The pingdemic was following everybody
The NHS COVID app was sending isolation alerts across the country.
Scott and Chris asked listeners where they had been pinged.
On the beach.
At parties.
In unexpected places.
Scott thought he had been pinged in his own upstairs bathroom during the weekend party.
It turned out to be the doorbell notification sounding from his pocket.
For a few seconds, however, he believed the app had managed to interrupt him even there.
Chris ended up running the barbecue after all
Despite the previous programme making it sound as though Chris had not been invited, he did attend Scott’s outdoor gathering.
His wife had been invited and Scott had essentially assumed Chris came with the booking.
More importantly, Scott had told everybody Chris would handle the barbecue.
Chris had not agreed to this.
Guest after guest approached him mentioning the barbecue.
Eventually social pressure won.
Chris took the cover off, started grilling and spent the next couple of hours cooking.
Scott later described the burgers as some of the best he had ever had.
Low and Slow Stark had effectively performed an unpaid live show.
Celine Dion unexpectedly transformed the party
Then somebody got control of the voice-activated speaker and chose Celine Dion’s That’s the Way It Is.
Chris barely knew the record.
The party loved it.
People who knew every word suddenly appeared.
For a few minutes, the song transformed the atmosphere.
Scott thought it was a perfect example of somebody reading the room correctly.
Then somebody else ruined it.
People kept cutting the music off halfway through
Because anybody could speak to the smart speaker, guests started requesting their own songs before the previous one had finished.
The current track would stop instantly.
A new one would begin.
Scott was furious.
A song would finally get everybody singing and then someone, desperate for the glory of choosing the next big track, would interrupt it.
Natasha Bedingfield was cut off.
Celine Dion was cut off.
The party began booing every premature change.
A rule had to be introduced.
Nobody could request another song until the current one had reached the end.
Pop blockers became the new enemy
A listener supplied the correct name:
pop blockers.
People who cannot let somebody else’s song have its moment because they are already waiting to put their own choice on.
Scott thought it described the behaviour perfectly.
The title of the episode became a plea:
let the music play.
Aaron became the new Who Game favourite
The Who Game then produced a caller Scott and Chris immediately loved.
Aaron from Aberdeen joined from a taxi.
His first attempt at the traditional Whooo came out more like a growl because he was embarrassed that the driver could hear him.
Scott encouraged him to try again.
It was not much better.
That only made Aaron more entertaining.
His chosen memory was Garbage Pail Kids — rendered fairly spectacularly by the transcript’s speech recognition.
Within one call, Aaron had become the programme’s latest favourite Who Gamer.
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