Sunday, August 29, 2021

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 29, 2021): Old Musicians Never Die. They Just Decompose

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 29, 2021): Old Musicians Never Die. They Just Decompose
Q: Name a form of musical composition. If you say the word quickly, you'll name something, in two words, that you might buy in a music store. What is it?
I doubt many of these are sold.

Edit: Who buys CDs these days?
A: RHAPSODY --> RAP CD

214 comments:

  1. Here's my standard reminder... don't post the answer or any hints that could lead directly to the answer (e.g. via a chain of thought, or an internet search) before the deadline of Thursday at 3pm ET. If you know the answer, click the link and submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here.

    You may provide indirect hints to the answer to show you know it, but make sure they don't give the answer away. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the Thursday deadline. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 7 million or so is not very many, Blaine!

      Delete
  2. I have a valid alternate answer that doesn't require fast talking.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Do music stores sell classic rocks?

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. OK, I have two answers. One of them seems likely to be the intended answer, and the other is more obscure, but a little cleaner. Either answer will probably be controversial. Whether I'm right or not, I'm with Tommy Boy.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Not a regular puzzle, but it works.

    ReplyDelete
  7. May have a clue.

    (I'm in New Orleans, sheltered in place, trying to keep the power on in the Greater New Orleans area using my mind.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Batten down the hatches...or whatever you have to batten down.

      Delete
    2. Please post again after the storm has passed so we know you're OK.

      Delete
    3. By "May have a clue", I meant Brian May, from Queen,

      Delete
  8. So I have An Answer, but I'm not completely sure it's The Answer. Is anyone else reminded of a certain crustacean?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am still trying to solve this. I don't like what I have come up with: Etude, a tood, or a toot, or something with an oud.

      Delete
    2. To what do you elude? An etude, dude?

      Delete
    3. This puzzle is certainly giving me a bit of a 'tude! I'll explain the crustacean thing later...

      Delete
  9. The answer reminds me of my eyes.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm really missing something... what is a form of musical composition? Like jazz? or the name of a song?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm assuming (uh oh) that it would be more like a stylizes composition like: allemande, courants, sarabande, gigue, or sonata, concerto,rondo, waltz, mazurka, polonaise, etc.

      Delete
    2. Sorry, like stylizes composition.

      Delete
    3. Sorry, like a stylized composition.

      Delete
    4. I suspect the puzzle is confusing the terms form and genre.

      Delete
  11. Besides what Bigboaz asks, I would like an example of a word unrelated to this one said fast and changing meaning.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I think I have it, so I'm gonna put a pretty bow on the package and call it a day.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Did y’all get the NPR confirmation email? I didn’t receive it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I got confirmation shortly after submitting my answer, as usual.

      Delete
    2. My confirmation went to Junk mail. That usually doesn't happen.

      Delete
    3. I didn’t get a confirmation email either. Not in the spam folder…

      Delete
    4. No confirmation email for me as well, either in Junk mail or in the regular inbox.

      Delete
  14. quoting Mencken "vry problm has a simpl answr, simpl clar and wrong. and that is what I hav its so simpl it must b wrong.
    but I submittd it anyway so I'm don

    ReplyDelete
  15. I have an answer, but I'm not particularly satisfied with it. If it is correct, I found a link between three composers of three different music genres.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Note: I'm going to give it a rest.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WW,
      If someone who answers puzzles as quickly as you do wants to give it a rest, I'd have to be in a coma to answer this one!

      Delete
    2. Clark a pseudonym, aria having fun yet?

      Delete
    3. That's not very suite of you. I wish we could act in concert to solve the damn thing.

      Delete
    4. I have a silly, silly answer. But, I, like others here, am done. Busy day tomorrow.

      Delete
  17. Sad news about the passing of Ed Asner today

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Can't think of Ed without thinking of MTM and the Chuckles the Clown episode. It was magnifico!

      Delete
    2. Ave atque vale, Ed Asner.

      “Let’s face it, life is a bore. You’re born. You die. And everything in between--is nothing but filler.”--Lou Grant

      Delete
    3. RIP Ed Asner
      Solved it via the last musical clue. Sorry, Dr. K. Can't see Mr. Asner liking either the musical composition or the music store purchase.
      pjbCanTakeSpunkOrLeaveIt,Actually

      Delete
    4. Hurricane Ida's coming for Alabama tomorrow. Please pray for us.
      pjb'sMotherHasADoctor'sAppointmentTomorrowAfternoonAsWell!

      Delete
    5. Hey Cranberry, What musical clue? Hey i just heard that 90 % of these storm surge related deaths are due to water. So if i was you i would definitely get that preserver on soon.
      My cousin is in Destin.

      Delete
    6. Also " Don't take your Chevy to the levy."

      Delete
    7. My cousin used to have an old antique Concertina. Not sure he still has it. I will check.

      Delete
    8. Mom went and found out she no longer needs physical therapy for her injuries, so that's good. Also, the worst of it appears to be in Tuscaloosa, and headed eastward, but Mom says you never know.
      pjbSaysMom'sNoMeteorologist,ButHe'sNoOptimistInTheseMatters,So...

      Delete
    9. Dr. K mentioned Miles Davis a little further down. Blaine hasn't even caught it yet.
      pjbSaysIt'sAGoodThingIt'sNotTheReallyObviousMusicalClueHeWasThinkingOf!

      Delete
    10. Cranberry, point taken. Unintended but, then again, ignorance is bliss. More on Thursday.

      Cranberry and Plantsmith: Rain here today, too, possibility of tornadoes. Hold your breath and keep your fingers crossed.

      Delete
    11. Dr. K also in tornado alley. Close to Greenville?
      Asheville, NC?

      Delete
    12. Plantsmith--We're about halfway between Greenville and Asheville. It's mostly been intermittent rain, not much wind, and no tornadoes so far (none that I've heard of, anyway). Right now, it feels tropical outside, and I'm about to venture forth into the "dark world and wide."

      Delete
    13. Came through there a couple or weeks ago on way back from Richmond. Edna chased us down and we were afraid to stop. Stayed in Hickory on way up.
      I am in Canton,Ga,

      Delete
  18. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Solving this was a suite victory!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oh, I just got it, and I’d been looking at the word for the musical form for hours and thinking, “This must be it.” And it was.

    A musical clue: Miles Davis.

    ReplyDelete
  21. If you go to check out your music purchase and change your mind, might the cashier say "So, nada?"

    ReplyDelete
  22. I like Dr. K's musical clue.
    Here's a poetry clue: Goethe.

    ReplyDelete
  23. It's 2 AM and I was awaked by the sound of my own snoring. The snoring stopped and in its place was the answer to the puzzle! It's sometimes impossible to understand the workings of the brain! But is his really the answer?

    ReplyDelete
  24. s'not a clu. 3am yesterday I'm up for old guy reasons. As go back to bed I hear car's tires screeching around the corner and a metallic sound. I go out to investigate as my car is parked on the shoulder. I don't s the car then i see a car with hazards flashing parked perpendicular in my neighbor's driveway. it's my car still locked. my neighbor has th police on his phone. another neighbor who's up comes by. says h saw a car with man in it back up and speed away after haring the noise. finally police show up. officer says I'm experienced in investigating car crashes I don't see any skid arks or damage to car. finally he pulls me aside " Do you have Alzheimer's?" "No." "Are you taking Ambien?" "No." finally thy all leave and we go back to bed
    the next morning the tire tracks in the gravel are clearly visible. fishhead city cops are clearly not the sharpest knives in the drawer. somebody play the twilight zone theme

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. dun ki dun ki dun ki dunki Dudoodledoodledoodledu.

      Delete
  25. The passing of Ed Asner and, let's not forget, Charlie Watts.

    ReplyDelete
  26. If the answer I sent in is right, this will go down as one of the most groanable puzzles ever.

    ReplyDelete
  27. The part of this puzzle that makes me sad is how few music stores still exist. Maybe a little Buddy Guy or Stevie Ray to cheer me up…

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There used to be a popular record store in the Kansas City area called Caper's Corner. It was a very popular store that also sold tickets to all the big Rock concerts in the 60's & 70's. It was owned by Ed Asner's older brother, Ben. I remember going there several times and Ben Asner would be sitting up front behind the counter just keeping a sharp eye on everyone. As I look back now, he had the look of Ed Asner's character from the animated film "Up".
      That record store is long gone but it was big in its day, and I always associate it with Ben Asner & his brother Ed.

      Delete
  28. So far, there have been lots of musical puns, but I have yet to see anyone go for baroque.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I Cantabile you would say such a thing.

      Delete
    2. Then there was the artist who painted in oils. His work?....Moe's Art

      Delete
    3. If it is not baroque, don't fix it.

      Delete
    4. Why, Northeast, can't Händel it when things begin to un-Ravel? Verdi well.

      Delete
    5. There's too much sax and violins here.

      Delete
    6. What about Franz? He should be on the Liszt.

      Delete
    7. Holst on a Minuet, I didn't Planet this way.

      Delete
    8. Well, I certainly started something major but not, I hope, out of scale. I suppose that the key with this group is that it’s only natural.

      Delete
    9. Fugue got to be kidding with these puns. Let’s scale this Bach.

      Delete
    10. Oh, my, you all are making me musick.

      Delete
    11. I’ve often pondered how many stores keep the less-PG materials in the back. You have to go past the outer family-friendly section to reach the Inner Lewd stuff. (It’s not always titillating, but on occasion you find something that Can Tickle.)

      Delete
    12. Have you flipped your "lewd" wig, Beethoven?
      pjbWondersWouldMentioningThisFamouslyHard-Of-HearingComposerMakeThisADeafComedyJam?

      Delete
    13. Waltz with all these musical puns? How many have there been so far, nearly forte? Mind you, it is a trill joining in with y'all, but any more of these and I may lose my tempo! You'd be hard-presto find more groaners like these anywhere else, not even in Key Largo! Sonata nother word, do you hear?
      pjbIsn'tTryingToStartAFugueWithAnyone,ButC'mon!

      Delete
    14. I Coda swore it had ended already. So why the reprise?

      Delete
    15. Actually, I love it. You punsters have my deepest symphony.
      pjbIsJustGladY'AllDon'tRhymeEverything,ForAsBadAsPunsCanBe,TheyCanAlwaysBeVerse!

      Delete
    16. OMG not you too CRan. The invasion of the body punsters.

      Delete
    17. Don't worry, Plantsmith, I think it's all going to unRavel soon.

      Delete
  29. This puzzle is ridiculous. And I know something about music. In fact when I ordered a Bösendorfer Imperial Grand Piano and it was delivered with an extra 97 keys and an eight octave keyboard I knew right away to refuse delivery and send it back straight away. Just who do they think they were kidding?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would have worded the puzzle differently. More about changing the long and short sounds of a letter.

      Delete
  30. The Mr., our dogs and I are going to stay with family near Mobile. Our house is fine, but there’s no power.

    My son (an adult) is staying in New Orleans. He’ll help the restaurant he works for clean up, and likely be helpful all around.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good news. Sounds as though you can exhale.

      Delete
    2. It's too bad that as you were trying to solve the puzzle, in blew Hurricane Ida.

      Delete
    3. I'd already solved before she hit, but never got the NPR confirmation email.

      There are four other dogs here, so ours have joined the pack. Our dogs, both girls, are named Barracks (age 8), and Rampart (7 months), after New Orleans streets.

      There are chickens here, and horses. Rampart nearly lost her mind when she met the three horses in the back field.

      So, again, I May have a clue, but I'm more impressed with having AC and internet.

      Delete
  31. two bad answers both have popeye clues uck uck uck

    ReplyDelete
  32. If one is VERY lax about the meaning of "form of musical composition", Tin Pan Alley and tympani almost work.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Boy I don't like this one. It's not okay

    ReplyDelete
  34. After a false start because I read the puzzle too quickly, (I was looking for two things sold in a music store) the answer came fairly easily, probably because I had been thinking of and reciting various forms of musical composition over a couple of days. It’s not a bad puzzle after all. There are a few posted hints above, including Blaine’s, that confirm the answer without giving TMI.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, if one is looking for a musical composition that breaks into TWO things sold in a musical store, there's a clean answer that avoids all controversies about pronunciation. (It might be jan's alternate answer from early Sunday.)

      Delete
  35. Replies
    1. Upon Cena’s start he had a rapping gimmick.

      Delete
  36. I like this puzzle by Ari Carr of Madison, WI. I believe I have the intended answer.
    Just a guess, but this is how Ari may have come up with it:
    Someone said aloud either the form of musical composition or the 2-word something that you might buy in a music store. Ari misheard the musical composition as the music store purchase, or Ari misheard the music store purchase as the musical composition.
    There you go...Instant Puzzle!

    LegoWhoIsLaudatoryOfThisAuditoryWordplay

    ReplyDelete
  37. Thumbelina. With a pot on her head.

    ReplyDelete
  38. I don't know why this still has me stumped. I keep coming up with almost, but not quite words. Da capo= the/a capo. Big stretch, I know. First time in a long time I haven't solved one. I usually love a challenge, but only until it's not a challenge anymore.

    ReplyDelete
  39. I don't have this either.
    In a couple of hours I will know if it is my fault or Will's.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Blaine's clue, "I doubt many of these are sold," is a good one. It hints, I infer, at the rapidly evolving technology in the the cyber-age we find ourselves enjoying/cursing.

    LegoWhoIsLikeADecayingPomegraniteInAWorldFilledWithEverEvolvingApples

    ReplyDelete
  41. Our friend Bobby Jacobs is celebrating his 28th birthday tomorrow, September 3, with 4 puzzles on Puzzleria! They are titled:
    1. A capital with character
    2. Nominal binomials?
    3. Lights, camera, animation!
    4. Timely prime placement

    Think of these four gems Bobby's birthday gifts... to us!
    We upload Puzzleria! every Friday morning in the wee hours, after Midnight PDT.
    Also on our menus this week:
    * a Schpuzzle of the Week connecting a movie, and its sequel, with a novel,
    * a Puzzle Slice that requires you to coin a cool new and improved word to replace a not-so-hot word,
    * a Dessert about a worker, a workplace and a line of work, and
    * seven NPR Puzzle riff-off puzzles that “ain’t half-ballad!”
    Come celebrate with us!

    LegoCondrummingUpAMultiLayeredCake&CandlePoweredLineUpOfPuzzleMakersAndPuzzlesOnPuzzleria!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 💗Looking forward to this week's Puzzleria!

      Delete
    2. 💗Wonderful puzzles on Puzzleria! https://puzzleria.blogspot.com/

      Delete
  42. Hi there, I'm back from summer vacation. I don't like this puzzle much. The way it is worded suggests the form of musical composition is supposed to be one word only ("If you say the word quickly…"). That would nix the only answer I managed to come up with. Some of the clues above suggest others might have the same answer, though.

    ReplyDelete
  43. RHAPSODY —> RAP CD

    My musical clue: Miles Davis —> Kind of Blue —> Rhapsody in Blue. (Any explicit reference to Gershwin would certainly have been TMI). I thought the clue was oblique enough, but I subsequently found out about Miles’s final foray into rap. Mea culpa, Cranberry.

    And thanks, Crito. I liked your Goethe clue. I thought there might be some other literary clues, too—Homer, epics, etc. —> rhapsode—but none were forthcoming.

    I was surprised that no one offered as a musical clue Joni Mitchell (—> Blue).

    And, like clotheslover, I considered étude and oud, a popular instrument among members of my tribe, but I couldn’t make it work, so I moved on.

    I wonder what happened to the confirmation emails that some of us didn't get.

    ReplyDelete
  44. rhapsody --> rap CD

    Last Sunday I said, “Not a regular puzzle, but it works.” Merriam-Webster defines rhapsody as “a musical composition of irregular form.” And, of course, rhapsodies are “works” by definition.

    ReplyDelete
  45. A cappella — a coupler?

    If that's not good enough…it's too bad! 😏

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. W,
      What's a coupler that you'd get it in a music shop used for?

      Delete
    2. Cap,
      I had to look that up myself (after the a cappella idea crossed my mind). Couplers are mechanical adjuncts that activate extra sets of reeds. Accordions and organs can have couplers.
      https://www.britannica.com/art/coupler
      https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Dictionary_of_Music_and_Musicians/Coupler

      Delete
    3. Thanks...that fits with Blaine's clue.

      Delete
    4. And sometimes the form is set as one word, acappella, which would be consistent with the puzzle directions ("Say the word quickly").

      Delete
  46. 1. RHAPSODY → a RAP CD is something a music store would sell...


    2. PLAINSONG or PLAINCHANT → A music store probably sells some PLAIN SONGS or PLAIN CHANTS...

    I used this list of basic musical forms.

    ReplyDelete
  47. RHAPSODY, RAP CD

    > I have a valid alternate answer that doesn't require fast talking.

    HORNPIPE, HORN PIPE
    As in, "I dropped my trombone on the floor, so now I need to go to the music store to buy a new horn pipe."
    "Fast talking" was sort of a hint at rap.

    > 7 million or so is not very many, Blaine!

    According to statista.com, only about 32 million CDs were sold in the US last year, 22% of them hip-hop/rap.

    > It's too bad that as you were trying to solve the puzzle, in blew Hurricane Ida.

    Refers to Gershwin's RHAPSODY in Blue.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hornpipe was my submission even though I knew it wouldn't play

      Delete
  48. I do not consider rap to be music, nor do I consider CD to be a word.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yees! I agree. Grrr. I liked hornpipe but did not submit.

      Delete
    2. I looked CD up. It is considered a word but not a scrabble word. C does not sound like SO in rhapsody.
      Glad I gave up right away.

      Delete
    3. CD is an abbreviation for numerous words. It is not a word itself. Abbreviations are not words.

      Delete
    4. Agreed that CD is not a word.

      In addition, there are no longer "music stores" that sell CDs or Rap CDs. When I was a kid there were "record stores," and later on you could call Tower Records or its brethren a "music store," and buy a CD there.

      These days "music stores" sell guitars and flutes. I defy you to find me a "music store" that sells "rap CDs." Frankly, it is hard to find CDs of any kind at retail.

      Delete
    5. Come to Amoeba in Hollywood, where I believe you will find all that and more. And presumably the same in Berkeley and SF.

      No opinion on whether this is a good or bad puzzle--I actually mouthed the word "rhapsody" to myself and somehow did not come up with "Rap CD"; I guess I didn't mangle "soda" enough. But saying that "CD" is not a word is like saying "TV" and "GI" are not--you're applying a definition of "word" that is not found outside the academy.

      Delete
    6. Are you really telling me that VD, BS, FU, DA, RV, PJ, PS, TP, DA, PVT, GEN, USPS and so, so many more are not abbreviations, but are words? Then I guess by that kind of thinking we might as well toss ABBREVIATION out of our dictionaries.

      Delete
    7. That's a great counterexample, Italo. I have indeed been to Amoeba both the Berkeley and the LA versions. And there is a record & CD store in NYC called Other Music which is also great and another counterexample. I would still contend, though, that there just aren't "music stores" like Amoeba and Other Music in most places. Which makes it a poorly constructed puzzle, because if you can't say "record stores" or "CD stores" or "music stores."

      Delete
    8. Well then I suppose Walmart and Target and Amazon.com are all music stores. Not to mention that any idiot can open a store and call and/or name it anything he wants. Governor Gavin Newsome allegedly eating at the French Laundry restaurant in Yountville, CA is an appropriate example. I suspect if a waiter there accidentally spilled a drop of Châteauneuf-du-Pape on a patrons gown, it would not be laundered in the back, but sent to a legitimate dry cleaners, not to mention the comping of the wine. Anyway, whatever the AH did, I would love to dine there some evening.

      Delete
    9. Natasha,
      Do you really think I didn't look it up? And do you believe I am not discriminating in whom I choose to accept is a true authority?

      Delete
    10. I suspected you used mw dictionary. I am not sure who is authority. I find this puzzle "disconcerting". I am musician and have played clarinet part for Rhapsody in blue. It is a forced answer. Did not mean to give you wrong impression. I am glad to read your posts on this matter.

      Delete
    11. If George Gershwin were alive to discover rap categorized as music, I believe he would turn blue with rage; not rhapsody.

      Delete
    12. C'mon, SDB. You know better.

      You can't go to a super expensive boutique restaurant in Yountville CA, heart of the wine country, and order a Châteauneuf-du-Pape. You've got to go for the Beringer Reserve Cab or the Old Telegram Mourvedre.

      Otherwise the Newsome Medical Lobbyists will walk away from you and stick you with the bill.

      Delete
    13. And wouldn't that be a Gallo evening? Or perhaps a Paul Masson event where no wine would be served before its crime. And its crime, should one inquire, is to have been bottled in the first place.

      Delete
    14. The truth is you can spend all the big bucks you want to flash around, but to experience a really fine wine with an outstanding meal does not require such extravagance. It is a marketing game and some outstanding wines are available at reasonable prices. I am sure you know this as well as I. Now, as to vintage port, well that is a different story. I am still waiting to win a lottery (I don't play though) to be able to afford a bottle of 1945 vintage Port, which is my birth year, and one of the all time outstanding vintages. Go Fund Me please.

      Delete
    15. "Abbreviations are not words."

      Many, many abbreviations are words. First, there's the kind that German calls a 'Kopfwort': "App". "Gym". "Photo". "Phone". ("Gestapo" is one too!)

      But it doesn't have to be the head/kopf: -- at least in English, we also have "fridge" and "shroom". Oh, and just for you Natasha: "cello"!

      Abbreviations formed by acronym can also be words: "Scuba". "Radar". "Laser". "Snafu". "AWOL". Initialisms do seem more resistant. I wonder why.

      Delete
  49. I got as far as ETUDE and A TOOT before I let it go. Good choice for a wild week. Congrats to you rhapsodic solvers!

    ReplyDelete
  50. I also came up with Rhapsody and Rap CD. My earlier comment was a reference to Brahms' Alto Rhapsody (classical composer), Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" (showtunes composer) and Freddie Mercury/Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" (classic rock composer.)

    ReplyDelete
  51. I really had to hold back from references to Bohemian Rhapsody. My "magnifico" hint was all I could come up with that would fly.

    ReplyDelete
  52. I wonder how many rap recordings of any kind are owned by Blainesvillians.
    Put me down for 0 (out of hundreds of other kinds)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tupac's " Dear Mama" kind of blew me away the first time i heard it. It's in my mix tape.

      Delete
  53. My first idea was “a Perretta,” which is a brand of guitar. That seemed to be a little arcane, so I kept thinking and came up with “rap CD.” Both answers have schwa issues, which have been known to enflame passions in Blainesville.

    ReplyDelete
  54. I had. Antiphony, A Tiffany.

    ReplyDelete
  55. jan, You were in the medical field. There are clinics located in strip malls that appear to be owned by one of my favorite actors, but his first name is omitted. Do you know who this actor is and what type of clinics they are?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SDB,

      I can't answer your question, but I can ask you what now dead celebrity went to medical school? Well known, but not an actor. A celebrity nevertheless.

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    3. No. I'm waiting for jan to weigh in before I answer.

      Delete
    4. Well, I see signs on these establishments saying: WALK IN CLINIC. I just assumed they are owned by Christopher Walken.

      Delete
  56. So, so many things I didn't like about this puzzle. But I'll keep them to myself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Like a music store and a record store not being interchangeable. In the meantime, do you happen to know where I can purchase a bagatelles?

      Delete
    2. I think the last time i got a CD was at Best Buy. RIP Tower Records. Featured in Netflix "Count me in" drum documentary. If you dare.

      Delete
  57. I'm sure "rap CD" is the intended answer, but (and I don't mean to be rude) there is a certain level of "how do you do, fellow kids?" awkwardness here. First of all, a CD? I have not owned or bought a CD, or even a piece of technology that would play a CD, for about a decade. Second of all, rap is a rich and complex genre, and the generic phrase "rap CD" is about as weirdly vague/dated as "pop cassette" or "classical tape." Third of all, "music store"? Pretty sure those sell instruments, amps, sheet music, and the like...you will get quite a look if you waltz in there asking for a rap CD.

    On the other hand, my answer was "quadrille / choir drill," in reference to sheet music exercises for choruses...not the most elegant solution in the world, so maybe I shouldn't complain! (My "crustacean" hint above referred to Lewis Carroll's Lobster Quadrille.)

    Off to listen to some Aesop Rock (rap, but not on a CD!).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think QUADRILLE / CHOIR DRILL is the best solution I've seen to a puzzle which has no "good" solution. I'm afraid I got stuck thinking your crustacean must be a crab, somehow.

      Delete
    2. Well thanks! And that stirs some nice memories of _Gödel, Escher, Bach_...which is, after all, "a metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll"!

      Delete
    3. Dr. Awkward (aka Veronica),
      I agree with Paul that your QUADRILLE / CHOIR DRILL is a worthy alternative answer to this puzzle. But I also like Ari Carr's (likely intended) RHAPSODY / RAP CD answer.
      Because I am prone to mispronounce "CONCH" using the "CH"-sound and not the "K"-sound at the end, and because I am under the misapprehension that a "conch" (which is a snail) is a crustacean (when it is in reality a mollusk), I got stuck thinking the "form of musical composition" tou were hinting at must have been a "concerto" somehow.

      LegoWhoObservesThatItIsNotEasyToDecipherHintsWhenYouCannotPronounceWordsCorrectlyAndAreBuriedUnderTheWeightOfMultipleMisapprehensions!

      Delete
  58. RHAPSODY, RAP CD
    pjb,StuckSomewhereBetweenGershwinAndTheSugarHillGang

    ReplyDelete
  59. My poetic clue, ‘Goethe’, was to the "Harzreise im Winter", which is the text of Brahms’ “Alto Rhapsody”. Courtney also clued the "Alto Rhapsody"! Yay!

    And Dr. K, I think Miles and several other jazz greats were powerfully influenced by Gershwin, so my mind flew right to “Rhapsody in Blue”. (I heard Herbie Hancock discuss the cross-pollination between Gershwin and black jazz artists in an interview for his amazing CD, “Gershwin’s World”.) Also, Joni Mitchell’s “Blue” was the first album I ever owned, and it might still be my favorite!

    I think “CD” is obviously a word (also an abbreviation, but many, many abbreviations are words). But I do agree that a music store is not where I would have gone to buy a CD, back when people bought CDs, although you could definitely find some in some music stores.

    ReplyDelete
  60. l like cross pollination better than appropriation.

    ReplyDelete
  61. A music store by today's standards sells musical instruments, etc.... Even when they were prominent, a record store was where you bought "recordings". A music store was like a Guitar Center. And it still is. Beyond misleading just plain incorrect wording.

    ReplyDelete

For NPR puzzle posts, don't post the answer or any hints that could lead to the answer before the deadline (usually Thursday at 3pm ET). If you know the answer, submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here.

You may provide indirect hints to the answer to show you know it, but make sure they don't assist with solving. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the deadline. Thank you.