Title: Let me clear my throat : essays /
Authors: Passarello, Elena.
Publisher: Sarabande Books,
Year: 2012
Subjects: Voice; Human sounds.
Abstract: From Farinelli, the eighteenth century castrato who brought down opera houses with his high C, to the recording of "Johnny B. Goode" affixed to the Voyager spacecraft, Let Me Clear My Throat dissects the whys and hows of popular voices, making them hum with significance and emotion. There are murders of punk rock crows, impressionists, and rebel yells; Howard Dean's "BYAH!" and Marlon Brando's "Stella!" and a stock film yawp that has made cameos in movies from A Star is Born to Spaceballs. The voice is thought's incarnating instrument and Elena Passarello's essays are a riotous deconstruction of the ways the sounds we make both express and shape who we are--the annotated soundtrack of us giving voice to ourselves.
Contents: Screaming memes. down in the holler ; The starlet ; The Wilhelm scream ; The motor-mouth ; How to spell the rebel yell ; The candidate ; Communication breakdown ; The zealot ; Harpy ; The novice -- Tips on popular singing. Space oddity ; The soprano ; Judy! Judy! Judy! ; The contestant ; Hey Big Spender ; The phoenix ; And your bird can sing ; The king ; Teach me tonight ; The frontman -- The thrown. The interpreter ; Please hold ; The illusionist ; Double joy : Myron Cope and the Pittsburgh sound ; The illustrator ; Playing sick ; The shape-shifter ; A monstrous little voice ; The amputee.