Numbers

1–2 minutes

What is your favorite holiday? Why is it your favorite?

Many years ago, this American life had an episode where they composed music based on surveys of what people want to hear and don’t want to hear. in my opinion, it was one of the finest pieces of journalism I’ve ever heard.

Not Want To Hear

People surveyed, said they don’t want to hear songs about holidays, featuring rap, cowboy music, kids singing and other attributes.

If you get a chance, go to the episode of listen the song they composed is hilarious. It’s a rapping cowboy thing about Labor Day with kids music in the background.


Key Segments from Episode 88: Numbers

  • Prologue: A temp secretary’s experience.
  • Act One: Corporate Culture:D. Travers Scott and his boyfriend.
  • Act Two: Paint By Numbers:Artists Alex Melamid and Vitaly Komar survey people to determine what they want to see in paintings and hear in music, resulting in a “most wanted” painting and songs that include disliked elements like bagpipes and holiday lyrics.

The song they composed with all the favorite attributes was horrendous.

Statistics are like bikinis, but they show our eyes, but what they hide are important

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