"Dial" the Number...culturally extinct?

reebokandlace · #1 06-22-2014, 07:34 AM

I was hoping Stevie would put Dial the Number on this new album....but as I was playing the series of dial demos through the house yesterday ( over and over) my personal assistant said to me..." No one has dialed a phone in 20 years, people won't even know what that means really unless they are old.....maybe she needs to change the words to "Siri the number" or " text the number" or something younger people can relate to." I just stood there and stared at her. My first reaction was...hey everyone knows what dial the number means...but then I got to thinking about it and I wonder if she is right?!

Thoughts?

AnthonyMI · #2 06-22-2014, 08:09 AM

the word dial refers to the round rotary dial thing with numbers on it where you stick a finger in, hold and twirl it around.

Nobody under the age of 30 has used one of those, unless they lived in a very rural area!

WildHearted · #3 06-22-2014, 08:12 AM

People will still say "dial" when they are talking about punching the buttons for a phone number.. I can't imagine someone not knowing what that means.

For the record, I'm 20 and have used those old phones - I live in Atlanta which is hardly rural. I think people definitely would have seen them in movies/TV even if they hadn't used one themselves.

Jondalar · #4 06-22-2014, 08:19 AM

You are right - many people won't know what it means.

Dex · #5 06-22-2014, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WildHearted

People will still say "dial" when they are talking about punching the buttons for a phone number.. I can't imagine someone not knowing what that means.

Seconded. Just because a verb stops being used in a completely literal sense doesn't mean everyone is going to suddenly not know what it means. And even old words that aren't regularly used in everyday life are usually made familiar to people through various texts and media. Let's give the post-rotary-phone generation a teensy bit of credit for intelligence!

Not really related, but for the record, I live near a fairly hipster area where old rotary phones, some of which don't even work, can sell for £35-£50. They're "cool", apparently.

Out of curiosity, what word would one of you forward-thinking people use in lieu of "dial"? I can't think of a suitable replacement word, which I guess is why it's endured.

PenguinHead · #6 06-22-2014, 10:13 PM

What an interesting topic! I think people still use the term, even though you're not literally dialing. It's not a completely archaic term. If Stevie wrote a song called Pong or Pac Man, there would a big generational divide.

I hope Dial the Number is on the album. It's one of my favorite vault songs, one that was heavily worked on. In fact, it was reported in the news that it was going to be on her album (The Other Side of the Mirror), along with The Tragedy of One's Own Soul. It has a lot of potential to be epic. I love the one that prominently features a sax. The only other song of hers I can recall that features a sax is Nothing Ever Changes.

Understanding what it is that is happening
What it is and what it is not
We can see the dreams before they see us
We can hold them deep within our hearts

Sometimes she's a fool, but you want that feeling
It is said, it is earth shattering
Deep into the soul-defying places of the heart
Dial the number

Where were you when I needed you
???
Even just a smile makes her turn away
It was not a another lover,God knows I tried

Anyone want to add more lyrics? I can't remember them!

StreetAngel86 · #7 06-23-2014, 04:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reebokandlace

I was hoping Stevie would put Dial the Number on this new album....but as I was playing the series of dial demos through the house yesterday ( over and over) my personal assistant said to me..." No one has dialed a phone in 20 years, people won't even know what that means really unless they are old.....maybe she needs to change the words to "Siri the number" or " text the number" or something younger people can relate to." I just stood there and stared at her. My first reaction was...hey everyone knows what dial the number means...but then I got to thinking about it and I wonder if she is right?!

Thoughts?

you still say DIAL the number/a number today
it just doesn't literally mean >dial< anymore

i love this song
it's so depressing
WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDED YOOOOOOOOOOU?

she wouldn't even need to fix most of it. it's lush the way it is

reebokandlace · #8 06-23-2014, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PenguinHead

Anyone want to add more lyrics? I can't remember them!

Understanding what it is that is happening
What it is, and what it is not
Because we can see the dreams before they see us
We can keep them deep
Inside our hearts
Sometimes she’s a fool, but you want that feeling
It is sad
It is earth-shattering
Even just a smile makes her turn away
With a feeling

Dial the number
Dial the number
Dial the number
Broken-hearted promises are…broken
(stranger)
Ooh…
(easy)
It’s not another lover
God knows I tried
That is happening
What it is
And what it is not
Because we can see the dreams before they see us
We can hold them
Deep inside our heart
Hold them
Deep inside our heart

Dial the number
Hold you
Dial the number
Hold you
You have two, maybe three days
(hold you)
Hold you
Dial the number
Hold you
Maybe three days
Hold you
What would I do
If you answered
Dial the number…
Dial the number, please
What would I do
(what would I do)
If you answered
I don’t care
Dial the number
(what would I do)
Even just a smile
(what would I do)
((dial the number))
Makes her turn away
((what would I do))
With a feeling
((ooh…if you answered))
Don’t come hold me
Dial the number…
(hold me)
What would I do
If you answered
(hold me…)

Alternate version with heavy sax:
Understanding what it is that is happening
And what it is, and what it is not
Ooh, we can see the dreams before they see us
We can hold them deep within our hearts

Sometimes she's a fool but you want that feeling
It is sad, it is earth-shattering
Even just a look makes her turn away
With the feeling

Dial the number
Dial the number
Dial the number
Dial the number
What would I do, well?

Where were you when I needed you?
My broken-hearted promises are broken now
Even just a smile, it makes her turn away
It was not another lover
God knows that I tried
Always searching for that feeling
You know that it lies waiting somewhere
It goes deep into the soul-defying places of the heart

Dial the number
Dial the number
Ooh, of the heart...
Dial the number
Dial the number

You have one, maybe two days
Dial the number
You have one, maybe two days
Two, maybe three days
Dial the number
You have one, maybe two days
One, maybe two days...

bwboy · #9 06-21-2016, 03:02 PM

Talk to Me has a sax in it.

olive · #10 06-21-2016, 05:11 PM

StreetAngel86 · #11 06-22-2016, 04:42 AM

^^ lol in 20 years people wont know HOW to write anymore never mind in cursive

michelej1 · #12 06-22-2016, 11:56 PM

At Christmas we had the kids reading name tags and passing out the gifts under the tree and one kid who was 10 years old couldn't read his OWN name because it was spelled in cursive. I mean, some letters are markedly different (like the letter Q) but most aren't. You can figure out how they correspond to printing. But I guess that kid was exceptionally dumb -- and lazy. I felt like not letting him have the gift.

I guess "dial the number" could be "push the button."

Michele

olive · #13 06-23-2016, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michelej1

At Christmas we had the kids reading name tags and passing out the gifts under the tree and one kid who was 10 years old couldn't read his OWN name because it was spelled in cursive. I mean, some letters are markedly different (like the letter Q) but most aren't. You can figure out how they correspond to printing. But I guess that kid was exceptionally dumb -- and lazy. I felt like not letting him have the gift.

I guess "dial the number" could be "push the button."

Michele

she'll have to do two versions "Google call" for droid users and "siri call " for others plus a limited edition "Cortana call"