20 June 2012 (Wednesday)

Today was the first class of the Summer Quarter.  I wasn't sure how many students would even show up... but it was a good group: 11 students, 5 of whom were there for the first time!

I knew that many of my students from the previous quarter had gone on road trips during the break between quarters.  So I started by asking what the music that accompanied their travels was.

The first song was "We Are Young" (video, lyrics, song info) by fun. (info). This song is currently a big hit in America plus the songs is about being young(!), so it's a natural choice for a Spring/Summer 2012 road trip.  I can imagine it playing in the car many times as the students drove around.

(In a previous class we compared this original version of the song with the one done on the Glee tv program.)

The next song was "Beez In The Trap" (video, lyrics, song info) by Nicky Minaj (info). Honestly, I couldn't follow the lyrics of what Ms. Minaj is trying to tell us about in the song.  The student who chose the song said she doesn't know what the song is about, either, she just heard it often on the radio.

Now I asked one of the new students to pick a song so we could hear what kinds of music the new students like.  The choice was "The Climb" (video, lyrics, song info) by Miley Cyrus (info).  The student who chose this song says he likes how the lyrics are about reaching for goals.

I have a personal favorite song on that theme: "Foot Of The Mountain" (video, lyrics, song info) by Paul Weller (info).  My favorite part of that song is the stanza "At the foot of the mountain / Such a long way to climb / How will I ever get up there? / But I know I must try."  When I am in difficult situations I often sing those lines to myself.

I told the class that Miley Cyrus is the daughter of a man, Billy Ray Cyrus (info) who had a huge hit in the 1980's: Achy Breaky Heart (video, lyrics, song info). This song and the linedance that goes with it (see the video) is one of the songs that belongs to the whole culture of the 80's in the US.

I didn't mention it in class, but for students who like good lyrics, a little bit of country music and a strong woman singer, there is a singer from Seattle, Brandi Carlile (info) who just released a new album, Bear Creek (video introduction to the album).  Brandi is gaining popularity in the US each year and I think she will become even bigger with this new album.  Watch out for her name this summer!

Next I asked another of the new students for a song.  He said he usually likes heavy metal, but that for this class he would chose "Devil's Dance Floor" (video with lyrics, song info) by Flogging Molly (info). 

[I reminded the class that we will listen to any music in this class, so don't be afraid to suggest heavy metal songs!] 

Now we went back to a song from the road trips.  Next song chosen was "What Makes You Beautiful" (video, lyrics, song info) by One Direction (info).  The student who chose this song heard it for the first time on the road trip; he was looking at the Billboard 100 chart and saw the song title and thought it looked interesting. Although the guys in the video look like California boys, I was surprised to earn that One Direction is actually a British boy band! Like the song "We Are Young", I think this song will be one of the most popular songs across America this summer.

The next song chosen was "Secrets" (video, lyrics, song info) by OneRepublic (info).  The student chose it because it is used in a movie she likes, The Sorcerer's Apprentice (info).  

Speaking of the Sorcerer's Apprentice, that short film is one of my favorite Disney animations (video).

Another song chosen by a new students was "Last Friday Night (TGIF)" (video, lyrics, song info) by Katy Perry (info).  The student who chose this song said that when she is sad this song picks her up.

One of the other students said she thinks that Katy Perry needs to improve her singing voice; in the studio they can use tricks like Autotune (info) but she had heard Katy sing live once and Katy's voice didn't sound very good. To test this we watched a live clip of Katy singing "Hot N Cold (on Letterman)" (video, lyrics, song info).

Since Ms. Perry obviously is not the best singer around we asked ourselves in the class how she got so famous.  My theory, from reading the info on her in Wikipedia, is that because she is from Nashville, one of the centers of the music industry in America, she was noticed by some music industry people who thought she is cute and that they could make her a pop star.  And now she is!  That's my theory.  Katy, you can write us at this blog if you want to offer a different explanation.

At this point I explained to the class that it is part of American culture to have "variety shows" on late-night tv.  Traditionally, at 11pm there is a 1/2 hour news broadcast, and at 11:30pm there are "late-night variety shows" which always follow this formula:


1/ The host tells some jokes
2/ The host interviews two celebrities
3/ At the end of the show a music band plays (this is where the Katy Perry clip comes from).

The two most famous late night shows are Jay Leno (show info, in Seattle on channel 5) and David Letterman (show info, in Seattle on channel 7).

I asked another new student to pick a song that he likes.  He chose "Faint" (video, lyrics, song info) by Linkin Park (info).  One of the other students said this song is very popular in Korea.  I would like to know why the song is called "faint" since I don't see the word used in the song nor do I see an obvious connection to one of its definitions. 

The last song of the day was "Another Sunny Day" (video, lyrics, song info) by Belle & Sebastian (info).  It was chosen for simply being a good summer song!




This was a good start to the summer quarter.  I am glad to see the familiar faces of my students from last quarter and I am glad to meet the new students.  See you all next Wednesday (27 June)!

30 May 2012 (Wednesday)

This week's class was bittersweet: 9 students came, but for 2 of them it will be their last class because they are returning to their home countries. The two guys who are leaving have been very active participants in the class and I will miss talking with them and having their contributions to the class. 

* Before I write the diary about what we talked about in class, first a housekeeping note:  We will *not* have class for the next two weeks because of the Quarter break.  Next class will be Wednesday, 20 June at 4:30pm in the usual room (Condon Hall 511E).

I started the class as usual asking if people had had any musical experiences in the past week.  One person had been to a modern classical music concert on campus.  It sounds like it was more like sounds made with different instruments and objects than a traditional orchestra.  She said it was very interesting to listen to.  Unfortunately I don't have a link to a video of what that concert was like, sorry!

I went to two concerts in the past week!

Thursday night I had seen Tim Rogers (info), lead singer for my favorite band to see live, You Am I (info) at a small bar in Ballard (The Sunset Tavern).  I love You Am I for their full-power rock concerts but I knew that Tim playing solo would be much more mellow: just him and a guitar.  Here's an example of what it was like: "Heavy Heart" (video, lyrics, song info), which is actually a You Am I song, but here done solo acoustic.

To give you a sense of what You Am I are like in full flight live, here "Rumble (live)" (video, lyrics, song info).

Tuesday night I saw a UK band called Little Barrie (info). They have released three albums, all to good reviews and I was happy to have the chance to see them play live.  They were playing in just a small bar (The Funhouse) and tickets were only $5!  They were GREAT!  But sadly, because it was a Tuesday night and the band doesn't have any music on the radio, the crowd was very, very small.  What a shame that more people didn't show up to see the band -- they were really good, but after that poor reception in Seattle I doubt they will come back :-( . At least I got to see them live once...

Here's a sample of what Little Barrie sound like: "Surf Hell" (video, lyrics).

The students in the class really like the Glee TV show a lot so I pointed out that one of the Glee cast members, Idina Menzel (info) was playing a concert on Saturday, 2 June at the Paramount.  However, I didn't get the sense that any of the students were going to go to the concert.

Since two students were leaving the class it was natural we would like to "goodbye" songs for most of the day...

First we heard "Bye Bye" (video, lyrics, song info) by Mariah Carey (info).

But then Marcus, one of the guys leaving, chose "Beautiful Girls" (video with lyrics, song info) by Sean Kingston (info) as a "goodbye" song.  The song is not really a "goodbye" song, he chose it because it's a relaxing song and makes him feel good. I think he wanted to think of positive, happy things rather than sad songs.

At this point I remembered that during the past week a video had become very popular on YouTube: A guy in Portland proposing marriage to his girlfriend (video, lyrics, song info). Some in the class had seen it, some had not, so we watched it.  Very creative of that guy to organize the whole filming and everything! 

The wedding proposal reminded me that a couple of years ago there was another YouTube video hit where the people entering the church danced all around to an R&B song.  The students hadn't seen that video, so we watched it.

I asked if anyone would ever do such a proposal or wedding entrance in Asia and the students said "No way!".  But I bet there are some love-rebels out there who would/will show their love in such creative ways! :-)

The next song we watched as "Missing Child" (video with lyrics, song info) by IU (info).

At this point one of the students joined the class late.  She had been practicing piano to play for friends at a party the next day.  The song she was practicing and will play is "Sweet Bye & Bye" (video).

Now we were back to goodbye songs: "Out Of Goodbyes" (video, lyrics, song info) by Maroon 5 (info) with Lady Antebellum (info).

A note: A lot of the goodbye songs we heard today were about relationships breaking up, but that's not exactly the case in our class: the students planned time in Seattle is simply coming to an end and they are going home. 

The next song chosen was not a goodbye song: "Calendar Girl" (video with lyrics, song info) by Stars (info).  The student who chose it said she likes the video, how the lyrics are presented visually, and the smooth melody of the song.

The last song of the day was "Goodbye" (video, lyrics, song info) by Air Supply (info).  This song is known in Korea as "Jessica's Song" because it was in the movie "The Promise" (info).  I wanted to see Jessica Lowndes's (info) version of the song (video) to see how it is different from the original by Air Supply.

Again, many of the songs we listened to today were about relationships breaking up, but that's not really the situation with the students leaving.  I hope they will at least read the blog and hopefully keep in touch from their home countries.

One song that was suggested as a "goodbye" song but that we didn't hear in class was "In My Life" (video with lyrics, song info) by The Beatles (info).  This really is a great song, such great lyrics!

When I got home I realized that I don't think my students know the band Pink Floyd (info) because they are such an old band from the '70's. But the song "Wish You Were Here" (video with lyrics, song info) is a good song about missing your friends.

Speaking of saying goodbye, but not in a relationship breakup way, I shared with the class something I had written for my grandmother, who died last week after a long illness.  Marcus liked it so much he asked me to put it on the blog, so here it is:

"I have memories of you from my earliest childhood, you were there from the beginning until now.

These memories of you weave the tapestry of my life.

I am because of you, and as long as I am alive, you will be with me."

I wish safe travels to the students going on roadtrips around the US during the break between quarters and to the students returning home.  Good luck!

I look forward to seeing the students who will be in Seattle through the summer on the 20th!