Chris Timson Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 I wonder how many people hear that song and don't realize it's a double entendre -- because they don't understand the musical instrument part of it! Some people understand all too well. When the newsgroup rec.music.makers.squeezebox was first set up (I had been an active member of its predecessor the accordion mailing list; the Concertina FAQ sprang directly out of it) the sponsor - St Phoebe Sengers of blessed memory - got all sorts of flack because she had used the word squeezebox as a generic term for free reed instrument. It seems many of the American accordion players on the list thought this was a derogatory term. The English - concertina and accordion players alike - couldn't (and in my case still can't) understand what the fuss was all about, but there is no doubt that they were very offended by what they regarded as the trivialisation of their chosen instrument. As a historical note, originally the two communities of accordion and concertina players got on very well, and found much in common to discuss. I think one of the reasons this forum has succeeded so well is that it came along at a time when trollish behaviour by a number of accordion players who believed that their own self-importance outweighed trivia like courtesy made the newsgroup not a very nice place to be (sound familiar?). Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 It seems many of the American accordion players on the list thought this was a derogatory term. The English - concertina and accordion players alike - couldn't (and in my case still can't) understand what the fuss was all about, but there is no doubt that they were very offended by what they regarded as the trivialisation of their chosen instrument. It's not so much a derogatory term or a trivialization (note American spelling!). It's a fairly vulgar slang term referring to something completely unrelated to music. It's not very common, but it's there. That's probably what they were reacting to. Personally, I'm very glad to have found later in life that the word has a very nice and wholesome meaning! Steven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Chambers Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 It's a fairly vulgar slang term referring to something completely unrelated to music. Something closely related to the original meaning of "rock & roll" ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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