Episodes

Active Listening, Eavesdropping, and Surveillance

Mike asks, “When I am actively listening to a conversation that I am not involved in, am I not eavesdropping and is eavesdropping not at least somehow a subclass of surveillance activities?”  You’ll hear Mike navigate the streets, subways, and pizza shops of NYC and wonder whether listening to this episode makes you an active listener, eavesdropper, surveillant, all, none, and more importantly, whether or not that is okay…you decide.  Then hear Mike ponder whether the presence of a microphone and/or a recorder can make you hear differently.

CC-BY-SA Episode Image: 1/4” magnetic tape by DRs Kulturarvsprojekt http://bit.ly/2EYdqq9

Download CC-BY-SA licensed episode image edit here

This Episode Has Subliminal Messages

On this installment of Reasonably Sound, Mike Rugnetta covers subliminal messages and their (lack of) effectiveness with help from BrainCraft’s Vanessa Hill.  Chandler Bing is referenced.

Music

  • Permanently Liminal by Menace Ruin
  • Please Be Patient With Me by Wilco
  • Nothing by Daniel Romano

Sources

  • Is there an effect of subliminal messages in music on choice behavior? by Hauke Egermann, Reinhard Kopiez, Christoph Reuter.Journal of Articles in Support of the Null Hypothesis Vol. 4, No. 2
  • Subliminal Auditory Messages: An Evaluation by Philip M. Merikle. Psychology & Marketing Vol. 5(4): 355-372 (Winter 1988)
  • Subliminal speech perception and auditory streaming by Emmanuel Dupoux *, Vincent de Gardelle, Sid Kouider. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2008.06.012
  • The Electronic Revolution by William Burroughs
  • The Influence of Auditory Subliminals on Behavior: A Series of Investigations by Myra J. Staum Melissa Brotons. Journal of Music Therapy, XXIX (3), 1992, 130-185

Joe Hanson on Animals, Sound, and Semiotics

When an animal makes a sound, does that sound have meaning?  Mike talks to Dr. Joe Hanson, a biology expert and curator/host of It’s Okay To Be Smart, about how male Pacific humpback whales woo female Pacific humpback whales, and you’ll get a glimpse into the world of animals, sound, and semiotics.  You might even hear them make whale noises … Mike and Joe, that is, not the actual whales.  Plus special cameos by “Wonderwall” and “The Fox.”

PD episode image: Dolphin – Bottlenose, NPSPhoto, 2001 by Everglades NPS http://bit.ly/2F0ObDh

Shopworn Sound Effects

Mike takes you on a tour of the most commonly heard sound effects.  And fair warning, when you hear them on this episode, you’ll start hearing them EVERYWHERE.  Plus, Mike tells you why sides of beef and planks of wood were integral to the making of the Rocky movies.

Show Notes

Music

Wilhelms Scream – James Blake
Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz – Mr. Bungle
Colony – Mason Android Park
Tracks (Tall Bodies) – Chelsea Wolf

Sources

Audio-Vision by Michel Chion
In Search of a Concrete Music by Pierre Schaeffer
The Wilhelm Scream by Elena Passarello
10 Ridiculously Overused Movie Sound Effects

The Creaky Gate

What is this sound effect I keep hearing?
Stock Sound Effects on TV Tropes
Where Else Have I Heard That?

Police Dispatcher

Why do movies & TV use this police radio clip over and over?
Stock Sounds: Police Station from SimCity 3000

The Diddy Laugh

Diddy Kong Racing Intro
Steve Pagets Diddy Laugh YouTube Playlist
Steve Paget’s Diddy Laugh Blog

The Wilhelm Scream

Wilhelm – YouTube
Where Did the Wilhelm Scream Come From and Why Do So Many Filmmakers Use It?
Hollywood Lost and Found
Way, Way, Way Too Many Wilhelm Screams

Castle Thunder

Castle Thunder Compilation on YouTube
Hollywood Lost and Found
Castle Thunder Wikipedia
Frankenstein (1931) Wikipedia

Responses to RS’s Episode on Accents

“…did you know that the greater diversity in accents in England is a result of a principle in linguistics?” via erherr
“Fred Armisen Gives Five-Minute Improvised Master Class in NYC Accents” via @sophiebiblio
Sean Monahan’s video on the Pennsylvanian/Mid-Atlantic Accent via @sophiebiblio
“Thoughts on Accents! Class! And Self-Presentation! (AKA Fashion! Turn to the Left!)” via Two Bossy Dames

The Printing Press and the Great Vowel Shift

What explains the difference between English and American accents?  On this episode of Reasonably Sound, Mike Rugnetta explains that this spoken phenomenon starts with the written word.

Music:

Hudson Cycle – Nico Muhly

I’m Afraid of Americans (V1) – David Bowie

Americans – Oneohtrix Point Never

Paper Crumpling R – Sesame Street

Messages Received – Cabaret Voltaire

On American versus English Spelling:

Why Do Brits and Americans Spell Words Differently?

Americanize, Anglicise: Why Do Brits And Yanks Spell Words Differently?

Present Day American Spelling from The Cambridge History of the English Language, Volume 6

Main Sources for this Episode:

A History of the English Language by Elly van Gelderen

Linguistics for Everyone: An Introduction by Kristin Denham, Anne Lobeck

Why Do Americans and Brits Have Different Accents?

When Did Americans Lose Their British Accents?

Received Pronunciation

 

PD Episode Image: Press by takomabibelot http://bit.ly/2EaEj8Q

Auditory Illusions

Mike Rugnetta would like to talk with you about auditory illusions (not tricks), specifically the Shepard tone and binaural beats.  Use your headphones for this one.  (ALSO: art school college story time!)

Show Notes!

PD Episode Image: Penrose Stairs by Sakurambo – http://bit.ly/2EcUSBk

On The Road with Mike Rugnetta

It’s a Thanksgiving travelogue with Mike Rugnetta, who, like a bazillion other people, is on the road for the holiday.  Mike is interested in the in-transit audio we experience in our travels.  He provides a stream-of-consciousness monologue from the car, the airport, the jet, and the hotel room, along with the incidental noises that accompany them.

Show Notes!

Music: “Travelstar” by Adderall Canyonly

Link: The Vlogbrothers’ Thoughts from Places

Episode Image from my IG: https://www.instagram.com/p/6FqNQOv4vp/?taken-by=mikerugnetta

A440

(Label not included with oboe purchase)

A440 is not a steak sauce, nor is it a tax form.  Rather, A440 hz is the standard tuning for musical pitch.  Why is that?  The reasons include, but are not limited to: The oboe, church versus secular music, and the difficulty of France.  Mike Rugnetta explains.

Special Thanks to Nicole He and Proprietous for their help with oboe details.

The music used in this episode of Reasonably Sound is (in order of appearance):

– Walking (In Tune), Rene Hell

– Swan Lake, Swan Theme, Tchaikovsky

– Polovtsian Dances, Borodin

– Piano Sonata 15, Beethoven (Digression Music)

– Peer Gynt: Morning Mood, Grieg

– Die liederliche Gesellschaft von allerley Humor: Allegro – Battalia a 10, Biber

Sources:

– History of Performing Pitch: The Story of “A” by Bruce Haynes

– A=432hz: On the Proper Concert Pitch and a New Standardization of Tempo by Brendan Bombaci

– Why does the orchestra always tune to the oboe?

– ISO 16:1975

– Why is A4 the standard pitch reference for tuning?

– Why are orchestras tuned differently?

 

CC-BY-SA Episode Image Source: Oboe from Wiki Commons: http://bit.ly/2EaJZzG

CC-BY-SA licensed Episode image available here.

Taylor Swift’s White Noise

Taylor Swift accidentally released 8 seconds of white noise to iTunes, and it went to No. 1 in Canada.  Mike Rugnetta offers his take on this, as well as a helpful explanation of what white noise actually is.  Baseball and cooking metaphors are used.

Sound as a Weapon

Mike Rugnetta and Atlas Obscura‘s Dylan Thuras have a fascinating discussion on the use of sound in war and at what point sound becomes a weapon.  Among the topics covered:

  • World War I “sound mirrors” (giant concrete parabolas that ineffectively tracked incoming planes)
  • Project Disperse
  • The Mosquito
  • “Tunnel chicken”
  • LRAD
  • So-called “less than lethal” technology
  • Humankind’s unintentional sound war on the animal population

PD Episode Image via defense.gov: http://bit.ly/2EadRME