11 April 2012 (Wednesday)

Lots of students this week -- 15 students total, 5 of whom were new. We had to use a small room for the class so it was kind of packed, but it was a fun session!

I started by asking the class if anyone had had any "musical adventures" during the past week. Someone mentioned that one of their friends had gone to the Radiohead (info) concert.  So to start the class I asked someone to suggest a Radiohead song to listen to.  Someone suggested "Creep" (video, lyrics, song info), which was the breakout song for Radiohead -- about 20 years ago!!

I was surprised that my (young) students would choose such an old song -- Radiohead's first single ever, released in 1992!  However, to tell the truth, I don't know which other Radiohead song I would choose: although theoretically I should like Radiohead, their songs just go in one ear and out the other for me.

We had to wait for a commercial to play on YouTube before the "Creep" video. The commercial was for Dr. Pepper soft drink (info).  I haven't seen Dr. Pepper very often in Europe so I asked my students if they are familiar with it.  Only a few were, but those who have tasted it like it.

This made me think to ask if my students like that uniquely American soft drink "root beer" (info). ("Root beer" is not a beer nor alcoholic at all, actually.)  Americans *love* the taste of root beer, but I have found that most people who have not grown up drinking it as kids don't like it.  I asked the class how many like root beer.  A couple like it, but most do not.

This made me think of a variation of root beer that the class might like: a "root beer float"!  Basically a root beer float is root beer together with vanilla ice cream.  Here's a video about how to make a root beer float.

Speaking of cold drinks, I promised to take the class to a restaurant/bar nearby to have margaritas (info) after class one sunny day.

Ok, on to more music!  The next song we listened to as "Alphabeat" (video) by David Guetta (info). But I can't remember what we talked about about this song, sorry!!

The next video we watched was by Ringo Sheena (info). Unfortunately I can't find the exact video we watched anymore because all the words were in Japanese and I couldn't write them down.  My notes say that the student picked this song because she likes how Ringo takes old songs and updates the sounds to make them modern.  I remember that the song sounded like it came from the 1920's, but now I can't remember which song it was... can anyone help me?

Update: One of the students sent me the song/link. It was  東京事変-女の子は誰でも (video).

The next song was "We Are Young" (video, lyrics, song info) from the Glee TV show (info).  When I asked the student why he chose this song he said it is simply because it was the #1 song in the US on the Billboard charts.

It turns out "We Are Young" was originally done by the band Fun. (info).  So we watched the Fun. version of the song to see how it is different from the Glee version.

The next song chosen was a "Spring" song: "You And Me" (video with lyrics) by Olivia Ong (info). 

The next song was "She Will Be Loved" (video, lyrics, song info) by Maroon 5 (info).  This song was chosen because its mood fit the rainy day in Seattle today.

Again I was surprised that such an "old" song by Maroon 5 was chosen -- this was a single from their first album, "Songs About Jane" (album info). I mentioned that I like how every song on that album is about the singer's ex-girlfriend (Jane) -- writing down all the ups and downs of a relationship is a great way to create a theme for an album!

Back in 2002 I really liked the first single by Maroon 5, "Harder To Breathe" (video, lyrics, song info).  As I am writing this blog I realize I have never actually seen the video for the song until today though I have listened to the song countless times!

I was saw Maroon 5 play in a small club (The Prime Club) in Cologne, Germany in early 2004 when they had made it big in the US but were still unknown in Europe. Someone recorded that very concert so I have an audio memory of the show!

Adam Levine (the Maroon 5 singer) (info) is considered a sex symbol so I asked the girls in the class if they think he's hot.  They all said "yes".  Guys, if you want girls to fall over themselves for you, be a singer or a guitarist!

Levine is also one of the coaches/judges on the talent show "The Voice" (info).  Here's his profile video.

The choice of the next song, "Rain" (video) by Japanese band Freetempo (info) was also inspired by the rainy Seattle weather today.

At this point I played a song which I felt fits with the feel of Freetempo and rainy days: "Home" (video, lyrics) by Zero 7 (info).  I really like two albums by Zero 7: When It Falls (album info) and The Garden (album info).  Highly recommended listening, especially on a rainy day!

One of the singers for Zero 7, Sophie Barker (website) will play in a small bar in Seattle on 6 May. I think it will be a good concert. Anyone want to join me (must be 21+)?

The next song chosen was "Hello Seattle" (video with lyrics, song info) by Owl City (info).  The student who chose it said that someone had recommended it as a greeting for when she arrived in Seattle.

Though it was raining today, the previous weekend had been very nice, sunny weather in Seattle.  That reminded me to play a song for the students: "The Bluest Skies You've Ever Seen Are In Seattle" (video, lyrics) by Perry Como (info).

The next song was a big stylistic change: "Because Of You" (video, lyrics, song info) by Ne-Yo (info). The student who chose this song had heard it while walking down the street, he liked the song and used the Korean version of the Shazam app (info) to find out what the name of the song was.

The next song chosen was yet another big stylistic change: "Noodle" (video) by Kid & Dream.  The student who chose this song said that this song relaxes her, especially at the end of a stressful day.  She said that tradition says that one must relax to eat noodles.  And even royalty eats simple noodles.

She told us about "Prince Noodles" in Taiwan that come in packages that children there eat like American children eat potato chips.

In the "Noodle" video there were little devils so I asked the class if in their cultures "devils" have horns coming out of their heads like in America and Europe.  They said those concepts are familiar in Asia from American culture, but their traditional culture does not have that imagery. 

Speaking of kids, the next song was a cover of "Rolling In The Deep" (video, lyrics, song info) by a 15-year old girl, Park Ji-min from the K-Pop Star show (info). Wow, that girl can sing! I'm curious to see if she wins the whole competition!

The next song chose was a rocker: "Love Addict" (video, lyrics) by Vamps (info). The student who chose this songs chose it because:

a) The singer is from the band L'Arc En Ciel (info), who we have heard songs from lately and

b) earlier in the class we had talked about ghosts and vampires.

[Here's a little random thing as I write out my notes:  The riff from that last song reminds me a little of the riff in the song "Rumble" by my favorite band to see in concert, You Am I (info).  So here's a clip of "Rumble (live)" to compare the riffs. Ok, the riffs are only vaguely similar, but it still was nice to take a detour while writing this blog and see a great song by one of my favorite bands!] 

The next song chosen was "Get It In" (video, lyrics) by Tasha (info).  Actually, the student who chose the song said she doesn't like the video for this song so we just listened to it without the video.

The student who chose this song said she really likes Tasha's voice. To hear another side of her voice we listened to "As Time Goes By" (video, lyrics). 

Tasha is married to another Korean rapper, Tiger JK (info).  The last video of the day was his song "8:45" (video, lyrics) which is very famous in Korea. Very cool effect with the lights in the crowd!

Theme for next class: "Weekend Songs": songs for Friday or Saturday night (going out) or Sunday morning (mellow).  Of course we will listen to any song of any theme or style that you want to share with the class.