6 November 2013 (Wednesday)

10 students today, + 1 song sent in by email!

Today there was no theme -- I just asked students to share the songs they have been listening to lately.

As usual I started class by asking if anyone had any "musical adventures" during the past week. One student said she heard one of the most beautiful songs she has ever heard played by the piano player at Nordstrom. The song was "Chuckanutt Drive" (video) by Joseph Rojo (Facebook page). 

I asked the student what items she was shopping for and she said her friends were shopping for shoes. I told the class that as a guy, I just don't get womens' obsession with shopping for shoes and bags...

The next song was from our friend who always chooses a Wiz Khalifa (info) song. This time it's the song Wiz does with Miley Cyrus (info): "23" (video, lyrics, song info). 

I mentioned something about Miley's father and most of the class did not realize her father, Billy Ray Cyrus (info) had a big hit back in the 90's: "Achy Breaky Heart" (video, lyrics, song info). This song had a cheesy dance that went with is (you can see it in the video). It was a one-hit-wonder, which means he never had any other hits in his career. But he did have Miley, who is keeping America entertained [groan].

The next song was "Counting Stars" (video, lyrics, song info) by OneRepublic (info). Nice song! The student who chose it has simply been listening to it a lot lately. We talked about how this song is about being young and wondering which path a person's life will take.

The next song was "Cool Guys Don't Look At Explosions" (video, lyrics, song info) by The Lonely Island (info). The students were laughing before I played this video so I wasn't sure what to expect, but it is a funny parody.

That parody inspired the next choice: "The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?)" (video, lyrics, song info) by Ylvis (info). The student who chose this song had heard it while driving in the car and he used Shazam (website) to find out the name of the song. It cracks him up (="makes him laugh a lot").

The next song chosen was "Angel" (video, lyrics, song info) by Sarah McLachlan (info). The student who chose this song had also heard it in her car for the first time. She was driving home and the song came on and she loved it so much she kept playing it over and over, driving around her neighborhood, not going home. This song is kind of the opposite part of life from "Counting Stars" by OneRepublic.

The next song was chosen by a student who was not in class today. He had sent me an email before class saying he couldn't attend class, but he wanted to suggest a song. So we played it: "Just The Way I Am Feeling" (video, lyrics, song info) by Feeder (info). I read his explanation for why he chose it to the class. Here it is:
   "There are two reasons why I'm listening to this song. The first reason is simply because I found out this band recently (specifically, about 2 months ago, before I came to Seattle). The second reason is because I thought this song is perfect. The harmony of melody, lyrics, vocal and backing chorus seemed to be so beautiful and perfect for me. These kind of songs are really good refreshment for my ear, which frequently listening to fast, loud and noisy music!"

The next song was "The Breeze" (video, lyrics, song info) by Dr. Dog (info). The student who chose this song said he likes it because the lyrics are very poetic, the harmonies are great, like the Beatles, and the song picks him up.

The next song was from one of the new students today: "Open Arms" (video, lyrics, song info) by Journey (info). The student who chose this song said he sang it once in a talent competition! Very impressive! I mentioned that there is a movie out about the new singer for Journey, who is from the Philippines. The movie is called "Don't Stop Believin'" (info). I'd like to see it some time.

The next song was "Whatever Happens" (video with lyrics, song info) by Michael Jackson (info). I had never heard this song, but I like it!

The last song of the day was back to Miley Cyrus, this time "We Can't Stop" (video, lyrics, song info). Today's class gave me enough Miley Cyrus to last for a year.


Inspired by Miley's father, the theme for the next class is "one hit wonders" -- bands that only ever had one hit. An alternative is "songs where I like only this one song from this band, all the others I don't like". As always, of course, you can share any song with the class that you have been thinking about lately.