...but it might not work. Bear with me.
As some of you know, my fave fave FAVE radio show is Wiretap (on CBC on Friday nights at 8:30 and Sunday afternoons at 1).
Today's episode featured a friend of Jonathan's calling up and immediately doing a poor 'human beat box' into the phone.
This is where it gets hard. Imagine doing "do da deet ta do da deet ta" rhythmically, without voicing, and using your lower lip against your teeth to filter into a 'snare' type sound.
[[-voice] alveolar + labio-dental with no vowels, for those in the know...and that was even a crappy description]
Anyway...this guy called Jonathan and did that and said, 'you've got to help me! I've had this in my head for days now and I can't name the song!' Johnathan argued that without much more than that, it was almost impossible to tell the song. Almost...because I nailed it in the first 4 seconds.
It was Goody Two Shoes by Adam Ant. An album I bought when I was ten with my own money. The first cassette I bought with my allowance ever. I used to build forts in the spare room and listen to it on one of those crappy, one speaker tape deck things.
I still have it. I bought it on CD a few years ago. I also have Adam Ant's first album. On vinyl and CD.
I called my father immediately after the show stopped and the first thing I said was, 'I knew that song the second he started'...my dad and I laughed as we recounted the show. I told my dad, through our conversation, about me buying the tape and playing in my fort listening to it and knowing all the words and still owning it to this days...he laughed about how funny the show was, different jokes we were telling...you know. I thought.
Dad...and he was laughing the type of laugh that I know he's wiping tears from his eyes...caught his breath in between bouts of hysterics and said, '....and you're not even embarrassed to tell me you listen to that crap....'...and fell back into laughing so hard all I could hear was snorts and wheezing.
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6 comments:
Back in the day, on the show Basic Black on Sunday mornings, they used to have a thing where people could call in and hum the tunes to songs they didn't know, and then other people could call in if they knew.
That's a show I regret not listening to. Now there's anotehr reason I regret it...I'd totally NAIL those songs.
I used to watch Basic Black, Double Exposure, Quirks and Quarks, and Definitely Not the Opera (formely Brand X) every Saturday while I played nintendo.
Hi Himbly!
I was looking for some blogs written by linguistics students and enthusiasts, and i reached your site. I'm a linguistics student, too. Still taking my Bachelor's degree. I'm from the Philippines.
And I think we share the same interest--- phonology. Yay!
Raymund
Also, here's a post/blog that you may find interesting.
rv-
Yay for phonologists! Are you going to continue on?
dan-
Awesome. I love Pandagon (started reading it when C. Hitchens wrote that stupid article telling us that he's never heard a woman crack a joke) but I missed the one you sent me. Thanks!
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