A Brief History: American Music

If you were to ask an American to name a pop star from each decade, these are names that many would be familiar with. Below is a list to get you started on learning more about American music, with links to a famous song from each artist and a brief explanation of why each one is so popular. In order to keep the list short, we didn’t include British artists like the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Adele, and countless more, but we’ll have a follow-up post for that!

2000s:

Lady Gaga: Famous for her unusual style and not wearing pants. Some of her most popular hits are Judas, Born This Way, and Alejandro.

Taylor Swift: Initially famous for being a country singer, Swift quickly started producing pop music. A common theme of her music is her past relationships and breakups. One of her most popular songs in recent years is Shake It Off.

Beyonce: Beyonce first became famous in the nineties as part of a group called Destiny’s Child. She later became a solo artist. She is married to Jay-Z, a famous rapper. She’s received a lot of attention lately for her performances and music videos highlighting issues related to race in America. Single Ladies is considered one of the best-selling singles of all time, and the dance moves from this video are frequently imitated by other dancers.

Kanye West:  Kanye West is popular not only for his music, but his controversial and confusing statements, especially in interviews. West is known for being outspoken, as he demonstrated when he famously stood up during Taylor Swift’s awards speech at the MTV Music Video awards to say that Beyonce should have won instead. Kanye West is married to famous reality star Kim Kardashian. All Falls Down and Homecoming are two popular songs he’s had over the past few years.

90s:

Vanilla Ice: Vanilla Ice was a “one-hit wonder,” meaning that he was popular for only one of his songs. Ice Ice Baby is one of the most iconic songs of the nineties.

Tupac Shakur: Tupac (also known as 2Pac) is considered one of the greatest rappers of all time, and continues to be a best-selling artist 20 years after his death at the age of 25. He also collaborated with several famous rappers, as seen in California Lovin, a collaboration with Dr. Dre.

** FILE **This 1993 file photo shows rap musician Tupac Shakur. A new biopic on the slain rapper Shakur is coming. Morgan Creek Productions and Emmett/Furla Films announced in a Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013, news release they are in final negotiations to partner on the production of “Tupac.” (AP Photo/FILE)

Britney Spears: One of the most famous pop artists of the nineties. She had a comeback in the mid-2000s after struggles with mental health issues. The song that first brought her to fame was …Baby One More Time.

A Note on  Boy Bands: The nineties was the era of the boy bands, including The Backstreet Boys, N*Sync (whose lead singer, Justin Timberlake, later went on to a solo career), and 98 Degrees.

Nirvana: One of the most influential rock bands of the nineties. Kurt Cobain, the lead guitarist and singer, wanted to break free of the traditional rock music at the time and mixed punk rock and pop sounds.  Smells Like Teen Spirit is one of their most iconic songs. Cobain committed suicide in 1994, but the band continues to be popular among those who grew up in the nineties.

Eminem: One of the most influential rappers, Eminem was also one of the first white rappers to become famous in a mostly black music genre. Slim Shady and Lose Yourself are some of his most famous songs.

80s: 

Prince: Prince, who died in 2016, was an iconic musician all through the eighties and nineties. He is known for breaking gender and racial stereotypes, particularly in his androgynous fashion style and how he performed on-stage. Purple Rain is one of his best-known songs.

Whitney Houston: One of the most awarded and best-selling female musicians of all time. She is especially known for the quality of her voice. I Will Always Love You is one of her most well-known songs.

Whitney Houston in the movie “The Bodyguard”

Madonna: One of the most famous artists of the past several decades, and the best-selling female recording artist of all time. Like A Prayer is a song that has stood the test of time (in other words, it remains popular over time and from generation to generation). What makes Madonna so important is that she made it possible for other female solo artists after her to become successful. Madonna is especially beloved in the gay community, and has even earned the nickname “Her Madgesty.”

70s:

Aerosmith: This rock band was strongly influenced by the success of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Dream On is one of their biggest hits, and Eminem borrowed parts of the song in his own music.

Kiss: A heavy metal and hard rock band known for wearing white and black face paint during performances. Here’s a video of them performing Love it Loud in their typical costumes and makeup.

Bob Dylan: Known as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, he popularized folk music and typically played with a harmonica on-stage. Here’s a video of him performing Man of Constant Sorrow at a very young age.

60s:

The Grateful Dead: This band combined reggae, rock, folk, and bluegrass music styles. The band is frequently associated with hippie culture. Fans of the band were known as “deadheads.” Truckin’  was recognized by the Library of Congress as a national treasure.

The Beach Boys: Compare the Beach Boys to the boy bands of the 1990s, and you probably wouldn’t recognize the two sounds. The Beach Boys were a band of mostly brothers who played 1950s-style rock n’roll. Good Vibrations remains one of their most recognized songs.

The Doors: Like The Grateful Dead, The Doors played a critical role in the hippie movement of the 1960s. Riders on the Storm remains a popular song today.

The Jackson 5 (which led to Michael Jackson): The Jackson 5 consisted of brothers from the Jackson family–most notably, Michael and Germaine Jackson, who would both go on to solo careers. ABC and Shake Your Body show the contrast between Michael Jackson’s voice as a child and a young adult.

50s:

Elvis Presley: Known as the King of Rock n’ Roll, no other artist in history has sold as many records (Michael Jackson comes in second and Madonna in third). He was influenced by gospel music and one of the first performers of the rockabilly genre, a combination of blues and rock. Here he is performing Jailhouse Rock.

The Supremes: An all-female vocal group, the Supremes were one of the first group of black female performing artists to achieve fame without relying on dance routines or masculinized appearances. The group typically performed in gowns and wore elaborate wigs and makeup to appear elegant and classy. Stop in the Name of Love stands the test of time.

Frank Sinatra: Considered a timeless artist, Frank Sinatra was a solo artist known for wearing tuxedos and custom suits during his performances. He was also an actor in numerous films. Come Fly with Me is still a timeless classic.

Ray Charles: Ray Charles was a musician who combined blues, jazz, and country music, and he’s nicknamed the High Priest of Soul. He was blind most of his life.  Hit the Road Jack and I Got a Woman are two of his most famous songs (note that “I Got a Woman” influenced Kanye West’s Gold Digger).

That’s our brief history of American music from the 1950s to present. How many of them were you most familiar with? Who do you listen to? Discuss your favorite American music with a Conversation Partner!

 

Slang Series: Food

Introduction:

Americans use a lot of slang to talk about food. In this lesson, we’ll learn about some basic slang that’s very commonly used, especially among millennial Americans (those who are around 20-30 years old).

Today, we’ll learn five new terms related to food.

Key Vocabulary:

hangry (adjective): to be angry or irritable because you’re hungry

Source: Thrillist

 

to grab (brunch, lunch, dinner) (verb): to eat out with someone else at a restaurant; do not confuse this with “having someone over” for a meal, which means to invite someone to eat in your home

Source: sfgate

 

a food coma (or food baby) (noun): refers to when someone eats an excessive amount of food and can’t move; we typically say that someone “in” a food coma or “has” a food baby

Source: imgur

the freshman 15 (or 20) (noun): this term refers to the trend of  weight gain among freshmen college students

Source: campusriot.com

 

Examples:

I always carry a granola bar in my bag so that I don’t get hangry.

Wanna grab a bite to eat?

Lots of students gain the freshman 15 from eating at the dining halls and drinking a lot.

I ate so much at that all-you-can-eat sushi place that I was in a food coma the rest of the day.

Practice Exercise: Match the vocabulary words above to the situations below.

1. I ate half of my birthday cake by myself. Now I have a _____________.
2. Let’s ______ brunch on Saturday morning.
3. Are you _______? You’re being mean. Here, have a cookie.
4. They are going to the gym every day to avoid gaining the ______________.

Practice Exercise 2: Practice using the phrases above in the following situations:

• you want to invite a friend out for dinner
• you ate an entire plate of fries and feel sleepy
• you want to warn your friend that you haven’t eaten in a few hours and you’re feeling irritable
• you are giving your friend tips to avoid gaining weight during his first year at Temple

Discuss in the comments below or with a Conversation Partner: Talk about a time you were really hangry. What did you do? What were the circumstances? How long did it last?

Where was the last place you grabbed brunch, lunch, or dinner off-campus with friends? Did you like it? Why or why not? Where else do you plan to grab food off campus? Click here to explore options for grabbing food in Philly and discuss your options.

When was the last time you were in a food coma? What had you eaten? What kinds of food tend to make you feel really full?

 

 

 

Navigating Friendship with Americans: Small Talk

How do you know if you’re a friend or an acquaintance? In English, we often give cues as to how close we want to become with a person through our texting language, frequency of communication, and where we hang out.

Pay attention to where you hang out and why. Are you only hanging out on-campus? Do you only meet up to study or discuss school? Then you might just be classmates or acquaintances, but not friends.

If you have started hanging out off-campus, at someone’s house, and/or you’ve started discussing things related to your personal lives rather than just school, you are gradually becoming friends.

How do you reach out to a classmate to hang out as friends?

Initiate small talk. Small talk is how most Americans begin making connections:

–Comment on the most recent assignment or class. Students often bond and become friends by talking (or sometimes, complaining) about what’s going on in class.

• Ugh, it took me forever to write this paper. I was up all last night.
• Yeah, me too. The assignment really didn’t make any sense.
• I know, right?

–Compliment them. Americans sometimes give compliments to open a conversation. For example:

• I love your necklace! Where did you get it?
• Oh, I bought it at the Punk Rock Flea Market.
• Where’s that?
• It’s a flea market at 10th and Spring Garden. They host it a few times a month on Saturdays and Sundays.
• Oh that’s cool! I love going to flea markets.
• Next time they’re having one, I’ll let you know. Maybe we can go together.

See how that conversation led to an invitation to hang out? That doesn’t always happen, but it could if you are able to keep the conversation going.

–Comment on your surroundings. Maybe it’s particularly hot that day, or maybe there was just a huge snowstorm. Maybe there’s no one in class that day. Find something in your immediate surroundings to comment on. This works especially well in social settings like parties and events. Here are two examples:

In the classroom:

• Wow, where is everyone? Nobody’s in class today.
• It’s because of the snow. I bet a lot of people can’t get to class.
• Yeah, it’s crazy. I couldn’t even open my front door this morning. Luckily, I could walk to school, but I wish our building maintenance would shovel.
• Our landlord sends someone to shovel for us. Where do you live?
• I’m over on 17th and Cecil. You?
• Oh, I’m only a block away.

At a social event:

• Wow, there are a lot of people here.
• Yeah, I think it was posted on Facebook so a lot of people got invited.
• How do you know (name of host)?
• Oh, we were roommates freshman year.
• Cool! I met her through another friend. Do you know Katie?
• Oh yeah! Katie Smith? She’s in my archaeology lab.
• Are you an archaeology major?
• Yeah.
• I’m thinking of switching to archaeology. What do you think of the program?

In both of these conversations, there is the potential for future interaction–maybe you and your classmate could walk to class together, or you and the person you met at the party could meet up for coffee to talk about the archaeology program.

Start small. Inviting the person to get coffee or a drink is low-stakes. That means, if you discover that the conversation isn’t going well, you can always make an excuse to end the interaction after one coffee or drink.

Eating dinner, going to a concert, movie, or other event, or visiting someone’s house are usually reserved for once you’ve established that you have a connection and want to be friends with this person.

Discuss: How do you usually initiate small talk? What’s worked well in the past?

 

Cursing in English: What’s ok? What’s not?

Swearing. Cursing. Cussing. These are all words we use to describe offensive or bad language. Depending on what region of the United States someone is from, they might curse a lot more often. We often describe someone using clean or dirty language.

For example:

• The politician needs to clean up her language if she wants to be elected. (She needs to curse less for public office.)
• For a little kid, he has a dirty mouth.(He curses a lot, which is surprising given his age.)

Censorship:

Have you ever heard a beeping sound over words in a song, music video, or TV show? That’s censorship.

How about this?  Sh*t. That’s censorship too. We typically add an asterisk to the vowel in a curse word to make it more appropriate for certain contexts.

Another way that we censor cursing is by substituting words. In the popular TV show Battlestar Galactica, “frack” or “fracking” is used to replace the word “f*ck.”

Here are some other examples of less appropriate language being substituted for cleaner language:

• Damn–> darn
• Oh my God–> oh my gosh*
• Sh*t–> crap, shoot
• Sh*t (as a noun)–> stuff
• I’m pissed (off)–> I’m annoyed

*Note: Many people (particularly those who follow the Jewish religion) do not believe in writing God on paper. Instead, you might see them write G-d. They believe that the name could be defaced or erased if written anywhere.

Hierarchy of swearing severity: What someone will consider offensive obviously varies from person to person, but some curse words are definitely more offensive than others in the English language.

Most offensive:

• racial slurs (anything that makes fun of a particular racial group)
• curse words targeted at someone’s gender or sexuality

Middle of the road (not the most or least offensive–not all of them are curse words, but they might be considered insulting):

• words that describe people, such as asshole, dickhead, or douchebag

Least offensive:

• damn
• crap

In what settings do Americans swear?

Perhaps the easier question to answer is when Americans don’t swear.

• in teaching settings (it is more acceptable at the university level than with students under 18)
• in a formal presentation
• in an academic writing assignment
• on public TV or radio
• certain movies (movies rated G or PG do not contain swearing)

Discuss: 

Read the article about a town that tried to ban swearing. Do you think banning or censoring swearing is effective? Why or why not? 

What are the rules surrounding cursing and swearing in your home language(s)? What do you find different or most surprising here?

Are we just friends, or is this a date?

How do you know you are friends with someone? Acquaintances? More than friends?

Where do you hang out? One way to determine if someone is more than just an acquaintance is to examine the locations where you hang out. If you hang out only on campus or in the classroom, you are likely just acquaintances. If you are hanging out off-campus, you are starting to enter friendship territory. Once you are regularly hanging out at someone’s house or apartment, that usually signals that you’re becoming closer friends.

What are the person’s intentions? One way to know someone’s intentions is to examine how they are asking questions and where they are inviting you. Look at the examples below. Which ones do you think are formal invitations? Which ones are casual? Which ones could possibly be dates?

• Let’s meet up for coffee sometime.
• Do you want to have dinner with me this Friday?
• You hungry? Let’s grab something to eat.
• Hey, I’m on my way to Chipotle. Wanna come?
• There’s a concert this Saturday. I have an extra ticket, and I was wondering if you’d like to go with me.

Let’s look at each of these phrases more closely:

• Let’s meet up for coffee sometime.

Anytime someone says “sometime” or does not give a more specific timeline, this could be a polite way to end the conversation. Maybe the person wants to get coffee, but doesn’t want to make specific plans right at that moment. Or, maybe the person does not want to pinpoint a specific date because they aren’t that committed to making plans.

These kinds of vague invitations are often used when two people haven’t seen each other in a long time, like in the example below:

• Hey, long time no see!
• I know, how are you?
• Good, how about you?
• I’m great. Hey, I gotta run–I’m on my way to class–but we should grab coffee sometime!
• Sounds great. See you later!

Note that this could me a way of testing the waters by putting out a feeler to see if the other person is interested: if the other person seems lukewarm to the idea, then the person offering the invitation has an easy way out since no time was specified. In other words, he or she can decide not to follow through with more specific plans if the other person doesn’t seem interested.

Compare the vague invitation above to the more specific ones below:

• Do you want to have dinner with me this Friday?
• There’s a concert this Saturday. I have an extra ticket, and I was wondering if you’d like to go with me.

Both of these examples have specific times, which means the person asking is serious about making plans. Both of these plans could possibly be dates, especially since the person asking says “with me.”

• You hungry? Let’s grab something to eat.
• Hey, I’m on my way to Chipotle. Wanna come?

Both of these are what we would call impromptu invitations. That means that they were not planned beforehand. They are probably casual, especially if there are other people invited (hanging out in groups is usually not considered a date). However, if you notice the same person is specifically asking you to hang out, they might be building up the courage to offer a more formal invitation, either as friends or on a date.

Takeaways:

Casual invitations are usually impromptu.

Formal invitations usually have a specific date and time.

Vague invitations are “sometime” in the future with no specific date or time. Some are genuine, some moight be the first steps to a more specific invitation, and some are just polite ways to end the conversation.

Discuss: What are some ways that you’ve been asked to hang out with someone? Share in the comments below or with a Conversation Partner!

 

 

What’s safe? Navigating Philly

Newcomers to Philadelphia often hear stories about how Philly is full of crime. They are told to avoid certain neighborhoods and to be careful on the street. But how do you know what’s actually safe and what’s not?

What do I do if someone on the street asks me for money or tries to follow me?

Usually just saying “sorry” or “sorry, no thanks” is an acceptable response. You can also just shake your head or choose to ignore that person if you don’t want to talk to him or her. If someone is following you, walk to a public place. Don’t be afraid to make noise or call for help.

How do I know if a taxi or Uber driver is a legitimate driver?

For taxis, there will always be a taxi ID number and phone number on the back of the partition between the driver’s seat and the back seat. You can write that number down in case for any reason you need to report that person.

For Uber drivers, wait for the driver to say your name before getting in the car. That is how the Uber driver confirms that he or she is picking up the correct person.

Who should I ask for help if I’m lost?

Ask a local SEPTA bus driver, someone at the SEPTA ticket booth, or a police officer. They are generally knowledgeable about the area. If none of those people is around, look for someone who appears to be a local (for example, someone working at a local coffee shop, pharmacy, or store). If you need to look at Google Maps on your phone, try to do it discreetly (not in an open space), since that may alert others that you’re lost and make you a target. A good strategy is to listen to the hands-free navigation on your headphones, with your smart device safely stored away.

How can I make myself less of a target for crime?

Conceal any valuables such as cell phones, iPads, or other electronic devices if you are in an area where you feel unsafe, or if you are alone in a public place. Try not to listen to loud music if you are walking alone (particularly at night) since that prevents you from hearing your surroundings.

See Temple’s Campus Safety webpage for more tips here.

Discuss in the comments below or with a Conversation Partner:

Have you ever felt unsafe in your neighborhood? Why or why not?

How do you typically respond when you feel unsafe?

What is crime like where you are from? Is crime often talked about in the news in your country? What advice have you received concerning staying safe in Philly?

 

 

The Variations of “how are you?” Explained

One of the first thing that many non-Americans notice is that “how are you?” is not actually a question, but a form of greeting. Most of our interactions with acquaintances, coworkers, and classmates go something like this:

“Hey, how are you?”

“I’m good, thanks. You?”

“Great!”

Or, if two people are passing each other in the hallway, it might be shortened to:

“How are you?”

“Hey, how are you?”

In this case, there’s no answer to either question. It is being used solely as a greeting.

However, there are certain situations in which someone might genuinely want to know how you are doing. You can usually tell that the person wants to know the answer to your question by the particular words they are stressing, or by the way they phrase the question:

Stress:

• How are you?

This person might be expressing concern or sympathy if they know you’ve been having a difficult time with something.

Phrasing of the question:

• How have you been lately?

The use of “lately” implies that you haven’t seen the person in a while.

• What have you been up to?

This question asks the other person to specifically talk about what they’ve been doing lately.

• How’s life?

This question could be both a form of greeting or an actual question. See the exchanges below:

Greeting:

• How’s life.
• Pretty good. You?

Actual Question:

• How’s life? Anything exciting going on?
• Yeah, actually. I just got engaged!

You might notice one pattern about questions as greetings versus actual questions: actual questions usually include a time marker (like lately) or a follow-up question. “What” questions are almost always asking for specific information:

• What’s going on in your life?
• What have you been up to?
• What’s new?

 

 

Upcoming Elections: The Basics

Here is some key vocabulary you need to know to understand the elections:

The U.S. is primarily a two-party system that consists of Republicans and Democrats. There are other political parties too, but they almost never get enough representation or votes in a general election.

During a Presidential election, there are two rounds of elections:

The primaries: when individual states vote. You must be registered with a particular party to vote in the primaries. The elections take place on different dates for each state, usually between February and June of election year.

The general election is when everyone votes nationally. Any registered voter can vote at this time. It always occurs on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of the month.

Here’s a chart that better explains the different political beliefs:

Far Left Radical left Left-wing

Liberal

Moderate

Independent (not affiliated with any party)

Conservative

Far Right Right-wing

Although many liberals are democrats and many conservatives are Republicans, that is not always the case.

 

One of the most complicated aspects of the U.S. voting system is the Electoral College. The Electoral College is not an actual college, but a process. U.S. citizens cannot vote directly for the President, but instead are indirect voters. In other words, when someone votes for a candidate, they are really voting for that candidate’s electors. Most states believe “winner takes all,” meaning that the winner gets all of the electors from that state. There are 538 electors, and a Presidential candidate needs at least 270 to win the election.

Why does the Electoral College exist? The Founding Fathers (the people who founded the U.S. and wrote the Constitution) decided that it would create fairness for less populous states (or states that at the time had less voters, such as those in the slavery-era South).

Key Vocabulary:

Term		Explanation		Examples
Third Party candidate		A candidate from a party other than the Democrats or Republicans.		Examples of third parties are the Green Party and the Libertarian Party.
Nominee		The candidate nominated by voters.		There is usually a Republican and a Democratic nominee.
Polling booth		Where people go to vote		Polling booth locations are decided by the zip code in which you live.
Electoral College		An institution of delegates who have pledged to vote for a certain candidate.		In 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote, but George W. Bush won the electoral vote.
Electoral vote		The number of votes		Americans eat a lot of Chinese, Greek, Italian, and more.  You can find almost any country’s food across the U.S.
Slang
Protest vote		When someone votes for a third-party candidate knowing they won’t win. This person usually doesn’t want to vote for either the Democratic or the Rebulican nominee.
Bleeding heart liberal		Historically, many liberals emphathize with other people’s pain, which is how they earned this name.		TGIF’s, Chili’s, Applebees, Chipotle
RINO		This acronym stands for “Republican in name only.” It could refer to a voter who is a registered Republican but has more liberal views, or an elected official who is Republican but sides with liberals.		He’s a RINO. He used to be more conservative, but he’s becoming more liberal.
Fiscal conservative		Someone who believes in lowering taxes, public spending, and national debt.		She’s a social liberal but a fiscal conservative.
Libertarian		A political movement that emphasizes freedom of choice for the individual rather than policies put in place by government institutions.		Libertarians may oppose universal healthcare but support unregulated capitalism.
Blue or red state		A blue state usually votes Democratic, and a red state usually votes Republican.		Pennsylvania has gone blue in the past six elections.
Swing state		A state that frequently goes back and forth between Democratic and Republican.		Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are all considered swing states since the outcome is sometimes hard to predict.
Convention		These are the official national conventions at which delegates announce the nominee for their respective parties.		The Democratic Convention for this election is in Philadelphia.
Caucus		Caucuses are unofficial meetings of political party members to choose delegates.
Partisan		favoring the views of one particular political party		The move to repeal President Obama’s healthcare bill has led to a partisan Congress.
Bipartisan		favoring the mutual agreement of both groups		In April 2016, the Senate passed a bipartisan energy bill.

Philly Slang: The history of “jawn” and “joint”

Philly has a lot of its own slang, including water ice (Italian ice), hoagie (a sub sandwich), and youse (you guys). Perhaps the most uniquely Philly word is “jawn.” You might hear it in sentences like these:

Put some extra cheese on that jawn.

Bring that jawn to the jawn.

“Jawn” is not used in any other city, but it does have ties to New York slang. It comes from another English word, “joint,” which is commonly used in the New York city region. Although the two words sound similar and have similar meanings, there are some key differences:

“Joint” and “jawn” are both slang for a place (particularly a restaurant or bar):

Meet me at the pizza joint.

Hey, you been to that new joint on 34th Street?

Let’s check out that jawn.

However, “jawn” has other meanings beyond “place”:

I got some jawn to do.

Did you see that cute jawn over there?

Check out the video below to hear other Philly slang!

 

Sources: http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-enduring-mystery-of-jawn-philadelphias-allpurpose-noun

 

Welcome!

Welcome to the official blog of the Conversation Partners program at Temple University!

Why are we starting a blog?  

One of the most common questions we get from students is “what do I talk about for a full hour with a stranger I’ve never met?”

The answer is that there’s a lot to talk about beyond just your major and your classes. With this blog, we are hoping to start more conversation about culture and language both in the Writing Center and beyond the Writing Center’s walls.

What kinds of things can I expect to find here? 

Blog posts about cultural issues

Interviews of international students and staff

Photos and videos

Conversation starters–interesting discussion questions, news articles, etc.

Events: cultural discussions, movies, lunches, and more!