Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson for December 10, 2015

What would Alice say about the trombone? Because that’s what my older brother used to play.

But I am with Petey on this one. I always wanted to play an oboe. Never even got as close as holding one.

The oboe, well played, has a haunting, ethereal sound that lends a beautiful tone color to an orchestra. “Well played”is, however, the operative phrase in that sentence. It and the other double reeds are fiendishly difficult to control. The best players actually play for free, but they get paid huge sums for making and cutting reeds, which they do whenever they are not playing.

Once again, Richard posted a blog entry for just this strip.

Whoa! Alice turns out to be a devastating music critic—not what Petey needs at this time!Maybe she could grow up to be another Claudia Cassidy (a reference for Chicagolanders of a certain vintage)….

You’re playing my tune.

Petey wishes he could play the oboe too.

I think he’s playing Jingle Bells. I have to admit, he plays about as well as I sing, which is why I recognized it.

Petey has an affinity with the oboe. Like him, it’s awkward, strange, and annoying. It keeps people away, which suits him.

Supposedly true story: Steve Allen played Benny Goodman in “The Benny Goodman Story” (that much can be verified on IMDb at the very least). However, Goodman, who made his name fronting a jazz band in the big band days and who was also a concert clarinetist, couldn’t make those annoying sounds like the honking of a throttled goose that kids make when they first start playing clarinet. He was just too good a player by that point in his life. So they gave a horn to Allen, who provided the honking for the scenes where a young Benny picks up his first clarinet.

And you have to get your reeds all spitty before you start too – I subbed for 5th grade band one or twice.