English, baby!

Monkey Majik

Date: Jul 30 2007

Themes: Music

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

It can be really interesting how bands get together. Musicians often meet each other through classified ads. Others teach their siblings or spouses to play instruments in order to form a group.

So how do you get a band from Japan that’s fronted by two Canadians?

3. Watch - Watch the video without reading the dialog.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Mason

Marni: So have you heard about this band Monkey Majik?

Mason: No.

Marni: No. Okay, well, I have to admit I got into them because I have a thing for anything monkey.

Mason: Monkey is good with me.

Marni: So I’m sort of naturally inclined to be curious about anything with “monkey” in the name. Anyway, I was listening…I actually heard about it on NPR, and went and kind of did some research…

Mason: Oh really? NPR? NPR was talking about Monkey Majik?

Marni: Exactly they do little exposés on sort of an artist. Anyhow, they are a band. They’re based out of Japan. I think it’s two brothers, I believe, that are Canadian.

Mason: Canadian, Japanese?

Marni: Canadian and Japanese, it’s a marriage made in heaven. So these two brothers…I believe they’re brothers…anyhow, two guys, Canadian guys, went over to Japan to teach English, totally fell in love with the country. Musicians, ended up meeting other musicians and so, the rhythm section, the bassist and the drummer are Japanese.

Mason: So okay, I’ve listened to a fair amount of Japanese pop music for various reasons, but do they end up sounding more Japanese or do they sound like a North American band?

Marni: Well that’s the interesting thing. Their lyrics are multilingual, so they sing in Japanese, they sing in English…

Mason: Little French, maybe?

Marni: I haven’t heard any French, but maybe. Maybe they’re French Canadian.

Mason: A musical smorgasbord.

Quizzes

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Discussion

Marni asks Mason if he’s heard a band called Monkey Majik. They’re an indie rock band with disco and funk influences, but Marni doesn’t describe what they sound like. She’s too distracted by the interesting story of how the band got together.

Marni first heard about Monkey Majik on National Public Radio. Mason is surprised that NPR would talk about Monkey Majik. Marni seems to recall that there are two Canadians in the band and that they are brothers and she’s right. They moved to Japan to teach English and wound up starting a band with a couple of Japanese guys. Now they release records with songs in both Japanese and English.

How did you meet the important people in your life?

Comments

hattomi

Yemen

I love this band very very much ^_

世界疯狂1125

China

i'm sorry for lsitening theirs talking,because i can't unstandant what they were talking in the view. pls help me,no english,and i don't know what i can do,but my english is very poor,who can help me ,i will be thanking for him for fever!

meenal

India

it 's very intersting – this is a good story -the best of their thank u -

leejiwuxichina

China

ayumi hamasaki

Mário Jonas

Brazil

ohh….....

wasimr_bat

Bangladesh

It's really intersting to see how people drift from their goal and eventually end up with something they never thought . This is a good story which also depicts that cultural diversity is not a barrier to unite a band.

abdeeq

Somalia

Music Monkey that is wonderfull

Johnny bai

China

"I have a thing for somebody or something" is an other way expressing like, that's what i learn from this lesson. Thank you, I like this phrase!

Johnny bai

China

i wanna listen the music of Monkey Majik

explorer143

Pakistan

I met lot of people which both catogaries, beause it’s life, but when i was in my college study i meet my professor, who taught us English. His name was “Syed Safdar Hussain Shah”, He was great person in my life, He knows the phsycy of student and taught them different method. His teaching method was incredible, and he treat all the student with love, and all the student respect to him. He was nice, intelligent, kind, humorous, intellectual person. He belong to respectable family.
He was…..I can’t describe him.