[00:01] Hello my dear listeners This is English Canada the podcast about learning languages going through immigration and establishing yourself in a new place

[00:17] Hello everyone and this is Anastasia Stoyanova with you guys and welcome to a new episode of my podcast

[00:23] English in Canada Today we are going to talk about something very unusual and I was doubting whether

[00:31] I should include this episode but I truly want to share everything that I'm feeling and what I'm living through on this podcast

[00:40] So in this episode I'm going to talk about music and how my music preferences changed and evolved And

[00:48] I'm going to talk about the impressions and my experience of going to one of the biggest concerts of my life that

[00:55] I've been to because I've only been to really smaller concerts But yeah so stay around please and hang out with me

[01:04] And I'll talk about the band that I got into last year last fall and the band's name is Ghost And for those of you who are watching the video version on

[01:16] YouTube I'm going to show you for a couple of seconds this nice t shirt that I'm wearing Do you see that

[01:28] Yay so this is a Ghost t shirt and let me tell you something So first of all I do think that music taste of course differs from one person to another but it's not set in stone

[01:43] And throughout your life you might change your mind about what you listen to I'm a music lover and I listen to all kinds of music

[01:50] And I think I've learned a lot of languages also with the help of music because whenever I learn a new language

[01:58] I listen to the music in this language a lot and it helps me it builds associations it builds the melody

[02:06] So for me the English language is also about songs and being an ESL instructor and teacher music helped me to build the skills as well to build the language skills believe it or not

[02:17] And we can benefit a lot and learn about the culture So but that's just the importance of music And I think music helps us to live the moments of your life

[02:30] Sometimes we need some kind of pick me up or boost or so And for me rock and metal became that but not like death metal or anything that's really heavy nothing heavy

[02:42] So this ghost band and the concert I went to here in Toronto it's very interesting because it's actually metal and arena rock or like pop rock genre

[02:56] And actually it's very melodic and it's beautiful And the singer the front man of the band is a great guy

[03:03] His name is Tobias Forge and actually it's a Swedish rock band a metal band And they've been around for a while

[03:11] Like I think they've been touring for 15 years but they really really got bigger last year because they released this new album

[03:19] Skeletta And this is like my favorite album I think Maybe the same way I love their album that's called

[03:27] Impera as well But anyway let me tell you something This concert was a phone free concert So it means that our phones were put away in a special pouch

[03:39] That's called Yonder Pouch You can check it out and Google just Yonder I think it's Y O N D R Yonder

[03:48] And we really got good tickets and really good seats And it was at Scotiabank Arena here in Toronto And it was on the 31st of

[03:58] January this year 2026 And I want to just share some impressions It's going to be a quick episode but

[04:04] I really want to share this so that you can get to know me better Also in my taste my preferences First things first like

[04:12] I said I'm a music lover And actually the first time I got introduced to this band was 2022 My colleague my former colleague introduced me and said hey you know

[04:23] I want to share some music that I like with you And there is this band and it's very special and unique because the frontman and the band they are like nameless

[04:35] And the identity of the frontman was hidden I think until 2016 or 2017 It's a separate story you can

[04:42] Google about It's very interesting actually So and what is so special what's so unique is that they are wearing nice costumes and there is the lore that comes with that with the band

[04:55] And every season there is a new papa Yeah like there is new papa Sometimes papa plays one albums or two albums and they change

[05:05] The papa is the frontman And yeah it looks like this like on my T shirt Yeah so with a mask with a makeup

[05:14] And fans love to do that as well dressing up and putting makeup on And that's what I did as well actually

[05:21] When the day of the concert arrived I bought this costume on Amazon It's a nun's costume like a very classic ghost fan look

[05:33] And I was wearing this costume and a face paint and I did all the makeup myself And for my husband as well we had this heavy metal or rock makeup

[05:45] And really cool you can check out my Facebook I also posted some pictures there Yeah and it was amazing

[05:52] I even put some glitter like a body and face glitter It was nice It was great I got a lot of compliments also from other fans

[06:01] And I got so excited My husband even bought me a doll with the papa And now this papa doll is hanging around with me when

[06:10] I teach at home So yeah that's lovely And anyway I just want to say one thing that first of all this concert was so special to me because it's like the highlight of my year

[06:23] It was something like a pick me up kind of event Because I've been through a lot lately for the past couple of years

[06:31] And I think I used to think that metal and rock these are the genres that are only for people who are depressed or only for people who are unhappy or they have problems with their head or something

[06:45] I know it's very uncultured yeah to say like that and to think like that So I do think that it's my mistake it's my bad you never know

[06:54] But then when you have this kind of misconception and bias and then life throws that at you and you fall in love with rock

[07:02] So that's what happened to me And last fall I was just scrolling through Spotify and I was aware that such group existed and

[07:11] I actually liked a couple of songs of that band music band And the Spotify just said you know like events near you and it just showed up

[07:20] Somehow I just I remember whether it was Spotify or YouTube I don't remember whether but I just saw that they released a new album and so

[07:28] I clicked on it and I started listening and I was like oh my gosh why didn't I fall in love with this band earlier you know

[07:36] I remember I was telling my colleague that oh no no no you know it's maybe later like I'm not a metal fan but then look at me right now

[07:45] I'm wearing ghost t shirt right Like you never know what things might change in life and how your life might go

[07:51] But yeah I got really excited about this concert and after listening to their last to their recent album

[07:59] I mean Skeletor it's amazing It's really all the songs are beautiful peace filled lacrimal if you haven't heard you should

[08:10] Google And it's very beautiful the way the style the lore of the band And I really got into it and I started listening

[08:19] I was like OK hell yeah I want to listen to the whole thing I started listening from their very first album and what inspires me a lot is the frontman the singer of this band is actually not a native speaker but he's a

[08:33] Swedish man and he learned English and he worked on his American accent so well so hard that now when you listen to it you can barely hear any accent

[08:43] And that's really truly inspiring And I think it's just great that people can do that can learn a language like that

[08:51] Me being a linguist and a teacher and a polyglot and I learn many languages right now I'm working on my sixth language if

[09:00] I don't count one or two languages that I tried learning but then I stopped So like my active languages

[09:07] I really appreciate this fact that you know like a lot of Europeans and especially I know in Sweden yeah people love languages like that

[09:16] And he did a good job with his accent and singing So just about the concert a couple of things So first of all it was at

[09:24] Scotia Bank Arena it's a huge arena It was my first time going there I truly appreciated this energy

[09:29] I think the most important thing like the bottom line is that you can always watch something on TV or on your phone but it's never going to replace this hands on experience this immersion into the concert into the atmosphere into the vibes

[09:46] And two hours just flew by and he sang they played so many songs from the previous albums Before going to the concert

[09:56] I had to put my makeup on had put my costume on It was amazing It was great After the concert though

[10:04] I truly caught the post concert blues I got like really sad that it was all over So I re watched the concert movie right here right now

[10:15] And I don't know And I got into rock and metal more like I started listening to more bands And you know who would have thought

[10:22] These days I do not stay in touch with that former colleague of mine But you know like it's what I think about it

[10:29] I think like OK like if who would have thought yeah because back then I was thinking oh my God how can you listen to such music

[10:37] So never judge anyone you know because tables might always turn as they say Yeah things change in life and you change your preferences and tastes differ tastes change over time

[10:50] So these post concert blues yeah they are they truly hit me But I miss Ghost I miss the concert and I keep listening to them

[11:01] And I got more into rock Like I started listening to Nirvana and that's my husband's favorite band And actually also like yeah

[11:10] I like Nirvana but not that much Like I don't know back then back then But now now after I got Ghost and

[11:20] I got into Ghost and I started listening more and more I truly appreciated Nirvana and Kurt Cobain And it just happened so that we re watched the documentary also about him

[11:32] Right when it was his birthday So it's great So I want to say something If you can't afford to go to a concert because now the prices are skyrocketing especially here in

[11:46] Toronto remember that you can always get a credit or you can always you know just finance with the help of like

[11:52] Klarna or Affirm or other companies and you can pay over time almost with a very low percentage So like the interest rate

[12:02] I mean just do not deprive yourself of such an experience because it's amazing It's unforgettable It's what pushes you and makes you live your life and makes you appreciate every day of your life as it is

[12:15] Like for me music something that pushes me through very difficult moments of my life for the past two years things have not been easy for me but

[12:24] I always turn on Ghostband and I really appreciate the fact that I found them that you know that friend that guy suggested one time ago and who would have thought you know

[12:36] So truly appreciate it And it's just I think it's become part of me and top five songs that I listen to every day called me a little sunshine darkness at the heart of my love

[12:47] Lacrima Peace Field Respite on the Spittle Fields Senatave but it's so hard to choose because I listen to it all especially everything from

[13:01] Skeletor and Impera for sure for sure So I hope you enjoyed this and I hope you got to know me a little bit better and sorry that it's a little bit off topic and it's not about

[13:14] English but next time I'll talk more about language related topics Canada related but I just want to make this podcast truly personal so that you can benefit and learn about things with me and things that are related to my life as well

[13:31] So kind of I'm not wearing a mask here like the frontman of Ghost I want to be just like an open book

[13:37] So thank you so much for listening Make sure to hit the like or to go and watch and support my YouTube if you're listening to this on

[13:45] Apple Podcasts Spotify or other podcast platform just go to my YouTube also please I would really appreciate if you could subscribe hit like you know you can always text me on

[13:56] Instagram English Stoyanova English Canada I have one Instagram in English and one in Russian So please do that

[14:04] And yeah if you have Ghost you have everything as they say It's my pleasure talking to you today and yeah see you next time or you're going to hear me next time

[14:14] Bye bye