food for thought

Over at Larvatus Prodeo, Shaun Cronin, who also runs the music blog Rock ‘n’ Roll Damnation has written a piece headed Survival of the Thinnest riffing on the themes from the TV show, The Biggest Loser. At the refurbished Club Troppo, Nicholas Gruen, who must eat keyboards for breakfast, is moved by the topic to write about his musings on Discrimination.

Over here we are listening to So Round So Firm So Fully Packed (Thats my gal) 1947, by Merle Travis. Naturally we all know the song is built around advertising slogans of the time. (if not then where the bloody hell were you?).

'So round, so firm, so fully-packed; so free and easy on the draw' was a staple of the Lucky Strike radio advertisments.

'She's got the pause that's so refreshing' is from Coke ads.

'You can bet your boots I'd walk a mile Through the snow' from the Camel ads.

'That's my gal Toasted by the sun' Toasted by the Sun again from Lucky Strike.

In fact the whole bloody song is an amalgam of ad grabs. Yes I know you could do it, but the art is putting it together and making it something else. The song has always been one of my favourites.

You can have a short listen online to Merle singing it here.

Someone better versed in, say, neo-retro-country-pop music- post-modernist-post-feminism might write something on the link between cigarette ads and the objectification of women. Putting on my country rock hat, I'd just observe that both are expensive these days, can make you feel good but also be dangerous for your health and the packaging has changed over the years.

Whilst thinking about all that serious stuff you could just hop on over and either download for your poddy thing or listen online to Big Fat Mama Blues (18 Megs d/l) * a collection of blues singers waxing lyrical about their love for Big Women.


* Song list Big Fat Mama Blues
Big Fat Mama Blues - Charlie Spand
Big Fat Mama Blues - Tommy Johnson
Milk Cow Blues - Kokomo Arnold
Big Leg Woman Gets My Pay - Blind Boy Fuller
Fat Mama Blues - Jabo Williams
Skinny Woman - Sonny Boy Williamson