Adverb Clause of Purpose

Adverb Clause of PurposeDefinition & UsageThis shows the purpose of an action and is introduced by 'so that', 'in order that'.Examples1. We studied hard so that we would do well in the examinations.2. They went there early in order that they would get tickets.3. I informed her that we would be late so that she would not worry.

By : tatank,

Adverb Clauses of Condition

Adverb Clauses of ConditionDefinition & UsageThis shows the condition under which an action will take place and is introduced by 'if', 'unless', 'on condition that','whether','provided that','so long as'.Examples1. Unless you come early, you will not get any seats.2. If you see him, please tell him I need to talk to him.3. You may go out to play on the condition that you come home early.

By : tatank,

Adverb Clauses of Result

Adverb Clauses of resultThis shows the result of an action and is introduced by 'so ... that', 'such ... that', 'so', 'that', 'so that'.Examples1. She talked so softly that nobody could hear her.2. He was such as intelligent boy that he could go to university at the age of sixteen.3. Joyce knew about the suprise birthday party so she was ready for it.

By : tatank,

Adverb Clause of Comparison

Adverb Clause of ComparisonDefinition & UsageThis shows some kind of comparison and describes an adjective or an adverb rather than a verb. It answers the question "How much?", "How little?", "How many?" and is introduced by 'as', 'as if', 'as though', ' as ... as', 'than'. 'so ... as'.Examples1. The office is further than he thought.2. He can climb as well as monkey.3. Linda was able to turn

By : tatank,

Adverb Clause of Concession

Adverb Clause of ConcessionDefinition & UsageThis states something opposed to the main clause but does not deny its validity. It is introduced by 'although', 'even though', 'even if', 'while', 'whereas','however', 'whatever'.Examples1. He is determined to go through with his plans even if he loses everything as a result.2. Even though we treat her kindly, she is suspicious of us.3. Bob could not

By : tatank,

Questions and Reported Speech

Rules for Reported SpeechBeware of being too dogmatic about this area. Some grammars say that certain rules must be followed, but the truth is that many different combinations of tenses are possible:He said > he's coming / he'll come / he's going to come / he was coming.On the whole, past tenses are used to report past events. Sometimes we report in the present things which are happening or are

By : tatank,

What is Tag ?

TagsWhen teaching tags, the temptation is to concentrate on getting the correct auxiliary.Two other points are worth remembering:1. Why tags are used in conversation - to facilitate turn-taking.2. Tags are not questions - they need a response, which will give more informationto enable the conversation to develop further:You've been to Malta before, haven't you?> Yes, but it was years ago.Really,

By : tatank,

ACTIVE and PASSIVE

When to use the passiveVerbs can be used in active or passive form. This depends on whether you would like to emphasize the performer of an action or that someone or something is affected by an action.(Passive) He was forced to resign.(Here the emphasis is on the he being affected by the resignation.)(Active) The senior management forced him to resign.(Here the senior management is emphasized as

By : tatank,

Verbs with no passive -Part 1

Some verbs do not have a passive form. Here are some examples:Verbs without Passives:- break out- let- die- occur- disappear- pass away- escape- race- exist- resemble- flee- suit- get- survive- happen- take placeSome common errors in the use of active and passive are as follows:admit (to take into hospital to receive treatment)Wrong - The driver admitted to hospital after the traffic.

By : tatank,

More examples of Verbs with no passive: Part 2

baseWrong: The report based on research of various educational systems in South East Asia.Correct: The report was based on research of various educational systems in South East Asia.We use the passive form for the verb base because the report cannot perform this action.beginWrong: The orientation programme will be begun early next week.Correct: The orientation programme will begin early next

By : tatank,

More examples of Verbs with no passive: Part 3

DisappearWrong : When the police arrived at the scene, they found the suspects were disappeared.Correct: When the police arrived at the scene, they found the suspects had disappeared.There is no passive form for the verb disappear.Discharge (to release from hospital, prison or the armed forces)Wrong : As she recovered very quickly, she discharged from hospital the following week.Correct: As she

By : tatank,

More examples of Verbs with no passive: Part 4

RiseWrong : show that the inflation rate rose by 2%.Correct: There is no passive form for rise.There is no passive form for rise.StartWrong : The District Board Election will be started at nine tomorrow morning.Correct: The District Board Election will start at nine tomorrow morning.We use the active form for start when referring to activitiese.g. election, meetings, press conferences.take

By : tatank,

ARTICLES: Use of a or an and The

ARTICLESIf you are unsure whether to use a, an or the, consider the following:Use of a or anUsage1. before a singular countable nounExample: She is a member of our Finance Committee.2. when a person/thing is mentioned for the first timeExample: An in-house seminar will be held next Tuesday. Three representatives from the Human Resources Association will speak at the seminar.3. in

By : tatank,

ARTICLES: Use of Omission

OmissionSituations 1. after prepositions in some common expressionsExampleto/in/into/ out of hospital/prison/bedby car/bicycle/bus/plane/trainto/at/from workout of townSituations 2. in some time phrases Examplein 1990 (year), in summer (season),since April (month),at Christmas (festival)on Monday (day of week), at nightSituations 3. before the names of continents and countries Example Have you..

By : tatank,

CONDITIONAL CLAUSES - 1

CONDITIONAL CLAUSES There are basically three types of conditional clauses: TYPE 1 Probable Situations If clause + Main clause simple present will / shall eg. If we purchase a new computer, we will be able to process 500 more applications per month. TYPE 2 Improbable or Imaginary Situations If clause + Main clause simple past would

By : tatank,

CONDITIONAL CLAUSES : Probable Situations

Real Possibility 1. Wrong : If you attend 80 % of the sessions, you would receive a certificate of attendance at the end of the course. Right: If you attend 80 % of the sessions, you will receive a certificate of attendance at the end of the course. 2. Wrong : If you send us your applications this week, we would let you know of the results in two weeks’ time. Right: If you send us your

By : tatank,

CONDITIONAL CLAUSES : Improbable Situations and Imaginary Situations

 a. Improbable Situations 1. WRONG : If the meeting would be cancelled, they would ring. RIGHT : If the meeting was cancelled, they would ring. 2. WRONG :If I would do it , I would do it this way. RIGHT :If I did it, I would do it this way. When referring to something that is possible but unlikely to happen, we use past tense for the if clause, and would / could for the main clause. b. Imaginary

By : tatank,

CONDITIONAL CLAUSES : Past Possibilities

 Past Possibilities 1.WRONG : If you were not late for the press conference, you would have heard the Director’s speech. RIGHT : If you had not been late for the press conference, you would have heard the Director’s speech. 2. WRONG : If the project was not delayed, we would have finished it by now. RIGHT : If the project had not been delayed, we would have finished it by now. When referring.

By : tatank,

CONDITIONAL CLAUSES : Real Possibility

Real Possibility 1. WRONG :If you attend 80 % of the sessions, you would receive a certificate of attendance at the end of the course. CORRECT : If you attend 80 % of the sessions, you will receive a certificate of attendance at the end of the course. 2. WRONG : If you send us your applications this week, we would let you know of the results in two weeks’ time. CORRECT :If you send us your..

By : tatank,

CONDITIONAL CLAUSES : Improbable Situations

Improbable Situations 1. WRONG : If the meeting would be cancelled, they would ring. CORRECT : If the meeting was cancelled, they would ring. 2. WRONG : If I would do it , I would do it this way. CORRECT : If I did it, I would do it this way. When referring to something that is possible but unlikely to happen, we use past tense for the if clause, and would / could for the main clause.

By : tatank,

How to do business ?

 How to do business !!Conversation between a business man & his son.BM : "I want you to marry a girl of my choice"Son : "No - I will choose my own bride!"BM : "But the girl is Bill Gates' daughter."Son : "Well, in that case...ok"Next, BM approaches Bill Gates.BM : "I have a husband for your daughter."Bill Gates: "But my daughter is too young to marry!"BM : "But this young man is a Vice-President

By : tatank,

CONDITIONAL CLAUSES : Imaginary Situations

 Imaginary Situations WRONG : If I am you, I will take the offer. CORRECT : If I were you, I would take the offer. CORRECT :If I was you, I would take the offer.(Less Formal) When talking about imaginary situations, we use past tense in the if clause and would/could in the main clause.

By : tatank,

Conditional Clauses : Real Possibility

 Common errors in conditional clauses mostly concern the wrong use of verb tense. Here are some typical examples. Real Possibility Sample 1. WRONG : If you attend 80 % of the sessions, you would receive a certificate of attendance at the end of the course. CORRECT : If you attend 80 % of the sessions, you will receive a certificate of attendance at the end of the course. Sample 2.WRONG : If you..

By : tatank,

CONDITIONAL CLAUSES : Past Possibilities

 Past Possibilities Sample 1. WRONG : If you were not late for the press conference, you would have heard the Director’s speech. CORRECT : If you had not been late for the press conference, you would have heard the Director’s speech. Sample 2. WRONG : If the project was not delayed, we would have finished it by now. CORRECT :If the project had not been delayed, we would have finished it by now.

By : tatank,

Conditional Clauses : Improbable Situation and Imaginary Situations

a. Improbable Situations 1. WRONG : If the meeting would be cancelled, they would ring. CORRECT : If the meeting was cancelled, they would ring. 2. WRONG : If I would do it , I would do it this way. CORRECT : If I did it, I would do it this way. When referring to something that is possible but unlikely to happen, we use past tense for the if clause, and would / could for the main clause.

By : tatank,

Ordinal Numbers

First = 1 stSecond = 2 ndThird = 3 rdFourth = 4 thFifth = 5 thSixth = 6 thSeventh = 7 thEighth = 8 thNinth = 9 thTenth = 10 th

By : tatank,

Cartoon: What Am I Doing Here?

This cartoon by Schrank from The Independent on Sunday is a comment on the continuing presence of British troops in Afghanistan. Six British soldiers were killed last week when their armoured vehicle was blown up by a Taliban bomb. This was the single worst enemy attack on UK troops in Afghanistan since operations began 11 years ago, and brings the British death toll to 404. This latest atrocity has led to much soul-searching over the reasons for British troops being in Afghanistan, as well as questions about the timetable for their withdrawal and the ability of Afghan forces to keep the country secure once coalition troops leave in 2014.

Words in the News: Cross

The Sunday Telegraph reports the Government is to argue in a landmark court case that Christians do not have the right to wear a cross or crucifix openly at work.

VOCABULARY

A cross is a shape that consists of a vertical lineor piece with a shorter horizontal line or piece across it. It is the most important Christian symbol.  • Kamel now wears a necklace that sports not only the Islamic crescent, but also the Christian cross.

By : tatank,

Words in the News: Vengeance

The Independent also leads on Afghanistan, with angry Afghans vowing vengeance after an American soldier went on a rampage in Kandahar, killing 16 civilians - the majority of whom were children.

By : tatank,

Ireland Crossword & Other Saint Patrick's Day Resources

Here's a crossword I created for my students using EllipseCrossword as part of a lesson on Saint Patrick's Day (Saturday 17 March). Click on the crossword grid below to begin. You can also download the grid and clues as a printable HTML file here.

By : tatank,

Saint Patrick's Day Cartoon

Today is Saint Patrick's Day and The Cagle Post has a selection of cartoons on that theme. This one is by Chris Weyant from The Hill.

A hiker is speaking to a leprechaun, which is a type of fairy in Irish folklore, usually taking the form of an old man, clad in a red or green coat. Legend has it that leprechauns spend all their time busily making shoes, and store away all their coins in a hidden pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The man asks the leprechaun if he can get a full tank of gas instead of the pot of gold.

By : tatank,

Words in the News: Scrap

Millions of teachers, nurses, civil servants and other public sector workers are to lose their right to national pay rates, the Chancellor George Osborne will announce in next week’s Budget.

By : tatank,

Cartoon: What Goes On The Web Stays On The Web

This cartoon by Jeff Parker from Florida Today is a comment on the fact that a growing number of potential employers are asking job applicants for access to their social media pages.

By : tatank,

April 2011 Newsletter

Welcome to the maret 2012 issue of the english institute online.com newsletter.

Happy reading!

Clare

1. What's new on the site

Some things can be simple in a classroom, but much more difficult in the "real world". English conversations are one of these problem areas. What can you say when things go wrong? Check out our new page on Speaking English with other people for useful phrases and tips.

Do you agree or disagree with the idea of genetic modification? Genetically modified cows in China can produce human milk – see our new page in the Reading section for the details.

2. Vocabulary quiz – farm idioms

There are many idioms associated with animals and farm produce. Use the words in the list below to fill in the gaps in the idioms.

bull

butter

cows

egg

farm

goose

horse

milk

oats

wheat

Idioms

bet the ——–

get ——– bumps

put all your ——– in one basket

sort the ——– from the chaff

sow your wild ——–

take the ——– by the horns

to ——– around

to ——– someone up

to ——– something for all it's worth

until the ——– come home

Answers

bet the farm = put all your money into one venture: "It's not a good idea to bet the farm on a start-up."

get goosebumps = when your skin comes up in little bumps: "Watching that film gave me goosebumps. It was really scary."

put all your eggs in one basket = only have one plan: "Don't put all your eggs in one basket. What will you do if it goes wrong?"

sort the wheat from the chaff = separate the good from the bad: "The tests we give candidates really sort the wheat from the chaff."

sow your wild oats = have lots of girlfriends (or boyfriends) before you finally settle down: "He's going through a phase of sowing his wild oats."

take the bull by the horns = have the courage to tackle something directly: "It's not going to be easy, but you'll need to take the bull by the horns and deal with this problem before it gets too big."

to horse around = to joke and be silly: "Stop horsing around! We've got work to do."

to butter someone up = to flatter and compliment someone to put them in a good mood so that they'll agree to something you want: "She buttered up her mother so that she could go on the school trip."

to milksomething for all it's worth = to get the most out of a situation – even if it has to be forced: "They're milking their sob-story for all it's worth. People will get tired of it soon, though."

until the cows come home = do something forever, but with no effect: "You can tell him not to do that until the cows come home, but he'll never change."

That's all for this month – see you in April 2012!

By : tatank,

gallatin roads and signs seen

 Now that I have a "real" blog, I feel more of a need to have "new" content on a regular basis! I can't promise daily updates, but I'm setting that as a goal. I'll do my best to emulate the frequent-update example of friends Steve and Rog, who not only post on a daily basis, but provide high-quality readin' too.

I definitely have some longer posts in the gestation stage. For whatever reason, my creativity's been in high gear the last few days, and I've had an abundance of ideas.

But for today, I give you a sign seen earlier this summer at the Cat's Records* on Gallatin Road:

HOT

USHER

PLIES

ALANIS MORRISSETTE

While nothing in the way of marquee mad libs can compare to the days when Snatch was in theatres, I chuckled at this sign every time I made a Kroger run this past summer.

*The current incarnation of Cat's Records is technically still the same company as the one I knew in the '80s when I first moved to Nashville. But the Cat's of today is basically the 2008 version of yer '70s-'90s mall store (think Record Bar, National Record Mart, Camelot, Sam Goody's), and very unlike the great, long-defunct Cat's on West End with the well-stocked indie/import section that educated a generation of Music City rockers and fans. For example, it's the place where I discovered that Game Theory had another album besides Lolita Nation. Unfortunately, I arrived in town a few years too late to see Jason & the Scorchers play the most legendary parking lot show at Cat's (this may have been the show where Jason climbed the billboard).

By : tatank,

the great moth invasion of 2008

I grew up in a home that was extra-vigilant about many things. One of those things was moths. I just took it for granted that everyone stored their woolens in cedar chests, had mothballs in their closets, and transferred their out-of-season clothing to closed bins or bags with (of course) some mothballs or moth packets inside. My ex-wife's family did the same thing, even taking things one step further: when my ex-mother-in-law and her late husband were building their home, she insisted that every closet be lined with cedar.

Perhaps it's just a West Virginia thing: in Nashville, people in general don't seem as concerned with these winged cloth-eaters, and my wife, who has Nashville roots but grew up mostly in Champaign, Illinois, says that she never remembers her family taking any precautions against moths. And in 2007, she and I didn't have any problems here in the current abode.

But 2008, oh, it's been a different story. My mom and grandmother certainly raised me with a surfeit of caution, but this may have been something that they were spot-on about.

it was like i could read your behind

 

or, where have you gone, tammy copenhaver?

I find it highly unfortunate that I have lived long enough to see lettering on the posterior of women's garments return to the fashion world.

In case you don't know what I'm talking about, I'm talking about stuff like the picture in the upper left-hand corner. Ladies, this isn't hot. Seriously. Like bicycle shorts, this has never looked good on anyone in the history of humankind.

When I was in college (1985-1988), the "lettering on the ass of the shorts and jogging suits" thing was in full vogue. But then, it was at least largely confined to sorority girls, who honored their respective benevolent social organizations by sporting their sororities' respective three-letter emblems on the respective seats of their pants. I remember this unfortunate sartorial choice being particularly virulent among our campus' Tri-Sigs.

i didn't die, i got old (the '90s, part one)

 In a recent entry in his "Music: What Happened?" series, Scott Miller of Game Theory/Loud Family renown^* leads with the following sentence: "The nineties were better than the eighties."

Scott's argument is typically erudite, and I get what he's trying to say, especially when one considers his heavy engagement with the biz itself during the '80s, when Game Theory was trying to eke out a career.

But oh how I wince when I read and reread that statement. "The nineties were better than the eighties." Oh. my. God.

This is not my experience at all. Not even close. For me, the '80s were vibrant, teeming with ideas and energy and an abundance of spectacularly great albums (including at least one all-time classic from Scott himself). In my ultra-geeky yearly best-of lists, 1985 alone has twenty-five (twenty-five!) albums to which I'd give four and a half or five stars, and some other '80s years (1980, 1984, and 1988 in particular) were in my estimation almost as grand.

But something happened in the '90s. Whether it was to me or to the musical world, I'm not sure. I suspect that the "has the world changed or have I changed?" blame game probably should be scored 50/50. It's my hope that my upcoming blog entries^** get me closer to answering that question.

Nevertheless, I know this for sure: what happened in the '90s wasn't good. For me, musically, the '90s don't come close to the '80s in either quality or depth. And this change, which has in many ways persisted for me into the 2000s (as per this earlier entry, we haven't Named That Decade yet), continues to distress me on a number of levels.

Like with most sea changes, there wasn't a convenient marker or milestone that I perceived at the time (though Kurt Cobain's April 1994 suicide was part of the fabric of the decade and saddened me deeply). To put it in baseball terms, it's not a slump when a guy goes 0 for 4 in a single game... but a week later, when it's up to 1 for 32, it's a slump.

Words in the News: Rebuke

A Chinese Communist Party leader who led a revival of Maoist ideology was removed from his post as leader of a southwestern mega-city after Premier Wen Jiabao dealt him an unusual public rebuke, exposing deep rifts within the party elite ahead of a once-a-decade leadership change this fall.

By : tatank,

Words in the News: Petrol

Petrol sales have soared by 45 per cent as motorists queued to fill up at forecourts after the coalition government was accused of sparking “panic buying” amid concern of a strike by fuel tanker delivery drivers. 

By : tatank,

Business English

Business English

Business: noun Commercial or industrial enterprise, an occupation, or task.

Business English: noun The speaking, writing, and English usage to help facilitate and increase productivity in the international business world.

Welcome to the Business English area of our lesson article Library. Here you can find resources, lessons, and tips on getting ahead in the international business world with good business English skills. English is the language of the world and the language of business; we’ll show you coveted secrets and common knowledge on how to get the most out of your English writing and speaking for business English practices.

Here are direct links to our Business English lesson article categories:

Business English Lesson Articles

Writing Business letters | How to Write Resumes and Cover Letters | Negotiating with Business English | Good Business Practices | American Business Culture and Customs | Social Business Letters | Business Replies | Things to Avoid in Business English | Other Business English Lessons | Business English Online Quizzes | Twelve Class email Course on Learning Business English - no charge |

By : tatank,

fate up against your will sergeant

On the way home today, I put on for the first time a live Echo and the Bunnymen CD. I hadn't even heard of it before I rescued it from the Great Escape this past summer.

This CD had even been in the car since early September, when I repacked my travel CD case (my car, a '98 Sunfire, doesn't have an iPod hookup), so I don't know why I hadn't played it sooner. I guess I hadn't been in the mood for it until today.

And maybe I was too in the mood for it today, because I cried at least twice while listening to it.

Me, I'm All Smiles, the album in question, documents a very nice 2005 London performance of the reunited Bunnymen. Even with boffo original drummer Pete de Freitas long dead and bassist Les Pattinson once again an ex-Bunnyman, the group still sounds great live. Ian McCulloch's voice seems a little rougher, whether from accumulated wear and tear or maybe just the particular circumstances of that evening, but it's still grand. And guitarist Will Sergeant just gets better with age. He's not often cited as one of the great guitarists, but hearing his always-creative rhythm work and the ring and burn of his precise, Verlaine-toned leads is one of the greatest guitar treats the world has to offer.

jay tarseses throughout the decades

 Most of the time, I enjoy "critically acclaimed" television shows: Hill Street Blues is still my all-time favorite show, and it pretty much defined "critically acclaimed," particularly during its early years when it struggled mightily in the ratings but swept the Emmys. And I have loved oodles of other programs that swept critics off their feet: The Sopranos, Deadwood, The Office (British and US versions), Twin Peaks, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica (the current-day one, not the original) are just a few examples where I think the hosannas are well deserved.

But there are shows that never click with me, no matter how much good press they get. One of the first "critically acclaimed" shows I remember not liking at all was Buffalo Bill, which starred Dabney Coleman as a crass, mean-spirited local talk show host. Its low ratings were often blamed on the deliberate unlikability of the main character.

For me personally, liking or relating to the characters isn't a prerequisite for enjoying a movie or TV show, so that wasn't a problem. I think Dabney Coleman is a fine comic actor, and his presence made me want to keep giving the show a chance. Heck, it even had Geena Davis in a supporting role, and I was harboring a major crush on her at the time (a crush that came to an end when she went into Streep/Close "I'm a serious wonderful actress so worship me, peons" mode sometime after Thelma and Louise). I should have liked this show!

bring us your hirsute toys

Actual sign, McGavock Pike, 10/10/2008

I'm relieved that Nashville Barbies can now get their peach fuzz removed. And that they don't have to make an appointment for it!

Incidentally, this place is at least consistent with their apostrophes; it's "PERFECTION'S" not only on this changeable copy sign, but on the permanent sign affixed above the door.

By : tatank,

we never liked uncle clucky that much anyway

Actual sign, Madison, TN, 10/11/2008

While I'm hardly the first blogger to post an image of a restaurant sign that depicts animals, often wearing chef hats, merrily serving themselves or their relatives as fare, this one adds a layer of voyeurism to the proceedings. Are these barnyard fowls trapped in a pollo concentration camp where they are forced to watch friends and family members succumb to the roaster one by one, the witnesses contemplating their own similar, inevitable fates?

this post is made from the skins of dead Jim Morrisons

 Several days ago, when I composed this post about Echo & the Bunnymen's "The Killing Moon," it occurred to me that while I like several singers who were clearly heavily influenced by Jim Morrison - most notably Julian Cope and the Bunnymen's Ian McCulloch - I don't really care for Morrison himself that much. There is something cool about the deep voice action, sure, but so often Morrison's delivery is sooooo over the top, and the lyrical misses sooooo bad, that I don't think I could ever describe myself as a Doors fan (sorry, Dan).

This got me to thinkin' 'bout other cases where I like the sons better than the fathers. Here are some that came to me right away:

The Byrds

REM, Robyn Hitchcock, Tom Petty

The Beach Boys

Lindsey Buckingham, Lloyd Cole, the Blue Nile

Big Star

Game Theory/the Loud Family, the Replacements, the Posies

Stereolab

Broadcast

I'm getting diminishing returns from thinking about it more, so I'll throw it over to the readership at this point.

Oh, and while I'm not a Doors fan, I am a fan of this skit. "Greatest hits albums are for housewives and little girls."

By : tatank,

does anybody know what day it is? does anybody really care?

 Weird Blogspot stuff:

Mandy just told me that she didn't see a post from me yesterday. But I so published this gargantuan entry yesterday - Tuesday, September 30th.

However, she's totally spot-on, as Blogspot shoes me as having published both it and the prior entry on Monday, September 29th.

I saved a draft of the post in question on Monday, September 29th, but I did not click "publish" until the the morning of the 30th. That shouldn't have messed up the post's date. Right?

Anyway, no matter what date Blogspot assigned to my initial foray into analyzing the '90s, I have kept my goal and not missed a day of blogging. Where are all the one-week anniversary gifts?

By : tatank,

this post is made from the skins of dead jim morrisons

Several days ago, when I composed this post about Echo & the Bunnymen's "The Killing Moon," it occurred to me that while I like several singers who were clearly heavily influenced by Jim Morrison - most notably Julian Cope and the Bunnymen's Ian McCulloch - I don't really care for Morrison himself that much. There is something cool about the deep voice action, sure, but so often Morrison's delivery is sooooo over the top, and the lyrical misses sooooo bad, that I don't think I could ever describe myself as a Doors fan (sorry, Dan).

This got me to thinkin' 'bout other cases where I like the sons better than the fathers. Here are some that came to me right away:

The Byrds

REM, Robyn Hitchcock, Tom Petty

The Beach Boys

Lindsey Buckingham, Lloyd Cole, the Blue Nile, The Negro Problem / Stew

Big Star

Game Theory/the Loud Family, the Replacements, the Posies

Stereolab

Broadcast

I'm getting diminishing returns from thinking about it more, so I'll throw it over to the readership at this point.

Oh, and while I'm not a Doors fan, I am a fan of this skit. "Greatest hits albums are for housewives and little girls."

By : tatank,

English Learning Tips

English Learning Tips

English: noun The language of the U.S. and many other areas now or formerly under British rule.

Learning: noun Knowledge verb To learn

Tip: noun A piece of advice or confidential information.

Welcome to the English Learning Tips area of our Online English Lesson Article Library. Here you will find pieces of valuable advice from experts, you'll get the lessons that don't really fit into other categories but are so helpful to get the extra edge while learning English. These authors have all been teaching English as a Second Language for years and their experience is valuable to everyone learning English. Browse through all our English Learning Tips below or select from these categories:

 English Learning Tips

Secrets to Learning English | Must-Know Rules About English | How to Make Learning English Easier | What Not to do When Learning English | How to Learn English Online | The Best Free Public Places to Learn English | Games for Learning English | Benefits of Learning English | Difficulties of Learning English | Funny English Learning Stories | English Learning Tips Online Quizzes | Twelve Class email Course on English Learning Tips - no charge |

By : tatank,

English Basics

English Basics

English Basics: noun The fundamentals of learning English outside of Grammar. English basics include asking directions, telling time, talking about the weather.

Welcome to the English Basics area of our Free Online English Article Lesson Library. When learning English the basics are important to know because from there you build the rest of your English knowledge. Knowing the basics is also great for traveling to America and interacting with other English speakers. Plus there are some areas of learning English that are necessary to completely master the English language, but they don't fit into any learning category. Chances are you’ll find those topics in our English Basics category.

English Basics Articles

The Basics section of our library is a complete catalog to get you going on the right foot with English. It includes lesson articles on | Telling Time | Numbers | Dates | Expressing Your Emotions | Greetings | Telephone English | Disagreeing | Meeting People | Talking About the Weather | Medical English | Other English Basics | English Basics Online Quizzes | Twelve Class email Course on Learning English Basics - no charge |

By : tatank,

ESL/EFL

ESL / EFL

ESL: abbreviation English as a Second Language

EFL: abbreviation English as a Foreign Language

ESOL: abbreviation English for Speakers of Other Languages

Welcome to the English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) section of our Article Library. There are many abbreviations to represent the learning of English, above are some of the more popular ones. All of the abbreviations refer to English learners that speak another language other than English as their main language. There is really no difference in the terms for learners. For example ESL refers to people learning English in an English speaking country. EFL refers to people learning English in a non-English speaking country. Wherever you are learning English... you're here on our blog now and we're going to help you learn English online!

ESL / EFL

Lessons & Articles

This section of lessons and articles has tips and advice for learning English as a second or foreign language in general. Find out advice from ESL experts about effective ways to get ahead in learning English.

By : tatank,

Grammar

Grammar

Grammar: noun The study of classes of words, their usage, and their functions and relations in a sentence. Grammar also deals with usage correct in syntax.

Welcome to the Grammar area of our Online English Lesson Article Library. Grammar is the biggest section of learning English and this is the biggest section of our library. You will find lessons on all aspects of Grammar from level one to level three. We also have a full library of Grammar Online Quizzes. Quizzes with answers are a good way to identify where you need to practice. Quizzes also help put the lessons learned into your long term memory.

Tense vs. Lax "i" in American English Pronunciation

Author: Ryan Denzer King

Article to help English Speaking and English Pronunciation by PronouncePro American English Pronunciation Writing Staff.

American English has more vowel quality distinctions than any other language, so no matter what language you speak, it probably does not have as many distinctions as English. English pronunciation has several pairs of vowels which are pronounced with your lips and tongue in approximately the same position, but where one of the vowels is "tense" and one is "lax". The fact that these vowels are so similar makes them difficult to distinguish for non-native speakers.

The first tense/lax pair is what many people call long e versus short i. The fact that one is called an 'e' sound and one is called an 'i' sound is only because of spelling; more technically, these are both 'i' sounds. If you are familiar with the International Phonetic Alphabet, this is the distinction between /i/ (long e) and / i / (short i). Long e is often spelled ee or ea in English spelling (which is why it is called long e). Examples include 'feed', 'seat', 'see', and 'bead'. Short i is usually spelled with a single i and usually comes before two consonants in the middle of a word or before a single word-final consonant. Examples include 'bitter', 'fit', 'tipsy', and 'lip'.

The easier sound to make for most people is the long e sound; almost every language in the world uses this as one of its vowels. In your language, this sound is probably spelled with the letter i. Beginning with this long e sound, relax your tongue without moving your lips. If done properly, this should get you very close to the short i sound. A good practice exercise is to listen to minimal pairs - words that differ only in one sound. Pairs which differ only in tense versus lax i are: feet/fit, seat/sit, bead/bid, leap/lip.

By : tatank,

Intonation Within American English Pronunciation

Author: Mary Gillespie

Article to help English Speaking and English Pronunciation by Pronounce Pro American English Pronunciation Writing Staff

American English intonation can be difficult to master, and yet it is an important part of pronunciation. It is the music of the language, and conveys a great deal of meaning to listeners. Similar to a melody in music, intonation is the rhythm of your English speaking.

Intonation: noun the manner of singing, playing, or speaking tones especially: the rise and fall in pitch of the voice in pronunciation.

It can feel very strange to adopt the intonation patterns of another language. People often feel self-conscious making their voice rise and fall in ways that are very different from the pronunciation of their own language. Here is a strategy that many people, both native speakers and learners of English, find useful for intonation practice.

First, you need a short text that you find interesting and meaningful. Try to choose a poem or paragraph from a story instead of a newspaper article. Literature and stories usually communicate more feelings than factual writing like magazine and newspaper articles.

Read the paragraph to yourself until you are comfortable with it. Make sure you understand the meaning of the words and images. Check the pronunciation of unfamiliar words in your dictionary. When you are very comfortable with the meaning of your paragraph, stand up and read it out loud.

The first time you read it out loud, it will probably feel a bit awkward, and you may not speak as smoothly as you would like. Make a note of any words or sentences that you find difficult, and practice the pronunciation of these sections out loud on their own.

Try reading your paragraph again, but this time, move one of your arms to help you convey the rhythm of the language. When you feel your voice should rise or get louder, move your arm up. When you feel your voice should get softer, move your arm down.

Now, try reading the paragraph in different ways. Imagine you are angry, and read it out loud. How do your voice and body change? Is your pronunciation different?

Try reading your paragraph as if you were happy, excited or sad. Notice how the change in your emotion changes the intonation and meaning of your speaking, which will affect the pronunciation of your speaking.

Now, finally, try reading the paragraph in a way that expresses the meaning that you think the writer wants the listener to understand. Try to get across the meaning that you find in your paragraph.

Of course reading aloud is very different from speaking to people in real-life situations, but an activity like this can help you become more aware of how intonation in English pronunciation works. It gives you a chance to practice without having to worry about grammar or vocabulary, and will help you develop greater confidence when you are speaking English.

By : tatank,

jay tarseses throughout the decades, pt. 1: the 1980s

Most of the time, I enjoy "critically acclaimed" television shows. Hill Street Blues is still my all-time favorite show, and it pretty much defined "critically acclaimed," particularly during its early years when it struggled mightily in the ratings but took home a boatload of Emmys. And I have loved oodles of other programs that swept critics off their feet: The Sopranos, Deadwood, The Office (British and US versions), Twin Peaks, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica (the current-day one, not the original) are just a few examples where I think the hosannas are well deserved.

But there are shows that never click with me, no matter how much good press they get. One of the first "critically acclaimed" shows I remember not liking at all was Buffalo Bill, which starred Dabney Coleman as a crass, mean-spirited local talk show host. Its low ratings were often blamed on the deliberate unlikability of the main character.

For me personally, liking or relating to the characters isn't a prerequisite for enjoying a movie or TV show, so that wasn't a problem. I think Dabney Coleman is a fine comic actor, and his presence made me want to keep giving the show a chance. Heck, it even had Geena Davis in a supporting role, and I was harboring a major crush on her at the time (a crush that came to an end when she went into Streep/Close "I'm a serious wonderful actress so worship me, peons" mode sometime after Thelma and Louise). I should have liked this show!

if you don't build it, they won't come

Well, my readership has tapered off by half so far this week. I guess that's what happens when you end up skipping a couple of days! I was struggling with having enough time to write something in which I was really invested...

...but then it occurred to me today, ex post facto, that I should probably have just blogged about what was actually going on in my life the last few days, however geeky or mundane it may be.

So I'm taking my own advice! Here's what I've spent the bulk of the last three days doing:

• Catering! My wife and I have been working on launching a catering company since July. She's a talented chef with over 20 years in the culinary industry, so the business is built on her mad food skillz and her astonishing creativity. Business has picked up a lot lately, and over the last few days, we were doing everything associated with two orders, one of them pretty large. Pricing, shopping, errand-running, assembling, delivering, you name it. Keep your fingers crossed that this continues to be the state of affairs: we want to stay this busy!

• World of Warcraft! WoW launched its major pre-Wrath of the Lich King patch yesterday. Patch days for any MMO are insane, but this one makes a lot of stuff obsolete that players had been used to since at least 2006, and in some cases since the game's launch in December 2004. So there wasn't just the usual server unavailability and instability associated with Patch Day, there was also a major decision on respec'ing talents awaiting every one of us, on every character. I had things mapped out pretty well for my main character, a holy priest, and a quick heroic run late last night went painlessly. However, my other level 70 toon, a paladin, took the opportunity (at the urging of a guild leader) to respec from holy to retribution. So now I have no idea how to play this character that I've carefully built, leveled, and equipped in an entirely different way. I'm really struggling with it, and none of the player guides seem up to date for 3.0.2 ret pally spell rotation. Thow in dozens of add-ons that won't function yet in the 3.0.2 environment, whose absence is messing with my play style, and my little hobby hasn't been very fun for the last 36 hours.

Aren't you glad you asked? Wait, did you?

By : tatank,

they can't stand the rain

Nashville suffered through a gloomy, rainy day today. The worst thing about the weather isn't so much the weather itself, but the poor driving of Nashvillians when faced with any inclement weather whatsoever. Instead of taking more precautions, people here decide "hey, there are no rules!" and begin taking more chances. Put poor decision-making together with bald tires, poor drainage, and easily-saturated limestone soil, and it's a recipe for disaster.

The worst such incident I ever saw happened during the surprise blizzard of early 2004, when I witnessed a guy back across four lanes' worth of snow and ice on Nolensville Road. But today's behavior was uniformly bad: pulling out in front of traffic, sudden stops, running lights even later than people here normally run lights. I even sat for five minutes at 7th Avenue North and Broadway because someone up at the corner had parked in the street. In the middle of the day. Not conked out, not wrecked or disabled and seeking help, not waiting to make a quick passenger pickup. Parked.

jay tarseses throughout the decades, pt. 2: the 1990s

The Jay Tarses of the 1990sAaron Sorkin. From the godawful script of A Few Good Men (I guess between Nicholson's rendition of the "you can't handle the truth!" speech, which is constantly replayed on TV as a "classic scene," and Pacino finally winning the Oscar for Scent of a Woman, the moral of the story is that scenery chewing pays!), to his self-righteous White House posturing (The American President and TV's The West Wing), Sorkin continually sounds clever, while not actually being so. A specialist in the category of "dialogue no actual human would ever say," Sorkin's barrage of verbiage and many wise casting choices have beguiled critics, who really ought to be able to discern how second-rate and hollow his material actually is.

The only Sorkin creation I could stomach longer than five minutes was the first season of Sports Night. But in retrospect, I think that had more to do with an extraordinarily gifted cast - Josh Charles, Peter Krause, Josh Malina, and especially Felicity Huffman - transcending the torrent of words, and less to do with Sorkin's words themselves. Quality control on the second season fell off dramatically (Dan's sudden Jewishness being the most egregious "wtf?" example), so I went right back to hating Sorkin again.

Like Sports Night, The West Wing also featured a pretty darn talented cast, and I'll always be grateful that the show gave veteran character actor John Spencer his long-overdue day in the sun. But here we not only got the Dialogue No Actual Human Would Ever Say, but it came in deadly combination with Heavy-Handed Moral Posturing (see also Sorkin's script for A Few Good Men). I'm not against tackling tough moral issues on TV; heck, favorites like Homicide and the new Battlestar Galactica sometimes cover six such dilemmas before the opening titles. But Sorkin doesn't seem to know how to do such things subtly and naturally like the aforementioned shows did; instead, every "important" plot might as well have a flashing red light attached, screaming at the audience "IMPORTANT! HEY, OVER HERE! WE'RE DEALING WITH REAL ISSUES HERE! HEY!" Sheesh, it makes me tired just thinking about watching that show. No wonder that I watched the sublimely silly Drew Carey Show instead.

While The West Wing straddles the 1990s and 2000s, I'm not going to let a technicality like that deprive Mr. Sorkin of this much-deserved honor. So Aaron Sorkin, congratulations! You are the Jay Tarses of the 1990s! Don't spend that Arby's gift certificate on something I wouldn't!

Tomorrow: we reveal the Jay Tarses of the 2000s! Plus honorable mentions!

By : tatank,

jay tarseses throughout the decades, pt. 3: the 2000s

Prior Installments

pt. 1: the 1980s

pt. 2: the 1990s

The Jay Tarses of the 2000s

Judd Apatow. First came Freaks and Geeks, which I really, really wanted to like. It looked smart and funny. It was set in 1980, right in my cultural and musical wheelhouse. And the titular Geeks were 7th graders, as was the real-life me in 1980! And it had SCTV's Joe Flaherty in it! I thought, "at last, a show for me! a show that speaks to me!"

Instead, I couldn't stand it. The music they got right, I'll give them that. But the clothes and hair, aside from Linda Cardellini's character wearing her dad's army jacket, seemed way off for 1980. Worse, the show was clearly written not only from the sole perspective of the geeks, but with no understanding of the other half of the titular equation.

Initially the "freaks" - a gang of pot-smoking high school teens whom Cardellini's character befriended - were depicted as menacing, and engaged in behaviors such as mailbox destruction that I much more closely associate with jocks, not potheads. To me, this demonstrated that the show's creators and writers had no actual experience with "freaks," who would have been the least likely kids in school to beat up the geeks or engage in bullying and violence. In fact, the "freaks" I knew usually had a genial live-and-let-live attitude, and bullying would have gotten in the way of more rewarding pursuits like getting stoned in the boys' room while listening to 8-tracks of AC/DC. (Also, Flaherty's over-the-top performance made it seem like he was acting in an entirely different show, but I digress.)

rock rock to the 30 rock, don't stop

So the wife and I just finished watching Season One of 30 Rock on DVD. We certainly liked what we had seen of the first two seasons, but somehow we never watched the show regularly. I think we'd seen maybe three complete episodes (including the amazing 2007 one with "who's crazier, me or Ann Curry?," Alec Baldwin role-playing all the parts in the Tracy Morgan intervention, and the "NBC page-off") and parts of four or five more, so we had a lot of new-to-us stuff on these DVDs.

And color us impressed. Season One was consistently funny, delivering rapid-fire, smart, quality laughs every episode. I'm really looking forward to guzzling the second season in what will likely be a couple of big, delicious gulps.

The funniness of 30 Rock raises this question, though: Why in the h-e-double-hockey-sticks was Saturday Night Live so desperately unfunny over the last few years? Tina Fey was SNL's head writer from 1999 through 2006, and many of her SNL co-conspirators play prominent roles on 30 Rock. Based on that alone, I'd expect 30 Rock to bite the big one, but instead, 30 Rock achieves an almost Arrested Development-like level of intelligent, densely-layered hilarity.

While I do think that SNL improved during Fey's final years on the show, that's like saying that Revenge of the Sith was an improvement on Attack of the Clones. SNL's been an unmitigated disaster since 1992-1993, the season after the last of the excellent Hartman / Carvey / Myers / Lovitz / Hooks / Miller cast flew the coop. Heck, I laugh more at Tracy Morgan in any two minutes he's on 30 Rock than I did during his whole SNL tenure.

So what's holding SNL back? Is it Lorne Michaels? Lingering Mary Gross syndrome? What?

By : tatank,

i first thought of this post back in the year four

 One of the side effects of reading Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series of historical novels is that you begin to think in the language of those books. For those not familiar with these twenty wildly entertaining volumes, the setting is the British navy in the Napoleonic era (1790s-1815), and the series served as source material for the first good Peter Weir movie since Witness.

When I first discovered the Aubrey-Maturin books, I was completely hooked, and was consuming two to four of them a week. At this level of immersion, the words would just start occurring in my brain naturally. For example, I'd be driving through the parking building adjacent to my then-workplace, and I'd think "I'd better steer to starboard to weather that pole." Or someone at work would be going on about the Sting luxury box tickets they lucked into that weekend, and I'd think - and sometimes actually say, depending on whether I thought I could get away with it - "I give you joy of that." (For some reason, I think Dave Foley would be proud of that.) Or instead of saying to a pal, "This round's on me," it might come out "A glass with you, sir."

suddenly, it's last summer

 Today I was listening to Fresh Air on NPR, and while host Terry Gross was talking with actor James Franco (being a baseball nut and a Reds fan, I almost typed it "John Franco"), she mentioned Pineapple Express as a movie from "last summer." My immediate reaction was "no, that wasn't 2007! That was this past summer!"

Then I realized that she also meant 2008. But I have always found this specific "last" formulation misleading. To me, the summer of 2008 won't be "last summer" until at least January 1st, 2009, and maybe not even until June 21st, 2009. Until then, it's "this past summer."

I hear this most often in sports, where a number of talking heads and writers start talking about "last season" a minute after the regular season ends. For the sports calendar to turn over to "last" for me, we need to be in the next season. So for me, the 2008 baseball season won't be "last season" until pitchers and catchers show up for Spring Training in February 2009.

However, this will be my "last" blog entry until my next one goes up.

By : tatank,

kick-ass songs of the '90s: curve, "faît accompli" (the '90s, pt. 2)

I inaugurated my '90s series last week with this way too long introduction to the subject. Between its premise (which is mostly "the '90s sucked musically compared to the '80s") and my Jay Tarses(es) series this weekend, I've gone on too long about things I don't like. It's time for some positivity about things that I love.

So today, we're gonna talk about one of the greatest songs of the '90s, Curve's "Faît Accompli." This 1992 single from their debut album, Doppleganger, is one of the most badass things I've ever heard - or in the case of the video, seen. The opening electro-percussive twitchery immediately intrigues the listener, and then - vroooooom! - there's the whole band, led by Dean Garcia's giant wall of guitar. But instead just raining a hail of feedback through the whole song, as fun as that would have been, the band immediately displays a sense of dynamics by having the guitar drop out.

Words in the News: Investigate

Words in the News: Investigate:

Magistrates have put Abdelkader Merah, the older brother of the suspected killer of seven people in and around Toulouse, under formal investigation for allegedly assisting in terrorist action, prosecutors said Sunday. 

Words in the News: Granny Tax

The Chancellor's decision to scrap an age-related tax allowance for pensioners in the Budget is the lead story for most papers. The Daily Telegraph describes it as a stealth raid on the middle classes - adding that the 'Granny Tax' will hit five million pensioners. 

May or Might ?

One of the meanings of may and might is to be allowed to.e.g. The members of the organization agree that I may join it. The members of the organization agreed that I might join it.May and might and must are also used to express differing degrees of probability:Degree of Probability Auxiliary somewhat probable may, mightFor instance, may and might are often used in the Simple.

By : tatank,

Cartoon: Sunday Shopping

This cartoon by Adams from The Daily Telegraph relates to the announcement by UK Chancellor George Osborne (pictured left in the cartoon) that he is to lift the six-hour limit on opening hours for larger stores over eight weekends in July, August and September. The move, which brought protests from Labour, church leaders and trades unions, is designed to coincide with London’s hosting of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

By : tatank,

Words in the News: Surgeon

The Daily Mail leads with the arrest of three youths over the death of a surgeon.

By : tatank,

Kal Cartoon: Ropey

This cartoon by Kal from The Economist is a comment on the worsening military situation in Afghanistan, where the allied troops are facing growing problems.

The cartoon shows a group of NATO soldiers crossing a series of rope bridges strung between mountain tops as they head towards 'a stable Afghanistan'. One soldier, noticing that the rope is fraying, says to his colleague, 'What do our chances of success look like?' His colleague replies, 'A little ropey'.

EXPLANATION

The cartoonist plays on the similarity of the words 'rope' and 'ropey'. The bridges are made of rope; and if you describe something as 'ropey', you mean that it is poor in quality. So the soldier means their chances are not good. • Too much talking and a ropey performance got him booed by the audience. 

ALSO SEE

• Afghanistan (The Economist)

By : tatank,

Cartoon: Florida's 'Stand Your Ground' Law

Add caption

Florida's 'Stand Your Ground' Law is under scrutiny after the killing of an unarmed black youth, Trayvon Martin, by a neighborhood watch leader. This week's lesson from Cartoons for the Classroom features a cartoon on the subject by Jeff Parker, editorial cartoonist for Florida Today.

The cartoon shows a man with a smoking gun, the barrel of which is a rolled up copy of the 'Stand Your Ground' law. We are meant to understand that he has just shot someone 'in self-defense', as he says, "He came at me with a bag of Skittles! I'm just protecting myself." The message is clear. It's the Florida law which is responsible for the death of Trayvon Martin.

Cartoon: Nothing Cheap About One Now!

This cartoon by Steve Bell from The Guardian relates to news that the price of first-class stamps is to rise from 46p to 60p while second-class stamps will go up from 36p to 50p on 30 April.

By : tatank,

Reading Comprehension

If you haven't seen it yet, check out our section on English idioms. Simple explanations and example sentences help you use idioms with more confidence.

The theme of this week's English lesson is love and online dating. Take a look at our page on love idioms, then head over to our sister site, Rich Reads, for a reading comprehension exercise.

Last week's exercise

Here are the answers to last week's quiz on Shakespeare plays.

The full titles are:

Antony and Cleopatra

King Lear

Romeo and Juliet

The Merchant of Venice

The Winter's Tale

Titus Andronicus

Troilus and Cressida

Twelfth Night

By : tatank,

Silent Sounds

One difficult aspect of English pronunciation is that you don't always pronounce every letter in a word. For example, you don't pronounce the 'l' in 'walk'.

But how do you know what these silent letters are? Take a look at this very useful pronunciation exercise on silent sounds. It has some of the most common examples of letters that aren't pronounced.

Some more pronunciation tips on silent letters

- a 'b' at the end of the word is often not pronounced:

i.e. bomb, thumb, dumb

- a 'k' before 'n' is not pronounced:

i.e. knee. know

- in words starting 'psy', the 'p' is not pronounced:

i.e psychology, psychiatry

Answers to last week's exercise

Here are the adjective-noun combinations for different types of film.

chilling horror

fast-paced action

hilarious comedy

spaghetti western

tense thriller

By : tatank,

well, somebody has to be paul weller if he's not gonna do it

 

I reactivated my eMusic subscription the other day. They were dangling the 75 free download carrot, and Bugs Bunny-like, I bit.

I got a bunch of suggestions from the many eMusic-friendly friends o' mine, plus I stumbled upon some stuff I hadn't known was out, such as two newish Shriekback albums. As a result, by the wee small hours of today, I'd used up 104 of my 105 total October downloads (the 75 freebies plus the normal monthly allotment of 30).

Looking for candidates to be that 105th track, I did a number of fruitless searches. For example, I'd think "hm, I like Goldfrapp... do they have any Goldfrapp rarities/mixes?," but as it turns out, there's only one Goldfrapp track on eMusic, a forgettable mix of "Strict Machine."

Striking out with everything I could think of, I switched to alphabetically browsing the new arrivals in the "Alternative/Punk" section.

And there sat a live EP by From the Jam.

I knew that bassist Bruce Foxton and drummer Rick Buckler, the rhythm section of the Jam, had formed this group last year to play material by their classic band... minus singer/songwriter/guitarist / raison d'etre Paul Weller, who refused to participate in this reunion. It almost seemed like the punchline of a joke, to reform the Jam without the guy who wrote and sang almost everything.

But here was a chance to find out how it all turned out, so I chose "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight" as my final download of the month.

And holy cow. It's not only a spot-on, red-hot rendition without a trace of lameness or rote nostalgia, but new vocalist/guitarist Russell Hastings has Weller's voice down cold. Every intonation, inflection, and phrasing is exact. You'd never know it wasn't Paul Weller singing if you weren't tipped off.

What's funnier, at least for me, is that ever since the Style Council ended, my main complaint about Paul Weller is that he stopped singing like Paul Weller! Beginning with solo albums like Wild Wood and Stanley Road, Weller affected an unrecognizable ersatz soul voice. I mean, the guy is the world's best Paul Weller, but he ain't never gonna be Sam Cooke or Smokey Robinson, and why he wants to be something that he's just not, I can never figure out.

Heck, he not only stopped sounding like Paul Weller in '92, he stopped being interesting at all. Well, that last part happened sometime during the first full-length Style Council record, but even when Weller's post-Jam joint was awash in jazzbo didacticism, the man still sang like himself. Apparently there's not only no hope of a full Jam reunion, but no hope that Weller will integrate his rich past with whatever he chooses to do in the present, right down to not using the same singing voice.

So more power to From the Jam and Russell Hastings! If Paul Weller's not interested in being Paul Weller anymore, somebody else might as well be! And I can't argue with these kind of results.

By : tatank,