Tasmin Little is giving away her recordings! Lexis and notes
Radiohead is a rock band formed in 1986 whose music is variously described as alternative rock, art rock and electronic music. It was only in the mid-1990s that their popularity in the United Kingdom matched their success abroad.
to give sth away to someone – phrasal verb – to give something to someone without asking for payment
take your lead from s.o. – to follow someone’s (good or bad) example, imitate what someone has done before you, be inspired by someone to do sth similar, emulate someone’s example
a tepee – a conical tent as used by American Indians
naked – adj – note the pronunciation! – without clothes; of feelings or behaviour = undisguised, without pretence – eg ‘he acted out of naked ambition’. It often conveys the idea of ‘just’ or ‘nothing but’ eg pure and simple naked fun…..*
Be careful!
Naked is one of those ‘media‘ words which is sometimes used to ‘sex a topic up‘. Some time ago, a young chef had his first TV programme recorded, called ‘*The Naked Chef‘. Brilliant, innovative, fun, he was – naked he wasn’t, he was just doing what chefs do, dressed totally normally. It was just a way of attracting viewers with an eye-catching title, meaning something like ‘ just a chef, purely and simply’.
To sex up means to present sth as more attractive, exciting or glamorous than the matter warrants, not necessarily involving any sex at all! So, sexing up the fact that you’ve just received your monthly bank account might become "my bank’s just rushed me my latest financial involvements as a matter of extreme urgency and excitement – watch this space!!" The same information not sexed-up would be "My bank statement’s just come through the post."
Similarly, ‘sexy‘ is used inappropriately in many different contexts, again usually to convey attractiveness or very modern. This author recently saw a new restaurant advertised as ‘the latest sexy eating-place’. It sold pizzas.
wacky – adj – informal – unusual in a pleasing and exciting or silly way.
Eg Riding up the Eiffel Tower on a horse was a bit wacky, but it certainly attracted the crowds!
otherwise = if this had not happened / or had not been the case
a download – noun – a program or information which can be copied or moved from the Internet or a larger computer onto other equipment
to release – 1) to set free; 2) of a film / recording / CD / video etc = to make available to the public; a product is also released onto the market, i.e. made available to the public
This really isn’t for me – this is really not the sort of thing I enjoy / want to do. Eg Camping in Scotland in winter isn’t for me, I’m afraid…..
you’ve had it – informal = there’s nothing you can do about it, similar in meaning to ‘there’s no going back’. Eg ‘If you’re hoping to catch the 2.00 train to Edinburgh, I think you’ve had it.’ e.e. – there is little no possibility of your catching the train.
focal point – key source of interest, main content, the central element that attracts / concerns everyone
eg The focal point of the meeting was the launch of the new product.
Note
In 2006 (not last year as Tasmin says) Radiohead released their album In Rainbows as a download without a fixed price.
to charge people – to make people pay
They didn’t charge people as such = they didn’t actually make people pay a fixed price on sth – but they invited people to contribute what they wanted to (‘what they thought it was worth’ were their words at the time)
perception – ability to see, hear, become aware of sth;
perceive / perception – often imply that people are wrong to think sth – eg ‘locals’ perception was that their local politicians were all corrupt’ – ie they had the mistaken impression / view that local politicians were all corrupt, but they weren’t. Doctors are sometimes perceived as knowing more than they do – i.e. People expect doctors to know a lot, and often they don’t.
To fire bullets at – to shoot criticism at; to criticise
You can fire or shoot criticism at someone – using the word bullets is not common in this phrase
elitist – appealing or available only to an elite group, and not to most people
to have had enough (of sth) – to want something to stop because it is annoying you. Eg He’s had enough and he’s decided to leave his job.
I’ve had enough of this programme – I’m going to bed.
inaccessible – unable to be reached / seen / used; also, as here, to be difficult to understand or appreciate
If you can’t be bothered doing / to do sth – informal – you are too lazy or tired to do it.
Eg I can’t be bothered to go the gym.
but "I am not bothered" = I am indifferent to / about sth.
point – noun – purpose or usefulness.
Eg I see little point in giving them presents – they never like them
I’d like to invite him, but what’s the point? He never accepts.
Informal ‘There’s no point arguing about it – we’re going and that’s that.’
pointless – adj – serving no purpose, a waste of time. Eg It’s pointless arguing with him.
To miss the point – to not understand something correctly or to not understand what is important about it.
beside the point – not important or not related to the subject being discussed
Eg" Whether you enjoy family holidays or not is beside the point, John – the point is, people want to see you and you need a break. No-one’s expecting us to actually enjoy ourselves…."
What’s the point? Rhetorical statement meaning nothing is achieved / gained. I assume Tasmin Little means that if she can’t interest people in listening to classical music it is a waste of time her being a classical musician playing classical music.
Notice that the actual meaning is unclear because the phrase is incomplete – this is typical with this sort of phrase. The listener has to fill in the underlying meaning.
Eg I was planning to get a meal ready – but what’s the point? i.e. there is no purpose / gain in my doing so, or I feel uncertain about whether anyone will actually eat it even if I do, so maybe I just won’t bother…… You can see this is vague as a message.
To make money out of sth – to earn money from a project
Eg They organised a wonderful barbecue which was great fun, but they didn’t make any money out of it – i.e. they didn’t make a financial profit from it.