Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Battle of the Bands Results

Wow. Let me just say the past few days have had me running. And running. And running some more. Sub in driving for most of that running and that's actually closer to the truth. But, the end result is the same. This girl is exhausted. My blog is neglected. My house is a wreck. The list of disasters just keep piling up.

And, to top it all off, I intended to put the results for Battle of the Bands a few days ago... and here we are. I've also been thinking I'd participate in that hop about how the A to Z went. Well, let's just say I have yet to sign up for that, and it may be so far out of people's minds by the time I'm able to get round to it that no one will care any longer. I had a great time with the A to Z, by the way, and I loved the theme I chose because of the participation I got from YOU guys. And maybe that was really all I wanted to say anyway. I don't know. Brain. Rattled.

Let's get back to the results for Battle of the Bands. The song was Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man by two excellent ladies: Billie and Ella. At first, the votes were rolling in really strong for Billie, and I was thinking I blundered again with this BoTB thing. How could I go so wrong pitting two greats against one another???? Turns out, I didn't go so wrong. The tide turned and Ella started raking in her share and then it became a HORSE RACE. If you know what I mean. Neck and neck. This one goes up by a nose, then this one, then this one, and well, it was pretty well like that all the way to the finish line. That's my kind of battle. In the end, it didn't even matter that my pick to win didn't. It was a darn fine race. Of course, it helped (me) that I really liked both versions. So, there were no losers in this battle. To my way of thinking, this is one of those battles I could throw two years from now (same song, same contenders) and have quite possibly a different outcome.

So, how did this shake out?

Billie Holiday: 24
Ella Fitzgerald: 23 (inc. mine)

It sho don't get closer dan dat.

Come back on the 1st and we'll give this another spin, and see how THAT one shakes out.
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Sunday, May 15, 2016

Battle of the Bands ~ Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man

We play this on the 1st and 15th of every month.


The song is Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man from the musical Showboat. The contenders are two very famous ladies that I think will make it a tight contest.

First up is Billie Holiday:




Or maybe you prefer Ella Fitzgerald:


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:

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Saturday, May 7, 2016

Battle of the Bands Results and Zombie Apocalypse (no, one not caused by the other)

Voting on Battle of the Bands was decidedly down. Is it possible that everyone is suffering from PTAtoZ??? I'm thinking, "Yes." So, while the voting was slim, the result was decisive. The song was Blue Monday. I pitted the original, New Order, against a cover by Orkestra Obsolete. I thought the cover was pretty unique and would give the original a run for its money. I anticipated there was a slim possibility of the cover winning, but only by a small margin (and an unlikely event). Well, that just goes to show how little I know (or can anticipate how these things will go!). It turns out that I was right about one thing (the song was completely new to many of you, taking away the advantage of the original artist). To that end, Orkestra Obsolete pretty well ran away with this one.

The final tally:

New Order: 7 (including mine)
Orkestra Obsolete: 13

Mind you, I really liked the cover by Orkestra Obsolete. I thought it was clever and well done. I just loved the original by New Order, so there you go. I hear New Order and I'm instantly transported back to my first post-college apartment in NYC. My roommates and I spent more than a little time after work sitting around listening to cassettes and/or CDs (this was one of them) playing three handed euchre. Yep, I was a wild child.

I know I've been scarce in the blogging world. I'm a bit burned out right now. That's what the A to Z does to me (even though I REALLY ENJOYED it this year). There is this point, though, somewhere around the letter "O" when I always realize my life has been completely taken over by blogging and the A to Z. I'm out of balance, I'm grumpy, I'm not getting things done, I'm freefalling. And then it's a push just to make it to the end. If if weren't for Battle of the Bands, I might very well fall off the grid for a month. (Every action has an opposite and equal reaction.) And then in June my equilibrium is restored, so I fall back into normal patterns. Of course, I'm going away again this summer for about six weeks (completely upsetting the blogging apple cart), but more on that later.

So, if I've been absent and not loving you on your blog, please know that I still adore you. I'm just setting my world to rights in all the other aspects (well, mostly... and somewhat). I will get back to blogging.

In the meantime, here's something hilarious for you to watch until I get myself together. If you're a Walking Dead fan, you'll REALLY appreciate this one. If you're not, I think you'll still think it's pretty darn funny. I say "Zombie Apocalypse" and you still get the gist.





WE HAVE GUNS. WHY ARE YOU PUTTING GARDEN EQUIPMENT IN THE CAR????
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Wednesday, May 4, 2016

IWSG



I confess that I don't have much for you today. I've been taking steps to stimulate my brain and get my fingers moving on the keyboard again. I found this little gem on the internet, and it seems appropriate today.



Have you ever stopped writing because it all felt terrible afterward??? Perhaps, this will prod you into action!

It's not too late to vote on Battle of the Bands. Just go back one post!
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Sunday, May 1, 2016

Battle of the Bands ~ Blue Monday (and your Zoo/Animal songs)

You guys did great! with yesterday's word: Zoo or (more loosely) an animal. Here are the songs you thought of with Zoo or an animal in the title:

Michele: Barracuda by Heart and Cat Scratch Fever by Ted Nugent
and A Horse With No Name by America
Stephen T. McCarthy: At the Zoo by Simon & Garfunkel
Arlee: From A Camel's Hump by The Zoo and Circus by String Driven Thing
Rosey: The Zoo by Scorpions
Mary: Monkey Wrench by Foo Fighters and Wynona's Big Brown Beaver by Primus
and Eye of the Tiger by Survivor
Jeffrey: Eye of the Tiger by Survivor
Ericka: Hungry Like The Wolf by Duran Duran
Marcy: Zooropa by U2
Andrea: Going to the Zoo by Peter, Paul & Mary
Alex: By-Tor and the Snow Dog by Rush
Larry: Zombie Zoo by Tom Petty and You Cried Wolf by Todd Rundgren
and Gorilla, You're A Desperado by Warren Zevon
Debbie: Zombie Zoo by Tom Petty and Jungle to the Zoo by Dr. Hook
Mike: Crocodile Rock by Elton John
Pinku-Sensi: Lions,Tigers & Bears by Jazmine Sullivan
D.G.: Buffalo Soldier by Bob Marley
Birgit: Swinging On A Star by Bing Crosby with the following explanation: which has a whole bunch of animals in it and he says the word zoo in the song
Sarah: Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons
Dixie: The Lion Sleeps Tonight by Tokens
Robin (yes, me again): And Your Bird Can Sing by The Beatles
and Stray Cat Strut by The Stray Cats

If you can think of more songs from previous letters and WANT to post them now, feel free to go back and add them:)

Okay, today is May 1. The A to Z is over for the year, but Battle of the Bands is still ON. We play this on the 1st and 15th of every month. Ironically, or maybe not so ironically, you guys gave me a tremendous amount of material for BoTB during the A to Z. So, today I'm presenting you with a cover I discovered because one of you (Pinku-Sensei, I'm looking at you!) used it for the keyword Blue.


The song is Blue Monday. It was originally recorded by New Order in 1983. It was covered later than that (ha!) by Orkestra Obsolete. Since I suspect a good many of you have never heard the original, it seems fair enough to actually pit it against the cover. So, let's get to it.

Blue Monday by New Order:




Blue Monday by Orkestra Obsolete:

 


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:



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