Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson for December 20, 2023

His expression in panel 3 is priceless. :D

Viola should hang out with Andre as they both like to make loud noises while around Petey.

Ah, she’s unhinged.

Brutal.

Marimba! A new dance for you to learn, Alice.

Did Viola scare off Ernesto?

Looks like a xylophone to me.

And of course, another rousing rendition of “Moonlight Feels Right!”

Violas a wackjob ….she sure rang his bell….lol

Is this how Ruth Underwood (longtime percussionist with Frank Zappa) got started?

Good thing it was a marimba, the sound is much softer than xylophones.

I suppoze things would get confuzing if she played a small cello.

Viola believes in being fully armed.

Beware, be very aware

Petey’s brain in panel 1 “Girl, girl, girl” like at the end of Inside Out. He’s forgetting he lives with two, which could provide context ; )

What’s the diff?

Glockenspiel (bells), xylophone, marimba, and vibrophone all have distinctively different sounds. Xylophone actually has a harsh edge to its sound, and produces dry, staccato tones that have very little or no sustain or resonance. It’s often used in cartoons to depict skeletons dancing, and composers use it for raunchy, macabre, or aggressive musical settings. If you want high-pitched tinkling suggestive of magic or fairies you use glockenspiel, and if you want warm, mellow tones you use marimba. Vibrophone produces a more modern, electronic sound with pure tones, and is not used in older compositions, i.e. rarely or never heard in classical orchestras.

And THAT is a lesson Petey will always marimba.

Viola branggs the heat!

Sonic barrage!

I’m not surprised, look at the size of those ears!

(I think it’s cool how Richard drew about double the number of “standing-up” hairs on Petey’s head in the last panel…☺)

I guess its an sore subject for Viola

Ah ha, so Thompson did make it a marimba on purpose!

Marimbaists are so easily triggered, living on the razor’s edge as they do.

Somehow I doubt that “heenk”-ing back at her will have the same magnitude of effect.

“I can’t hear them.” Riot.

Petey will now always remimba that it’s a marimba and not a xylophone!

Ring, ring! Maybe it’s a happy sound. https://tinyurl.Com/ndaxh4p

Last panel is adorable.

You’d have to hit a marimba really hard to make someone’s ears ring.

I used to have a downstairs neighbor who played the marimba. He would practice at 1 AM sometimes. Nobody cared. It’s a quiet instrument.