate about it.
But now the students could see how the class runs and the next student was ready to pick a song -- I didn't even have to ask someone specifically to choose one. He chose "Beautiful Girls" (video, lyrics) by Sean Kingston (bio). He said he likes the song because the lyrics are easy to understand and it has a happy feel to it -- like how he felt when he first heard it.
The next song was "True" (video, lyrics) by Ryan Cabrera (bio). The student who picked it said he likes it because it is a simple song and the voice fits the song very well.
It was coming up on 5.30pm and I could see people getting ready to go. I said I would play one more song, then people could leave. I chose a song I have chosen many times before: "Isla Margarita" (video) by my friends Children Of The Revolution (bio). I chose this for two reasons:
A few students stayed so we kept playing more songs. Inspired by the Children Of The Revolution latin-flavored music one student asked to play "Bossa Nova" (video) from the film Black Orpheus (information). Here is information about bossa nova music.
Kara at BCC was very helpful in getting a room reserved and promoting the activity with BCC's English teaches, but I had no idea how many people would show up for class...
On this first day there were 18 students! What a great turnout! From the teaching standpoint it is hard to keep so many people interested and talking, but I am glad to have so much interest in the class. Past experience tells me that the regular class size will stabilize around 8-12 people and as those people get to know each other the conversations will flow. I remain in touch with some of my students from past sessions and I know that some of them have found new friends in this class.
It took a while to get the computer and internet access set up this first time so we got a little late start. I started with an introduction about myself and how the "class" works. I then asked the students to each give their name, where they are from and their favorite kind of music. Most students are from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea, but there are some from other places, too.
Without any more delay I asked who wanted to hear a song. There were a lot of shy looks, but soon a student from Russia raised her hand and suggested "Wishmaster" (video, lyrics) by Nightwish (bio).As we watched the video I asked the student (Marianna) why she picked this song. She said she likes the power of the woman's singing.
I asked if any of the other students knew this band and song but no one else did. Indeed, I think that a lot of the other students were a little dismayed by such heavy music -- especially those who said in their introductions that they like classical and pop music. I hoped that the next choice of songs would have a wider appeal among the students.
The next songs chosen was "Alcoholic" (video, lyrics) by Starsailor (bio). Definitely a song with broader appeal, though I think it was a still a unfamiliar to most students. The student who chose it said he likes the melancholic mood of the song. I saw Starsailor in a small club in Paris back in 2000(?) when the toured for their first album. That night the singer wore a t-shirt with SEATTLE printed across the chest. That was pretty funny for me.
Though this song was more palatable to the group, I could still see that a lot of the people were not engaged. I hoped the next song would be more widely known among the students.
I called on the student who in his introduction said that he liked R&B. He chose "21 Questions" (video, lyrics) by 50 Cent (bio). The student who chose it said he likes the way 50 Cent sings. When I asked the group who of them knew this song quite few knew it, but not that many seemed passionate about it.But now the students could see how the class runs and the next student was ready to pick a song -- I didn't even have to ask someone specifically to choose one. He chose "Beautiful Girls" (video, lyrics) by Sean Kingston (bio). He said he likes the song because the lyrics are easy to understand and it has a happy feel to it -- like how he felt when he first heard it.The next song was "True" (video, lyrics) by Ryan Cabrera (bio). The student who picked it said he likes it because it is a simple song and the voice fits the song very well.It was coming up on 5.30pm and I could see people getting ready to go. I said I would play one more song, then people could leave. I chose a song I have chosen many times before: "Isla Margarita" (video) by my friends Children Of The Revolution (bio). I chose this for two reasons:1/ I know from past experience that my students really like this band's music and like the salsa dancing in the video.
2/ I use COTR as an example of local music that I take my students to see. The next time the band plays an all-ages (most of the students are under 21 and can't go to pubs/bars/clubs in Seattle) concert I will tell the students about it. Indeed, after my last class ended I took three students to see COTR play at the Folklife Festival and all three of them *loved* it! Part of that concert can be heard here.
Speaking of concerts coming up, one of my students from Spring Quarter (Hyunjin) wrote telling me how much she loves Irish music and asked me if there are any places to see Irish music. Perfect timing! -- there is a very cool concert called "Celtic Nights" happening at the end of October.
Most of the students left after the COTR video. I hope many will return next week.
A few students stayed so we kept playing more songs. Inspired by the Children Of The Revolution latin-flavored music one student asked to play "Bossa Nova" (video) from the film Black Orpheus (information). Here is information about bossa nova music.Marianna, who had chosen Nightwish at the beginning of class was still there and hearing the acoustic guitar of the bossa nova reminded me of this fantastic duo from Mexico that I saw play live this summer called Rodrigo Y Gabriela (bio). They are fantastic musicians -- former metalheads who now play traditionally-inspired acoustic music -- and the live show is very engaging, even though they are just two people and they don't sing. I played a couple of videos for the last few students: "Diablo Rojo" (video) and the "Guitar Lesson" (video) where Gabriela explains how she gets so many textures of sound out of her guitar. I think these guys are amazing and I recommend checking out *all* their videos on YouTube -- especially "Tamacun" (video) which features Gabriela playing with her knuckles on the guitar!
Rodrigo Y Gabriela are playing a concert in Seattle October 31st. I'd love to see them again but I won't be able to go because I will be attending a concert by two bands from Mali, Vieux Farke Toure (bio) and Tinariwen (bio) that night. What a great night for music in Seattle Halloween will be this year!
With that, at about 6pm, the class ended. I look forward to next week's meeting!
02 June 2007
Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007
Today 4 students showed up for what would turn out to be the last class for a while. I have been weighing job offers and accepted one at Microsoft that starts Tuesday, May 29th, and with my new work schedule I can't be at Seattle Central Community College at 4pm on Wednesdays. I love doing this class and will definitely find a new time to do the class, but I have to see how my work schedule goes for a while first.
So it was a little bittersweet, this last class. I really like my students at SCCC and will miss seeing them every week.
As I talked to the class about my new job Hyunjin asked if she could play something as background music. She played "Under A Violet Moon" (video, lyrics) by Blackmore's Night (bio). This choice was very funny for me -- it is the current band around Ritchie Blackmore (bio), the former lead guitar player for Deep Purple (bio) and Rainbow (bio), 70's and 80's heavy metal bands! I knew he was making music that was nothing like hard rock, but I had never heard it, then Hyunjin says this is one of her favorite bands! Hyunjin loves New Age music (info) and says Blackmore's Night is like that kind of music. She says that in Korea it is popular because the melody is dreamy and sad, which Koreans apparently like.
I told the class that my friends, Children Of The Revolution (website) are playing for free on Friday at the Folklife Festival (info) at the Seattle Center. I told them COTR is a great band and encouraged them to come see them perform. Titus asked to see a film clip, so I played the "Medley" (video) the band has on YouTube.
I can't remember now how we got started on this subject, but next we watched "Prince Of Cheju" (video) by Ryo Kunihiko (I can't find bio info on him!).
Then Emma, but I can't remember which clip :-( .
The conversation turned to Japanese anime (info) which is very popular among the students. I showed them a clip of Japanese anime I used to watch as a child: Speed Racer (info). Amazingly, they recognized it! I remember watching Speed Racer every day when I was about 7 years old (that would be ~1973!).
Now the whole conversation was about anime. We watched clips of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (aka "TMNT") (info) and Doreamon (info) but I can't remember which clips anymore :-(( .
Kanako has long asked me to show her Queen Anne hill (the part of Seattle where I live) so since there were so few people in class today we left a little early and I drove Hyunjin and Kanako to a Kerry Park, a famous park on Queen Anne hill with a great view of Seattle. Here are some videos taken from the park. We walked around the neighborhood a little then I took them back to Capitol Hill.
Stay tuned for the new time/place for the class!
So it was a little bittersweet, this last class. I really like my students at SCCC and will miss seeing them every week.
As I talked to the class about my new job Hyunjin asked if she could play something as background music. She played "Under A Violet Moon" (video, lyrics) by Blackmore's Night (bio). This choice was very funny for me -- it is the current band around Ritchie Blackmore (bio), the former lead guitar player for Deep Purple (bio) and Rainbow (bio), 70's and 80's heavy metal bands! I knew he was making music that was nothing like hard rock, but I had never heard it, then Hyunjin says this is one of her favorite bands! Hyunjin loves New Age music (info) and says Blackmore's Night is like that kind of music. She says that in Korea it is popular because the melody is dreamy and sad, which Koreans apparently like.I told the class that my friends, Children Of The Revolution (website) are playing for free on Friday at the Folklife Festival (info) at the Seattle Center. I told them COTR is a great band and encouraged them to come see them perform. Titus asked to see a film clip, so I played the "Medley" (video) the band has on YouTube.I can't remember now how we got started on this subject, but next we watched "Prince Of Cheju" (video) by Ryo Kunihiko (I can't find bio info on him!).Then Emma, but I can't remember which clip :-( .
The conversation turned to Japanese anime (info) which is very popular among the students. I showed them a clip of Japanese anime I used to watch as a child: Speed Racer (info). Amazingly, they recognized it! I remember watching Speed Racer every day when I was about 7 years old (that would be ~1973!).Now the whole conversation was about anime. We watched clips of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (aka "TMNT") (info) and Doreamon (info) but I can't remember which clips anymore :-(( .
Kanako has long asked me to show her Queen Anne hill (the part of Seattle where I live) so since there were so few people in class today we left a little early and I drove Hyunjin and Kanako to a Kerry Park, a famous park on Queen Anne hill with a great view of Seattle. Here are some videos taken from the park. We walked around the neighborhood a little then I took them back to Capitol Hill.Stay tuned for the new time/place for the class!
21 May 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
The big news: Students showed up again today! In fact, there were 6 total, which is a very good size as everyone gets to speak a lot. There was one new person, Coleen, from Korea.
Kanako was in the class and I mentioned that she had gone to the concert with me Friday evening. We started talking a bit about Seattle the music scene. I said the most famous song from Seattle is "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (video, lyrics) by Nirvana (bio). Only Coleen recognized the song by its name, but once I played the song most of the other students recognized it. But didn't really like it... so we moved on to another song.
I said that there is another all-ages concert at the Crocodile Cafe this coming Monday (May 21) and that I would take any students who were interested. The band playing was Everclear (bio, video for the song "Wonderful", lyrics to "Wonderful") and a few of the students said it sounded like fun. I think they were encouraged by Kanako's report from last Friday. But I don't think they particularly liked the music.
Since we didn't really have class last week, when the students were to bring songs that mean "Seattle" to them, Hyunjin asked to play "Besame Mucho" (video, lyrics) by Sanjaya Malakar (bio) from American Idol (show description). She said this song means "Seattle" to her because the singer is from the area and it was popular when she came here.
Coleen is clearly a big music fan and wanted to play "Hotel California" (video, lyrics) by The Eagles (bio). She said that an interesting thing about this song is that the bass is based on a Purcell classical piece. I can't remember which Purcell piece, however... I said that the song sounds like it describes a nightmare to me, but Coleen pointed out that things like "you can check out but you can never leave" can also be interpreted to mean that something from the experience stays with you and that can be a positive thing.
As usual, Kerry wanted to hear an upbeat song: Sweat (video, lyrics) by Inner Circle (bio). She likes the singer's voice and sense of style.
I had to leave class right at 5pm today so we only had time for one more song: "They" (video, lyrics) by Jem (bio). Coleen noted that the bass line is based again on a classical piece, that it sounds like something from Bach.
With that class ended. It was a short one this week.
Kanako was in the class and I mentioned that she had gone to the concert with me Friday evening. We started talking a bit about Seattle the music scene. I said the most famous song from Seattle is "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (video, lyrics) by Nirvana (bio). Only Coleen recognized the song by its name, but once I played the song most of the other students recognized it. But didn't really like it... so we moved on to another song.I said that there is another all-ages concert at the Crocodile Cafe this coming Monday (May 21) and that I would take any students who were interested. The band playing was Everclear (bio, video for the song "Wonderful", lyrics to "Wonderful") and a few of the students said it sounded like fun. I think they were encouraged by Kanako's report from last Friday. But I don't think they particularly liked the music.Since we didn't really have class last week, when the students were to bring songs that mean "Seattle" to them, Hyunjin asked to play "Besame Mucho" (video, lyrics) by Sanjaya Malakar (bio) from American Idol (show description). She said this song means "Seattle" to her because the singer is from the area and it was popular when she came here.Coleen is clearly a big music fan and wanted to play "Hotel California" (video, lyrics) by The Eagles (bio). She said that an interesting thing about this song is that the bass is based on a Purcell classical piece. I can't remember which Purcell piece, however... I said that the song sounds like it describes a nightmare to me, but Coleen pointed out that things like "you can check out but you can never leave" can also be interpreted to mean that something from the experience stays with you and that can be a positive thing.As usual, Kerry wanted to hear an upbeat song: Sweat (video, lyrics) by Inner Circle (bio). She likes the singer's voice and sense of style.I had to leave class right at 5pm today so we only had time for one more song: "They" (video, lyrics) by Jem (bio). Coleen noted that the bass line is based again on a classical piece, that it sounds like something from Bach.
With that class ended. It was a short one this week.
Friday, May 4, 2007 (Concert @ The Croc)
I wanted my students to see a typical Seattle rock concert in a club. However, most of the students are under 21 years old and therefore can't go to bars so their options are very limited for which concerts they can see.
This Friday there was an all-ages concert in one of Seattle's most legendary clubs, The Crocodile Cafe (website). The bands playing are not very well known in the US. The headliner, Mando Diao from Sweden, have a few albums out in Europe and I saw them in Amsterdam. In Europe they have been promoted as the "new Oasis" and in interviews the band acts arrogant, just like their idols, but they are not nearly as good as Oasis and never will get to that size. Nonetheless, I thought this would be a good show for my students to see to taste Seattle night life.
In the end only Kanako and her friend Emi were brave enough to come downtown. But they seemed to like the show! The surprise of the evening was the band Pop Levi, who I had never heard before. They are definitely a strange bunch of guys, but I like their hypnotic guitar-driven songs.
These were the bands that played:
This Friday there was an all-ages concert in one of Seattle's most legendary clubs, The Crocodile Cafe (website). The bands playing are not very well known in the US. The headliner, Mando Diao from Sweden, have a few albums out in Europe and I saw them in Amsterdam. In Europe they have been promoted as the "new Oasis" and in interviews the band acts arrogant, just like their idols, but they are not nearly as good as Oasis and never will get to that size. Nonetheless, I thought this would be a good show for my students to see to taste Seattle night life.
In the end only Kanako and her friend Emi were brave enough to come downtown. But they seemed to like the show! The surprise of the evening was the band Pop Levi, who I had never heard before. They are definitely a strange bunch of guys, but I like their hypnotic guitar-driven songs.
These were the bands that played:
02 May 2007
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Not a single student showed up today! I have had times where only a couple of students showed up, but never *no one*!!
One of my students wrote me before class saying she wouldn't come today because she is going to a theater performance of Edward Scissorhands. Perhaps that's where they all were...
One of my students wrote me before class saying she wouldn't come today because she is going to a theater performance of Edward Scissorhands. Perhaps that's where they all were...
30 April 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Today 10 students showed up. It was a lively group and one of the best discussions I have ever had in the class!
First an update to last week's class: The music used in the Goong soap opera from South Korea can be heard as the background music to this ice skating routine.
Some people in the class asked that I start each week's session with a song suggestion of my own. Perhaps I have gained their confidence that I have good taste in music? ;-) .
I started this week's class by playing a song by a group that I listen to a lot these days, especially as I drive around. The music is particularly well suited to driving around in the rain. The band is Zero 7 (bio). I played a video for the song "Somersault" (video, lyrics) knowing that the little dance-step at the end of the song is a crowd-pleaser. (Actually, I played this song in the class last quarter, too, but that was only for two students -- now I had a larger audience!).
I pointed out how sweet the lyrics are, about how she is saying all these nice things about this guy, like how he *encourages* eating ice cream rather than saying "you shouldn't do that". I explained what it means to "feed parking meters" and asked who knows what jelly beans are.
Today I was actually more in the mood to hear Zero 7's song "Futures" (video, lyrics), but opted to show the class Somersault instead because it has more visual appeal.
Kanako, remembered Modest Mouse (bio) from last week's class and asked to hear another song by them. I hesitated because the class didn't like the song last week. But I relented, playing their previous big song "Float On" (video, lyrics). I asked Kanako if she likes this song. "Yes!" was her answer. I asked why. "Because I want to be more of a Seattleite!" was her answer. I commend that attitude -- she is here now and wants to integrate into what it means to be a Seattleite! That gave me the idea to ask the class for the next session to tell me which songs they associate with Seattle.
However, only half of the class actually likes this song, so I think we've given Modest Mouse all the exposure in this group that we will do...
Casspina asked what the difference between R&B and Hip-Hop is. That's a tough question! It depends a lot on personal definition. On the spot I described the difference as saying that R&B is primarily about soul music while Hip-Hop combines soul music with rap and also includes a lot of fashion in it, too.
Here are the Wikipedia definitions of R&B and Hip-Hop Music.
As an example of a song that has both R&B and Hip-Hop in it I showed "Doo Wop (That Thing)" (video, lyrics) by Lauryn Hill (bio). This video shows old-school soul (R&B) on the left of the screen and modern hip-hop on the right. Lauryn Hill is an *awesome* singer and her album "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" is one of my favorites!! Another song I like a lot from that record is "Lost Ones" (Sorry, I don't find any good video clips of that song).
At this point I told the class the origin of the term "rock n' roll": before it described music it was a term for "having sex". In the 50's people started making music which made people want to have sex" rock n' roll music. Here's the Wikipedia history of rock n roll.
Someone asked what the difference between Rap and Hip-Hop is. I said that in my view rap has less emphasis on singing, rather it started as a way for non-singers in the inner-cities of America to do social commentary over music. See the Wikipedia history of rapping. But I think rap has become something else now. It seems to be more braggadocio (word definition) about money, materialism and women as sex-objects. As an example we listened to 50 Cent's (bio) "Just a Lil' Bit" (video, lyrics).
We only made it through half of that song before the class said they want to hear some rap with quality. Someone asked what I think of Eminem (bio) and I said that I respect him as lyricist. One of the students asked to see his video "Mockingbird" (video, lyrics). I didn't know this song, but it's a good representation of what Eminem is about.
What my students didn't know is that Eminem is interpolating the traditional children's lullaby "Hush Little Baby" (video, lyrics) into this song. It's rather chilling how he mixes the sweet lullaby with lyrics of anguish. The class talked for a long time about whether Eminem is a good father for telling his daughter how much he hates her mother. The class said he is expressing his love for his daughter, but what about the vitriol (word definition) contained within those proclomations of love?
We lightened the mood of the class by listening to "Friday Night" (video with lyrics written in SMS form!) by Lily Allen (bio). (Here's a rough video of her
singing this song in Seattle a few weeks ago.)
The conversation in the class swung to the club scene in Seattle and abroad and we talked about that for a while.
We played a bit of a Taiwanese hip-hop artist, Jay Chou (bio). We played the song "Ting Ma Ma De Hua" (video). My students told me that his message is positive and that he is a good role model.
For the last song of the day one student asked to hear a song she had heard in an Abercrombie & Fitch store: "And She Said" (video, lyrics) by Lucas Prata (bio).
As I mentioned above, for this coming Wednesday I am going to ask the students to tell me which songs they relate to Seattle.
First an update to last week's class: The music used in the Goong soap opera from South Korea can be heard as the background music to this ice skating routine.
Some people in the class asked that I start each week's session with a song suggestion of my own. Perhaps I have gained their confidence that I have good taste in music? ;-) .
I started this week's class by playing a song by a group that I listen to a lot these days, especially as I drive around. The music is particularly well suited to driving around in the rain. The band is Zero 7 (bio). I played a video for the song "Somersault" (video, lyrics) knowing that the little dance-step at the end of the song is a crowd-pleaser. (Actually, I played this song in the class last quarter, too, but that was only for two students -- now I had a larger audience!).I pointed out how sweet the lyrics are, about how she is saying all these nice things about this guy, like how he *encourages* eating ice cream rather than saying "you shouldn't do that". I explained what it means to "feed parking meters" and asked who knows what jelly beans are.
Today I was actually more in the mood to hear Zero 7's song "Futures" (video, lyrics), but opted to show the class Somersault instead because it has more visual appeal.
Kanako, remembered Modest Mouse (bio) from last week's class and asked to hear another song by them. I hesitated because the class didn't like the song last week. But I relented, playing their previous big song "Float On" (video, lyrics). I asked Kanako if she likes this song. "Yes!" was her answer. I asked why. "Because I want to be more of a Seattleite!" was her answer. I commend that attitude -- she is here now and wants to integrate into what it means to be a Seattleite! That gave me the idea to ask the class for the next session to tell me which songs they associate with Seattle.However, only half of the class actually likes this song, so I think we've given Modest Mouse all the exposure in this group that we will do...
Casspina asked what the difference between R&B and Hip-Hop is. That's a tough question! It depends a lot on personal definition. On the spot I described the difference as saying that R&B is primarily about soul music while Hip-Hop combines soul music with rap and also includes a lot of fashion in it, too.
Here are the Wikipedia definitions of R&B and Hip-Hop Music.
As an example of a song that has both R&B and Hip-Hop in it I showed "Doo Wop (That Thing)" (video, lyrics) by Lauryn Hill (bio). This video shows old-school soul (R&B) on the left of the screen and modern hip-hop on the right. Lauryn Hill is an *awesome* singer and her album "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" is one of my favorites!! Another song I like a lot from that record is "Lost Ones" (Sorry, I don't find any good video clips of that song).At this point I told the class the origin of the term "rock n' roll": before it described music it was a term for "having sex". In the 50's people started making music which made people want to have sex" rock n' roll music. Here's the Wikipedia history of rock n roll.
Someone asked what the difference between Rap and Hip-Hop is. I said that in my view rap has less emphasis on singing, rather it started as a way for non-singers in the inner-cities of America to do social commentary over music. See the Wikipedia history of rapping. But I think rap has become something else now. It seems to be more braggadocio (word definition) about money, materialism and women as sex-objects. As an example we listened to 50 Cent's (bio) "Just a Lil' Bit" (video, lyrics).
We only made it through half of that song before the class said they want to hear some rap with quality. Someone asked what I think of Eminem (bio) and I said that I respect him as lyricist. One of the students asked to see his video "Mockingbird" (video, lyrics). I didn't know this song, but it's a good representation of what Eminem is about.What my students didn't know is that Eminem is interpolating the traditional children's lullaby "Hush Little Baby" (video, lyrics) into this song. It's rather chilling how he mixes the sweet lullaby with lyrics of anguish. The class talked for a long time about whether Eminem is a good father for telling his daughter how much he hates her mother. The class said he is expressing his love for his daughter, but what about the vitriol (word definition) contained within those proclomations of love?
We lightened the mood of the class by listening to "Friday Night" (video with lyrics written in SMS form!) by Lily Allen (bio). (Here's a rough video of hersinging this song in Seattle a few weeks ago.)
The conversation in the class swung to the club scene in Seattle and abroad and we talked about that for a while.
We played a bit of a Taiwanese hip-hop artist, Jay Chou (bio). We played the song "Ting Ma Ma De Hua" (video). My students told me that his message is positive and that he is a good role model.For the last song of the day one student asked to hear a song she had heard in an Abercrombie & Fitch store: "And She Said" (video, lyrics) by Lucas Prata (bio).As I mentioned above, for this coming Wednesday I am going to ask the students to tell me which songs they relate to Seattle.
22 April 2007
Wednesday, April 18
Wow, 15 students today, what a great turnout! Last week's students were there again plus Izumi from last quarter.
When I asked for a song suggestion Kerry piped up wanting to see Justin Timberlake's "My Love", just like we saw last week. As with last week -- and it is a recurring theme -- one of the students mentioned that she likes the songs because the lyrics are easy to understand.
Next up Stephanie from Hong Kong chose "It Ends Tonight" (video, lyrics) by The All American Rejects (bio). She likes how this song starts calmly then gets progressively more powerful. It makes her feel strong when she listens to it.
Kerry suggested that if Stephanie likes that last song, then she should hear "Lips Of An Angel" (video, lyrics) by Hinder (bio). I thought that Kerry was right on with that suggestion, that Hinder is quite similar to The All American Rejects, but Stephanie didn't agree and didn't like the Hinder song.
Listening to these two "alternative" bands made me think of Modest Mouse (bio), the Seattle band who recently had the #1 album in the US with "We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank" (on Amazon). I asked if anyone in the class has heard of Modest Mouse. No one had, so I played the video for the first single, Dashboard (lyrics).
The class definitely did not like this song so it got taken off after about 30 seconds.
I asked if anyone knew of other Seattle bands. Someone mentioned Jimi Hendrix (bio), a statue of whom is on the street corner just outside our classroom. Most people in the class didn't know who Jimi Hendrix is. The statue was actually commissioned by the first company I worked for out of university, AEI Music Network.
I asked if anyone knew any of the Seattle grunge bands: Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains. Blank stares and lightly shaken heads. The glorious music of my youth isn't even on their radar screens.
Someone did say they know the local band Death Cab For Cutie (bio). So we put on the video for "Soul Meets Body" (video, lyrics)
So far all the music today had been guitar-oriented and pretty rockin'. At this point the people in the class who like calmer music were getting a bit restless.
I asked one of the guys in the class to pick a song: "Never Had A Dream Come True" (video, lyrics) by S Club 7 (bio) was his choice. I remarked that it seems like the *guys* in the class are more romantic than the women, hahaha! Again, the reason for liking this song is the now common refrain "The lyrics are easy to understand."
I asked one of the guys who likes classical music to pick a song. He chose a song by Richard Clayderman (bio), but now I can't remember which song it was!
At this point the YouTube website went down and we couldn't access videos anymore -- a disaster for this class!
Izumi had brought a CD single of a song she recently bought: "Smile" (video, lyrics) by Lily Allen (bio) so we played the song with just the lyrics on the screen but not the video. The song was popular in the class. I mentioned that Lily Allen recently played a sold-out concert in Seattle (Seattle Times review, Seattle PI review).
It was now 5pm, the scheduled hour was up. I said that I would stay and keep talking about music for anyone who wanted to stay. A few people left, but about 8 people stayed.
Since YouTube was down we now switched to playing songs off of the students' mp3 players.
Someone asked if we can play non-English songs. Sure!, I replied. Titus played "To You" (video) by a Hong Kong singer, Leslie Cheung (bio).
Next we heard two New Age instrumental songs from a Korean artist. I can't remember the artists name, but the Hong Kong students recognized the songs -- and *love* the songs! -- from a Korean soap opera called "Goong" (info). Apparently South Korean soap operas are beloved throughout Asia. Many people download them from the internet and watch them with subtitles.
For the last song of the day we listened to "Hollaback Girl" (video, lyrics) by Gwen Stefani (bio). On the screen I saw the lyrics "This shit is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S" so I explained that the world "bananas" is old slang for "crazy".
When I asked for a song suggestion Kerry piped up wanting to see Justin Timberlake's "My Love", just like we saw last week. As with last week -- and it is a recurring theme -- one of the students mentioned that she likes the songs because the lyrics are easy to understand.
Next up Stephanie from Hong Kong chose "It Ends Tonight" (video, lyrics) by The All American Rejects (bio). She likes how this song starts calmly then gets progressively more powerful. It makes her feel strong when she listens to it.Kerry suggested that if Stephanie likes that last song, then she should hear "Lips Of An Angel" (video, lyrics) by Hinder (bio). I thought that Kerry was right on with that suggestion, that Hinder is quite similar to The All American Rejects, but Stephanie didn't agree and didn't like the Hinder song.Listening to these two "alternative" bands made me think of Modest Mouse (bio), the Seattle band who recently had the #1 album in the US with "We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank" (on Amazon). I asked if anyone in the class has heard of Modest Mouse. No one had, so I played the video for the first single, Dashboard (lyrics).The class definitely did not like this song so it got taken off after about 30 seconds.
I asked if anyone knew of other Seattle bands. Someone mentioned Jimi Hendrix (bio), a statue of whom is on the street corner just outside our classroom. Most people in the class didn't know who Jimi Hendrix is. The statue was actually commissioned by the first company I worked for out of university, AEI Music Network.I asked if anyone knew any of the Seattle grunge bands: Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains. Blank stares and lightly shaken heads. The glorious music of my youth isn't even on their radar screens.
Someone did say they know the local band Death Cab For Cutie (bio). So we put on the video for "Soul Meets Body" (video, lyrics)So far all the music today had been guitar-oriented and pretty rockin'. At this point the people in the class who like calmer music were getting a bit restless.
I asked one of the guys in the class to pick a song: "Never Had A Dream Come True" (video, lyrics) by S Club 7 (bio) was his choice. I remarked that it seems like the *guys* in the class are more romantic than the women, hahaha! Again, the reason for liking this song is the now common refrain "The lyrics are easy to understand."I asked one of the guys who likes classical music to pick a song. He chose a song by Richard Clayderman (bio), but now I can't remember which song it was!At this point the YouTube website went down and we couldn't access videos anymore -- a disaster for this class!
Izumi had brought a CD single of a song she recently bought: "Smile" (video, lyrics) by Lily Allen (bio) so we played the song with just the lyrics on the screen but not the video. The song was popular in the class. I mentioned that Lily Allen recently played a sold-out concert in Seattle (Seattle Times review, Seattle PI review).It was now 5pm, the scheduled hour was up. I said that I would stay and keep talking about music for anyone who wanted to stay. A few people left, but about 8 people stayed.
Since YouTube was down we now switched to playing songs off of the students' mp3 players.
Someone asked if we can play non-English songs. Sure!, I replied. Titus played "To You" (video) by a Hong Kong singer, Leslie Cheung (bio).Next we heard two New Age instrumental songs from a Korean artist. I can't remember the artists name, but the Hong Kong students recognized the songs -- and *love* the songs! -- from a Korean soap opera called "Goong" (info). Apparently South Korean soap operas are beloved throughout Asia. Many people download them from the internet and watch them with subtitles.
For the last song of the day we listened to "Hollaback Girl" (video, lyrics) by Gwen Stefani (bio). On the screen I saw the lyrics "This shit is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S" so I explained that the world "bananas" is old slang for "crazy".16 April 2007
Wednesday, April 11 (first class of the new session)
After a 5-week break, today was the first class of the new quarter. In the hour before the class I went around to a few English classes in session to promote my conversation group in person, but when 4pm rolled around my classroom was empty. Was it that I hadn't sold the idea well? Was it the sunny weather outside that enticed potential students to sit on the grass rather than in a room?
Suddenly my first student showed up: Titus, from Hong Kong. Shortly after him Yumi, from Japan, came in.
As the three of us were introducing ourselves I saw someone out in the hall looking over at us curiously. I beckoned her to join us. Enter Vanny from Vietnam!
We kept the introductions short and went straight for music. Vanny picked the first song, "My Love" (video, lyrics) by Justin Timberlake (bio). She likes the rhythm of this song. And the dancing. When she listens to the song she thinks of the video: the song and visual are linked.
Next Yumi picked a song by Utada Hikaru (bio). There were a number of songs out there, so she picked "Passion" (video , lyrics and song information).
This inspired Vanny to start taking about a song called "Bonjour Vietnam" (video, lyrics) which is sung by a French-Vietnamese woman name Pham Quynh Anh (her website, in French). Vanny said that this song is extremely popular in Vietnam. Even though the singer has never been to Vietnam -- she was born to immigrants in France -- the Vietnamese like her sentiment of staying close to her family roots. Here is a story about the song.
At this point Vanny's sister, Kerry, showed up and the conversation became even more animated!
I wanted everyone in the class to have a chance to pick a song and talk about it so asked Titus to pick one. He choose Westlife (bio) "My Love" (video, lyrics). When I asked him why he likes this song his answer was one I have often heard: I can easily understand the lyrics.
We talked about the visual element of bands, how listening to music a person also imagines what the band or video looks like. And how a good-looking band can have a bad song, but a person sometimes still likes the song because the band is so good looking! I asked if any of my students *used to* think an artists was hot looking, but doesn't like him/her anymore. Kerry's example was 50 Cent (bio) "Just A Little Bit" (video, lyrics).
I was thinking of the inverse, of an artist who isn't very good looking but has a great song. My example was James Blunt (bio) "You're Beautiful" (video, lyrics). I can't remember from all the "I love this song!" cooing that was going on between my students if they think he's good looking or not...
With that our hour was up. It was a good group and I hope to have a few more participants next week. Will Izumi return from last quarter?
Suddenly my first student showed up: Titus, from Hong Kong. Shortly after him Yumi, from Japan, came in.
As the three of us were introducing ourselves I saw someone out in the hall looking over at us curiously. I beckoned her to join us. Enter Vanny from Vietnam!
We kept the introductions short and went straight for music. Vanny picked the first song, "My Love" (video, lyrics) by Justin Timberlake (bio). She likes the rhythm of this song. And the dancing. When she listens to the song she thinks of the video: the song and visual are linked.Next Yumi picked a song by Utada Hikaru (bio). There were a number of songs out there, so she picked "Passion" (video , lyrics and song information).This inspired Vanny to start taking about a song called "Bonjour Vietnam" (video, lyrics) which is sung by a French-Vietnamese woman name Pham Quynh Anh (her website, in French). Vanny said that this song is extremely popular in Vietnam. Even though the singer has never been to Vietnam -- she was born to immigrants in France -- the Vietnamese like her sentiment of staying close to her family roots. Here is a story about the song.At this point Vanny's sister, Kerry, showed up and the conversation became even more animated!
I wanted everyone in the class to have a chance to pick a song and talk about it so asked Titus to pick one. He choose Westlife (bio) "My Love" (video, lyrics). When I asked him why he likes this song his answer was one I have often heard: I can easily understand the lyrics.We talked about the visual element of bands, how listening to music a person also imagines what the band or video looks like. And how a good-looking band can have a bad song, but a person sometimes still likes the song because the band is so good looking! I asked if any of my students *used to* think an artists was hot looking, but doesn't like him/her anymore. Kerry's example was 50 Cent (bio) "Just A Little Bit" (video, lyrics).I was thinking of the inverse, of an artist who isn't very good looking but has a great song. My example was James Blunt (bio) "You're Beautiful" (video, lyrics). I can't remember from all the "I love this song!" cooing that was going on between my students if they think he's good looking or not...With that our hour was up. It was a good group and I hope to have a few more participants next week. Will Izumi return from last quarter?
14 March 2007
Wednesday, 7 March 2007
This was the last class for this session. Classes will continue again on April 11th. We will be in a new location in the South Annex (room SA 302) of Seattle Central Community College. As last week we only had Nara and Izumi but it was a very fun session!
At the beginning of class Izumi mentioned that she likes classical music best and is classically trained on piano. I told her that the Seattle Symphony has a program specially for people in their 20's and 30's called Wolfgang.
Nara talked about a song that drove people to kill themselves. She wasn't sure which song it was but did a bunch of searching and found out it was "Gloomy Sunday". There is a whole Wikipedia entry about the song which explains it and some urban myths around it. Here are the lyrics and a fan-created video set to the version sung by Billie Holiday (bio).
We talked about how music has such an strong emotional effect on people. Nara and Izumi agreed that music is a universal language, that it evokes emotions in people regardless of their language or culture. For example, a sad classical piece will make a person of any culture or mother tongue feel melancholic. Izumi said music expresses more than words.
Izumi also noted that Beethoven had a sad life story and that his music is sorrowful. Yet when she plays the music she feels happy. She says that "inside" the music is pretty. Nara agreed that when she plays music she feels happy.
Nara wondered how someone could be so affected by music that the actually commit suicide! Izumi mentioned that music audiences in her home town of Nagoya have the reputation of being very passionate, that they often go onto the stage when performers are playing.
Nara said that she finds kabuki much easier to follow when watching it live than western opera. The main reason for this is that kabuki uses make-up, masks and physical movements to tell the story more clearly than western opera, which relies heavily on the words.
Since this is the last class for 5 weeks I suggested to Izumi and Nara that we go see the regular Tuesday night flamenco show at the Capitol Club next week. They are interested in seeing it. It brought up the question of what is "latin" music versus "flamenco". I referred to an earlier one of my classes where we discussed "flamenco" versus "salsa".
At the beginning of class Izumi mentioned that she likes classical music best and is classically trained on piano. I told her that the Seattle Symphony has a program specially for people in their 20's and 30's called Wolfgang.
Nara talked about a song that drove people to kill themselves. She wasn't sure which song it was but did a bunch of searching and found out it was "Gloomy Sunday". There is a whole Wikipedia entry about the song which explains it and some urban myths around it. Here are the lyrics and a fan-created video set to the version sung by Billie Holiday (bio).We talked about how music has such an strong emotional effect on people. Nara and Izumi agreed that music is a universal language, that it evokes emotions in people regardless of their language or culture. For example, a sad classical piece will make a person of any culture or mother tongue feel melancholic. Izumi said music expresses more than words.
Izumi also noted that Beethoven had a sad life story and that his music is sorrowful. Yet when she plays the music she feels happy. She says that "inside" the music is pretty. Nara agreed that when she plays music she feels happy.
Nara wondered how someone could be so affected by music that the actually commit suicide! Izumi mentioned that music audiences in her home town of Nagoya have the reputation of being very passionate, that they often go onto the stage when performers are playing.
Nara said that she finds kabuki much easier to follow when watching it live than western opera. The main reason for this is that kabuki uses make-up, masks and physical movements to tell the story more clearly than western opera, which relies heavily on the words.Since this is the last class for 5 weeks I suggested to Izumi and Nara that we go see the regular Tuesday night flamenco show at the Capitol Club next week. They are interested in seeing it. It brought up the question of what is "latin" music versus "flamenco". I referred to an earlier one of my classes where we discussed "flamenco" versus "salsa".
23 February 2007
Wednesday, 21 February 2007
5 students today, three of whom were new.
Class started with discussion about the Chinese New Year (which was this past weekend), which is apparently celebrated throughout Asia except Japan. I asked if anyone has been to a concert in Seattle yet and only one, Jin, has. He saw local heroes the Presidents Of The United States Of America (PUSA) over the weekend at the Showbox. The Presidents played three nights in a row and the Showbox is my favorite place to see music (only the Paradiso in Amsterdam comes close): I'm sure it was a great show and an excellent Seattle-cultural experience. One of the local Seattle newspapers gave the concert a rave review:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/pop/304190_presidents19q.html
And this blogger liked it, too:
http://librarian-chroniclesof.blogspot.com/2007/02/presidents.html
Speaking of good music coming to Seattle, there are many excellent shows coming up. Lots of British bands. Here's a whole list of concerts in Seattle. I am for sure going to see Kaiser Chiefs at the Showbox on April 25 (I read a rave review of their new album). One of my favorite live bands, You Am I from Australia, are playing the Crocodile Cafe on March 28. Their live show is like watching The Who back in the 70's.
For those willing to invest a whole weekend, in early May there is the Sasquatch Festival (what the word "Sasquatch" means, info about the festival) at the Gorge, 2.5 hours away from Seattle. This year's lineup of bands is great and the venue, set above the Columbia River is in an amazing setting. I have never gone over for the festival as I don't like dealing with such big crowds, but the quality of bands is so high that I think I will go this year.
Speaking of Jin, it turns out he played in a band back home in South Korea. So we started by listening to his band: "locking on Heaven's Door". Heavy music! Jin plays bass on it. I asked what the lyrics are about. He said it is about society not being open to all people, that the chorus says "open it up to all!".
For the next song one of the students wanted to continue in a rock music vein. But he likes rock music that is a little more even in its beat: not too fast but not too slow. He picked "Behind Blue Eyes" (video, lyrics) by Limp Bizkit (bio, website).
Nara didn't like the song because she said it's too sad. She doesn't like sad music because it affects her mood too strongly.
The class did not know that this song was originally written/performed by The Who. So I played some of the Who's version. Nara felt this version has much more energy and isn't as sad. It's true that the Limp Bizkit version doesn't have the energetic middle section. And of course Fred Durst can't sing like Roger Daltrey!
The next student wanted to hear "Cry On My Shoulder". I don't know a song by that name so I wasn't sure which song he meant. We searched on that name on YouTube and found this animation, which he says has the song he was thinking of as the background music. I still don't know who does the song. And I was a bit confused by the animation, as it seems to tell one story with the subtitles which don't match to the song. But the class enjoyed watching the animation.
Next up Izumi chose "Carnival" (video, lyrics) by the Cardigans (bio, website). I asked her why she chose this song and she said the style of the song reminds her of traditional Japanese songs.
As the class was coming to an end one of the students asked to hear a Sarah McLachlan (bio, website) song. I am not very familiar with her songs and had a devil of a time spelling her name so wasn't able to find many choices on YouTube. We ended up watching a video for "In The Arms Of Angels" (video, lyrics) but I think it's a video a fan put over the song.
After class was over I stopped by the library for something else and noticed a Sarah McLachlan dvd there. I picked it up and will bring it to class next week.
Class started with discussion about the Chinese New Year (which was this past weekend), which is apparently celebrated throughout Asia except Japan. I asked if anyone has been to a concert in Seattle yet and only one, Jin, has. He saw local heroes the Presidents Of The United States Of America (PUSA) over the weekend at the Showbox. The Presidents played three nights in a row and the Showbox is my favorite place to see music (only the Paradiso in Amsterdam comes close): I'm sure it was a great show and an excellent Seattle-cultural experience. One of the local Seattle newspapers gave the concert a rave review:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/pop/304190_presidents19q.html
And this blogger liked it, too:
http://librarian-chroniclesof.blogspot.com/2007/02/presidents.html
Speaking of good music coming to Seattle, there are many excellent shows coming up. Lots of British bands. Here's a whole list of concerts in Seattle. I am for sure going to see Kaiser Chiefs at the Showbox on April 25 (I read a rave review of their new album). One of my favorite live bands, You Am I from Australia, are playing the Crocodile Cafe on March 28. Their live show is like watching The Who back in the 70's.
For those willing to invest a whole weekend, in early May there is the Sasquatch Festival (what the word "Sasquatch" means, info about the festival) at the Gorge, 2.5 hours away from Seattle. This year's lineup of bands is great and the venue, set above the Columbia River is in an amazing setting. I have never gone over for the festival as I don't like dealing with such big crowds, but the quality of bands is so high that I think I will go this year.
Speaking of Jin, it turns out he played in a band back home in South Korea. So we started by listening to his band: "locking on Heaven's Door". Heavy music! Jin plays bass on it. I asked what the lyrics are about. He said it is about society not being open to all people, that the chorus says "open it up to all!".For the next song one of the students wanted to continue in a rock music vein. But he likes rock music that is a little more even in its beat: not too fast but not too slow. He picked "Behind Blue Eyes" (video, lyrics) by Limp Bizkit (bio, website).Nara didn't like the song because she said it's too sad. She doesn't like sad music because it affects her mood too strongly.
The class did not know that this song was originally written/performed by The Who. So I played some of the Who's version. Nara felt this version has much more energy and isn't as sad. It's true that the Limp Bizkit version doesn't have the energetic middle section. And of course Fred Durst can't sing like Roger Daltrey!
The next student wanted to hear "Cry On My Shoulder". I don't know a song by that name so I wasn't sure which song he meant. We searched on that name on YouTube and found this animation, which he says has the song he was thinking of as the background music. I still don't know who does the song. And I was a bit confused by the animation, as it seems to tell one story with the subtitles which don't match to the song. But the class enjoyed watching the animation.
Next up Izumi chose "Carnival" (video, lyrics) by the Cardigans (bio, website). I asked her why she chose this song and she said the style of the song reminds her of traditional Japanese songs.As the class was coming to an end one of the students asked to hear a Sarah McLachlan (bio, website) song. I am not very familiar with her songs and had a devil of a time spelling her name so wasn't able to find many choices on YouTube. We ended up watching a video for "In The Arms Of Angels" (video, lyrics) but I think it's a video a fan put over the song.After class was over I stopped by the library for something else and noticed a Sarah McLachlan dvd there. I picked it up and will bring it to class next week.
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