So, I’m watching TV last night — shocking revelation, I know — and a commercial for home appliances comes on where a man and woman give their oven a ‘shout out’ for the great work it did on dinner.
Now, besides my obvious concern for the mental health of the couple, I did a double take when they said ‘shout out.’
When did that become such a common term?
It seems to be everywhere now. I hear people on game shows giving ‘shout outs’ to their friends in the audience. The program hosts on QVC let phone callers give ‘shout outs’ to family members watching at home. Disc jockeys do it. Athletes do it. Where did it all begin?
To answer this burning question, I turned to that bastion of information and accuracy, Wikipedia. (So you may want to fact check this blog.)
Turns out the phrase ‘shout out’ dates back to 1990. It was first used in the United States by rap performers and their fans, so it is closely associated with hip-hop culture.
Really — 1990? Has it been that long? I thought ‘shout out’ was just a few years old, and it turns out this piece of slang is getting ready to celebrate its 20th birthday. It’s practically wrinkly.
Well…I guess it has begun. Time is flying by just as my mother said it would. But what can you expect from someone who remembers black-and-white television and a world without microwaves, laptops and GPS.
That’s right. I’ve celebrated my 20th birthday, too.
Another shocking revelation.
Twice
I loved the movie Once.
So much that I boycotted the musical when it opened off-Broadway . The original stars weren’t in it — how could the musical compare?
My heart was closed.
Then the show moved to Broadway, and the TV commercials began. Yes, ‘guy’ and ‘girl’ were different, but their voices, the harmonies were as beautiful as the movie that inspired them. So I decided to give the show a shot.
Most importantly, every voice, every note was perfection. There were a lot of tears in the audience. (People were talking about it as they left the theatre, so it wasn’t just me.)
The only thud in the production — which occurred at the start of the play and made me sad — was the playwright’s need to ‘funny up’ the script, making the characters extreme stereotypes of themselves. This was especially true of ‘girl,’ who was a quirky, jokey one-liner, which was counter to her gentle spirit in the movie.
But once she and ‘guy’ began to sing, she softened and the music drove the show, as it did the movie.
And all was forgiven.
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Posted in Broadway, Commentary, Entertainment, Life, Movies, Music
Tagged books into movie, boycott, Broadway, Broadway theatre, commentary, creative lighting, entertainment, extreme stereotypes, harmonies, instruments, intermission, Irish bar, life, Manhattan, movie into musical, Movies, New York City, Off-Broadway, Once girl, Once guy, Once movie, Once musical, one-liner, orchestra pit, staging, tv commercial