Recently updated for Valencia 9 (June 2010), this is a collection of some of the most well-known Bayesian Songbook classics, dating back to the very earliest days of the Valencia meeting cabarets. Like many "greatest hits" collections, it of course omits a lot of great material in order to make room for better-known "hits," some of which seem to smack of commercialism, making overfrequent use of the same old posterior and DIC jokes. The Singalong Book also includes at least one song from every cabaret, an obvious attempt to try and impress you with the breadth and historical import of the undertaking, and also encouraging you to watch the original versions of many of these earlier cabarets on YouTube. However, a redeeming feature of this collection is its focus on singability, one we hope Valencia 9 and future Bayesian conference participants will appreciate.
Here's the link: pdf
At the biennial international meetings on Bayesian statistics in Valencia, Spain and other beachfront locations as now selected by the International Society for Bayesian Analysis (ISBA), one of the most popular features (after the sun and the free wine) is the ``cabaret'' performance, which traditionally takes place on the last night following the conference dinner. Acts over the years have included jugglers, magicians, jokesters, and even the occasional male striptease (the now-infamous ``Full Monty Carlo''). Still, the cornerstone of the cabaret has always been the singing of new and often humorous Bayes-related lyrics to popular songs, a practice dating to the landmark work of Box (1979; reprinted herein). This collection presents many (though certainly not all) of the songs that have been performed at Bayesian cabarets over the years, as well as the original scripts of the popular skits by O'Hagan et al. (1987, 1991, 1994, 1998, 2002). We hope it inspires future generations of Bayesian singers, songwriters, actors, and, yes, even male strippers.
This 2006 version of the songbook is the most complete to date, containing close to forty songs, including all new songs throught Valencia 7, ISBA 2000 (Crete), ISBA 2004 (Chile), and MCMSki I (ISBA 2005, Bormio). The songbook also features a convenient table of contents, six Bayesian skits principally authored by Bayesian master thespian Tony O'Hagan, and several previously lost classic songs, including:
Currently available versions of the songbook are:
Also check out a pictorial tribute to the Valencia 6 Cabaret
by clicking on this picture!
Alternatively,
check out a pictorial tribute to the ISBA 2000 (Crete) Cabaret
by clicking on this picture!