NPR attempts to provide a comical and historical look at the problem of data classification, in terms of a debate over singing and speaking

Speak-singing, the murky marriage of spoken lyrics and sung melodies, can be heard in everything from 17th-century opera to The Velvet Underground and the latest Mountain Goats record. On this edition of All Songs Considered, hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton argue over the pros and cons of this polarizing art form and take a look at some of their favorite (and not-so-favorite) speak-singing artists.

Sadly, the show does not mention anything about the history of story-telling and secret messaging through song to circumvent censorship. Their data set for analysis appears to be tiny and they seem to miss the very point of why speak-singers are so effective and important.

I am shocked (pun not intended) that at least one of the punk icons of speak-singing, like Sid Vicious or Henry Rollins are not mentioned, for example. Even more shocking to me is the show does not seem to bring up even one sample or reference to blues, reggae, rap, hip-hop…WTF? How can anyone do a music show on speak-singing and not mention rap?