Song of the Week: May 30

Sorry for the delay! But here is this week’s song of the week. I leave Mazarron next week, so this is probably the last one this year. I had fun adding the songs, and I hope you enjoyed listening to them.

For the last song, I have chosen «School’s Out» by the American rock singer-songwriter, Alice Cooper. Alice Cooper once described the last three minutes of the last day of school as some of the greatest three minutes of his life. The anticipation was that great. He said, «If we can catch that three minutes in a song, it’s going to be so big.» And it was. In 1972, it reached #1 in the UK for three weeks, and #7 in the USA.

Here is a video of one of the live performances of the song. The video is subtitled in Spanish as well so that it might help you understand the lyrics.

Enjoy! and thanks for a great year. -paul

Song of the Week: May 15

Hello again everyone! How are you? In many classes recently we have been talking about money. Because of this, I decided to choose a song by the group Pink Floyd titled, «Money.» Pink Floyd is an English rock band that was formed in the 1960s but continued to play into the 1990s. One of their most famous albums is titled: «The Dark Side of the Moon.» It was released in 1973, but is still popular today. «Money» is the sixth track on the album, and it has a very distinct intro that is instantly recognizable.

Below is a video of a live performance of the song. The video has the lyrics both in English and in Spanish. I hope you enjoy this week’s «Song of the Week»!
-paul

Song of the Week: May 7

For this weeks song, we’re going back in history a bit. The song is called Chattanooga Choo Choo performed by the Glenn Miller Orchestra. The Glenn Miller Orchestra is a legend of swing and jazz music from the World War II era, and a group I really enjoy.
Below is a clip taken from the 1941 movie titled «Sun Valley Serenade.»
I hope you enjoy the song, and as usual, here is the clip on YouTube and a link to the song lyrics.

 

lyrics:

http://traduceletras.net/es/glenn-miller/chattanooga-choo-choo/19962/

Song of the Week: April 28

Hello again! I hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend. For this week I have chosen «Don’t You (Forget about Me)» by the group Simple Minds. It is an 80s classic and reached number 1 on the charts in the US in 1985. It is also well known for being featured in the hit 1980s movie, «The Breakfast Club» which is known in Spanish as «el club de los cinco.» The movie is also a classic from that time period and is about 5 American high school students from different backgrounds and their experience in detention* one Saturday.

As usual, here is the song on lyricstraining.

http://www.lyricstraining.com/play/10415/simple_minds/dont_you_forget_about_me

*detention is a popular form of punishment in American schools, where children have to stay for extra time in school, either after school (Monday – Friday) or on Saturday morning.

Song of the Week: April 17

Hello again everyone!  With the vacations, it’s been a while, but it’s time for another song of the week!  This time I have chosen a song from an alternative rock group from my home city.  Chicago.  They were very famous in the 1990s in the USA, perhaps you have heard of them?  They are called «The Smashing Pumpkins.»  They even appeared in one episode of the Simpsons titled, «Homerpalooza.»

The song I’ve chosen is called «1979» and is from the 1995 album «Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.» This album is often considered one of the best albums of the 90s having sold almost 10 million copies in the USA alone.  Here is the link on «lyrics training»

http://www.lyricstraining.com/play/9305/the_smashing_pumpkins/

enjoy!

-paul

Song of the Week: March 28

This week we will focus on one of the most famous American voices of all time.  Frank Sinatra’s career spanned an amazing 60 years from 1935 to 1995!  He was also a popular actor.  He passed away in 1998, but he left behind a large collection of iconic music.  Below are two of his songs on «lyrics training.»  He sings clearly and somewhat slow, so these songs should be a little easier to understand than others.

Enjoy the practice and the coming Easter holidays!

Fly Me to the Moon (1964)

http://www.lyricstraining.com/play/9106/frank_sinatra/fly_me_to_the_moon

Something Stupid (1967).  Sung with his daughter, Nancy Sinatra

http://www.lyricstraining.com/play/1424/frank_sinatra/something_stupid

Song of the Week: March 10

This week we pay tribute to Davy Jones who just died on February 29, 2012.  Though Davy Jones is English, he is best known for being a part of the 1960’s American rock group, the Monkees.  The Monkees were a music group made for a TV series which aired between 1966 and 1968.  After the show was cancelled, the band continued to play together until 1970.  The group had a number of major hits, and their music is still being played on the radio today.

This week’s song is titled, «I’m a Believer.»  It was written by Neil Diamond (another famous musician) and performed by the Monkees in 1966.  The song reached #1 on the charts on December 31, 1966 and stayed there for 7 weeks!  More recently, the band Smash Mouth covered the song for the popular film, Shrek.

Below is the link for the song on LyricsTraining.  Davy Jones is the one playing the tambourine in the video.

http://www.lyricstraining.com/play/11762/the_monkees/im_a_believer

Song of the Week: March 1

Hello everyone again!  This week’s song is from an English alternative rock band from Oxford called Supergrass.  The band was formed in 1993, but stopped performing in 2010.  The song is from 1995 and is titled «Alright.»  The song was very popular in the UK in its time, and is still played on the radio today.  It was even included in the 2009 films, The Men Who Stare at Goats and Astroboy.

This week I have returned to using «lyrics training.»  Without further delay, I hope you enjoy this light upbeat song:

http://www.lyricstraining.com/play/3409/supergrass/alright

Song of the Week: February 23

This week we continue Black History Month, with the song «If you wanna be happy» by the American singer Jimmy Soul.  The song reached #1 on the American charts for a week in 1963.  For the songs of the week, I try to pick songs with interesting lyrics.  I feel that this week’s song can be quite funny if you put the effort in to understanding the words.  Good luck and enjoy the song!

Here is the clip on YouTube (with lyrics in the comments section):

and the lyrics as usual in English and Spanish.  Again, this is a GUIDE only, and they are not 100% accurate:

http://www.traduceletras.net/es/jimmy-soul/if-you-wanna-be-happy/82082/

Also for those studying French, the artist Claude Francois recorded a French version of the song in 1963 titled «Si tu veux etre heureux»:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpwK-CPAKe8

And even for our Dutch eTwinning friends we have this version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4D1oaNs3cU

til next time,

paul

Song of the Week: February 17

This week’s artist continues the theme of «black history month.»  Unfortunately, we are again focusing on an artist who recently passed away.  On February 11, 2012, Whitney Houston died in Los Angeles, California.  I have chosen perhaps her most famous song.  It is titled «I will always love you,» and is appropriate for Valentine’s Day this week as well.  The song was featured in the movie, «The Bodyguard,» in which Whitney Houston also starred.  «I will always love you» was a massive success and is one of the best selling singles of all time.

As usual, below is the link to the song.  However, this week I want to introduce something different.  The website is called «lyrics training» and it allows you to complete the lyrics for famous songs while you listen to them.  I think it’s an entertaining way to practice your English listening skills while listening to new music as well.  I hope you enjoy both the song and «lyrics training.»

(if you do not know the word that goes in the blank, you can press the «tab» key on your keyboard to skip the word)

http://www.lyricstraining.com/play/60/whitney_houston/i_will_always_love_you

til next time,

paul