A punky rock song about our own Ben Fong-Torres? It's true! Read it and sing!
As many people who write books and make records are wont to do, I was Googling myself the other night. Actually, it was a variation. I was Amazoning myself, if there's such a thing. A friend had told me about finding old copies of his own books there for a penny a copy. So I went online in search of cheaper versions of myself or my books, anyway.
And that's how I happened onto a song called "Ben Fong-Torres." Not a song by me. Not a song from Almost Famous, which includes me as a character. But a tune, apparently, about me.
I couldn't believe it, but there it was. Amazon offers mp.3 downloads of some albums, so this song, from a CD called Where I Am, by Christopher Van Epps, was available for 89 cents.
I was further shocked by the original release date listed: October, 2002. This thing had been out five years and I just now stumbled across it? Maybe it was an attack on me, and nobody least of all the composer wanted me to know about it. I clicked on the "listen" button for a 30-second sample.
I heard a chorus of voices shouting my name over a combination of a polka and punk-rock beat. The words were a blur, but I made out "it's not an accident is he from south of border or from the Orient." And a robust shout of "Ben Fong-Torres is a helluva guy!"
So, despite the clumsy reference to "the Orient," it sounded like nothing to call my attorney, "Mad Dog," about.
I downloaded the song and then, why...