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Here's a playlist to help you get in the mood before diving into this tricky, prickly, icky, kissy, lovely, sticky, wicked topic of love!
Here's a playlist to help you get in the mood before diving into this tricky, prickly, icky, kissy, lovely, sticky, wicked topic of love!
Back when I was younger, my older cousin would create mixtapes of her favorite songs. When she would catch one of them on the radio, she'd press the red button on her cassette player to record it on her tape--that's how things were done back then! Although mixtapes were tedious to make, they were labors of love. Friends would swap tapes and lovers would dedicate mixtapes to each other. Mixtapes were the precursors to your Spotify playlists. My generation, on the other hand, would burn CDs. We would download songs from Limewire and burn them on CDs. The songs in a cd could be randomly selected or be based according to a unifying theme, artist, occasion, etc. I loved the practice of mixtapes and cd burning because it reflects the spirit of sharing that I think music embodies.
To introduce love, I thought it would be fitting to start with a Spotify playlist--the 21st century version of mixtapes and cds. Though you're not required to listen to it, I encourage you to do so during your free time--on the way home from school, in the shower, or while you're doing chores just to get into the mood. I think that the theme of love expressed through song makes the expression even more powerful. Although it was difficult to whittle them down to less than 30 songs, I was able to compile some of my personal favorites from the 21st Century into a single playlist. These songs about love (from both local and international artistis) tackle its joys and sorrows, triumphs and "failures", and many other aspects of this tricky, prickly, icky, kissy, lovely, sticky, wicked little thing.
Audio: This Thing Called "LOVE"
Audio: This Thing Called "LOVE"
After listening to the audio, fun fact: Did you know that Bulaqueños have a very peculiar (and prickly) kind of courtship?
What's known as naninilong (from the word silong which means "basement") involves the suitor going beneath his lady love's nipa hut at night and poking her with a pointed object (like a stick from your handy ting-ting) in order to wake her. Once she's awake, the two can start conversing in hushed tones so as not to wake anyone else--most especially the father! Resourceful!
As far as I know, we no longer poke each other with ting-tings to show affection (unless that's your thing), but we do "poke" people on Facebook. Although such traditional means of courtship may no longer be practiced, love and its expression is timeless. The means and the medium may change--but not the message. What was once harana-sa-tapat-ng-bahay could now be translated as snaps proclaiming one's affection. The sonnets of Shakespeare may no longer be as popular as it was back then, but the love expressed still finds its way in contemporary form.
One contemporary form that has gained a huge following is spoken word poetry. Watch the video "When Love Arrives" to see an example of this newly popularized form.
Unraveling Spoken Word
Unraveling Spoken Word
Click on this link if you want an audio version of the text (unless you hate the sound of my voice).
Before we proceed further on the topic of love, let's try to understand spoken word as a movement--its roots, purposes, and distinct features, as well as how technology has helped in its popularity.
First of all, what is spoken word? Even as a teacher, I'm still learning about spoken word and how to approach this not-really-novel but recently widespread means of poetic expression. The first time I watched what was described as a spoken word performance was on Youtube. It was Sarah Kay’s Ted Talk which was the spoken word piece “If I Should Have a Daughter”. I was both intrigued and confused. Is it a monologue? Is it slam poetry? Is it performance poetry? All of the above? As a William Shakespeare fan since high school, I appreciate his immense contribution to the stage in terms of monologues and soliloquies (If you want an awesome example of Shakespeare’s works, check out these two incredible pieces. His use of language through wordplay and the emotions his words emanate are astounding. I also like slam poetry pieces like the ones that would be performed in HBO’s past show Brave New Voices (check out this video from HBO's Brave New Voices) or the ones that emerged from Def Jam Poetry. I especially appreciate those that treat speaking like an acrobatic performance.
When I was introduced to spoken word poetry, I found the form quite fascinating and sometimes, weirdly unsettling. As an English teacher, I wondered how to describe it. Is it theater? Poetry? Performance? Is it a well-crafted solo performance piece or is it just some person spewing well-written emotion in front of an audience? I’ve only seen a live performance twice (maybe thrice) and I found them personally unsettling. I’m just not used to such emotions when reading poetry. Even when I read aloud poems that tug at the heartstrings or strike a deep chord, my emotion is restrained to give deference to the words. Spoken word, on the other hand, is unafraid of emotional expression--in fact, a great performance almost necessitates it. But maybe not? I am not so sure but from what I’ve watched, most spoken word pieces teem with emotion. So many questions... (but the answers are so few!)
Let's watch the video (above) to know more about spoken word history and after, take a look at the four other videos (below) as good examples of Spoken Word pieces. There's also a Youtube playlist you can take a look at during your free time. Lastly, share your thoughts on spoken word poetry via the googleform.
What started out as a spoken word piece then turned into a movement to end bullying. This is a wonderful example of how words can compel action.
A new piece from Sarah Kay, but also pay attention to the beginning, where she talks about her source of inspiration in writing poetry.
The performers being themselves, representing minorities in the U.S., add to the power of the words. They also become the message.
The emotional restraint, the mellifluous intonation, the cutting statements--these are some of the elements that make this piece memorable.
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