Omit Needless Musicals

November 1, 2005 4:56 PM

The Elements of Style, the classic writing manual by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, has been produced as a musical featuring the Omit Needless Words Orchestra.
posted by ScottMorris (33 comments total)

I wonder if the CRC has been optioned already?
posted by fatllama at 5:14 PM on November 1, 2005

http://sut1.sut.ac.th/strunk/
I had posted this yesterday at my site. It is the 1918 edition of the same book.
posted by Postroad at 5:15 PM on November 1, 2005

I prefer the Eschew Obfuscation Euphonium Ensemble.
posted by metaculpa at 5:24 PM on November 1, 2005

Sorry, I prefer Chicago to Style, any day.
posted by eriko at 5:35 PM on November 1, 2005

Postroad: Cool! I've always wondered how the Strunk version was different.
posted by ScottMorris at 5:38 PM on November 1, 2005

"Sorry, I prefer Chicago to Style, any day."

Well, yeah, it's got scantily clad women.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 5:49 PM on November 1, 2005

Part of the CRC has been put to song....
warning - flash but well well worth it!
posted by lalochezia at 5:55 PM on November 1, 2005

Cool. Maira Kalman is involved. She and her late husband,Tibor Kalman, did great stuff together. I love their M&Co products.
posted by ericb at 6:14 PM on November 1, 2005

"Sorry, I prefer Chicago to Style, any day."

Yeah, it has a certain sparse poetry to it....

I don't think they're really even comparable. Chicago is like a Bible, and Elements is like a Psalter.
posted by interrobang at 6:22 PM on November 1, 2005

Well, yeah, it's got scantily clad women.

Fuck, I got the wrong edition!
posted by ori at 6:25 PM on November 1, 2005

Whatever happened to bukvich anyway?
posted by davy at 6:33 PM on November 1, 2005

Fuck, I got the wrong edition!

Dude, why do you think we dropped the 12th that quickly?
posted by eriko at 6:44 PM on November 1, 2005

More like Funk and White, know what I'm sayin'?
*crickets*
posted by klangklangston at 6:53 PM on November 1, 2005

If someone turns Hacker into a musical, it will be a sad, sad day.
posted by sequential at 6:58 PM on November 1, 2005

Omit needless words
posted by kirkaracha at 7:12 PM on November 1, 2005

'Omit needless words' is one of my Top 5 writing rules. But if we all followed it, MetaFilter would be a ghost town.

on preview: dhacker would be a more interesting musical.
posted by LeLiLo at 7:17 PM on November 1, 2005

Is it just me, or is there a sudden increased tendency to make just about anything a musical? (The Producers, The Jerry Springer Show, etc.)
posted by matkline at 7:30 PM on November 1, 2005

Or, say, Winesburg, Ohio?
posted by sequential at 7:32 PM on November 1, 2005

quonsar: the musical!
posted by clevershark at 7:45 PM on November 1, 2005

Interesting idea, although the audience will be restricted to the converted.
For a wider appeal, I suggest Google--the Musical.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 7:47 PM on November 1, 2005

My comment was intended for the FPP, but also applies to quonsar.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 7:50 PM on November 1, 2005

Dude, in all seriousness, Metafilter: The Musical would kick ass.
posted by soyjoy at 7:55 PM on November 1, 2005

How do you solve a problem like a JRun...
posted by emelenjr at 8:11 PM on November 1, 2005

How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:20 PM on November 1, 2005

Kate Turabian would kick Strunk and White's asses any day of the week.
posted by jmgorman at 8:24 PM on November 1, 2005

Thanks to both ScottMorris and Postroad for the links. I know it's trendy nowadays to thumb one's nose at The Elements of Style, but I love it. It's like The Ashley Book of Knots; it's just always going to be authoritative.
posted by cribcage at 8:43 PM on November 1, 2005

Not feeling well. (Raises hand, "May I please go to the restroom?")

Barfs.
posted by snsranch at 8:52 PM on November 1, 2005

Don't anyone tell languagehat.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 12:09 AM on November 2, 2005

Yeah, I'm afraid I already got the bad news. But I'm resigned to a world in which zombie Strunk-worshippers overwhelm and eat the brains of any dissenting opinions.
posted by languagehat at 5:50 AM on November 2, 2005

Well, kudos to Jan Freeman. As I said, it's exceedingly trendy to throw spitballs at The Elements of Style; but most of its detractors don't bother with specific objections or alternative suggestions. "It sucks!" Hardly a position worth dignifying.

I'd answer that Freeman seems to miss the forest for the trees; that citing Mark Twain doesn't prove much; and that the maligned section on needless words includes such examples as "there is no doubt but that" versus "no doubt," and "in spite of the fact that" versus "although." The spirit of the book lives in examples like that; in the pursuit of brevity and clarity; in the placement of words; and in the awareness of form.

I'd add that I think Bill Walsh is a pedant, but I read his books anyway because they provoked me to consider some of my choices. You shouldn't waste too much time reading books on how to write; but occasionally, it's a worthwhile exercise.
posted by cribcage at 7:24 AM on November 2, 2005

For a wider appeal, I suggest Google AOL--the Musical

Featuring:

You've Got Mail, You've Got Mail, You've Got Mail!
Oh! The World Wide Web is a Wild Weird World!
Come Chat With Me (We Can Talk About Our Grandchildren)
Caps On! Caps Off! Doing The Email Dance.
It's 2:30 in Morning, Please Come To Bed
Shopping, Oh Lord I'm Shopping and (I've Never Been So Happy in My Life)
I'm The Virus Man
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 7:26 AM on November 2, 2005 [1 favorite]

Keep going, Secret_Life, you're on the verge of greatness. I'm sure people scoffed at, say, the idea of Urinetown, which ended up with nine Tony award nominations (three wins). I would humbly suggest, however, that you call it AOL: The Musicaol.
posted by LeLiLo at 10:12 AM on November 2, 2005

I only bought The Elements of Style for the guitar solo.
posted by Smedleyman at 2:18 PM on November 2, 2005