Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Robert Derby

Artist: Robert Derby
LP: I'm Normal
Song: "Take a Pill"
[ listen ]

A few days ago my new doctor gave me a prescription for Docusate Sodium Stool Softeners. When I picked up the pills at the pharmacy, I was surprised to find that the manufacturers had selected a Barnum & Bailey Circus font for the label on their bottle.

Are they trying to make this seem fun? I would be hard pressed (so to speak) to come up with an event less circus-like than the ingesting of poo-softeners. Although I do hope they will "make me feel alright," it's unlikely Robert Derby had Docusate Sodium pills in mind when he wrote and recorded this catchy tune. Impressively, according to the notes on the back of his 1980 LP, Derby handled all songs, instruments, voices, production and engineering on the record, which was "recorded in a Greenwich Village basement with the help of two 4-track Teac machines"...and probably a 6-pack, some Chinese takeout and a bag of Doritos.

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