Welcome to "Intermezzo" — where we take a few minutes to bounce some ideas around about classical music.
Sometimes when something happens that is totally not what you expected, it hits really funny. And we're not the first ones to figure this out... about 2400 years ago, the Greek philosopher Aristotle called the element of surprise "the secret to humor."
Here's a clip from one of Christy's favorite comic movies, Mel Brooks's "Young Frankenstein." In this scene, to prove that the monster can blend into high society, he gets dressed in a tuxedo with a top hat and a cane. Frankenstein dances on stage in a very fancy theater while singing "Puttin' on the Ritz."
In classical music, sometimes the composer chooses to use absurd instruments. English composer Malcolm Arnold wrote a piece called "A Grand, Grand Overture," which uses a regular orchestra, an organ, three vacuum cleaners, a floor polisher and four rifles. At the climax of the piece the rifles, silence the vacuum cleaners one by one. Here's a clip from the beginning when the vacuum cleaners start up and the rifles try to eliminate them.
Text us your joke! Submissions accepted until noon today, April 24. Text your joke to 833.490.4718 — it will make us smile!
- Start with a statement. (Ex. "Yesterday I played with my puppy.")
- List 5-10 reasonable assumptions about that statement. (Ex. "We played with fetch toys." "We played within the safety of our home." "'Play' is used in the sense of fun and leisure, not mental manipulation." "My puppy was awake while we played.")
- Choose one assumption to defy. (Ex. We played chess instead of with fetch toys.)
- Construct the joke: Original statement, pause, defied assumption as punchline. (Ex. "Yesterday I played with my puppy... longest chess game of my life.")
- Bask in the uproarious laughter!
Hear today's full episode by clicking "Listen" above and if you know the answer to to today's riddle text the answer to 833.490.4718. By texting your answer, you agree to receive follow-up messages from IPR.
Christy L'Esperance is the host and producer of Intermezzo.
Thanks to our cohost Hazel.
Scott Clemens is IPR's Digital Content Producer.
