Having written songs with my older brother from the beginning, I often bounce ideas at him to see what comes back. I remember (and take all of this with a grain of salt as I am not the best at chronology or details!) going up to him and saying something like… “I have this idea for a song and not sure where it goes, but I keep thinking get out of here leave me alone take it away, and that they want to charge us for anything. Soon they will sell us air and water”. Below is the result. I called it The Pleasure Tax, and it is more relative today. And yes, they do sell us air and water now!
I am very picky about tuning and tones used. Putting new strings on your guitar was sometimes a luxury. When I finally did it is like turning on a light bulb in a dim room. Yes, you could see before but now you can even read! Music can be like that. Things are not inspiring or do not sound very good and you change the strings (or reed, drum head, pads) and BAM! You want to go out and play it hard!
The tax is still out there, so be careful when you want to relax.?
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dark-energy/id962943592
“THE PLEASURE TAX” © 1981
Music by Michael S Kennedy Lyrics by Michael S and Charles D Kennedy
Intro:
Take it away………… The Pleasure Tax 4x
Verse 1
Take it out, or take it home.
Take it back, it hasn’t grown
Take it away or leave it alone.
Say what you want, or hang up the phone.
Chorus
Put new strings on your damn guitar.
Make it simple, but play it hard.
He says he likes it I don’t know why.
We don’t understand but we’ll give it a try.
Verse 2
Hit the road or face the facts.
There’s something that your system lacks.
The very next time you go to relax,
You’ll go down from the Pleasure Tax
MidiMike 
My memories are vague as well, but for me the tax was always about the toll it took on your body/mind when you over indulged in anything. Sometimes it’s hard being Children of the ’60s.
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Agreed. That is a good summary. WE ultimately pay the tax for what we do as much as we pay for the taxes placed on us!
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I thought it was interesting, in the chorus, how you stress the word “guitar” in the first line, but sing the word “hard” in line two rather softly.
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Wow, that was observant! I guess I missed an opportunity to punch the right word. I have always sung it like that I guess to try and hit the higher note for guitar. Good catch!
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Er…did I mention I liked the song?
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HA! At least you are listening!!! That is more important. Thank you.
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Putting new strings on your instruments is an awesome way of getting inspired. If I feel that inspiration is lacking, I always try to get some fresh string to ‘turn on the light bulb’ and it never fails!
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That is the way I feel. I play a twelve string acoustic/electric but usually unplugged. When the strings are alive it just fills the room with not bright light as you know, but…clear light! You can hear it all. You don’t guess if you are on tune. You are. Keep that light bulb on, my friend!
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Thank you for following my blog , kindly give suggesstions about the posts,,,your feedbacks are wanted always
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You are very welcome. Will do and agree entirely!
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wow haven’t heard that one in a very long time……
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And there is plenty more to come LOL!!
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Very cool. I like a lot of the edits you came up with. Good version of the song as well. That was fun to watch. That’s, Ed!
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I like the energy in this song. Obviously the verses are great as well. There some cool energy about this song and the finger pointing (not direct, but cool and discreet) towards the ‘system’ is my favorite part.
‘Hit the road or face the facts.
There’s something that your system lacks.
The very next time you go to relax,
You’ll go down from the Pleasure Tax’
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Very cool. I think of this as a simple song that relies on the groove and repeatable yet simple lyrics. But the energy carried it through as you noticed. Excellent! Thanks for the feedback.
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Always welcome. I drop by once a week and have a go at all the new stuff you post. I enjoy it.
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I get a big smile on my face when I see you visit. Always makes my day. And your projects are very cool.
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A big Like for this, Mike. Thank you and this just made my day.
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And many more to come!
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