Can You Name That Tune?

Late in the year 1952, December to be precise, was when a radio game show - "Can You Name That Tune" - first aired.  Switching its broadcast to television almost immediately afterwards, it ran until 1959.  Those were boom years for the U.S. as it emerged from the last war.  The country was filled with optimism at the height of the baby boom in the midst of an economic revival.  Speaking of revival, the show was re-aired in 1974 until 1977.  Then it was revived again for the 1984-85 short season (five months). For those not familiar, a third of the show is the bidding portion, when contestants must name a tune in as few notes as possible; ten being the maximum notes. 

Then again, another revival recurred this year.  In the middle of the pandemic, no less. And no masks or social distancing in a small-audience-venue. But get this.  Though it is mainly for U.S. consumption, it was/is filmed in Australia.  Why?  Supposedly, Australia had done a much better job of controlling the virus.

Interesting tidbits of trivia.  But readers of this blog, used to the author's train of thought, will have been half-expecting that we will not stay on that rail track for much longer.  And so we go wherever the switch takes us.

It is going to be a departure, off-tangentially for sure, but we'll see where.  I hope to keep the readers' attention for a meandering trip into some of the alluring siren songs that keep us connected and divided at the same time.

One most recent bad news was when the Dallas Mavericks basketball franchise decided to no longer play the National Anthem during home games.  The good news is that in less than 24 hours the decision was reversed.  The NBA commission immediately took up an unambiguous position that the Anthem should be played prior to every game.  The Mavericks' owner relented immediately. Thank goodness for that.  If eliminating the traditional singing prevailed,  and the momentum is carried to all the other sports organizations, it is conceivable that the following generation of young people will be saddled with an inability to name the tune of the Star Spangled Banner in ten notes. { The first documented time that it was played at an American sporting event came at a baseball game in 1862, during the Civil War. The tradition of playing it at sports events got a dramatic boost at the 1918 World Series, during World War I }.

Now, in the real world, a departure from the theme of the show, people typically bid for  maximum effect, or higher  results - in other words, for as many notes in a tune as possible.

Speaking of tunes, anywhere politics is practiced, the singing of tunes permeates the air but invariably only at a period of time unlike any other - as in an election year. Elections are not about naming tunes in as few notes as possible; in fact, it is the diametric opposite of the game show's theme.  A politician will sing a tune in as many notes as he or she can, with the discipline and enthusiasm of a songbird in early spring. The songbird's tune promises the annual continuation of its species while the politician may warble about everything and anything to remain in office or win one, in as many varieties of tunes - the more the better.

It's all about, "I can name that tune one more note longer"

Quote from National Review:

"There are first world problems, and then there are San Francisco problems: for example, deciding whether or not a gay, white father of a multiracial daughter adds enough diversity to a volunteer parent committee filled with women.

That was the most recent head-scratcher for the San Francisco Board of Education, the same school board that voted 6-1 last month to scrub the names of such problematic Americans as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln from local schools".

Here is a typical record of minutes at the San Francisco Board of Education as we can imagine, where members try to outdo one another:

Member A: "I move to remove the name Columbus from the Columbus Elementary School".

Member B:  "I second that but I move further that Robert E. Lee High School be changed to another name".

Member C: "I second that but I suggest we remove Grant from all school names.

By the time the seventh member of the board was through, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were no longer school names.  The City Commission will decide next week on changing street names.  These are cases of people trying to name the tune in more notes, even more than are necessary, to the point of senseless extravagance of revisionism.

Soon we see that it is all about, "I can out-diverse your tune with one more, i.e. one more extra letter after Q in the now popular L---Q acronym. We abhor  food on our table that were from genetically modified plants or animals but modified gender assignments are fine in women sports and girl athletics.

That is what naming that tune in more notes will get us.

Now, moving on, the track switches once more.  It is one of a handful of universal truths, in most places around the globe that politicians can and will unabashedly engage in promissory tunes they know are often unattainable.  

"I propose to raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour"

"I propose to raise it to $12".

Now, we're at $15, nationally, regardless of the differences in cost of living between and among states. These are all well and good, except, for the unintended consequences. How will  small businesses in Idaho or North Dakota deal with such an increase in their labor costs; how many jobs will go away when business owners cut back on staff to cope with the higher labor cost; what about the consumer who will bear the cost increases when businesses are forced to pass them on; and adding insult to injury, businesses will employ more automation or resort to android services in lieu of humans. Just simply raising minimum wage, unencumbered by realistic market analysis over pure political considerations is "naming that tune" in many more dollar bills.

Politicians, however, look at these tunes as win-win. (a) If it passes, it looks good on their resume to have proposed and voted for it; (b) If it doesn't, they can always blame the opposition during the next campaign.

Meanwhile, the media play "I can fact check that in .."

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said this "It's reminiscent of Shakespeare [in] that it is full of sound and fury, and yet signifying nothing."

Immediately, a well known journalist chimed in, ".@SenTedCruz says #ImpeachmentTrial is like Shakespeare full of sound and fury signifying nothing. No, that’s Faulkner".

— Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) February 10, 2021

Over ten thousand followers liked her twit, others added more disparaging comments against the Texas senator.  But the last laugh was on Ms. Mitchell.

"NBC’s Andrea Mitchell was treated to a lesson in English literature after attempting to correct Senator Ted Cruz’s use of a Shakespeare quote, wrongly crediting the line to William Faulkner despite holding a degree in the subject".

At least, she apologized immediately.  Again, we know what happens when someone chooses more notes than necessary to name a tune.  As it turned out, William Faulkner, like a handful of other authors, borrowed a Shakespearian quote for their book titles.  She should have known better because she apparently majored in English literature.  This is simply a case of naming that tune gone awry.

Now, you know. Keep your ears alert to the tunes.  Brace yourself for many more songs to come but make sure you name the tune in as few notes as possible.  Ms. Mitchell would have been better served had she not relied on her "vast knowledge of English literature" when all she had to do was do one Google search.  If Ms. Mitchell claimed to be an avid reader of American literature she should have known that:

"A major influence on Faulkner’s work is Shakespeare, especially on The Sound and the Fury.  Faulkner used his love of Shakespeare to enable him to write a novel that took some of Shakespeare’s groundbreaking thoughts, ideas, and writing styles and use them to create something innovative and different. It is clear that Shakespeare was a sizeable influence on Faulkner’s writing.  From his youth he read and recited Shakespeare and he has talked about a copy of Shakespeare’s work that he takes with him everywhere".  

 

Just for grins, and for anyone interested, the Texas Senator, as it turned out, recalled the Shakespeare quote accurately:

MACBETH

"She should have died hereafter;

There would have been a time for such a word.

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day

To the last syllable of recorded time,

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more: it is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing".