Liquor before beer…

Nationality: American
Age: 26
Occupation: Musician
Residence: California
Performance Date: 4 - 22 - 2020
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

The following is transcribed from a conversation between the informant and the interviewer.

Interviewer: So I’m pretty sure you’ve heard this term before, but I wanna get your understanding of what it means if that’s good… the saying I’m talking about is,”Liquor before beer, you’re in the clear, beer before liquor, you’ve never been sicker.”

Informant: hahaha yeah I’ve definitely heard that one, even if it’s been a couple years. Pretty sure it just means exactly what it sounds like haha just dont take shots after you’ve already been drinking beer for a while and I just honestly say it’s good advice. Pretty sure most people just take it as “don’t mix your alcohol,” though.

Background:

My informant is in his mid 20’s, born and raised in California. His parents immigrated from Italy and are extremely conservative, while he has adopted much more liberal views. He is also an electronic music producer.

Context:

I talked to my informant over a facetime call during the 2020 coronavirus Quarantine 

Thoughts:

I’ve actually heard this saying before, and after doing some research, I found that it makes no difference whether you drink beer or liquor first, you just tend to drink more if you start with beer and then start by taking a bunch of shots. 

Happy Birthday (On Channel 4)

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Environmental Scientist
Residence: California
Performance Date: 4 - 25 - 2020
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

The following is transcribed from a conversation between the informant and the interviewer.

Interviewer: So how did you sing the Happy Birthday song growing up?

Informant: Umm most of the time it was pretty normal with your average happy birthday to whomever and all that, but I remember this thing kids used to do where they would finish singing the normal song and then be like, “On channel four, theres something more, on channel five, you’re still alive, on channel six…” and so on but yeah I’m honestly glad no one does that anymore haha 

Background: 

My informant is in his early 20’s and was born and raised in Agoura Hills, CA. He’s lived in the same neighborhood throughout his entire life, other than when he was in college at Virginia Tech. 

Context:

I talked to my informant over a zoom video call during the 2020 Coronavirus quarantine

Thoughts:

It’s incredible how many different versions of Happy Birthday there are. It seems like every other family has their own idea of what it should be. My own hometown did the “On Channel,” whatever thing, but with different rhymes. I’ve also heard a ton of completely different joke-endings to the song, all with different lyrics and melodies. 

The Game

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: NA
Residence: California
Performance Date: 3 - 28 - 2020
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

The following is transcribed from a conversation between the informant and the interviewer.

Interviewer: So tell me a little bit about “the Game”

Informant: well for starters, you just lost it haha

Interviewer: Basically the entire point of the game is to just not think about the game, so if you forget it you win. But any time you ever think of the game, you have to publicly announce it to the people around you so that they also lose the game. It’s pretty pointless but my friends have been playing for like 10 years at this point and it’s just a funny thing to bring up.

Background:

My Informant is a 21 year old male who has lived in California for over 20 years. He originally lived in Utah, but moved too early to remember it there. He has very liberal views and works a full time job. 

Context:

I talked to my informant over a phone call during the coronavirus epidemic. 

Thoughts:

I think its cool how a seemingly unimportant game that was played in elementary school can not only spread across the entire country. But also last a lifetime for the people who actually know what it is. 

For more information about “the Game,” see https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/the-game

Don’t put your shoes on the Table

Nationality: Danish
Age: 54
Occupation: NA
Residence: California
Performance Date: 3 - 25 - 2020
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

The following is transcribed from a conversation between the informant and the interviewer.

Interviewer: So i’ve always thought it was bad to put my shoes on the table, but you think there’s another reason not to, right?

Informant: haha I mean I don’t know if I actually believe it but my mom always told me that if my shoes touched any table, it would be 10 years of bad luck. It scarred me for life since I’m pretty superstitious… but i still used the same tactic to get my kids to behave haha

Informant: and how did that work out for you?

Interviewer: It actually worked like a charm haha, i told my kids one time and then they started policing each other about it any time one of them would put their shoes on the table. 

Background:

My informant is a woman in her 50’s, originally growing up in Denmark and moving to the United states in her early 20’s. She has been a mother a majority of her life and travels with her kids at least twice a year. 

Context:

I talked to my informant over a facetime call during the 2020 coronavirus epidemic. We had planned to meet in person, however, our meeting was cancelled due to the virus. 

Thoughts

I think it;s interesting just how much folklore comes out of parents trying to scare their kids into behaving. The whole “7 years of bad luck” for breaking a mirror or walking under a ladder all have similar vibes and it makes me think that superstition arose out of children believing the surreal stories their parents would tell them as they grew up.

Water Assassins

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: NA
Residence: California
Performance Date: 3 - 28 - 2020
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

The following is transcribed from a conversation between the informant and the interviewer.

Interviewer: You remember that game we played in highschool, water assassins?

Informant: Oh yeah! How could I forget? That shit was so much fun, dude. 

Interviewer: you think you could explain a bit about what the aim of the game was?

Informant: for sure, we basically just got the entire senior class to get into teams of 5 or something like that and then we all got a target who we had to eliminate by spraying them with a water gun. Whoever got the most eliminations moved onto the next round and then whoever got the most by the end won the whole thing and then a pot of prize money.

Background

My Informant is a 21 year old male who has lived in California for over 20 years. He originally lived in Utah, but moved too early to remember it there. He has very liberal views and works a full time job. 

Context:

I spoke to my informant over a zoom call during the 2020 Coronavirus epidemic. 

Thoughts

I think the idea of water assassins is great. It gets everyone in the entire senior class involved and makes them actually think of strategies and plan ahead for how to win. It is also interesting to see how far-reaching this trend is, as i have heard of people playing this as far as the east coast and even in the UK.