Surprise, enthusiasm, or just general emphasis.Īnger, snarling, growling. 'Oh fuff, you don't know what you're talking about!' Homer Simpson's catchphrase when something bad happens.Įxpresses annoyance over something stupid or obvious Used, often sarcastically, to imitate crying. Your internet is slow? Boo-hoo, how sad for you.

I jumped out from the closet and yelled 'boo!' Shows sentimental approval (also see next entry) Sometimes it means 'aaah' or 'eh' instead. Used to get someone's attention, especially if they don't know (or apparently forgot) that you're there. 'Ahem! Swearing is against office policy.' Understanding, triumph (can also be used as 'ahh') Like the sounds themselves, most of the interjection can be made stronger by stretching them out, such as 'aaaaaah!!!' or 'aNote that some are listed several times with different meanings, and as alternate spellings under other entries.įright, shock. Feel free to mail me if you have suggestions or comments. Here is a list of English interjections, specifically those that are not included in normal dictionaries because they just signify noises people make (ahh, ow, grr) rather than exclamation words (hey, stop, yes). When her 1981 debut went out of print, it was heralded “the great lost Can album.” On her triumphant return to Cologne, Phew stepped out of the shadow of her collaborators and made music that sounded unmistakably her own.Dictionary of Interjections (aww, oh, ah, eek, oops) Dictionary of Interjections Like a punk-rock Meredith Monk, Phew has tirelessly developed her inimitable singing style for over 40 years, from her late-’70s punk band Aunt Sally to her recent run of solo records. These unstructured moments contrast with the blissful pop of the title track, whose twangy guitars and clockwork drumming build to a climax of Phew’s tightly controlled vocal acrobatics, hovering and twisting above the instruments like calligraphic skywriting. The track becomes tensely dramatic as each sound contrasts with Phew’s calm syllable-by-syllable recitation, as if some malevolent force is threatening to interrupt a child’s bedtime story. On “Smell,” sound effects of water splashing, coins dropping, and spooky sci-fi ambience are punctuated by crashing guitar chords. Phew complements Haas and company’s most outré tendencies. Elsewhere, her lilting, sing-song melody lifts the chiming guitars on “Spring” into sublime, airy territory, setting the stage for Hacke’s soaring guitar solo. “Being” is the most surprising song for its big, dumb, heavy-metal riffage, but Phew’s growls succeed in making the track more disturbing than silly. The band does its best Liquid Liquid impression on “Our Element” while she barks over their dance-punk groove until she runs out of breath. The German experimentalists transform each track of Our Likeness into a world of its own. Listen to a German drummer and you will be able to detect the influence of the German tongue on his playing.” Frustrated by the constraints of singing in Japanese, Phew catapults her vocals off of the taut platform of Liebezeit’s hyper-precise drumming, twisting and stretching her words with confidence that she will land back in the pocket. “You can hear it particularly in the drumming. “Music is a language, and the music a person makes is dictated to a certain degree by their mother tongue,” she explained in a 2003 interview for The Wire. On both albums, Liebezeit’s percussion unlocked the potential of Phew’s vocals across their language barrier. Though Our Likeness is Phew’s third album, it is the spiritual sequel to her debut. She returned as a more assured artist with 1987’s View, a poppy, synth-driven affair with relatively restrained, melodic vocal lines.

Meanwhile, her legend grew as the vocalist who recorded with Sakamoto and Can and then disappeared. She spent five years reconciling what she observed in Germany with her own simple, go-ahead approach. Encountering Plank’s immaculate studio and his meticulous recording techniques challenged her punk rock ethos. The first Cologne recordings were pivotal for her-she has admitted that she likely would not have continued making music without meeting Plank-but they triggered a period of aimlessness. The years between Phew’s self-titled debut and Our Likeness, which is now being reissued by Mute, were turbulent but productive. Now in her early 30s, Phew reprised her role as vocalist in Plank’s studio. Haas masterminded the sessions for Phew’s eclectic 1992 record, Our Likeness, inviting Liebezeit back to record with a new generation of the German underground in Alexander Hacke of Einstürzende Neubauten and Thomas Stern of Crime and the City Solution. Though he didn’t introduce himself at the time, he contacted Phew almost a decade later in Tokyo to suggest they record together. The spectator during those sessions was Chrislo Haas of German new wave bands D.A.F.

Phew sound