Share This Post: getting into a healthier, more creative state of mind, with Renzie Baluyut. Besides my competencies in marketing communications, or people skills, or whatever skill set I’ve got going on, I think one of the most important attributes I have is my desire to learn. It is a hunger for knowledge, an affinity […]
Category: Work-Life Balance
Making your life easier, one step at a time.
Baz Luhrmann’s “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)”
Share This Post: listening once more to the Mary Schmich-Baz Luhrmann collaboration, with Renzie Baluyut.
About ten years ago, I remembered pushing for this song to get more airplay at the radio station I was working for then.
The song was “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)” by Baz Luhrmann. It came out in one of those international samplers the station subscribed to, and I loved it the first time I heard it.
It was inspirational, it was different, it had a positive message to it, and it made for great listening. At the time, the prevailing rumor was that it was taken word-for-word from a Kurt Vonnegut commencement speech he gave for the graduating class of MIT.
Much later, it turns out that Kurt Vonnegut had nothing to do with the song. The original piece of work was by Mary Schmich, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.
From Wikipedia:
Luhrmann explains that Anton Monsted, Josh Abrahams and he were working on the remix when Monsted received an email with the supposed Vonnegut speech. They decided to use it but were doubtful of getting through to Vonnegut for permission before their deadline, which was only one or two days away. While searching the internet for contact information they came upon the “Sunscreen Controversy” and discovered that Schmich was the actual author. They emailed her and, with her permission, recorded the song the next day.
However, “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)” wasn’t radio-friendly- the single ran for more than 7 minutes (you can play 2 songs in 7 minutes), and it wasn’t backed up by any significant marketing effort from the local recording companies.
I managed to sneak the song in several times within some of my special programs, but Baz Luhrmann’s “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)” unfortunately, never saw the heavy radio rotation I felt it deserved.
Nevertheless, the song remains very inspiring even to this day. So here it is, along with the spoken-word lyrics to it. I hope it inspires you too.
Continue reading “Baz Luhrmann’s “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)””
Renzie Ten Years From Now
a snapshot of a vision inside the head of Renzie Baluyut. We’ve all been asked, “so how do you see yourself <insert arbitrary number here> years from now?” One thing I’ve realized is that this seemingly innocent, yet over-asked question, actually gives you a chance to evaluate your Grand Strategy over your life. And by […]
Wanna Get More Creative? Get Some Sleep!
Here’s something interesting I read over at Lifehacker. According to the science-folk of Harvard University, sleeping on new ideas and information allow you to make tougher decisions and solve problems as well. Research indicates that sleeping makes you 33% more likely to make connections between distantly related points. I came from a fairly hectic industry- […]
10 Ways to Relax on a Rainy Day
by Renzie Baluyut
It’s the rainy season at around this time of year in the Philippines, so you can expect the usual downpour in the afternoons and early evenings. There’d be times when it would be raining all day, and if you’re really lucky, you’ll find yourself in the path of the occasional tropical storm.
It’s that time of the year when it’s most prudent to bring an umbrella with you everywhere you go. You take your chances if you’re planning an open-air event, and you always have to plan for contingencies when making out-of-town trips.
When I used to deal with events for the old radio station I was working for, this was the time of the year when we would plan a lot of indoor activities. I would have a preference for events and promos involving spas, restaurants, hotels, movies and lots of shopping. Of course, you do your best to come up with more creative executions of all kinds of below-the-line activities.
So if you’re looking for a few ways to just kick back and take it easy on a rainy day- something that doesn’t involve a PC or your workstation in any way possible- here are a few tips that might just hit the spot.
Renzie Baluyut Online 