Work in pairs. Do you know the types of music in the box below?

 

rap	heavy metal	folk	classical	funk	techno	pop	salsa
rock	reggae	country and western	opera	jazz	blues	soul	middle-of-the-road

 

Are there any types of music which you can add to the list? What type of music is most popular in your country at the moment?

Work in pairs. Add two questions of your own to this questionnaire about music.

Music survey

1. What kind of music do you like?

Rock _________

Pop ___________

Classical ___________

Other ___________- what?

 

2. What kind of music do your parents like?

Rock ______

Pop _______

Classical __________

Other ___________- what?

 

2. What kind of music do your parents like?

Rock ______

Pop _______

Classical __________

Other ________ - what?

 

3. How many CDs do you buy a month?

None_______

1 or 2 __________

3 or 4__________

More than 4 _________ - how many?

4. How much time do you spend listening to music a day?

An hour or less __________

1-3 hours __________

More than 3 hours __________ - how many

Change pairs and interview each other.

Tell the class briefly about your partner's tastes in music.

Still with the Beatles

Isn't there something wrong if today's teenagers rate their parents' favourite groups ahead of the groups of today?

The most comprehensive survey ever of popular music taste was published recently. In the survey the Beatles Revolver was voted the best album ever with three other Beatles albums also in the top 5. And, says Colin Larkin, who compiled the list, the Beatles are favourites among all ages.

Being into what your mum and dad like is usually seen as very uncool. 'But,' says Colin Larkin, 'many 12-year-olds put Revolver above albums by other contemporary groups, and almost every list from a teenager had at least one of the Beatles albums on it.'

David Morgan, 14, says he grew up loving the Beatles. 'My mum and dad have all their albums.
I like chart songs, but the Beatles are more solid and real, not so throw away.'

Karen Bishop, 19, isn't surprised at their lasting appeal. 'You tend to absorb Beatles songs when you're quite young, like nursery rhymes almost. You hear songs like Yesterday all the time.'

For many youngsters, however, the Beatles are not much more than a name.

'I've heard of the Beatles but I don't really know a lot about them,' says 11-year-old Natalie.

Stephen Timus, 13, prefers dance music. 'I don't like the Beatles or the Rolling Stones - it's not my scene.'

John Hindmarch, 25, who writes for Smash Hits, is disbelieving about the Beatles' supposed army of teen fans. 'When you're that age there is a strong belief that the music of the moment is good, and older music is for mum and dad,' he says. 'It's a generation thing to think that your own music is best.'

He went on, 'Kids nowadays have their own CD players and spend a lot of money on music.' Reflecting this, pop culture is changing. 'These days artists get big very quickly. But they can be the biggest thing on the planet one minute and forgotten the next. Perhaps it's the disposable aspect of today's idols that allows groups like the Beatles to last.'

Exercise 3.

 

Complete these sentences with one of these periods of time.

S 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s

a) Modern pop music dates from the _______________________________________.

b) Dozens of British groups were successful in the United States in the ________________.

c) Singer-songwriter-poets like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez became popular in the_____________.

d) Everyone was dancing to disco music with the Bee Gees in the ___________________.

Groups like the Spice Girls and The Back Street Boys were popular in the___________

_ Exercise 5.

 

Work in groups. Discuss these quotations about music. Which do you agree with most? Which do you disagree with most?

1) People who say that classical music and opera are better than pop music are just snobs.

2) Pop music is bubble gum for the ears.

3) Pop music reflects the world we live in.

4) Good marketing is more important than musical talent.

5) DEBUSSI: "Music is a free art, an open-air art, an art boundless as the wind, the sky, the sea."

6) SHOSTAKOVITCH: "I find it impossible that an artist should wish to shut himself away from the people. I always try to make myself as widely understood as possible and if I don't manage it, I consider it my fault."

7) LONGFELLOW: "Music is the universal language of mankind."

Exercise 7. Read the text and decide if you agree with the speakers.

 

Face the music

The Beatles, Adriano Celentano, Julio Iglesias, Johnny Halliday, Elvis Presley - all names from the days when everyone knew what music they liked, and everyone liked the same music. But what about music of today? Do we understand it or do we just love the noise it makes?

 

'No one is interested in the lyrics today, are they? It's the music that's important.' Eva, Budapest

 

The golden age of rock music was the sixties and seventies, wasn't it? Since then, it's so frustrating that there are no great groups today, which are likely to be around in twenty years' time.' Gunter, Hamburg

 

'I'm astonished how popular opera is now. I think it's due to singers like Pavarotti and Domingo.' Sinead, Cork

'Julio Iglesias is still the greatest, isn't he? He's so relaxing. I don't understand what he's saying, but it doesn't matter, does it?' Sally, Brighton

‘I’m bored with so much British and American rock. Why can't we hear more music from other countries and cultures?' Jeanne, Paris

 

'The trouble is, there's too much choice these days. No one can possibly keep up to date with all the new bands, can they?' Sandra, Buenos Aires

'You don't have to know much about music to be a pop musician these days, do you? There aren't many bands that can play their own instruments. It's all done in the studio, isn't it?' Ingrid, Gothenburg