Labels

Some things ought to come with a label just like the Parental Advisory sticker. I think any music that synthesizes vocals should be labeled. It's not to warn people of vocals from electronica bands like Air. If anything, Air purchases should be subsidized so that more people can listen and chill out a little bit. And certainly it's not to warn the public about a group like Zapp & Roger who use the talkbox. You remember those songs, right? More Bounce to the Ounce? I Wanna Be Your Man? If you're curious or clueless I'll send you a coupla mp3s. No, I'm talking about all of the pop stars who use the machine that can raise or lower your pitch. I mean, if taking steroids is cheating in baseball and in track (to use a timely reference) shouldn't pitch adjusters be considered cheating in singing? It's not destroying the world or anything but, seriously, isn't anyone else bothered by this? I'd imagine there are a ton of talented singers out there at their wit's end and ready to kill someone if they continue not to be recognized in favor of 15-year old girls with songs written for them and receiving digital vocal assistance. Maybe "kill" is a bit extreme. You've gotta excuse me, I've been watching The Shield season 3 on DVD for most of the afternoon.

Speaking of television, I caught that show Veronica Mars for the first time last Tuesday. It was totally implausible, of course...cameras hidden in staplers, teenagers throwing around several hundred dollars in cash, and I suspect that radio homing devices aren't quite as common as Hollywood would have us believe. Still, though, it was some great Nancy Drew-style investigative action. And entertaining. That's all you can ask for, right?

Rose thinks any album featuring a singing rapper (Andre 3000 on Roses, Eminem on Cleanin' Out My Closet) should have a bright red caution sticker no less than 2 inches diameter affixed to the covers of all such albums. Hell, I think so too.

There was a tampon brand in the drugstore I noticed today. No really, listen. It was in a brown box is the thing, so it caught my eye. And it wasn't Tampax or...or, um...lemme think...O.B.! It wasn't O.B., either. Have you ever seen a box of tampons that wasn't blue? Or like pink or something? I'd imagine the tampon market is a tough one to break into. Well, that's what I was thinking about today.