22 October 2020 (Thursday)

Today's topic was "Songs from your high school years".

This week was special: it was kind of a reunion, as three of my previous students -- coincidentally all from Japan -- joined us!  It was great to see them again after so many years (though we have kept in touch through the Language Of Music Facebook group)!

In addition to those three from Japan, we had a returning student, and we had a new student, joining us from China.

Before we started talking about music, the Japanese guys showed some of the vinyl LPs they have recently bought. As someone who grew up with vinyl as the way to listen to albums, I am happy that Japan still has the habit of buying LPs. I think it's a shame that the big-format artwork, plus all the detailed information, that used to be on LPs has been lost in the era of CDs, and now streaming.

The first song was chosen by one of the Japanese students: "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (video, song info, lyrics) by U2 (info). He said that when he was in high school, he was impressed by the message of the song.

I mentioned that when I was a college student (at the UW!), for one class I had to write an analysis of a poem, and I did that for the song "Drowning Man" (video, lyrics) from this same U2 album, War (info).

 

One of the other students said that he saw the U2 360 tour (info) when he was in high school. And that was the only tour when they played the song "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight". I said I am not very fond of that song, but he said that the live version they did on that tour was better than the album version. (live video, song info, lyrics) 

Speaking of U2, one of the other students said he really likes the guitar sounds on the album "All That You Can't Leave Behind". U2's guitarist, The Edge (info) is famous for his unique guitar sound.

I said my favorite U2 albums is "Achtung Baby" (info) because it was recorded in Berlin, which is a city close to my heart as it was my first experience abroad as a high school student.

The next high-school era song was "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" (video, song info, lyrics) by Green Day (info). The student who chose this song said the song reminds him of the year 2010, when he was in senior high school in Japan, when a lot of things were happening in his life and he realized that everyone must take their own path in life.

He gave further context to this song on its album: he said that the song is part of a whole cycle of songs about life in the suburbs. While the lyrics for "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" are a bit depressing, the next song on the album is more hopeful. His comments were a good reminder that sometimes songs have a wider context than just the song itself.

This was the first time our Taiwanese student had ever heard this song. He said the lines of "I walk alone" fit to life during the pandemic. He liked that it mixes art with rock music.

The next song was chosen by the Taiwanese student. It is called "Courage" or "Encouragement" ("勇氣") (video ; lyrics are on the YouTube page). He said it is about overcoming obstacles together. It was popular during his high school years, so that is what he relates it to. 

The song later was used to support the LGBTQ rights movement in Taiwan. 

One of the Japanese students said this song sounds like a JPop song from around the year 2000.

One of the Japanese students next chose a song originally by Oasis (info), but he chose a more recent version sung by just the singer with piano and cello accompaniement: "Champagne Supernova" (video, song info, lyrics).

He chose this song because Oasis is his favorite band, but they split up while he was in high school (2009).

A string quartet played this song at his wedding, we don't have a video of that, hahaha.

We were talking about how sometimes a great song can get a new life when it is done a different way, like how this new version of Champagne Supernova (original version) was just centered on the piano rather than a full rock band. 

One of my favorite examples of this is another Oasis song, "Wonderwall" (original video, song info, lyrics) re-done as a slow, sad song (video) by Ryan Adams (info). I like both versions of this song. The Oasis one has a youthful exuberance, while the Ryan Adams version feels weary.

 

 

 

One student says that nowadays, when Noel Gallagher (the original writer of "Wonderwall") plays the song, he plays it like Ryan Adams did. This is similar to how the Jimi Hendrix version of "All Along The Watchtower" (video) has become better known than the original version (video) by Bob Dylan. Nowadays, when people cover "All Along The Watchtower", they do it like Jimi did it.

The last song of the day was "Obsesión" (video, song info, lyrics) by Aventura (info). The student who chose this song was learning Spanish and wanted to listen to songs sung in that language to practice. She liked the melody of the singing, but when she translated the lyrics, she found out they are actually not sweet at all!

 

 

One of the students pointed out that this is the same case with "Every Breath You Take" (video, song info, lyrics) by The Police (info). Some people think it's a love song, and even have it played at their wedding, but if you read the lyrics it is about surveillance and obsession -- not at all what love is about! In fact, Sting later wrote the song "If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free" (video, song info, lyrics) as antidote to "Every Breath You Take".

 

We closed the discussion after just one hour today because I wanted to watch the last US presidential debate. While I enjoy talking about music more, I just needed to see if the second debate would be a car-crash scenario like the first one. In a pleasant surprise, it was not.

With Halloween coming up, next weeks topic = scary songs.

15 October 2020 (Thursday)

The second week of the new quarter. We had two students (one returning, one new) to talk about "Songs about rain, or for a rainy day."

Actually, we had a third "virtual" student: one of my former students from a few years ago sent over some songs via email on the theme since he could not participate personally this week. Hopefully he can join us from Japan in the future.

The first thing we did was learn a little about what kind of music the new student likes. He mentioned Celine Dion, Queen and The Beatles. He said his musical taste was heavily influenced by his father playing CDs of those artists at home in Taiwan.

As we were talking the FIUTS facilitator mentioned liking Afrobeats music (info). Afrobeats is a relatively new style of music, and should *not* be confused with Afrobeat (without the "s") on the end (info).

As an example of Afrobeats music, the FIUTS facilitator suggested we listen to the song "Anybody" (video, lyrics) by Burna Boy (info), who is the biggest Afrobeats artist in the world.

The FIUTS facilitator commented that Afrobeats videos show that Africa makes modern music, and that people do things that people in industrialized countries do, like go to dance clubs. This is a great point she made: too often people think of Africa as undeveloped economically, but while much of the continent is poor, it is not *all* poverty and life in villages.

Side note: I am a big fan of Fela Kuti (info), the originator of Afrobeat music. I found out after the class that coincidendally today, 15 October, was Fela's birthday!

The drummer for Fela's band, Tony Allen (info) is my favorite drummer. I had the great fortune of seeing Tony play in a small club in Switzerland once. I watched him the whole show as if in a trance -- I couldn't believe I was standing so close to this musician from so far away who I revered.

Now I asked the new student if he has a "song for a rainy day". He chose "Your Name" (video, song info) by Radwimps (info). In this song he likes the mix of piano and fluctuations of tones in the music. He finds it relaxing. He said that even when it is raining outside, a person needs to keep a positive mindset.

At this point I asked him if he has gotten used to all the rain in Seattle. We talked about the difference in rain between Seattle and Taiwan.

The student from China said that the fact that the rain in Seattle goes on for a long time -- with no rainbow at the end to celebrate the end -- is depressing.

She chose the song "Jackie & Wilson" (video, lyrics) by Hozier (info) as a rainy day song. She said that on rainy days she likes to play rock music, something with energy. 

 

 

 

 

On the subject of rock music, the Taiwanese student said the Hozier songs reminds him of Avril Lavigne (info) because she is the most popular rock singer in Taiwan. As an example of a song he knows by Avril, we listened to "Head Above Water" (video, song info, lyrics). 

In this song the student likes the high tones and the dramatic quality of the songs. He finds the song dynamic and strong.

The Chinese student noted that the style of this Avril song is different from her earlier songs, when she was more rebellious.

Now I played a "rain" song. I chose "Love Reign O'er Me" (video with lyrics, song info) by The Who (info). 

 In addition to the mood of the song being good for a rainy day, I like the way the title has a homonym for "rain" ("reign"). The word reign is used for how a King or Queen is the highest power over the people. In this case, it's like saying "love" has the highest authority. Additionally, it plays with the idea of love raining on someone, like washing over him/her. I like all these intertwined concepts. And I like the music and singing a lot, too!

A song with a similar concept about love and washing is a song by a Seattle band, Pearl Jam (info) called "Wash" (video with lyrics). The first lyric of the song is "Oh please, let it rain today", which is perfect for Seattle. But most of all I really like the idea in this song about "washing" love -- washing something which is not physical.

 

 

The next song we played was "Endless Rain" (video with lyrics, song info) by X-Japan (info). The student who chose it likes how powerful the emotion is, especially the chorus where they sing in English.

 

As our meeting for the week was coming to an end, it was mentioned that there are many songs about rain. For example:

"November Rain" (video, song info, lyrics) by Guns N Roses (info).

-- Trivia fact: the bass player for Gun N Roses, Duff McKagan (info) grew up in Seattle, and after moving to Los Angeles when he was young to make a career in a music, now lives here again with his family.

"Purple Rain" (video, song info, lyrics) by Prince (info).

-- Speaking of Prince: one of the most famous concerts in American history was Prince's peformance at the the Superbowl Halftime in 2007: it was in a monsoon-like rain storm, and yes, he played "Purple Rain". Concert + story of the day.

The last song I played was "Rain" (video, song info, lyrics) by The Beatles (info).

 

 

 

 

 

 

While we didn't play the songs my former student sent over during the class, I want to include them with his commentary here:

~ ~  

Whenever I think about the songs related to rain, I always think about the scenery of rainy places. Thus my choices for this week are related to those places; specifically Seattle and Dublin. SDRE and The Script are from those two cities, and MV for The Script song was shot in Dublin. 

 

"Rain Song" (video, lyrics) by Sunny Day Real Estate (info).

"Breakeven" (video, song info, lyrics) by The Script (info)

~ ~ 

 

Those are all the "rain" songs we had time for today! 

Next week's theme: "Favorite songs from when you were in high school."

8 October 2020 (Thursday)

After a break of 5+ years while I lived in Europe, today was the return of the Language Of Music! (At FIUTS, at the University of Washington, it is called "Music Conversation Group".)

The big difference between now and previously is that, because of COVID-19, the group is meeting online, not in person. I was curious to see how many people would come to the group, and it would work to have conversation online rather than in person.

The bad news is that only one student came to the conversation group this first day. Nonetheless, I hope this first time gets the ball rolling, and more people will join us in the coming weeks.

The good news is that we (me, the FIUTS facilitator and the student) had a very fun conversation!

Today's theme was "Favorite songs (of all time, or recently)" as a way to get to know about each others' tastes.

As we talked the FIUTS facilitator said she likes "all kinds of music". I have often told my classes that people claiming to like "all kinds of music" actually mean, "everything except opera and country music," hahaha.

Our student guest is from China and isn't familar with what "country" music sounds like. It is worth noting that "country" music in the US is different from "folk music". The term "country music" sounds like it refers to traditional music from the countryside, and perhaps that is how it started, but nowadays it is a style of modern music, like "rock" or "pop" or "soul" are styles, and has very little to do with traditional music from a century ago. I would say that "folk" music has closer roots to traditional music than any other modern musical style.

As an example of what "country" music sounds like, we listened to "Friends In Low Places" (video, lyrics, song info) by Garth Brooks (info).

This song is to my ears a great example of country music:

• The vocal melodies go up and down
• The lyrics tell the story about having bad luck, having a truck, hanging out with friends, and drinking beer.
• The title is a "play on words" by referring how his  friends are "in low places" rather than "friends in high places" (which is often referred to when someone gets a good job or receives favors in life).
  

Of course, there are many country songs which deal with other subjects -- especially love songs -- but this is an excellent example of a typical "country" song. 

I have often said that most people don't like country music, but that is not true, and it shows a bias on my part: in fact, country music is extremely popular in the United States, especially in the center of the country (and Texas!) and in rural areas. Country music is not very popular in the big cities like where I have lived most of my life, so that is why I say people don't like it, but that is really not a true statement. It is very popular and very big business in the United States. Nashville, TN (map, info) is considered the home of country music in the US.

Now it was time to get an example of the type of music our student likes. She choose the Japanese singer Maki Asakawa (info). We couldn't quickly find exactly the song the student wanted to hear, but we listed to the start of the album Blue Spirit Blues (video). The student said this is representative of Maki's music that she likes.

The student said she likes Maki's voice, which is  emotional and powerful. She likes that the melody is sad, but she does not find it depressing.

 

I told her that in English we often say this feeling is "reflective", which means to look inside oneself, like in a mirror. We often say a person is in a "reflective mood", or a person "reflects on the past." This is good music for those times :-)

 

It is not very often that my young students like such "old" music, but this student said she likes a lot of music from Japan from the 70's & 80's. 

 

I had never heard of Maki Asakawa before, but I am intrigued by what I heard: I will check out more of her music!

 

I realized that there is a song by my favorite singer in the world, Oumou Sangaré (info) which musically fits well to the Maki Asakawa song we had just heard: Magoya (video). Musically this song is similar and it showcases Oumou's amazing voice.  

 

 

  

At this point our FIUTS facilitator had to leave the group, but the student and I continued talking for a while.

We continued with "Beautiful People, Beautiful Problems" (video, lyrics, song info) by Lana Del Ray (info).

The student said she likes the use of the colors in the lyrics. She also likes the second singer's voice. 

 

I noted that Lana's music sounds sad, like the Maki Asakawa song the student had chosen before. She said that she often likes songs in minor keys, that it creates an atmosphere of mysteriousness.

 

That second voice is Stevie Nicks (info), an icon of American music. Stevie was/is in Fleetwood Mac, whose album "Rumours" (info) is one of the biggest selling albums of all time in America. It is the perfect soundtrack for romantic relationships breaking up, hahaha.

 

The student said she likes when a new singer does a duet with an older singer.

 

She asked me if Oumou had done a duet with Beyonce. It turns out, Oumou's voice was used in the background of a Beyonce remix, but that wasn't a proper duet.

 

On the topic of Beyonce, I said that I appreciate how Beyonce makes strong statements in support of women and social justice for black people in the US. As an example of that, I showed the video of Beyonce's performance at the halftime of the Superbowl* in 2016 (video). We talked about the messages that the visuals in that performance, as well as the lyrics of the song, send to different people in different parts of American society.

*The Superbowl is the championship game of American Football at the end of each season. The Superbowl is the biggest television event of the year in America, each year watched by about 100 million people.

 

Lastly, on the topic of duets, I played a duet of Alicia Keys (info), one of America's top soul singers, with Oumou Sangare. They did a live duet of Alicia's first big hit, "Fallin'" (live duet, original version, lyrics, song info). Because I like this song so much, I was excited to see this duet. But, as the student commented, it seems like they are singing two different songs simultaneously: Alicia is very controlled, while Oumou sings very freely. 

 

Today I met new people, had an enjoyable conversation and discovered a new singer -- what a great re-start to the Language Of Music! :-)

 

Next Thursday's topic: Songs for a rainy day, or songs about rain. Or, as always, any song you want to share and talk about!