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Bill M.'s definitions

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
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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
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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
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acronym

An abbreviation for a phrase created by taking the first letter or so of each word, AND is pronounced as a word itself.
"USA" is technically NOT an acronym, because people don't pronounce it as "You-Sah". However, "MADD" (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) is an acronym because it's pronounced exactly as it's spelled.
by Bill M. July 28, 2004
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jehovahs witness

Somebody else here added a definition for "jehovahs witness", thus creating this new page, instead of adding to the already existing "Jehovah's Witness" or "Jehovah's Witnesses" definitions.
by Bill M. August 27, 2004
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Walmart

A store where you can buy a shot gun, ammunition, a ski mask, a baseball bat, a meat cleaver and a chainsaw, but you can't buy a CD that has a "Parental Advisory" sticker.
The local 3-generation mom & pop store was run out of town by Walmart.
by Bill M. July 28, 2004
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sellout

A vague but derogatory term blindly used by music "fans" to describe bands who make (or have managers who make) a new lucrative and/or artistically experimental decision (for example: accepting a product endorsement, a change in the band's expected composition style, switching to a larger record label, dressing with more class, speaking out against mass mp3 piracy, etc.) The word is sometimes also applied to bands who simply get more commercial success through no additional effort.

The anger comes from the false belief that fans "own" their favorite entertainers, that these entertainers are thus not real humans with free will, and the feeling of grief when some CD that the listener previously enjoyed alone is now enjoyed by millions of more people.

(Note that "sellout" ONLY applies to those who make a living in the fine arts. For example, a software engineer who accepts a job promotion and higher salary is never branded as a "sellout". Nor is a professional athlete who appears on a box of Wheaties.)
Actual quotes from an old friend:

(1993) "Damnit, Smashing Pumpkins is such an underrated band. They never get played on the radio!"
(1994) "Damnit, Smashing Pumpkins are always on Mtv and the radio now! They're such sellouts."
by Bill M. July 28, 2004
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