Author Archives: Alexander Fiance

Song

Age: 11
Occupation: Student
Residence: Westlake Village, CA
Performance Date: April 7, 2007
Primary Language: English

99 bottles of sprite on the wall

99 bottles of sprite

You take one down

Pass it around

98 bottles of sprite on the wall

(Song repeats until there are no bottles left)

Talia Fiance is in the sixth grade and often rides the school bus to school and fieldtrips. During these bus rides, the children often break out in song, with a few students eagerly leading the chant until ultimately almost everyone is singing. She cannot pinpoint exactly when she learned this song, but she noted that it is obviously derived from the traditional folk song “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall.” On the bus rides to and from school, there is no adult supervision (with the exception of the driver), and hence the children have no censorship on their songs. However, on field trips, there are often teachers and parent liaisons, and these individuals discouraged Talia’s peers from singing about beer. Instead, they mandated that they sing about soda and suggested punishment to those who would not adapt to the new lyrics.

While this song does not have any profound meaning to the informant, the adults’ desire to modify the lyrics is indicative of increasing restrictions on what children hear and say. As technology consistently improves, children are gaining more access to media and folklore beyond what they learn in school or from their parents; hence, parents are becoming more concerned with monitoring kids’ behavior. In this case, the children were originally singing a harmless song, but the adults deemed it inappropriate for them to be singing freely about alcoholic beverages.

The song “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” always presents an interesting dynamic amongst the kids. It is known as an annoying and demanding song, and the kids rarely reach the end (when there are no bottles left). Likewise, the song presents an element of humor, because the leaders of the song are aware of the nuisance that the song presents to zthe bus driver (or to the other adults). The song is somewhat empowering, because simply starting the song implies that about fifteen minutes of obnoxious melodic pattern may ensue. Yet, the song rarely gets past about 75 bottles, as the singers get tired and pressure the medley to end.

Folk Chant

Age: 11
Occupation: Student
Residence: Westlake Village, CA
Performance Date: April 7, 2007
Primary Language: English

– Girls rule, boys drool!

– Girls go to college to get more knowledge,

Girls go to Mars to get more stars,

Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider!
– Boys lie, let’s make them cry!

Talia has been hearing rhymes insulting boys every since elementary school, but as she has gotten older her sayings have gotten more sophisticated. The “girls rule, boys drool” rhyme has been commonplace since approximately first grade, where she would hear anti-male sentiments screamed during recess on the playground. Also, she owns a shirt that reads “boys are stupid, throw rocks at them.” While she does not really have sentiments against boys at her age, she treats the rivalry between the sexes as playful joking or even flirtatiousness.

The battle between the sexes is usually initiated by the started of grade school, when the opposite sex has “cooties” and must be avoided at all costs. The insults start simple, merely declaring that boys “drool.” Still, even such a basic rhyme promotes divisions between the sexes, as it suggest that boys have awkward and unpleasant habits. The “girls go to college” rhyme is more sophisticated, as it contains clear-cut feminism and promotes female empowerment. The rhyme reflects the more modern perception that all girls can go to college and fulfill their goals, but still contains the simplistic sentiment that girls are better than boys without explaining why. These “stars” that the girls are seeking represent glamour and beauty, while the boys are deemed “stupid.” The fact that the girls go to Mars strangely contrasts with the adage that “Men are from Mars, women are form Venus.” Finally, “Boys lie, let’s make them cry!” presents the complexities of relationships between the sexes and is far more malicious than the previous rhymes. Seemingly too mature for sixth graders to understand, it not only warns girls about boys’ tendency to tell lies, but also acknowledges the girls’ ability to break a man’s heart and render him defenseless.

Drinking Game

Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 15, 2007
Primary Language: English

Drinking Game

Setup:

  • Teams sit at opposing ends of a standard table (approx. 3.5’ x 8’)
  • In front of each player is a cup that is completely filled with beer

How to score:

  • The players take turns throwing dice
  • During the throw, the dice must come within inches of the ceiling (or even graze the ceiling) and land on the table
  • An improperly thrown dice is called a “rocket” if it hits the ceiling or “low” if it is thrown too low
  • The opposing team must call “rocket” or “low” before the dice hits the table in order to be valid
  • If the dice roles off the shorter end of the table (where the opposing team is sitting) and onto the ground, the team scores a point
  • If the other team catches a properly thrown dice with one hand before it hits the floor, nobody scores
  • 5 points wins the game, but the team must win by 2

When to drink:

  • Any time the dice lands on 5, which is known as “biz”
  • Any time someone says “five” instead of “biz”
  • If the dice hits the cup, the other team takes a swig
  • If the dice lands in the cup, the other team chugs the remaining beer in the cup
  • If the dice does not land on the table
  • If a player catches the dice with two hands or uses the body to trap the dice

Mike Searles learned the complex game of beer die from his brothers, and it has become a traditional game within his family for the past few years. His brothers learned the game within their fraternity, where it has served as a brotherhood event for decades. According to Mike, many people have their own unique rules that they have incorporated into the game, but this is the most basic form of the drinking game. Games usually take about an hour, but supposedly some games have lasted as long as three hours. An exciting element of the game is when opposing teams try to try each other into saying “five,” using tactics such as asking for phone numbers or addressed.

What strikes me about this drinking game is that it requires tremendous mental focus and physical coordination, both of which completely disappear when one is intoxicated. Complex drinking games such as beer die are almost always associated with a group or organization, such as a fraternity or club. Almost all of my Greek friends have unique drinking games within their houses, as these traditions help confirm the brotherhood and distinctiveness of the fraternity. However, unlike most fraternity traditions (which are kept secret), people always seem very eager to teach others their drinking games because they are often viewed as a symbol of status and verification of exclusivity to others.

Drinking Game

Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 15, 2007
Primary Language: English

Beer Pong: Slap-Back Style

The rules:

  • Teams of two stand at opposite sides of a table
  • At the edge of each side of the table, the teams stack ten plastic cups in a triangular formation and fill them with a total of four beers
  • The players take turns throwing a ping pong ball at the cups; if it lands in a cup, the opposing team must remove the cup and drink the beer
  • If the ball is bounced into a cup, the opposing team must remove and drink two cups
  • If both players land their ball in the same cup, the opposing team must drink and remove three cups
  • Each team is allowed two “reracks,” which involve forcing the other team to rearrange the remaining cups in any formation
  • Slap-back rules: if a ball hits the table, the team can smack the ball back at the opposing team. If the ball hits an opposing player, he/she must chug an entire beer. However, if the opposing player catches the ball, the player who hit the ball must chug an entire beer.
  • The game ends when there are no cups remaining

Mike Searles learned the game of Beer Pong early in his college years; however, he learned the “slap-back” edition less than a year ago. He describes Beer Pong as one of the most popular games in college, and has participated in many tournaments that include as many as 32 teams. While the game of Beer Pong is already very competitive, he claims that “slap-back” is more competitive than many sports games he has played in. In Beer Pong, players generally drink about two beers per game, but he claims to have drunk as many as six beers in a game playing “slap-back.”

Beer Pong, in its most basic form, requires more coordination than most drinking games; however, the addition of the slap rules adds a very physical, aggressive component to the game. In reality, forcing drunken people to slap balls at each other seems like a recipe for disaster, since alcohol already fosters belligerence. Although popular amongst everyone, these physically derived drinking games are trademarks of fraternities and are generally more common amongst boys. Since boys tend to enjoy friendly competition, it is no surprise that adding more physical rules to Beer Pong has become common.

Song – Westlake Village, California

Age: 21
Occupation: Summer Camp Director
Residence: New York, NY
Performance Date: April 8, 2007
Primary Language: English

I said a Boom Chic-A-Boom

I said a Boom Chic-A-Boom

I said a Boom Chic-A-Rocka, Chic-A-Rocka, Chic-A-Boom

Uh-huh (echo Uh-huh)

Oh yeah (echo Oh yeah)

One more time (echo One more time)

______ style!!!!!

(The person leading the song can choose from a variety of “styles” and continue as long as he/she wants. Popular styles include ‘Under water style,’ ‘Valley girl style,’ ‘Pirate style,’ or anything else the leader thinks of or chooses)

Nicole Ross is the camp director of First Neighborhood Day Camp in Westlake Village, CA. Over 200 kids attend camp every week, and throughout the day the counselors lead multiple song medleys. Generally, Nicole selects a counselor to come on stage with his/her group of campers and pick a song, which they will sing on stage in front of the entire camp. I attended the camp from ages 7-13, but when I arrived to work as a head counselor in the summer of 2006 I noticed that many of the songs had changed. Since the camp has been around for more than twenty years, many of the songs have been modified, and Nicole brought many new songs to the camp’s tradition. She claims to have learned “Boom-Chic-A-Boom” back when she was a camper around 1993.

The song is filled mostly with meaningless lyrics designed to get kids excited and rowdy. The song is recited in “repeat-after-me” style, meaning the kids have an opportunity to get up and perform in front of a large group. While the lyrics may seem irrelevant, the idea behind the song is to build confidence and creativity. The last line enables campers to choose the “style” of their choice; although there are popular favorites, the kids can essentially make up any style they want on the spot. Sometimes, a specific person will be selected (for example, “Jason style”) to lead his/her own completely unique, goofy rendition. As camp went on, campers became more eager to do their own “style,” revealing that they gradually became comfortable enough to chant alone in front of 200 people. According to Nicole, this transformation in the campers’ self-assurance is a primary goal of the summer camp.