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 1st and/or 15th
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'm offering smiles today!
Which is more your (smile) style? Let me know in the comments!
It's officially summer here, which means you don't want to step in any ABC gum on the sidewalk for at least the foreseeable future; -) It's not a good idea to walk the dogs, either. Let 'em do laps in the pool instead.
If it seems a bit quiet around here, it's because a whole lot of our "usuals" are unusually absent; it being summer and all, it seems everyone has something to do, someplace to be, or somewhere to go - maybe even the moon ;-)
And away I go to post a couple of songs I hope you'll enjoy for a mid-summer BOTB!
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 1st and/or 15th
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.
First up is a 1966 hit, Sunny Afternoon, by the Kinks. In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Ray Davies admits to having had a head cold the day they recorded the song, and laments that they were out of time to try it again when he wasn't ill. He also said he drew a picture of (how he felt) his voice sounded; it was a leaf with a very thick outline that looked like a "big blob in the background..."
Next up: Everyone's Gone to the Moon is a haunting song by Jonathan King that sold over four million copies, and peaked at #17 on the Billboard chart in 1965
Now that you've heard everything, Care to pick a favorite?
And, just one more thing: here's a bit of head-scratchin' trivia: After Decca Records scrapped 25k copies of Ray Peterson's teen heartbreak song "Tell Laura I love her," Ricky Valance released it in the UK, where it soared to #1 a month later.
Minimum wage was $1.00 / hour in 1965!
Enjoy the summer, everyone! Don't forget the sunscreen!
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 1st and/or 15th
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.
Have a safe and Happy 4th of July! If you've got special festivities planned, don't forget to include (30 of your best) friends ;-)
Which of the following songs reminds you of most of good times with friends; past, present, or planned?
The Rembrandts
Bruno Mars
"Smell the sea, feel the sky, let your soul and spirit fly." ` Van Morrison
Thanks to everyone who stopped by to listen and cast a vote
on my latest Battle of the Bands! In what is becoming a confounding trend, I’ve gone and selected two of my own favorite (in this case, Summer) songs to battle each other for the win, and choosing seems next to impossible! Maybe I’ll
flag down the mail carrier…
Anyhow, despite one vote I’ve taken the liberty of assuming I know who it was for, and
including mine, here’s how we tallied up:
Another Park, Another Sunday - 3
Hot Rod Hearts - Robbie Dupree 5
One person who took a guess on the B-Side question was
correct in naming Another Park, Another Sunday!
At least, I think so… Thanks for playing along, Stephen T. ;-)
According to Songfacts,
it was first released as a single with “Black Water” as it’s B-Side, but one
story has it that DJs didn’t appreciate a line in the song and gave the B-Side
more airtime which helped it’s popularity so much (‘Black Water’ became they’re
first #1 hit) that they “flipped” it to A-Side and ‘Another Park’ became the
B-Side. Wikipedia
seems to agree…
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 1st and/or 15th
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 summer is off to a fantastic start! Having recently attended a High School Graduation ceremony - what a crowd! - I couldn't help but remember the 'old days' when the very mention of the word "Summer" made us all anxious for that last school bell to ring already! It didn't even matter if we had plans, as long as we had parks and boulevards ;-)
Did you catch my theme there? Coming up are two songs that always, ALWAYS get me into the summer mood. Let's see if they do anything for you ;-)
First Up:
Next Up:
And there you have it, folks! Did we stir up any memories? Do you know - without peeking - or care to guess which of these songs was a B-Side hit? Let me know what you think, along with your (much-appreciated) vote in the comment section below.
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 1st and/or 15th 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 tunes in May!
Do we have any other sing-to-the-radio Rock Stars out there? No? Just me? So it is ;-) I’ve never regretted a minute – or a song. One of the
most memorable “performances” I ever gave was on the ride home from a ballpark
where my best friend’s team had won, leaving us both in higher spirits than we’d
started with after deciding to venture clear across town after work for her to
play for a team she didn’t care about while I watched a game (softball) I didn’t
even like (for her sake.). Anyhow, a favorite oldie songcame on the radio during the drive home, and I sang it loud and proud, start to finish, without ever realizing until it was all said, sung, and done that for some strange reason, the words to the song hadn’t played – only the music. My friend was impressed and asked for an encore, but I’d embarrassed
myself enough for one day ;-)
While a link to the favorite oldie can be found above
(purple), here are a couple of contenders you can choose between, see who you’d
let sing in your car ;-)
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 1st 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 the 8th day of the
month.
It's hard to believe that one stinker of a concert, attended by some who were glad to oblige—the operative word here—caused Rick Nelson such distress that he went home and wrote one of the defining songs of his career—just when it seemed to be winding down!
For your discerning musical tastes (and coveted votes), I present to you two covers of Garden Party:
Adam Young - Owl City
The Pickups:
There you have it folks!
Enjoy the festivities! I appreciate everyone coming by to give a listen and
cast a vote in the comment section. Stop by the links of other participants
(located in righthand sidebar) if ya would 😉
Oh, and also if you would; let me know your thoughts about all the pop-up commercials...
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 1st and/or 15th
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!
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 1st and/or 15th
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).
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!
ContendersSong(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.
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 1st and/or 15th 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!
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.
ContendersSong(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)
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 1st and/or 15th 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!
Many Thanks to everyone who stopped by to listen and cast a
vote on my latest Battle of the Bands! Boris, the battle-winning spider song
was written by John Entwistle, (of the iconic band, The Who) about one of his
least-favorite things; spiders. As he so eloquently illustrated in the lyrics,
the tragic demise of one such dreaded insect occurred beneath a (no doubt behemoth)
book, which, incidentally, reminds me of myself ;-) In fact those who know me also know that if
they ever come to my house and see a book on the floor – for no apparent reason
– there actually is a reason. But it might not be a spider. We have scorpions
here in the desert…big ones.
Contenders Song(s)Votes
The Who Boris The Spider 7
(Including me and Anon.)
Tom Waits What’s He Building? 2
If the song itself doesn’t
raise those little hairs on the back of your neck, check out what Tom Waits had
to say about “What’s He Building?”: In April 1999, when asked about this song by Mojo, Waits replied, "We seem to
be compelled to perceive our neighbors through the keyhole. There's always
someone in the neighborhood – the Boo Radley, the village idiot – and you see
that he drives this yellow station wagon without a windshield, and he has
chickens in the backyard and doesn't get home till 3 a.m., and he says he's
from Florida but the license plate says Indiana... so, you know, 'I don't trust
him.' It's really a disturbed creative process." ~ Songfacts.com
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 1st and/or 15th 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 wasn’t going to post this time; you know, holidays coming,
candy to buy, meals to plan... but who can resist the hijinks of Halloween? Do any of you decorate for the Holidays? How
about scary movies? Have you watched any yet? I’ve seen at least one a day for
the last week or so. Well, if not seen then at least I listened while doing
something else. There are some outstanding soundtracks attached to those movies!
Though, as far as I know, I’m not using
any ;-) Enjoy!
I sure hope I'm not taking someone's idea with this next one...
Hope to see you all soon, but if I don't make it back in a few days as planned, I'll see ya on Nov 1st with a new battle - AND the results of this one. Have a spooky Halloween!
Hi all! It’s National Walk your Dog Day so walk ‘em
if you’ve got them ;-) I’m not sure what the trouble is with my favorite BOTB
music hunting ground, but I’ve had to toss two ideas before landing (with a
heavy sigh) on one last moon theme. I’m guessing you haven’t heard of either Artist/Band,
but I’m fairly sure one will strike your fancy. Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart wrote a song entitled ”The Bad in
Every Man” for a 1933 movie musical called “Hollywood Party” before it was cut
from the film (!). The song was eventually used in “Manhattan Melodrama”,
starring Clark Gable, but not before MGM demanded the title be changed to Blue Moon. The Marcels original doo-wop version (1961) was recorded in only two takes
and although covered by a great many artists, was their most successful single
reaching #1
First up, the distinctive
sound of Cowboy Junkies, featuring Margo Timmins
Next up, wildly popular Grammy
Award-winning Country artist Toby Keith offered his own take on the Blue Moon theme
in 1996
There
you have it, folks! Which do you like best? And how come? Let me know in the
comment section below. Oh! And, before you go, hop around and see the rest of
today’s battles (participating sites are located in the top right sidebar of
this page)
Lastly,
on the subject of Blue Moons, George Carlin's thought is one we can all appreciate.
~ “There are nights when the wolves are silent
and only the moon howls”
Hi everyone! Many thanks to all of you who stopped by with a comment and a
vote – I really do appreciate it! It was a fun battle, and the results weren't half-bad ;-)
Battle Name: Full Moon Rising
Desert Moon – Dennis
DeYoung VSMexican Moon – Concrete Blonde
Tallies:
Desert Moon =
3 votes
Mexican Moon =
5 votes (Including mine)
Can you believe the Supermoon we've had going on? It was still bright and fabulous last night! Now we can look forward to a Mini-moon showing up to follow us around for a couple of months - Crazy!
I may have mentioned I’m somewhat of a lunatic when it comes
to lunar events. We’re due for a full Harvest moon (my favorite!) this coming
Tuesday! The event is also called a Corn moon because farmers (including
Indians) take full advantage of all that extra light to harvest their crops ahead of
the Autumn equinox. I’m so excited (you’d think I’d grown out of this by now –
ha!) I’ve decided to do this second Battle of The Bands with the moon in mind.
I bet at least two, maybe three moon songs just went through your thoughts ;-)
I’ll also bet it wasn’t either of the songs I’ve chosen for your keen
consideration today.
Just a note:
We’re also due for a partial eclipse – wouldn’t ya just know it? – on Wednesday,
so get your moon gazing in early, just in case.
On this day
in 1965 Ford Motor Company began offering factory-installed 8-Track Tape Players in Thunderbirds, Mustangs
and Lincolns. You could purchase your favorite music tapes at your local Auto
Parts store! However, later that year 8-track tape roadkill became an issue
when the players had a tendency to chew up the tapes causing frustrated music
lovers to toss the tangled ribbons out of their car windows. Home 8-track
equipment was still a year away.
Getting back to the moon…Doesn’t it seem like everyone’s
going?
Once upon a time, long-time lead singer of Styx, Dennis DeYoung may have read my mind and tossed my thoughts right into some of his awesome songwriting. Especially with this
1984 chart-topper set in my neck of the woods:
Desert Moon
Ten years later, Concrete Blondeseemed
to be on the same wavelength in a different locale: under a Mexican Moon
So, which one suits your fancy? Right now, I am firmly on
the proverbial fence!
Thanks to everyone who stopped by to listen and cast a vote
on my latest Battle of the Bands! Since the song was practically written for
Frank Sinatra, the outcome could have been a no-brainer had I used anyone
sounding closer to the famous crooner than the contender I chose. Funny how
those things go…I’m learning ;-) And
while Curtis Stigers wasn’t half bad, it seems Emmy had just the right touch to
gently bend a slightly leaning lead into an astonishing draw. No losers here - I’m
jazzed!
ContendersSong(s)Votes
Emmy Rossum The
Summer Wind 5 (Including
mine)
Curtis Stigers The Summer Wind 5
Recorded in 1966, this signature song by Frank Sinatra
charted at #1 on the Easy Listening Chart that same year and was still being
played as part of his regular concert performances in 1986. He and Julio
Iglesias performed an impressive duet of the song in 1993.
Since the full Harvest Moon this month is only two days
after, I’ll be back on the 15th with a couple of songs about one of
my very favorite occasions ;-) Care to join me?
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 1st 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 the 8th day of the
month.
Can you believe we’re into the month of September already? For me, it’s the time of year when the sighs
of Back to School blues are blown asunder and out from under the stay-with-me
tugs of yesterday’s fun, just out of reach of tomorrow’s promise with passage
provided most assuredly by The Summer Wind. The song I’ve chosen for
this month’s Battle of The Bands was composed by Heinz Meier, lyrics by Johnny
Mercer, and first recorded by Wayne Newton in 1965, followed by Bobby Vinton
and Perry Como. However, the most popular version was recorded by Frank Sinatra
in 1966. Here’s a reminder if you need
it:
And
here are the contenders: Emmy Rossum and Curtis Stigers
·
There you have it
folks! Enjoy the festivities! I appreciate everyone coming by to give a listen
and cast a vote in the comment section. Stop by the links of other participants
(located in righthand sidebar) if ya would 😉
