DON’T TRUST ANYONE OVER 90

Recently, my BFF friend came here from Calgary for my birthday, and in addition to some cool prezzies, gave me an article from her local paper (The Calgary Herald, Swerve Magazine insert, May 02-08) which was titled “Most Singable Beatles / Beach Boys Songs.” The list of titles and their parent albums went like this: Michelle (Beatles, Rubber Soul), God Only Knows (Beach Boys, Pet Sounds), I Am The Walrus (Beatles, Sgt. Pepper), Revolution (Beatles, White Album), and Good Vibrations (Beach Boys, Smiley Smile). Now, you or I may debate the selection, but remember, it’s the personal choice of the writer (notable Canadian music coach and director Brian Farrell). However, I think he momentarily got his wires switched, because he mentioned a trivia fact about the Beach Boys song Vegetables under the section about God Only Knows/Pet Sounds rather than under Smiley Smile. But that’s just a minor thing compared to the wonderful nature of the trivia he revealed: the song about “Vegetables” features Paul McCartney and the Boys themselves, all chomping on raw veggies as “percussion.” And apparently, McCartney was “playing” a carrot.

As soon as I read that, I wondered why I hadn’t heard this trivia before. I certainly have a ton of BBs albums. Surely such an important bit of musical minutia must be in the liner notes, so why hadn’t I come across it before? A quick trip to the CD shelf, slide the liner notes out of the Smiley Smile jewel case, and…I immediately understood. The font size is…is…it's microscopic! And I say that not as someone who has just turned 61 (or, as I prefer to call it, my fashionably late 50s) and who wears trifocals (invisible!). Nay, I say that as someone who recognizes that even a teenager would need a reading glass for this info. Really, trust me, it's small. Well, whatever the circumstances, I’m very happy to have learned that goofy bit of musical history. And let me also add that, as children, we baby boomers were regularly admonished by our parents to finish those mushy carrots on our plates because they were “good for your eyes.” I can further add that all my life I have eaten plenty of raw carrots; I happen to really like them. But they obviously didn’t help me with that teensy-weensy liner note font one cotton-pickin’ bit! I don’t know if parents these days are still pushing medicinal carrots on their offspring. All I know is that when I was young, we had a saying: “Don’t trust anyone over 30.” Now you know why. You just have to adjust the age, like everything else, for inflation.

And now, for your musical enjoyment, here's a cute little vid of “Vegetables” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noy1WTESmgY

Let's listen to this one as well. It’s pretty singable, and danceable, too.

Jolly Green Giant, The Kingsmen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P1LF16OHbI
Everybody likes their veggies when these guys list them off.