Conversation classes taking a break until January

With finals coming up followed by the holiday break I expect attendance for the Language Of Music conversation class will be very low through the rest of December.  Class will take a break from now until the beginning of January 2012.  More information about date/time/location for class in January when I have it. 

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to everyone!

Steve Z

30 Nov 2011

Due to circumstances I have not been able to lead the conversation group the past few weeks.  Some UW assistants took my place and it sounds like there were some good sessions.

I will be back leading the group again as of this week -- Thursday 1 Dec.  I hope to see some students and have good conversations about music.  I look forward to it!

Steve Z

20 October 2011 (Thursday)

The first day of The Language Of Music at the University of Washington!  I had no idea how many participants would come this first time.  In the end 10 people showed up -- a good sized group. 

I started by introducing myself and how the class works.  We then went around the room with a quick introduction of each person: where they are from, what they are studying and what kind of music they like.

There is a lot of diversity of musical tastes in the group and people seem pretty talkative; we will have some good conversations over the next weeks.

To get a sense of how the class works I asked if anyone in the class had a song in mind. 

Mustafa, from Turkey, suggested a song about a city in Turkey called Bodrum (Bodrum video, Wikipedia). He said this songs reminds him of summer breaks from school when his family would go to Bodrum for holidays. 

This was a perfect example for how the conversations in the class work: students pick a song that they like and then explain what it means to them.  And hopefully the other students talk about the video or song or theme, too.

I asked the group if anyone else had a song in mind. "Waka Waka" (Waka Waka video, lyrics) by Shakira (bio) was requested.  This was another perfect example for the class because a previous class of mine had discussed the same video and in that previous class was a student from Cameroon who informed us that Shakira had stolen that song from a traditional Cameroonian army song. See the previous class post for all the details, including link to a video where Shakira blatantly lies about "writing" that song.

I used the word "cheeky" to describe Shakira's behavior in taking credit for a song she didn't write.  It turns out it's not that easy to define "cheeky".  Here's the dictionary definition: cheeky.

I asked the class if anyone knows Seattle bands. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (video, lyrics) by Nirvana (bio) was picked.  While I played the video I didn't put the lyrics on the screen because they just don't make sense and I knew it would be more confusing for the students to try and understand the non-sensical lyrics than to just not even show them.

It seems that most of the class is not familiar with the other big "grunge" (definition) bands from the same time as Nirvana (Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam).  Plus there are many other excellent non-grunge bands from Seattle, both in the past and in the present.  I am sure that over the course of our conversations we will talk about other Seattle bands.  And hopefully go to some concerts!

Someone mentioned that when people think of Seattle they think of the movie "Sleepless In Seattle".  I said that there's a romantic comedy movie called "Singles" (info) which was shot in Seattle in the early 90's and it's kind of like how Seattle was when I was in my early 20's.  It's certainly not *exactly* how things were back then, but it gives a sense.  Though it's not a great movie, it's fun to see scenes of Seattle -- it's worth watching one rainy evening!

Someone asked if there are any good songs *about* Seattle.  I had a song in mind, but just couldn't come up with the title in class.  Now I know what it is: "The Bluest Skies You've Ever Seen Are In Seattle" (video, lyrics).

But that's an old song!  One of the students had a couple of much more contemporary examples by local Seattle hip hop artists. Both are excellent choices to represent Seattle music!!

"The Ave" (video, lyrics) by Blue Scholars (bio).

"The Town" (video, lyrics) by Macklemore (bio).  Macklemore played a concert in Red Square at the UW for Dog Days this year.

At this point another group had to use the room so we had to suddenly end our conversation.  From now on we will have the room until 6pm for sure.  I look forward to learning more about the students and the music they like over the course of this quarter!

Conversation group starts again Thursday, 20 October @ 4:30pm

The Language Of Music English conversation group will start again after the summer break on Thursday, 20 October at 4:30pm.  

We have a new meeting place: Condon Hall at the University of Washington.

I look forward to meeting the new students and having interesting conversations about music!

No meetings during summer vacation

The Language Of Music conversation group is taking a break over summer.  We will start again for Fall Quarter.  I look forward to it!

Steve Z

21 April 2011 (Thursday)

The start for classes this quarter was a bit later than usual because I had a work meeting on the Thursday we were to re-start. 

I was curious to see how many students from last quarter would continue this quarter.  In the event, I had 5 students, all new!  After my usual introduction of the class it was time to get as sense of what kind of music my students like. 

The first song was "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" (video, lyrics in comments) by Andy Williams (bio).

As I write this I can't remember how I made the leap from that song to "Uprising" (video, lyrics) by Muse (bio), but for some reason I played it next. 

The group didn't seem to be very into this song so I asked a student for another suggestion.  The song chosen was "Dancing Queen" (video, lyrics) by Abba (bio).  The student told me he chose this song because the song just makes him happy when he hears it and he loves the musical Mama Mia (info).

At this point I was very surprised at the choices of "old" music -- usually my students are into the latest songs and it is through them that I learn what is current.

The next song chosen was "Long Distance Call" (video, lyrics) by French band Phoenix (bio).  I had never heard of this band before, though according to their biography they have won a Grammy! 

That song reminded me of another band that is very popular these days, MGMT (bio).  I played the song "Kids" (video, lyrics). Again, my students seemed unimpressed.  I was not doing well in predicting my students' musical taste!

The next song chosen was "Need You Now" (video, lyrics) by Lady Antebellum (bio).

Next up was "Just The Way You Are" (video, lyrics) by Bruno Mars (bio).  I like that in this video they use the cassette tape for drawing the pictures.  Most of my students are young and probably never even owned a cassette -- it's become a cool "retro" item.

In our introductions, one of the students said his favorite band is The Beatles (bio).  He chose the song "Revolution" (video, lyrics).  One reason he likes Beatles songs is because the lyrics are easy to understand. He said his favorite Beatles song is actually "Let It Be" (video, lyrics).

This Beatles theme reminded me of a video a student played last quarter by the Korean band Dynamic Duo (bio) where the band pretends to be like the Beatles.  The song is "Let's Go" (video).  However, the student who like The Beatles didn't like this song: it's too loud.

The last song of the say was "The End Of The World" (video, lyrics) by Skeeter Davis (bio).


With that time was gone and we parted.  This group of students have a very different taste of music from my usual groups -- this will be an interesting quarter!

17 March 2011 (Thursday) (St. Patrick's Day!)

5 students showed up for the last day of class for the quarter.  And which was coincidentally also St. Patrick's Day (info).

Seattle Central Community College will be *closed* for the break between quarters.  The next class will be 21 April.

I tried starting the class with some Irish music, choosing The Corrs (bio) "Dreams" (video, lyrics) since it's the most mainstream and popular song by an Irish band I could think of. However, the class seemed unimpressed so I just went on to ask what they want to hear.

First choice was "Nobody's Perfect" (video, lyrics) by Hannah Montana (bio).  Everyone knows Hannah/Miley, but my students didn't know that her father, Billy Ray Cyrus (bio) had a massive hit in America back in the 90's called "Achy Breaky Heart" (video, lyrics). 

I wanted to show the class the video "I Will Possess Your Heart" (video, lyrics) by a Seattle band, Death Cab For Cutie (bio) which shows a woman traveling around the world so we could identify the places she travels, but the class didn't seem to like the song so I cut it short.

Indeed, the next song chosen was *very* different from Death Cab For Cutie: "Fire" (video) by 2NE1 (bio).  This is a South Korean girl group which is very popular in Korea not only because they are pretty, but because they train hard at their craft, too.

In the 2NE1 video had a bit where there was one standing there with the others' hands behind her and it reminded me a fantastic video I found out about a couple of years ago.  It's a Chinese group of women who make amazing patterns with their hands.  What adds to the amazement is the fact that the women are all deaf!

Now for more dancing, but African: Battoh (video) by Petit Pays (bio). Sabine chose this song because he is singing in her mother's native language.  In Cameroon they have 300 dialects!

I asked the students what they are doing over spring break.  No one has any big plans.  I taught them the word "spontaneous" (definition).

I mentioned there is a concert coming up in Seattle that they might be interested in, so I showed a video: "Sugarfoot" (video, lyrics) by Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears (bio).  Again, it appears my musical taste differs from my students.  But I'll try to convince them again -- this will be a great show and a great cultural experience for them, I am sure.

I think the retro-feeling of that last video inspired Owen to show a Korean band, Dynamic Duo (bio) doing a parody of the Beatles: "Let's Go" (video). Cool song and video!

The Dynamic Duo guys have been friends since childhood for some reason that reminded me of the Beastie Boys (bio) so I played my favorite song/video of theirs: "Shake Your Rump" (video, lyrics).

Next was "Si tu vois me go" (video) by Koppo. Sabine chose this song because it is sung in the "Franglais" style of mixing English and French which is very popular in Cameroon. This Franglais is useful for two reasons: people from different areas of the country who do not share a language can use it to communicate with each other.  And older people can't understand what the younger people are saying!

I could see Mohanned was a bit tired so asked him to play a song which would wake him up.  He chose "Let It Rock" (video, lyrics) by Kevin Rudolf (bio) features Little Wayne (bio).

Next song chosen was "Hollywood" (song with lyrics) by JoJo (bio).

That song, including its theme about Hollywood abandoning a person heartlessly, reminded me of the song Hollywood (video, lyrics) by Thin Lizzy (bio) -- an Irish band, so it fit with St. Patrick's Day! -- and especially a performance they did with a grandmother playing keyboards with the rock band. 

I think all the laughing about the grandmother playing with a rock band made me think of this old school humorous rap song I've been listening to in my car lately: "Humpty Dance" (video, lyrics) by The Digital Underground (bio).

The next song chosen was "Who's That Girl" (video, lyrics) by Eve (bio).

The last song of the day was "Remember The Name" (video, lyrics) by Fort Minor (bio).  Owen chose this song because it was the theme song of the NBA championships and therefore reminds him of basketball.  And he likes the lyrics which talk about how success is a combination of work, skill and luck.

With that our time was done for the day and the quarter -- I hope to see everyone again at the start of Spring quarter on 7 April.

10 March 2011 (Thursday)

This week we again had 5 students.

As we waited for students to arrive we watched "How Do You Do" (video, lyrics) by beFour (bio).

I mentioned to the class that this weekend I would go see a concert by Khaira Arby (Seattle Times article about her).  I showed a video and asked if anyone would like to join me.  No one was interested; this is not the kind of music the class likes, I guess. (Note after the concert: it was FANTASTIC and I loved the concert!!)

Next we listened to a song called "Go Hard" (video with lyrics) by Thai, Nump Trump & Dew Deezy.  This song was chosen because one of the rappers in the crew is Vietnamese.

After this song we talked a while about why some videos rely on showing extreme materialism and emphasize sex so much.  One student mentioned that when a woman watches a video like that, she's looking at the clothes she would like, while the guy is looking at the beautiful girls he fantasizes about having.  That's a good observation!  Another student said that the visuals are meant to distract from the lack of talent in the song; that when a song is good, it doesn't need all those extreme visuals.  Another good explanation.

Along that theme, that it's more about the song than the visual, I played Susan Boyle's (bio) "I Dreamed A Dream" (video, lyrics) performance from Britain's Got Talent to show how a visual can make one impression (how people reacted when she came out on stage) but the actual performance can change that perception (and many people we ashamed at their reaction to her visual presence once they heard her voice).

Speaking of talent, I showed a video of KT Tunstall (bio) and how she, as one person, could build a song up from many parts, by herself, using taping + loops. "Black Horse & The Cherry Tree" (video, lyrics) live on French television.

The next song was "African Queen" (video, lyrics) by 2Face Idibia (bio).  I noted that in this song he compared a woman's beauty to the moon; I find this a very romantic comparison.  One of the students from Vietnam said that it is also common there to compare a woman's beauty to the moon.

Next was a clip from the Arab's Got Talent show, which has just started.  We watched the Salama Crew (video). It is very interesting to see how these kinds of shows are done in different countries/cultures!

Next was another Arabic video, "Aa Bali Habibi" (video with English translation) by Elissa (bio).  Mohanned, who chose this song, finds the lyrics to be so extremely overdramatic that it is hard for him to listen to them.  He showed another example from her with "Bitmoun" (English: "I owe you") (video).  Sabine, who lived in Tunesia, loves this song!

I can't remember how the next song was chosen, but it was "A Time For Us" (video with lyrics) by Andy Williams (bio).  The question arose why the play Romeo & Juliet is considered the greatest love story ever.  That was a great question and I am not sure how it got elevated to that status!  I did find this discussion on the topic.

Someone wanted to hear "Hallelujah" (video, lyrics) by Alexandra Burke (bio).  I asked the student why she chose that song and she said it's because the emotion is so strong.  She had heard it in the movie Shrek.

"Hallelujah" is a classic song from the 1960's, originally by Leonard Cohen (bio).  I showed how he originally did it.

Next song was "Isnebo" (video) by Faadah Kawtal.

Our time for this week was coming to an end and the last song chosen was "Irreplaceable" (video, lyrics) by Beyonce (bio). The theme of that song is telling a guy to not get so sure of himself to think that he cannot be replaced.

That inspired me to show my favorite song on that topic: "Tyrone" (video, lyrics) by Erykah Badu (bio).

And with that, class for the week was over.  Very fun!!

3 March 2011 (Thursday)

5 students today.  It is starting to be the same students each week, which is nice since we get to know each other and the conversations flow more easily between the students themselves.

We watched lots of videos today!!  Starting with "Love... what is it?" (video ; note you can click the "cc" button to see an English translation of the song).  After this song we discussed the philosophy of whether it is better to "have loved and lost or never to have loved at all."  The class has mixed opinions/feelings on this subject.

The next video was definitely less philosophical: "Check It Out" (video, lyrics) by will.i.am (bio) featuring Nicki Minaj (bio).  If I remember correctly, the student chose this song because the guy at the beginning of the video is Korean and there are Korean words in the background of the video.

To my surprise most of the students didn't know the will.i.am song is based on the song "Video Killed The Radio Star" (video, lyrics, song info) by The Buggles (bio).  The Buggles song is significant because it was the very first song ever shown on MTV when it went on the air on 1 August 1981.

Now we were on the topic of songs which sample older songs.  Next song was "The Time (Dirty Bit)" (video, lyrics, song info) by the Black Eyed Peas (bio). 

That song is based on "Time Of My Life" (video, lyrics) from the movie "Dirty Dancing" (info).  I told my students that this movie is a classic in American culture: every American who grew up in the 80's watched this movie.

One student said he is not familiar with the band Black Eyed Peas.  I cannot imagine *anyone* on the planet right now is not familiar with at least this song by them: "I Gotta Feeling" (video, lyrics).  Indeed, as soon as it started he said "Oh yeah, I know that song!".

We talked a bit about how simplistic the lyrics for Black Eyed Peas songs are.  But most of the students said often the lyrics don't matter, they just want a beat to dance to.

Next up was Shakira (bio) "Waka Waka" (video, lyrics, song information), the official song for the 2010 World Cup.  This song has lots of dancing and, in keeping with our theme for the day, it turns out it is not her original song -- it is originally a Cameroonian song (video)!  It is a song soldiers sing to stay happy.  In that sense it is like a Black Eyed Peas song: it's not deep, just creates a good mood.

Here's a video interview where Shakira takes full credit for writing the song, but if you listen to the original version above, she just took over an existing song! Apparently Shakira didn't have to pay anything to the original composers of the song because they didn't copyright it. Apparenly Shakira's not the first to steal the song: here's another Latin American version of it.

Now we moved off of songs which have their basis in other songs.  One of the Korean students chose "Rocketeer" (video, lyrics) by Far East Movement (bio) featuring Ryan Tedder (bio).

Today there was a new student in the class and I asked her to choose a song.  She chose "I have a dream" (video, lyrics) by Westlife (bio).

After this song another student chose "When You Say Nothing At All" (video, lyrics) by Ronan Keating (bio).  The student who chose this one said it is the song he heard when he met his girlfriend at a cafe in Ho Chi Minh city.

Another student has a similar song: "No One Like You" (video, lyrics) by P Square (bio); she was listening to this song when she met her boyfriend (I think that's the right version of the story...).  I pointed out that in the lyrics there are some African dialect phrases and words inserted, which are not used in American English.

By now we had watched lots of videos and had great conversations but it was time to go end this week's class.  The last song of the day was "Separate Ways" (video, lyrics) by Journey (bio).  I asked the student why he chose this old song and he said it was his father's favorite song and his father used to play it at home all the time.