"Hungry People"

This song was recorded as part of TFM back in May 1986. I’m not stingy when it comes to charitable giving, but I don’t like being guilted into it.

Hungry People

© 1985 Brian Hutzell

I know life's imperfect

That's the way it is

I see hungry people

That's the way it is

I live pretty easy

That's the way it is

I have color TV

That's the way it is

How can I sleep

When there are hungry people in my neighborhood?

How can I eat

When there are hungry people without any food?

What can I do when there are hungry people

And I don't feel guilty?

But it makes me nervous

When I see commercials showing starving children

And a voice says I gotta help

I watch television

And I see the news

I hear newsmen tell me

Help is overdue

I'm told: Give my money

Send to this address

I don't spring to action

But I'm curious

How can I sleep

When there are hungry people in my neighborhood?

How can I eat

When there are hungry people without any food?

What can I do when there are hungry people

And I don't feel guilty?

But it makes me nervous

When I see commercials showing starving children

And a voice says I gotta help

I read in the papers

Things are going wrong

I can't dismiss problems

Things that won't dissolve

I'll do what I'm able

But play Santa Claus

I still spot too many

Errors in the cause

How can I sleep

When there are hungry people in my neighborhood?

How can I eat

When there are hungry people without any food?

What can I do when there are hungry people

And I don't feel guilty?

But it makes me nervous

When I see commercials showing starving children

And a voice says I gotta help

"Untitled 1"

Brian Hutzell

"Food"

The last cassette collection in my “canon of 6” between October 1985 and May 1986 was TFM. It’s a fun recording, and I hope to get it digitized soon, along with those other tapes. I have tons of stuff on reel-to-reel that needs to be transferred as well. Plus the KR-570 song files. Lots of unfinished business.

It really all comes down to simply doing the work. Steve Martin is quoted as saying the key to success is to “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” Practice practice practice! Put myself and my music in front of an audience on a frequent and regular basis. Use the internet wisely for learning, listening, and promoting. Like all tools, it can be very useful or very dangerous.

Current listening: Canterbury Tales, Original Broadway Cast

Food

© 1985 Brian Hutzell

Food! Food!

Something to put in my mouth and chew

Food! Food!

Something to put in my mouth and chew

It's food, good food

Something to eat with a knife or fork or spoon

Fill up the tank

It's like our bodies' fuel

Wouldn't lunch be silly without food?

Lunch would be meaningless, of no use

We'll have lunch

No we won't without food

Food, food

I like food

Food, food

Glorious food

Food, food

Food - love it

Food - shove it

Food - pile it in

Don't be thin

Food food food food food food food food food!

“Cavities”

Brian Hutzell

from Art Music

"The Turgid Fart Machine"

This is the final and linchpin song of my tape TFM. I didn’t realize it at the time I wrote and recorded it that I was coming eerily close to the Bowie song “We are Hungry Men,” which in turn is reminiscent of Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal. Monty Python has also from time to time had fun with cannibalism. Perhaps it was foreshadowing that when I was a little kid, I loved an old single of my mom’s, “Stranded in the Jungle” by The Cadets, in which the narrator is nearly cooked at one point. However, unlike these other examples, The Turgid Fart Machine” doesn’t propose cannibalism, but rather recycled food. I’m not sure which is worse.

The Turgid Fart Machine

© 1985 Brian Hutzell

Behold! It works!

"The machine is ready and its success is guaranteed! Tests have proven conclusively that this invention can and will solve all world hunger problems. Ladies and gentlemen! The world! Presenting an end to starvation! Welcome a new era! All hail the Turgid Fart Machine!"

We've got it

He made it

We've got the machine

Think of the money we'll make

Ha ha, they think our service is free

Think of the price they'll pay

And they'll do it or they won't sleep at night

It wouldn't be right for them to refuse

When we got a machine to re-use food

What a scam, a never-ending supply

Recycling food

No one has to die

Better than Mrs.Lovett's pies

You've seen it before but now it's disguised

T-F-M, it's a miracle

How much is it worth?

T-F-M, we're starving

Hurry up, save the world

Over here [10x]

Everywhere, everyone

All the time, what a scene

Watch 'em fight for the machine

We've got it

They want it

We've got the machine

Think of the lives we'll take

Ha ha, they think we're going to share

Think of the time we'll save

And we'll do it by making promises

And collecting the money

Whoops! Sorry,

It must have been lost in delivery

T-F-M, it's a miracle

How much is it worth?

T-F-M, we're starving

Hurry up, save the world

Over here [10x]

Everywhere, everyone

All the time, what a scene

Watch 'em fight for the machine

"Attention! News of the Turgid Fart Machine is out and charity organizations around the globe are placing their bids."

Over here [20x]

"In addition to highest money, the nation selected to house and operate the Turgid Fart Machine must be prepared to justify its use."

Over here [10x]

Give up!

You can't win

We'll destroy the machine

Take 'em!

"The machine was forcibly taken yesterday. Its builder was killed along with all his associates. A small sacrifice to make for the sake of mankind."

T-F-M, it's a miracle

How much is it worth?

T-F-M, we're starving

Hurry up, save the world

Over here [10x]

Everywhere, everyone

All the time, what a scene

Watch 'em fight for the machine

And starvation as a disease has ended

Leaving fewer hungry men dead

The population rose unchecked

Then the rulers interject

"We'll, it seems we've got a problem

We're running out of room

We've stopped the machine

And one more thing:

The bombs will be arriving soon."

T-F-M

The Turgid Fart Machine

"Organic"

Brian Hutzell

"Vegetables and Fruit"

Does this song need any explanation? It’s called “Vegetables and Fruit.” It’s a list of vegetables and fruit. The drawing that goes with it is called “Fruit.” And notice the sign above my head in the picture.

Vegetables and Fruit

© 1985 Brian Hutzell

Lettuce, apples, eggplants

Oranges, pears, kiwi

Lettuce, apples, eggplants

Oranges, pears, kiwi

Artichokes, spinach, grapefruit

Cherries, turnips, potatoes

Mushrooms, bananas, passion fruit, mangoes, kumquats

Tomatoes, hominy, green beans

Lima beans, wax beans, kidney beans

Garbanzo beans, broccoli

Onions, hot peppers, peaches, nectarines

Carrots, zucchini, rhubarb, tangerines

Mulberries, peas, blueberries, plums

Raspberries, corn, blackberries, squash

Cucumbers, cauliflower, cabbage

Celery, pineapples, pumpkins

"Fruit"

Brian Hutzell

Park Street Station, Boston

"The Workshop"

I recorded this song first for my “December 1985” cassette. I re-recorded it for “TFM” in 1986. The six cassettes I recorded between October 1985 and May 1986 may represent the apex of my creativity. Those tapes were just rudimentary and experimental 4-track efforts, but even though my songwriting, voice, and recording techniques all improved later on, I don’t think I ever topped that burst of creative flow. These days, most of my effort is going into school. I have a discussion post due tomorrow. I’m in week 6 of an 8 week course, the first in my MPA program at Upper Iowa University. It’s all online, which is not ideal. I hope I can get into a school with an actual classroom. Right now I’m eying Dartmouth or Brown, for an autumn 2016 start.

The Workshop

© Brian Hutzell 1985

Retire to the workshop

Lock the door

No one gets in and he never comes out

What does he eat?

Light's on twenty-four hours a day

What's he doing in there?

Is he okay?

When does he sleep?

He just disappeared one day

With a notebook in his hand

Said he had big plans

He never stops

Works on and on

In the workshop

Reside in the workshop

What is it for?

No one goes near and he never appears

Is he alive?

Yes, we hear him tinker away

Night and day

Why does he stay?

Can he survive?

He just disappeared one day

With a notebook in his hand

Said he had big plans

He never stops

Works on and on

In the workshop

photo by Bob Rein

"Fine Connoisseur"

From a cassette recording from 1986, “TFM.” I’ve been meaning to have some of those old cassettes digitized and re-mastered for some time now. Better do it soon, before those tapes fall apart completely!

Fine Connoisseur

© Brian Hutzell 1985

I had a very fine childhood

House was warm and good

A fine gourmet was my mom

Now she's gone

But her lesson lingers on

And I'm a fine connoisseur

Of everything pure

A kitchen pioneer

Thanks to mommy dear

Yes, I'm a fine connoisseur

A food philosopher

A kitchen atmosphere

It's a fine career

A fine connoisseur

A fine connoisseur

The best chefs in the world come to me

They seek high and low for my company

They want me to critique their delicacies

For payment, I ask for some fine pastries

And I'm a fine connoisseur

Of everything pure

A kitchen pioneer

Thanks to mommy dear

Yes, I'm a fine connoisseur

A food philosopher

A kitchen atmosphere

It's a fine career

A fine connoisseur

A fine connoisseur