Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Music for Bathroom Baritones and Bathing Beauties

I'm in love with vintage pink bathrooms so I couldn't help but snatch up this album recently. It was given out by the American Standard plumbing company and is chock full of sing-along tunes for your next bath.




Music for Bathroom Baritones and Bathing Beauties



I'm not sure how many people had or have record players in their bathroom but honestly, I think that it might be a good trend.

The description on the record jacket is a little bit wild and wordy saying things like:

"Now...perhaps bathing isn't the social event it used to be, and we aren't suggesting that you have to be slightly mad to appreciate a violin air, but we do believe that a good soak and a good song are still effective to relieve tensions."

Don't you miss the days when bathing was a social event? I know that I do!






Whoa Nellie! Okay..okay...I promise to never reference the 70's hot tub culture again. Not without warning you at least. Let's tighten the belts of our robes a little tighter, gather our wits about us and move on, shall we?

The text is actually referring to the first paragraph's preening about how the ancient Romans used to go to bath houses:

"Forgotten were the latest nuisance taxes levied by an autocratic caesar, the ominous rumblings of barbarians, massing on the eastern borders..."

Calgon! Take me away from the nuisance taxes and the ominous rumblings of barbarians!

Later on in the text:

"We have music to dine by, to wine by, to sleep by, to weep by, to fly by and to buy by - in short - we have music for any mood, any activity. Yet a few areas have remained untouched. That's why it's fitting that American Standard - the world's best maker of quality bathroom fixtures - and RCA Victor have united to fill in one gap by bringing you 'Music for Bathroom Baritones and Bathing Beauties'.."

God bless American Standard. I DO love their fixtures and you can't beat RCA Victor for a good time...so, I'm in!




The album contains such classics as "The Whiffenpoof Song", "Flirtation Walk" and "Paddlin' Madeline Home".

I think that I kind of love the idea of someone singing lyrics such as these from "The Whiffenpoof Song" at the top of their lungs while in the tub:

"We're poor little lambs who have lost our way
Baa, baa, baa
We're little black sheep who have gone astray
Baa, baa, baa

Gentleman songsters off on a spree
Doomed from here to eternity
Lord have mercy on such as we
Baa, baa, baa"


Why, your upstairs neighbors will think that you've gone simply mad! Yes!


I'll leave you with these inspiring words for the next time that you rub-a-dub:


"After all, in the bathtub every man is a golden-toned Caruso..."




"...every woman a silver-voiced nightingale."




Until next time...(be sure and wash behind your ears now!)
x's and o's,
Eartha

14 comments:

Unknown said...

I got a special turntable with a usb port so I can save special gems like this to my hard drive and not wear out the vinyl.

Good score!

Poodle Superstar said...

I just wish my bath tub had a brick wall on one end.

Sara In AZ said...

Girl, you gotta get a turntable in your pink bathroom ASAP!!!! This album sounds like a real hoot!!!! And yes, I did wash behind my ears! :)

Eartha Kitsch said...

Tart Deco: That is an excellent idea! Gotta keep the good ones around.

Poodle Superstar: Me too, though I don't know why. Tub envy, maybe?

Sara: Good girl! I know. I want a turntable AND a DJ!

Charm and Poise said...

I didn't know that having a record player in the bathroom was even an option. Darn it! All those past soaks wasted as I whiled away the time without the gentle strains of the Whiffenpoof Song in my ears!

Rebecca Jean said...

Oh Eartha, you come up with the darnedest things! I'll be thinking of this one in the shower tonight. More likely of that 70's hot tub picture. Our shower is t.i.n.y and Mister I like to share our evening shower. ahem To save water you know, being green and all. Moving on... Why does her tub have a concrete wall on the end?

♥ Rebecca Jean
Midnight Maniac

Eartha Kitsch said...

Charm and Poise: Girl, I know! I feel like every bath and shower have been a waste. Most times, I haven't even hummed to myself and the only music that I hear is a bunch of cats throwing themselves up against the bathroom door!

Rebecca Jean: Thanks! I try! :) I like the water conserving thing. You should bust out a little Whiffenpoof on your Mister tonight. (And that may or may not be slang for anything.) I'm not sure about that wall on the tub either. It's pretty darned cool though.

K0dama said...

I think my husband has this one - he put a song on a mix cd he made for me when we were dating. Every time I brush my teeth, I think "my bathroom, my bathroom, is a special kind of place ..." Great stuff!

Straight Talking Mama! said...

love it, but have to say here in the UK we don't have bathrooms big enough for a turntable, can barely fit an ipod in there ha ha!

Opal (Mel) said...

I never knew I could attain so much cultural knowledge from a bathtime record. My next soak will be filled with the harmonious sounds of sheep. I don't think I'll look at my loofa the same way again...

Eartha Kitsch said...

K0dama: Ha! Well, it IS you know! :) Life goes better with theme music.

Straight Talking Mama: Ha! I've had bathrooms like that too so I feel your pain.

Mel: Girl, you are missing a golden opportunity if you don't put googly eyes on that loofah and make it into a sheep. Just sayin'...

Uncle Steven said...

They pulled that poor bathing beauty out of her granite walled castle, bathtub and all??!!??!!

A very queer choice, I guess American Standard wanted to be authentic, and not fool us into thinking that pink bathtub is finished on the ends?

I'm just soaking here, with my hi-fi plugged in and teetering precariously on the edge of the tub. I don't want to have to get out to turn the album over...

ZAP!

Eartha Kitsch said...

Uncle Steven! Hey y'all!

I think you are right. If they showed a bathtub with ends, then the public would clamor to have one!

You be careful in that tub now. Perhaps have your house boy flip the records so that you don't get a permanent wave in your pretty hair.

Pam Kueber said...

Oh my goodness, I want, I need!