Reasonably Sound

46: The Scourge of Modern Civilization

An episode about how scam and spam calls (and texts) work, why they've been so hard to stop, and what they can teach us about labor. -- Support the show at http://patreon.com/mikerugnetta -- Reasonably Sound is on Twitter: http://twitter.com/reasonablysnd And...

RM03: Grumble, Bubble, Roil and Rumble

A short Rumination on stomach noises. -- https://anad.org/ – 1 (888)-375-7767 - ANAD is "the leading nonprofit in the U.S. providing free, peer support to anyone struggling with an eating disorder.​" https://nedic.ca/ - 1-866-NEDIC-20 - NEDIC "provides information, resources, referrals and support...

43: Hold, Please Extra - Vertical Time

Formerly an RS Patreon Exclusive, made public on the occasion of the RS Patreon's (purposeful) deactivation. Enjoy! -- You can find a full recording the piece which plays under this extra, "From the Center, Out" on Bandcamp: https://mikerugnetta.bandcamp.com/track/from-the-center-out...

41: A Not So Quiet Place Extra – The Silent Brigade

Formerly an RS Patreon Exclusive, made public on the occasion of the RS Patreon's (purposeful) deactivation. Enjoy! -- A section of Episode 41 which didn't make it in because of time for RS Patrons only <3

39: Automated Copywrongs Extra – Full Parker Interview

Formerly an RS Patreon Exclusive, made public on the occasion of the RS Patreon's (purposeful) deactivation. Enjoy! -- Full, lightly edited interview with Parker Conducted for Episode 39: Automated Copywrongs

39: Automated Copywrongs Extra – "Perceptual Technics"

Formerly an RS Patreon Exclusive, made public on the occasion of the RS Patreon's (purposeful) deactivation. Enjoy! -- This felt like a big thesis to just sorta... throw in to the episode and move on from. It was originally around the spot...

45: The World Remade

On flailing in the rising tides, as well as the ecological impact of vinyl records and digital music streaming. -- Find full show notes, with research links, at http://reasonablysound.com/2019/08/19/the-world-remade/ -- Thanks to Kyle Devine, whos book Decomposed: The Political Ecology of Music is out...

44: Vrooms And The Lack Thereof

What if your car’s engine could sound like anything? -- Find full show notes, with research links, at http://reasonablysound.com/2019/02/07/vrooms-and-the-lack-thereof/ -- Thanks to all the show’s Patrons and supporters, without whom it would not be possible! Special thanks to Adam Neely, Andrew Carlos,...

43: Hold, Please

42: The Oddest Thing in the Universe

41: A Not So Quiet Place

RS TSHIRTS! https://cottonbureau.com/products/phonocloud -- Exposure to noise pollution has serious health risks, and disproportionately affects certain communities. But what if regulating it would accidentally do more harm than good? -- The Generation Gap by CBC's Podcast Playlist: https://bit.ly/2wAgJU6 -- Check out Seeker’s NOISE WEEK at...

40: Helpful Mom Voices

On the pursuit of making machines talk, and the quality of digital assistants’ voices. Find full show notes, with research links, at http://reasonablysound.com/2018/02/27/helpful-mom-voices/ Thanks to all the show’s Patrons and supporters, without whom it would not be possible! Special thanks to: Adam...

39: Automated Copywrongs

Or: Do Androids Dream of Pitch Shifted Music? --- We talk about the algorithmic enforcement of copyright, how it works and why we have it. We talk to Parker Higgins, and speculate about a future beset by copyright robots. --- Find full show notes,...

38: Why Are There No New Christmas Songs?

As of Recording, Wham’s “Last Christmas” was predicted to be the UK #1 Christmas single, but the honor officially went to Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” (not a year end song, despite what the music video would have you believe) as of...

37: Boo Who?

RS Live at Caveat NYC, Dec 2nd 2017: http://caveat.nyc/event/reasonably-sound/ An examination of when, and why, we boo and some encouragement to maybe boo a bit more. SOURCES • Dan Rebellato, ‘B is for Booing’ - http://bit.ly/2hSGAjQ • Sound Symbolism - http://bit.ly/2hTgDjN • Did The...

36: Put 'Em Together

“The custom of showing one's pleasure at music by immediately following it with a noise, usually by clapping but sometimes also by the drumming of feet, is perhaps as old as the art of music itself.” - The Oxford Companion...

RM02: A Reasonably Sound "Mission Statement"

"Ruminations" (RM) are short[-er] episodes, lightly edited, on topics nonetheless worth discussing. In this Rumination, I talk for a few minutes about what I want to try to do with Reasonably Sound, and why I think sound is interesting and important. Double...

35: What 2016 Sounded Like

It's the end of 2016, so we'll do the thing one tends to do around this time of year: look back. In this episode, a few bits of audio revelry from the End of 2014 episode return, you can get...

34: For Whom The Whistle Blows

This episode contains offensive language. ---------- In this episode of Reasonably Sound we talk about how it is that through repetition, seemingly innocuous sounds come to be laden with meaning and can even guide the behavior of subjects exposed to them. ---------- Double extra...

33: The Braaam™

An episode about the type of sound The Inception Sound is, the controversy surrounding that sounds authorship, and how it’s effectiveness is deeply rooted in a millennia plus of human culture ---------- Double extra super THANKS to all of Reasonably...

RM01: Slerd Speesh

Support RS at patreon.com/reasonablysound A quick rumination on why people slur their speech when they're drunk, and a little thinking on what it means to slur, and its place in popular culture. Music by Will Stratton Visual Branding by Tida Tep Sources: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201505/why-do-drunk-people-stumble-fumble-and-slur-their-words https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ataxia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebellum https://kin450-neurophysiology.wikispaces.com/Alcohol+%26+Cerebellum http://www.bloodalcohol.info/how-alcohol-affects-the-brain.php https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-Aminobutyric_acid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebellum_granule_cell CLUMSINESS: http://elitedaily.com/life/culture/clumsy-people-rejoice-theres-scientific-reason-youre-klutz/1047848/ http://www.bustle.com/articles/84286-what-causes-clumsiness-and-can-it-be-cured-what-science-knows-about-people-who-always-be -- LICENSING...

32: Light Dinner Conversation

Support RS at patreon.com/reasonablysound This week, it’s the sounds that surround holiday gatherings and rituals. Mike tackles several sonic phenomena and how they will function during your Turkey Day soiree. And how you can use their existence as fodder for conversations...

31: I Nonlinear Vocalization. You Nonlinear Vocalization

Support RS at patreon.com/reasonablysound THIS WEEK IT’S ALL ABOUT SCREAMS (AAAAA!!!!) Horror and fear screams. It’s not just talking with some extra juice. There is much, much more at work. Physically and psychologically, a scream is a unique thing in human...

30: Bits and Chips

Support RS at patreon.com/reasonablysound It’s all about nostalgia and limitation as Mike chips away (ahhh?!?!?) at the world of chiptunes music. If you played video games years and years ago, you’ll hear a set of sounds that will be completely familiar,...

29: Acoustic Body

It’s the stethoscope and the sampler as Mike leads us through “the alien nature of [our] own interiors.” In this journey into the sounds of the body, he explores the work of corporeal sonification as music, as well the history...

29: Acoustic Body

Support RS at patreon.com/reasonablysound It’s the stethoscope and the sampler as Mike leads us through “the alien nature of [our] own interiors.” In this journey into the sounds of the body, he explores the work of corporeal sonification as music, as...

28: HBD™

Support RS at patreon.com/reasonablysound Originally published September 17, 2015 It’s the birthday episode for Reasonably Sound! Celebrating 1 year, Mike dives into why he can’t lead us all in a rousing chorus of that famous Happy Birthday song that we all know...

27: Peace and White Noise

Support RS at patreon.com/reasonablysound Mike is on a brief vacation on Cape Cod. At the beach. Where he considers why the point of the beach isn't really the beach, but instead the strange draw of waves, water and the ocean. The...

26: Little Night Muzak

Support RS at patreon.com/reasonablysound It's convention season and Mike is on the road for three weeks straight, spending a LOT of time in centers and major hotel chains. And he's noticed how much of his life has become underscored by Muzak...

25: Fetish Character

Support RS at patreon.com/reasonablysound Mike explores audience, taste, morality, subjectivity, commodity, and so much more in a pastiche of readings from Theodor W. Adorno, Gawker, Taylor Swift’s Tumblr, Fashionista, Noisey, NME and Pitchfork. The text of this episode of Reasonably Sound is...

24: KABOOM

Mike explores the sonic aspects of fireworks: What is an explosion, and why do they sound the way they do? These questions lead to a breakdown of combustion versus detonation; low explosives versus high explosives; the phrase “the boom is...

23: The Real Song of the Summer

It’s the ice cream truck jingle. Even Mike’s hated Mr. Softee one. Mike provides the secret origin of the jingle, touching on the Great Depression, the growth of the American middle class, the Good Humor Man, refrigeration, and...

22: Echoic Memory

Echoic memory, how it differs from other kinds of memory, and the definition of sound itself, all on this episode of Reasonably Sound. Plus: Jamiroquai.

21: Road Trip

Mike and Molly (not the TV show) take a road trip and consider Spotify, MTV2, and how we discover music now. (Also: Cover versions, N.W.A., and the undeniable perfection of Pony.)

20: The Drop

That part in dance music, where the music builds and builds and builds and BUILDS before the tension finally, FINALLY, gets relieved? That’s “the drop.” Mike talks about its origin, construction, and application, and tells you what P.L.U.R....

19: Molly’s Misophonia

Misophonia is, literally, “the hatred of sound.” Molly Templeton has it, and talks to Mike about the noises that trigger it. -- Molly Online -- twitter.com/mememolly instagram.com/mememolly -- Sources -- “Misophonia: Diagnostic Criteria for a New Psychiatric Disorder” by Arjan Schröder, Nienke Vulink, Damiaan...

18: Play It For All It’s Worth

How much is a song worth? How do you even calculate it? And what do DJ Shadow, Tom Waits, and the Wu-Tang Clan have to do with it? Mike Rugnetta answers these and other questions. -- Sources -- The...

17: What Does the Universe Sound Like?

Mike explains how pigeon-lovers Arno Penzius and Robert Wilson found evidence to prove the Big Bang. Find out about hisses, #starstuff, photons, poop, and more to get a full picture of what the universe actually sounds like. -- Universe Sounds...

16: Active Listening, Eavesdropping, and Surveillance

Mike navigates the streets, subways, and pizza shops of NYC, and as you listen, ponder whether listening to this episode makes you an active listener, an eavesdropper, or a spy.

15: This Episode Has Subliminal Messages

On this installment of Reasonably Sound, Mike Rugnetta covers subliminal messages and their (lack of) effectiveness with help from BrainCraft’s Vanessa Hill. Chandler Bing is referenced. -- Find Vanessa -- youtube.com/braincraft twitter.com/brain_craft twitter.com/nessyhill -- Sources -- Is there an effect of subliminal messages in music...

14: Joe Hanson on Animals, Sound, and Semiotics

When an animal makes a sound, does that sound have meaning? Mike talks to Dr. Joe Hanson, a biology expert and curator/host of It's Okay To Be Smart, and you’ll get a glimpse into the world of animals, sound,...

13: Shopworn Sound Effects

Mike takes you on a tour of the most commonly heard sound effects. And fair warning, when you hear them on this episode, you’ll start hearing them EVERYWHERE. Plus, Mike tells you why sides of beef and planks...

12: The Printing Press and the Great Vowel Shift

What explains the difference between English and American accents? On this episode of Reasonably Sound, Mike Rugnetta explains that this spoken phenomenon starts with the written word. -- On American versus English Spelling -- Why Do Brits and Americans Spell...

10: Auditory Illusions

Mike Rugnetta would like to talk with you about auditory illusions (not tricks), specifically the Shepard tone and binaural beats. Use your headphones for this one. (ALSO: art school college story time!) The submarine film soundtrack work Mike mentions...

9: On The Road with Mike Rugnetta

It's a Thanksgiving travelogue with Mike Rugnetta, who, like a bazillion other people, is on the road for the holiday.

8: A440

A440 is not a steak sauce, nor is it a tax form. Rather, A440 hz is the standard tuning for musical pitch. Why is that? The reasons include, but are not limited to: The oboe, church versus...

7: Taylor Swift’s White Noise

Taylor Swift accidentally released eight seconds of white noise to iTunes, and it went to number one in Canada. Mike Rugnetta offers his take on it, as well as a helpful explanation what white noise actually is. Baseball...

6: Sound as a Weapon

Mike Rugnetta and Atlas Obscura‘s Dylan Thuras have a fascinating discussion on the use of sound in war and at what point sound becomes a weapon. Among the topics covered: - World War I “sound mirrors” (giant concrete parabolas that...

5: Whisper Quiet

Do you have a favorite sound? Mike Rugnetta has a few: - A Snapple bottle opening - An orchestra tuning, with a couple instruments clearly off-key - A breaking incandescent light bulb In this episode, Mike explores the phenomenon of ASMR, or Autonomous...

4: Snikt!

Mike would like to talk with you about snikt. And sploorp. And butcher some French while he’s at it. Today’s subject is onomatopoeia and the visual representation of sound, particularly in comics. AMONG, BUT NOT ALL, THE THINGS...