25 February 2015 (Wednesday)

Today 13 students -- 4 of whom were new! -- came to class. Our topic was "duets".

The first duet was "Miagete Goran Yoru no Hoshi wo" (video, lyrics, song info) by Masafumi Akikawa (info). The student who chose this song likes it because of the contrast of the woman's voice and the man's  voice.

That song was originally sung by Kyu Sakamoto (info). Mr. Sakomoto was the only Japanese singer to ever have a #1 song on the US Billboard charts (in 1963)! He did it with "Sukiyaki" (video with lyrics, song info).

The next song was "Lonely" (video, lyrics, song info) by Akon (info). This was a great, creative choice of a duet, it made me laugh! I can't tell if Akon is being serious in this song or just being goofy. I mean, the lyrics are serious, but with the weird voice it takes away from the seriousness.

The weird voice in that song is actually the vocal from the song "Mr. Lonely" (video, lyrics, song info) by Bobby Vinton (info).

The student who chose "Lonely" mentioned that she had that song as her phone ringtone for a while. With that comment I told the class that my ringtone is the first song I ever fell in love with: "Baby Elephant Walk" (video, song info) by Henry Mancini (info). 

While writing this blog I came across this super-cute version of the song by some Japanese schoolgirls (video). OMG, here's another one. Hey, it's better than me posting cat videos, isn't it?

That interlude inspired me for next week's theme, see below :-)

The next song was "5 O'Clock" (video, lyrics, song info) by T-Pain (info). The student who chose it saw T-Pain in concert and he was impressed by how crazy the crowd went.

The next duet was "I Feel The Earth Move Under My Feet/Hand In Pocket"
(video, lyrics and song info) from Glee (info). Of course this is not only a duet of two singers, but it's a mashup of two songs -- another creative choice!

Here the originals of those two songs: 

• "I Feel The Earth Move" (video, lyrics, song info) by Carol King (info).
• "Hand In Pocket" (video with lyrics, song info) by Alanis Morissette (info).

The student who chose this song is remarkable for her knowledge of American culture and television. Speaking of American "culture" I asked if she or the class knows about the tv show "The Bachelor" (info). It's so trashy, but like a car crash sometimes you just can't look away!

The next song was "Khilaf" (video, lyrics) by Ressa Herlambang (Facebook page). Unfortunately I can't find any more in English on Ressa and for some reason I didn't take any notes on why the student chose this song. Sorry! I remember in class thinking it was a woman's voice, but now that I hear the song again it is clearly a guy. I like the vocal melody!

Next was "Wizard CLUB" (video with lyrics, song info) by UVERworld (info), who seem to have challenges with capitalization of letters in words, hahaha. This song was chosen because the previous week one of the other students said a song wasn't loud enough for her so this week one of the other students chose a "loud" song for her; it was a nice gesture, but I think it was too loud for her, however ;-) Actually, it's quite melodic and the saxophone is an interesting texture.

Next up was "Necesito Cambiar" (video, lyrics) by Dapuntobeat (Facebook page). This is a Mexican band that doesn't have a set singer: they collaborate with many different singers.

The next song was "Popular" (video with lyrics, song info) from the musical "Wicked" (info). 

This song was actually covered in a different variation by Mika (info) with Ariana Grande (info): "Popular" (video, song info) . It was interesting to compare the two songs!

Next was "Don't Look Back In The Sun (Live at Reading 2010)" (video, lyrics, song info) by The Libertines (info). The reason the student chose the live version of this song is because not only are there two singers in the band, but the audience is singing, too -- so it's like a trio-et (no, that word doesn't exist in English, I made it up). Another very creative interpretation of the "duet" theme for today!

Next was "I'm Not Yours" (video with lyrics) by Jolin Tsai (info) and Namie Amuro (info). This song is a combination of two top female singers from China and Japan -- another cool variation on the "duet" theme.

The next song chosen was "Glorious Years" (video) by Beyond (info). Apparently almost all Chinese people like this band because the lyrics are down to earth and people can relate to them. Tragically the singer died from a fall off the stage.

With that our time for the day was over. But we had listened to so many songs, it was great!


Next week's theme: well, no theme for songs to pick -- think of a song or two you have been enjoying a lot lately -- but I *am* going to ask everyone in class to play their ringtone on their phone and explain why they chose that ringtone or, if they haven't customized it, why they haven't personalized it. 

Bonus duet: a student posted to the Facebook group that he would have also chosen "Begin The Begin (live with Eddie Vedder)" (video, lyrics, song info) by REM (info). A little known fact: the only time I have played music in front of an audience I played bass on this song!