This has elements of a funny story... and then we'll get down to business. So... on Monday I was out watering the yard when I was attacked by fire ants. Of course, I was wearing slip-on sandals so my feet and ankles looked very much like dinner. I am happily watering and then I am screaming and jumping around. I kept swiping them with my hand but they kept coming. (I still didn't even see an anthill... It was like an ant apocalypse happened right there in my yard. Nothing and then Bam!) So I have about 20 bites on my feet and they itch like... ::insert inappropriate language and simile here:: And they are 100 times worse than that at night... you know, when I want to sleep.
So, back on Tuesday night I am lying in bed and decide to check my email on my phone, rather than scratch the skin off of my toes. There was a message from Stephen T. McCarthy and he finished it off with something like "I can't believe Battle of the Bands is only a few days away." Yikes. So, I close down mail and open up YouTube. Two hours later I have two song possibilities. I email him this titillating information and the fact that my eyes now burn from staring at a tiny screen for two hours. The next day, I decide on the second song until he sends an email saying I should go with the first. Nah, he has no idea which songs I had in mind, but he made me RETHINK it (again).
And I am going with the first. Stephen, thank you. Everyone else, you're welcome. Rereading this story, not as funny as I first thought.... much like the script of so many movies located in the Comedy genre at the movie store.
And now.. finally... Battle of the Bands!
The song for this battle is Chasing Cars. It was originally sung by Snow Patrol, and remains to-date their best-selling song. It was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 2007 Grammy Awards and Best British Single at the 2007 Brit Awards.
Way back when Umbrella was the song doing battle, Brianne Pagel suggested the cover by a group called The Baseballs. I enjoyed that so much that I have listened to several of their other covers, including Chasing Cars. So, here is The Baseballs with their original take on Chasing Cars.
For more Battle of the Bands fun, check out the other BOTB bloggers to vote on their battles:
Now, is the critical moment. It is time to vote
for your favorite version of this song. I even encourage you to leave me
long comment explaining all the ins and outs of why you voted as you
did!
I think that I am going to be brief, as in non-existent, about Christmas today (I do have a funny little story to tell for tomorrow) and leave it for then. Actually, I have several holiday tales for you, but I am going to put them off because today is the inspirational music post day.
I am late getting it out for two reasons. 1) I really struggled with the music. I had one 80s artist lined up and then changed my mind. So, I wound up going through footage for a totally different band. Egads. AND I had no handle on what song was inspirational to me at all. Usually this problem resolves itself in fairly short order. Today, that just was not happening. My problem was that the songs I liked were not matching up to videos that impressed me much. OR there were no videos. Just the song. I really like a cool video to go with a song. It bugs me when I don't get the whole package. Of course, sometimes there is a video mashup to a song, and I really like it, but it is set to a TV show I watch, and I think that you guys will roll your eyes. Or that the song will mean less because it is set to a show you don't watch. So, do I go with a blank screen, and just the song, or clips to a show that you might not watch, because there is no "official" video? Egads. I don't like these choices. So, I flit around like a butterfly on steroids unable to make up my mind.
2) My friend Anthony came over and I had Christmas money. I also have no pants that fit, because I have lost so much weight. So, we went shopping. He is cool like that. I had NO IDEA what size I would be. Turns out that mostly I am a 4P or 4Short. However, in some brands a 4 is too big. Eeeks. That sent me eventually to juniors, which had me flipping out. The 80s are back. OMG. That was terrible the first time. Why would anyone bring it back around voluntarily for another go? I nearly passed out. Zippers on pants. Parachute pants? Seriously? This wasn't hideous enough 20 years ago? Fluorescent colors? Why people why? That had me running back to the women's department, because I forgot to thoroughly vet the designated petite area. We had just thoroughly went through women's department looking for petites and shorts. I finally ended up with two pair of jeans, and a nice pair of pants that are khaki with a multi colored check or lines in them. I am not good with fashion description. I will have to wear them, I suppose, and post a photo. Anyway, I finally have pants again that don't require a belt to stay up. Whew.
My next project is to go through all of my clothes and donate to Goodwill, bag as "fat clothes" and indicate which exact "fat size" it is, since I am now running the gamut up to 10. Put each in its own crate so that if my weight fluctuates again I will have "new" clothes when I open the designated crate. This is another "benefit" of migraines. I will take this moment to ~ once again ~ bemoan the loss of some of favorite tops that would now fit like a glove. Yes, I am a small and they are gone, gone, gone. Long gone. Thus, the need for the crate system. With the additional designation of summer/winter wear. Clearly, this is a pain in the rear end sort of task.
I think you can see why it has been so difficult to work up the steam to find my mojo and pluck out an inspirational song to me. Well, yes and no. There were some really lovely, fine, and wonderful things that happened over the holidays, so I really shouldn't complain. I even had mom take pictures of me to put on here. However, I looked awful. She says it was because I was wearing a black shirt and it washed me out. So, tomorrow I shall see if I can't find something nicer to go with my new pants and try it again. Surely, there must be something decent in my wardrobe! I think I digressed off of my song again. Anyway, here is one that made me smile.
I hope that the ending made you smile, too. That little spider was so cute. It was his specialness that made Spiderman a superhero, yet he was so overlooked. The girl never spared him a second glance. So, when he saw his opportunity there at the end, he grabbed it. Too cute. Nothing like being proactive, eh? Anything can happen in live theatre and sometimes it does!!!
Well, after all of my blah blah blah about the 80s, we are going to talk about 80s music and video. Totally different from my journey into juniors earlier today. Well, maybe not so different, but different enough. 80s had so much going right and music video was one them. Clothes was definitely debatable. There were only a few all-girl bands and The Go-Gos were one of them. The lead singer was Belinda Carlisle and Jane Weidlin played lead guitar (I think). She also did a lot of the back-up vocals. She was popular enough in her own right that I remember her name. She was spunky. In my opinion, she had all of the "energy" of that band. If there was someone you wanted to watch, it was her. Belinda had an excellent voice, but Jane had the personality. One of their best songs was WE GOT THE BEAT. Terrible video. As in dull. You can watch it on your own if you feel so inclined. Great song, just a concert vid. Nothing original about it.
Here are a couple of videos of The Go-Gos rocking out MTV. I have very fond memories of dancing around my living room singing into a hairbrush to all of these songs. So, you can think about that while you watch these. They did, indeed, have the beat!
