Blog: Further Adventures In Advertising

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When I got home from work last night there was an email from the Advertising Guys, for whom I'd written my History Of Data Storage Sea Shanty. They liked it, but didn't really want to do it as a Sea Shanty, felt the chorus could be catchier, and that, all in all, it did read like a bit of a HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT.

This is the GRATE thing about doing Work For Hire - normally you write a song and The Vlads either like it or DON'T, and there's very really and to and fro, especially with the lyrics. You don't really NEED to go back and move things around, as there's an INFINITE supply of other songs out there. With THIS sort of thing tho you're working to a BRIEF, so having to go back and change things to order and generally IMPROVE things is EXCITING and BRILL.

That's not to say, of course, that i don't have an ATAK of PETULANCE every time it happens. "But this is MY ART!" I always think. "How COULD you?!?!"

As ever this last about as much time as it takes to make a cup of tea, and by the time I was back at my desk I was having a good old THINK. They wanted something looser, funnier, and in the RAP style. There were LOADS of suggestions so I set to WORK, taking a few bits from the old version, several of their ideas, and coming up with a couple of extra bits. As I went along i was forced to admit they were RIGHT and ended up having a WHALE of a time writing it.

I got the drums, bass, and electrical guitars done last night (I was up until 11pm doing it! ROCK AND ROLL!) then this morning did all the vocals, mixed it, and sent it off. I have to admit I was PRETTY confident this one would go down better, largely because I spent the journey home EITHER singing the chorus OR laughing at the bit about Uncle Steve on a roundabout OR (my favourite bit) going "UNIVAC! UNIVAC aaaaaah".

It makes sense when you here it, honest. Anyway, it DID go down well and is being Pitched To The Client (ADVERTISING SPEAK!) tomorrow, so we'll see what happens. I REALLY hope they like it, as I'm WELL chuffed with this one.

Meanwhile, here's the lyrics for the sea shanty version. As you'll see, it DOES come across a bit homework-y, and has a rather HARD SELL at the end, which they also asked me to remove. I've taken the product name out too, as I'm pretty sure you're not meant to disclose that, but otherwise here it is in full, the history of spinning data storage devices!

It was in 1725 Falcon and Bouchon
First used a perforatated loop to spin their loom
Then Thomas Edison devised
A phonograph that could transcribe
The spoken word onto a cylindrical tube

Invented by Pfleumer in 1928
The giant spinning wheel of magnetic tape
Which led to the Magnetic Drum
Eckert-Mauchly's UNIVAC 1
And many hours loading ZX Spectrum Games

Come let us spin spin spin Through data storage history
As we sing sing sing The Data Storage Sea Shanty

IBM's rotating 350 Hard Disk File
In 1952 could hold 5 Megabytes
Bubble Memory's spinning bits
Lost out to 8 inch floppy disks
Which shrunk to three to fit neatly in my A Drive

DAT was back to wheels of whirling 4mil tape
But come the 80's Compact Discs were all the rage
As Pyres of vinyl were all burnt
RPM fell to kiloherz
Because they worked better when spread with marmalade

Come let us spin spin spin Through data storage history
As we sing sing sing The Data Storage Sea Shanty

But like a wheel that slowly stops rotating
Or a satellite which eventually descends
The history of moving parts
Although it lives on in our hearts
Is today at last, coming to an end

So come let's bid farewell to punch cards and cassette tapes
Adieu HD-DVD and Blue-ray
Bye bye to all things that revolve
Now Data Storage has evolved
Into the **********

A new chapter begins
In Data Storage History
As we sing sing sing
The Data Storage Sea Shanty

Come let us sing sing sing
Of the *******D
An end to spinning in
The Data Storage Sea Shanty

Thank goodness for WIKI!

posted 28/8/2008 by MJ Hibbett

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