Tuesday, December 22, 2015

BOTB Results and What's Making Me Crazy

It's time for results in Battle of the Bands.

Me... I'm thrilled that I FINALLY pitted two contenders against one another that kept this race interesting. Perry Como and Johnny Mathis both looked like they could win this thing right up until the end. (If you missed it, the song was It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas.) So, how did it all turn out?

Perry Como: 13
Johnny Mathis: 12 (including my vote)

This was so close. One more vote from you guys for Johnny Mathis and I could've made it a tie. Two more votes and I could've chosen the winner. I call that *close.* And a win really. Two stellar versions of this song... so there really wasn't a "loser" here.

I'm not going to call the rest of this post a "Soundtrack" post, though it will get a song. Since it's present day, it'd be jumping way ahead. (For the record, I intend to get back to regularly scheduled blogging in January.) For my readers who've been around longer, you may remember the post about Jack. It was a Battle of the Bands. The song was Wicked Game. You can find it HERE if you're interested.

Jack took this picture on our second date. December 31, 2005.


As we roll closer to December 27 he takes up more space in my head.

Come up to meet you. Tell you I'm sorry. You don't know how lovely you are. I had to find you, tell you I need you, tell you I set you apart.

December 27 is making me a little bit crazy you see. December 27 was the day he killed himself. For the longest time I thought it was the 28th, but I read his obituary recently. It was the 27th.

December 27 was the day of our first date. Is this a coincidence? I don't know. I seriously don't know. Did he remember that it was the day of our first date? Sigh. Some people are really good about remembering the date of "important events." For instance, I can tell you the date of my wedding and the date stamped on my divorce papers. Ironically, the same day, which never fails to make me smile just a little bit. You can't tell me God doesn't have a sense of humor. BUT, my ex-husband could tell you the day of OUR first date. I can't. It was in May. I think I've tried to forget it. BUT, I know I could call him right now and he'd be able to tell me (because he mentioned it rather frequently way back when). It was significant to him since it was the day his (first) wife left him. Again, God and that sense of humor.


I'm moving off the track. Sort of. You see I don't know if December 27 had any meaning for Jack. If he actually CHOSE it. Or if he just lost it on that day and that was it.

 Tell me your secrets and ask me your questions. Running in circles; coming up tails. Heads on a science apart.

It seems like I spend so much time (too much time) thinking about all the things I've done and wish I could do differently. In this case, I'd take back an email I sent him after he called me. He was a mess. I knew that place because it looked very much like my life when he and I were dating (and quit dating) because I had to sell my house and move in with my parents. A mess. I didn't have the energy for a relationship because my life was so messed up. I didn't know that at the time, but I didn't.  I needed to get healthy. (Heck, I'm still working toward THAT goal.) So, when we talked and I thought "maybe we can work this out," my next thought was "that isn't healthy or realistic right now."

Nobody said it was easy. It's such a shame for us to part. Nobody said it was easy. No one ever said it would be this hard. Oh, take me back to the start.

So, I sent him an email telling him that I understood where he was and that he should just take care of himself. Give himself the time and focus to get better and then we'd see where we were. I wanted to take the pressure off. I never heard from him, so I don't know if he even got it. I'm going to assume he did. However, he didn't respond. I'd say that was unusual, but it wasn't.

In that email, I meant take care of yourself. But I wonder if he read kiss off. You see, I was just guessing at numbers and figures, pulling your puzzles apart. Questions of science. Science and progress cannot speak as loud as my heart.

And the thing is I'll never know. What I know is that he killed himself on December 27. A day I used to love. Now a day I hate.

Tell me you love me. Come back and haunt me. Oh, and I rush to the start. Running in circles. Chasing tails. Coming back as we are.


 

No one ever said it would be this hard. 

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Battle of the Bands ~ Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Hello friends. It's time for the final Battle of the Bands of this year. Can you believe 2015 is almost gone???



I chose the song It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas for my song this time. As is par for the course, I changed my mind repeatedly about who to put against who in this contest. Mostly, I tried to decide if I wanted to face two "contemporary" versions of the song against one another (Michael Buble vs. Jann Arden) or go with two contenders as I see as heavyweights. In the end, I decided to go with the heavyweights, and I hope that this battle is a close one (as in tough to decide).

The song was written by Meredith Wilson and originally made famous by Perry Como with The Fontane Sisters and Mitchell Ayres. Many of you will love it simply due to the recognition factor. I think it's the version my mom grew up on (and this is one of her all-time favorite Christmas songs).

So, let's give that version a listen.



But, mom also likes the second version. When I was a kid mom played Christmas records from Thanksgiving until Christmas. Seems like every night you'd find her in the living room wrapping gifts and listening to Christmas songs. We had at least one record of Johnny Mathis singing Christmas songs, so she likes this one, too. I'm not sure I could get her to commit to one version over the other!

Take it away Johnny!




Please vote for the version of this song you prefer. If you want to get into the Ins and Outs of why you like one better than the other... I LOVE long comments!

For more Battle of the Bands fun, check out the other BOTB bloggers to vote on their battles:

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Battle of the Band Results and Mini-Update

The results for Battle of the Bands weren't as balanced as I'd like. The vast majority of you voted for Santa Claus Is Watchin' You. Even though Bad Little Boy was sure to get some gifts from Grandpa, he didn't get much from you guys!

Final tally looked like this:

Santa Claus Is Watchin' You: 16
Bad Little Boy: 6 (including my vote)

I first heard Ray Stevens' Bad Little Boy on the radio a long time ago. I always loved it when that song came on. Particularly the bit about the cat and the rocket ship. BUT, I didn't know who sang the song AND YouTube wasn't an option. I think I'm giving something away about how long I've liked this song...

Stephen T. McCarthy pointed out that it was similar (a "knockoff" was the word I think he used) of Nuttin' For Christmas. I think that's right, though I haven't consulted Wikipedia for their guess truth. I considered for two seconds puttin' those two against one another and decided that Ray Stevens would get his handed back on a plate. I almost went with a non-Ray Stevens novelty song of a completely different flavor, but decided against that, too. Anyway, even though this battle didn't work out as well as I'd like, I wanted you to know that despite a raging migraine I did put some effort into it. ALSO, thank you for all of the kind words and well wishes. I'm renewing my efforts on getting this under control.

I have yet to put together my battle for the 15th. What is YOUR favorite Christmas song???





Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Battle of the Bands ~ Merry Christmas!

Well, kids, I'm not sure how we got here so quickly. But, it's almost December 1st (actually 11/30). Anyway, I've been thinking Christmas songs for the last week or so. And THAT'S what I find so shocking. Wasn't it just Christmas not long ago??? How does this happen????

Well, in my trolling of YouTube for Christmas songs I ended up listening to and saving novelty songs. I wasn't sure (at the time) that was the direction I wanted to go, but today I have no choice. I've been afflicted with a kick me in the head migraine behind my right eye that makes death look appealing as the next viable option. I keep telling myself it well let up before I get serious about that "death thing," because... well, because I've lasted for longer than this with the death grip migraine and I'm still here. Cranky as hell, but here.

So, with a pounding head I present to you Battle of the Bands.



And what you're getting to vote on is two different novelty songs I've saved to my Favorites about a week ago (before this atrocious migraine).

The songs are Santa Claus is Watching You and Bad Little Boy by Ray Stevens. I think the video is flat-out distracting for both videos. So, I advise not watching it. I really like both of these because they are so darn funny. I don't think you'll vote for either song because of its stellar guitar work  or instrumentation or any of the things that often sway battles. This will simply be a vote for the song you like best. Is most entertaining. Made you laugh hardest. I think you get the idea. So, sit back and enjoy.

First up is Santa Claus is Watching You:



Next up is Bad Little Boy:



So, which of these tickled your funny bone most? You probably noticed that no matter how you slice this cake it's a win for Ray Stevens, but which Ray Stevens song? Is Santa Claus the peeper your favorite or is it the song about the bad little boy???

Please vote for the version of this song you prefer. If you want to get into the Ins and Outs of why you like one better than the other... I LOVE long comments!

For more Battle of the Bands fun, check out the other BOTB bloggers to vote on their battles: