Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Intro

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

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• approachable
• sign
• label
• branch out

• mainstream
• ahead of the times
• edge
• poppy

• draw in
• punk rock trio

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

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It can make you feel pretty cool when a band you’ve loved forever suddenly goes mainstream. Obviously, you must’ve been ahead of the times to be a fan of that group before most people had even heard of it. On the other hand, it sucks when a band becomes more popular by changing its sound or losing its edge.

Devan has been a fan of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs for a long time. Listen to the dialog to find out how she feels about the band becoming more mainstream with its new album, It’s Blitz.

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.

Ella

Devan

Ella:  Yeah yeah yeah…Um, who…what is this? What is this group about? I…

Devan:  Oh you haven’t heard of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs?

Ella:  No. I’ve not not not.

Devan:  Oh, they’re so awesome. It’s got a female singer, her name’s Karen O, and they have a new album coming out, which is much more poppy, more dance music than their old stuff. But they started out being kind of like a punk rock trio. But this is much more of an approachable album. She used to scream a lot and be really noisy. But now their songs, you know, definitely are more accessible. You could hear them played out on the dance floor.

Ella:  Oh, so are they becoming kind of mainstream now?

Devan:  Yeah, they’re definitely appealing to the mainstream more. They signed with a bigger label, and they’re definitely branching out to a bigger community. But I’m really excited about the new album. It’s called It’s Blitz and…

Ella:  I mean, what drew you to this group?

Devan:  Just her charisma, her energy when she’s on stage. She’s definitely got such like a big, strong personality, and she really draws you in with her energy. I hope that she still has that same energy on this album that she used to have, ‘cause I would hate to see her go too mainstream.

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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