Adele is very easy to follow for most Brits. The only accent in the English language that sometimes stumps me is thick Glaswegian. It's a problem because I work closely with someone in the UK civil service who talks like this and on overseas trips I'm expected to translate:

https://youtu.be/Lw5YwuK7bik?si=FuK3FQ11HBM5qjAG

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I'm reading Cameron's poem Liebestod on Metrical and it spurred a memory of an experience I had of an erotic encounter in St. Petersburg Russia at the Hermitage Theatre watching Swan Lake. I was seated in a folding chair right at the railing looking down into the orchestra pit. I began to watch the timpani drummer and began alternating my attention between the dancers and the orchestra, specifically the timpani drummer. The timpani drummer's performance and movement was so visceral and so visually sensual that I was enraptured by it. I was able to take that sensuality I was watching emanate from the timpani drummer and transfer it to the Swan Princess Odette. Very strange!

I wasn't trusting my memory so I did some research on the music of Swan Lake to be sure it actually had timpani drums in it. I came across this remarkable drumming performance of Swan Lake

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The only reason I can think of to be president of the United States is that you get to summon musicians to the White House to perform for you. Here is Keb' Mo' singing "America the Beautiful" for Barack Obama, once again proving my contention that the song should be the national anthem.

Pop is effective with simple chord progressions. For example, this Adele song piano accompaniment in A major is quite easy to learn and very compelling to listen to. Debussy would be Grade 8 stuff and hard to learn but just as compelling if not more. Within music there are varying degrees of complexity and sophistication that appeal to different layers of emotion, mood and consciousness. Language can be the same but generally it's harder for most people to feel that from poetry.

https://youtu.be/qemWRToNYJY?si=beg2Pvk9t9oYSbqS

https://youtu.be/fZrm9h3JRGs?si=-UOrx8GkjNwIYkIa

Emma Kok

https://youtu.be/J0HT_nIvjE8?si=hpuijHPe7f5fHfCq

Next up, an animated performance from the first film I took my eldest daughter to see at the cinema on her third birthday. It has some stunning visuals and interesting translations.

https://youtu.be/kZqr7ymr81Q?feature=shared


An Innocent Warrior
(Written by Opetaia Foa'i)

POLYNESIAN
(Tuvaluan, Tokelauan, Samoan mix)

Ou mata e matagi
Ou loto mamaina toa
Manatu atu
Taku pelepele

Pa mai to mafanafanaga
Saolotoga tenei
Manatunatu
Ki tamafine

Pa mai to malamalama
Taimi totoe ko he lava
Maua ai te lumanai
O te atunuku

ENGLISH

Your eyes so full of wonder
Your heart an innocent warrior
There’s a task for you
Our dearest one

Let it flow over you
This freedom you feel
And your deep thoughts
Our young girl

You'll come to understand
There's not much time left
To save the future
Of all our islands

This gives me joy. And do note, at the end, the wholly consensual kiss.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLnLYfCJbik

What do we think about Billie Eilish?

I think this video is impressive. I haven't checked if she wrote them, but the simple lyrics are quite adeptly put together.

She couldn't resist. He looks just like Bradley Cooper.

Big fans here, my under 10s somehow got into her music before I did and I was taken aback by the maturity of their tastes. We have a couple of her albums playing on loop by demand in the car.

An interesting fact from my perspective is that Billie Eilish has auditory processing disorder and needed to be home schooled to overcome her learning difficulties. My eldest, Lucy, has that condition too so Billie Eilish is an interesting exemplar to study. Our consultant audiologist advised that Lucy learns a musical instrument because it helps the brain rewire faulty connections apparently.

I taught my daughter to play this song earlier in the year on piano but I suspect she's forgotten so we need to get back into the routine of practice again and I've lined up a music therapist for additional support this month

https://youtu.be/BboMpayJomw?si=Ba1MJ1Jfr08eo5qi