English instructors working towards diversifying the curriculum, increasing multicultural discussions in the classroom, and encouraging interdisciplinary approaches to awakening consciousness can learn much from their students' interest in popular music. MTV and VH1 have special significance for students and can be easily incorporated into a paper/presentation at the end of a freshman composition course. Evaluations at the end of the semester show that this activity typically was noted as the highlight of the semester. The approach has two parts: (1) a 500-word essay explicating the lyrics to a rock song or a narration discussing the ways the lyrics remind a student of circumstances in his or her life; and (2) a presentation in front of the class, which is to last about five minutes and has four parts which are explained to the instructor in a prospectus: song (title and artist); specific meaning to the student; general point to be made to the class; and visual aids to be used. In short, students prepare a summary of their paper and present it in some interesting way. In one particular case, a student, while playing Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven," showed slides of himself and a friend, whom he has missed since his death due to an alcohol-related traffic accident. (TB)