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 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.
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