16 October 2013 (Wednesday)

8 students today.

As I set up the computer one student told me that she had waited for days until I posted the notes from last week's class so that she could hear the song "9 Million Bicycles" again. Oops, sorry for the delay! Once she had the link she listened to the song at least 7 times in a row :-)

Before I talk about the music in the class I want to mention two upcoming music-related events:

1/ On Friday, 25 October the Seattle Art Museum has an after-hours party called "SAM REmix". They do this party only 4 times every year and it is very, very cool. It's hard to describe exactly what goes on, but there's a lot of music and a lot of interactive creativity + art. I highly recommend going with some friends! More info and tickets (it usually sells out) here.

2/ There will be many Halloween-themed parties in clubs around Seattle starting the weekend of 25/26/27 October, but the one I recommend for students is the FIUTS dance party at Nectar in the Fremont neighborhood on 30 October. More info here. (You must have ID showing you are 21+ to go to this bar.)

Now to the music we heard today!

The theme for today's class was "Songs that you listen to while doing homework". The first song was "Butterfly Lovers" (video, song info) which is a very famous Chinese classical piece. The student told the story behind the song, about how two people who couldn't be together in real life died and became butterflies. It sounds like a classic tragic love story! Very pretty music!

The next song chosen was "Right Here Waiting" (video, lyrics, song info) by Richard Marx (info). This song isn't exactly one which the student who chose it listens to while doing schoolwork, but since he heard it -- a week ago for the first time -- he has been listening to it repeatedly.

The next song was also not one for studying, just a favorite song: "This Plane" (video, lyrics, song info) by Wiz Khalifa (info). The student who chose this song is just a really big Wiz Khalifa fan and loves a lot of his songs.

The next song was back to our theme for the day: "Solitude" (video) by T-Square (info). This is a Japanese band from the 80's that only does instrumental music. The student first heard the band's music in a video game but finds it good music to study to.

The next song chosen was "Can't Find My Way Home" (video, lyrics, song info) by Blind Faith (info). The student who chose this song like rock music, but for studying likes the more mellow, less noisy music. He mentioned that he is amazed that the singer, Steve Winwood (info) sang such a deeply introspective song at age 21, the same age as the student is now himself.

The next song was "1/3 No Junjou Na Kanjou" (video) by Jani Lane (info). This song came from an album to benefit Japan after the 2011 tsunami. The album was all covers of songs by the band Saim Shade (info).

I mentioned that the singer of that song, Jani Lane, had sung in a glam metal band from Los Angeles in the 1980's, Warrant (info). They only had one song I liked, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (video, lyrics, song info). I have to admit that the song they are most famous for was "Cherry Pie" (video, lyrics, song info) but I don't like that song. We talked for a while about how the style was for guys to have long hair in the 80's. Even I did!

The next song was "Truth Of Touch" (video, song info) by Yanni (info). The student who chose this song loves Yanni's music, the songs touch her emotionally very deeply.

Somehow we talked about Michael Bolton (info) and I said I think he is "cheesy", then I had to explain what this word means. It's a classic American term -- we use it very often! -- but it's kind of hard to explain. I describe it as "trying too hard and not being very creative about it". We often say a joke is cheesy or a guy is telling a cheesy story. It's not a serious insult. We watched a little bit of the Michael Bolton video "Said I Loved You But I Lied" (video, lyrics, song info) and as the students watched the video they understood what cheesy means. Another great example of cheesiness is that video for "Cherry Pie" by Warrant above.

With that the class was over! If you need inspiration for songs to introduce to the class next week, think of your favorite songs to listen to before going to a party. But, as always, any songs you want to share with the class are welcome!