December 09

31st December:

Morning guys!

Well, it's the last day of the year and time to kind of review it, isn't it?

In 2009 Barack Obama became President, the world's economy entered a deep recession, there was an outbreak of swine flu (or was there?), King of Pop Michael Jackson passed away and the Copenhagen climate summit ended in recriminations and a disappointing deal.

As for our country, a historic change took place in the Basque country, a controversial abortion law was passed in Parliament, Spanish fishermen were kidnapped by Somali pirates, we even witnessed a Royal divorce and, as usual, the good news came from the world of sports: our national basketball team won, at long last, the European Championship, Gasol became the Lord of the (NBA) Ring, Contador defeated Armstrong in the Tour of France and, yes, Barca took a few trophies here and there (how I hate to say this, ha ha!).

Obviously, there are many more events I could have mentioned on this entry, as the list is endless. So what were for you guys the highlights of 2009, both on the plus and the minus side, nationwide as well as across the globe? Hey, I'd love to read your views down below, so why don't you send in your comments?

You see, I have been trying to find a videoclip that puts into images what 2009 has been like and this is the best stuff I've come across, Yahoo's '09 Rewind. Very much from the American perspective, but at least they, yet briefly, acknowledge Gasol's achievement!

I don't know why, but while I was writing all this a song came up to me. I guess I was thinking that this world of ours is all about the quest for money and power, and Everybody wants to rule the world, a classic 1985 hit by Tears for Fears is more or less about that. I'm positive you've heard it sometime but if you haven't this is the goear.com audio-clip with the lyrics down below:

To tell you the truth, the music and the title are more inspiring to me than the actual lyrics, and anyway the song is very reminiscent of the 1980s. Mind you, not my favourite epoch musically, but arguably the most significant decade in defining who I am as a person, you know, when I graduated at university, got my job and married my wife. Actually the song brings memories of one my favourite films of those years, Peter's Friends, whose opening (set, if my memory doesn't fail me, in New Year's Eve) includes Tears for Fears's music as you can see in this clip if you watch the entire 5-minute piece. There's Maggie Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Gorbachev and so many influential political figures who actually RULED THE WORLD then. Those were the days!

OK, folks, time to close the last entry of our blog (as far as I'm concerned, of course) this year. Just one more thing for me to say, loud and clear:

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE AND I WISH YOU ALL A GLORIOUS 2010!

28 December

Happy Fool's Day! Though, as you may know, in the Anglo-saxon world it's celebrated on April 1st, here in Spain is right today. My dear fools!

But listen guys, I really appreciate your good intentions to "save" this blog from the claws of the SGAE. It tells me how much it means to you too, ha ha!

By the way, has anyone ever played a practical joke on you? Or have you read any news in the papers today or heard something in the media that you positively know is an "inocentada". Then why don't you share it with us all on this blog? For example, I read something on today's online paper, Salamanca24horas.com, which I guess must be an "inocentada". Or is it?

Whatever, I hope you enjoyed the well-meant prank and had a good hearty laugh, like the guy below, the foolest politician that ever was on the face of the earth, whose name I refuse to pronounce ... Thank God he's history now!

To compensate you for such "naughty" behaviour, I'd like to embed a classic Xmas carol by the one and only Frank Sinatra. I love not just the music but the funny slide presentation, which, in case you don't fully understand the lyrics, is very self-explanatory. Mind you, I always say it's quite impossible not to make out what The Voice sings!

December 24th

Hi there! Well, I guess I have to say Merry Xmas first of all, and surely FELIZ NOCHEBUENA. How are you enjoying your well-deserved holidays? Are you ready for the forthcoming blowouts? Mind your Xmas diet, guys, or you won't be able to cross the classroom door when you go back to school, ha ha!

As for me, I'm hosting tonight's dinner as usual with my wife and kids, so we're getting ready for the feast. Not a big one, the guests just consist of my mum, my wife's dad and my younger bro-in-law's family. But I'll try to snap out of my "grinch-like" mood and get more into the festive spirit.

Anyway, I was wondering what I could embed on today's entry, and as I was watching the latest DVD I've bought, a lovely song came up. It's not actually a Christmas one, bit it contains kind of related lyrics: "Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning, and the first thing that I heard was a song outside my window, the traffic wrote the words. It came reeling up like Christmas bells, rapping up like pipes and drums".

I don't know why but my mood these days is somewhat bluesy and melancholic, not because of Xmas but for some bad news I've had of late, and Joni Mitchell's music reflects that mood. So I wanted to dedicate you all "Chelsea morning", by the famed Canadian singer-songwriter, whose amazing voice really moves me. But if you don't mind, I'd like to specially dedicate the song to a couple of students, a married couple, who are having a tough time these days of, supposedly, merry and joy. My heart and my thoughts are with them ...

Then Ana has sent this review of a lovely tear-jerking film, The Bucket List, starring two screen giants, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman:

Have you ever wondered what you would do if only had one year left? Would you wait for your end sat in your couch? Or would you do all those things that you have always dreamed of and you have never dared to do? That is the question that emerges from this movie.
Having said that, this sounds a little banal, trivial perhaps but it is not at all: it is a story that hooks you from the beginning. Its plot is absolutely touching and makes you think about the fragility of life, but at the same time it powerfully induces to live with intensity through the present.
Carter and Edward (Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson respectively) meet by chance in a shared room in a hospital owned by the latter. Edward’s enormous extravagance and Carter’s deeply human formation and good sense melt surprisingly, in a strangely natural way.
In order not to tell you the end, I will just say that one of the quotes that had a profound impact on me was: “I know that when he died his eyes were closed and his heart was open”. In my opinion it is the best thing you can say about somebody after their death, when this person is not alone and you can remember him with affection.
In a certain way this movie is like antibiotics: you must watch it whenever you forget the importance of living the present moment. I am sure that it will change your way of facing up to life.

Surely some of you will want to borrow the film when you get back to school, won't ya? To wetten your appetite, this is the official trailer.

OK folks, time to close now. Thanks a million Ana for your umpteenth contribution, this is really your blog as much as anybody's. Merry Xmas everyone!

December 2nd

Hello guys! At long last someone dares write in a new entry, because this blog was sort of dying, wasn't it?
Anyway, Ana says:

IN SEARCH OF A MIDNIGHT KISS (comedy, USA, 2008)

On New Year’s Eve in L. A. everybody looks desperately for a really special night: nobody can be alone.
Wilson - the protagonist- is the new kid in town. He lives in L. A. with Jacob and his girlfriend, Min. All of them seem to have an agreeable coexistence, not exempt from strange yet hilarious situations. The same day, Wilson, advised by Jacob, decides to put an advertisement on the Internet under the pseudonym of Misanthrope to find a girl to spend the night with. Vivian, an extremely nervous and weird girl, answers the ad and they arrange a date.
The plot is incredible, somewhat surrealistic, but not more than the life is.
I strongly recommend this comedy: it’s so tender that you can’t watch it impassibly.

Thank you so very much, dear Ana, you're the "sunshine of our blog". If I may add something, I really relished the black-and-white cinematography and the delightful music score of ISOAMK. Personally, I'd say the film oozes an honesty that is immediately appealing. As the movie progressed I found it easy to relate to the characters and their mix of cynicism and hope. Such engaging dialogues!
Well, many of you have taken the flick home in your USBs, so I'd love to hear your comments too. For the moment, I can embed the YouTube HD trailer so as to encourage you all to see one of the best independent, low-budget films I've seen in years. Bring your pintxos, won't you? I just hope the SGAE is not reading this!

November 2009

November 28th

Morning everyone! How's Saturday going?

I've just published a new entry on the music spot by courtesy of Lourdes and suddenly I remembered that I had to embed the Friends "Thanksgiving" episode that we watched in class on Thursday. That way those of you who came along can watch it again and remember the language you heard (mind you, I've only found the first half and no subtitles this time) and n the other hand, if you didn't attend the lesson at all, you can enjoy it at home. Well, at least I hope you do enjoy it. As I said, I understand that not every single human being on this planet doesn't have to be fond of the worldwide famous American sitcom. But from the standpoint of you guys as learners of English it's a great bonus. I mean, the dialogues sound lively and dynamic, the scripts are brilliantly designed and there's a great on-stage chemistry among the characters, don't you think?

At the end of Thursday's lesson I was talking to Javi and Paco about how Friends was filmed, with a live audience on the set that kind of collaborated with the team of scriptwriters and helped them decide which sketches worked and which ones didn't. So, despite being edited for the TV broadcast, the often bothersome laughter you can hear in between the punchlines comes naturally from the public.

OK, this is "The One with the Late Thanksgiving". By the way, next Tuesday Jackie is talking about the contrasting aspects of Spanish and American way of life. Maybe you could ask her a thing or two about Thanksgiving and if she celebrated the holiday here in our country and how.

I wish you all a glorious weekend. Keep clicking!

November 23rd

TEN THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LONDON:



November 16th

Javi says:

Luther is an interesting biopic about one of the most important historical religious figures; in the sixteenth century, a monk called Martin Luther, who was unhappy about the materialism in the Church and about the life of the Popes in Rome, led the Protestant Reformation.
It is a gripping and entertaining movie directed in 2005 by Eric Till and it stars Joseph Fiennes.
Personally, I remember being taught at school that Spain, a Catholic country, fought against the Protestants, our enemies. However, I now understand the abuse of the Catholic Church throughout the centuries.



Next he wishes to talk about President Obama:

What a difficult role for a man who represents all the hopes and expectations, not only for the Americans but worldwide too: the first African-American President of the United States. Obviously, we all agree that it is a tricky task given the huge financial crisis.
Personally, I believe he is an excellent President governing in a bad moment. However, he is trying to overcome his lack of presidential experience with energy and power. He is putting a brave face on it. He actually wants to go down in history as a transformative politician, very tactful as regards international relationships.
In fact, the hopes of Obama are our hopes.

Finally, if you visit the music spot, you'll find Javi's review of the song With or Without you by U2. Well done, Javi!

November 15th

Laura Rodriguez says:

Hi everyone!
I hope that you are spending a marvellous weekend and recharging your batteries for next week.
It is the first time that I write in this familiar blog and I have a good reason, I would like to encourage you to see Twilight, a film based on a passionate and unexpected romance between a mortal girl and a mysteriously handsome and irresistible vampire called Edward. If you are really interested in that film and you can’t wait to see it, you will have the chance to enjoy it next Tuesday 17th at 22:15 on Antena 3.

I strongly recommend you to see it because the premiere of the sequel (New Moon) of this unforgettable saga will take place on Wednesday 18th. I am really excited about this next part of the lovely and unbelievable vampire story. In fact, I admit that I know what will happen next because I have already read the four books that constitute the Twilight’s saga, which was created by American author Stephanie Meyer.

This saga is a literary phenomenon worldwide so you shouldn’t leave it aside. We know that there are lots of films about vampires but the love story is the small detail that distinguishes it from the rest. There is a surprising piece of information about Twilight: the story emerges from a dream after which Stephanie wants to know more about when she wakes up.
As you have already noticed, I am bewitched by this fantastic story because there is something magic within it. At first, I saw the film and I was hooked on Twilight so I needed to know what would happen next. That was the reason why I bought the books and I devoured them in a short period of time because they are gorgeous and I couldn’t stop reading.
Finally, I would like to point out that Twilight as a film is fantastic, but the book is out of this world. I really encourage you to see both films, Twilight and New Moon, and read the books. I hope that you will enjoy them a lot. Nothing will be the same.

Great review, Laura. Way to go!

November 9th

Morning everyone!
You know, Ana "Cleo" (what would this blog be without her!) has sent me a videoclip of an online teacher by the name of Mr Duncan. When you first see him your reaction is: "Who's this funny-looking bloke?" But once you listen to what he says you think: "Mm, interesting!"
In this clip I'm embedding he starts by answering the question "Why do we need to learn English?" Then he goes on to give some useful tips for you as actual learners of the language. I like his idea that "You must view English as a part of your body" or "daily practice is very important", I couldn't agree more! And there's some other considerations he puts forward that surely will make you think about your learning process. Good stuff, all in all, and it only lasts 5 minutes. Furthermore, even if Mr Duncan's slow, articulate English (sometimes he sounds a bit too slow to me) wasn't enough, there are captions to read.



Then, on a more "academic" note, I don't know why this Mr Duncan's lesson reminded me of a video I received by mail a couple of weeks ago. You see, there's this famous British professor, David Crystal, incidentally a colleague of Dr. Jennifer Jenkings, who, with the excuse of launching his latest textbook, Macmillan's Global, answers the one-million-dollar question: Why is English a global language? Well, it's all to do with POWER, he argues, in whichever sense you can think of. As you will see, there are many ideas we discussed in module 1 presented in his 2-minute speech. I do like the final slogan: Learning English, learning ABOUT English. If you really want to learn a language you have to absorb its vast cultural background. Think of it ...
Enough for now. See you later folks!

November 9th

Good evening, folks.
You know, Ana has emailed me a CNN article on Apple's CEO Steve Jobs. Steve who? Well, if I pronounce the names i-tunes, i-phone or i-mac, some of the best-known global brands in the world of modern technology today, you will surely know who I'm taking about. Personally, I have become an Apple convert since, barely 3 months ago, cheesed off with Windows PCs, I bought me an i-mac, such a lovely toy.
But I'm not trying to give you the "hard sell", because I guess Windows and PCs are sort of necessary evils in our society. No. I'm just introducing the interesting 3-minute video that accompanies the article (which you can read in its entirety by clicking on this link) and that I've embedded down below on our blog. It highlights the impact of Steve Jobs not on the world of computing, but obviously also on films, music and mobile phones. So much so that he has been named Fortune's magazine "businessman of the decade".
OK, enough for now guys. By the way, how are you rehearsing the limericks in your CE workbook? Perhaps some funny jokes you can tell us tomorrow? Don't forget, we're dealing with HUMOUR in module 2. Look forward to it!

November 8th

Hello guys, I bring good news! Starting next Monday 16th, we have another promisng film week organized by Van Dyck, with some wonderful movies on offer, of course in original version and Spanish subtitles. Guess which title opens the event: yes, my favourite film of last year, the delightful Slumdog Millionaire. If you haven't seen it yet, or only dubbed in Spanish, I hope you won't miss the opportunity. I know I have the DVD, but it's totally different on the big screen and I guess the splendid music score must sound brilliant on the Dolby surround system.
For further details log on to Van Dyck's web.

OK. Now, we've begun module 2 and the first topic was humour. At he end of Thursday's lesson I played a clip (which you can see down below) of Fawlty Towers, the legendary BBC comedy show. You can't possibly imagine how popular FT was and, after all these years, still is, to the extent of being voted by the British public a few years ago as one of their favourite UK sitcoms of all time, and by members of the British Film Institute the greatest British TV programme.

Well, let's start with the "hearing aid" sketch you watched in class. Not my favourite, definitely, but funny enough:

You may wonder, what makes Fawlty Towers so unique? Well, the show focuses on the misadventures of a snobbish hotel owner, Basil Fawlty, his domineering wife, Sybil (actually they were married in real life at the time) and their picturesque employees: a crazy but always well-meaning Spanish waiter from Barcelona, Manuel, and a loyal, competent and down-to-earth maid, Polly. In the second season there's also Terry, the easy-going Cockney chef (such a funny accent he's got!), but his role is marginal.
To me, the highlight of the show are Basil and Manuel. The episodes center around Basil's unsuccessful efforts to raise the quality of his humble hotel and his constant frustration at the countless mistakes he makes, which prevents him from achieving a higher social class, his only dream in life. Consequently, both the guests and, above all, Manuel, who is physically and verbally abused, carry the can of Basil's anger. In this second sketch, Basil is trying to teach Manuel, who barely speaks the language, some basic English, but the always spirited Spaniard turns the situation around!

As time goes by, Manuel's English kind of gets better, and he even dares answer the phone, but with unfortunate consequences:

The stories in Fawlty Towers are often intricate, always sheer farce, depicting extremely absurd situations. In this famous "kipper" (=arenque) sketch, you can see Basil's truly nutty character as a guest is found dead. While Sybil and Polly try to make him see reason, he remains hysterical:

Listen, I don't want to overwhelm you with too much stuff. Some of you will find FT funny, even hilarious, while others might not. If you do, there's plenty more clips available on YouTube.
Let me just finish by letting you into a curiosity regarding the series. Even though Manuel's ridiculously exaggerated Spanish accent and poor English are key elements to the show (however offensive we Spaniards may find this), when Fawlty Towers was, quite a long time ago, broadcast on Spanish TV (without much success, it seems, and only for a brief stint) Manuel's nationality was changed for the Spanish dub to Italian (¿?) - and his name to ... Paolo! - but, to make matters worse, in Cataluña, though still called Manuel, he was ... Mexican! LUDICROUS, don't you think, but it speaks volumes about our proverbial, overdeveloped sense of the ridiculous ...

November 2nd

Hello there, and welcome to a new monthly entry of our blog!

Well, we've left Hallowe'en behind, realizing that, in this global world of ours, it's becoming gradually a more common celebration than we thought it was only a few years ago. Throughout the weekend I've bumped into scores of children wearing scary costumes and carrying baskets full of sweets after so much trick-or-treating. Actually, I remember walking past one of these groups of kids when I jokingly asked one of the girls: "¿Truco o trato?" To what she replied: "Ninguno, contrato!" Good answer, it must be the Spanish way! Serves me right for trying to pull the little girl's leg ...

Fair enough. We're starting this November entry with good news, you know, a special contribution from Miriam:

Hey Guys!

How was your long weekend? Hope it was OK, mine was relaxing, at home with my family.

I would like to share with you my opinion about the latest film I have watched: "Little Miss Sunshine", directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.

If you haven't seen it yet, I recommend it to you. It is about a family whose members don't have a close relationship at first. The father is obsessed with winning, the eldest son refuses to speak, the grandfather takes drugs and the mother has a brother who tried to kill himself and is now living with them. They all seem crazy.

Olive, the main character, is only seven years old but dreams of becoming a Miss Girl, though actually she is not very pretty. Thanks to her aunt, she enters a beauty contest in California, which is similar to a talent show for little girls, called Miss Sunshine.

No one in her family wants to go with her, one of the reasons is they have little money. But in the end the whole family decide to go along.

During the trip they come across some important troubles. The film mixes comedy and drama, and both ingredients determine the ending.

We can really see the value of a family. I liked the film very much and in my view it is highly recommended to students, because they can learn important values from it.

Thanks, Miriam, for the nice review. I guess most of you will wish to see the film, now that she's recommended it, which I do too. I mean, it was one of the most pleasant surprises of 2006, a low-budget film which gained international recognition and did well at the Oscars. On the other hand, some of you might have already seen it - in Spanish? Anyway, fancy watching the trailer? This is it, courtesy this time of dailymotion.com:

Now, if you log on to the music spot, there's a little more by Miriam ...

See you, guys!

The Music Spot

Sergio says:

Hi folks!

I'm going to post a new song, one from the latest album by David Guetta, One Love, whose songs are recorded by David himself with a vocal collaboration. David Guetta is a French DJ and a music composer. From my point of view, he is one of the best house DJs ever.

This is one of his latest hits, a song called Sexy Bitch. The guest singer is American rapper Akon and it is being an awesome success (millions of hits on Youtube). Mind you, this is the most non-politically correct song on the blog!

January 8th

Morning guys! Today I celebrate the birthday of two remarkable people: Elvis Presley (who would be 75) ... and my son David, who turns 17. Although the latter is obviously much more important in my life, for the sake of the music spot on our blog I'm going to pay a small tribute to the former, the King of R'n'R who, more than 30 years after his death, remains one of the most popular icons in popular culture.

I was barely 14 when he died (or did he actually?) in August 1977, and I must admit that at that time he was not my cup of tea. In those days there were a lot of black and white films on TV featuring a young Elvis, but his days of glory were long past so the image that stuck in my mind was that of a tacky Vegas entertainer, a bit on the fat side, dressed in baggy trousers and sequined outfits, who had gradually lost his health and fine looks to drug and alcohol addiction. However, it cannot be denied that in his early years he was a great singer, endowed with a beautiful versatile voice.

It is easy for me to choose a song that epitomizes Elvis's rebellious spirit as a young performer: Jailhouse Rock. The catchy guitar riff, the rhythmic piano beat, the smart lyrics and, first and foremost, Presley's powerful voice make Jailhouse Rock definitely my favourite song. Enjoy!

It's funny, now that I come to think of it, to remember how Miguel "Mike" Rios used to sing the poorly translated Spanish version, El Rock de la Carcel: "Un día hubo una fiesta aquí en la prisión / La orquesta de los presos empezó a bailar ..." I mean, nothing compares to the masterly rhymed lyrics by Leiber/Stoller in the original, does it?

Whatever, I cannot help ending up this entry by embedding the famous 1957 TV special containing the dance scene of the namesake film. Gosh, those scandalous hip movements by Elvis "the Pelvis"!

Right folks. A freezing snowy weekend ahead so I'm in two minds about going to Zaragoza to watch Avenida play The Copa de La Reina. Anyway, I look forward to seeing you again back in class on Tuesday. Cheerio!

December 29th

Lourdes says:

After these hectic days, I propose to you a relaxing music trip. The only thing you must do is close your eyes and listen to this song by Mark Knofpler and James Taylor called "Sailing to Philadelphia. It´s the sound of the guitar that carries me to the sea and I can even feel the sweet caress of the wind. But to understand the lyrics I must explain to you that the song is about The Maxon-Dixon line which was surveyed in the resolution of a border dispute between British colonies in Colonial America in 1767 by Charles Mason (a stargazer) and Jeremiah Dixon (a surveyor). This event gave Thomas Pynchon the excuse to write a novel based on the life of those two Characters, Mason and Dixon. So Mark knopfler was inspired by that book to create this fantastic song, in my humble opinion.





Thank you much for the lovely song, Lourdes, which I'd heard on BBC radio a few times before. It does sound like a breath of fresh air, indeed.

Now, I'd like to explain something about the lyrics. Maybe you don't know that "Geordie" is an English person born in the region of Tynesyde,

whose main capital is Newcastle,

and the neighbouring coal mining area (hence "the coaly Tyne") of County Durham. I guess it's not coincidence that Mark Knopfler, though born in Scotland, was raised in Newcastle, so he's - like Sting - a Geordie himself.

Now, I find it a bit funny, though I love his music (and velvety voice) so much, that James Taylor (a true American) plays in the song the part of another Briton, Charles Mason. Truth be told, he's very fond of England and sort of began his solo career way back in the late 60s when he moved to London and was helped by Paul McCartney and George Harrison.

C'mon guys, keep posting your songs!

December 14th

Antonio says:

I have to work on lots of things of English, so today I'll put down something about MUSIC.

I’m obliged to defend José Luis's taste because if he is to feel "guilty", I'm ALSO an "old fogey".

OK, putting aside my corny joke (even though I take this seriously) let me tell you about my likes regarding music, yet briefly:

I remember I started getting fond of music through The Beatles in 1998, when I was only 12, about to turn 13!!! Surely my career as a music listener would be for the "oldies", and that’s what happened. I continued to make a move into the 70's, 80's and 90's (especially 90's bakalao, with its "Maquina Total", etc). From then on, I progressed and "specialised" in 80's music, which I love, concretely Italo-disco (spaguetti mix), which is part of an authentic sound, normally sung by Italian singers plus several synthesizers. I could speak on and on about this genre by mentioning names of authors, etc., but I don't want to give you a "massy e-mail", so in defence of a knowledgeable guy, an old muso like JOSÉ LUIS, I dedicate with all my affection this piece of music. Mind you, it has nothing to do with Italo-disco, but rather it's a song which could bring back memories of the past to Jose Luis, because it's very symbolic (Jose Luis, do you remember your “glorious” days before getting a bad receding hairline?). The rest of you, mates, do you like it? Doesn't it happen to you, reminiscing when you were young, being at a group a friends, promises made, etc?

Thanks for the entry, Antonio. Now, I'd just like to say that surely I'm an old fogey ... and PROUD of it! I mean, I really don't know how you can possibly call yourself, being so young and tender, an old fogey or indeed what made you feel there's the slightest remorse in my music taste. What's more, I utterly hate Maquina and Bacalao (well, unless it's done al pil-pil, of course, ha ha!).

As for the Connells' song, it sounds just fine, but as the caption on the VH1 video reads, the band is a "one-hit wonder". The melody rings the bell, but it doesn't trigger any "glorious" memories, to be honest with you ...

OK, folks. Keep posting your songs, will you?

December 13th

Happy Sunday, folks!

Right, here's another song for our blog, this time specially dedicated to Asier. Why is that? you may wonder. Well, the story began last Friday, over dinner at El Barroco. We were talking about "his" song, Walk on the wild side, and last year's blog came up in conversation. So I mentioned that he should log on to it, as there's plenty of stuff he might like, like the glorious band I'm using today for the latest music entry, The Who. One of the greatest British acts ever. And I'm glad to say that, oddly enough for someone his age, Aiser likes them. Well, last year it was My Generation, which Pepsi used for its smart campaign on TV. This year is one of my favourite, if not the favourite, songs by the one-off English quartet, one of the most powerful, explosive bands I've seen on stage. A true rock anthem, containing the scream of all screams in rock history, yelled convincingly (specially the second time) by lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah!! Won't get fooled again, that's the name of this 1971 song, released just a year before Asier's WOTWS.

I remember telling him, as well as those around me, Ana, Miriam and Sergio, to read the lyrics carefully, as it is a song with a clear message. The Who's charismatic guitarist, Pete Townshend, wrote it about Revolution, perhaps after the social and political impact of May '68 in Paris. The first part deals with the revolt by the masses, then those in power are overthrown but in the end the new regime becomes more of the same thing (I love the line "Meet the new boss / same as the old boss"), which unfortunately happens more often than not, and we have plenty of examples throughout history, but still we "get on our knees and pray / we don't get fooled again". Pete once said that this was an"anti-establishment" song though revolutions don't change things in the long run and us citizens get hurt. Apparently, some years later Townshend clarified that WGFA was actually a cautionary message to the new breed of UK politicians who came to the fore in the early 70s, probably in the UK.

Musically, I love Pete's powerful guitar playing, Roger's brisk singing, Keith's energetic drumming, and John's tireless fingering on his bass, well everything. Then, I should highlight the use of the synthesizer, which they had to play off a recorded tape on their shows, as you can see on the Youtube clip of the live rendition of the song. And the lyrics are so meaningfully clever, who says rock is banal and superficial?

So, without further ado, this is the fantastic Won't get fooled again. Dedicated to our one and only philosopher, Asier (to all of you actually). Long live R'n'Roll!

December 10th

Asier says:

"Take a walk on the wild side" is a song about New York. With a simple melody, and simple but sincere lyrics, the “glam punk” band The Velvet Underground expressed a lot about the city where singer-songwriter Lou Reed had lived.

Only a small part of Manhattan’s spirit is reflected, and probably it is not a good song to show how ordinary people usually live in “the Big Apple”, but the hard situations the song is about are full of poetry. And we should not forget that these people are also part of New York, maybe even the essence of Manhattan. After all, Carry Bradshow’s adventures (Sex and the city) do not reflect the lives of all New Yorkers either.

Nonetheless, surely all we agree to choose “the” song about “the” city of cities: Frank Sinatra’s "New York, New York" (sung by Sinatra, I don’t think he wrote it). It is, without question, a very good song, but telling a different story. New York, New York is a positive, lively song. The city seems the place of opportunities, where dreams come true. The Velvet’s view is not that optimistic. The place it depicts is harshly difficult and morally depraved. Probably nothing can be more far away from traditional values. A transexual, a prostitute, a dealer… The song does not talk about a lovely or an easy place to live.

Reed’s deep voice relates how people live during the New York nights in the city that does not sleep, with all his harshness. If Sinatra’s music reminds of Broadway Avenue, The Velvet’s melody is melancholic, probably evoking Harlem, with the “colour” girls saying doo, doo, doo…

However, not truly a sad song, because I think it must be understood as a reminder of the strange beauty we can find underground, introducing Mannhatan as the best representation of that beauty.

Thank you so much for the review, Asier. I couldn't agree more with your choice, as WOTWS is arguably my favourite song by good old Lou Reed. I adored this 1972 classic hit instantly when I first heard it way back in the late 70s. Mind you, it was only the music that haunted me then, as I couldn't understand what the lyrics meant at first. But I found the bass rhythm, the string arrangement and the sax solo played over the fade-over absolutely fascinating, let alone Lou's "velvety" voice.

Well, Asier asks me to embed this Youtube clip of the song, which, suitably enough, contains the lyrics captions.

Then we have this live rendition of the legendary song 10 years later, in 1982, but I definitely prefer the studio version, don't you?

C'mon guys, keep posting your song on this blog! See you later.

November 28th

Lourdes says:

Hi Jose Luis and mates,

I have just listened to one of my favorites songs, Don´t Give Up, and here is my little contribution to the Music Spot with this romantic song by Noa called Now Forget. I've enjoyed it since the first time I listened to it 4 or 5 years ago. At that time, I used to drive alone many hours, so I soon learnt the easy lyrics of the song and sang a duet with Noa. Can you imagine the scene?

Joking apart, I really love Noa´s voice and I have listened to her in concert several times.I think it is easy to let oneself go with this warm tune. Nothing to add because the song says everything, don´t you think?

Thanks a million for your music entry, dear Lourdes. I was starting to wonder if any of you would ever again dare have a go on this blog. Anyway, Lourdes wanted me to insert a live rendition by the Israeli artist in her homeland in 2005, which I've done further down below. Unfortunately, though I've searched high and low for the song's "embeddable" lyrics scroller, I have been unable to find it, which is really odd! Sorry Lourdes!

But still you can find the scroller of Now Forget on this link. Instead I've included the goear.com clip for the studio version so that you can compare it with her gig performance.

Well done, Lourdes! So c'mon guys, keep blogging ...

November 21st

Hi folks!
Early this morning I was listening to my favourite radio station, BBC radio 2, and its flagship show Wake up To Wogan, hosted by veteran Irish broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan, who has been presenting the programme since the early 70s, can you believe it! Very much like "Just a minute", which you probably remember with mixed feelings, don't you?
Anyway, Terry Wogan's music selection has always been, by and large, rather appealing to me, as he usually airs popular classics of British and American music. As an example, this morning he played a song of truly mixed emotions, one that I've always loved since I first listened to it more than 20 years ago. Probably some of the not so young classmates will be familiar with it through one of these famous O.N.C.E. campaigns on TV and radio in the mid 90s. Any idea? Well, I'm talking about former Genesis lead vocalist, Peter Gabriel, and his fantastic Don't give up, sung as a duet with one of England's most celebrated female performers of the last decades, Kate Bush.
There's a lovely story behind the song that I'd like to tell you briefly. Apparently, Peter had suffered a nervous breakdown in the early 80s after his tense departure from the legendary rock band, which at the time shocked many fans across the world, including myself. The thing is that he decided to write Don't give up to thank the invaluable support he had from his family and friends throughout those troubled days. I guess his state of mind was a mixture of depression and yet hope, and these feelings are the ones that I am infected by whenever I listen to the song: Depression, when Peter sings with his piercing unmistakable voice. Hope, when Kate takes her turn at the chorus and comforts Peter, her voice a velvety pillow where he can "rest his (aching) head". I can't say Don't give up is exactly nostalgic or sentimental, but by all means incredibly moving. The song seems to depict a shattered, desperate person (do these adjectives ring the bell?) who cannot find a place in this society and begs for support and advice.
OK, enough waffle. Fancy listening to the tune, don't you? This is, as usual, the goear.com audio clip with the lyrics scroller - do not fail to read the song's words, OK?
Let me just say that I'd like to specially dedicate this heartfelt song to a friend who is suffering a lot and too often feels desperate, disappointed, neglected, ... shattered. That's why I wish to tell this good friend, loud and clear with this song, just DON'T GIVE UP, ever!

Another reason why DGU is famous is that not just one, but two videos, were filmed for the promotion of the single: The first shows a single take of Peter and Kate hugging each other tightly in a warm long embrace, against the backdrop of the sun entering total eclipse and then re-emerging at the end of the song. Just beautiful!

If this wasn't enough, for whatever reason a second more elaborate videoclip was created some time later. But on this occasion the focus is totally different: we can see Peter and Kate's faces superimposed over the now black-and-white, then sepia tones of a short film portraying men and women living tough economic times. There's the dole queue, a couple bitterly arguing, a run-down town ... The final close-up of a candlelight against the windscreen wipers is poetic enough. And boy, do I love the closing bass guitar! Take a look:



Well, which do you prefer? Personally, I can't make up my mind, why should I anyway? What is undeniable is that Don't give up is a six-minute gem from an equally fantastic album, So (I still treasure the old cassette!), featuring some other masterpieces. A must-hear album indeed, which mixes musical quality and commercial success, and to my modest mind Peter Gabriel's most complete solo album to date.
OK folks, this is all for now. I look forward to your entries, either musical or regarding any other topic. Hey, there are still many of you who haven't written a single word. What are you waiting for?

November 17th

Cristina Hernandez says:

I’ve chosen one of the songs I like most. It’s “I’ll be waiting” by Lenny Kravitz.
I recognise I’m not a great fan of Lenny but I’ve liked this song since the first time I listened to it. In fact, I think this song is really different from Lenny’s ordinary style.
The rhythm is rather slow but in my opinion, it has a high intensity that transmits melancholic feelings, mainly with that piano throughout the song and the violins from the middle to the end of it.
As far as I’m concerned, the black and white video he filmed reinforces this idea because in it Lenny appears dressed in black alone while composing the song and playing both the piano and the guitar in an extremely dark studio. And when he both arrives and leaves, he’s wearing a thick black coat with a big turned up collar. But I also notice some optimistic flashes mixed with romantic intentions.
Something that improves the song is Lenny’s voice. It makes it even better, if that is possible at all. It’s so characterisitic, a bit husky, with some high-pitched sounds, unmistakable. Any of his songs you listen to, you know it’s him. Lenny’s voice stamps a personal mark on all of them.
I believe “I’ll be waiting” expresses intimate feelings but with a positive energy that I really like.

Hello folks!

These days we've been focusing on the language of reviews, both for music and books, and you have have been posting on this blog various songs to illustrate the language, which is great.
As for me, well, I usually embed old songs and that's why I guess my students more often than not think of me as an old fogey (=carroza), which surely I am - and indeed I don't mind- , because I absolutely adore the music of the 60's, 70's and 80's, which I was brought up on.
But today, though I don't want this to be a regular ocurrence (ha ha!), I'm going to publish something, say, modern. You see, I was reading The Guardian online this morning (incidentally there's an interview with Rafa Nadal if you're interested in either tennis or Rafa himself) when a headline caught my attention: The Strokes take top spot in NME's top 50 albums of the noughties (the 2000s, that is). So, I decided to have a look to see who was in the list and, together with the likes of familar names in the world of modern British music (Amy Whitehouse, Blur, Radiohead, Arctic Monkeys ...) I found out that none of them took spot #1. Nope. According to the veteran magazine New Musical Express (which has been around since the 1950s, way before the Beatles arrived at the scene), it's a band from NY who deserves the accolade: right, The Strokes. I've only heard their odd song on the radio, but I thought I should include them in this music spot as representatives of a trendier kind of today's music. So there you go, the top band of the 2000s no less: there's the goear.com clip of Is This it (from the reputed namesake album), the lyrics scroller and a YouTube live rendition of the song during a gig in Ireland (funny how they make the audience chant the universal "oe, oe, oe, oe!").
Personally, I don't think much of their music. OK, the Strokes sound modern - yet a bit dull - to me, and I definitely prefer the song in concert, which does some justice to their stage presence. I reckon I just don't like the metallic, kind of robotic voice of the lead singer (by the way, someone by the name of ... Julian Casablancas??) in the studio version. What do you think guys?
Anyway, let me end up saying that, however much young blood, so to speak, I listen to, I'll stick to the classic rock bands of my youth. Sorry, but it's difficult to get rid of my "old fogey" stigma! And, if I may say so, I refuse to.

November 16th

Javi says:

“With or without you”, by the highly acclaimed group U2, is one of my favourite songs. It was released in the eighties from the album “The Joshua Tree”. This song reminds me of my youth when I used to bar crawl in Gran Via. The music triggers a mix of feelings in me.
On the one hand, the sadness of their music (one of the members of the band had suffered a romantic crisis) touches me, especially The Edge’s guitar, who stamps his personal style on the song; on the other hand, Bono’s tuneful yet forceful voice impresses me. I am extremely moved by the growing intensity of the song whenever I listen to it.
The Edge’s guitar and Bono’s voice complement each other to achieve a perfect duet, a one-off in the history of music. It is obviously a universal song.

November 11th

Ana "Cleo" says:

“What’s a woman” is a song by Vaya con Dios that probably you know. I admit it’s not a new song, but it’s my favourite while taking a shower, waking up, ironing ... even I sing and listen to it when I walk in the street (only kidding); it’s a deeply nostalgic song.

Vaya con Dios is not a new musical group, in fact it’s a bit old, but I love Dani Klein’s voice: it’s so powerful, sweet and sweeping that I never get tired of listening to her. In my opinion she’s the driving force of Vaya con Dios, a Belgian group founded in 1984 by her and two other guys. They’re well-known in Germany, and after their success with this song and “Nah neh nah” in Holland too, even though at the beginning Dutch people didn’t want to accept them because of the fact they are from Belgium (you know the rivalry between the two countries).
At first their style was influenced by gypsy music and jazz, but afterwards, when only Dani remained from the original line-up, their style changed and the band became more popular in Europe.

Regarding Dani’s personality, I find her extremely attractive; on her website you can read a huge amount of interviews. She’s a very interesting woman: she knows herself pretty well and knows perfectly what she’s looking for, not only about music but life in general ...
In one of her interviews she speaks about inspiration and love and says that artists distinguish themselves by their sensitivity, which makes them more susceptible to the cruelty and the beauty as well. With respect to love, she says that you can find it in different persons at different moments, and she gets the conclusion that living with the same partner your entire life is rather unnatural. Maybe her statement can be controversial, but I wonder if she’s not partly right.

She has always been afraid of solitude, and this feeling and many others you can notice in her songs; that’s why I adore her, because she’s intensely authentic.

Fantastic work, Ana! It comes just handy for the subject of music reviews we're talking about at the moment.
Now, this is the song's videoclip by courtesy of DailyMotion.com (which features a young Dani Klein back in 1990) and a bit further down below you can find the lyrics scroller plus a live rendition in 2006, this time on YouTube. C'mon folks, keep sending in your music reviews!

November 4th

Ana Isabel says:

When I was a child I faithfully watched “Fame” every week, and since then my golden dream, well-known by the whole family, was that I wanted to be a black girl and sing and dance as only a black person is capable of doing. That’s why some time ago, when I listened to Alicia Keys for the first time playing the piano and singing at the same time she became my idol. I studied piano but I have never been capable of singing and playing at the same time, so I started to play the guitar.

By chance one day I saw her singing on MTV: she is a sweet girl and she seems so simple and shy that I was surprised by her powerful black voice, extremely deep, both soft and hard, which almost instantly captivated me.

Anyway, I have been thinking of which Alicia Keys’ song I could choose, and deciding on one has turned out very difficult to me, so I have chosen two of them: the first one, entitled “If I ain’t got you” is more intimate, touching and, in my opinion, more representative of the real Alicia Keys.

The second, “No one”, is better-known and more modern, but her torn voice doesn’t cease to amaze me.

Thanks so much, Ana, for the two songs. Personally, I like Alicia alright, but I tend to feel that she's kind of disappointed me a little bit since her such promising beginning with her debut album Songs in A Minor. I mean, probably since then she's been engulfed by worldwide success, which came, as someone might say, "too early, too soon". Indeed she's immensely talented but I don't think she's using that talent to develop her full potential, though of course that's only my modest opinion. OK, guys, keep sending in those great tunes!

November 2nd

Miriam says:

I would like to say something about the latest song Jose Luis has uploaded. I have listened to it and I like it, it is good. But I didn't know it, I think I am too young.

Anyway, I would like to share with you one group I found this summer when I went to Brighton. I used to go to a pub for a drink and they played this band called Phoenix, so I asked the barman and he showed me the group and I bought the CD.

Maybe you won't like them, but I would ask you to listen to Phoenix, who remind me of lots of things.This is their hit single "Lisztomania".

Then, this is a rendition of the song on the famous American Show "Saturday Night Live". Regrettably, it's a plain lip-synch, right? You see, I barely knew the band's name (they're French, aren't they Miriam?) but they sound fresh and lively. I quite like them!

By the way, great to see the comments at the end by Ana & Ana. Way to go, guys!

November 1st

Hi again!
You know, there's something I hadn't done on this blog just yet (and frankly I don't know why!) The thing is that on last year's class web I had included a special section called my music blog, where I inserted now and then (and so did the students, well, not many of them) my favourite songs, because you can't possibly imagine how important music has been, is and will ever be in my life. Moreover, I've always believed that, had it not been for my ruling passion for rock music, I wouldn't have felt attracted to English the way I did. I mean, in my early teens, when I used to listen to the likes of Queen, Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple and stuff - I was lucky enough to have some "trendy, progressive" mates who initiated me on that kind of music - I desperately wanted to make out what those guys were singing, so I would play their songs on and on, all day long, to the shock of my mother and the whole neighbourhood. And that's how my love of English began.
What I mean is that if there's the one thing I couldn't do without is MUSIC, which I listen to all day, every day. So yesterday morning I was embedding Ana Navarro's latest contribution to our blog while tuning to BBC Radio 2, when this fantastic song came up which I hadn't listened to for some time and I really enjoyed: Fleetwood Mac's 1982 classic hit Gypsy, which I'm sure you must have heard before as it's still a radio favourite across the world.
Let me just tell you a little bit about this British-American superband that started as an influential blues-rock band in the late 60s but later became the ultimate pop-rock act (incidentally, they're back on the road these days, I hear). To me they epitomize the most elegant POP music, combining commercial success and musical quality and I always recommend their 1988 Greatest Hits album as an essential in any record collection.
The first time I heard the song I didn't know very well what its lyrics really meant, until a few years later I watched an interview with Stevie Nicks, one of the band's female lead singers and the song's composer. She wrote Gypsy in the late 70s, seemingly reflecting on the old days, before FM was set up, when she struggled to make ends meet in a humble flat in San Francisco and had to sleep on a matress on the floor. So Gypsy is kind of a quest for a time before worldwide success happened. Then, one of Stevie's closest friends died of leukemia around that time so she decided to add a famous line ("I still see your bright eyes") and the song became a heartfelt tribute to the friend's passing.
The thing is that Gypsy has always moved me and made me kind of melancholic. I don't know if it's Stevie Nicks' haunting voice, the soft music, the emotional lyrics. Well, you judge for yourselves.
Then, there's the delightful video, mixing colour and black and white, and one of the most expensive music clips produced at the time. It depicts a very intimate atmosphere (I love Stevie's reflection on the mirror) and some sections at times remind you of those old films and musicals of the early 20th century, where you can see the full band playing different characters while wearing elegant costumes. Very classy indeed!
I do hope you enjoy Gypsy on this All Saints' Day. Now, would you you like to include your own songs - in English, that is - on this blog? Give it a go, guys! You just need to name the title and attach the related text by mail and I'll do the rest, OK?
Have a lovely Sunday!