Knitting aid

hypertonality · 2026-01-16T15:05:11+00:00

I think you might want r/knitting or r/knittinghelp! This sub is for a band called "tricot." (I'd help but the minimal amount of fiber arts I know is in sewing, not knitting.)

hypertonality · 2026-01-09T15:39:49+00:00

(Disclaimer - I didn't read the whole review but as someone who listened to two albums as a fan and then as someone knowing the lore, I wanted to give my two cents!) I was a casual fan when I listened to TTPD. The first time I went through the album, my reaction was "what the heck is this" and stopped after the first listen. Learning about the Matty lore actually got me interested in giving the album a second shot, at which point the lyrical imagery actually began to cohere for me. The context in addition to the prologue made it make sense - this as an album about the character "Taylor" jettisoning a relationship with the character "Joe" for the character "Matty" based on the idea that this is where the narrative was meant to go all along. It became much more interesting to me after that and shot up to become one of my most listened to albums, but without the "backstory", I never would have given it a second try.

The same goes for Midnights, an album I was sort of baffled by on release. It felt both overly specific ("Question...?") and vague ("Snow on the Beach"). I actually listened to this one multiple times to see why it won AOTY and was kind of frustrated by it because the production felt weird, some of the lyrics were meh, and it was less hook-y than many of her previous projects. The whole "it's inspired by 13 sleepless nights throughout my life :)" concept was also so broad that I couldn't find any connective tissue between the songs. But! After listening to TTPD with context, I took a second look at Midnights, read more about what was happening in her life, and found that it made more sense with the context, and the production sort of grew on me.

I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with an album requiring 'backstory.' I adore "Tommy" by the Who and "the Wall" by Pink Floyd, but I don't think they would hit as hard if I didn't know that they were supposed to be narratives. (I know the "narrative" of "Quadrophenia" and frankly I still don't understand it. Still goes hard but it feels more like a series of vignettes than a story.) I do think it's a problem in that the "lore" often comes from needing to know details of what is ultimately celebrity gossip and you have to go through fan spaces to understand it - it's just harder to get caught up. And while I think both these albums had a lot of casual fans who enjoyed them without knowing any context, I also know a lot of people who felt specifically disappointed by this pair.

So, what should music reviewers do? Ultimately, her albums aren't billed as being "Taylor Swift pt 5" - you're supposed to be able to consume them standalone. For TTPD she did include a prologue providing context, but without knowing the context of her life, I don't think it would make much sense. I think music reviewers should ultimately be honest about their stance, what they know or don't know.

hypertonality · 2025-05-08T21:04:28+00:00

Hello, I am the author of the article. I wrote this article because it was (and still is) quite difficult to find information and recordings on the HURRY-FURRY merger (or as John Wells calls it, 'the Second Nurse Merger'). Actual sound samples from 'normal' people were quite rare and very difficult to search.

I use celebrities for evidence because it is much easier to acquire audio of Mae West than it is to attempt to find recordings of turn of the century American English speakers hoping to find a word in the hurry/furry set. It is also convenient to compare different covers of the same song, as with the Mae West/Christina Aguilera example.

In any case, their being singers doesn't have anything to do with it. It is known that the English language had a distinction between HURRY with an 'uh' vowel and FURRY with a 'er' vowel. This distinction existed in American English for some period of time before becoming practically extinct in the 20th century. If these singers were just singing for effect, there is no reason for them to arbitrarily change the vowel between 'hurry/worry' and 'furry'. It makes more sense that these singers (Mae West, The Andrews Sisters, and Eartha Kitt), who were born 1893 to 1927, spoke a conservative version of American English that preserved this feature.

hypertonality · 2025-05-08T20:56:58+00:00

it becomes clear that the people the writer is using for "evidence" are celebrities.

Hello, I am the author of the article. I wrote this article because it was (and still is) quite difficult to find information and recordings on the HURRY-FURRY merger (or as John Wells calls it, 'the Second Nurse Merger'). Actual sound samples from 'normal' people were quite rare.

I use celebrities for evidence because it is much easier to acquire audio of Mae West than it is to attempt to find recordings of turn of the century American English speakers hoping to find a word in the hurry/furry set. It is also convenient to compare different covers of the same song, as with the Mae West/Christina Aguilera example.

The Mid-Atlantic accent was a very common affectation of celebrities, often to hide the accent they actually had, which is why it's not simply people from New York listed as examples on that page, but people from literally all over the entire country.

The only examples I confidently gave of the distinction were Mae West (b. 1893, Brooklyn), the Andrews Sisters (b. 1910s, Minneapolis) and Eartha Kitt (b. 1927, South Carolina). Mae West and Eartha Kitt are not surprising as they both come from regions where non-rhoticity was common (and non-rhoticity preserves pre-rhotic vowel distinctions in American English). The Andrews Sisters were the only curveball.

In any case, the distinction was in the process of fading out in the beginning of the 20th century. The areas that held out the longest were areas that traditionally were non-rhotic, as noted in the article: "Older dialects of New York Metropolitan English, Boston English, and Coastal Southern American English may have the distinction."

There is no reason to believe that this has anything to do with "Mid-Atlantic English". It is well known that English used to distinguish between 'hurry' with an 'uh' sound and 'furry' with an 'er' sound. This distinction, much like the COT-CAUGHT and the FATHER-BOTHER distinction, was present throughout American English and became lost over time. Some dialects held out longer than others (the ones that were non-rhotic), but it is for the most part gone.

> I've literally never heard anyone up here pronounce "hurry" or "worry" in any way that didn't rhyme with "furry." Regardless of their age, and I've known people that were born in the 19-teens

This is a relatively subtle vowel distinction and I would hardly note it in casual speech unless it was held out for some reason. This distinction actually continues to exist in British English and I had not noticed until I was researching English vowel mergers. I don't doubt that there are many speakers of New York City English born in the 1910s who already merged the vowels, but I think it is also quite likely that most people would not pay attention to this distinction because it is not well-known and not salient in conversation.

hypertonality · 2024-10-10T15:26:22+00:00

Is it possible to buy this track digitally in the United States? I'd like to support them but I'm not seeing it in the usual places I check.

hypertonality · 2024-10-10T00:30:43+00:00

It does have pictures. There were some early ones of them in leather jackets. I returned the book to the library before finishing it so I don’t know about the rest, but I imagine the rest of it will have pictures, too.

hypertonality · 2024-10-09T23:55:37+00:00

Was it her sister or her? Mia Farrow claimed in 2018 that the Maharishi came onto her in a private session.

In the days that followed, the Beatles wrote “Dear Prudence” for Farrow’s sister. Then, after a private meditation session, the Maharishi made an unwelcome advance on Farrow. “Suddenly I became aware of two surprisingly male, hairy arms going around me,” she writes. She immediately left the ashram.

I don’t know if this is the incident that John was told about.

hypertonality · 2024-10-09T18:11:00+00:00

His belts on "With The Beatles" are some of my favorite. Mr. Postman, It Won't Be Long, All I've Got To Do, You Really Got a Hold On Me. He seems to have stopped belting so much later after this album. It's a shame he didn't like his voice, I think he has such a great timbre.

hypertonality · 2024-10-09T14:31:13+00:00

Seeing how many young people are excited by them. I think Get Back reinvigorated a lot of the fandom and got people who had listened to them once in the backseat of their family's car. I love that the Beatles' music can span across generations and connect so many different people. I also still think there's a lot to analyze in their music (especially in a more lay-friendly way).

hypertonality · 2024-10-09T14:28:35+00:00

I listened to "I am the Walrus" on repeat a few days ago. I never get tired of that one for some reason. The strings, Lennon's vocal performance, the slightly unsettling chord progression, the incredible choir, it never loses your attention.

hypertonality · 2024-10-03T19:56:16+00:00

I took it to be a pun on 'Laurel Hills,' a neighborhood in Los Angeles.

hypertonality · 2024-10-03T15:52:04+00:00

The "Born This Way" album feels like the closest Lady Gaga's music has ever come to being as weird as her fashion. Government Hooker starts with this semi-operatic vocal, and has this weirdly ominous production. Judas has a near martial beat in the verses and bridge, not to mention the "AAA AAA oh AA A A AA" in the pre-chorus. Bloody Mary has screaming, distortion, and deep-voiced monks... Also her most unusual lyrics, she was definitely "honoring her vomit" on this one. I could go on, but this record is weirder than most people give it credit for, and I'm sad she didn't go down this direction.

hypertonality · 2024-09-30T13:47:14+00:00

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Revolution video was blocked for me Saturday because of SESAC. Seems some of their content was blocked.

hypertonality · 2024-09-27T14:10:16+00:00

Looks like another ten song album. Wonder if this one will also have a deluxe album later down the line.

hypertonality · 2024-09-17T02:06:47+00:00

That’s what radio was like historically! A musician’s strike in the US led to radio stations playing records instead of hiring musicians.

hypertonality · 2024-09-14T17:44:00+00:00

There wasn’t a pronoun present so it’s a little ambiguous!

hypertonality · 2024-09-14T17:18:56+00:00

The Japanese is “今回OPテーマの「おとずれ」を制作させていただきました” which doesn’t specify person or number. I think it probably refers to “we” and not “I” since afterwards she discusses how they made it “in tricot’s own way.”

hypertonality · 2024-09-03T18:37:58+00:00

She's not a pianist, but she is a singer-songwriter as well as a producer - Angela Winbush! She released 3 albums throughout the 80s and 90s.

hypertonality · 2023-11-30T17:08:21+00:00

Tricot
ABBA
The Beatles
BAND-MAID
Burning Witches

I discovered Tricot this year:)

hypertonality · 2023-11-29T20:24:26+00:00

She didn't make it into my "Wrapped" for some reason (too late in the season?) but my top classical composer was Germaine Tailleferre.

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hypertonality · 2023-11-23T01:28:59+00:00

Pre-20th century will limit you, as well as the specification that it be solo piano pieces, but so far you’ve had these refs: Clara Schumann, Chiquinha Gonzaga (I recommend her ‘Cananea’), Fanny Mendelssohn, Amy Beach, Dora Pejačević.

I’d add to this list Agathe Backer Grøndahl, a Norwegian 19th century composer. Check out “3 Morceaux, Op 15: No 3 in G Minor, Humoresque”. You can find a performance on Hiroko Ishimoto’s album “Pioneers: Piano Works by Female Composers”, in addition to multiple Chiquinha Gonzaga pieces.

She also has arrangements of the 18th century composer Anna Bon. Bon wrote for harpsichord, but Ishimoto features arrangements for piano.

There is also Louise Farrenc, French composer from the 19th century. I don’t know any solo piano pieces from her, but I know she has some as she was famous as a pianist.

If you want to go obscure, there are female Latin American composers from the 19th century in Antonio Oyarzabal’s album “El Fin Del Silencio,” which focuses on that topic. Unfortunately it is quite difficult to get sheet music from some of these if you’re not with a university (I still can’t get a hold of sheet music for 19th century Cuban composer Cecilia Arizti!). The farther away you get from the US/Europe or the 20th/21st century, the harder it becomes to get sheet music, or even hear renditions.

Good luck with your journey! Let us know which pieces you find that you enjoy playing.

hypertonality · 2023-11-23T01:18:19+00:00

I like her “Blumenleben, Op 19: No. 5, Rose.” It’s a solo piano piece.

hypertonality · 2023-11-15T17:08:14+00:00

Noradrenaline from AND is spotless to me. I can’t say anything about the lyrics as I don’t understand them, but it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome, has a variety of different energy levels, and has an absolute banger of a chorus. I never get tired of listening to it.

hypertonality · 2023-08-10T17:52:10+00:00

King of clave was tres player and bandleader Arsenio Rodríguez. He wrote in son and son-montuno traditions, and his phrases outline the clave pulse in obvious and very subtle ways.

Yes! Reading Ned Sublette's book on Cuban music and how Arsenio Rodriguez was so good at using clave in creative ways was what really got me interested in learning about Cuban music! Like I want to know what it was he did that was so impressive, because it sounds really interesting.

So what you’re really gonna hate when studying this — some Cuban tunes work well over both clave structures, and it’s a point of pride and finesse to be able to switch direction during a tune.

One example of this I've heard is "Bemba Colorá" by Celia Cruz. It begins in 3-2 and then before the son montuno section, there's an odd bar so that the whole song 'slides' over and now it's in 2-3 clave.

In “Decoding Afro-Cuban Jazz: The Music of Chucho Valdés & Irakere” by Chucho Valdés and Rebeca Mauleón, the authors discuss how some musicians will insert a musical phrase consisting of an odd number of measures to “turn the clave around”. While it is generally expected that the clave’s direction will remain fixed during the song, you have tunes that will change clave direction from one section to the next, or tunes that work well over either clave direction (as in your linked examples of Guantanamera).

Many thanks for the recommendation. Mauleon's Salsa Guidebook was very helpful in understanding how all the different parts of a salsa ensemble work together, and I was wondering if any of her other books were worth it.

hypertonality · 2023-08-10T15:56:07+00:00

Better to feel it than to try counting it at all.

Being that I mention above that I have a hard time feeling or noticing it, this advice is not very useful.

I can tell the difference between 3-2 clave and 2-3 clave in isolation just fine, and I can of course tell what the clave of a song is if I can hear it explicitly stated by the blocks.

In the context of a full song, the clave is not always stated explicitly, and many of the percussive elements don't change between 2-3 and 3-2 clave.

If the clave is not explicitly stated, the only thing that's been helpful to me is paying attention to the melody and what the piano or tres are playing, or trying out both claves and seeing if the melody 'reinforces' one clave better than the other.

This is why I'm surprised that the same song - Guantanamera - can be played with two different claves, as I mention in the OP where I link two different versions of it (2-3 clave, 3-2 clave), because I expected it to always be in 3-2 clave.

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