22 February 2012 (Wednesday)

Another great turnout today -- 14 students, 4 of whom were new.  One of the new students is an American who is studying Chinese.

For today's class I had suggested "winter" songs or any other songs the students like and wanted to share.

The first song chosen was "The Final Distance" (video, lyrics, song info) by Utada Hikaru (info).

The next song chosen was inspired by last week's choice of a song by the animated characer Hatsune Miku (info) (who we saw a video of last week, too).  The song he chose this week was "The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku" (video with lyrics). I have no idea how someone can understand those lyrics, but I suppose there are songs in English where the vocals are not clear but I can still understand them.  The next question is, "How many minutes of that voice can a person listen to before turning it off or going crazy?!"

Update 11 March 2012: Here's an article about Hatune's "last"(?) concerts in Japan.

Next was "The Wind Is Blowing" (video, lyrics) by Lee So Ra (website).  What a great singer and what a pretty song!

The next song we listened to was "Just One Last Dance" (video, lyrics, song info) by Sarah Connor (info).

Referring to the lyrics to this song, I asked the class if they think that when two people are breaking up, if the two people should try and have one more romantic time together again, "like the first time" or whether they should just let each other go.  Opinion in the room was mixed on this subject.

The next song chosen was "Here It Goes Again" (video, lyrics, song info) by OK Go (info).  This song is very famous for it video with the treadmill.  I asked the student who chose the song if she likes the song without the video, or only together with the video.  She said she likes the song by itself, too.

The way the band moved around on the treadmills in the previous song made me think of the video for the song "Virtual Insanity" (video, lyrics, song info) by Jamiroquai (info).

The next song chosen was "Life Is Beautiful" (video with lyrics, song info) by Vega4 (info).

This song has a typical "European" rock feel to me.  It made me think of the UK band Muse (info).  They are massively popular in Europe, but not that well known in the US.  My students from Asia were not familiar with their name nor this video "Uprising" (video, lyrics, song info).

Speaking of bands which are really popular in Europe, but not well known in the US, there's a UK band called Kasabian (info) playing in my favorite club, the Showbox (website) in Seattle on 10 April. I'm not a really big fan of the band, but I think it would be fun to see a band which are used to playing in big halls in Europe in a more intimate setting.  My favorite song by Kasabian is "Where Did All The Love Go" (video, lyrics, song info). 

Their current single is "Days Are Forgotten" (video, lyrics).

I think it will be a good rock concert. Does anyone want to go to this concert with me?

Back to the songs we listened to in class: one student suggested the song "Ripped Pants" (video, lyrics) by Spongbob Squarepants (info).

I had two questions for the student who chose this song:

1/ How does he know this song?

Answer: He used to watch Spongebob when he was a kid.

2/ Why did he chose this song?

Answer: The Muse song "Uprising" we listened to earlier reminded him of this song.  I'm not sure I see the connection myself... but that's the beauty of music: you make associations according to your own life and imagination :-) .

The next song was by Sodagreen (info).  The song is called "Chasing, Chasing, Chasing (追追追)" (video).  It is apparently an old song, updated to a modern feel. 

The song is sung in Taiwanese, as opposed to Mandarin.  We talked a little about the differences of Taiwanese and Mandarin.  Here is more information about Taiwanese language.

The next song chosen was "I Wanna Go To Marz" (video, lyrics) by John Grant (info).  When I asked the student why he chose this song he said he was just searching the web for new sounds and he found it.  We noted that he likes the fact that the lyrics are open to interpretation; they make not make "logical" sense in telling a story, but it is artistic to put concepts out there for the listener to interpret according to his own personal experience.  I liked that explanation!

As I wrote this blog entry I realized that this album, "Queen Of Denmark" is one I have had on my "listen to one day" list.  Now I've heard one song -- and I like it!

At this point someone suggested we listen to a song in tribute of Whitney Houston (bio).  Good idea!! Of course, the song to play is her signature song, "I Will Always Love You" (video, lyrics, song info).  I chose a live version of the song to show her amazing voice.

We then listened to a cover of this song (video) by Lin Yu Chun (info), which he sang on a Taiwanese talent show. That boy has a *high* voice!

Most of the students did not know that this song was actually written by a different singer, Dolly Parton (info).  Here's Dolly singing her own song.  But I think the students prefer Whitney's version. I think most of the *world* prefers Whitney's version!  Although, with music being such a personal thing, I am sure there are some people who prefer Dolly's version of the song.

I can't remember how we came up with the next choice,but it was Adele's (info) cover of a song by The Cure (info), "Lovesong" (video, lyrics, song info).  Here's the original version by The Cure.  This song is different for it's contrast: often bands put sad lyrics over happy music; in this case happy lyrics are put over sad music.

The next song was chosen according to today's musical theme: it has the word "winter" in it: "The Sound Of Winter" (video, lyrics, song info) by British band Bush (info).

Someone had asked *me* to choose a song.  That Bush song made me think of a Bush song I had had in my head this week: "Letting The Cables Sleep (remix)" (video, lyrics, song info). I like the feel of this song, even though it deals with the helplessness leading up to a breakup ("Silence is not the way, we need to talk about it.").  The video for the original version of this song illustrates the feeling of the song well (video), but I like the remix music better.

I told the class that the singer for Bush is married to Gwen Stefani (info), probably most famous for her song "Don't Speak" (video, lyrics, song info) with her band No Doubt (info) or her solo song "Hollaback Girl" (video, lyrics, song info). ("Don't Speak" would have been an excellent choice for the post-Valentine's Day class!)

The next song chosen was a continuation of the "winter" theme: "White Winter Hymnal" (video, lyrics, song info) by Seattle band Fleet Foxes (info).

The next song chosen was "Piano Man" (video, lyrics, song info) by Billy Joel (info).

One of my favorite albums when I was a young boy was Billy Joel's "52nd Street" (info).  I played that album over and over!!

Speaking of playing records over and over, I told the class that the first musician I ever loved was John Denver (info).  As an example of one of his songs I played "Leaving On A Jet Plane" (video, lyrics, song info).  Maybe listening to this song as a boy influenced me to travel so much as an adult!

I then told the class that the first song I ever remember liking in my life was "Baby Elefant Walk" (video) by Henry Mancini (info).  I was astonished to hear that the young students in my class are familiar with this song!  Apparently it is still used regularly in commercials or something. Or once you hear it you remember it forever!

The next song chosen was "Burning" (video, lyrics, song info) by Maria Arredondo (info).

The last song of the day was "A Little Less Conversation" (video, lyrics, song info) by Elvis Presley (info).  Well, the song is really by DJ JXL (info), but it's Elvis's voice.  Here's the original Elvis version.

I asked the student why he chose this song and he said he knows it from a Nike soccer shoes commercial.  I asked him if he wears Nike's when he plays soccer and he said, "No, Adidas".  So the commercial made him like the song, but didn't convince him to buy the shoes!

With that this week's session was over.  Again, it was GREAT fun and I look forward to next Wednesday's class.

A note about class on the 29th: I have to leave at 5:30pm to go to another event, so this week we will only have one hour of conversation.  But I would like to discuss with the class some ideas for going to see a concert or something in addition to our normal Language Of Music meeting.

15 February 2012

11 students today, 5 of whom were new.  I am happy that so many people are coming each week!

As I was setting up the laptop + projector I asked one of the new students what kind of music he likes: he said he likes jazz like Stan Getz (info).  I asked him if he is familiar with the Miles Davis + Gil Evans series of albums (info on those albums), but he said he is not familiar with those records. 

Three of the new students today just arrived in Seattle from their homes in Asia on the weekend! I feared they might still be jet-lagged, so I wanted to make sure we played energetic music so they wouldn't fall asleep.

I started the class by asking if anyone had any interesting Valentine's Day stories from yesterday.  One student said he went out on a "fake date", but otherwise no one had any interesting stories.

I told the class I had gone to see the movie "Pina" (video preview, info) at the Cinerama theater (website) downtown.  The Cinerama is one of the best theaters in Seattle to see movies -- it has an extra wide screen from the 1950's and is one of the few theaters in the USA with that kind of screen.  Additionally, "Pina" was fantastic in 3D -- in my opinion the best use of 3D in a film so far.  The movie is a documentary about a modern dance company in Germany, so you have to like modern dance, but it's really a feast for the eyes.  It has been nominated for an Oscar this year.

We had a few themes for the day:

* More love songs inspired by Valentine's Day,

* Breakup songs,

* Any other song people felt like sharing. 

The first song chosen was a continuation of love songs: "The Very Thought Of You" (video, lyrics, song info) by Nat King Cole (info).  The student chose it because the lyrics come from the heart; they are not contrived or commercial.

Next one of the new students chose "Sealed With A Kiss" (video, lyrics, song info) by Brian Hyland (info).  This is not quite a "love" song, but it is a song about longing for your loved one.

Someone mentioned that the song "Mad World" (video with lyrics, song info) by Gary Jules (info) has a similar musical feeling to "Sealed With A Kiss".

The next song chosen was not a love song nor a breakup song; it's just a song the student likes: "Waka Waka" (video, lyrics, song info) by Shakira (info).  This song has been picked a few times in the class over the years.  We watched the video then I told the class that previously I had learned that the song is actually an old Cameroonian army song (video) and Shakira totally took credit for writing the song!  

I asked the student how she had become aware of the Shakira song and she said she was talking to a friend on the phone and Waka Waka was playing in the background.

I asked the class if they are familiar with the Shazam iPhone/Android app (info) which makes it so your phone will recognize a song playing near you.  Most of the students hadn't heard of the app.  It's very handy: if you hear a song and you want to know who sings it, just start the Shazam app, hold your phone up and in about 30 seconds it will tell you the song title and singer.  Amazing!

Next song chosen was back to love songs: "Always On My Mind" (video, lyrics, song info) by Willie Nelson (info).  [Actually, the version the student was thinking of was not the Willie Nelson version, but he couldn't remember who the singer of the version he knows is. Maybe Elvis (video)?]

For the next song one of the new students, from Korea, wanted to show that not all Korean music is K-Pop: we listened to a song that was on his phone (plugged his phone into the speakers) so I don't know the artist or song title.  It was a style of music I have never heard before from Korea! It had an accordion in it.  It sounded to me more like German or European folk music.  Very interesting, but sorry, no links.

Next a breakup song was chosen: "Fidelity" (video, lyrics, song info) by Regina Spektor (info).

At this point I reminded the class that we had three very jet-lagged students, so we needed to keep the energy level of the songs up!

The next song was another love song: "On My Way" (video, lyrics) by Giovanca (website).

Next up: "This Is The Moment" (video, lyrics + song info) from the musical Jekyll & Hyde (info).

I mentioned to the class that if they like musicals, "Beauty and the Beast" (video, info) is coming to the Paramount Theatre (info) from 21-26 February (ticket info).  While the tickets are a bit pricey, I suggested the students skip a few Starbucks lattes and apply the money they saved to buying a ticket.  But apparently most of the students don't drink Starbucks!  How do they stay awake while studying?!?

For the next song one of the new students chose a song we had listened to last week as well: "Something" (video, lyrics, song info) by The Beatles (info).  It's a great song, so we listened to it again!

Since the video for "Something" shows The Beatles together with their girlfriends/wives, I told the story about how Eric Clapton (info) fell in love with George Harrison's wife and wrote a song about it: "Layla" (video, lyrics, song info).  So it's kind of a love song.  But not a good situation...

About 10 years after he wrote this song for her, Clapton actually married Harrison's now ex-wife.  So he got her in the end!  And they all stayed friends. Until Clapton and the ex divorced, too. Love can be a messy thing, but it makes for good songs.

By now most students had picked at least one song so I asked someone who hadn't picked one for a choice.  He chose "Everlong" (video, lyrics, song info) by the Foo Fighters (info) because it's his favorite song by the Foos.  I explained that the word "everlong" doesn't really exist, that it's just a combination of the words "forever" and "long time", but that I like this made-up word because it conveys the feeling of both terms in one word.

The last song of the day was a breakup song: "She's Gone" (video, lyrics) by Steelheart (info).  Apparently in Korea this song is very popular to sing karaoke to.  I was surprised that this song, that I had never even heard, was such a popular karaoke song!

With that we broke for the day.  It was a lot of fun!

UPDATE: Somehow I forgot to add the last page of my notes from this week's class, so am doing it a week later.  Here are more songs we listened to on 15 February:

"Bahara Bahara I Hate Luv Storys" (video) by Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (info).

This song made me think of "Im Nin'Alu" (video) by Ofra Haza (info).  Her vocal was later sampled into "Paid In Full" (video) by Eric B & Rakim (info).

The last song was "World Is Mine (live)" (video) by Hatsune Miku (info), who is actually an animated computer "person".  I wonder if this kind of "manufactured" persona will be increasingly popular in the future, especially for live concerts.

Miku is in a series of Toyota commercials (video), which, while in American English, I have never seen...

8 February 2012 (Wednesday)

10 students came today, including two Americans. It was a lively discussion and I was glad that the Americans came so that the international students had a chance to talk with other Americans besides myself.

With today's class being the last one before Valentine's Day the theme was "love songs".

One of the American students suggested "Something by The Beatles". I said, "Good idea, which song?" And he said, "'Something'.  The song. By The Beatles." And that is indeed a great choice; it is considered one of the greatest love songs ever!  "Something" (video, lyrics, song info) by The Beatles (info).

After this song I mentioned how in America and Britain people know almost all the Beatles songs released.  I asked if people in Asia know the entire Beatles catalog or only the hits. The answer is that people mostly only know the hit songs/singles.

Speaking of The Beatles and Asia reminded me of a song I have played in this class a few times: "Let Go" (video) by Korean band Dynamic Duo (info).  This video is a parody of a Beatles performance.  Most of the class had never seen the video before.

The next song chosen was "Mister" (video, lyrics, song info) by Kara (info).  Kara is a girl band I had never heard of before -- there are so many girl bands in Asia!!!

Seeing the video for "Mister" reminded me that a few nights previously I had been channel surfing and had seen a South Korean girl band on the famous Late Show with David Letterman (info): Girls' Generation (info) singing "The Boys" (video, lyrics, song info). This performance is clearly part of a marketing push to try and break the band in the US: it will be interesting to see if they become popular in the US.

We had a short discussion among the guys in the class about which band, Kara or Girls' Generation, is cuter. One student summed it up best by saying "Girls' Generation is cuter, because there are more of them."

Speaking of promoting Asian bands in the US, I told the class that I am helping some guys who have made a documentary about independent rock/punk bands in China get their film shown at film festivals in the US.  Ideally a tour would be set up with a couple of the bands where the film is shown, then the bands play. The film is called "Down: Indie Rock in the PRC" (intro video).

Back to the subject of love songs!  The next song chosen was "I'm Your's" (video, lyrics, song info) by Jason Mraz (info).  A good choice!  I asked the student how he came to know this song and he said it is used in a tv advertisement in Korea, but he can't remember which product it was advertising.  When I asked the other students if they like this song one said "It's ok, but it's like a snack instead of a whole meal."

Speaking of songs used in commercials, I mentioned that a hit song by Sting (info) called "We'll Be Together" (video, lyrics, song info) was written for a Kirin Beer commercial (video) in Japan. Kirin said, "Sting, if we pay you a bunch of money, will you write a song for us?  Our only requirement is that the song have the word 'together' in it."  So Sting wrote the song. And cashed a big check.

Back to love songs!: "Nothin' On You" (video, lyrics, song info) by Bruno Mars (info).  Also a good choice for a love song.  I explained that the phrase in the lyrics "nothin' on you" means "no one compares to you".

Next love song: "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (video, lyrics) sung by Taiwanese singer Joanna Wang (info). The original version of this song is by Frankie Valli (his version of the song, singer info).  One student remembered that Lauryn Hill (info) did a hip-hop version of this song (video).

Next up was "I Love You Always And Forever" (video, lyrics, song info) by Donna Lewis (info).

Next song:  "Thank You" (video, lyrics, song info) by Dido (info).

This class knows how to pick romantic songs!!

One student remembered that "Thank You" by Dido was used by Eminem (info) for one of his biggest hits "Stan" (video, lyrics, song info).  Dido even makes an appearance in the video.  But it's strange that such a sweet song as Dido's would be used as the basis of such an angry song as Eminem's.  I guess they wanted that contrast.

Next love song chosen was "Lovefool" (video, lyrics, song info) by the Cardigans (info).  I asked the student who picked it how she knew of such an old song and she it was covered by a Japanese girl band called Perfume (info) and used in a commercial in Japan.  (Seem's like today's theme became more like "girl bands and music used in commercials" than "love songs"!)

To see a full song by Perfume we watched "Love The World" (video, lyrics), which fit in with the Valentine's Day theme of the day.

Update 12 March 2012:  Article about taking Perfume and J-Pop global.

At this point I asked one of the two American students, both of whom have spent time in Japan, which Japanese band is his favorite.  He said he likes Pizzicato Five (info) and chose the song "Happy Sad" (video, lyrics). I think that's the first neo-soul Japanese band I've ever heard!

One of the international students hadn't yet picked a song so I asked him to pick one. He chose the song "Hello" (video, lyrics) by Heo Gak. The strange thing for me about this song is that he says the English word "Hello" to say "Goodbye"(!).  Apparently in Korean the same word is used for "hello" and "goodbye" so the singer just used "hello" like he would in Korean. This is a breakup song, so in English he is saying "goodbye" to his lover.

Many songs in Asia are sung in the local language, then have an English phrase in the chorus.  One of the international students asked the American guys who have lived in Japan if it was strange to hear that -- to hear a song in Japanese and suddenly an English word pops up.  The Americans said it was strange at first, but they got used to it.

At this point the class talked for a while about how people express romance in different languages/culture, whether men in different countries are romantic, whether women are romantic.

The last song for this year's Valentine's Day edition of The Language Of Music class was "Fly Me To The Moon" (video, lyrics) by Julie London (info).  An excellent choice to end the class!

On a different note to the class: On Friday, 24 February, there's a dance party at the Seattle Art Museum called Remix (info).  I haven't yet been to one of these parties at the museum, but everyone says they are really fun.  If you want to go to a unique event with art and music, I highly recommend SAM Remix!