Presentation On A Song

SigersonCup

Hi, I didn't know where else to post this thread, so I said I would post it here.

I am currently in Secondary School, and we are doing a module now in our English class in which we have to talk about a song that we like.

We have to stand up at the top of the class and play 30 second's of our favourite song, then we have to talk about why it is our favourite song and why we like it for a minute or 2. I know this sounds easy but I am struggling trying to find stuff that I could talk about.

I have already thought of a few things to talk about, for example, the artist singing the song, I could say that I like his music, I could say that I like the rhtym of the song and that I have fond memories of the song.

I would like you to help me out here and maybe give me a few ideas on what to talk about because I dont want to look like a fool in front of my whole class not being able to talk for roughly a minute and a half.

Thank you all, in advance.

sceptre

Moved to Music. It's about a song after all so odds are rather high that it's a better place than Literature...:)

Nailz

It would be a help telling us what the song is, then hopefully we can aid you in working off it. Try not to pick anything too generic, it's too boring and it won't come across as different or interesting at all, not that I imagine you care but it's better from an educational perspective.

SigersonCup

Nailz wrote: »

It would be a help telling us what the song is, then hopefully we can aid you in working off it. Try not to pick anything too generic, it's too boring and it won't come across as different or interesting at all, not that I imagine you care but it's better from an educational perspective.

What I'm saying aswell is that I can't think of a song, and I'd like you to give me an example of a song that you would choose if you had to do this.

spurious

Look at the last 5 songs you played on your iPod/mp3 player.
You must have put at least one of them there because you like it.
Talk about it.

SigersonCup

spurious wrote: »

Look at the last 5 songs you played on your iPod/mp3 player.
You must have put at least one of them there because you like it.
Talk about it.

Yes, but what about the song am I supposed to talk about??
Lyrics?? Artist?? What else??

Mars Bar

Are you into 50's Rock and Roll like Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Little Richard?

Like, Elvis was the first crossover artist between white and black people - a biracial style. He touched on many different genres such as gospel, soul and rhythm and blues (real R 'N' B :P).
He touched on different issues such as religion and patriotism.

You can pretend you like Jailhouse Rock even if you really don't and all the better if you actually do like it. It's a really simple song. The melody is simple. The tempo is quick and the rhythm is strong. There is great rhyming in the lyrics. You're doing English so I presume ye have done rhyming in poetry (a, a, b, b...).


I'm guessing you don't study music so I'll leave it at that...best of luck with it!

spurious

SigersonCup wrote: »

Yes, but what about the song am I supposed to talk about??
Lyrics?? Artist?? What else??

Why you like it - what was about it that made you prefer it to another song?
How does it make you feel?

Does it represent a particular time for you? Is it a specific genre of music? What season would it remind people of?

How could you see it being used in a film or TV show?

Is it an acoustic song/electric/synthesised?

etc.

-Chris-

What are the last 5 songs on your iPod?

Give us something to go on, would ya?

ciaranmac

Is there a song that makes you smile when it comes on the radio? (even if it's a sad song)
Or a song that you sing to yourself when nobody is around...
Maybe music that you bought yourself or asked for as a present?

This sounds like a great idea to be doing in class, making you think about why you like the things you like and be able to explain the reasons. Better than learning set material by heart IMHO.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

ciaranmac wrote: »

This sounds like a great idea to be doing in class, making you think about why you like the things you like and be able to explain the reasons. Better than learning set material by heart IMHO.

I think it's a great idea to do in class if you're into music. Some people though don't pay attention to music, they just listen to whatever's on the radio or on MTV and don't really have thoughts or opinions on it. I'd imagine for someone like that it'd be an extremely difficult assignment.
If I'd have gotten this assignment when I was in school they'd have to have removed me from the class because I'd have had a whole lecture series on my favourite song, power point and all

odonopenmic

You could turn this into a more academic exercise, if you're not keen on talking about (emotionally) why you like it, what it means to you etc.

If you can pick a song that you like because it sounds different and is innovative, then spend the time talking about what makes it innovative - i.e. the techniques used, why this is different from previous types of music etc.

What I would do is start with bullet points then time yourself talking on each point - work out how much you have to say on each and then if you need to pad the time, you could do so by talking about the history of the song or techniques, it's place in musical history etc.

Personally, if you're looking for suggestions, I don't think you could go far wrong talking about anything from Bob Dylan circa 1966/67. He had just gone electric so there's plenty to talk about on that side - people turned up to his gigs to boo him, accusing him of selling out his acoustic roots; the lyrics are UNBELIEVABLE and would work well in the context of an English class; the instrumentation is more diverse than his early work; the influence that this work had is considerable; Dylan also hasa rich connection to other literary figures which, if discussed in (again) in the context of an English class, could get you some kudos.

Reckon that would fill 1.30-2.00 easy. I'd go for Visions of Johanna off Blonde on Blonde if it was me.

Having said all that - first and foremost, make sure you like what you're talking about. There's no point picking a song at random that you don't know or like as it will be patently obvious that you've missed the brief.

Good luck and hope that's of some help.

Sinfonia

Hurricane.

lordgoat

Sinfonia wrote: »

Hurricane.

I'll see your Hurricane and raise you S&M by Rhianna.

The slow build of S&M coupled with the shock value over the top lyrics carry you along nicely to the chorus and mainstay of the track.<Press Play on chorus> Here i feel the artist has truly captured the pop audience with a well produced track and sensationalistic lyrics delivered powerfully. All in all a majestic modern pop hit. I do feel i must say the message of the song is conveyed best through the visuals of the video. Which i shall leave you all as homework. - There you go.

Sinfonia

lordgoat wrote: »

I'll see your Hurricane and raise you S&M by Rhianna.

The slow build of S&M coupled with the shock value over the top lyrics carry you along nicely to the chorus and mainstay of the track.<Press Play on chorus> Here i feel the artist has truly captured the pop audience with a well produced track and sensationalistic lyrics delivered powerfully. All in all a majestic modern pop hit. I do feel i must say the message of the song is conveyed best through the visuals of the video. Which i shall leave you all as homework. - There you go.

Nice.

Another quality example (Not safe for work, or pretty much anywhere else) :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLs3KXiknBw

lordgoat

Sinfonia wrote: »

Nice.
]

The repetition of a simple lyric over and over again, gives the song a Kavanagh esque feel to it...

-Chris-

Anyone else get the feeling that SigersonCup's already done his presentation...