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September 13, 2009

THE COMMODITY AS A COUNTRY MUSIC THEME

John Miller Essay:

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Lyrics to song written by W. Kemp and sung by Johnny Cash LINK FOR MP3 CLIP

Well I left Kentucky back in '49
And I went to Detroit workin' on assembly line
The first year they had me puttin' wheels on a Cadillac.
Every day I'd watch those beauties roll by,
And sometimes I'd hang my head and cry,
'Cause I always wanted one that was long and black.

One day I devised myself a plan,
That should be the envy of most any man;
I'd sneak it out of there in a lunch box in my hand.
Now gettin' caught meant gettin' fired,
But I figured I'd have it all by the time I retired.
I'd have me a car worth at least a hundred grand.

Chorus:

I'd get it one piece at a time,
And it didn't cost me a dime.
You'll know it's me when I come through your town.
I'm gonna drive around in style.
I'm gonna drive everybody wild,
'Cause I'll have the only on there is around.

The song goes on to describe how various parts were filched, how parts from different years had to be modified in order to fit and finally, the absurdity of the completed project:

So we drove uptown to get us some tags,
And headed right down to the main drag,
I could hear everybody laughin' for miles around.
But up there at the court house they didn't laugh,
'Cause to type it up took the whole staff,
And when thy got through, the title weighed sixty pounds.

It closes with a CB dialogue wherein the driver is asked to identify the vehicle:

Uh, what model is it?
Well, it is a '49, '50, '51, '52, '53, '54, '55, '56, '57, '58, '59 automobile.
It's a '60, '61, '62, '63, '64, '65, '66, '67, '68, '69, '70 automobile...(fade out)

August 22, 2009

SURFING FLORIDA: A PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY

above: Reef Road (West Palm Beach) Christmas Swell 1989. Photo: Tony Arruzo

SURFING FLORIDA: A PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY is an exhibition and book project that documents the history of Florida surfing as experienced and impacted by its sons and daughters within the state and beyond. The project is organized by the University Galleries at Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton.

Above: Daytona Beach, 1930s. This early photo represents the sport’s origins in Florida and includes waveriders Dudley and Bill Whitman, considered to be the State’s first surfers. photo: The Gauldin Reed Archive

LINK TO SURFLINE ARTICLE