Skyfall: A Tribute to Amy Winehouse

Adele wrote and recorded the theme song for the James Bond film Skyfall, which featured Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris and Judi Dench, back in 2012. The previous year, Amy Winehouse had tragically died at the early age of 27. Here you can watch a tribute to the late singer in the voice of Adele, with pictures of Amy and the lyrics in Spanish, published in the YouTube channel @capobocacampeon, which, in my opinion, gives Adele's song an overwhelming pathos, as you recall the absurd death of young Amy.  

The words in the song are quite simple, which allows for its use with B1 students, B2 and above: they can find here a lesson plan with a fill-in-the gap exercise and the key, to practise listening, speaking and reading with the links in this entry. Some expressions that can be learnt from the song are: to drown, overdue, to owe, to sweep (swept, swept), to crumble, to collide.

Both Adele and Amy attended the BRITS School in Croydon, but, according to Emma Dooney, Amy wasn't very nice to Adele once they met later on in Candem Town, both already prominent artists. B2 learners can read this story of celebrity gossip, Adele's unfriendly pool encounter with Amy Winehouse revealed, which was published in the magazine Mary Claire in 2022, and they may pick up expressions like: to snub, a late [musician], the [mid-]noughties, to laud, to credit, mournfully, [her] legacy, poisoning, to struggle with [addiction and mental health issues], to rock [the entertainment world], to prompt, an outpouring [of grief], an icon, heartbreaking, never ever, [her] wellbeing, super-duper [human], to tarnish, to pave the way, [fearlessly] hilarious, blasé, charming.

If you prefer to watch the Official Lyric Video of Skyfall (in English), here is the link. and if you'd rather watch a live performance of the song in the CBS special concert Adele One Night Only (2021), please, click here. Below, you can find the YouTube tribute to Amy Winehouse in the voice of Adele:

Trump vs. Pope Leo, in the Jimmy Kimmel Show

Jimmy Kimmel is a comedian and a late night host, who often satirizes powerful people like President Donald J. Trump on ABC TV channel. Clowns have traditionally been the only people in court who dared to tell the truth to the emperor, without fear of having their head chopped off. Of course, the Jimmy Kimmel Show was suspended after the Trump administration bitterly criticized a monologue and put political pressure on ABC to end the show, but "the backlash from both Democrat & Republican leading politicians, entertainers, scholars and the public at large to defend freedom of speech with boycotts against Disney, ABC and some broadcast station owners", made Disney (ABC's parent corporation) think twice and resume production of the Jimmy Kimmel Show after five days.

In this context, you can watch yesterday's monologue by Jimmy Kimmel below, where the actor pokes fun at President Trump's attempt to portray himself as Jesus in the AI-generated picture above -that Mr Trump himself posted on Truth Social and later removed, plus the criticism that the President lashed out against Pope Leo XIV. This video (15:36) is very difficult for ESL learners for various reasons: the tempo is fast; it is very dense -it is a collage of opinions about different political stories featuring President Trump; there are many references to American current events that students may miss; the exaggeration, the puns, the profanity.., in short, humoristic documents are always among the most difficult genres to understand, so, this video is recommended for Experts without subtitles, but, with subtitles, the level of difficulty can drop to C2, or even C1+ (mind you: you will never find a document like this in a C2 official exam!).

Here you can find a list of key words that may also help you to follow the monologue, if you choose not to use the subtitles: untethered, to top [it], to bash, to poke around, barely, commander-in-chief, to doctor [a photograph], [real &] fake, oblivious, stumpy, blotchy, glob, yam, bobbling, ointment, pee, to be out of it, nuts, the poping [process], MAGA, a compliment, ass, South Park, Batman, a bananas [thing], a fighter [jet], demogorgon, Stranger Things, to heal, messiah, [to be] on board, to delete, notable, the gospel, to abuse, to speak out [loud], efilled, to sign up [for], a commercial, to settle [this], tax on tips, desperate [for approval], to cheat, [I] bet [you do], reckless, a coward, Red Cross, fake news, a robe, dumb, a health insurance, crisp, to tip, to clean up, to fall apart, a blockade, a straight, effing [straight], regardless, to make no difference, UFC [fight], binged [rivalry], to carve out, [to hit the] links, to check out, horny, a squeeze, a turd, to slip into [it], to disavow [her ties to Jeffrey Epstein], a deep dive, subreddit, severance, to dismiss [a lawsuit], to sue, to throw out, malice, to refile [the lawsuit], to smack [down], a bruise, ongoing [abuse of the legal system], to shift [to], a bickering [couple], the lip readers, road game [of the year,] Pacers, to stick around.

Here is Jimmy Kimmel's latest monologue "Dope vs Pope" on YouTube:

Guernica: a Masterpiece against War

Witness History from the BBC World Service has recently dedicated its latest episode to Guernica, the iconic painting by Picasso in the podcast Spain Welcomes Picasso's Guernica. In this documentary, Picasso's masterpiece is shown as the symbol for Spanish democracy and a permanent call against the madness of war. The podcast is around 11 minutes long, and there are no subtitles, but the speakers use very clear English and their pace is not fast, so, it can be recommended for C1 students -with this list of words as a listening guide, and for C2 students without this kind of support: a witness, [to give] a try, a [news] archive, to hand to [Spain], to stress, care, a masterpiece, to freeze [the blood in our veins], troops, to overturn, an aerial [attack], a mural, to commission, nightmarish, to stare on, [to go] on show, an artwork, on loan, to rule, dictator, to claim [the painting], to restore [democratic freedoms], to reclaim [the Spanish throne], a handover, a golden rule, to bear in mind, an inheritance, proof [of the ownership of the painting], the [paper] trail, [to end] the loan, stalemate, to bluff, to skate on thin ice, a widow, a sum [of money], a civil guard, an [attempted] coup, to fail, the canvas, the utmost [secrecy], to arrange [protection], to roll up, to stand in line, the bloody [fascist bombing of Guernica], to set foot [on Spanish soil], bulletproof, on display.

If you want to find out more about the symbology of Guernica, you can check out the Wikipedia entry on Guernica (C2 level), or read Dominic Witek's short and sharp interpretation of the art piece in Artsper Magazine, which is entitled Artwork Analysis, Guernica by Picasso. This text can also be accessible to C1 students and above. 

As for a visual alternative, you can watch Picasso's Guernica: Great Art Explained, a thorough 13:40 video with subtitles for C1 students and above, which delves into the iconographic structure of the painting and compares Guernica to other works or art: