Flight of the Conchords

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

• genre
• parody
• corny
• comedic

• dorky
• duo
• sold out
• following

• throw someone off
• behind the scenes

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

On their TV show, Flight of the Conchords only have one fan, a dorky woman who is obsessed with the band. But in real life, the duo plays sold out shows and has a huge international following.

Flight of the Conchords is Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, two guys from New Zealand who sing funny songs that imitate all different styles of music, from hip-hop to heavy metal. The band also developed a TV series based on their music. The show follows the two musicians as they try to attract more American fans and adjust to life in the United States. Bret and Jemaine make fun of themselves on the show by pretending they don’t have any talent and can’t understand the American way of life.

Listen to what Dale and Jason think about Flight of the Conchords.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Dale

Jason

Dale:  Are you familiar with Flight of the Conchords?

Jason:  Oh yes.

Dale:  I watched the behind the scenes making of the first season of what they did on HBO.

Jason:  Oh, OK.

Dale:  These two guys from New Zealand actually create their own songs, write the script for their show, they actually play all the songs and the music at the same time. And every show they do so far has been sold out. And so far every single one is just a totally different group of people that you would never really pay attention to. I mean it shocks me. It’s kind of surprising.

Jason:  I mean it makes some sense because all the songs they do are from different genres. They’re just like parodies of techno, of hip-hop, of rock…

Dale:  So it really hits the whole set of genres of people. And the way they are, they’re two New Zealanders that are in the United States learning the culture.

Jason:  Right, right.

Dale:  I’m just…I’ve been a big fan.

Jason:  And I think that the parodies are really good. I mean, they’re really funny and it’s not like Weird Al, it’s not corny.

Dale:  A lot of people are shocked about it because when they say a duo that does comedic music, it actually throws everybody off. But now everybody’s like…I mean I’ll be at a club and I’ll hear “Business Time” or…

Jason:  Nice. That’s when you know it’s successful, when a parody enters the real world.

 

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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