Contenders and votes for the October 1, 2022 Battle of the Bands – Last Kiss:
J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers vs. Pearl Jam
J. Frank Wilson – 7 + 1 = 8
Pearl Jam – Zip + zero = Nada
Am I supposed to feel defeated by a shutout, a landslide, a runaway, or a blowout? Well, I don’t (this time) because the truth is I really love the Frank Wilson version 😉 So, with nimble fingers and a tune in mind, I’m off to see how the other battles did! See you all soon 😉
STMcC – Presents Battle of the Bands
Arlee – Tossing it Out
Cathy – Curious as a Cathy
John – The Sound of One Hand Typing
Mike – Mike’s Ramblings
Mary – www.jinglejanglejungle.net
Debbie – The Doglady’s Den
Streampebbles 
It was the only that really made sense to me. Unless some massive Pearl Jam fan vote which I guess they did not.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
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Ha! No, there was no stampede of PJ voters 😉
Happy Thanksgiving to you too, Arlee!
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I’m glad the shut out wasn’t an upset to you. That’s all that matters. That being said, I figured PJ would’ve gotten some votes. These battles are full of surprises. Great battle! I hope you and yours have a blessed Thanksgiving. 🙂
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Hi Cathy!
Nah, I’m not upset. I’m kind of pleased with the sense of unity – ha! Actually, I did think PJ would get a least one vote, but I guess that was about as likely as trick-or-treaters at my door the night before 😉
Happy Thanksgiving!
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It seems I missed all of the BOTB posts this month. 😦 Where does the time go??! Anyway, I would have chosen J. Frank Wilson also. I’m sure Stephen will tell you, it’s never a good idea to pit an original song against a cover version. 😀 P.S. I stopped doing BOTB posts a couple of years ago, but thanks for the link, anyway. I do try to vote on them, usually.
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Hi Doglady,
Yes, I’m sure Stephen would have said something – had I done so. Sorry you missed it. Thanks for trolling by the stream!
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Oops, my bad! I thought the winner WAS the original. Then I went back and read your battle post. Shame on me.
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No worries 😉 Since you’re not the first to have been confused by this, I’m beginning to think my presentation is to blame. I almost didn’t use the song because I, too, thought J Frank Wilson was the original artist – until I decided to find out who wrote the lyrics…
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Aww, POOP!
dIEDRE, I was really hoping that some (younger-than-me) person would come by and give a vote to Pearl Jam so you could avoid the shutout.
Oh, well, sometimes that’s the way the Battle crumbles.
I’m sure you’re next one will be a nail-biter.
Here’s an idea: Put ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ by The Rolling Stones up against ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ by The Rolling Stones. There’s just NO WAY *that* could end up in a shutout! 🙂
~ D-FensDogG
‘Loyal American Underground’
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Thanks for the witty tip, Stephen T. And, on the subject of suggestions, if there’s a list of rules and regs floating around somewhere, could you toss them in my tackleboxontherox@outlook.com?
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Hey, dIEDRE! ~
I apologize for only just *NOW* discovering your reply to my previous comment.
I clicked on the link you provided but it did not lead to anything meaningful (i.e., anything that would reach you).
Truthfully, there was NOTHING wrong with your last Battle. It was just one of those things. The average age of BOTB voters is probably ‘older’ than ‘younger’, so Pearl Jam just wasn’t in the general wheelhouse. But technically the match-up was just fine, IMO.
However, I can give you a brief but completely, thoroughly, 100%+ cup runneth over, detailed explanation of all the rules to ‘Battle Of The Bands’. Are you ready? Got a pen and a pencil and a Sharpie marker and 100 blank pages of notebook paper handy? OK, here we go!…
Did you get all of that?
Here’s the truth: There is only ONE rule to BOTB, and that rule is this: If you fail to post a Battle for two months consecutively, you will be removed from the ‘List Of Participants’. (And that one rule has been traditionally ignored almost like ignoring it is a religious requirement!)
There are no real rules, for two reasons:
1) BOTB didn’t even begin as an ‘official’ Blogfest. It was just something that one friend and I started doing but people enjoyed it and asked if they could also do it with us. Sure. Why not? And that’s how BOTB became a “thing”. At one point, maybe 5 years ago, it had perhaps a couple dozen participants and, frankly, I felt it had gotten way bigger than I wanted it to be. Only because it had become pretty time-consuming.
But because BOTB was never really meant to be a Blogfest at all, there were no rules established.
2) As a ‘Maverick’ type of person, I’m not big on the majority of rules to begin with. To a large margin, I live by those words of Bobby Darin: “I ain’t goin’ YOUR way; get outta *MY* way!”
Because I was one of the two originators of BOTB, some people think of me as its “leader” or “host”. But I really am NOT. This Blogfest runs itself and went along just fine without me when I quit for 8 months.
There are no RULES. There are only some SUGGESTIONS that will help one create a more competitive Battle. Here are those *suggestions*:
1) It’s not wise to use a VERY FAMOUS (i.e., an AM and/or FM radio hit) version of a song against a much lesser known rendition. In nearly all cases, the famous version (regardless of whether or not it’s the original recording of the song) will kill the non-hit version.
2) Be cautious about using the most world-famous singers in Battles, even when their versions of a song are not necessarily well-known. Artists like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, etc., are thought of as being almost god-like, and they will usually wipe out the competition. It’s perfectly OK to use any of them in a Battle, but if you do, I suggest you make sure that the song version you put up against them is something pretty head-turning phenomenal, or you’re begging for a blowout at best, and a shutout at worst.
3) Be careful about using anything that is too outrageously… uhm… “artsy-fartsy”. This is, by and large, a pretty mainstream audience. There’s a wide range of musical appreciation in most of the listeners, but if you get too avant-garde, it’s going to turn off a lot of listeners. Rock, Pop, Blues, Jazz, Standards, Jazz-Fusion… all of that goes over pretty well. Even some light Classical is appreciated. But wild, experimental “Art Rock” and Punk don’t usually fare too well.
4) And lastly, I would say NEVER use more than three different songs/artists in a single Battle. This becomes too time-consuming. And it’s fine to do a 3-Way Battle once in awhile, but I wouldn’t recommend doing it on a very regular basis. And when you DO decide you want to create a 3-Song Battle, just make sure that all three songs are sufficiently different to justify all three of them being in the contest. If two of the three songs are fairly similar, I would recommend picking the best of the two and cutting out the other. IMO, a 3-Way should always be a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead, but NEVER two of the same color. (Sorry! You know I really can’t he’p muhse’f! Jesus forgives me, so I think you should TOO! ;^)
That’s it! Those are the only 4 SUGGESTIONS I have.
The “Traditional” way to BOTB is to use two (or occasionally three) versions of the SAME song. But it’s also perfectly acceptable to create a ‘themed’ Battle, where the songs are completely different, but they are tied together by some sort of theme, whether explicit or subtle. (If subtle, I suggest you explain the thematic connection between the songs in your BOTB Intro.)
My own favorite BOTB style is the ‘Themed Battle’ because it allows for a lot of creativity. (My favorite of all my Battles was Marty Robbins’ ‘EL PASO’ versus Marty Robbins’ ‘EL PASO CITY’, back in early 2017.) But I personally never want to stray away too long from the ‘Traditional’ concept of ‘Two Versions Of The Same Song’.
Another popular approach is the ‘SAME TITLE, DIFFERENT SONGS’ concept. (I recently used The Beach Boys’ ‘Do It Again’ versus Steely Dan’s ‘Do It Again’, which had NOTHING in common except for the song titles.)
Basically, JUST HAVE FUN! If there’s *one* real rule, that would be it… JUST HAVE FUN!
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS
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Hi there, Stephen T!
Sorry for the delay in my response now 😉 I went eight years without so much as a cold, and now I’m pretty sure I have the flu.
tackleboxontherox@outlook.com is my email address for sharing ideas and casual conversations regarding blogs, etc. The email address listed on the “About” page is for business transactions.
Ha! Thanks for the suggestions. Oh, and #4? You’re forgiven (eyeroll).
I loved the Marty Robbins “El Paso” battle! Was it really five years ago? Wow.
Until next time, Happy holidays!
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