Sunday, March 27, 2005

 

Giggle Factor

I used to post on a photoshop contest site called "Worth 1000" which, while it took a lot of time, was mostly a fullfilling experience. On this site, there would be a theme that contestents would have 48 hours to make something out of. I liked the time element, I have photoshop skills but a short attention span. Long, involved photo projects are a bit beyone me, 48 hours to accomplish something was just right for me. One particular contest was called "Where Are My Pants?" The aim was to create a photo of a famous person without any pants on. OK, this is the kind of thing I can do. While it seems like an "in your face" project, the key to something like this is going to be the subtleties, shading and the like. That's right into my wheelhouse. I decided to do a photo of Oprah, it was so long ago that I don't remember why, exactly, I chose Oprah, but I did. You can find my photo of Oprah here.

After the 48 hours have passed, the photos are voted on by members of the site. There's also a jury award, but the aim is to get the members to like your photo. I would always vote, even on contests that I hadn't entered anything in. When I came upon this photo of Superman, I had to giggle. One of my criteria for voting was what I referred to as "giggle factor." If, on first glance, the photo made me giggle or smile, it generally got a pretty high rating from me. This photo had that.

When voting was completed, the Superman photo finished in the top 3, my Oprah photo, while placing respectably, was well behind Superman. I must stress that I wasn't upset by this, but I got to thinking, my Oprah photo took me hours to make, I had to find suitable photos of Oprah, of a lingerie model standing at similar angle. I had to merge the two photos and do touchups to make the whole thing look believable. While there's always more than one way to do a project, the Superman photo would have taken me about five minutes, two Photoshop tools and very little skill to do. At first it somehow seemed unfair, that something I worked so hard on would be beaten by something that took its creator so little time to complete.

It had "giggle factor," though, and the simple fact is that the creator had the idea and I didn't. He shouldn't be penalized for having a great idea even if it is really simple. So I learned something.

I thought of "giggle factor" this morning while listening to a collection of mp3's from the Dunn Bros. open mic. I heard a cut by Steve Thorpe called "Washboard Road." I've heard Steve do this song many times. I think it's a nice song, but never really gave it a second thought. This morning I actually listened:

Washboard Road
by Steve Thorpe


Well Once I saw a highway shining in the sun
Cars and trucks and motorcycles, liftimes on the run
And I turned and I drove up to these mountains from the sea
Now it's a gravel washboard road I'm on
That highway would have had my sanity

So if I had an island, I would not be a duck
I'd sail across the summer shores, drive this pickup truck
It's a rough ride and it's shakin' out the songs inside my mind
Think I had some troubles once
Today I must've left them far behind

These old washboard roads, so many wheels have come this way before
These washboard gravel roads
I heard the echoes of long ago far away outside my door

Now washboard roads lead everywhere past the city lights
Cappucino, lots of friends, music every night
Down at the coffee house I play this old guitar for just a bit
And if I play it well enough
I just might make my gas in tips

These old washboard roads, so many wheels have come this way before
These washboard gravel roads
I heard the echoes of long ago far away outside my door

Now I go down these washboard roads fast as I can drive
Never had a true love here singing by my side
But I drive through the winter snows into the spring
Ask me what I want here
I'll tell you I don't want for anything

These old washboard roads, so many wheels have come this way before
These washboard gravel roads
I heard the echoes of long ago far away outside my door


This is pretty typical of Steve's songs. He's a great songwriter with a real gift for painting a picture of a feeling, if such a thing is actually possible to do with mere words. Add that he's a fine guitar player, fingerpicking on this song, doing things that I'd never be able to accomplish even if I practiced 15 hours a day. And though we play in completely different styles, he's a great harmonica player, too. He impresses me on harp, and I've never seen him just play harp, I've only seen him play while he's playing guitar.

I used to play at Steve's old Sacora Station open mic on Tuesday nights. I played Two Condoms there one Tuesday night, having not played it in quite a while. People loved it, asking me to play it every time I showed up there. I'd put the lyrics here like I did with Washboard Road, but frankly, it doesn't deserve the same treatment. It's just the tale of a skanky old girlfriend, written off the top of my head while actually trying to write something else. It's not a finely crafted lyric, and my guitar and harmonica playing when I'm solo are definitely not anything that anyone would notice. What Two Condoms has is "giggle factor." It makes people smile or laugh out loud. Since that's pretty much what I was going for when I wrote it, I'm happy with it.

But it got me thinking about the Superman photo again. Now I'm the one relying on "giggle factor" instead of actual talent. Then again, making someone laugh is a talent, I suppose I have to remember that.

So what did the talented Steve Thorpe think when he heard the reaction to Two Condoms? Was he upset that my little "giggle factor" ditty got more attention than a well written song, played exceptionally well? No, Steve asked me if he could cover it. He had more respect for "giggle factor" than I did. I guess I learned something again.

BOJ

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