Easy english expression rehashed.
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My name is coach shane and welcome to easy english expressions.
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Hello everybody.
Coach Shane here.
How are you doing?
It's almost the end of February 2026.
This still blows my mind.
We're going so fast.
15% of the year is already passed.
My goodness.
Yeah, let's move on.
E-cubed, number 362.
Let's go back in time.
Today we have a really good expression.
It's a word.
It's a noun.
It is a retrospective.
Now, if you live in the country, you don't hear this too much.
You might hear it on TV if, of course, you're watching English TV.
But if you live in the city, there's a pretty good chance you'll hear or see this word a retrospective.
And we use it when we are talking about a musician or an artist or perhaps some historical period of time.
So one example I can give you is a couple weeks ago, I read a book.
Actually, our book club read a book called A Secret Gift.
This was a recommendation from Jean-Marie, one of our DDM students.
He's a perf student too.
And it's a great book.
This book is basically a retrospective on the Great Depression.
A retrospective on the Great Depression.
In America in the 1930s basically the late 20s, early 30s we had the Great Depression, a very difficult economic period in America.
And this book looked at that period of time, a very short period of time during the Great Depression.
That is a retrospective.
When we go back retro in time and look at something spective and study it and enjoy it, appreciate it, learn about it and try to learn from it.
That's the idea.
A retrospective to go back to a certain period of time and look at something, analyze it, appreciate it.
So a retrospective in music would be listening to a special, a particular genre of music.
So, for example, a retrospective of 1950s jazz.
Some of you might be interested in going to that type of a concert and For me my favorite music was rock and roll music from the late 70s, early 80s.
So if there is a retrospective on rock music from the late 70s and 1980s, oh yes.
I would love to listen to that ACDC Def Leppard Kiss.
Yeah, I like that stuff.
I know, it sounds silly.
An artist.
Some of you might.
Who's the flower painter?
Very famous woman.
O'Keeffe.
Yes.
Is it Georgia O'Keeffe?
Yeah, so she was an artist for a long period of time.
Sometimes artists have a special color that they like to use, or a special background or a special design.
Well, a Georgia O'Keeffe perspective would probably focus on a certain aspect of her paintings, or Flowers only, or maybe people's faces in flowers.
I don't know, something like that.
A retrospective.
Museums often show retrospectives of an artist, of a sculptor, sometimes of a photographer.
Concert halls will offer retrospectives of a composer or a singer or a particular genre of music, a style of music from a certain period of time the Baroque period.
I don't know anything about music, but that's the idea.
So a retrospective.
It's an elite expression for people who enjoy culture.
Let's listen to the dialogue.
Ahem.
Are you going to Picasso's retrospective?
Oh, where is it?
At MoMA.
I'm going on Friday.
Oh, great.
I'd love to go with you.
Oh, don't those two people sound very 1% elite, educated, rich.
They're going to enjoy a Picasso retrospective.
Some paintings, perhaps some drawings of Picasso of a particular period in his life.
Maybe the late years, maybe the early years.
I don't know.
It's at MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art, and it's on Friday.
Yeah.
To be honest, I've never been to a retrospective.
But if I could go, sure.
Especially Picasso.
I'd love to see some of Picasso's paintings.
I love painters.
Who do we have?
Painters.
George O'Keefe.
Picasso.
Yeah.
Are there other painters?
I can't think of anybody.
Oh, my God.
I'm such a country guy.
See, country guys, we don't go to retrospectives.
A retrospective?
What the hell is that?
I never heard of a retrospective.
But those city people, people who have a high education and a high income, people who enjoy drinking espresso and eating brunch.
They love retrospectives.
So I know many of you are brunch-eating cappuccino and espresso-drinking very fine citizens of the world, so you must know this word retrospective.
Enjoy the conversation two more times, and together, let's master English.
Are you going to Picasso's retrospective?
Oh, where is it?
At MoMA.
I'm going on Friday.
Oh, great.
I'd love to go with you.
Are you going to Picasso's retrospective?
Oh, where is it?
At MoMA.
I'm going on Friday.
Oh, great.
I'd love to go with you.
Thanks so much for listening.
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I'm Coach Shane, and together, let's master English.
