Oohs and Ahhs and . . . .
Jonathan Caws-Elwitt asks:
Ever thought about how "ooh" and "aah" are ubiquitous backing vocal
phonemes, but "ayy" and "eee" and short "a" (as in "hat") are rarely if
ever heard? If you want to entertain yourself during a commute, try
imagining '50s or '60s pop songs with some of these "alternate vowel
sound" backing vocals. One particularly appealing image for me is a
chorus of Fonzies singing "ayyy"s behind "Don't Worry Baby".
Literary humorist Jonathan Caws-Elwitt's plays, stories, essays,
letters, parodies, wordplay, witticisms and miscellaneous tomfoolery
can be found at
Monkeys 1, Typewriters 0.
Here you'll encounter frivolous, urbane writings about symbolic yams,
pigs in bikinis, donut costumes, vacationing pikas, nonexistent movies,
cross-continental peppermills, and other compelling subjects.
