© 1991 Lindsay Smith
Genevieve (with Moria Perry), Christmas 1991. RIP.
Apr. 16, 2002
Burn the Bodice
(And Other New Looks for Spring)
Ah, spring. An entire week of clouds and rain which ends in oppressive humidity and tons of azaleas, letting me know that it’s time to strap on a bodice and pretend that I live in the Renaissance. Perhaps I’ll be put in the stocks this year, or even beheaded. Who knows what the days ahead will bring.
On King of the Hill they went to the Renaissance Festival for one episode, but they didn’t do a very good job of it. I suppose they thought it was funny to pretend that the king really did run everything and that the women of the festival worked for him, but I thought it was just dumb because it didn’t ring true. In actuality, of course, the king is an actor, just as the wenches are actors. He gets four comp tickets and a parking pass and walks around in the hot sun all day, just like all the other performers. Now, there are people who have the power to decide on working conditions and who gets paid what, but those people aren’t in costume, and you don’t notice them. There is plenty to make fun of that is real at the Renaissance Festival, and I wish they’d done that. Just having the Hills walk around the site all day experiencing the ridiculousness would have made for a great, hysterical episode. I’m sorry they felt they had to have a lame plot involving Hank’s propane business and Peggy’s assertion of women’s rights. It’s like when they had that Boggle episode and Peggy won the tournament with a word that has more letters than there are in a Boggle board. As a championship Boggle player, I was offended at the lack of realism there. Humor is in the details, people!
What was I talking about? Oh, yeah. Bodices.
Speaking of fashion, I need help. I’m having new headshots done next week, and I don’t know what to wear! (Don’t laugh; I’m seriously freaking out over here.) So here’s what I need from you. If you’ve seen me wear something on stage (or just around town) that you think looks really good on me while still looking like me, e-mail me at mclinz@hotmail.com and let your opinion be counted! I'm looking for the outfit that would make you say, if you saw a picture of it in the paper, "Wow, she looks cool! I think I'll go to her show so that I can see that outfit in person." If it helps to narrow it down, here are some options I’m considering:
A. black velvet long-sleeved dress with zipper in the front
B. jeans with butterfly t-shirt
C. jeans with t-shirt that says "Rock Star" (specify your favorite)
D. black skirt with glittery t-shirt
What I really wish now is that I were an illustrator and had the computer programming skills to make virtual Lindsay Smith paper dolls so that you could see what these outfits looked like and then vote based on that (so the out of towners who don’t see me as often could participate), but alas. You know, that’s really not a bad idea anyway. It would certainly make me giggle. So if anyone does have computer programming skills and would like to create the official Lindsay Smith paper dolls, I really hope you’ll let me know. That would be funny enough to make the trauma of the photo shoot worthwhile.
Dude, the craziest thing happened today. When I checked the mail, I found a completely unexpected royalty payment from APRA/AMCOS, the Australian version of ASCAP (except that ASCAP is a private organization, along with BMI and SESAC, while APRA/AMCOS is goverment-regulated and the only organization of its kind in Australia. The United States is the only country to have more than one unregulated performing rights organization. Also, APRA/AMCOS is a combination of a performing rights organization - the APRA part - and a mechanical licensing organization - the AMCOS part, which is the part that paid me; the American equivalent would be the Harry Fox Agency, which is, again, a private organization and not the only one of its kind. I know most of you don't care about this, but I've been learning about it lately and finding it interesting for all sorts of reasons). I have lots of friends in lots of bizarre places - Japan, Scotland, Jordan, France, California - but I'm pretty sure I don't know anyone in Australia. Furthermore, the letter says that photocopies of my song lyrics were used by an educational instituation. How bizarre is that? I just hope my songs weren't used for a creative writing class as examples of what not to do. Although I guess the $41.99 I've been paid for the right of the teacher to photocopy my work would pretty much make up for the humiliation...
I went home to Virginia a couple of weeks ago. It’s always nice to go home to Virginia. I drove up with my friend Sean Smith to play a couple of gigs (we are considering marketing ourselves as the Smith Family Singers and hitting the road together full-time), and we stayed with my parents in Fredericksburg. They fed us homemade chocolate chip cookies, and we played at the Multicultural Festival at Mary Washington College, which paid actual money. If life on the road were always like that, I’d have quit my day job years ago.
A few days after I got back to Atlanta, I got some sad news. My little dog, Genevieve, who’s been living with my mom in Fredericksburg, died at the old doggie age of 16. 'Bye, sweetie.
What’s in my stereo at home:
What’s in my car:
What's in my CD player at work:
Genevieve (with Moria Perry), Christmas 1991. RIP.