Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
USA
Peter Hollens and Tim Foust sing a modern rendition of the English folk song "Greensleeves" on a beautiful cliff overlooking the Oregon Coast.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
USA
Eminem performs "Not Afraid" in a live session for Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1, from the BBC's Legendary Maida Vale.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
United Kingdom
You're watching the official live video for Genesis -''The Carpet Crawlers'' from the album 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
Jamaica, United Kingdom
British pop star Sting and Jamaican-American rapper Shaggy join forces on this song with a relaxed reggae vibe, and lyrics inspired by Lewis Carroll’s poem “The Walrus and the Carpenter” from his book Alice Through the Looking-Glass.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
USA
American pop singer Jason Derulo’s uplifting hit “Take You Dancing” is full of raised hopes, raised spirits, and heightened desire!
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
USA
American rock band No Doubt caused a stir when this single came out on the album Rock Steady. It had a “dancehall” style and more of a pop sound than many fans expected. Singer Gwen Stefani has said that the song is about backstage post-show parties, and the groupies that hit on the guys in her band.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
United Kingdom, USA
Tinie Tempah released this track, which features American singer Eric Turner, on his debut album Disc-Overy. The inspirational lyrics document the British artist’s determination to succeed, and steep trajectory from childhood poverty to the dizzying heights of rap stardom.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
USA
“Family” from French DJ David Guetta is about the virtue of those close friends who are always there for you when you need them. Featuring US pop star Bebe Rexha and rap verses from hip hop stars Ty Dolla Sign and A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, the song includes some slang and informal English that you probably won’t find in a textbook!
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
United Kingdom
Glass animals are an English group that blends electronic dance music with complex lyrics. This song is about caring for someone so much that it becomes an obsession, as overpowering and inescapable as a summer heatwave in the city.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
USA
#Selfie was the breakthrough hit for American DJ and production duo The Chainsmokers, who used style, humor, and a dance beat to poke fun at social media culture.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
United Kingdom
British singer-songwriter Charlotte Jane sings about a guy who isn’t giving enough to their relationship... but not for much longer, as she’s about to delete him from her phone and from her memory!
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
Ireland
In this ode, the Cranberries’ lead singer Dolores O’Riordan reaches back to her Irish roots, and delves deep into childhood memories. O'Riordan sadly passed away in 2018, but the Cranberries remain one of the most popular Irish pop bands of all time.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
USA
The relationship has its ups and downs, and here we see the couple fighting in the kitchen after his old friends visit. As she turns twenty-one and he doesn’t show up on her birthday, the writing is on the wall for this doomed relationship.
Difficulty: Advanced
USA
With every mistake there comes regret, and a mournful feeling permeates this song from the fifth album by the American indie rock band Grizzly Bear. It is accompanied by a colorful and surreal video said to be "a playful, pastel-drenched commentary on women’s liberation."
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
USA
This "catchy, toe-tapping" song is a sort of love song, while the music video recreates a few movie scenes from the late seventies and eighties, such as Risky Business and Grease. The video also features Priyanka Chopra Jonas.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
United Kingdom
Previously the lead singer of The Libertines, Pete Doherty launched his solo career with this single on his album Grace/Wasteland. In his unique, rambling, and poetic style, he plays with words and meaning to take us back to his adolescence, and what it meant to grow up in England. The "English rose" in question is rumored to be a schoolboy crush, but everything is left open to interpretation.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
United Kingdom
“Tom Traubert’s Blues” was written by American rocker Tom Waits and tells a story of alcohol abuse. The chorus comes from the famous Australian bush ballad “Waltzing Matilda.” which is itself a tale of vagrancy, hard times, and misadventure. This version is sung by British singer Rod Stewart.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
United Kingdom
This whaling ballad was written long before the song became a surprise internet sensation. In the Nineteenth Century, the original Weller Brothers (Wellermen) brought supplies to remote whaling communities off the New Zealand coast. The lyrics speak of the voyage of one whaling vessel, the Billy of Tea, whose voyage did not go according to plan. Locked in an endless battle with a whale, they longed for a supply ship to bring them sugar, tea, and rum.
Difficulty: Advanced
Ireland
"Follow Me up to Carlow” is an Irish folk song, celebrating the famous victory of Irish “firebrand” Fiach McHugh O'Byrne and his countrymen, over a much larger force of English troops at the Battle of Glenmalure, which took place in 1580, high in the Wicklow Mountains. Carlow, from the title, was believed to have been an English fortress. Many of these lyrics will be hard to understand at first, even for a native English speaker. So try to follow along as best you can and enjoy the music!
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
USA
This is MC Hammer’s signature song and his biggest hit, launching him, along with his flamboyant dance moves and extra wide "Hammer pants", into stardom as the nineties began. First released on the album Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em, this tune is certainly untouchable in terms of pure charisma and energy.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
USA
Keri Hilson performs together with rap stars Kanye West and Ne-Yo in this melodic tune about two guys who thought they found the love of their life.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
USA
Jamaican dancehall recording artist and record producer Sean Paul teams up with English singer Dua Lipa for this hit single. Although in English, the lyrics feature a significant amount of Jamaican Patois slang and phrasing. See if you can follow it!
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
USA
Stevie Salas and Christina Fon talk about striking the right balance between entertainment and a political message, and what they hope their film will achieve.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
Canada, USA
The filmmakers talk about some of the people they wanted to interview for the documentary. Sometimes it just took time, and in a few cases it didn't work out at all. For Christina, one highlight was getting to interview writer and activist John Trudell before his death in 2015.
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