28 May 2014 (Wednesday)

The quarter is winding down. Today was the second-to-last class and I guess most people are busy preparing for finals; only 3 people showed up -- and one had to leave early to go to the Lady Gaga concert (which actually ended up being cancelled!).

We started with one student telling about having visited the annual Northwest Folklife Festival (info) over the holiday weekend. At the festival she heard a band playing pan flutes and really liked it (video). 

I had a song that I wanted to play for one of the students who loves rock music: "Tough Girl" (video, song info) by Open Hand (info). I especially like the *sound* of the guitar, as well as the parts the guitar plays. And I like the drums on this song a lot, too.

We talked for a while about taking driving lessons and getting a driver's license in the US versus in their home countries.

Next we moved on to the first song according to today's theme ("Songs That You Relate To Your Time In Seattle"). The songs was "Learn To Fly" (video, lyrics, song info) by Foo Fighters (info). The student who chose it said it is about getting inspiration in life. The lyric "Looking to the sky" is like getting to Seattle for him. And, as in the lyrics, he learned a lot during his time in Seattle and is ready to go home. 

Coincidentally, this was the first song by the Foo Fighters he ever heard. And the first song he ever chose in The Language Of Music was a Foo Fighters song. So it's all coming full circle.

The next song was "Dark Horse" (video, lyrics, song info) by Katy Perry (info). The student who chose this song likes rap music because it makes her feel powerful and helps her let go of sadness. She doesn't pay attention to rap lyrics, she just likes the sound of the voice.

With that our time was over for the day (yes, we talked a lot today about other things than music!).

Next week is the last class until September. The theme is, naturally, "goodbye songs". 

21 May 2014 (Wednesday)

As the quarter winds down attendance is dwindling... only 4 people came today.

I chose the first song. "How Soon Is Now (live)" (video, lyrics, song info) "covered" by Johnny Marr (info) I had played it in my car on the way to class. I love the video because it's pure rock music energy in the room. And I especially like the part at the 3:15 minute mark where Johnny Marr de-tunes his guitar to make a low sound but comes back to playing the song as usual: That takes a lot of confidence to do live -- and in front of millions of people on TV!!

One of the students mentioned that the next day (22 May) is Morrisey's (info) birthday. (Morrisey used to play in The Smiths (info) with Johnny Marr; they wrote "How Soon Is Now" together.)

Since we were now talking about The Smiths and Johnny Marr, one of the students said he learned to respect Johnny Marr very highly as a guitarist, especially for his rhythm playing, by finding the video for "Bigmouth Strikes Again" (video, lyrics, song info) on YouTube as he was looking for guitar videos.

Speaking of rhythm guitar playing, I showed a clip of Keith Richards (info) playing my favorite of his solo songs, "Struggle" (video, lyrics, song info) on Saturday Night Live in the '80's. What I like about this video is how much his body is feeling the rhythm of the song while he plays it.

The next song chosen was a live cover of the Beatles song "Help" (video, lyrics, song info) by Noel Gallagher (info) of Oasis. The student who chose it says he likes how Noel highlights the emotion of the song by arranging it differently. If I remember correctly he said he likes this version better than the Beatles's original.

A long discussion followed about the Oasis split and whether the two bands that came out of it, Beady Eye (info) or Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds (info) is more like the original spirit of Oasis. Our Oasis expert says they are different but each is equally the spirit of Oasis. 

The next song had nothing to do with any British music: it was "Hotel California" (video, lyrics, song info) by The Eagles (info), a classic *American* band. The student who chose the song chose it because she thought of it when she recently went to California and was driving on the highway there. She also thought about it because two weeks ago we had talked about Stairway To Heaven and both these two songs have long guitar solos.

I was telling the students that Americans have a love/hate relationship with The Eagles. I am guessing 70% of Americans love The Eagles, but the other 30% hate The Eagles. I said I don't like the band and a student said, "Why not?" and I blurted out, "I don't like hippies because they are so naive". One of the students said, "I have the perfect song for you": "Death Of A Disco Dancer" (video, lyrics, song info) by The Smiths (info). Indeed, what great lyrics! And great music, too!

It made me think of another song from that era called "(What's So Funny About) Peace, Love & Understanding" (video, lyrics, song info) by Elvis Costello (info).

As you can see, we only made it one song by Americans today before going back to The Smiths and Brits...

Speaking of hippies, one student said Neil Young has created a new audio system called Pono and got a lot of older musicians to support it in the product video. 

For some reason we played another song I have been listening to this week, "Warrior Lord" (video, lyrics, song info) by Poliça (info), but I don't remember how that song came up.


With that class was over for the day/week. Only two more classes to go this quarter! :-(  For the next class the theme is "Songs about your time in Seattle." This could be a song which describes the time or it could be one which has the same main feeling you have about Seattle. (Sneak preview: since 4 June will be our last class, the them for that one will naturally be "Goodbye" songs.)

14 May 2014 (Wednesday)

This week there were no rooms available in the HUB for class so we did a "virtual" Language Of Music on the class Facebook page -- people posted songs on the theme "Songs I Like To Listen To On A Sunny Day When My Class Gets Cancelled".

7 May 2014 (Wednesday)

Today only 4 students came to share their songs on the theme of "flowers", but we had a good conversation. I had encouraged the students to be creative in their interpretation of the "flowers" theme and they were!

As I set up the computer equipment we bantered about heavy metal in general. I think we talked about Led Zeppelin (info) and that made me think of Seattle band Heart (info) doing a great cover of Zeppelin's classic song "Stairway To Heaven" (video, lyrics, song info). They did it in front of the members of Led Zeppelin themselves -- and President Obama. I mentioned that the lead singer for heart, Ann Wilson (info) is, in my opinion, the best female rock singer in the world. 

The next song was the first one in our theme: "Marigold" (video with lyrics, song info) by Nirvana (info). It's actually not exactly Nirvana playing on this song, rather it's Dave Grohl and Christ Novoselic because Kurt Cobain was not in the studio. And the song was written just by Dave Grohl. It is also the only Nirvana songs that Dave's next band, Foo Fighters (info) ever played.

The student who chose this song chose it because when he thinks of songs on the theme "flowers" he usually thinks of roses but wanted to choose something not so obvious.

The next song wasn't a "flower" song: "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" (video, lyrics, song info) by The Beatles (info). The student who chose this song feels like The Beatles are just the perfect rock band. And I agree with him! Even though their songs are 40-50 years old, they sound modern to this day.

The next song was on the theme: "Flower Dance" (video) by DJ Okawari. The student who chose it likes it from the 2 minute mark on the best.

The next song was "Bara no hana" ("Rose Flower" in English) (video, lyrics) by Quruli (info). The student who chose this song said the music is the spirit of Japan. This band had the "theme song" for a whole musical movement in Japan in the 90's(?).

The next song was "Glory Box" (video, lyrics, song info) by Portishead (info). I can't remember why the student chose this song, but I personally love this song -- so atmospheric!

We started talking about movies that are about rock music. Here some suggestions for good "rock" movies off the top of my head (there are many, many more!):

• "Singles" (info). It's set in Seattle so you will recognize lots of streets!
• "High Fidelity" (info).
• "Spinal Tap" (info). A satire about rock bands. A brilliant classic!
• "Some Kind Of Monster" (info). The true documentary about Metallica, which shows that "Spinal Tap" is not just fantasy.
• "The Language Of Music" (info). The documentary that gave this class its name.
• "It Might Get Loud" (info). Documentary about rock guitarists.
• "Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks The World" (link to film online). Only recommended for really geeky music fans!

The last song of the day was one sent to me by email by a student who couldn't attend the class. She requested "Aiwo Komete Hanatabawo" (video, lyrics, song info) by Superfly (info).  She said the singer was influenced by Carol King.  It was a smash hit in 2011.  The lyrics tells us that one girl met her former boyfriend and she could find out he was the right man for her and she would send him a bunch of flowers.

One of the other students in class said he thinks the singer is the best female Japanese rock singer (he was responding to my comment about Ann Wilson being the best female rock singer).

30 April 2014 (Wednesday)

After a Spring with record-setting rain this week Seattle broke 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26C) for the first time since last September -- about 7 months ago! I didn't know how many students would stay indoors on such a nice day, but 7 students came. In honor of the weather today's theme was "Songs To Listen To While Laying On The Beach".

The first song chosen was "In Christ Alone" (video, lyrics) by Keith & Kristyn Getty (info) . The student had heard this song at an Easter church service and liked the song a lot. This inspired talking for a while about Easter and its traditions.

One of the students said something about her recent trip to Los Angeles and that made me think of one of the quintessential American bands: The Beach Boys (info). The first song I think of when I think of The Beach Boys is "Surfin' USA" (video, lyrics, song info).

Speaking of American artists one of the Chinese students in class said that Elvis Presley's name in Chinese is "Hillbilly Cat" (猫王). That's pretty funny to my American ears!

I mentioned that it was the Beach Boys's album "Pet Sounds" (info) that inspired/challenged Paul McCartney to make the Beatles' landmark album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band" (info).

The next song chosen along our theme was a mellow song: "Summer 13" by Simot (audio). The student who chose it said he wanted to choose something different from the typical. People usually think of summer songs as upbeat and happy but he chose this song to show the "coming down" side of when a person needs to rest from so much activity in the summer.

The next song was "Little Talk" (video, lyrics, song info) by Of Monsters & Men (info). The student who chose it says she feels like this song is uplifting.

Over the course of our talking I asked if people want to hear a song that will stick in their head for the rest of they day. Of course they were curious to know what song that could be... "Pop Muzik" (video, song info) by M (info). 

(Watching that video made me think of David Bowie's "DJ" video.) I like this video because it has that element of danger that I like in rock music; Bowie looks like he could fall over any second.)

The next song chosen was from one of the new students today: "Muchacho de Campo" (video, lyrics) by Voz De Mando. The student heard the song while at the Tulip Festival (info) on a radio station that only played Mexican music. 

The topic of a radio station that plays Mexican music in the middle of Washington State led me to tell the class that the US allows Mexican people into the country illegally because they will do the farm work that US citizens don't want to do -- and at a very cheap wage to keep our food prices low. 

The next student asked if we wanted to hear a "sad beach song" or a "happy beach song". I was so curious I had to hear both choices:

Sad beach song = "Redondo Beach" (video, lyrics, song info) by Patti Smith (info).

Happy beach song = "Club Tropicana" (video, lyrics, song info) by Wham (info). 

I was surprised that he chose a Wham song, but he said they were an important band for his musical education because they were the first Western band to play in China and that made it so his father always played Wham cassettes in the car. But his father didn't know how cheesy the lyrics were. Lucky guy!

The last song of the day was "Addict D'Eau Delice" (video) from a Dior advertisement. The student who picked it said she simply likes this song.

With that time was up for the day. I hope to see everyone again next week. Next week's theme: Since it is May, songs about flowers or videos featuring flowers (you can be creative in of songs on this subject!).

23 April 2014 (Wednesday)

I missed two classes while traveling -- it was good to see the 6 familiar faces who showed up!

As I set up the equipment for the class I told one of the students who loves Britpop that I had recently heard an album by a UK band (ooops, just found out they are American!) that I thought he'd like: Midlake (info). We listened to the title song from the album, "Antiphon" (video, lyrics, song info). The student seemed intrigued by the music but not immediately in love with it.

I talked a little about my trip to Turkey and said a highlight was learning the traditions around drinking rakı (info). I showed a commercial for the most popular brand of rakı in Turkey (video).

The first song shared by a student was "On Every Street" (video, lyrics, song info) by Dire Straits (info). The student who picked this song is a musician himself and very knowledgeable of music and it makes sense he picked this song since the guitarist, Mark Knopfler (info) is considered one of the best guitarists in rock music. The student had been listening to other Dire Straits albums and came back to this song.

The next song was "American Idiot" (video, lyrics, song info) by Green Day (info). The student who chose this song likes it because if its strong lyrical message.

The next song was "Do You Hear The People Sing" (video, lyrics, song info) from Les Miserables (info). The version we watched is special because it has people singing in 17 languages.

This led to a short discussion about musicals. Apparently there's a version of Mamma Mia! (info) done in China *in Chinese* (video)!

The next song was "Tong Poo" (video, song info) by Yellow Magic Orchestra (info). Again, this song was chosen for the musicianship: this band has a number of the best musicians in all of Japan, including Ryuichi Sakamoto (info).

The next song was "Amarantine" (video, lyrics, song info) by Enya (info). The student who chose this song likes it because the sound is pure and she likes the video.

Next was "Deliverance" (video, song info) by Yanni (info). The student who picked this song loves this song but hadn't heard it in a long time.

The last song of the day was "Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space" (video, lyrics, song info) by Spiritualized (info). Unfortunately I don't remember exactly why the student who chose this song chose it, but I remember we talked about it for a while.

2 April 2014 (Wednesday)

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12 March 2014 (Wednesday)

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5 March 2014 (Wednesday)

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26 February 2014 (Wednesday)

Today 6 students came to share their songs on the theme "Songs I Like But My Parents (Would) Hate".

As is custom I started by asking if anyone had any musical adventures from the past week. One student had visited a record fair on my recommendation, but he said it was mostly vinly lps, not many cds... sorry about that!!

The only other musical adventure of the week was me plus two students from class -- we had gone to the SAM Remix party at the Seattle Art Museum. It was really fun, as always. The next SAM Remix is 6 June -- I highly recommend putting that date in your calendars -- let's get a group of people to go!!

The first song chosen for our theme was "Don't Look Back In Anger" (video, lyrics, song info) by Oasis (info). The student who chose it said her parents wouldn't like it because they don't like rock band music.

Another student is a HUGE Oasis fan and he said his favorite version of this song is an acoustic version, so we watch a minute of that version (video) to see how it is different.

The next song chosen was "Seven Days" (video, lyrics, song info) by Craig David (info). The student said he likes the guitar in this song, but his parents wouldn't like that he sings too quickly: they prefer slower tempo. And the parents are also pretty traditional and wouldn't like that the song is about sex.

The next song was pretty provocative: "I Kill Children" (video, lyrics, song info) by Dead Kennedys (info). It's pretty obvious why *most* parents wouldn't like this song! Interestingly he said his parents don't speak English very well so the problem isn't that they would understand the lyrics. But if they did understand the lyrics, it would definitely be a problem! The student came to like this song once he understood the politics behind it: for this album the Dead Kennedys took the role of the bad side of US society; it's meant as a social commentary, not a true statement of what the band themselves think.

Based on "I Kill Children" I asked the class if they know the song "I Don't Like Mondays" (video, lyrics, song info). One student has heard that song. It was a big hit in the 1980's and was based on a true story in the US of a woman who lived across the street from an elementary school and one Monday just started shooting at the children across the street. When asked why she did it she just answered "I don't like Monday's". Sometimes truth is more awful than fiction.

The next song chosen was "Cats In The Cradle" (video with lyrics, song info) by Harry Chapin (info). This song is sad for how the father doesn't have time for his son. But the son wants to be like his father. And perhaps he ends up doing the same thing with his own son...

The next song was "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" (video, lyrics, song info) by Pink Floyd (info). The part of the song the student who chose it likes the most is the screaming. He told about how he was playing it at home and his mother yelled at him that he should listen to more positive music :-) 

One student hadn't received the email with the theme for the week so she just chose the first English song she ever learned: "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" (video, song info and lyrics).

The last song of the day was "Shoot To Thrill" (video, lyrics, song info) by AC/DC (info). I think it's obvious why her parents would not like this racket!

Something about that AC/DC song reminded of the movie Spinal Tap (info). I asked the class if they have ever seen that movie. No one had!! It's a classic movie which makes fun of rock bands. Every rock band in America and UK has watched this film numerous times and people make references to it all the time, like "Turn it up to 11!" (clip from the movie). I have watched this movie at least 20 times!

A bonus song! Last week one of the students chose "Let It Go" from the movie Frozen. It turns out that song was performed at the Oscars this past Sunday (video). Here is the Oscar's performance. But there is another video of that song that many people have been sharing on YouTube: Idina Menzel singing with Jimmy Fallon and his band playing children's instruments! (video).

I don't have a theme for next week. We'll see what songs people are thinking of!

By the way, there will only be two more classes this quarter: 5 & 12 March. We will take a break and continue again in April.

19 February 2014 (Wednesday)

8 students came today! There was no specific musical theme for the day -- just any songs people had in mind!

As always, I asked if anyone had any musical adventures the previous week. But no one had.

However, one student was going straight from class to see the Paul Simon/Sting concert! The student really likes Paul Simon (info) and was very excited to see him perform. I know he isn't that into Sting (info). 

I told the class that my first job at an internet company was as a researcher for a multimedia biography about Sting! While I loved the band The Police (info) -- mostly for the drummer, who is my favorite "rock" drummer -- I couldn't stand Sting's solo work. But after a year of learning about what motivates him I have to say I came to appreciate him as an artist. Now I listen to him often. I don't like *everything* he does, but I like a lot of it and I realize what a great artist he is, always trying something new.

Anyway, I asked which song the student was looking forward most to hearing. He said "The Boxer" (video, lyrics, song info) by Simon & Garfunkel (info). 

[Here's a review of the concert from the Seattle Times.]

The first request we heard was a Chinese song, "Gala" (video). The student who chose it says it gives him inspiration and strength to keep going forward despite the hardships of life. He also said it gives him hope that China can produce great quality music/art.

The next song was "Tomorrow Never Knows" (video, lyrics, song info) by Mr. Children (info). The Japanese students in class assured me that Mr. Children is a band that *everyone* loves in Japan.

The next song was "Say Something" (video, lyrics, song info) by Christina Aguilera (info) with A Great Big World (info). The student who chose this song said she has heard it a lot on the radio while here in the US. 

The conversation led to talking about the frustrations of not being able to express one's self in a foreign language and culture; how language can be a hurdle to eloquently express one's self. And then how a person can feel smaller in the foreign country than at home simply due to difficulty with language.

The next song chosen was "Will & Elizabeth" (video, song info) from Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl (info). The student who chose this song love the Pirates Of The Caribbean series and loves movie soundtrack music.

We had heard a little bit of the new U2 song "Invisible" a couple of weeks ago, but now we heard the full version (video, lyrics, song info) where the band played live on top of a building in New York City. Man, the drummer looks cold! The student who chose this song says it is classic U2 for him -- he really likes it!

After that I had to show a video of Seattle grunge band Mudhoney (info) playing "Touch Me I'm Sick" (video, lyrics, song info) on top of the Space Needle this past summer.

The last song of the day was "Let It Go" (video, lyrics, song info) from the animation movie Frozen (info).


Theme for the next class is "songs you love but your parents (would) hate".

See you on Wednesday afternoon!