The Regular Friday Post
Rando Lyrics: Any place is better Starting from zero, got nothing to lose
Before we get started: There is a Toby Keith sized hole in our hearts. Mr. Keith passed away this week at age 62. Irreplaceable.
Last week’s rando lyrics: The lyric, “A crack in the sky and a hand reaching down to me” is from the song "Oh! You Pretty Things”, a song written and performed by David Bowie, released in 1971 as Track 2 on Side 1 of the album “Hunky Dory”. The album was produced by Bowie and Ken Scott.
Credits/Links: Genius Wikipedia
An oddity: “Bowie recorded the song as a demo before giving it to singer Peter Noone, lead singer of Herman's Hermits, who decided to release it as his debut solo single. Featuring Bowie on piano, Noone's recording was produced by Mickie Most and featured structural and lyrical differences from Bowie's later version.” Credit: Wikipedia - Oh! You Pretty Things
The reason “Oh! You Pretty Things” was the Rando Lyrics selection for this week is the song was part of a regular feature called “Tune Tag” on our Substack friend Brad Kyle’s Substack: (Link)
Front Row & Backstage is Mr. Brad Kyle’s Substack and The Song's The Thing! is Mr Nic Briscoe’s Substack. I’ll let you read the “Tune Tag #27” (“Link” above) to find my contribution to the post that I alluded to last week, but both gentlemen share a very important distinction: both were interview subjects on these pages in the past:
Welcome to The Regular Friday post!
For Today:
What a week of ups and downs! We will miss Mr. Keith’s voice and songwriting talent, and are especially heartbroken for the family he leaves behind. Rest In Peace.
Elsewhere, the Grammys provided one of the great moments in music with the Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs duet of “Fast Car”, laying to rest any remnant of controversy (volume up on the YT below).
We’ve talked about covers and copyrights and such on here before. Basically anyone can cover your song. The first issue is whether the person covering your song owes you royalties for the use of your original material. They do. Can you prove it’s your original work? That may be a lot more complicated if you haven’t copyrighted your original material in 3 different ways: as a Composer, as a Publisher, and as the holder of copyright to the “Sound Recording” of the work. The Publisher rights must be held by a business entity of some sort. If you have an agreement with a record label that you don’t own, that entity will have rights to the Publisher copyright. If you have a business entity that you do own, in whole or part, that entity, acting as Publisher instead of a label, will be able to collect the royalties owed. Normally an LLC (Limited Liability Company), if allowed by your state’s laws, is sufficient to act as the Publisher, and reasonably inexpensive to create and maintain (I just sent the Secretary Of State’s office in my state $60 to renew my LLC’s [10 Songs Music, LLC] license - it’d be cheap at twice the price and I am the sole owner).
So, I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to whatever the kerfluffle over Mr. Combs’ cover was. I think it may have had something to do with a white guy singing about what may have been considered a black woman’s life experience. Regardless, I am so proud of both of these performers singing this song together in this manner, on this stage with the world, especially the music “world”, watching and in doing so refuting the idea that some music is reserved only for certain performers. Music is for everyone. Could I pull off a metal song, or a hip-hop/rap song? To paraphrase Johnny Cash, “I would if I could!” The truth is I have hard enough time pulling off the Americana/indie/sorta country songs I write (see link near the bottom of this newsletter if you’re curious…just sayin’), but I’m satisfied with what meager talent I have.
A Song To Play
Mr. Keith’s songwriting catalog consists of over 5000 songs. I absolutely will always be a huge fan, regretting only that I never got to see him in concert. Many have written of their memories of him; for me this song catches the essence of his self-deprecating and wry good humor. What more could you ask for in a song?
Key of FMajor, 4/4 time, a pretty quick 120 BPM - a song to sing and play with a smile ….
Link: Chordify
Lyrics:
[Verse 1]
She said, "I've seen you in here before."
I said, "I've been here a time or two."
She said, "Hello, my name is Bobby Jo
Meet my twin sister Betty Lou
And we're both feeling kinda wild tonight
You're the only cowboy in this place
And if you're up for a rodeo
I'll put a big Texas smile on your face"
I said, "Girls,"
[Chorus]
I ain't as good as I once was
I got a few years on me now
But there was a time back in my prime
When I could really lay it down
And if you need some love tonight
Then I might have just enough
I ain't as good as I once was
But I'm as good once as I ever was
[Verse 2]
I still hang out with my best friend Dave
I've known him since we were kids at school
Last night he had a few shots
Got in a tight spot hustling a game of pool
With a couple of redneck boys
One great big bad biker man
I heard David yell across the room
"Hey buddy, how 'bout a helping hand?"
I said, "Dave,"
[Chorus]
I ain't as good as I once was
My, how the years have flown
But there was a time back in my prime
When I could really hold my own
But if you wanna fight tonight
Guess those boys don't look all that tough
I ain't as good as I once was
But I'm as good once as I ever was
[Bridge]
I used to be hell on wheels
Back when I was a younger man
Now my body says, "You can't do this boy"
But my pride says, "Oh, yes you can"
[Chorus]
I ain't as good as I once was
That's just the cold hard truth
I still throw a few back, talk a little smack
When I'm feeling bullet proof
So don't double dog dare me now
Cause I'd have to call your bluff
I ain't as good as I once was
But I'm as good once as I ever was
May not be good as I once was
But I'm as good once as I ever was
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“The news is blue (the news is blue)
It has its own way to get to you (ooh)” [Driver’s Seat”, 1978, Sniff ‘n’ The Tears, Paul Roberts]
The News:
Our Substack friend Andres writes The Vinyl Room - and he’s celebrating his one year anniversary on here - make sure you check it out!!
More news:
More on Mark Knopfler's Guitars at Auction - last week I linked to news about the overwhelming success, far above expectations and with a large portion of the proceeds donated to charities, of Mr. Knoplfler’s sale of a substantial portion of his guitar collection. This article is much more in depth about the guitars that were offered and sold.
Some Links for today:
From Carvin Audio:
Why you need a DI box A DI (Direct Inject) box does a lot of good things for you, not just when recording - it conditions the signal from an electric guitar, or an acoustic guitar with installed electronics (either permanent or a temporary soundhole pickup) before the signal reaches pedals, audio interfaces, amps, speakers, etc. Read more here why that is important (removing buzz, splitting channels, diagnosing issues - things like that….)
From Blues Guitar Unleashed:
Owning the 12 bar blues - yeah, if you’re gonna play ‘em, might as well own ‘em…
The Hendrix Chord - I know you’re wondering…. click the link to find out….
Fills - there’s a lot going on in this article - best to just read it….
From Disc Makers:
Home Studio Setup - It doesn’t have to be fancy, or overly expensive. I started small and primitive and built up over time. You can, too.
Singing Technique - You may or may not think you can sing. You can, and this may help.
Reverb and Delay - Essential, basic effects, always needed - it’s the right amount and balance that’s the tricky part….
Thank You To Our New Subscribers!! This Week’s Conversation With Mika, the Cat:
Me: “You’re plotting something….”
Mika: “You’ll never figure it out in time…..”
Disclaimer Section
This Substack is free, I receive no compensation of any kind from companies or products I mention. Some linked or quoted material may be copyrighted by others, and I credit them. I rely on the “Fair Use” doctrine for educational purposes (Link: Fair Use). *I do not use AI, things I link to might though. -Michael Acoustic
*Exception: For the next few weeks at least I’ll be testing out a beta feature offered on Substack that produces an AI image based on a text input - the image of the week can be seen in the upper left corner of this post… (it’s not me in the pic, just sayin…)
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Shameless Self Promotion Section:
My song is out! Link: “Long Road Back” (click on link for streaming options)…
What I’m Listening2:
LINK»> Someone Lost, But Something Gained ….click the underlined link, it’s on Amazon
Cheers!….. and keep playing!!
Michael Acoustic
“It’s never really final - you just run out of things you can bear to change…”
Thanks, Michael, for the multiple shout-outs, of course, but also for honoring Toby Keith's contributions, and boosting fan-favorite Andres and his "The Vinyl Room"!
Thank you so much for the mention!!
100% agree with you: music is for everyone. Very wise words.