Bloom County by Berkeley Breathed for September 22, 2009

Ohh! Help! I want my music, not the BCRCO!

Is that a cig he’s (maestro) been chewing on the last few days?

Or a cigar.

First on the playlist: “The Queen to Me a Royal Pain Doth Give” by P.D.Q. Bach (instrumental version).

P.D.Q. Bach Discography found at (http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mwm/pdq/disc.html), biography at (http://www.schickele.com/pdqbio.htm). Examples as well…

Isn’t this strip supposed to be in the USA? If so where did the “Royal” come from? Love the use (appropriately!!) of the word cacophonic!

How ‘bout a rousing chorus of “Deck Us All with Boston Charlie”?

And perhaps a nice rendition of Cage’s 4’33”. With a full encore?

Maestro Limekiller is English, hence the Bloom County “Royal” Cacophonic Orchestra.

“Music is all around us, if only we’d listen”

And this is how Opus got his formal training before joining Billy and the Boingers.

Being a string bass player, I especially appreciate what ever cartoon animal that is in the cartoon playing the bass.

I think that’s Phil the woodchuck on a cello. Baritone usually has a bent bell. Opus plays tuba. The wrap-around version of the bass horn would be a sousaphone. Same notes & sheet music, tuba has better tone quality, sousaphone is easier to carry in a parade or half-time show.

i played a tuba in high school. it was a very large instrument which was shaped like the one Opus is holding, except the bell was bent so as to face forward. what cholldekkgher is calling a”baritone” is (i think)something we knew as a “euphonium” - similar shape to what i describe, but smaller and higher pitched. we also had a smaller tuba in the band which was called an “e-flat bass” as opposed to the “bb-flat bass” which i played.