Morning Music Notes – Forget What You Know; Cassette Tape is NOT a Word
Cassette Tape Removed from the Oxford Dictionary
Every year, new buzz words and internet slang are added to THE dictionary authority, The Oxford Dictionary. This often results in some minor public outcry, while the youth of the day are wondering what took so long. Recent examples include ‘OMG’, ‘LOL’, and the symbol for heart (ok, that one is a little fucked up). Well, what giveth can taketh away. The Oxford Dictionary has removed ‘Cassette Tape’ from their list of words (via Digital Music News). How does one REMOVE words? It’s not like cassettes no longer exist – they are just used far more infrequently. We don’t remove words that existed in medieval times, so why would we remove Cassette Tape (and add retweet). These words will remain in the unabridged version, but whatever Oxford. I will work cassette tape into my daily conversation, and will no longer retweet.
“It was so past its prime that it was not worth keeping it in,” editor-at-large Jesse Sheidlower told USA Today. Well then, that settles it; how do you argue that logic?
Scientific Proof of the Most Catchy Song
A team of monkeys academics has voted the song We Are The Champions by Queens as the catchiest.pop.song.ever (via Yahoo). The research unveiled that there are four elements of a song that seem to lead to catchiness. The four elements of the singalongs are: long and detailed musical phrases, multiple pitch changes in a song’s ‘hook’, male vocalists and higher male voices making a noticeable vocal effort.
And the winner was….oh wait, I already mentioned it above. The singalong favourite, We Are The Champions, by Queen, won the vote.
“Every musical hit is reliant on maths, science, engineering and technology; from the physics and frequencies of sound that determine pitch and harmony, to the hi-tech digital processors and synthesisers which can add effects to make a song more catchy,” the Daily Mail quoted Dr Daniel Mullensiefen of Goldsmiths University, London, as saying.
“We’ve discovered that there’s a science behind the sing-along and a special combination of neuroscience, maths and cognitive psychology can produce the elusive elixir of the perfect sing-along song,” he added.
Let’s hope that Nickelback doesn’t get their hands on this latest research once they tire of their current formula.
Watch! Radiohead on Jimmy Fallon
It seems some of the kids from the up and coming band, Radiohead, have not yet escaped from New York. Video proof exists in the form of late night television. What I’m trying to say is that singer Thom Yorke and multi-instrumentalist / God Jonny Greenwood performed on Jimmy Fallon’s show last night. They did a version of Give Up the Ghost from The King of Limbs. Michael Stipe was on hand to creepily watch Jimmy Fallon introduce the band. Watch the video below.
