ARTIST: Benny Bell with Paul Wynn
TITLE: Shaving Cream
I have a sad story to tell you
It may hurt your feelings a bit
Last night when I walked into my bathroom
I stepped in a big pile of ...
{Refrain}
...Shaving cream, be nice and clean
Shave everyday and you'll always look keen
I think I'll break off with my girlfriend
Her antics are queer I'll admit
Each time I say, "Darling, I love you"
She tells me that I'm full of
{Refrain}
Our baby fell out of the window
You'd think that her head would be split
But good luck was with her that morning
She fell in a barrel of
{Refrain}
An old lady died in a bathtub
She died from a terrible fit
In order to fulfill her wishes
She was buried in six feet of
{Refrain}
When I was in France with the army
One day I looked into my kit
I thought I would find me a sandwich
But the darn thing was loaded with
{Refrain}
And now, folks, my story is ended
I think it is time I should quit
If any of you feel offended
Stick your head in a barrel of
{Refrain}
i'm in chicago until tomorrow. been hectic. i'm at a MAPICS convention http://mpower.mapics.com
This Day in History
On June 1, 1813, the commander of the U.S. frigate Chesapeake, Captain James Lawrence, said, "Don't give up the ship" during a losing battle with a British frigate.
On this date:
In 1792, Kentucky became the 15th state of the union.
In 1796, Tennessee became the 16th state.
In 1801, Mormon leader Brigham Young was born in Whitingham, Vt.
In 1868, James Buchanan, the 15th president of the United States, died near Lancaster, Pa.
In 1926, actress Marilyn Monroe was born in Los Angeles.
In 1943, a civilian flight from Lisbon to London was shot down by the Germans during World War II, killing all aboard, including actor Leslie Howard.
In 1944, the British Broadcasting Corporation aired a coded message intended to warn the French resistance that the D-Day invasion was imminent.
In 1958, Charles de Gaulle became premier of France.
In 1977, the Soviet Union formally charged Jewish human rights activist Anatoly Shcharansky with treason. (Shcharansky was imprisoned, then released in 1986.)
In 1989, former Sunday school teacher John E. List, sought for 18 years in the slayings of his mother, wife and three children in Westfield, N.J., was arrested in Richmond, Va. (List was later sentenced to life in prison.)
Ten years ago: President Clinton (news - web sites) embarked on a European trip that included commemorating the 50th anniversary of D-Day; his first stop was Italy.
Five years ago: An American Airlines MD-82 landed off-center during a severe thunderstorm in Little Rock, Ark., and barreled off the end of the runway, breaking apart and catching fire; 11 people, including the captain, died. President Clinton ordered a government investigation into whether — and how — the entertainment business markets violence to children. (In a report released in September 2000, federal regulators said the movie, video game and music industries aggressively marketed to underage youths violent products that carried adult ratings.)
One year ago: Leaders of the world's seven wealthiest nations and Russia pledged billions of dollars to fight AIDS (news - web sites) and hunger on the opening day of their summit in Evian, France.
sure - the first 10 minutes were interesting but then it lost itself quickly. we walked out 40 minutes into it
1) slept late a lot. 2) saw "a day without a mexican", shoot me now 3) watched the kids play and grow. much fun. 4) ate a lot of food which batya cooked. very fun. 5) stayed up late to read back issues of the "new yorker". 6) listened to cds 7) got ready for trip to chicago.
Frontline ran a piece recently called "The Way the Music Died." It explored the decline and what will be the eventual fall of the music industry.
1) Because record companies are owned by multinational corporations, record execs and A&R people are more interested in moving units than creating music. Music must be produced on a quarterly schedule, and if numbers aren't made, the execs are in danger of losing their jobs. This doesn't exactly encourage the creative process. Product replaces music.
2) The major radio stations are owned by a very small group of companies. Playlists across commonly owned stations tend to be very similar.
3) Record execs push their artists to sound like the music that is already on the radio, to maximize their chances of actually getting their music played.
4) A&R people are interested in fitting their musicians into a market segment, rather than pushing them to develop as artists.
5) Music is increasingly sold through outlets like Wal-Mart and Best Buy (20% or more of all record sales). These places have a tiny amount of shelf space for music, and very stringent rules as to what they will and will not sell. Additionally, Wal-Mart and Best Buy tend to be in suburbs, not in urban areas where edgy music sells. Add all this up, and you have a sales environment that discourages innovation.
6) The number of records released onto the market has increased exponentially in the last 10 years, because record companies have switched to a "see if it sticks" approach. A single is marketed to radio stations. If the single doesn't chart or doesn't get play, that's it for the artist and the album. Before the music industry went to pot, an album could sit quietly for a year or more before charting, and the record companies were ok with that.
7) Music sales have fallen. Record execs blame this on free music. Music critics and musicians blame it on bad music. In any case, falling record sales encourage scared record execs to create music that in their minds is guaranteed to sell: mainstream, overproduced crap. Crap doesn't move enough units, and the cycle continues.
I encourage you to catch a Frontline rerun, if you can.