BATTLE OF THE BANDS TAKE VII

For those of you not keeping up with this sort of thing, my HERE'S TO YOU post falls on Thursday the 31st.  Battle of the Bands is on the 1st of each month.  That is just not working out well for this blog.  So, I am going to run my Battle of The Bands post a few days early so that it isn't backing right up on my Thursday post.  Make sense?  Yeah, I thought so.

So, today is another face-off in Battle of The Bands.  Woohoo!

I am going to take just a moment and tell you that blogs, like life, simply do not go as planned.  I had a totally different match-up slated for today.  That all changed when I posted on Monday (Spin City).  At the end of that post I referenced some lyrics from the song I Heard It Through The Grapevine.  And then THAT song was on my brain.  I quite unintentionally did an Arlee Bird tease about my BOTB song.  Ha!

So I went on to Wikipedia to see what light it had to shed on this song.  The song was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for Motown Records in 1966.  First to record it was Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, but Motown Owner, Berry Gordy, rejected it.  Marvin Gaye then recorded it but Berry Gordy rejected it.  Gladys Knight & The Pips recorded it and Berry Gordy decided that was the Winner!  It went to #2 on the Billboard charts.  They released it as a single in September 1967.  However, Marvin Gaye must have really liked the song because he added it to his 1968 album In The Groove.  Radio disc jockeys started playing the song and Gordy finally agreed to release it as a single.  It went to the top of the Billboard Pop Charts and stayed there for seven weeks AND became the biggest hit single on the Motown label.

As an aside, Credence Clearwater Revival (CCR) also recorded the song on their 1970 album Cosmo's Factory.  You can go listen to it if you want on YouTube.  It sounds very CCR.  Not saying that is a bad thing... or a particularly good thing, in the case of this song. (source)

Today's match-up is Marvin Gaye vs. Gladys Knight & The Pips.  Barry Gordy took a pass on Marvin Gaye's version in favor of Gladys & The Pips.  The public (by and large) disagreed with him, but that was back in the late 60s.  The question is this: Was Gordy right to choose Gladys & The Pips over Marvin Gaye????  Today, we will pretend that you are the owner of the Motown label.  Which version is better?  You be the judge!

The man who recorded it second... Marvin Gaye:



And Gordy's favorite... Gladys Knight & The Pips:


Remember YOU are the owner of Motown this time around, so vote in the comments.  And PLEASE tell me why you think one song is better than the other.  You have until the 7th to get your votes in... it will be in that week's Thursday post.

Blogs that will be posting Battle of The Bands on the 1st:
Far Away Series, FERRET-FACED FASCIST FRIENDS, Tossing It Out, DiscConnected,
and Alex J. Cavanaugh

I hope you check them all out.  In the case of the first three there are prizes to be won just for voting!

Spin City (and I don't mean the TV show)

So, what are we talking about today?  Media and spin.  Do you believe that ALL news outlets spin the truth?  What I am talking about here is the news outlets all being in it together to spin the news so that our perception of the truth falls into line with what they want us to believe.  I think the exception is Internet news, which tends to be more factual in the reporting.  Additionally, news reported from other countries is often more truthful than what we read here.

Am I talking about the news outlets (or The Bix Six) spinning the political news so that the landscape of what is actually going on is different from the truth?  Yet bet.  Can you think of specific cases where The Bix Six is reporting something and you are finding a different story elsewhere?  If so, share it.

Can you think of a case where the media reported something patently untrue in order to help a major corporation or lobbyist group continue to keep on doing business precisely as they were?  Think companies like Monsanto.

I just got some schooling yesterday on the coffee case Liebeck vs. McDonalds.  Did you know that the lady wasn't driving the car like all the news reports said?  Did you know she was sitting in the parking lot?  Did you know that McDonalds coffee was MUCH HOTTER than other drive-through coffees and had hundreds of reports of burns before this case went to trial?  Did you know that McDonalds drive-through coffee (before they lowered the temp) would cause a 3rd degree burn after 15 seconds of contact with the skin?  Did you know it was set 30 degrees higher than coffee fresh from your pot at home?  Did you know that Mrs. Liebeck didn't get over 2 million dollars like the networks reported?  She actually received just under $500,000.00  In other words, did you know that all of the media giants made a decision to cast Mrs. Liebeck as an opportunist and McDonalds (major corporation) as the victim?  Did you know you were played?

Are you aware that the media plays you every day?  They are taking the truth and bending it or outright lying.  The courts have ruled that it is OKAY FOR THE MEDIA TO LEGALLY LIE.  Did you know that?  Our court system has ruled in favor of the lying.  These liars are hiding behind the 1st Amendment.

Here is a bit of that article:  "The position implies that First Amendment rights belong to the employers – in this case the five power media groups. And when convenient, the First Amendment becomes a broad shield to hide behind. Let’s not forget, however; the airwaves belong to the people. Is there no public interest left-while these media giants make their private fortunes using the public airwaves? Can corporations have the power to influence the media reporting, even at the expense of the truth? Apparently so."

I am a huge proponent of the 1st Amendment and the individual's Freedom of Speech.  I am also a big proponent of Truth.  That means you have the right to know that these groups have been given a Free Pass to twist and distort the news so that it no longer resembles the truth, and the courts are fine with it.  With that in mind, I say that The Big Six is nothing more than a Grapevine for lobbyists, political powers, international bankers, and big money corporations.

"People say believe half of what you see,
son, and none of what you hear.
I can't help bein' confused
if it's true please tell me dear?"

~I Heard It Through The Grapevine

 So, what news stories are you aware of that have been spun so thoroughly that they no longer resemble the truth? 

 I would like this blog to become a dialogue about something that affects each and every one of us.  With that in mind, if you have something constructive to say in relation to the comment of another, post it.  Of course, comments will be moderated and if anyone steps over the bounds of stating their belief to attacking someone else for theirs... the comment will not be posted.