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:

• Far Away Series 
• Stephen T. McCarthy's Battle of the Bands Blog
• Tossing it Out
• DiscConnected (temporarily disconnected from BoTB)
• This Belle Rocks
• Mike's Ramblings
• Curious as a Cathy 
• Book Lover
• The Sound of One Hand Typing
• dcrelief ~ Battle of the Bands 
• Cherdo on the Flipside 
• Angels Bark 
• THE DOGLADY'S DEN 
• Jingle Jangle Jungle 
• Janie Junebug Righting and Editing
• NovelBrews
• J.A. Scott
• Quiet Laughter
• Holli's Hoots and Hollers 

Battle Results and SOML ~ Things We'll Never Understand

Well, this "battle" wasn't much of a battle. I actually think it may have been more interesting if I'd put Diamond Rio, Steve Wariner, and Lee Roy Parnell up against Merle Haggard. Believe it or not, I actually had a different guy up against these powerhouses and my mom said, "That guy is awful compared to the other group." So, I changed it. Turns out, Craig Wayne Boyd didn't fare so good against them either. Go figure.

Like the majority of you, my vote goes to the powerhouse "trio." As you can see with the final tally, I'm lucky this wasn't a shutout.

Diamond Rio, Steve Wariner, and Lee Roy Parnell: 20 votes (inc. mine)

Craig Wayne Boyd: 3

Once again, I realize I blithely skipped over something important from the spring of my junior year in the haste to talk about my horrible summer waitressing job. So, I'm gonna back up for a moment.

Remember when I said all of the women on my dad's side of the family are fairly psychic? No? Well, I've said it a couple of times. Sometimes that just means really good intuition. Other times it's crap like this:

For months, at night as I'd lie in bed (really wanting to sleep) I'd have this feeling.

It was flesh against metal and I'd taste blood in my mouth.

It was creepy. And terrifying. Really disturbing. It was also nearly every night.

It got to the point that I told my friends about it.

You see, I was fairly certain I was going to die.

Of course, the feeling never yielded anything more than what I just told you. I had no idea of any details.

My friends all yucked it up and thought it was silliness. I guess. I know they didn't take me seriously. And I can't say I blame them. It was all really vague.

Plus, they weren't the ones clenching the bed sheets with the bizarre sensation of metal against flesh (but no actual pain) and the taste of blood in their mouth. Nope. That was all me.

When I found out my cousin's daughter was killed by a car, I didn't make the connection at first.

Yeah, you read that right.

She was killed.

This was the same little girl I spent so much time with at Christmas. The one who didn't have any lines on her palms. She was seven. Her dad had been out of work (laid off), so he was taking her to the bus stop. This was his first day back to work. So, a neighbor who also had kids took her (and her two year old brother) to the stop. The stop was inconveniently placed on the other side of a hill. My little cousin ran out into the road just as a car was coming (way too fast) over that hill. The driver was a high school kid late for school.

The whole thing was horribly tragic. It's been over twenty years, and my cousin still misses her daughter.

For me, as soon as she died the nightly trauma stopped. Like that. No more lying in bed feeling metal on flesh with blood in my mouth. I told God I didn't want any more of that. If the information doesn't actually help someone or make someone happy then I don't want it. I've not experienced anything like that again (terrifying and vague).

Every now and then I pull out pictures from that time. I always wonder who she'd be today...





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:

StMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS

Cherdo on the Flipside 

Holli's Hoots and Hollers 

THE DOGLADY'S DEN 

Mean Who You Are

Soundtrack of My Life ~ Look What July Blew In

The summer of 1989 pretty well flew by in a mist of misery. If you don't know what I'm talking about see the last post. My waitressing job darn near killed me.

The only other significant thing to happen that summer was that J1 just popped back up. Out of the blue. We hadn't spoken in months. It was a weekend, so I was in the midst of sleep deprivation and agonizing pain in my feet. I do believe it was a Saturday afternoon, and I was taking my nap in between getting off at the diner and having to be back at the bar that evening.

My roommate woke me up to tell me he was in the living room.

It was all very strange. I was happy to see him, but there was a part of me that knew he would be Gone Again the next time I turned around. I can't remember how long he stayed. Not long. Just long enough to make me wish things were different and decide that I wasn't gonna love anybody else.

You'd think the yardstick he'd set would be pretty easy to beat. After all, the guy couldn't STICK. But, you must remember this: If it doesn't hurt, it isn't love.

Yeah, that was MY yardstick for what love looked like. So, this MUST be love. After all, how could it hurt like this and not be?




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:

StMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS

Cherdo on the Flipside 

Holli's Hoots and Hollers 

THE DOGLADY'S DEN 

Mean Who You Are

Wrote By Rote