The Hard Taco Lyric Writing Workshop

Dear Friends,

  The Hard Taco song for March, "Take Me Home," is the first Southern Rock ballad ever to feature a chorus of women repeatedly shouting the phrase, “By Gum!” If that doesn’t turn you on, you probably have a hormonal problem. I’m not kidding… you should get your oestrotesterol and excretrogin levels checked.

  After 15 years, I'm finally ready to fess up to the source of all the "new" lyrics I come up with every month. I use templates. If you want to try it yourself, print out the sample below, circle the choices that articulate your position on things, and sing them.  When you're ready to write another song, print out the same template and repeat the process.
 

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Template 4: "Sometimes I Feel Like (Cryin' / Dyin')"

I've been banging on your back (door / with a pipe)
Won't you let me (in / go / sleep / in to go to sleep)
I've got a (belly / pocket) full of (whiskey / nickels / troubles)
And a (mind / reason / contract / gift certificate) to (bring / take) you (down / daisies / to a bake sale)

  Sometimes I feel like (cryin' / dyin')
  It makes me feel like (dyin' / cryin')

If I'm to (blame / understand correctly), I (understand / have myself to blame)
But I'm not going to (beg / hold / trust / spank) you (anymore / tenderly / after breakfast)
You know me, I just can't be (satisfied / taken alive / out in the sun too long)
So I'm going to (Alabama / St. Louis / make sweet love) in my beat-up (Chevy / girlfriend's Chevy)

I'm a lonely (freight train / wolf / organ grinder) and I'm off to (chase my dreams / Sweet Vernita / private school)
You can (hurt / feed / sculpt) me,
You can (desert / debrief / delouse) me
You can tell me (lies / bitter lies / scathing hurtful fibs)
But at the end of the (day / line / Bronze Age)
The only thing I've come to trust is (God's love / racial profiling)

  Sometimes I feel like (cryin' / dyin')
  It makes me feel like (dyin' / cryin')

(Baby / Sugar / Your Honor), you're just a (two-timing / big-legged / coal-mining) woman
And there ain't no (shame / point / money) in doing you (wrong / right / in / any favors)

Can't you (see / pretend / disrobe when) I'm on my (knees / deathbed / best behavior)?
Can't you (shake / shave) your (moneymaker / preconceived notions)
And let me (live / die / drink / bake) in (peace / Hell / the pantry)?

  Sometimes I feel like (cryin' / dyin')
  It makes me feel like (dyin' / cryin')

You drive me (crazy / because I have epilepsy)
But I love (you / America / duck / spin class) anyway
I want to be your (handy / back door / pusher / swamp) man
Please, Baby, please (Baby please / don't take your love away / clear the dishes)
 

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With warmest regards,
Zach

Great Minds Taste Alike

Dear Friends,

The Hard Taco song for February is called, "Rattle." Find out for yourself why everyone at the water cooler is talking about it in hushed voices.

SIDE EFFECTS
Me: You look off-kilter today.
You: I took my allergy medicine this morning, and I've felt like a zombie all day.
Me: Yeah, I hate that. (Pause) So I guess that explains the bits of dried blood and scalp on your lips.
You: (Sinking your teeth into my ankle) I can never remember where you keep your brains. Are they in here?

ZOMBIES GETTING LEFT… IN… THE... LURCH
I don't want to reinforce stereotypes, but I defy you dispute the following generalization: zombies are simply not very coordinated. You'll probably never see a zombie throw a lasso, make a lanyard bracelet, or return a ping pong serve. Despite billions of crime-funded dollars in research, modern evil science has failed to engineer a virus that can bring the dead back to life without severely compromising hand-eye coordination.

This has been a great source of disgruntlement for zombies. In fact, I believe that the anger and savagery that zombies frequently exhibit stem from a deep frustration with their inability to participate in group sports.

Zombies have not successfully competed in Olympic-level sports since 1924, when the triathlon officially became swimming, cycling, and running. Prior to that date, the standard triathlon consisted of moaning, dribbling and lurching like a drunk toddler. Inevitably, there would be three zombies shuffling onto the winner’s podium.

Since then, however, athletic events have placed more value on speed, dexterity, and grace. These are not common qualities in the zombie community. For example, no zombie has ever taken home an Olympic medal in ice dancing. The only zombie who tried spent the duration of the three-minute song hacking into her partner’s shins with the skates. The smell of blood on ice attracted a frenzy of other zombies and, of course, hockey players. The event deteriorated into a brawl of face-chewings and body checks. All told it was a real black eye for the Olympic committee.

Zombies fare no better in other events. As walking corpses, they cannot be trusted to steer a bobsled (although they occasionally stumble into an opponent’s sled to consume the opponent). The zombie running long jump record is only eight inches, which is about 30% longer than their standard stride length. Finally, their propensity to hold their arms straight in front of them severely limits the amount of inertia they can give to a shot put.


GREAT MINDS TASTE ALIKE
I am convinced that the inevitable undead uprising can be forestalled simply by instilling zombies with a greater sense of self-worth. We need to get them involved in sports they can play… sports that allow them to feel good about themselves. The more time zombies spend training, the less time they’ll have for swarming through malls and mutilating shoppers.

We can all help out. If you are a high school track coach and a zombie tries out for the team, don't cut him... put him in the relay race! If you space out four zombies on a 400m track, and give one of them a dismembered human foot, there is a very good chance the other three zombies will each take it from him sequentially. The trick is convincing them to do this with a baton instead of a severed limb, and to keep moving instead of stopping to gnaw on it.

What else do we know about zombies that can help us pick the right sports for them? Well, the undead travel in mobs, and innately tend to copy each other's movements. I’m not sure whether this has to do with peer pressure or team spirit, but in either case zombies are perfect for synchronized swimming! If you want to see the ultimate expression of coordinated motion, put eight zombies in a shallow pool and dangle a swinging teenager overhead.

Finally, zombies hordes are often described as "relentless" and "unstoppable." It is these very qualities that make them ideally suited for endurance sports, such as cross-country. This especially holds true when the event consists crossing an entire country. If the race is long enough, living athletes will eventually get fatigued or hungry. Zombies, however, can complete long races without stopping, provided they don't get sidetracked by 1) seeing a person or animal during the course of the race, or by 2) getting beheaded. Plus zombies can eat and eat and they never have to go to the bathroom.

Which probably explains why they walk like that.

With warmest regards,

Zach

A_Cup: omg

Dear friends,

   Happy new year, baby. It's finally Auei. I hope you and your family have a very plentiful, rewarding Auei. That's right, friends, Auei is not just the word of the day, but the word of the year. Auei, (pronounced "Ow-ee") is short for AUght EIght, which, in turn, is short for 2008.

Just look what I heard in an actual chat room:

   Breighleen11: omg its auei
   training_bra: omg
   grease&luv: omfg it auei
   Breighleen11: brb

(1 year passes)

   Breighleen11: omg its auni
   A_cup: omg
   grease&luv: omfg its auni

*Note: Auni will be pronounced "weenie," and it will be an even buzzier buzzword than Auei.

   Anyway, the inaugural Hard Taco song for Auei is called, "Fortress of Lovingkindness." The idea and ideals of lovingkindness are staggeringly simple, yet a leaf blowing in the wind has a greater grasp of it than you do. If you want to understand lovingkindness as much as the leaf, you will have to immerse your heart in devotedness and open your mind in a thousand tender directions.

   One analogy I like to use to explain lovingkindness is a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat. Now replace the hat with steadfast radiance and replace the rabbit with heartfelt lovingkindness. Now replace the magician with the rabbit, and have him raise his voice in praise of cherishment and forbearance instead of pulling anything out of something else. Are you starting to get it now? What you're left with is a rabbit who raises his voice in praise of heartfelt lovingkindness, and makes sensitive inroads into steadfast radiance, cherishment, and brotherly rapture-feelings.

   Like I said, lovingkindness is staggeringly simple. The key concept, you will note, is making sensitive inroads. Once you successfully make sensitive inroads, I assure you that you'll get a lot more out of this song, and you can show that blowing leaf what for.

With warmest regards,
Zach

Berserker!

Dear Friends,

   The Hard Taco song for December is called "Oslo." This song is a tribute to the noble Viking berserker.

  The berserkers were the double espresso version of regular Vikings. When a certain mood hit them, they would throw off their armor and fight with an uncontrollable, trance-like rage. They savaged people and animals indiscriminately and fought with no regard for their own lives.  If the berserk fury overtook them when they were on a boat, they would quickly row to shore and wrestle with trees and rocks to prevent them from slaying their own friends.

  If a berserker was walking alone through a field and felt the berserk fury welling up, he would bury his arms in the ground as quickly as possible to prevent him from scratching through his abdominal wall and pulling out his own beating stomach. (Not as dramatic as a beating heart, but easier to remove without tools, especially when one's dexterity is compromised by hysterical anger.)

  In addition to setting an unreachable standard for the magnitude of human rage, berserkers have been credited with innovations in a number of loosely related spheres. It is thought that they pioneered the use of upside-down lampshades around the neck, a practice employed in modern veterinary care. In their case it was to keep them from frenetically chewing into their wives' carotid arteries during a berserk tantrum.

  There are few historical accounts of berserker life. Perhaps the best known is from the Icelandic epic, Hrndgiljob's Saga.

One of the berserkergang, who had the name Lfgeiril, wore a swatch of bearskin tightly around his scalp, for often his forehead veins would explode in the course of berserk conniption. On one such day, he set upon King Thjorb with hands bear. Lfgeiril did lift him bodily and dash him upon the precipice. He next set upon the king's wives and daughters and dashed them upon the same. With much ire, he did step on their necks and shatter them. After the berserk fury passed, Lfgeiril was self-reproachful and did not want to talk on it. There shall be no distraction of the gladdening lute, for the berserker knows he has banished much joy from the kingdom with his poor temper. (Hrndgiljob's Saga, c. 1035)

  In another work, a berserker is briefly mentioned by a dying King Hranjob as he recaps his life:

I have few regrets, but entrusting a berserker to carry my porcelain tureen collection up two flights of stairs was clearly a mistake. (Hervarar Oord, c. 1036) 

  I researched this song extensively, and at this point, I feel fairly qualified to answer any of your questions about how berserkers would react in a certain situation. Please ask! Usually, if you have a question about berserkers, everyone else has the same question!

With warmest regards,

Zach

Daddy Mack'll Make Ya...

Dear Friends,

  The Hard Taco's 10th full length CD, "There There," is here and it is ready for public consumption, misuse, and general soaking up.

  A colleague recently asked me why I still release CD's every year, despite the fact that most contemporary music aficionados get all of their music online in MP3 form. Well, you can't use the reflective surface of an MP3 to signal a passing plane or temporarily blind a would-be rapist, can you? You can’t tie a piece of string to an MP3 covered with two-sided tape, and use it to go fishing for cash/money while hovering over a bank vault that has no ceiling, can you? And you most definitely cannot cut off your hand and serve it on an MP3 to a jilted lover with a note that says, "You already ate my heart for breakfast. Why not have my hand for lunch? Also, I really dig track 4. Check it out if you have a chance (after you’re done eating my hand)."

  To coincide with the release of this album, the Hard Taco song for November is called, "There There There." I encourage you to listen to it!

  "There" is one of a a few words in the English language that assumes alternate connotations when you say it twice in a row. For instance, your grandmother may use phrases such as, My My, Now Now, and of course, There There. If your grandmother is a member of Kris Kross, she may also say Jump Jump, which just means that she wants you to jump twice.

  Sometimes, it's not enough just to say a word twice. Each of these phrases requires the consecutive use of a single word three or more times to impart the appropriate nuance...

When you want to convey:

1. Shame on you, Pharaoh!

2. I request that you, the patrons of this New York state prison, join me in chorus.

3. Dang, that large piece of soft bubble gum is sexy!

4. The scientific name for the Western Lowland Gorilla

5. Hurry up and cleave this combination chemotherapy that contains cyclophosphamide, hydroxydaunorubicin, Oncovin and prednisone.

6. I am surprised, perhaps ironically, to discover that Orson's water hole is no longer ill.

7. I am your grandmother, and it would really mean a lot to me if you would jump twice, preferably on the second and fourth beats of the measure.

Say:

1. Tut, tut, Tut!

2. Sing, Sing-Sing.

3. Hubba-hubba, Hubba Bubba!

4. Gorilla gorilla gorilla

5. Chop CHOP. Chop, chop!

6. Well, well, well... Welles' well's well.

7. Miggety miggety miggety mack! Jump, Jump!

With warmest regards,

Zach

Do Not Lick Any Frog You Buy from a Street Vendor

Dear friends,

   Three months ago, I called upon you, North and Central America, to vote for the subject of the next great Hard Taco song. Rather than simply counting the votes, I calculated the winner using a histogram variance ANOVA T-test, reproducing the central limit theorom by the sum of inverse squares to distribute the alpha coeffecient's regression toward the null hypothesis.

    The winner for the October Hard Taco song was the country ballad, "Our First Dollar." As promised, those who voted for the winning song will receive co-authorship credit. Congratulations and welcome to the band! Unfortunately, I think we're going different directions musically. Let's break up and put out solo albums now.

Download Our First Dollar. (Please note that in the second chorus, the average deviation was corrected for Type II error.)

Pesticides, Antifreeze, Cleaning Supplies, and You

Every year, thousands of children die from ingesting toxic substances that are found in your home. What are these substances and how did you lure all those children into your home? This month, we'll take all the mystery out of toxin shopping with the Hard Taco Field Guide Of Local Poisons.

Poison dart frogs. If you travel to Venezuela, do not lick any frog you buy from a street vendor. It's probably safe to lick frogs in some of the nicer restaurants, but if you're not sure, just bring your own frogs from home to lick. If you do lick a local frog and begin to feel the early signs of brain herniation, quickly direct the nearest villager to this website, which provides Spanish speakers with a catchy musical reminder about how to contact Poison Control.

Nerve gas. Toxic organophosphates are derived from a byproduct of spongy soft darts and squishy orange footballs made by Hasbro. The term "nerve gas" was a mispronunciation by its German inventors, who do not have the letter F in their alphabet.

Arsenic. Arsenic is an element on the periodic table, which means that the smallest possible piece that it can be divided into is one atom. This concept is crucial if you decide to poison someone's coffee a little each day. It is best to start with one atom of arsenic in a cup of coffee (day 1) and gradually work up to one atom of coffee in a cup of arsenic (day 2).

Hemlock. Hemlock is not actually dangerous and I encourage/dare you to eat as much of it as you can immediately. Give me five minutes and I will prove to you that Socrates faked his own death and is still living in a bungalow in Switzerland. Five minutes, I swear to God.

Botulism. Often found in cans of spoiled vegetables, clostridium botulinum is the bacteria that puts the "rot" back in neurotoxin. Botulism can be easily identified because the gas produced by the bacteria will cause the cans to bulge. The only known treatment is to neutralize the bulging can by eating a dented can of the same vegetables.

Cyanide. Cyanide smells like almonds. I know this because I am allergic to tree nuts, so I often substitute cyanide for almond extract when baking macaroons or almond pear galette. (Ratio is 1:1)

Poison Ivy. "Leaves of three, let it be." While this saying is easy to remember, it does help you not differentiate poison ivy from other three-leaved plants such as box elder, Virginia creeper, or blackberry vines. I prefer the mnemonic, "If packing it into your mouth, lungs, and anus makes you itch, stop."

Until next month, remember that apathy is our strongest weapon against ignorance!

With warmest regards,

Zach

Dipping into Mike's Hard Chickpea

Dear Friends,

In this issue: 

A. Die For Our Country or Die Trying

B. Hard Taco Video! 

C. Energy Drinks, Flavored Malt Beverages, and Intensely Bitter Gum 

D. A Brief Dirty Play 

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A. Die For Our Country or Die Trying

   Every September, our thoughts turn to the people who run around inside burning buildings while everyone else is running around outside burning buildings. The Hard Taco song this month, "Fire Chief," gives a fresh look at these heroes and the maxim of their profession: Safety… is it all that?

   Although firefighters are the only civil servants specifically mentioned in the song, I also have a great deal of respect for police chiefs, librarians, DMV clerks, comptrollers, deputy comptrollers, and traffic patterns.

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B. Hard Taco Video! 

For Christ’s sake, check out this live performance of some gifted tweenagers tap-dancing to the first ninety seconds of "Down the Wrong Pipe." These young hoofers were in a summer arts workshop for children whose parents have pneumonia or bronchitis. Hard Taco is proud to support these kids who are living in the shadow of this disagreeable, treatable illness. Many of their parents have been coughing for 1-2 weeks or longer, but these little guys don't let it stop them from dancing their little hearts out!  

*Choreography by Victoria Gilbert

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C. Energy Drinks, Flavored Malt Beverages, and Intensely Bitter Gum 

Those are clearly the three hallmarks of our decade.  Perhaps the most representative product of that triumvirate is Smirnoff Source™, a unique malt beverage composed of alcohol-infused spring water. By cleverly taking alcohol and watering it down, Smirnoff has crafted what they call "the first lower-alcohol flavored malt beverage on the market that fits modern lifestyles and offers adult consumers sophisticated new drinking experiences."

Inspired by the subtle, sophisticated buzz of a 16 oz. Smirnoff Source™, I've got some other marketing ideas that I thought I would share. 

Mike's Hard Chickpea  (Alcoholic hummus)

Emphy-Zima (Pipe tobacco infused with carbonated, lightly sweetened alcohol)

Smirnoff Vapor (Vodka mixed with steam)

Bartles and Jaymes Deep Tropical Passion (Palm fronds soaked in blush wine and macaw blood)

Jalapeño Poppers MAXX (Breaded hot peppers stuffed with cheese, alcohol and up to 2MB of music)

Curad Extreme (Caffeinated Band-aids)

Coppertone Ultimate (Caffeinated sunblock)

Fleet's Supreme (Caffeinated enema)

Aquafresh Uttermost (Ritalin-infused toothpaste)

Dentyne Energy Vomit (Chewing gum with taurine, glucoronolactone, Ipecac syrup and B vitamins)

Gatorade Torrent Lite (Clear fluid with no flavoring or electrolytes)

  

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D. A Brief Dirty Play

Jay Leno: Tonight we have a very interesting guest. Tim Gissel claims he can dial a phone with his butt. Tim, this is a very unusual talent.

Tim: Not at all, Jay.

Jay Leno: Would you like to give us a little demonstration? What do you think? (Audience cheers)

Tim: Sure, all right. 

(Tim takes a cordless phone off of Jay's desk and walks to center stage. He carefully places the phone down his pants and closes his eyes. After about 10 seconds, a cell phone in Jay Leno's pocket starts to ring. Jay Leno pulls out the ringing phone and answers it.)

Jay Leno: Hello? Hello? (He holds phone out to audience) There's no one there.

Tim: My butt doesn't talk, Jay, it just dials. 

Kevin Eubanks: Oh, man!!

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With warmest regards,

Zach