20 November 2012 (Tuesday)

9 students today.

I started class today mentioning that Gangnam Style (video) has become the most watched video ever on YouTube. It got even more exposure in the US (as if it needed it!) the previous Sunday evening when Psy performed it "live" on a music awards show.

I asked if anyone had seen any concerts or other music/cultural events over the weekend. No one had. I told the class I had seen my best friend's band (Zero Down) play in a bar in Ballard. I knew no one in the class would like the music of my friend's band so I hadn't invited them, but to give them a taste of what it was like I played the most Zero Down video "Battle At The Battle Of The Bands" (video). Unsurprisingly given the music the class normally chooses no one liked the song, though one student liked the video(!).

There was one new student in the class today so I asked him for an example of what a current song he likes.  He chose "The A-Team" (video, lyrics, song info) by Ed Sheeran (info). I asked him where he heard this song and he said he hears it on the radio a lot.

The next song was "Everyhome" (video) by Chihiro Onitsuka (info). The student who chose this song had been listening to it on repeat all weekend long. The student is learning Japanese but one of the Japanese students in the class said that it is difficult to learn Japanese from Onitsuka because her lyrics don't really tell a story; the lyrics are fragments and ideas.

The next song was "Creep" (video, lyrics) by Roy Kim. [The original version of this song was a big hit by Radiohead (info). Here is the original video and song info.] Roy Kim is in the semifinals of Korea's Got Talent show. The student in class who chose this song talked about how good looking he is and all the press I see online about him also talks about his good looks.

The other band in the semifinal is DickPunks. To see what they are like we watched the video for MUZIK (video).  Most of the Korean students in my class said they think Roy will win the competition.

One of the students in the class plays keyboards in a band at her university in Japan. There are no videos of her band, but she showed us a video of another band from her university: NOJ playing "Me & Mrs. Jones" (video).

The last song of the day was "Cameo Lover" (video, lyrics, song info) by Kimbra (info). The student who chose this song said she likes how the suit colors of the guys in the video change as the video goes on, i.e. as the mens' hearts are opened.

With that our time for the week was over. I hope to see everyone again next week!