Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 751.
Describing one's taste in music.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 751.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in the city of Los Angeles, California.
Our website is eslpod.com.
Go there today, right now.
Stop whatever you're doing.
Go to our website and download a learning guide.
You can download a learning guide by becoming a member of ESL Podcast.
You can also join us on Facebook.
Go to facebook.com slash ESL POD.
Or follow us on Twitter.
Why not?
At ESL POD.
This episode is a dialogue between Arturo and Ling Wang talking about styles of music, things people like in music.
Let's get started.
What are you listening to?
Some new music.
You want to hear it?
All right.
That's pretty mellow.
Kind of bluesy, isn't it?
It's got an interesting indie feel.
Do you like it?
It's all right.
I like more funky dance music myself, but this is okay.
It's not too depressing.
That's faint praise.
No, no, I do like it.
I guess I'm usually in the mood for more up-tempo music, something with a driving beat.
I'm a hardcore MC Quillen fan, if that's any indication.
Oh, I see.
So you don't really like acoustic music much.
It's just not my thing, you know?
Yeah, that's too bad.
Why?
That was a track I recorded last week.
This is your music?
In that case, I love it.
You're just saying that.
No, really.
It's growing on me.
In fact, I want to hear more.
How about if I bring over some dinner on Saturday and you can play me a few more tracks?
You don't mind?
Believe me, I'll be all ears.
Arturo begins by saying, What are you listening to?
Ling says, some new music.
You want to hear it?
Notice she doesn't say, do you want to hear it?
She's speaking very informally.
Sometimes people drop or eliminate the do in this kind of expression.
You want to eat?
Do you want to eat?
Ling says, you want to hear it?
You want to hear my music?
Arturo says, all right, okay.
He's listening to it, and he says, that's pretty mellow.
Kind of bluesy, isn't it?
Mellow, M-E-L-L-O-W, means calm, quiet.
Very, we might say, tranquil.
Something that is very peaceful is mellow.
Arturo says that Ling's music is mellow, but also it's kind of bluesy.
B-L-U-E-S-Y.
Bluesy is an adjective that comes from blues B-L-U-E-S, which is a type of music formerly called the blues.
© BF-WATCH TV 2021
So blues music is often about things that are sad or depressing.
It was a style of music created in the early 20th century by African Americans here in the United States.
Arturo says that Ling's music got an interesting indie feel.
Indie, I-N-D-I-E. is a short form of independent.
Independent here refers to a small record company, a company that makes CDs or MP3s and sells them.
Usually the word indie refers to a kind of music that is done by lesser known artists, singers who aren't necessarily very famous, singing music that isn't as popular as the kind of music you might hear on the radio.
So indie, in referring to music, is that kind of music.
But you could also have indie films movies, movies made not with millions and millions of dollars, but with a lot less money, less famous actors, but often about things that are perhaps more interesting than the movies you see in the movie theater.
So that's indie.
Link says, do you like it?
Arturo says, it's alright, it's okay.
I like more funky dance music myself.
Funky, F-U-N-K-Y, means cool, hip, interesting, unusual music.
It's a very broad adjective that could be used for lots of different things.
It was more popular I think in the 70s and 80s than it is now.
But I guess you'll still hear people talk about something being funky.
Someone my age perhaps.
Dance music is music that you would hear in a discotheque.
It usually has a very strong bass line, a strong beat.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
That sort of thing.
And I guess that's easier for people to dance to.
I'm not sure.
I don't go to discotheques, what we actually more commonly now would just call clubs.
I'm not a dance club kind of person.
But for some people, that's what they like to do.
Of course, when I was younger, well, you couldn't get me off the dance floor.
The dance floor is the place where you dance, meaning I loved to dance so much I was always dancing.
Dancing, dancing, dancing, boom, boom, boom.
Anyway, back to reality.
Arturo says it's not too depressing describing Ling's music, meaning it's not too sad.
Ling says that's faint praise.
Faint F-A-I-N-T.
Praise is when someone says something to you that sounds like a compliment, but it really isn't.
You are saying that, well, it's okay, but you're really kind of criticizing the person.
So when Arturo says that Ling's music is not too depressing...
He's making it sound like a compliment, but it's really a criticism.
That's why Ling says that's faint praise.
Arturo says, no, no, I do like it.
He really is complimenting her, he says.
I'm thinking Arturo may be interested romantically in Ling, so of course he doesn't want to insult her.
He says, I do like it.
To be in the mood for something means to want to do something at a certain moment.
You may ask your husband or wife or friend, what are you in the mood for for lunch today?
And they could say, I'm in the mood for Japanese food.
I'm in the mood for French food, or Korean, or Chinese or whatever kind of food you feel like that you want to eat right now.
Well, Arturo says, is usually in the mood for up-tempo music.
The tempo of the music is, roughly speaking, how fast it goes.
Up-tempo would be music that moves very fast, at a fast rhythm or beat.
Arturo says he likes music with a driving beat.
A driving beat is similar to what I was talking about when I talked about dance music.
It's something that has a very strong, repeating, usually fast beat.
The sort of thing you would hear in dance music.
What used to be called techno music, T-E-C-H-N-O, that had that kind of driving beat.
It was a kind of song that you would or music that you would dance to.
Is it still called techno music?
I don't know.
Arturo says, I'm a hardcore MC Quillen fan, if that's any indication.
If you are hardcore about something, you are very enthusiastic about it.
You are fully committed or dedicated to it.
You are a big fan of something.
I'm a hardcore Bruce Springsteen fan.
I love Bruce Springsteen.
I could listen to his music all day.
I go to his concerts.
I own all of his...
CDs and records and all that sort of thing.
That's to be hardcore.
In this case, Arturo says he's a hardcore MC Quillen fan.
The MC is the person in charge of some ceremony or some event, but here it's the person in charge of the music.
So MC Quillen would be someone whose name was Quillen but who was a rapper, somebody who did a lot of rap music, kind of like me back 20 years ago.
They called me MC Quillen.
I won't actually rap for you, however.
And you should be thankful for that.
Arturo says, I'm a hardcore MC Quillen fan, if that's any indication.
We use that phrase if that's any indication to show that we've just given an example of the description or the explanation that we gave previously.
Ling says, oh, I see.
So you don't really like acoustic music much.
Acoustic A-C-O-U-S-T-I-C is music that doesn't have any electric guitars or electronic instruments.
It's just say a guitar or a violin playing, but not an electric guitar, a regular guitar if you will.
Arturo says, it's just not my thing, you know?
When someone says it's not my thing or it's not his thing, in this case they mean it's not something that you really like or enjoy.
The music of Andrea Bocelli is not my thing.
He's a very good singer, I'm sure.
Don't get mad.
Don't send me emails saying you love Andrea Bocelli.
I'm sure he's a wonderful singer.
He's, of course, a famous Italian singer, popular singer, as well as a classical singer.
He's just not my thing, okay?
Link says, yeah, that's too bad.
Arturo says, why?
That was a track I recorded last week, Ling says.
A track is a song on an album or a CD.
Arturo says, this is your music?
In that case, I love it.
Remember, I said Arturo is interested romantically in Ling, I think.
Ling says, you're just saying that. meaning you don't really believe what you are saying.
That's not really the truth.
Arturo says, no, really, it's growing on me.
When we say something grows on you, We mean you are starting to like it.
You didn't like it in the beginning, but the more that you have it or experience it, you like it more and more.
The music is growing on Arturo, he says.
In fact, I want to hear more.
How about if I bring over some dinner on Saturday and you can play me a few more tracks?
Ling says you don't mind, meaning that's okay, that you would come over and listen to more of my music.
Arturo says, believe me, I'm all ears.
The expression all ears means very eager or wanting very much to hear something or to listen to someone.
Someone is saying, I have a problem.
Can I ask your advice?
You could say I'm all ears, meaning yes, I will listen to you completely and closely and carefully.
Ears has a number of different other expressions that can be used with it and other meanings.
Take a look at our learning guide for some of them.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
What are you listening to?
Some new music.
You want to hear it?
All right.
That's pretty mellow.
Kind of bluesy, isn't it?
It's got an interesting indie feel.
Do you like it?
It's all right.
I like more funky dance music myself, but this is okay.
It's not too depressing.
That's faint praise.
No, no, I do like it.
I guess I'm usually in the mood for more up-tempo music, something with a driving beat.
I'm a hardcore MC Quillen fan, if that's any indication.
Oh, I see.
So you don't really like acoustic music much?
It's just not my thing, you know?
Yeah, that's too bad.
Why?
That was a track I recorded last week.
This is your music?
In that case, I love it.
You're just saying that.
No, really, it's growing on me.
In fact, I want to hear more.
How about if I bring over some dinner on Saturday and you can play me a few more tracks?
You don't mind?
Believe me, I'll be all ears.
The script for this episode was written by our own mellow script writer, Dr. Lucy Say.
Oh, yeah.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us again here on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2011 by the Center for Educational Development.
