8 October 2014 (Wednesday)

The second meeting of Fall Quarter and 13 students came to talk music.

Since there were so many new students we did another quick round of introductions.

To start the conversation one student said he had experienced his first concert in the US: Kasabian (info) at The Showbox downtown (info) this past weekend. Because going to concerts abroad is such a cool cultural experience and because The Showbox is *my* personal favorite concert hall in the world I was really excited to hear about his experience. He liked the show, especially getting to see the band up so close. I asked which song by Kasabian is his favorite and he said it is "Fire" (video, lyrics, song info). They played this song toward the end of the concert.

(My favorite Kasabian song is "Where Did All The Love Go?" (video, lyrics, song info) -- it's on my phone and I like to listen to it while walking or driving.)

Another student said he wants to see some concerts in Seattle. One great concert hall right in the University District is The Neptune Theater (info). Excellent bands often play there. 

Here is a list of *all* concerts big and small coming to Seattle: Pollstar website.

On the topic of knowing which cultural things are happening in Seattle I told the class about the free(!) weekly newspaper The Stranger (website). Reading the articles -- especially interviews, which are transcripts of how people talk! -- is a good way to practice English and it's also the best place to find out what is happening in the city for all kinds of culture -- art, music, food, movies. It comes out every Wednesday and can be found in cafes and around the UW; it's very easy to find. And it's free!

Speaking of Seattle music and The Neptune, one of my favorite singers from Seattle, Mark Lanegan (info) is playing The Neptune on 29 October. Lanegan's style isn't for everyone -- his songs are pretty depressing and in his concerts he the lights are low and he doesn't move -- but he is a legend. And I personally love his music. 

If you want to hear some of his music, here's an acoustic set he did in Seattle this past summer. But this is more like what the concert on the 29th will be like. (One of my favorite songs of his is "Resurrection Song" which starts at 7:57 in the second video).

If you don't like Lanegan's music, I won't take offense; I understand he's not an easy listen. But he's an artist I grew up with so I associate my youth in Seattle with him and his music.

Actually, in 1990 before Kurt Cobain (info) was ever famous, he played on a Mark Lanegan solo album, playing "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" (lyrics, song info). Nirvana later famously covered that same song on their unplugged album. But Kurt got the idea from Lanegan! Lanegan version with Cobain; Nirvana version. By now you probably wonder what the original version of this song sounds like. "In The Pines" (video) by Lead Belly (info).

The next song chosen was "Clock Strikes" (video, lyrics) by One OK Rock (info). The student who chose this song discovered them by following links from other band and loves their bands lyrics (even though she doesn't speak Japanese -- she looks them up and translates them online). She said their live clips are even better than this official video.

Here's a review of their first concert in the US, in Los Angeles this past February; sounds like a great show! I wonder if they will come Seattle some time... Maybe in 2015?

The next song chosen was a band with a Japanese reference in their name, Tokio Hotel (info), but the band is from Germany. The song chosen was "Run, Run, Run" (video, lyrics, song info). We talked about the idea of "running" and whether it's a negative, like running away from problems, or if it can be a positive. 

On that theme, one of my current favorite songs is called "Rowing" (video, lyrics, song info) by Soundgarden (info; another Seattle band from my youth) -- I like the lyric "Don't know where I'm going, I just keep on rowing". I like that the song is about moving forward. So maybe sometimes running -- or rowing -- forward is a good thing?

The next song was "My Love" (video, lyrics, song info) by Westlife (info). The student who chose this song said the songs relaxes him and is popular in Korea. He also said the song is popular among English learners. 

Then another student said that when she was learning English in school the teacher had a given the students a piece of paper with the lyrics where some words were omitted and that students had to fill in the missing words by listening to the song. I like that English learning exercise!

The next song was "Demons" (video, lyrics, song info) by Imagine Dragons (info). The student who chose it says she likes the lyrics of the song about seeking truth and people overcoming problems. 

I didn't realize that Imagine Dragons is a Christian band, but I can see from their lyrics that they use a lot of Christian imagery. One that topic I told the students about a local church called Mars Hill (website). Mars Hill is very controversial in Seattle for its very conservative positions on social issues, especially the role of men and women in marriage, but what is amazing for anyone, American or foreigner, to see is how Christianity is packaged as a multimedia "show" at this church: they have a live rock band on the stage and screens throughout the church. It is really amazing. I have told my American friends that they should see a service at Mars Hill to see how Christianity is presented in a modern way because it's so fascinating. But most of my friends won't go there because of the reputation of Mars Hill being so conservative. Nonetheless, I think that since going to church on Sunday is such a common thing for Americans to do it would be a good experience for international students to see what it is like.

The next song chosen was "Remote Control" (video) by Sussie 4 (info), a band from Mexico. This bands sings in a mix of English and Spanish, which is apparently a popular thing to do in Mexico currently. This is a collaboration between two bands. The song is about a relationship break up and the (guy) singer is saying he is glad the girl no longer controls him.

The last song of the day was "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" (video with lyrics, song info). The student who chose it says she likes how emotional and full of love this song. It is also a Christian song.


With that the class was over for this week. It was good conversations! Since the Fall rain has started, the theme for this week is songs about rain or songs for a rainy day. But as always, any song is welcome, even if not according to that theme. 

Note, the next class on 15 October will be in a different room: HUB 332!