Category Archives: Class Activities

Nothing else matters

By Noelia Gandullo Castillo
It’s difficult for me choose my favourite song in English because I love music in general and my favourite music depends on my mood. However, If I have to choose only one, I would choose a ballad called “Nothing else matters”, by Metallica, from their album S&M. It is a ballad of a heavy metal band recorded with the San Francisco Symphony. The album was recorded in 1999 in the Berkeley Community Theater and the song is considered one of the most popular songs by Metallica.
This song impressed me deeply. I was seventeen when I listened to it for the first time and the mix of a heavy metal ballad, a deep voice and the sound of all the instruments from a symphony captured my attention immediately. It happened, like most of the time: I liked the way it sounded even though I didn`t understand the lyrics. I could listen to it time and time again and, of course, in the end, I translated  it into Spanish.
Despite the fact that, in my view, it hasn’t got great lyrics, the rhythm and the energy from a stage full of such a different musicians are enough to enjoy it.
The song belongs to a concert which was recorded with a marvellous stage production with all musicians from the symphony and the metal band together in a beautiful theater.
Nowadays you can find different versions of this song; some of them are interesting like a gregorian version, and some others kill the song like Shakira’s version.
(My best regards to all Shakira’s fans)

ALWAYS- BON JOVI

By Mercedes Mora

Listen to the song while you read this essay.

I have chosen this song because  it is one of my favourite ones. I must have listened to it over a hundred times. Maybe because when it was first released, I was fifteen, both the song and the video meant so many things to me. Bon Jovi is a rock music group, and as is well known by all of us, that the best love songs are written by rock stars.

As for the song, what I can tell is that it is about a love that you have lost. The things said on the song are so romantic. He tells about strong, deeply emotive, very sentimentally, feeling of love for a woman. He has lost the woman of his life and he is completely destroyed in pain . In the song, they say the most beautiful love things that I have ever heard.

As to the video, for me they chose the best actors and story. I can´t imagine this video with other actor or actress. The actress is Carla Gugino, who I admire and I think that she does a very good performance. In addition that she is one of the prettiest actress. On the video you can see a love story that is broken because he is cheating on her with her best friend, another good actress who I like very much, Keri Russell. After this video, I have seen all the actors in films at the cinema or tv. This video was very famous and gave them a better status as actors.

Finally I highly recommend this song to everyone who feels romantic and who wants to feel deep love feelings by listening to a song.

HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER)

by Ana Ramírez

Listen to the song while you read this essay

First of all, I would like to share this quote by Friedrich Nietzsche with you: “WITHOUT MUSIC, LIFE WOULD BE A MISTAKE”. Music is a universal language that helps people to overcome situations,  to achieve their goals, to motivate people to do something, to make people aware of something, to  be in favour or against of something, to appreciate the insignificant details, to learn about something  and many other things. Supposedly feelings and music share the same area in our brain therefore music is able to cause many feelings in human beings.

I am really into music and the more I listen to music, the better I feel.  I have so many favourite songs that it is very difficult to choose one of them. This time I have chosen “Happy Xmas (War is over)”. As is well known, this song is currently one of the most popular Christmas songs. However, I have decided to write about this one because it is a symbolic song which has a story that people should not forget. But, not only for this reason, I believe there are many young people, especially new generations, who don’t know much about it. It is a song against the Vietnam War and its roots date back to 1969 when John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, carried out of an international campaign to protest against the Vietnam War. The campaign took place in Amsterdam, Athens, London, New York, and Tokyo where they rented billboards and advertising spaces whose slogan was:

“WAR IS OVER IF YOU WANT IT – HAPPY CHRISTMAS FROM JOHN & YOKO”

“Happy Xmas (If You Want It)” was composed by John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono in 1971. It was recorded at the Record Plant recording studio in New York City in the late October of 1971. The song was released in the United States on December 6, 1971. The song was re-released in England on December 20, 1980, two weeks after Lennon’s murder, where it was a runaway success. John Lennon, Yoko Ono and the members of the Harlem Community Choir (who we can hear on the background) took part in the song. The song begins with John and Yoko’s slight whisper with which they wish their sons a Merry Christmas. There are many great cover versions by other famous and well-known artists, singers and bands.

It is really hard to revive some of the consequences of this war but it is something that we should not forget and we should transmit the forthcoming generations to prevent it from happening again. The indelible and innumerable  physical and psychological sequels, millions and millions of deaths, mutilations and orphans due to the chemical weapons such as napalm or massive bombing of civil population. The orange agent, which devastated an agricultural country and so  on.

As much as I try to understand how people can get into a situation like this, I am unable to understand it. I am wondering, is it worth living any more wars?There is an only answer: “NO” If I had to define a war, I would say that it is something gloomy. I know this song has a peace message. However, I can’t help feeling a bit sad when I listen to it.  

MY WAY ( FRANK SINATRA)

By Carmen Cuellar

Listen to the song while you read this essay

When our teacher suggested we should do this assignment, several songs came to my mind, but, in the end, I went for this one. I have always liked both its lyrics and its music. When I started to research to know when this song was recorded, it was a surprise for me to find information that I was unaware of. I learned about the origin of this song, even its historic significance ,and I want to share this information with you.

“My Way” is a popular song adapted into English by Paul Anka, based on the French song “Comme d´habitude” written by Francois and Jacques Revaux Calude with lyrics in French by Calude François and Gilles Thibaut, composed by Calude, thinking about his recent breakup with fellow singer France Gall.

The English version only keeps the melody of the song, because the lyrics were rewritten by Paul Anka and it is totally different from the French original . Its first performance was conducted by Frank Sinatra in the album “My Way” in 1969. “My Way” became one of the songs Frank Sinatra is remembered for. All the same, at the time of its release, Sinatra could have got a good position in the charts but he did not.

The identification of the song with Sinatra got stronger over the years, until the song became a musical and cultural symbol worldwide. Even in 1989 the regime of Mikhail Gorbachev referred to his policy of non-intervention in the internal affairs of the other signatory countries of the Warsaw Pact as the “Sinatra Doctrine” because the URSS recognized the right to implement  “their own way” policies referring to the line “I did it my way” Sinatra theme.

As is well known, music is art. As such, it conveys emotions that touch our feelings. You may or may not like a song. Its lyrics might invite reflection and they can express a particular event in your life and even a song can change your life. I like this song because its lyrics, somehow, are a reflection on the events of our life and I believe that everyone at some point in their lives think about it. Who has not stopped at some time in their life to think about what it takes to live? How you are living? Who in their life has no regrets? Who has not joys and sorrows but also wonderful moments? When I listen to this song, it invites me to wonder about these questions. It makes me reflect and it touches my heart. I think that life is a crossing of learning and adventure in which we try to find our place in the world. On the way, we make choices which have consequences and that is part of the journey. I’m sure all of us have regrets, opportunities, lights and shadows. We must not be afraid of our shadows and we need not create illusions. On the way, we fight against adversities and try to fit into society. In all likelihood, sometimes we win and sometimes we  lose. We loved, laughed and cried and we go on loving, laughing and crying. We face bad experiences as we can and we also enjoy wonderful moments. Broadly speaking, all this is going to be the baggage of our lives and makes us know who we are, conquer ourselves, which is not only to know our most essential being but also recognize and accept what we are. I am convinced that in life things do not always go as we planned. Pain is a part of life. Everything changes and everything ends. All the same, it would nice to say the older you are, the more you laugh in life and when we are nearing the end of this journey we could say that we could have done things in other way but we made our decisions from our convictions at that time, so somehow, we are doing it our own way, as the song says.

The beauty of our life is not in the destination. The beauty of our life is on the way.

Ada Calleja wrote about this song too.

“DON´T LOOK BACK IN ANGER” – OASIS

by Fernando Miño Soler

Listen to the song while you read this essay.

I love music and, since I was a child, I have usually been listening to lots of good music at home, because my father loved music too. I remember the first big stereo that my father bought in the early eighties. I was impressed. As soon as the stereo began to play, I was dreaming: Vinyls and cds playing day and night through four huge “AIWA” speakers. The Beatles, Dire Straits, The Jam, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Madness, Michael Jackson and, of course, other Spanish bands from these days like Mecano, Nacha Pop, Secretos, Alaska y Pegamoides or Gabinete Caligari were my reference in my childhood and in my starting point in the wonderful world of the music.

Years after I became a teenager, and the nineties “Brit-pop” exploded all over Europe, especially in Spain. I must confess that British Bands are my favourite ones, but these years were magic, amazing , a total revolution  in our stereos… Sixties haircuts, Adidas sport shoes, slim fit blue jeans, raincoats and parkas and the most powerful Rock and Pop music I’ve never heard.

My favourite Band from these days and today, of course, is  “OASIS”, from Manchester… and I could say that these guys changed my point of view about music. I love all their songs and their records, and it was a very difficult task to choose only one. But finally, and after a long, long time, “Don´t Look Back in Anger” from the album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? is my favourite or one of the most special ones in my life. Written in 1996 at the famous Rockfield Studios in Wales by Noel Gallagher (band’s guitarist and main songwriter), it is, in my opinion, a masterpiece of modern music. Reminds me of the Beatles and John Lennon songs; and the strings, melodies and lyrics are really fantastic, perfect (special attention to the piano, at the beginning; mellow, soft, breathless, wonderful). This song makes me smile and transports me to the nineties and to my High-School days. I’ve seen the video-clip more than a hundred times. Gorgeous is the definition. The band plays in a big and typical English mansion around the swimming pool and with lots of beautiful models around them…

This song was ranked number one on a list of the “50 Most Explosive choruses” by the NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS MAGAZINE and was voted as the fourth most popular single of the last 60 years in the UK and USA, and in Spain number one of the charts in several radio stations.

I remember, when I was a teenager, playing this song and another one by this band on my Disc-man (pre-historic gadget isn´t it? …hahaha…), walking on the street or travelling by metro, on my way to school. I learned the lyrics by heart, and it was lovely to sing it: … so, sally can wait, she knows it’s too late as we´re walking on by …

Even I could watch the Band in concert twice in Madrid in 1997 and in 2000. The best concerts I have seen in my life.

Don´t say ROCK AND ROLL, say OASIS!

Enjoy the song.

Your Song

by Patri Fernández Parras

Listen to the song while you read this essay.

Music has always played an important role in my life. I remember listening to music with my mom and my siblings while she was doing her chores and we helped her. At the time, we used to have a simple cassette player, but, when I turned 14, I was given a fantastic sound equipment which had a double cassette deck and a record player. Having my own hi-fi was amazing! One of the first LPs that I bought was a compilation of Elton John’s songs in which  “Your Song” was included.

Regarding its history, “Your Song” is a ballad composed and performed by Elton John. The song was released in the United States in October 1970 as the B-side to “Take Me to the Pilot”. The song was part of a list of songs John and Taupin wrote while living together. Taupin wrote the lyrics after breakfast and John points his composition of the music to 27 October 1969. It took him only ten minutes. John cites the song as one of his favorites, and plays it at most of his concerts. It was one of Elton’s first big hits and was praised by critics as a “near-perfect song”. One of its best-known versions is in the film Moulin Rouge where the song is sang by Ewan McGregor as part of the soundtrack.

The lyrics express the romantic thoughts of a person in love: “It’s a little bit funny this feeling inside / I’m not one of those who can easily hide / I don’t have much money but boy if I did / I’d buy a big house where we both could live. / So excuse me forgetting but these things I do / You see I’ve forgotten if they’re green or they’re blue / Anyway the thing is what I really mean / Yours are the sweetest eyes I’ve ever seen / And you can tell everybody this is your song / It may be quite simple but now that it’s done / I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind / That I wrote down in words / How wonderful life is / While you’re in the world…”

I chose this song because it is a great declaration of love. Falling in love is a wonderful and crazy feeling that’s worth experiencing at least once in our lives. When you are in love, the way you look at the world and experience life can change in a moment. You feel butterflies in your stomach, you find yourself kissing pillows, jumping up and down in excitement and joy for no apparent reason, it makes you more excited, nervous, energetic and full of life. Of course you can’t think of anyone else but your lover.  Besides, love is blind enough to let you overlook all the bad qualities of your partner’s. When you love someone, you focus only on their positive side. Furthermore, it makes you do things you’d never have done before. In fact, it’s the intense joy you get from being with that person that makes you do these extraordinary things.

I love the lyrics of this song because I wouldn’t have been able to describe my feelings better. The part that I like the most is “how wonderful life is while you’re in the world”. My husband and me have been married for 16 years this June and we have been through a lot since then: good moments (many), not such good moments, and… after these years, I can finally say that I am very grateful for him, as he is someone who always pushes me to be the best I can be and no less. I don’t believe in needing another person to be “complete”, but I certainly know that Fernando and I are better together than each of us on our own.

I would like to end this with a quote by True love, as great as it might seem at first, is not a smooth ride. It is full of tough times, obstacles, and sad moments. You will know it is true love when you find that it wasn’t as easy as the movies or the poets said it would be.

I encourage you to listen to this song, thinking of a person that you love and, after you do so, you should tell him/her “how wonderful life is while you’re in the world”.

Enjoy it!

 

Dream Theater – Surrounded

by Antonio Gutiérrez Llorena

Listen to the song while you read this essay.

Every day, I try to understand you, rock and metal fans criticizing progressive rock. “The seventies have been gone for a long time now…”, “What the heck were those strange noises…?” you say and you keep on banging your head along a repetitive and incessant rhythm. You might never get to comprehend how these prog songs understand even your deepest feelings and thoughts. Maybe, you are comfortably, happily numb in your cloudy universe of washed-out riffs and decades-old screams. You are just resigned to hear the same old made-up tunes again and again, not wondering if there exists an alternative way to rock. You must have noticed that there has not been much improvement related to metal music for a very long time. I can tell you I believe the majority of that evolution has come from a handful of bands which ran the risk to develop new streams, especially in the field of progressive music. One of these beloved bands is Dream Theater.

Dream Theater may be my favorite band ever. Every single song of this group is completely different to the previous one and they are all great –you should believe me, little traditional stubborn rockers. From thrilling hard riffs which can make you feel the death is walking on your back to stunning, moving, emotional ballads, Dream Theater always find the way to impress their supporters. It is pretty difficult for me to choose a song, but I’ve decided to get ‘Surrounded’. “Ohhhh! What a boring song! Are you kidding?”. I wonder if you will ever be able to understand the way this song makes me feel… This piece of heaven was written long time ago, even before I was born, in 1992. This is the fourth song of their second record (out of twelve).

 ‘Surrounded’ begins with a keyboard rhythm followed by some piano chords. Soon, a soft voice comes into view and begins to spread magic on the scene. “Jeeezz! Are you really into thoroughly describing the song while your reader falls asleep?” Shut up! I’m just trying to introduce my damned song to them! Well, later on this masterpiece becomes faster and then, the miracle hidden behind every single Dream Theater song occurs. A symphony composed by mixed guitar and bass riffs, keyboards thrilling rhythms, impossible drum sounds and the addictive voice of James takes the control of your mind.

If you ask about the lyrics, I can say they have not an established meaning. This is a very abstract song, so everyone can guess what the writers wanted to say with it. “Psss… Almost like every damned progressive song in the universe!” Just let me explain myself!  In my opinion, it talks about the strange mixture of emotions, an unusual impatience and an inexplicable happiness, which you may feel when a new person comes into your life. The sensation you are leaving all these bad moments remembering some others that formed part of yourself behind. The deep desire of running to the window and face your hidden fears. And finally, the loss of hope when you discover that you are still lying, worrying about things you thought you had overcome. “Well… It might not be a terrible song after all…” I told you so.

Simply, ‘Surrounded’ is one of the greatest songs I’ve ever heard, so I recommend you to listen to it even if you are not into rock music. You might be surprised!

Empire State of Mind, by Alicia Keys & Jay-Z

By Eva María Miota Pérez

Listen to the song while you read this essay.

I love music and, in my view, to choose a song is a difficult task. Among many songs, I have chosen “Empire State of Mind” by Alicia Keys. It´s one of my favourite songs, and each time I listen to it I travel to Christmas 2009.

Have you ever dreamt of going to New York City? Who has not dreamt of going to the most beautiful city in the world?

The one thing I have always wanted to do, since I was in my teens, is go to New York city. I pictured myself there, shopping at Macy´s, eating American doughnuts, drinking coffee and so on.  All I knew was New York is the city where dreams come true, the big apple is a beautiful city…

It was July. My brother had passed his exams to become a teacher and we decided to spend our next Christmas holidays in New York.  It´s when everything seems most magical. We wanted to go with my sister too, so a plane ticket with destination to New York was my sister´s birthday present. She was really excited. It was her best present.

I wanted to enjoy New York city as much as possible, so every morning we got up early to start walking over Manhattan!  In this city, you can find everything you want in a huge variety! I remember American breakfasts. I felt like Homer Simpson eating and eating as much as you could! Walking between the skyscrapers, everything seems to be exactly as it should be! Beautiful buildings, fancy people and so many other things make this city so special! As all beautiful big cities, New York has its park and it´s a huge area in the middle of the city. Central Park is the place to relax, go picnic and enjoy a beautiful sunny day.

We went there with chilly weather conditions. Although it was Christmas time, New York offers plenty of fun things to do both indoors and outdoors. Rockefeller Center Ice Rink is by far the busiest ice rink.  Rockefeller Center is always decked out for Christmas, from the Christmas tree and the ice rink to the illuminated angels and lights around the place. New York has a wide variety of Christmas shows that welcome guests of all ages and interests. We went to Rockettes, an american show. It was amazing.

New York made me feel a very small part of this multicultural world and I feel so lucky I was there!  Needless to say that it was the first trip that I did massive shopping! Apart from Macy´s (Eva´s paradise), there are numerous shops. I were so excited!

I can say that New York city is extremely tall, full of extremes, friendly people.  It is the city of dreams and hopes. It´s very busy but all in all, because of that, we can really call it New York!

 I will definitely visit again.

New York is like Coca Cola………. It´s EVERYWHERE!!!!!

Happy, by PHARREL WILLIAMS

by ALEJANDRO GARZON CAMACHO

Listen to the song while you read this essay.

I have chosen this song because, after a long time, it is the latest one that has made me feel something special when I listen to it while others don’t. Although I know that he lyrics of the song are pretty easy and not too deep, mixing them with the rhythm of the music results in a perfect combination that gets into your body to make you stand up. Once you are up, you can’t help clapping your hands and singing the lyrics while you start feeling better and better, thinking that life is wonderful, enjoying yourself and feeling happiness, like the title of the song.

Probably, this kind of song is not going to be in your life forever, and maybe you forget it the day after it stops being played on radios, discos or music TV programs, but I am sure that, for a while, this song can give sense to your life. When you are sad or on a grey day and you start to forget that you are living your life, when you can’t stop for a moment to think what are you doing or why are you doing everything like a robot, without tasting it, this song tells you to “take a break”, “nothing can bring you down”, be happy and live your life as if it was your last day in the world.

Nowadays, we are living in a tough period of crisis and a lot of people around us are living the worst days in their lives because they have been fired and/or they can’t find a job. These people, like me when I was fired from my company in Seville, have lots of time to think about life. I remember that it was a break time not only to rest, but to look for some answers about my life. So, it is possible that other people, in the same conditions I was before, are asking themselves a lot of questions about life such as “What am I going to do?” or “Is it worth it?”. I suggest that people should  listen to that song because I am sure that, if I had listened to it when I was in that awful condition, it would have helped me to stand up and fight.

And I also know another kind of people that are fortunate enough to have a job but they spend too much time on it instead of enjoying their lives. I also suggest that they listen to that song and stop for a while, have a break, think about what are they doing with their lives and if they are happy, and change whatever they don’t like in their lives if they can. But if they can’t change anything, at least enjoy the song for some minutes and feel the happines it transmits.

Finally, I would like to recommend this song to my teacher, Fernando. I know he is a happy person because he always spreads his happiness in the classroom. So, I dedicate the song “Happy” to him. After this homework, I am sure that if I listen to this song in the future, I will remember his English classes.

“I Just Called To Say I Love You” by Stevie Wonder

by Mayte Álvarez

Listen to the song while you read this essay.

When I was a teenager, I used to listen to music performed by singer-songwriters, or to classical music. Perhaps, I was a serious and boring person on those days, long ago. Nowadays, my likes have radically changed , and I sometimes spend all my free time listening to pop music or salsa and other Caribbean rhythms.

By these years, I only used to listen to music in Spanish, because I studied French in high school, and I didn’t know any word in English. However, when I was studying my degree at the university, an English song burst into my life. I listened “I Just Called To Say I Love You” over and over, just as I was starting my courtship with Pablo, a classmate. My boyfriend, who spoke five languages (so he became a diplomat) used to sing that chorus for me.

I can only remember the title and the music, nonetheless I never learnt its lyrics, but it was my favourite song in English for ages. Why? Because, as the Dave Eggers’s theory explains, this song is forming an “emotional puzzlement” which is connected not only with the song, but also with my old boyfriend and all our past relationship. Besides, I like the meaning of the song: when you fall in love, you do not need a special reason in order to call your boyfriend, because you can spend a lot of time saying nothing important, but all that you have said is vital and imperative for your partner. Nothing is momentous, but all reminds you of him/her.

Nowadays, I ‘m getting used to listening to music in British or American English. But, definitely, “I Just Call To Say I Love You” performed by Stevie Wonder was my first discovery in English.