Mr.

Mister, usually written in its abbreviated form Mr. (US) or Mr (US & UK), is a commonly-used English honorific for men under the rank of knighthood. The title derived from earlier forms of master, as the equivalent female titles Mrs, Miss, and Ms all derived from earlier forms of mistress. Master is sometimes still used as an honorific for boys and young men, but its use is increasingly uncommon.

The modern plural form is Misters, although its usual formal abbreviation Messrs(.) derives from use of the French title messieurs in the 18th century.Messieurs is the plural of monsieur (originally mon sieur, "my lord"), formed by declining both of its constituent parts separately.

Historic etiquette

Historically, mister—like Sir or my lord—was applied only to those above one's own status in the peerage. This understanding is now obsolete, as it was gradually expanded as a mark of respect to those of equal status and then to all gentlemen. It is now used indiscriminately.

In past centuries, Mr was used with a first name to distinguish among family members who might otherwise be confused in conversation: Mr Doe would be the eldest present; younger brothers or cousins were then referred to as Mr Richard Doe and Mr William Doe and so on. Such usage survived longer in family-owned business or when domestic servants were referring to adult male family members with the same surname: "Mr Robert and Mr Richard will be out this evening, but Mr Edward is dining in," but such usage today is rare in American culture but still quite common in others as a sign of respect when first names are being used, the last name is not known, or where English is not the mother tongue.

Mr. Oizo

Mr. Oizo (French: [məsˈjø waˈzo]; born 14 April 1974) is the stage name of French electronic musician and film director Quentin Dupieux. His pseudonym is a corruption of the French oiseau, meaning "bird". He is currently signed to Ed Banger Records and Brainfeeder.

Early life

Quentin Dupieux was born on 14 April 1974 in Paris. At the age of 12, he found a camera and started taking photographs. At 17, he began to play music to illustrate his images, and he bought his first synthesizer. In 1997, Laurent Garnier of the record label FCom bought a car from Mr. Oizo's father. Garnier then found out about Dupieux's talents and let him direct the music video for his song "Flashback". Later, Dupieux was signed to FCom, which he released his first EP, "#1".

"Flat Beat"

Dupieux released "Flat Beat" in January 1999, a track consisting mainly of a repeated bass loop and a drum sample from "Put Your Love in My Tender Care" by The Fatback Band. In an interview with XLR8R magazine, Dupieux stated that it took him only two hours with a Korg MS-20 to produce. However, Flat Beat became a hit throughout Europe in 1999, becoming the best-known Mr. Oizo release. The track was featured in a series of Levi's jeans TV commercials, which featured a yellow puppet named Flat Eric nodding his head to the rhythm while riding in an old, beat-up car. Flat Eric was also featured in the song's music video. The Flat Beat EP has sold over three million copies. The song reached number 1 in the UK.