Tootle of a Devilish Song
99% Invisible

Tootle of a Devilish Song

C1AdvancedSeptember 29, 202632 min

How a Swiss mountain call crossed the Atlantic and helped define the sound of country music. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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It's a sweltering June morning in Basel, Switzerland.

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C1 · Advanced

Fast, dense and idiomatic

A1 27%A2 43%B1 23%B2 6%C1 1%
  • 93% of the words are B1 or easier.
  • 148 words a minute: a natural pace.
  • 133 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.

Transcript

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0:00

This is 99% Invisible. I'm Roman Mars. It's a sweltering June morning in Basel, Switzerland. Trams roll through the streets. Some people get their first coffee, while others cool off in the Rhine.

0:19

I'm coming up here to the Munster Platz. This is the big cathedral in the square. That's reporter and Basel resident, Gabe Bullard. There's a group here of people in their traditional outfits, the dark pants, white

0:35

shirts, suspenders with idol vise. But this isn't everyday Basel. Gabe is attending a celebration of Swiss folk music that happens every three years, called Jötlerfest.

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