William Weir appears in the following:
Esperanto to Elvish: Invented Language in Song
Friday, December 16, 2011
Last month the Icelandic band Sigur Ros released a live album called Inni which contains songs in a language they call “Hopelandic.” It’s not English, it’s not Icelandic – it’s completely invented. And they’re not the only ones to pass over the world’s 6500 or so languages in favor of one of their own making. Slate contributor William Weir joins us along with the linguist Arika Okrent (who has a first level certification in Klingon) to discuss the origins and meanings of constructed languages in song.
A Brief History of Fuzz
Friday, March 11, 2011
The sometimes fuzzy, sometimes gritty sound of distortion is commonplace in modern music. But, its discovery was an accident – the result of a faulty connection on a mixing board.
Pop Singers Gasp for Air
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Word counts in pop-music lyrics have been climbing since the 1960s, when instrumental songs often made the charts. These days, Top Ten songs regularly surpass the 500-word mark. And instrumentals? Forget about it. We’ll talk to Slate.com contributor William Weir, who says excessive lyrics are ruining pop music, and to ...
