European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 22, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 18 scene stars and stripes sunday april 22 2007 whistle 5 0 c d q i noisy puckers now rare whistling is deader than Coonskin Caps and driven Heaters especially among the Young you dont hear much whistling anymore says Sacramento Kings owner Gavin Maloof who mastered the two Finger whistle Back in Grade school Maloos celebrated court Side whistle rises above the Arco Arena Din a Shockan Dawe Thunderclap of shot altering intensity impressive but whistling these Days is mostly reserved for teakettles even locomotives dont whistle anymore they have horns so whats up with whistling once the unofficial american pastime wheres the kid hands stuffed in pockets whistling his Way to school today kids Are More Apt to hitch a ride to school earbuds stuffed in each ear could they even hear themselves whistle instead of being jammed in Mouths to learn whistling Young fingers Are Busy elsewhere on video game controllers punching cell phones and dancing along computer keyboards today whistling is mostly done by baby Boomers weaned on the Andy Griffith show theme Lassie Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Western soundtracks scored by Ennio Morricone and Kyu Sakamoto Sukiyaki guns n roses Ballad patience won a rolling Stone Magazine poll last month for Best song that features whistling that Cut was released nearly 20 years ago the rest of the top five whistling songs listed were older hiphop whistlers hard to find hiphop Hast exactly embraced whistling except with rare exceptions such As Juelz santanas there it go even then its debatable very few have used whistling As i have to conv pose weave it into stories do All styles of music except hip hop says internationally acclaimed Whistler Milton Briggs of Carmichael his web site has samples of whistling while they play roiling Stone magazines est songs that feature whistling 1 patience guns n roses 2 on the Dock of the Bay Otis Redding 3 Centrefold j Geils band 4 the stranger Billy Joel 5 dont worry be Happy Bobby Mcferrin other songs with whistling the Kaifes limbo Rock Chubby checker daydream lovin spoonful ony love can break a heart Gene Pitney the a files theme Mark Snow 10 films Wim whistling kill Bill vol 1 kill Bili vol 2 Snow White and the seven dwarfs the Shaw Shank redemption Skull monkeys total recall trading places the Good the bad an the ugly True lies Holiday inn photos by the Sacramento Milton Briggs of Carmichael Calif pictured in this 1988 photo is a member of the whistlers Hall of Fame sitting court Side Sacramento Kings owner Gavin Maloof lets out a shrill whistle during los Angeles lakers foul shots May 26 Maloof mastered the two Finger whistle in Grade school his whistling and who says work up some thing and do hiphop whistling styles swing from crude to classical As a form of communication we can whistle to Call a wayward dog or express emotion at sporting events its never going to be mainstream but whistling is a sound that will never go away he says whistling is out there if you listen Youl hear it the Antithesis of Maloos blasts Briggs trained pucker is an instrument that lends a mellifluous Drift to classical selections As Well As blues jazz and Folk 1 sing so i integrate a whistle like i would an says Briggs who accompanies himself on guitar or piano Briggs is retired and in his mid60s an age group that appreciates accomplished whistlers but the t8to34 demographic int much for puckering up and blowing out a tune whistling to the younger generation May be better than yodelling but not significantly better organic sounds human Are not in the mainstream Briggs today theres an instrument available that will make that sound we live in a very cluttered competitive and commercially acoustic environment a sporting Call Back in the Day when whistling was Cool Maroof and concerts in the Canary islands Silbo Gomero is a mastered his signature whistle language that is whistled rather than spoken audiences in Europe and South America whistle to show disapproval at concerts and soccer games but whistling can be considered downright annoying in Modem society like chewing ice Briggs an International grand Champion and a member of the whistlers Hall of Fame recalls his Early Days while working for a retail credit company i was in a room full of typewriters and i didst like it so id Start to whistle of key on purpose he says they threw erasers and paper clips at me we had a science teacher that had played professional hockey he relates he was a goalie and had one leg wed be in class and everybody would be dozing off and hed let out this whistle theres no carpets in the room and his whistle just Shook the whole school he inspired me Maloof said that by watching his teacher and prac timing on his own he was Able to teach himself the two Finger on hand whistling style get the form right work on it and practice often is Maloos advice to would be Finger whistlers Briggs transcends everyday whistlers Honing his i mines a lot louder he says comparing the re Talent for the world of organized whistling he too owned whistle of los Angeles lakers head coach Phil feels whistling is on the decline among the masses but Jackson the Only one who had one louder than mine defends its staying Power was my professor at makeup time
