One would think that I'd have been more on top of this Battle of the Bands. But Nooooo.
Before I get down to the meat of this post (read: Battle), I just want to thank you for the kind comments on my last post. I realize that I sound like a person very much stuck in the past. In reality, I'm better (as in much better) than I was. I used to be sad about Jack's suicide all the time. Now, just sometimes. Days like his birthday and the anniversary of his death are particularly tough. Most of the time, I feel confident that he is in a much better place. I think God understands things that we don't. In any event, just wanted you to know I wasn't a basket case (well no more so than you already thought I was). And since I started taking the iodine, even LESS a basket case and more an energized, migraine-free person (again, most of the time). If this is news to you, go back a few posts to The Fight for My Life. Things are looking up in the land of Robin (still!).
After all that I was going (stress was) going to choose a song for this battle that I had in mind for my Soundtrack of My Life Series (am I still doing that???), but I decided against because 1) that is chronological and we aren't there, and 2) It's a Jack Song, and I fear that it would make you change your mind about my "basket case state." Instead, I decided to go with something upbeat and positive, which is a true reflection about how I feel regarding 2017. I'm excited. I think this is going to be an amazing year!!!
The song is Put A Little Love In Your Heart. The song was originally performed by Jackie DeShannon in 1969. I'm not going to use that version. Instead, I'm going with two covers. Drum roll please.
Al Green and Annie Lennox recorded the song in 1988 for the film Scrooged. It was a hit for them. They are battling it out with the legendary Dolly Parton. I went to Wikipedia for information on the covers only to find out that Wikipedia doesn't know everything. Point of fact, they have no mention of Dolly's take on this song. Sigh. Of course, that doesn't really matter since this is all about who does it better (rather than being a learning experience for you). So, sit back and let your ears determine who puts more love in your heart! Vote in the comments. I'll tabulate in approximately a week. Then we find out who wins this epic love battle!
Al Green and Annie Lennox...
Dolly Parton...
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. I've stopped trying to keep up with who is running a battle and
who isn't. To see who is participating, go here: Stephen T. McCarthy's Battle of the Bands Blog.
Okay, we've established my senior year was really just one big party.
And still.. I made decent grades. Woohoo. I graduated with a degree in English and a loose plan for my future. When my friend Sag moved to Jersey after she graduated (one year before me) to work in The City, I started to think that sounded like a fine plan. I'd get a job in publishing and work in NYC. So, that was my plan.
A couple weeks before graduation, J1 called me on the phone. Yeah, I know you thought he was gone. Me too. And all the feelings I hoped were dead and buried, not so. They all came bubbling up to the surface, particularly when he told me his plan.
He joined the Army for a 4 year tour and put Germany as his first choice in placement. I really thought I'd just keel over and die on the spot. My mind was screaming things like, "What were you thinking?" I think I gurgled in response.
Sometimes you get crystal clear clarity when you realize you could lose someone. And that was how this decision felt to me. I realized I loved him. I didn't want him to do this thing, but it couldn't be undone. And I wouldn't love him less if I bowed out and he got himself killed. I'd just feel like I missed time. More time.
So, he and I crafted a plan for him to come to NYC (where I'd be at the end of his boot camp training) for part of his break before flying to Germany. Despite it being the worst of circumstances, we were finally both all in on this thing. At least, I thought we were all in...
If you're enjoying these posts, feel free to share your own
Soundtrack. This isn't a hop. No requirements at all, but a suggestion
to do it one song at a time. (If you participated in the hop several
years ago, you can still do this. Just post them one song at a time,
with the freedom to add more songs if you'd like.) I'll link to all
participants at the bottom of each of these posts:
There is news. In spite of my migraine, I decided to take a leap and find out what was what with my novel. Turns out I did not save The End on anything. I kinda sorta knew that. So, I had a major flip out. The next day I called the computer guy who wiped my computer and asked him about my saved files. He saved everything on his computer for 30 days. I told him what I was looking for, and he said it was all right there on his computer. I was stunned, because I couldn't find it anywhere. And this is what I mean when I talk about my lack of computer savvy. I practically felt his sigh of "uh oh" through the phone as he guided me to my saved files. They were where he said that they would be. Now, why a person has to press two keys at the same time to get anywhere should be forbidden. Pressing one key is hard enough. That is what I think. And there were no written instructions on finding these files. The good news is that I was able to to transfer the files onto flash drives. The bad news is that I can't figure out how to transfer them back into my regular documents in Word. Yeah, that is really pitiful. Worst case: I will transfer them from my flash drive back into Word. Of course, I am having the same issues with my pictures. I can transfer them to my documents, but not back into my actual picture folders. These are the sorts of problems that indicate my complete lack of ability to work a computer and scare me sh*tless regarding my website.
Speaking of.... I got my site onto a hosting server last night. Now, I have no clue how to put up a page indicating that it is under construction. Yeah, that is really sad. I will work on that later today. I haven't even tried, so I am not throwing the towel yet. I just wanted you to know my level of incompetence, so when I next post about it, the post will make sense.
Today is Saturday. That makes this Magical Music Saturday. Misery sent me some links to some videos that she was partial to, and I really like this one. So, it is speaking to me for my Inspirational video for today. I hope that you, too, enjoy it. It makes me want to want watch all of the rest of their videos, I like them so much. Yeah, I am convinced that Youtube has somehow laced that site with visual crack cocaine. Anyway, for your viewing pleasure...
Wasn't that just awesome? I had to watch it a couple of times my first go-round. Of course, it is always like that for me when I find a song that just knocks me out. The first time it takes my breath, so I have to watch it again to make sure I saw and heard what I thought I saw and heard. If I did, then it is at least once more to confirm the deliciousness. Is that normal behavior? Don't answer that. I don't care. It's the way I roll. Anyway, that song gets five stars from me. "If you want me, I'm your country." I wish I was a songwriter. Heck, I wish I was a writer writer. That would be published, for those of you who don't follow my rambling on a regular basis. Moving on...
To the 80s pick of the week. These are always so much fun. I was thinking about going with Love and Rockets, because I really liked their song SO ALIVE. However, my choice wouldn't have been based upon their video. That song came out in the late 80s and I was in college by then, so I wasn't really watching much MTV at that point. I loved the song, but I was really just hearing it. They had another song called HAUNTED WHEN THE MINUTES DRAG, which I also really liked. However, the video is essentially no video. It is a stagnant picture. I kinda think that is the point. Makes for a boring video. I think that song might have been on the SHE'S HAVING A BABY soundtrack. Loved that movie and soundtrack, but I am sticking to my not looking this stuff up rule, unless I absolutely have to, and since I am not even using their stuff, I don't have to, so I'm not. Still love both songs, though.
Out of the blue, last night I thought about Whitney Houston. She was huge in the early 80s. She had (and still has) this huge voice. Make that huge beautiful voice. As a person who enjoys singing, I would love to have her vocal range. I don't. Not even close. But, I would love to have her vocal range. I think that this is her first video. I know that it is one of them. She looks like such a kid. I remember this video WELL. It got lots of play on MTV.
Isn't she amazing? And she is so young. So sweet. I think that is what comes through most profoundly. This amazing talent coupled with this inner beauty. She was the REAL DEAL. And then she came out with this song that just blew everyone away. My senior of high school our choir put on a show. There were always four solos. One of the girls sang this song. Fortunately, she had a great set of pipes and knocked it out of the park. Awesome song. Probably not a dry eye in the building.
Usually, I only include two videos. I am going to include a third. This is another case of the chicken and the egg. Whitney Houston is another singer that has made movies. That is what happens when you get someone that got hit with the talent stick over and over again. She has made a couple. The first was this one: THE BODYGUARD. That soundtrack went off the charts. I don't know how many songs went to number one. I am sure that this one did. I know that several others were released with a lot of success. Did they go number one? I don't know. Did MTV help? We are right back to that same old question. Did MTV promoting the song help the box office sales? Did box office sales help record sales? Blah blah blah. I do know that the folks making the videos had figured out that including clips from the movies was a pretty good idea. Here is another example. Great song. I do believe that Dolly Parton took it to number one back when she wrote it, and released it, and Whitney took it there again. You can't keep a good song down.
That trip down Memory Lane was fun. Hope you enjoyed it. MTV may not be playing music anymore, but every Saturday you can get your musical dose. See you next week!
