Time Out For the Macintosh Boogie

Duane's Bass
Duane's iMac
Decorated Bass

Duane Straub, Mac IT expert, member of the Macworld All Star Band, and Director of the Root Boy Slim Memorial Fan Club, has posted a song called the Macintosh Boogie. It being a holiday today (Martin Luther King Day for those finding this in later days), it seems a good time to post a link to it.

Mr. Straub wrote the tune way back in 2000 following a time when he tried to convince the Reverend Billy C. Wirtz (a boogie-woogie performer) that writing a song about Macs was a surefire path to bringing him new fans. The Reverend didn't buy it, and so Mr. Straub decided that if someone were going to write a boogie-woogie song about Macs, he'd have to do it himself.

On the Web site he created for the song, Mr. Straub wrote, "I can't get anybody on the boat with me - but, hey, I'm undeterred - what Mac person has NOT experienced times when they just can't get people on the boat?!?"

Thus the Macintosh Boogie was born, or almost born. He wrote the tune in 2000, but it took until 2003 before he was able to record it -- on a Mac with GarageBand, of course. From there, it was a mere five years for him to release the tune on the Internet for the edification of Mac and boogie fans everywhere.

We should note that the song also represents a snap shot in time when it comes to the Mac community. Microsoft slams, the Mac Marines (remember them?), PowerBooks, and the lack of Macs in Enterprise are some of the themes Mr. Straub tapped for the song.