Earworms
From the Jardiance jingle to “Minnie the Moocher.”
Barry Sachs
One bit of instrument naming I can’t stand: “bari sax.” No one says “al sax” or “ten sax.” Why “bari sax”?
Lester Young speaks
“Little Tinky Boom? One stick, you dig?” And other expressions.
Whence bebop?
Merriam-Webster on the origin of bebop.
Word of the day: obbligato
The word of the day, or of my day, because I just learned all about the word’s origins, is obbligato.
Word of the day: kindie
he recent appearance of vinyl for the young must be a related development.
Musician v. singer again
Anita O’Day, singer? Or musician? Or both?
Musicians and vocalists
“Musician” can be a tricky word.
“My children were raised”
I am happy to learn that the verb “raised” in “Heroes and Villains” is okay by Bryan Garner.
“I changed the Will to Shall”
Pete Seeger, on the development of “We Shall Overcome.”
Van Dyke Parks on arranging and words
Endlessly quotable