11 April 2012 (Wednesday)

Lots of students this week -- 15 students total, 5 of whom were new. We had to use a small room for the class so it was kind of packed, but it was a fun session!

I started by asking the class if anyone had had any "musical adventures" during the past week. Someone mentioned that one of their friends had gone to the Radiohead (info) concert.  So to start the class I asked someone to suggest a Radiohead song to listen to.  Someone suggested "Creep" (video, lyrics, song info), which was the breakout song for Radiohead -- about 20 years ago!!

I was surprised that my (young) students would choose such an old song -- Radiohead's first single ever, released in 1992!  However, to tell the truth, I don't know which other Radiohead song I would choose: although theoretically I should like Radiohead, their songs just go in one ear and out the other for me.

We had to wait for a commercial to play on YouTube before the "Creep" video. The commercial was for Dr. Pepper soft drink (info).  I haven't seen Dr. Pepper very often in Europe so I asked my students if they are familiar with it.  Only a few were, but those who have tasted it like it.

This made me think to ask if my students like that uniquely American soft drink "root beer" (info). ("Root beer" is not a beer nor alcoholic at all, actually.)  Americans *love* the taste of root beer, but I have found that most people who have not grown up drinking it as kids don't like it.  I asked the class how many like root beer.  A couple like it, but most do not.

This made me think of a variation of root beer that the class might like: a "root beer float"!  Basically a root beer float is root beer together with vanilla ice cream.  Here's a video about how to make a root beer float.

Speaking of cold drinks, I promised to take the class to a restaurant/bar nearby to have margaritas (info) after class one sunny day.

Ok, on to more music!  The next song we listened to as "Alphabeat" (video) by David Guetta (info). But I can't remember what we talked about about this song, sorry!!

The next video we watched was by Ringo Sheena (info). Unfortunately I can't find the exact video we watched anymore because all the words were in Japanese and I couldn't write them down.  My notes say that the student picked this song because she likes how Ringo takes old songs and updates the sounds to make them modern.  I remember that the song sounded like it came from the 1920's, but now I can't remember which song it was... can anyone help me?

Update: One of the students sent me the song/link. It was  東京事変-女の子は誰でも (video).

The next song was "We Are Young" (video, lyrics, song info) from the Glee TV show (info).  When I asked the student why he chose this song he said it is simply because it was the #1 song in the US on the Billboard charts.

It turns out "We Are Young" was originally done by the band Fun. (info).  So we watched the Fun. version of the song to see how it is different from the Glee version.

The next song chosen was a "Spring" song: "You And Me" (video with lyrics) by Olivia Ong (info). 

The next song was "She Will Be Loved" (video, lyrics, song info) by Maroon 5 (info).  This song was chosen because its mood fit the rainy day in Seattle today.

Again I was surprised that such an "old" song by Maroon 5 was chosen -- this was a single from their first album, "Songs About Jane" (album info). I mentioned that I like how every song on that album is about the singer's ex-girlfriend (Jane) -- writing down all the ups and downs of a relationship is a great way to create a theme for an album!

Back in 2002 I really liked the first single by Maroon 5, "Harder To Breathe" (video, lyrics, song info).  As I am writing this blog I realize I have never actually seen the video for the song until today though I have listened to the song countless times!

I was saw Maroon 5 play in a small club (The Prime Club) in Cologne, Germany in early 2004 when they had made it big in the US but were still unknown in Europe. Someone recorded that very concert so I have an audio memory of the show!

Adam Levine (the Maroon 5 singer) (info) is considered a sex symbol so I asked the girls in the class if they think he's hot.  They all said "yes".  Guys, if you want girls to fall over themselves for you, be a singer or a guitarist!

Levine is also one of the coaches/judges on the talent show "The Voice" (info).  Here's his profile video.

The choice of the next song, "Rain" (video) by Japanese band Freetempo (info) was also inspired by the rainy Seattle weather today.

At this point I played a song which I felt fits with the feel of Freetempo and rainy days: "Home" (video, lyrics) by Zero 7 (info).  I really like two albums by Zero 7: When It Falls (album info) and The Garden (album info).  Highly recommended listening, especially on a rainy day!

One of the singers for Zero 7, Sophie Barker (website) will play in a small bar in Seattle on 6 May. I think it will be a good concert. Anyone want to join me (must be 21+)?

The next song chosen was "Hello Seattle" (video with lyrics, song info) by Owl City (info).  The student who chose it said that someone had recommended it as a greeting for when she arrived in Seattle.

Though it was raining today, the previous weekend had been very nice, sunny weather in Seattle.  That reminded me to play a song for the students: "The Bluest Skies You've Ever Seen Are In Seattle" (video, lyrics) by Perry Como (info).

The next song was a big stylistic change: "Because Of You" (video, lyrics, song info) by Ne-Yo (info). The student who chose this song had heard it while walking down the street, he liked the song and used the Korean version of the Shazam app (info) to find out what the name of the song was.

The next song chosen was yet another big stylistic change: "Noodle" (video) by Kid & Dream.  The student who chose this song said that this song relaxes her, especially at the end of a stressful day.  She said that tradition says that one must relax to eat noodles.  And even royalty eats simple noodles.

She told us about "Prince Noodles" in Taiwan that come in packages that children there eat like American children eat potato chips.

In the "Noodle" video there were little devils so I asked the class if in their cultures "devils" have horns coming out of their heads like in America and Europe.  They said those concepts are familiar in Asia from American culture, but their traditional culture does not have that imagery. 

Speaking of kids, the next song was a cover of "Rolling In The Deep" (video, lyrics, song info) by a 15-year old girl, Park Ji-min from the K-Pop Star show (info). Wow, that girl can sing! I'm curious to see if she wins the whole competition!

The next song chose was a rocker: "Love Addict" (video, lyrics) by Vamps (info). The student who chose this songs chose it because:

a) The singer is from the band L'Arc En Ciel (info), who we have heard songs from lately and

b) earlier in the class we had talked about ghosts and vampires.

[Here's a little random thing as I write out my notes:  The riff from that last song reminds me a little of the riff in the song "Rumble" by my favorite band to see in concert, You Am I (info).  So here's a clip of "Rumble (live)" to compare the riffs. Ok, the riffs are only vaguely similar, but it still was nice to take a detour while writing this blog and see a great song by one of my favorite bands!] 

The next song chosen was "Get It In" (video, lyrics) by Tasha (info).  Actually, the student who chose the song said she doesn't like the video for this song so we just listened to it without the video.

The student who chose this song said she really likes Tasha's voice. To hear another side of her voice we listened to "As Time Goes By" (video, lyrics). 

Tasha is married to another Korean rapper, Tiger JK (info).  The last video of the day was his song "8:45" (video, lyrics) which is very famous in Korea. Very cool effect with the lights in the crowd!

Theme for next class: "Weekend Songs": songs for Friday or Saturday night (going out) or Sunday morning (mellow).  Of course we will listen to any song of any theme or style that you want to share with the class.

4 April 2012 (Wednesday)

There was great attendance of the class today -- many new people and a total of 14 students! However, unfortunately the class didn't run as smoothly as usual. The first problem was that we didn't have our normal laptop + speakers + projector so we had to use an iPad.  The second problem was that a different group of people had the room reserved from 5:30pm so just as we started talking about music, we had to leave the room.  Oh well, every once in a while there will be a day where nothing quite works right and this one one of them. 

Because there were so many new students we did a quick round of introductions.  As the students introduced themselves I passed around a box of chocolate Easter eggs.

The first song we heard was chosen by one of the new students, from Saudi Arabia.  He likes the Moroccan singer Mona Amarcha (info) and we listed to the song "Weinak" (video.  When I asked why he chose this singer + song he said it's because he likes her voice.  The lyrics are not that deep, but he likes the sound of her voice. I like these kinds of Middle Eastern rhythms, too.

The next song was "Shine (live)" (video with lyrics, song info) by Japanese band L'Arc En Ciel (info).  This is a band we have heard in previous classes but the reason we listened today is because they have a new album out and the student who likes them just received a copy of the new album.  So I wanted to hear one of their new songs. 

I asked the student if the new album is as good as the old albums and he said "Yes, it's just like the old albums." I asked if this is a good thing, that the band is repeating itself.  He answered "Yes, I like that the band has a style that they stick to.  When the band members do projects outside L'Arc En Ciel they do different styles, but I like that the band keeps its style."  Good reasoning!

The next song was "I Love You John" (video with lyrics) by Sandee Chan (info). The student explained that in Chinese the sound of the word "John" is often put at the end of sentences when people speak.

The next song was another woman singer: Ringo Sheena (info).  We listed to her song "Bathroom" (video, lyrics). 

The kind of crazy style of Ringo reminded me of the Icelandic singer Bjork (info). Bjork is very popular in Europe but my students weren't familiar with her name or songs.  Her music can be a little crazy, and sometimes difficult to listen to, but I wanted to show the students the song "Human Behaviour" (video, lyrics, song info) as an example of her music.  Unfortunately I couldn't find the song online during the class, so students, if you want to hear it, click above!

The next song chosen was "Hysteria" (video, lyrics, song info) by Muse (info).  I can't remember exactly why this song was chosen.  Maybe it's on a workout playlist for one of the students?  

Muse always reminds me of a different singer, Jeff Buckley (info).  Jeff Buckley was a really great singer, but he only made one album: he drowned in a river during the making of his second album.  I didn't play a song by him in the class, but if you like Muse or Radiohead (info), check out this song by Jeff Buckley: "Grace" (video, lyrics, song info).  

The next song chosen was by a singer Kimura Kaela (info).  First we watched a commercial for books featuring her plus the Peanuts cartoon characters (video), then we watched a live clip of her singing to see another side of her voice.

The next song chosen was "High High" (video, lyrics, song info) by G-Dragon & T.O.P., who are from the Korean boy band Big Bang (info).  It's a cool club song!

I wanted to hear what the band Big Bang sounds like so we listened to "Fantastic Baby" (video, lyrics, song info).

With that the person who had the room reserved came in and kicked us out :-( .  I was sorry for that since the conversation had just started flowing. A few of us went to a nearby cafe for a coffee and to do some more conversation.

28 March 2012 (Wednesday)

After a pause of 2 weeks for Spring Break, today was the first class of the Spring Quarter.  Only 5 students came, 4 of whom were regulars last quarter, and one new student.  We had a great discussion and I hope that more students come as the quarter progresses.

One of the first things I have talked to the class about was doing something outside of class.  I had been to my friends' flamenco performance the previous night (Tuesday) on Capitol Hill and this is definitely something I want to take my students to some time soon (they do the flamenco performance every Tuesday).

But for this week we decided to to see The Hunger Games (info) at the IMAX theater at the Seattle Center (Pacific Science Center) on Sunday evening.

I hadn't made a theme for today's song selections but since everyone in the class had traveled over Spring Break a theme kind of naturally became clear: "Road Trip" songs, i.e. the songs which remind them most of their travels over the past couple of weeks.

It turns out a few of the students went to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. They didn't go together, rather their separate trips coincidentally took them there.

I asked one student if he saw a show in Las Vegas.  He was embarrassed to admit he had seen "Jubilee" (video), but I don't think there's anything embarrassing about that -- that kind of thing is what Las Vegas is all about!

I asked the new student to give us an example of the music she likes.  She chose "Sherlock" (video, song info) by SHINee (info) which is currently a big hit in Korea. I had never heard of this band, but that song is good club music!




Now we went back to "road trip songs".  We heard "A Flying Butterfly" (video) by YB Band (info).  The song is about how caterpillars transform into butterflies and the student felt like his road trip was a similar kind of transformation for his future.


By the way, the band also did an English-language version of this song (English lyrics are in the notes below the video).

The next song was "Without You" (video with English subtitles) by Dynamic Duo (info). I asked the new student what her favorite Dynamic Duo song is and she said it is "Solo" (video, lyrics).  


The new student also told us that Dynamic Duo will play a concert on 13 April in Seattle!  In my favorite concert hall in the world, the Showbox!  She's only been here two weeks but knows better about this cool concert than I do!  How did I miss this concert announcement?!?  I'd like to see the band and the scene, but tickets are $42 and that is a bit expensive for me to pay to see a band that I only like in passing.

The next song chosen was "Drive By" (video, lyrics, song info) by Train (info).  The student who chose this song said she heard it on the radio a lot during her trip to Alaska.

One student asked me to explain the meaning of the term "Drive By". It is a term with a long history in American culture.  It started by being the term "drive by shooting" which is when gangsters drive by a house or a person in a car and start shooting at the person or house without stopping the car.  But nowadays it is used in regular language to mean "something unplanned and for just a moment".  For example, in an office sometimes people say "I am going to do a drive-by meeting with Bob" which means "I am going to walk by Bob's office and see if he is there and if he is, I will talk to him for a few minutes."  In this song by Train he is saying to the girl "I like you and care about you, the romantic moments we had together were not just me driving by and then forgetting you." However, personally I don't like to use this term, even at work, because it has such violent origins and I think people who have experienced a "drive-by shooting" don't think it's a funny term at all. But I'm sure this song by Train will be a big hit across America this summer because it uses a lot of phrases and words that Americans think are light-hearted and fun -- summer-like!

The same student who chose "Drive By" said there was another song which described her Alaska trip: "Like An Idiot" (video with lyrics) by Crowd Lu (info).  This is a very funny, cute video.

The student told us that Crowd Lu often sings songs about breakfast so I asked what people usually eat for breakfast in their home countries.  The Taiwanese "breakfast shops" sound very interesting.  Apparently they eat hamburgers for breakfast!  I found this video describing Taiwan breakfast shops -- I want to try a Taiwanese vegetarian breakfast hamburger! ;-)

I played a song that I have been listening to a lot the last couple of weeks: "Until You Remember" (video, lyrics) by Tedeschi Trucks Band (info).  I had checked out the CD from the library just to hear what this popular American bands sound like and while the album didn't really catch my ear, this particular song stuckout for me.  I really like the sound of her voice as she sings the chorus!


With that class was over. The theme for next week's class: songs about eating and drinking!

On a different note, on my way in to LOM class I saw a poster advertising a showing of the film "Black Power Mixtape" (film info) on Monday, 2 April in Thomson Hall 211 from 5:30pm - 7:30pm.  I think this film will be a very interesting insight to American culture from about 40 years ago: it was a time of big changes in American society and music played a big role in those changes. If you are interested in learning about music's influence on current American culture, join me Monday afternoon. 

7 March 2012 (Wednesday)

Today was the last class of the Winter Quarter.  Only 6 students came, probably because most people were preparing for finals.  But it was a significant class because it was the last class that Kim, one of students who has been coming each week, would attend before returning to Korea.  (Kim is the one who chose to come to Seattle because he likes the Seattle rock/grunge scene so much.) 

[I am writing this blog a couple of weeks after the class -- I know, I've been lazy! -- and I may have forgotten some of the details from what we talked about.]

The first song we listened to was "My Sacrifice" (video, lyrics, song info) by Creed (info).

I mentioned that even though this band plays heavy/hard music, they are a Christian band, i.e. they sing a lot about their Christian faith.  In fact, the "Christian Rock Scene" -- is really big in America.  There are lots of bands which emphasize their Christian faith and by doing so the have big followings among (conservative) Christians; they like the lyrics and messages.

Creed has been criticized for copying the Seattle sound.  To show how closely they sound like Pearl Jam (info), I played "Jeremy" (video, lyrics, song info).  The class agreed Creed sounds a lot like Pearl Jam!

Speaking of how there is this big Christian rock market that the mainstream isn't even really aware of, I mentioned that I recently saw that a band called The Fray (info) is playing a concert at the Paramount, a big theatre in Seattle.  I wondered "How is this band big enough to play the Paramount and I've never even heard of them?!?"  The answer is that they are a Christian band!  As an example of The Fray we listened to "How To Save A Life" (video, lyrics).

[Here's a side story about that I did not tell in class: Back in 1996 I wanted to learn how to write HTML/program web pages. I needed a goal/project to motivate myself to so I told some friends of mine in a band, Grammatrain (info, band website), who had just released their first official album, Lonely House, that I would make a web site for them. That's how I learned HTML!  When they went on tour they would email me a short report after every concert and I would upload the report to their site every day -- in essence we were "blogging" in 1996.

In any case, Grammatrain was a Christian band and they were very popular in the Christian Rock community around the United States, though in the mainstream music scene there were pretty much unknown.

Here's one of my favorite songs by Grammatrain: "Believe" (song with lyrics). And to see how heavy they could be: "Lonely House (live)" (video, lyrics).]

Somehow after showing the The Fray clip I asked the class if they are familiar with the show Grey's Anatomy (info), which is a popular TV drama series that is supposedly set at a hospital in Seattle (but which is actually filmed in Los Angeles).

At this point we listened to some songs that Kim, the student who is going back home, wrote and recorded during his time in Seattle.  I don't have links to the songs, which is unfortunate because they were really good! He played all the instruments on the songs -- very impressive!

One of the songs Kim recorded reminded me a little of a song by the Seattle band called The Posies (info).  The song it reminded me of is "Coming Right Along" (song, lyrics), which is one of my favorite songs ever, though it's quite a melancholic tune.

After listening to the songs by Kim a student chose "Still Loving You" (video, lyrics, song info) by Scorpions (info). 

The student who chose this song said he did so because it reminds him of his friends back home.




As I did something on the computer in the class I made a mistake and said under my breathe to myself "Duh!". I realized I should teach my students this very useful slang term.  It takes a lot of explaining to use it properly, but it's very "American".  It is often used by itself to say "obviously" ("duh!").  Closely related is "no duh!" which you can say in answer to an dumb question so you are saying "obviously!"  Here's a video explanation of how to use "duh".

Note, "duh" is different than when Homer Simpson says "Doh!" (video), which is more like "oops!".

The next song chosen was "Fireflies" (video, lyrics, song info) by Owl City (info).  The student who chose this song listens to it when she (he? I forgot who chose it, doh!) gets lonely.


In American when a person can't fall asleep they "count sheep" in their mind until they fall asleep.  I asked the students what methods people use in their countries to fall asleep.

For the next song a student from Taiwan wanted to show a Taiwanese band: Mayday (info) playing "I Love You (live)" (unfortunately I can't find the link to the video anymore, doh!).  The song is about a breakup between a woman and a man.  The student likes the band because the lyrics are poetic.  He told us that Mayday made songs sung in the Taiwanese language appeal to young people.


We did watch a second clip by Mayday, "People" (video with lyrics).

For some reason that song reminds me of the song "Wonderwall" (video, lyrics, song info) by Oasis (info).

We had been in class for a long time by now, but the conversation was really fun. Nonetheless, we would soon have to close class for the week and say goodbye to Kim.  Naturally we let him pick another song, and, as so often, he chose a song by Bush (info): "Swallowed" (video, lyrics, song info).  Kim especially likes the guitar sound in Bush songs; the lyrics are not that important to him.  He said the band sounds like they are from Seattle, even though they are from London, UK.

We next listened to "Zombie" (video, lyrics, song info) by The Cranberries (info), but I can't remember now who chose the song.  I guess it was inspired by heavy music of Bush.  I did note that we talked about the contrast of the female singer against the hard music in this song.

The last song we listened to was "Freedom" (video, lyrics, song info) by Love Psychedelico (info), a Japanese rock band with a female singer.

With that we bid good travels and much luck to Kim back in Korea and I took two of the students to the best hamburger place in Seattle, Red Mill Burgers (website).

Class on Spring Break until 28 March

A quick note to let my students know that we will take a break from meeting for two weeks during Spring Break.  That means the next time we meet will be Wednesday, 28 March at 4:30pm at Condon Hall 511C.

Have a good, relaxing break everyone!

Steve Z

29 February 2012 (Wednesday)

I had warned the class by email that today I could only stay for one hour (most of our sessions have been going for about two hours!) due to another appointment.  Only 8 students showed up, plus Mene, the Nigerian student who was staying with me for a week while he participated in the Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition.

I started class by saying I would like to take the students to a music event outside of class.  Here are some events I suggest we can go to in the next few weeks:

10 or 11 March (Saturday or Sunday): Visit the EMP Museum to see the exhibition about Nirvana and the Seattle rock music scene. $17 with student ID.


20 March (Tuesday): Flamenco performance.  This is one of my favorite cultural events in Seattle. 8:30pm - 10:30pm. Cost is free, but you are expected to buy two drinks at about $5 each.  21+  The performance is at the Capitol Club on Capitol Hill (map), so we will have to coordinate rides there; I can take up to 4 people in my car with me.

24 March (Friday): Rock concert by band Nada Surf (website) at the Neptune Theater in the University District.  Nada Surf is independent rock music.  This is a good chance to see a typical American rock concert. Cost = $22.  All ages. 

Before we started listening to songs in class I asked if anyone had had any musical adventures in the past week.  One student had gone to see the performance of "Beauty and the Beast" (video, info) at the Paramount Theatre (info).  

Speaking of musicals, another student told us that she had seen the musical "Mama Mia" (info) in Taiwan one time (where she sat in the first row) and she  has seen the film twice.  She must really like that musical! I asked which is her favorite song from it, so we watched "Thank You For The Music" (video, lyrics, song info).

We didn't really have a theme of songs today, so the next song chosen was "K" (video) by Bump Of Chicken (info).  (That has to be the craziest name of a band I have ever heard!) 


After watching "K" we talked a little about which animals are good luck and which are bad luck in different cultures. I found out that in China a white dog is bad luck.  But in Korea a white dog is considered lucky!

The next song we listed to was "For You" (video) by Yim Jae Beom (info).



And with that, suddenly my time was up and I had to run to my next appointment! I was sad to have such a short session this week, but I hope plenty of students show up next week (7 March) with a lot of songs to play and talk about.