11 March 2015 (Wednesday)
Today was the last class of Winter Quarter -- this quarter flew by! Only 6 students showed up, I guess attendance was low because people were studying for finals.
The theme today was music which students listen to while studying.
The first song we listened to was "Salut d'Amour" (video) by Edward Elgar (info), which is the song one of the regular students who plays piano is practicing.
The first "study" song chosen was "Get Lucky" (video with lyrics, song info) by Daft Punk (info). The student who chose this song likes the melody and the lyrics, especially "we've come to far to give up", as it relates to studying.
I mentioned to the class that this song reminds me a lot of the song from the 70's "Le Freak" (video, lyrics, song info) by Chic (info). Man, I *loved* this song when I was in middle school! It's probably not a coincidence that the guitarist for Chic plays on "Get Lucky".
Bands/songs often wear their influences on their sleeves but this week the landmark decision was made in US court that the song "Blurred Lines" (video, lyrics, song info) by Robin Thicke (info) and Pharrell (info, also on "Get Lucky") had copied "Got To Give It Up" (video, lyrics, song info) by Marvin Gaye (info). We talked a little about whether this court decision is fair.
The next "studying" song was "Swastika Eyes" (video, lyrics, song info) by Primal Scream (info). The student who chose this songs likes fast, loud music when he is studying. I can't imagine studying to this racket, but he got into one of the best universities in Japan, so it must work for him!
The next song chosen was "Azul" (video, lyrics) by the band Little Jesus (band Facebook page). The student who chose this song says it puts him in a happy mood.
That student mentioned that this weekend the Vive Latino Festival (info), the best music festival in Mexico each year was taking place.
One band playing the festival is Nortec Collective (info). We checked out their song "Tijuana Sound Machine" (video).
This made me think of the band Gotan Project (info). Their mix of modern and traditional tango style music is interesting to me. As an example of their music I played "La Gloria" (video, song info).
Someone mentioned that Clean Bandit (info), who has that sweet song "Rather Be" (video, lyrics, song info) is playing at the Showbox (website) on 21 April.
The next studying songs chosen were "Arabesques" (video, song info) by Debussy (info) and Kaleidoscope (video) by DJ Okawari (website).
At this point I learned that two of the students in today's class will be leaving Seattle at the end of this quarter! I asked them if they have any songs which mean "Seattle" for them.
One chose "All Of Me" (video, lyrics, song info) by John Legend (info).
The other chose "Treasure" (video, lyrics, song info) by Bruno Mars (info) because this quarter she was in Seattle is a treasured good memory.
With that our time for the day -- and the quarter -- were over. We will continue again on 8 April.
2 comments:
I stumbled across your blog with the help of that handy next blog link. I think this is a brilliant idea that removes the expectations of the academic setting to not speak unless the speaker feels he/ she knows it will be perfect. Doing it the way you have arranged allows for varied types of music ( we are really that individual) and people have strong emotional responses to music so conversation must ensue. Not only are these students expressing themselves they are getting exposure to an array of music they might not of considered.
I have bookmarked this blood page so I too can gain exposure to music.
Hi SMM,
Thank you for your kind words about the Language Of Music class and blog. You get exactly what I am trying to achieve with the conversation group! :-)
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