23 October 2012 (Tuesday)

Last week I was working at a conference so I couldn't do the Language Of Music class. Mike from FIUTS led the class in my place.

So far this quarter the number of students coming each week has been relatively small (~5) compared to previous quarters.  But today 13 students showed up, 7 of whom were there for for the first time. We had a good conversation!

I began by introducing myself and the class for the new students.  

I then gave a very brief overview of the history of Halloween. But you can get a full explanation on Wikipedia.

Next, to show how the class works and to get the conversation around music to start, I asked one of the regular students to choose a song. She chose "Fine, Thank You, and You?" (video with lyrics) by 10cm (info).  When I asked why she chose this song she said the song is inspired by The Beatles and it is easy to follow the guitar parts.  But she doesn't sing at the same time she is playing the song on guitar. I also asked why they sing the words "Fine, thank you, and you?" in English and she said that phrase is the first English phrase people learn in Korea, so everyone understands that line.

The next song chosen was "Yellow" (video, lyrics, song info) by Coldplay (info).  The student chose this song because it is a love song and she likes the images of light and sun.  

She said she first heard "Yellow" on a Taiwanese TV talent show sung by a group called Soler.  I asked her which version of the song she prefers and she said he likes the Soler version better! So we had to watch it: "Yellow" by Soler. 

The student said she likes how the two singers in Soler harmonize on the song, as opposed to the single voice on the Coldplay version. This made me think of one of best harmonizing singing duos ever: Simon & Garfunkel (info). To show how good they sound together I played the song "The Sound Of Silence" (video, lyrics, song info).

Next I asked one of the new students to chose a song. The choice was completely different from the Beatles-like and harmonizing vocals we had heard so far: "Evil Walks" (video, lyrics, song info) by AC/DC (info). This song gives him energy and makes him happy. Interestingly to my ears, he said this is the only AC/DC song he likes. That is strange to me because *all* AC/DC songs sound the same! If you like one, you probably like them all! ;-) Personally I like the songs/albums AC/DC did with their first singer (he died in 1980) but a lot of people like the "new" singer (well, he's been in the band for 30 years now!) just as much.

The next song chosen was "Butterfly" (video with lyrics) by (?? I'm not sure which band sings this song!). The student who chose it says he likes to sing it in karaoke.  He said it cheers him up.

Speaking of butterfly's, I saw a review in the Seattle times of a new 3D movie about butterflys. The review said is it "A must-see 3D movie".  The film is showing at the Pacific Science Center (where the Space Needle is). Here's more information about the movie.

As we listened to the song "Butterfly" one of the other students said she plays keyboards in a band in Japan and they play that song. I asked her for another example of a song her band plays. She said they also play "Layla" by Eric Clapton (info). So we listened to "Layla (Unplugged)" (video, lyrics, song info). 

But the original version of "Layla" is very famous for having a great guitar solo at the end (original version of Layla). I also told the class about the story behind the lyrics of the song, how Eric Clapton fell in love with George Harrison's wife (Pattie Boyd), then when George and Pattie split Eric married her, then eventually Eric and she split, too... Love is a messy thing, but it makes great rock songs!

A side note: before the video for Layla started, as usual there was an advertisement on YouTube. It was a really dumb advertisement about "pumping gas confidently"; I'm sure it is meant to be funny, a sexual double-entendre, but I think it's just dumb. It inspired me to go around the class to ask everyone if they like American TV commercials. Most of the class finds American commercials to be creative and good. But they say there are too many of them interrupting the TV shows! I agree!

I can't remember exactly how I came to the subject (maybe I was talking about Halloween? Or were we talking about anime? I don't remember...) but I played a little bit of Stevie Wonder on Sesame Street. Here he teaches Grover how to sing. He also plays one of his songs ("Superstition" video, lyrics, song info) live with the young kids all around. I love this song, so funky!

I asked another new student to chose a song. He likes The Eagles (info) and his favorite song by them is "Hotel California" (video with lyrics in the description, song info).  He especially likes the singer's voice on "Hotel California".

I mentioned that the singer of that song is actually the *drummer* in the group, Don Henley (info).  Henley has had a successful solo career outside of The Eagles. One of his songs, "The Boys Of Summer" (video, lyrics, song info) is one of my favorite songs, partly because I like the melancholic feel of the song, but mostly because of the lyric "A little voice inside my head said don't look back, you can never look back" -- I often think about that line when I am trying to figure out where to go next in my life.

By the way, "The Boys Of Summer" was recently covered by an indie-rock band, The Ataris (info). If you want to see a hard-rock version of the song, here it is (video).
  

Speaking of Halloween, for those of you in Seattle this Saturday (10/27), I highly recommend going to the JUICE 5th Annual FIUTS Halloween Bash dance party. The Facebook page for the event.

The music is modern dance music from around the world; it's one of the best dance parties in Seattle! There will be lots of people from FIUTS and the UW there. You must be 21+ and bring your passport or Washington ID to prove your age. The doors open at 9pm but the atmosphere really gets good around 11pm. I recommend getting there around 10pm or 10:30pm.

It is at the Lo-Fi club (429 Eastlake Ave, Seattle 98109). Most of the 70 busses from the U-District go there. Or get a cab with your friends!

I am not sure if I will go to the party, but if I do, I hope to see some of you there!

For next week's class -- the day before Halloween -- think of your favorite scary songs or movies to share with the class. 

 

11 October 2012 (Thursday)

!! First of all a bit of housekeeping: Starting next week, for the rest of Fall Quarter the Language Of Music conversation group will change from Thursdays to TUESDAYS. Time will still be 4:30pm. Location will be HUB 337. But for this quarter we have to move to Tuesdays. !!


Now to the notes from last week's class: 6 students came, one of whom was new.  

Somehow I was talking about my apartment and how I can see the ships going in and out of the Seattle harbor.  And I mentioned that every day I look at the real-time map of ships passing through Puget Sound. It's at www.marinetraffic.com. I then showed how you can zoom out on the map, then scroll over to Asia and see -- in real time! -- the ships going in and out of ports in Asia, for example Tianjin in China.  Or in the strait between Taiwan and mainland China.  It is *crazy* to see how many boats are on the water out there! With the online map one can see the shipping all around the world -- in real-time! Most of my friends think I'm geeky for liking this website so much, but I think it's cool.

Since we were looking at maps I then asked some of the students to show where their apartments are in their hometowns on Google Maps. They told me about what the neighborhoods are like around their homes and we even looked at their homes from the street view of Google Maps.

Finally we started listening to some music.  One of the students had been in New York City during the break and he had gone to a few Broadway shows.  His favorite one was "The Lion King" (info), so we watched the clip "Hakuna Matata" (video, lyrics, song info).

The next song chosen was "Sing Together" (video, lyrics, song info) by Train (info). The student who chose it said the song makes her feel good and she likes the idea of people singing *together*.

 
I can't remember exactly how we got to this subject, but I told the class about the online music service Pandora (info, website) and Spotify (info, website).

Pandora is a great way to discover new music because you tell it a band you like, then it suggests other songs that are similar to that band. You can say "I like this song" or you can say "I don't like this song" and it will refine the songs it suggests to you based on your taste.

Spotify is simply an online music service with almost every song you might want to hear.

I should also mention again the mobile phone app Shazam (info, website) which lets you use your mobile phone to listen to a song (for example in a store or in a bar) and then it will tell you which song is playing.

The next song chosen was "Turning Tables (live)" (video, lyrics, song info) by Adele (info) which the boyfriend of the student who chose it had sent to her because she loves violin and guitar.  And Adele's amazing voice!  

I told the class that a Seattle singer, Vicci Martinez (info) had covered the Adele song "Rolling In The Deep" (video) as her audition for the TV talent show The Voice (info). 

One of the students said she had seen a 13-year old French girl do "Rolling In The Deep" (video) on a French talent show.

Then we watched a 15-year old Korean girl do "Rolling In The Deep" (video) on a Korean talent show!

Here's Adele's original version of "Rolling In The Deep" (video, lyrics, song info).

So we ended up watching and comparing all these different covers of the Adele song.  It was fun to see how the different singers do that song. I think the Korean girl did the best job of putting her own style into the song.

With that we had to leave the classroom.  We talked more about the students' hometowns than music today, but it was a fun conversation.

Don't forget, from now on TUESDAYS!! (4:30pm, HUB 337)

4 October 2012 (Thursday)

Today was the first class of the Fall Quarter, after a number of weeks break after Summer Quarter. I had no idea how many people would show up for this first class, on a new day in a new location.  

In the end 5 students came: 2 students from last quarter, 2 new students, and 1 American who is learning Chinese.

There was some general conversation as students arrived. I asked the returning students about their travels during the break. I must say, the international students see more of the United States than even I, an American, have seen!

I mentioned that there is a new band from Seattle with some famous people from other bands called Walking Papers (Facebook site) and they are playing a show Friday night to celebrate their new (1st) cd.  As an example of their music I showed part of a live concert they played this summer.  I have seen them twice and like them a lot.  They are hard-rock, so you have to like that kind of music. Unfortunately I can't go to the show on Friday night because I will be in a seminar all weekend long.

Now we got to know a bit more about what kind of music the students in the class like.  First up was "Afterglow, featuring Soundmouse" (video, lyrics) by Phaeleh (Facebook page). The student who chose this said he likes how atmospheric this song is, how it puts him in a different state of mind. We talked about how music can color the day's atmosphere, beyond just the weather (ex. sunny, cloudy, rainy).

 
I asked one of the new students for an example of what kind of music she likes.  She plays piano herself so likes piano music, but said for pop music she likes *all* of Bruno Mars's songs.

As an example of a Bruno Mars song she chose Marry You. I asked if she had ever seen the famous video where the guy in Portland, OR, asks his girlfriend to marry him by getting all his friends to dance to this song (video, lyrics, song info). She hadn't seen that video before, so I showed it to the class. It's a classic.

Inspired by the guy putting so much effort into asking his girlfriend to ask him to marry him I asked the women in the class if men are romantic. Overall they said "No, men are not romantic". Come on guys, step it up! One thing all the women agreed on is that they like chocolate, so there's a first step for you!

One of the other new students likes to play guitar himself.  I mentioned that there is a hot new guitar player from Seattle named Ayron Jones (website), who is playing Friday and Saturday nights this weekend.  As an example of Ayron's music I played a live clip (video).

Next I asked the two returning students who had travelled during the break what their theme songs from their trips were. 

They had both been to New York City and it turns out that for both of them their "theme songs" for their trip had to do with New York:

"Empire State Of Mind" (video, lyrics, song info) by Jay-Z (info).

And "Somewhere In Brooklyn" (video, lyrics, song info) by Bruno Mars (info).


At this point we had to end class because they were closing the room. It was a fun conversation today!

LOM resumes 4 October (Thursday!) at 4:30pm in the new HUB

After a break for the past few weeks, the Language Of Music conversation group at the University of Washington will resume its regular meetings this Thursday, 4 October at 4:30pm.

Note, this quarter we will meet on Thursdays (*not* Wednesday as last year)!  Starting time is the same as before: 4:30pm.

The location has also changed: We will now be in the new HUB building (first week will be in room 340).

I hope to see some familiar faces from previous classes and I look forward to meeting new students, too!

The Language Of Music is on a break until October 2012

The Language Of Music conversation group is on a break until start of the Fall Quarter at the University of Washington. Classes will resume in October 2012.  I will post information about the weekly time + date and the new location when I have it.