The Beating

Just in time for Black Friday, it’s a song about mindless consumerism! Aren’t I the opportunist?

Actually, this one started as a song about not drinking shitty beer, but I couldn’t bring myself to write an entire song about JUST that. I mean, it’s a noble topic, but probably not worth more than an entire verse.

Stop Showing Up For The Beating

So what is “The Beating” anyway? It comes from an old Henry Rollins spoken-word bootleg called It Turned 40 In Front Of Me. I wish I could point you to the track it came from, but it’s an unofficial live recording that I came across somehow many years ago. Here’s a heavily-trimmed quote to give you the gist, though:

What if we just stopped showing up for the beating? What if we stopped showing up for the shitty food? [McDonald’s] What if Jack Daniel’s couldn’t give away the shit anymore?

…

What if the ratings for all those corny 8pm-8:30pm TV shows just plummeted? You know, ’cause everyone was watching a cool documentary on kangaroos or something… Or what if Danielle Steele or Stephen King— all of a sudden their book sales just abruptly stopped?

…

What if huge stacks of records— like Sting records —ceased to move?…What if all of a sudden all the cool CD’s, like music from the Caribbean, suddenly became collector’s items and people couldn’t get enough of that shit?

Ole Hank wonders what we’d be like as a nation (fuck it, as a species) if we stopped falling for the marketing bullshit that tries to tell us we’re being served quality when we’re really being fed trash.

And Speaking of Quality…

If you’ve been following the previous posts about trying to work on better two-man arrangements, this song is the first beneficiary of that effort. I took the initial sketch, brought it to its knees and re-worked it as just a piano/bass/synth and drum version, and made it sound killer.

Then… well, I added the guitars back in. Why? ‘Cause they’re fucking awesome, that’s why. BUT… the two-man version is still pretty damn good. So I’ve included that as well, and you can tell ME which one you like better.

Also, because some of you may wanna play this at work, I included a radio-edited version as an MP3. WHEW!

Now, time to go shopping for shit I don’t need…

MP3 Versions:

WAV Versions:

LYRICS:

Act now!
Yours is obsolete!
Gotta get them all
so you'll feel complete!

And you'll wait all night
and you'll tell your friends
and they'll say "all right!"
But it never ends,
no it never ends.

You don't have to take that shit
so why do you put up with it?
It's not like you don't have a choice,

YOU DO.CHORUS:
Stop showing up for the beating
like Henry Rollins said.
Don't swallow what they've been feeding
you gotta feed your head.

Tastes great!
Won't fill you up!
Hail to the king
in a plastic cup!

But you know they're wrong
and you know your taste,
but you play along.
What a fucking waste.
What a fucking waste.

You don't have to drink that shit
so why do you put up with it?
It's not like you don't have a choice,
YOU DO.(CHORUS)BRIDGE:
Line up, bottoms up!
We got plenty where that came from,
don't you want to fit in?

Everybody's got one of their own,
got the app on their phone,
got the six-pack at home.

It's good, you see it everywhere.
It's everywhere you see, it's good.
Of course it's good, it's everywhere,
I'm glad we're understood.

(Now shut up and TAKE MY MONEY!)CHORUS:
Stop showing up for the beating
like Henry Rollins said.
Don't take the shit they've been feeding you,
right?
Stop showing up for the beating
like Henry Rollins said.
Don't swallow what they've been feeding
you gotta feed your head.