21 January 2015 (Wednesday)

Today I had a great turnout -- 12 students, six of whom were new! 

Unfortunately we had bad luck with getting a room to meet + talk in. Our assigned room was double-booked and we were the ones who didn't get to keep it. We moved to a room in the basement of the HUB, but this was not a good place to meet as there was a constant stream of people who were used to the room being empty coming in and wondering why we were there.

I did want to show the new students how the class works, so we watched + talked about a few songs, but we kept class short this week. I hope the new students were intrigued to come back again next week to have a proper music conversation!

To learn about one of the new student's taste in music we watched "Bailando" (video, lyrics, song info) by Enrique Iglesias (info). The student who chose it like the dance and he likes the rhythm of this song. I like this song, too. And apparently so do nearly 700 million people!

Another new student chose the next song: "Joah" (video, lyrics, song info) by Jay Park (info). The video for this song was shot in Seattle! Apparently Jay grew up in Seattle but he moved back to Korea and is a big star over there. 

Apparently "Joah" means "I like you" in Korean.  One of my favorite songs is "I like you" in Spanish: "Me Gustas Tu" (video, lyrics, song info) by Manu Chao (info). This song always makes me happy when I hear it.

The next song was "Young And Beautiful" (video, lyrics, song info) by Lana Del Rey (info). This song is from the movie "The Great Gatsby" (info). The student who chose it likes the melody and loved it from the very first time. 

The last song we heard this short day was "Cleptosaurios" (video) by The Plastics Revolution (Facebook page). This was introduced by our student from Mexico City. I am glad he is sharing about these Mexican bands because I have never heard of them, but I can't remember exactly why *he* said he likes this band and song. Sorry!


I want to thank all the students who came to class last week. I hope you will give it another chance this Wednesday (28 January) at 4:30pm in HUB 337. 

Since we weren't really able to do the planned theme for this class, theme for the next class will again be "Your favorite song in 2014". This doesn't necessarily have to be a song released in 2014, rather the song you listened to the most or the one which describes best what 2014 was like for you.

14 January 2015 (Wednesday)

The first meeting of Winter Quarter! I was curious to see how many students would return from last quarter and what the new students this quarter would be like. 9 students showed up, 5 from previous quarter and 4 new students.

As is the custom for the first class of the quarter I introduced the class quickly to the new students and had everyone tell where they are from and what kind of music they like.

To start talking about music I asked one of the returning students to tell me which song he listened to most while traveling around the US during the break. His answer was "Drive My Car" (video, lyrics, song info) by The Beatles (info). He likes the song because it is danceable.  

He heard this song the first time while seeing the Cirque du Soleil (info) production of "Love" (info) in Las Vegas. I envy him for seeing "Love" as I have long wanted to see Cirque du Soleil in general and I would especially love to see the show with the Beatles songs. Here is the official commercial for Love (video).

Speaking of Cirque du Soleil, they will be in the Seattle area doing their "Kurios" show (info) in Redmond, just outside Seattle from 29 January to 22 March. Tickets are not cheap, but if you can afford one I'm sure it's a great show.

Now I asked the new students to choose songs so we can get a sense of what they like. 

The first song was "'Cause You're My Zing" (video, lyrics) from the Hotel Transylvania movie (info). The student who chose it heard watching the movie. She likes horror movies but is afraid to watch them by herself.

Since she likes animated horror movies I suggested The Nightmare Before Christmas (info). In this class we have often watched the video for "This Is Halloween" (video, lyrics, song info) around Halloween.

The students started talking about scary video games, but it all went right over my head as I don't know anything about video games.

The next song was "Thinking Out Loud" (video, lyrics, song info) by Ed Sheeran (info). The student who chose it likes the dancing in the video. I asked how she discovered this song: she sometimes looks at the Billboard list of top songs and watches the videos.

Because she mentioned that she like the dancing in the video I told the class that there is a movie featuring dancing that every American knows, it is a classic piece of American culture: Dirty Dancing (info). The most famous song from that movie is "The Time Of My Life" (video, lyrics, song info). If you want to see a piece of true American culture, watch the movie (even though it's from the 80's).

Coincidentally, a musical production of Dirty Dancing will be in Seattle 20 January - 1 February (info). 

A student asked why it's called "dirty" dancing. "Dirty" is sometimes slang for "sexual".

The next song was "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All" (video, lyrics, song info) by Air Supply (info). The student who chose this song said his English teacher in Japan introduced the song in English class.

The next song was "Everybody's Changing" (video, lyrics, song info) by Keane (info). The student who chose it said this is his favorite song ever. Normally he doesn't like rock bands because he doesn't like guitars, but he loves this song because it doesn't have guitar. He discovered it by seeing the lyrics, then he listened to the song.

The first song by one of the returning students was "Cold Girl Lost Fiction" (video, lyrics) by Tesla Doesn't Know How To Cry (sorry, I can't find their website) [SZ note: that is a loooong band name!]. The student who chose it discovered it through YouTube suggestions and it is her "song for the start of 2015".

At this point some people showed up to use the room so we have to quickly pack things together without hearing more choices from the other returning students. :-(

Next week's theme will be "Your favorite song in 2014". This doesn't necessarily have to be a song released in 2014, rather the song you listened to the most or the one which describes best what 2014 was like for you.

3 December 2014 (Wednesday)

This was the last class of Winter Quarter. 5 students came to share songs.


One of the students is learning piano and I saw him playing on the public piano in the HUB before class. I asked what he was playing. It was "Je te veux" (video) by Erik Satie (info).

This was the first class after Thanksgiving so I asked the class what they had done for the holiday. One student had gone and sang karaoke. He sang "Friday I'm In Love" (video, lyrics, song info) by The Cure (info).

I played a little bit of "Easy Money" (video, lyrics, song info) by Johnny Marr (info), because I was going to his concert the next Monday (but the concert got cancelled :-(( ). 

One student said he will go see the big annual holiday indie concert "Deck The Hall Ball" (info). The band he is most excited to hear at the concert is Royal Blood (info) "Figure It Out" (video, lyrics, song info).

The next song was "Somerset" (video, song info) by Baths (info). The student who chose it had only heard it 1 week ago.

I mentioned that the band Mogwai (info) does similar kinds of music. Mogwai has many albums but the one I always relate to them -- even if it's not my favorite music by them -- is the soundtrack they did to a film which was one soccer game where the camera's just followed French great Zinadine Zidane the whole game. Very cool concept! As a sample of Mogwai's music, here is "Take Me Somewhere Nice" (video, lyrics, song info).

Next we had a big surprise: one of our students, Dorian from Mexico City, played a song he recorded! It is called "Ritual de Amor" (At the moment I am not sure if I found the right link and I don't want to risk posting the wrong song -- send me the link, Dorian!). We were all impressed by his talent and his motivation to not only write the song, but to record it and put it online!

The last song we listened to before Winter break was "Needing/Getting" (video, lyrics, song info) by OK Go (info).


With that we ended Fall Quarter. Class will continue in January!

19 November 2014 (Wednesday)

Today 4 students to share the songs they have been listening to lately; I didn't suggest a theme for this week.

First we started by talking about current music events. I had gone with three students to see local Seattle band Mudhoney (info) play at the famous Seattle club Neumos (website). It was a really fun experience. Here's a review of the show.  

After the show we went for a beer to Linda's Tavern (article), which is a famous Seattle music pub for many reasons including the fact that it's the last place where Kurt Cobain was seen alive in public.

I also told the class that a free flamenco guitar + singing concert was happening on the UW campus for free on Sunday, 23 November. (I went to it and it was GREAT!)

Speaking of music, one of the students who loves Taylor Swift (info) told us she bought tickets for the Taylor Swift concert at Century Link field(?!?! she's as big as U2 and Paul McCartney?!?) on 8 August 2015.

In honor of Ms. Swift we watched "Blank Space" (video, lyrics, song info). 

Then, to hear how she sounds when she's rocking out, we listened to "I Knew You Were Trouble" (video, lyrics, song info).

Next we listened to "My World" (video, lyrics) by Spyair (info). The student who chose this song likes it for the positive thinking message in the lyrics.

The next song was on that theme of positive thinking: "All About That Bass" (video, lyrics, song info) by Meghan Trainar (info).

Next up was "Love Song" (video, lyrics, song info) by The Cure (info). The student who chose it feels like this song is part of his life soundtrack. I have to admit that I really like this song, too, both lyrically and musically. The video is a juxtaposition of the sweet lyrics with the strange visual of the lead singer.

A student asked me a question that led me to talking about music from Mali. I told the class that my favorite female singer is Oumou Sangare (info) from Mali. Her voice is magical to me in all the styles she sings, but to give the class an example of her music I chose "Yala" (video). In this song I am fascinated by the rhythm of her singing -- it's so different from Western music!

Here's an example of the mix of Western/Malian where Oumou duets with Alicia Keys (info) on Keys' hit "Fallin" (video, lyrics, song info).

Mali has *many* great bands. In the south of the country the population + bands are black, but in the Sahara desert in the North it's a totally different style. A great example of the desert music is "Cler Achel" (video, song info) by Tinariwen (info).

Ah, but if you guys want to know my current favorite mix of African music with Western rock, check out JuJu: "Nightwalk" (video). BTW, that African instrument making all that noise has only *one* string!! The band is Robert Plant's current backing band.

The world music I played inspired a student to next choose "Sassafras" (video) by Lila Downs (info). The student who chose this song mentioned that she looks like the famous painter Frida Kahlo (info).

The next choice was a Korean indie rock band, Peppertones (info). We listened to their song "Beginner's Luck" (video).

I can't remember how we go to this song, but the next one was "I'm Not Going To Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You" (video, lyrics, song info) by Black Kids (info). The lead vocal sounds a lot like the singer from The Cure before.

At the end of class a student asked me to play an example of German indie music. The first band that came to mind was Die Toten Hosen (info) and the song "Tage Wie Diese" (video with lyrics below, song info), though I'm sure my German friends would suggest even better examples of German indie music. 


With that class was over for the day. We will not have class next week, 26 November, due to the Thanksgiving holiday. I hope to see everyone on 3 December for our last(!!) class of the quarter. Since it's the Thanksgiving and Christmas season theme for this class will be songs that you listen to around Christmas or that remind you of times with your family.

12 November 2014 (Wednesday)

Today 5 students came to give me advice on songs to put onto a "Songs for a friend's birthday playlist".

The first song suggested was a very good, classic choice: "You've Got A Friend" (video with lyrics, song info) by James Taylor (info). 

But that was immediately followed by "Unhappy Birthday" (video with lyrics below, song info) by The Smiths (info) -- as funny as the lyrics are, that song will definitely *not* be on the playlist I am making.

We had a new student in class today. As a hobby he is learning to play piano. I asked him to choose a song and he chose a song he is learning: "Blumenlied Op 39" (video) by Gustav Lange (info). 

Then I asked what his *favorite* piano song is and he said "Salut d'amour for piano" (video, song info) by Edward Elgar (info).

One other student said his favorite song with piano is "Nightswimming" (video, lyrics, song info) by R.E.M. (info).

At some point I mentioned to the class that in the UW Suzzalo library there is an amazing collection of Seattle music history in the library: an archive of concerts recorded in the legendary Crocodile Cafe music club. Here's a list of recordings. I need to go there one day and listen to the Sia (info) and You Am I (info) recordings, both of which were concerts I was at and they were GREAT!

Back to birthday songs: the next suggestion was "Born In The USA" (video, lyrics, song info) by Bruce Springsteen (info). I have to admit that I can't stand this song :-(

First of all I don't really like Bruce Springsteen's voice, though he is one of America's greatest songwriters, on the level of Bob Dylan (info) (who's voice I also can't stand). There are songs here and there of Springsteen's that I like -- more songs than Dylan -- but while American's worship him as an American icon I'm unmoved.

But my main complaint about "Born In The USA" is that it makes Americans feel all patriotic, but the song is a CRITIQUE about how an American guy with no future was sent to SE Asia to fight in Vietnam and how that didn't lead to anything good. Just look at the lyrics! That general misunderstanding really bugs me.

Now that we were on American singers the song "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime" (video with lyrics below, song info) by Beck (info) was chosen. 

That's a great song, but a few of us agreed our favorite Beck song is "Loser" (video, lyrics, song info). Such a funny, weird song! And so addictive.

Back to birthday songs: "Birthday" (video with lyric, song info) by Katy Perry (info). But the student who chose this song pointed out that it also falls into that category of "misunderstood" songs, like "Born In The USA". This is not a song about a birthday, look at the lyrics, she says "I'll make it *like* your birthday every day" And a "birthday suit" is not a suit ;-) .

One student said that "Hot N Cold" (video, lyrics, song info) is the only Katy Perry song he likes. We all have our "guilty pleasure" songs that we like by artists who we generally don't really like ;-)  

The next song was "Birthday" (video) by Galileo Galilei (info: hint, it's a band from Japan, not a medieval European scientist).

At this point our Thai student started telling us the names of some popular Thai bands. They have some really funny names, like Potato (info) and Big Ass (info). 

I can't remember how we got onto this next song, "Back to Tang Dynasty in Dream" (video) by Tang Dynasty (info), a mainland China band who won the equivalent of the Chinese MTV award for best band. It was surprising to see this band's video use *all* the same cliches as American rock bands, hahahaha.

Someone suggested "Gimme Chocolate" (video, lyrics, song info) by Babymetal (info) but I don't think that was on the birthday mix theme ;-) . 

And that somehow led to a song by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (info); it might have been "Ponponpon" (video, song info), but if it wasn't exactly this song, it probably sounds exactly like it anyway, hahahaha.

Actually, I would like to spend a whole class asking why things like Baby Metal and Kyary Pamyu exist in Japan! It's all about marketing and very little about music, isn't it? I'd like to understand why so many Japanese consumers enjoy these manufactured bands and marketing. This documentary about Kyary Pamyu doesn't help me understand.

With that the time for our class this week was over.

5 November 2014 (Wednesday)

Today 7 students came to share their favorite songs about "home".

Two students in the class had gone to concerts in the past week: One to The Black Keys (info, concert review) and the other to Slowdive (info). 

I have heard of the band Slowdive, but I don't know their music. So I asked him what his favorite Slowdive song is. He said it is "Alison" (video, lyrics, song info). He said the concert was great and fulfilled all his expectations.

Next one student wanted to play a song she didn't get to share for "Halloween songs" last week: "Kyoushinshou" (video, lyrics, song info) by Radwimps (info). It is indeed a good video for Halloween. I like the guitar in the song. And the student who picked it also pointed out how great the lyrics are, too.

The next song was "Write Your Story" (video with lyrics, song info) by Francesca Battistelli (info). The student who picked it said she had heard it on the way to class and liked it. When I look at the lyrics it looks like it is a love song to God.

I like the idea of "writing your story on my heart" and it made me think of a song I loved in the 80's: "Sign Your Name" (video, lyrics, song info) by Terence Trent D'Arby (info).

The next song was actually the first one along the day's theme ("songs about home")! It was "Ashitaka sekki" (video, song info) by Joe Hishisami (info) from the anime Princess Mononoke (info). The student who chose it said that the film takes place in a place that is like his hometown. I have to say that I really liked this piece! So beautifully melancholic!

The next song was "Aqui No Es Asi" (video, lyrics, song info) by Caifanes (info). The band is from Mexico City, where the student is from. The song is about Aztec culture versus the Spaniards who came there.

The next song chosen was "Lanzhou Lanzhou" (video) by Mogo Music. This song is by a band from the student's hometown, Lanzhou (info),  and the lyrics describe the things that people in that town see every day. This is really a "hometown" song!! 

The next song was "Poison" (video, lyrics) by the Thai indie band Bodyslam (info). The student who chose this song doesn't actually like the band that much, but she thought the class would be interested in knowing what a popular Thai band is like.

With that our time for the week was over. I forgot to show the students a "hometown" video about Seattle, so here's a bonus in the blog: "The Bluest Skies You've Ever Seen Are In Seattle" (video with lyrics in the notes).

For the next week I have a funny theme: I am thinking of putting together a playlist of songs for a friend's birthday party so the theme for this week's class is "Songs For A Birthday Party" so I can get some additional ideas. Of course, any song the students want to share with the class will be fine.