Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Mariah Carey, What Hath Thou Wrought?

I don't know when it started, but somewhere along the way singers all started to do that warbly thing. I can't describe it in words well, but it's where they take a single syllable and turn it into five syllables and take it all over a scale or up and down an octave. It's show-off singing. Right now, some cube dweller here on what I call "Death Row" (where they keep the creatives on their way out soon - far away from the other creatives) someone from another department keeps a clock radio for company. They also enjoy Christmas music. Some unknown (to me) lady crooner is smoothing her way through "Do You Hear What I Hear" right now, where even the word "I" is an unrecognizable string of sounds, as if she's trying to impress a panel of judges at a high school talent show. It's enough to make me even more Scrooge-like. Gimme my headphones.

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8 Comments:

  • Stick some drum and bass on.

    That'll show 'em.

    By Blogger Jam, at December 9, 2008 at 11:34 AM  

  • More runs than celebrity national anthems?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at December 9, 2008 at 11:45 AM  

  • ... singers all started to do that warbly thing. I can't describe it in words well, but it's where they take a single syllable and turn it into five syllables and take it all over a scale ....

    That technique is melisma, which is perhaps best recognized as what people doing when singing the hymn "Gloria", usually at Christmas.

    What Would Vannevar Blog

    By Blogger Vannevar, at December 9, 2008 at 1:00 PM  

  • Hey, now - we didn't come here to learn anything, dangit!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at December 9, 2008 at 2:26 PM  

  • I've dubbed that "horny music" -- cause when they warble away they sound like they're... you know...

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at December 10, 2008 at 9:15 AM  

  • When I first moved here, I worked at a grocery store. It had satellite radio that was permanently tuned to the easy listening station. As soon as Thanksgiving was over, the owners switched it to the pop/R&B/oldies-style Christmas music station. Lots of Mariah Carey. Insufferable. I quit not much later.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at December 10, 2008 at 10:44 AM  

  • American Idol Mr. Dead Man Blogging. All the ones with weak voices started doing it there to hide that they had, um... weak voices.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at December 10, 2008 at 10:54 PM  

  • I call it the 'diva dive', or as a buddy put it back in college: White people trying to sound black . American Idol: LOTS of white people trying to sound black. Ick!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at December 20, 2008 at 12:24 AM  

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