BOTB March 2025

 

Hey, hi! Glad you stopped by ;-)

The Battle of The Bands (BOTB) is your basic Which-do-you-like-best contest where the one that gets the most votes wins. All you have to do is show up (the 1^st and/or 15^th of every month) give a listen and cast your vote in the comment section. Next, hop on over to see what battles other participants (links located top right column of this page) have posted for us to vote on! Votes will be tallied and the winner revealed on or about 8 days later.

Last week, our local Weather Gal promised a “cool down,” which was uplifting as all get-out for those of us who would like to experience a little springtime before the onslaught of searing Sonoran desert temps take over.  I was thinking about springtime when a flash of red outside the window caught my eye.

It was my backyard Cardinal! He was hopping around the hood, and hanging off the side mirror of my jeep; parked right outside the window. He seemed to play a peek-a-boo game, stealing quick glances of himself from left, right, and topside (for an upside-down view). I was so enthralled with this unexpected pleasure that I nearly forgot what I was doing!  But I smiled the whole day and promised myself I’d do a little something to keep the Cardinal hanging around. It took the gorgeous bird less than 10 minutes to find the feeder I hung in a backyard tree this morning!

Anyhow, I’m ready for Spring! Hope you are too. As usual, the songs I’ve chosen to offer for today’s battle were either not covered by anyone else in the whole wide world or, said covers simply didn’t measure up ;-) I love both of these ladies, but you can only pick one (for now). Which song puts a bit of Spring in your soul?

This one?

Or this one?

Happy March! Be safe (and happy) out there, Folks!

BOTB February 1, 2025

 

Hey, hi! Glad you stopped by ;-)

The Battle of The Bands (BOTB) is your basic Which-do-you-like-best contest where the one that gets the most votes wins. All you have to do is show up (the 1^st and/or 15^th of every month) give a listen and cast your vote in the comment section. Next, hop on over to see what battles other participants (links located top right column of this page) have posted for us to vote on! Votes will be tallied and the winner revealed on or about 8 days later.

Happy February, everyone! I don’t know where our weather guy gets his information, but I like it! Starting today, temperatures should be in the 80s! My mind has already skipped spring and moved on to summer ;-)

Aw, winter wasn’t all bad. I did manage to watch a few good movies from beneath a blanket on the sofa near the hearth. These movies included such great soundtracks I can’t help but share. I hope you all don’t mind voting on which one of the following trailers leaves the most lasting impression.

Up first:  Carly Simon’s spot-on perspective of “Heartburn,” featuring a couple of America's most prolific actors.

 

 

Next up:  Heath Ledger borrows a classic from Frankie Valli and captivates the entire field for the approval of one girl in "10 Things I Hate About You"

 

 

That’s it for me this time. I hope you enjoyed the offerings – and don’t forget to swing by the other battles going on today!  (Other participant battle links are located at the top right of this page).

BOTB January 2025 - Smiling through

 

Hey, hi! Glad you stopped by ;-)

The Battle of The Bands (BOTB) is your basic Which-do-you-like-best contest where the one that gets the most votes wins. All you have to do is show up (the 1^st and/or 15^th of every month) give a listen and cast your vote in the comment section. Next, hop on over to see what battles other participants (links located top right column of this page) have posted for us to vote on! Votes will be tallied and the winner revealed on or about 8 days later.

Happy New Year, everyone! I’m getting my year-end party started early (see below), but I’ve set the alarm for midnight so I can witness everyone else’s ;-) I’m looking forward to your battles! It will be interesting to see how everyone throws out the old while embracing the new. Some years are just hard to let go of, kind of like Sweet Caroline. (Other years you just want to drop-kick off a cliff – but that’s for another post – ha!). Still others, according to the Black-eyed Peas, you find yourself infused with such feelings of hope and positivity that you might be as catchy as the song itself!

With that, I present two different songs by two different artists who are sure to have you singing along. But which one keeps you smiling the longest? I’m so determined to smile more this year; it might be my new theme!

 First up:

Next Up:

 

 

Have a wonderful January!

BOTB December 2024 - Results

 

 

Many thanks to everyone who stopped by to listen and cast a vote on my latest Battle of the Bands! I also appreciate how you all voted when you didn’t have to – especially since I posted one of my most favorite Christmas songs for the second time in as many years – you guys are the best!  

Contenders                                       Song(s)                                Votes

Ben Rector                         Thanksgiving Song                              4  (Including  my Sister, Dana E.)

Chris Rea                    Driving home for Christmas                    6 (including me)

 

So, there ya have it, folks! Best wishes for a wonderful holiday! I’ll leave you with one last favorite Christmas song to lift the spirit and warm the heart J

 

 

 See you all soon after the first of the year! Be happy, safe, and well.

BOTB December 1, 2024

 

Hey, hi! Glad you stopped by ;-)

The Battle of The Bands (BOTB) is your basic Which-do-you-like-best contest where the one that gets the most votes wins. All you have to do is show up (the 1^st and/or 15^th of every month) give a listen and cast your vote in the comment section. Next, hop on over to see what battles other participants (links located top right column of this page) have posted for us to vote on! Votes will be tallied and the winner revealed on or about 8 days later.

I hope your holiday season is off to a peaceful, happy start.  Thanksgiving here was very enjoyable with good food and great people.  We should have dragged everything outside to enjoy the southern Arizona weather, but there was such a lot of food and at 80 degrees, the weather already had folks shedding outer layers of clothing so we turned the cooler back on and stayed inside ;-)

As I watched the last ones drive away to destinations far and near, I realized how thankful I was for the wonderful time we’d all had together. Since I’m so late getting this out, I’ll not ask you all to vote; just listen. But be on the lookout for my vote on your battle!

And one more of my favorites - for the road!

 

 

Be safe out there, folks! Happy Holidays!

Battle of the Bands - Results and such

 

Many thanks to everyone who stopped by to listen and cast a vote on my latest Battle of the Bands!  Just when I thought it couldn’t be done, two different icons laid claim (and accrued acclaim) for outstanding covers of a legendary train song; proving it can so be done.       

Contenders                                       Song(s)                                Votes

John Denver                         City of New Orleans                           7  (Including me and Anon.)

Johnny Cash                         City of New Orleans                          2   

 

Since the holidays are fast upon us, I won’t fret too much about what happened here ;-)  Suffice it to say one John won, and one Johnny didn’t. With that in mind, I present an artist who appeared in my search for songs about trains that might just hold his own – were he to compete against the winner.

Please let me know what you think in the comment section.  

I encourage you to stop by and see how the other battles went (participant links in the upper right sidebar)

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Battle of The Bands - November 1st, 2024

 

Hey, hi! Glad you stopped by ;-)

The Battle of The Bands (BOTB) is your basic Which-do-you-like-best contest, where the one that gets the most votes wins. All you have to do is show up (the 1^st and/or 15^th of every month), give a listen, and cast your vote in the comment section. Votes will be tallied, and the winner revealed on or about 8 days later.

I hope your November is off to a good start. My area of Arizona has finally turned down the heat, so we won’t mind turning the oven on in a few short weeks ;-) I wait all year to have turkey on Thanksgiving, though I’m willing to eat Pumpkin pie anytime. As far as music for the occasion, besides Nat King Cole, and any of those old favorites, a song that comes to mind (because we play it every year) is one by Arlo Guthrie about an unforgettable Thanksgiving, which I’ll just leave a link to, since it’s nearly 20 minutes long.  Instead, here are a couple versions of another song written by Steve Goodman (1970) but made famous by Arlo Guthrie in 1972.  You may be surprised (I know I was) by who else covered this song about riding on a train. 

There you have it, folks. Which do you like best?

Be safe if you're traveling, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!