Bill M.'s definitions

tuner

1. A electric device used for tuning a musical instrument to its proper pitch
2. One who professionally tunes a musical instrument

1. My tuner indicates that this guitar string is too sharp (high)
2. The piano sounds really bad. We should call in a piano tuner some day.

by Bill M. July 27, 2004

acoustic

1) A musical instrument that is not electric
2) A musical performance that uses no electric instruments (aside from microphones and similar amplification)

1) Jimi Hendrix played an electric guitar on the song "Purple Haze", but Paul Simon played an acoustic guitar on Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson". Techno and dance music uses electric drums, but rock music typically sticks to acoustic drums.

2) Eric Clapton's band did an acoustic show on "Mtv Unplugged".

by Bill M. August 27, 2004

Catholic school girl

In slang terms, this is the stereotype describing the woman who gives the appearance of being very conformist, wholesome, and pure of "sin" (sex, drugs, and other indulgences), but in reality has a deep compulsion to be the contrasting opposite: very promiscuous and all-around unwholesome.

At the S&M club, Harry saw several women dressed in Catholic school girl uniforms.

by Bill M. September 20, 2004

ironic

1. A situation where the result is a complete reverse (and practical mockery) of what was expected

2. A word heavy misused and abused in conversation today, mostly by people who think that using the word in any way will automatically make them seem intelligent. The word is usually misused to exactly mean "coincidental" or "tragic", when again it doesn't mean this (see #1)

If the heavy metal band Anthrax dies of anthrax, that would be poetically tragic, but not ironic. If a diabetic crosses the street and is run over by a truck carrying insulin, then it's ironic.

"Isn't it ironic that the pop song 'Ironic' contains absolutely no examples of irony?"

"One issue of Mad Magazine showed Alfred E. Neuman face-down in the desert, crushed to death by a parachuted crate of first aid supplies. Now THAT was ironic!"

by Bill M. July 27, 2004

Rainbow

Hard rock band formed in the mid-1970s by guitar virtuoso Ritchie Blackmore after leaving Deep Purple. Initially fronted by singer Ronnie James Dio who eventually left in 1979 to replace Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath. Rainbow incorporated medieval themes and classical-inspired guitar work into heavy metal.

Rainbow's big songs include "Man on the Silver Mountain", "Long Live Rock N' Roll", "Stargazer", "Since You've Been Gone", and "Stone Cold".

by Bill M. September 10, 2004

slap

(music) A bass guitar technique of hitting a string hard with the side of the thumb knuckle, producing a loud but brief snapping sound. Slapping is usually combined with popping, the act of pulling a string outward with the finger tip and letting it snap back. Invented by Larry Graham (Sly and the Family Stone, Graham Central Station).

Slap & pop bass sounds are very characteristic of disco and funk music, though around 1990 it got very popular again when bands like Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Primus, Infectious Grooves, and Faith No More hit the hard rock radio stations and Mtv.

Jazz players on upright bass (aka double bass) have a technique called "slapping", but it's a completely different technique that involves literally slapping the strings.

by Bill M. August 27, 2004

spoonerism

A word or phrase created by swapping the initial letters (or first consonant sounds) of two words or syllables to get a new word word or phrase. The spelling doesn't have to be correct, only the pronounciation is important. The term "spoonerism" was named after Reverend W.A. Spooner (1844-1930).

Not to be confused with anagrams, palindromes, and other word games.

- "Peas and carrots" is a spoonerism of "keys and parrots"
- "tea bags" becomes "bee tags"
- "trail mix" becomes "mail tricks"
- "Save the whales" becomes "wave the sails"
- "forearm" becomes "oar farm"

by Bill M. August 27, 2004