Friday, December 12, 2008

Celtic Thunder hangover

Ever since the concert, I find I'm listening to some of the songs I used to sort of skip over to get to my favorites. Now that I've seen them performed live, it's piqued my interest. Needless to say, CT is the only thing playing in my car lately, aside from yesterday when Alex grabbed the ipod and played some sort of rap thing, which was okay, but not when all I want to listen to is CT. It's like the last song you listen to in the car TOTALLY stays in your head all day until you get in your car and listen to a different song. Then that one stays in your head until the next time. It's a vicious cycle, really.

Today driving Samantha to school, we were listening to one of Damien's songs, and she said, Oh, is this Damien? I said, Yes, you know your Celtic Thunder. After a minute or so, she says, Turn it off! I don't want to listen to music! I got a little mad and said, This is my car, and I do! She said, No, if I listen to this, it gets stuck in my head all day. I said, This kind of music will probably help you at school, it's that good. She said, No, yesterday I almost couldn't write because all I could hear was that song. The thing is I know what she's talking about, so I did turn it off for her. Oh, well.

4 comments:

Mark Regan said...

You might buy a copy of the CD for her to bring to the Music Appreciation Teacher. She might get an A, plus get to hear the song IN SCHOOL and tell all her friends she actually SAW DAMIAN IN PERSON.

Then she could show off her expertise by writing a term paper naming each of the instruments used during the show, and why that particular instrument was chosen by the Music Director, Phil Coulter, to achieve a particular mood to reinforce the lyrics of the song and the personality of the singer(s).

Then in Math class she could write about the demographics the show appeals to, females between ages 7 to 70, concentrated between 14 and 40, and which singer appeals to each age segment within that group and why, and how the song selections and singer's personalities are use to cause a particular emotional bond with that target audience.

In language class she could write about the use of Gaelic to translate the Greek phrase used in the FIRST song, and what that phrase means in English. She could also comment on the use of the phrase Requerdeme, and what it means, and what language it derives from, and why an Irish singer who belongs in an opera was chosen to sing it.

In Geography class she could help the class learn about the Mountains of Mourne, and why they are so special and loved by the Irish. She could also tell the class what the term used in Keith's song describing the act of digging in the streets as "looking for gold" really means -- easy to do if your city has subways, a bit harder if not.

In Moral Guidance or Religion or such similar class she could get the class involved in a discussion of how the song The Voyage is NOT about sailors or shipmates after all, but marriage, and the sailor singing the song is really the husband, and his wife is really the first mate, and the crew is actually their children.

The Old Man can be used by both parents and teachers to teach the kids the finality of death, and the heartache of regretting not telling your parents that you love them while they are still around.

That's a Woman can be used to warn young girls why they should not he deceived by the gilded tongue of a handsome suitor when they have a steady, loving, faithful and dependable boyfriend already on hand.

Christmas 1915 (OOOPS, that wasn't in the show, so here is a link to it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Exflbnmfqzg) cam be used in civics class to illustrate the horrors of war and how peaceful people can question and countermand the wars created for the benefit of the "captains and the Kings".

You get the drift. Check my site for the lyrics to each song, print them out for your daughter, go over them and what they mean at home, then let her take them to school with the DVD (or CD) and she'll know what to do from there.

And watch her grades improve as she still gets to sing along with their music AT SCHOOL with approval of the teachers.

And maybe if you live close enough to one of the venues Celtic Thunder will appear at during their 2009 US Tour, the WHOLE CLASS can come as a FIELD TRIP.

Mark Regan said...

Forgot to post the link to my site containing links to the lyrics of each song, plus links to YouTube videos of each song, plus information about the show and each vocalist:

http://knol.google.com/k/mark-regan/celtic-thunder/3oo5lhklxb3l0/2#

Robyn said...

Bounty Hunter -
I guess we got lucky - they did perform Christmas 1915. It's now my nephew's favorite song! My daughter is loving Castles in the Air and Heartbreaker right now. But she's only in first grade. So while she COULD probably handle most of your Celtic Thunder as a learning tool suggestions, she is in a K/1 split class, and most of the kindergardeners still can't write their own names. Although I know they'd enjoy the music...

Mark Regan said...

Hi, Robyn:

I didn't hear them sing Castles in the Air. But I'd bet k/1-ers would like to dance or march to Ireland's Call. It has a snappy beat (as it is used as a rally cry during soccer games in Ireland, if my understanding is correct.)

Well, I'd bet her favorite Damian song is Puppy Love. When she gets older you can get your mom to tell her all about how the girls used to scream about Elvis and the Beatles, and you can tell her how Celtic Thunder is BETTER than both them, and that YOU got to actually SEE Damian.

I've got a grand daughter about a year older than your daughter, and when she was your daughter's age, I went to see a "play" they put on. It was cute. that is a good age for them to develop self confidence, and singing and dancing and marching in front of their parents and teachers and classmates helps them in that process.

Glad to make your acquaintance. You sound like a great mom.