Animated Alphabet Letters

January 30, 2007 10:00 PM

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q s t u v w x y z
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posted by jonson (28 comments total)

Man I'm dumb. R!
posted by jonson at 10:01 PM on January 30, 2007

Man I'm dumb. R!

You should have sung the alphabet song to yourself while you were posting, jonson, then you wouldn't have missed it :)
posted by amyms at 10:07 PM on January 30, 2007

Naw, should have done the traditional missing of the 'P'.
posted by Goofyy at 10:31 PM on January 30, 2007

Sobriety test failed. Into the paddy-wagon with you.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:32 PM on January 30, 2007

I guess this post covers everything. We can all go home now; there's nothing left to post here.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 11:28 PM on January 30, 2007

WTF?
posted by doplgangr at 12:12 AM on January 31, 2007

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
posted by the painkiller at 12:19 AM on January 31, 2007

Thanks, I was looking for something to keep me amused until the 2C-T-7 kicked in.
posted by tehloki at 12:41 AM on January 31, 2007

Can anyone with a music theory background explain what's so distinctive/disturbing about the music and vocals in that pinball counting video? Is it something to do with minor chords? Please help, I'm a drummer.
posted by Eideteker at 12:42 AM on January 31, 2007

Eideteker: It's probably all the LSD-based imagery, and the fact that pinball is a scary game played by people from the 70's.
posted by tehloki at 12:55 AM on January 31, 2007

Man I'm dumb. R!

Yes, but where is the letter "elemino"?
posted by Brittanie at 1:41 AM on January 31, 2007 [2 favorites]

I can't find the letter where the composer explains this, but apparently a lot of the improvised number shouts, like "3 ee-ee" were recorded outside of the context of the backing track, in whatever key the Pointer sisters happened to hit, then layered back in later on....so, likely some of them aren't in the same key as the main track, or at least use some freaky intervals you're not expecting to hear. Even in LSD-inspired jazz fusion.

IANA(proper)Musician, though.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 1:48 AM on January 31, 2007

There's also the short version.
posted by roll truck roll at 2:49 AM on January 31, 2007

Eideteker, I'm not sure but those chords sound like they might be diminished chords. IIRC that would be flatted third and flatted fifth. I could be wrong.
posted by konolia at 4:57 AM on January 31, 2007

Please help, I'm a drummer.

That one sentence explains so much.
posted by yhbc at 5:31 AM on January 31, 2007

I am being driven insane by watching and rewatching X.

I can only be saved by the lower-case N.
posted by washburn at 6:28 AM on January 31, 2007

Here's my personal favourite: I.
posted by RokkitNite at 7:28 AM on January 31, 2007

Sesame Street.
posted by rmmcclay at 7:41 AM on January 31, 2007

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

I hated Sesame Street. We didn't start getting it in the UK until the 80s when Channel 4 started and I was too old for it by then really. Even then it represented cheaply imported TV rather than something indigenous and home grown, and it didn't bode well for this new channel that was supposed to provide us with quality programming that no other channel could or would provide. And then I saw this segment, and I changed my mind so completely and utterly. I still, to this day, sometimes find myself singing the music when I see numbers written in order somewhere. There's a shop down the road from where I work that has the address 123. I sing that song every time I go in and I haven't seen it since I was about 13 or something.

I don't want to wax too lyrical about it but it really is one of the best things that has ever been put in front of young kids on the TV.
posted by vbfg at 8:11 AM on January 31, 2007

Ooh, I remember when I took music theory liking diminished chords. If I ever get a band, we'll have lots of those.
posted by Eideteker at 9:20 AM on January 31, 2007

More specifically, I think you're noticing the tritones in that song.
posted by D.C. at 10:08 AM on January 31, 2007

From D.C.'s link:

The tritone retains its "Devil in Music" character in popular music, specifically heavy metal. The opening of Black Sabbath's signature song "Black Sabbath" makes heavy use of the tritone. The entire opening riff of Rush's instrumental song "YYZ" is made up of two notes in a tritone interval. Other metal songs with prominent tritones in their main riffs are Diamond Head's "Am I Evil?", Metallica's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and "Enter Sandman". Thrash metal band Slayer, known for their occult references and themes, released an album entitled Diabolus in Musica.

That is entirely possible, since I was basically raised on my father's knee while he played YYZ on the drums (which would explain a lot, cerebral damage-wise), and later 'matured' into Black Sabbath, Metallica, and related bands. Bring on the tritones!
posted by Eideteker at 10:39 AM on January 31, 2007

That's the most remarkable word I've ever seen!
posted by inturnaround at 12:51 PM on January 31, 2007

Sesame Street was ok. But I'm sorry people... my heart belongs to Easy Reader.

Outtasite!
posted by miss lynnster at 1:18 PM on January 31, 2007

Remember teeny little super guy? WTF? A plastic cup with a weird looking drawing on it...
posted by bkiddo at 3:30 PM on January 31, 2007

Now I know my A B C's, won't you post on metafilter with me!
posted by Kudos at 3:35 PM on January 31, 2007

Evidently the drugs were good at Children's Television Workshop in the '70s...
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 8:43 PM on January 31, 2007

This one is Thomas Pynchon's favorite.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 9:12 PM on January 31, 2007