3. Topic - Music

Hello, hello. I am James and I live in Manchester in the UK and you're listening to English with a brew. A podcast where I talk about different day-to-day topics to help you learn English in the most natural way possible and that is only by listening to it. So as we say in Manchester, get a brew on and let's get started. Today I'm talking about music. What's your favourite type of music to listen to or favourite genre of music to listen to? There's all kinds of different types of music. The most common or maybe the most popular is pop music. You can hear pop music on the radio, in the car when you're driving the car, in a shop, maybe in the supermarket. You hear pop music all of the time in all kinds of places but there are loads of other types of music too and you can listen to rock music or metal. Metal is like rock but heavier, we say heavier or louder maybe. There's lots of different types or sub types you could say of metal. There's heavy metal, death metal, thrash metal, lots of different types and you can just call them all metal. Maybe you like to listen to rap music or hip-hop in the UK, in England. We have a genre of music, a type of rap music called grime. It's really popular and quite good. Or maybe you like to listen to folk music, classical music, something more traditional or maybe slightly older. But they're all music that usually use instruments like guitars or drums or have a singer. But there are types of music that have no real instruments I suppose, electronic music for example. You could listen to house music, drum and bass music. Drum and bass is I think from the UK and was really popular in maybe the 90s, the 1990s and it's quite popular again now. Or garage music like where you store your car. But garage music is a genre too. Or maybe you like something more relaxing, more calm, like ambient electronic music without any drums or aggressive beats. There are lots of different ways to listen to music now. When I was young, when I was growing up, you had to wait for an album to come out and you would go down to a music shop, to a CD shop or record shop and maybe even wait in line. Or you'd pre-ordered the record so you paid for the album before it is released or before it came out. And then you would go and pick it up on the day and then sometimes before I was old enough to drive you would ask your parents, perhaps your mum or dad to play it in the car for you on the way back from the shop because you were so so excited to listen to it. But now I don't think many people do that. Maybe if you still buy the physical disc, you order it online on a website and get it delivered to your house. But I think that most times it's most common to just stream it, to listen to the album or a new song on Spotify, for example, Apple Music, Tidal. There are loads of different streaming services where you can listen to music as soon as it comes out, as soon as it's released. And when you really like a band or an artist, you can go to a concert or a gig, we might call it, in the UK and watch your favourite band or artist perform live. You might buy the tickets online on a website or an app, a mobile app, queue up outside. Sometimes you need to go through security where they'll check your bags. And usually you'll see a different band play. They can be similar to the band that you went to see. We call them the Warm Up Act or the Support Act. And then the band that you went to see come on to stage and perform. And usually they'll leave the stage towards the end of the concert and come back. And everyone cheers. Yeah! And they'll play one last song. And we call that song an encore. Also, I think that music is a great way to meet people and to make new friends. When you meet someone new for the first time, you can ask them, "Hey, what kind of music do you like?" And then, "Have you been to any gigs lately?" And they might say, "Yeah! Last night, actually, I saw this band called Rage Against the Machine. They were amazing." Or you can ask, "Hey, have you heard the new Beyoncé album?" And they might say, "No way, man! I only listen to death metal." I also think that music is a really good way, an excellent way, to learn a language. You can listen to songs in the language that you're trying to learn. Maybe you already listened to music in English. And it's a great way to learn new words and new phrases. Sometimes I listen to music in Spanish, because I'm learning Spanish. But you could also listen to music in German, French, Japanese, maybe Korean, or another language. And now, anyway, it's your turn. Tell me, what is your favourite genre of music? Perhaps you have a favourite band or artist that you enjoy listening to? What's your favourite song that they have made? Let me know in the comments. And well, that is everything for today's episode. This was episode three of English with a brew, and as always, I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know in the comments, if you did, or if you didn't. And tell me what topics you'd like to hear me talk about in future episodes. I hope you have an absolutely wonderful day, morning, afternoon, or evening, whatever time it is where you are. Take care.