"What The Others Are Doing"

I’m reading Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton, and am awed not only by Chernow’s writing, but also his accounts of Hamilton’s writing, of which I’ve read only a few samples. I’d like to get a good copy of The Federalist Papers. I tend to read three or four books at a time (well, not simultaneously, of course; that would be weird), with at least another dozen on tap. I’m reminded of the great Twilight Zone episode, “Time Enough at Last.” My reading taste, like my taste in music, is very broad and eclectic. So here’s a song about conforminty.

What The Others Are Doing

© 1986 Brian Hutzell 

They're dancing and their clothes are fancy

They got rhythm, they got the steps

The got the rest of the party in a bag

You're asking if the drug is lasting

You got nothing, you got the cents

You got the rest of the money in a bag

Use it as you want to

Don't waste it

Watch the others

And do what the others are doing

Do you think it's an original notion?

Do you wonder why I picked you out?

Cause you're moving with a singular motion

And your face is shining in the crowd

Use it as you want to

Don't waste it

Watch the others

And do what the others are doing

When you're doing what the others are doing

Gotta operate a special way

You're directing what the others are doing

And there's very little time for play

When you're doing what the others are doing

You get lost in the company

You're a part of what the others are doing

And there's very little time for me

Watch the others

And do what the others are doing

Watch the others

And do what the others are doing

You're dancing and your clothes are fancy

You got rhythm, you got the steps

You got the rest of the party in a bag

Use it as you want to

Don't waste it

Watch the others

And do what the others are doing

"Adidas"

Brian Hutzell

"A Chorus Pine"

Malcolm Gladwell, in Outliers, says a person needs to invest 10,000 hours before becoming great at anything. I just read in Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing that he wrote 1000 words every day for ten years before writing a decent story. With a blog, a person (me, for example) can go through the learning process right out in public.

I’m using old song lyrics as starting points for my blog posts. I began writing songs in earnest sometime in high school. A family friend, Steve, who was older and wiser than I, as well as being a fellow musician and songwriter, got me started copywriting my songs. In the beginning, I was certain those songs would be the paving stones for my road to fame and fortune. (Strained metaphor, anyone?)

Nope. But it seems a shame to let them rot in obscurity. By bringing them out of hiding and using them as cornerstones for little blog buildings, I give them new life. Is it a good life? Probably not, since I’m nowhere near my first 10,000 hours as a writer. And as a musician? In my case, 10,000 wasn’t enough!

A Chorus Pine

© 2011 Brian Hutzell

First it’s “yes”

Then it’s “no”

Then it’s “I don’t know”

First it’s “stay”

Then it’s “go”

God, I need a show!

"Adidas"

Brian Hutzell