An early '90s memory: A listener called KCOU while I was on the air and said, "Hi, I'm sorry to bother you, but there's a song I heard called 'Counting Backwards,' and it's by a band called Throwing Muses. Being a DJ, you'd know more about music than I would, so, if it's not too much trouble, I wanted to ask if you know what album that's from."
That's a lot of throat clearing. It would have been more concise to just ask, "What album is 'Counting Backwards' by Throwing Muses on?" (Fortunately, I knew it was from "The Real Ramona" album because the CD was sitting right near me in the studio.) However, in a world that sometimes lacks civility, we could use more of that politeness. Even though it's taking the long way around, I hope that caller is still that courteous to everyone.
