Amy Winehouse at 19
Amy Winehouse, dead, at 27. This was her at 19. So sad. One more for the 27 Club. Take the box – Amy Winehouse Your neighbours were screaming I don’t have a key for downstairs, so I punched all the buzzers hoping you wouldn’t be there So now my head’s hurting You say I always […]
Marlene Dietrich: Falling in Love again – Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuss
Marlene in English and German and then again in English, great German accent; followed by Caroline Nin singing franco-anglo-tinged German. ICH BIN VON KOPF BIS FUSS AUF LIEBE EINGESTELLT (Friedrich Holländer) Marlene Dietrich Ein rätselhafter Schimmer, Ein “je ne sais-pas-quoi” Liegt in den Augen immer Bei einer schönen Frau. Doch wenn sich meine Augen Bei […]
Joe Jackson and learner agency
Joe Jackson has a new live album out, and I’ve just ordered it. He lives in Berlin. I found this marvellously provocative video dedicated to him by New Yorkers who want him back: This all came out of surfing around after Ann posted something about Coney Island being the target of redevelopment, and Coney Island […]
The Lords: Poor Boy
Still grinning about how wery hard life was in Berlin in 1965. The German beat band, The Lords, sing and dance “Poor boy”, one of their greatest hits. Now, I’m not knocking writing and singing in a foreign language, on the contrary, it’s really great! But for an English teacher like me it’s fascinating to […]
Black Dub: Surely – Silverado
A silverado pairing, surely. Black Dub is Daniel Lanois (songwriter, producer for U2 and Dylan and others) and Trixie Whitley, she of the big, fat voice. Touching, intimate songs like Surely, a reincarnation of Amazing Grace, and funky, jazzy stuff. Got tickets for Berlin on 29 July. Coming? I think a Silverado is a type […]
Cure: Close to me
On and on about stress and anxiety and dealing with it: This is still an unbelievable video, the Cure falling off a cliff in a wardrobe. Chris mentioned it on his blog in a comment on how having limited resources increases creativity. Can you use this to teach English? Of course. But teaching in the […]
Eric Clapton/Lil’ Son Jackson: Travelling alone
In his new album, Eric Clapton has interpreted a wide range of great roots music. Jamie Keddie has just created a lovely lesson on his relaunched lesson site, Lessonstream, built around a song that Clapton reinterpets beautifully on the album, How Deep is the Ocean, and which Jamie uses to teach questions with. In the […]
