Ella Langley Song Found to Contain Trace Amounts of a Second Chord

NASHVILLE — Country-music laboratories have quarantined an Ella Langley song after routine testing detected trace amounts of a second chord, raising concerns that listeners may have been exposed without their knowledge.

The anomaly was discovered by Harold Blevins, 52, an acoustic toxicologist who keeps a tuning fork in his glove compartment. Blevins initially assumed the reading was caused by contaminated equipment.

“We ran the sample on a different machine,” he said. “Same result. There was definitely another chord in there. Not much, but enough to require paperwork.”

The recording was immediately sealed inside a soundproof container and transported to the National Center for Country Music Authenticity, where technicians wearing noise-canceling headphones will determine whether the additional chord occurred naturally or entered the song during production.

Officials stressed that Langley, 27, whose “Choosin’ Texas” has become nearly impossible to avoid, is not suspected of knowingly introducing  complexity into the nation’s country-music supply.

“We see this occasionally,” said Denise Womack, 46, a Nashville audio compliance officer who has not changed the preset stations in her car since 2014. “Usually it’s cross-contamination from a jazz album somewhere in the building.”

Listeners who may have encountered the contaminated recording were advised to remain calm but to be on the lookout for symptoms including confusion, double vision, and a  persistent desire to hear what happens next.

Radio stations have temporarily replaced the affected song with “Choosin’ Texas.”  Laboratory officials said the replacement  has been tested extensively. It contains nothing unexpected.

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