The Battle Of the Bands (BOTB) is your basic Which-do-you-like-best contest, where the one that gets the most votes wins. All you have to do is show up (the 1st of every month), give listen and cast your vote in the comment section. Votes will be tallied and the winner revealed on the 8th day of the month.
Happy December, everyone! This is the first time in a long, long time that at least one local radio station hasnât started playing Christmas songs right after Thanksgiving dinner. I am officially shocked yet only somewhat dismayed because, to tell you the truth, sometimes, by the time Christmas rolled around, I was kind of tired of hearing Christmas songs. If you just gasped, I donât blame you đ I donât really have any favorites, but there are some I like less than others. For no other reason than a collective need for levity, I am featuring artists covering the oft-understated wonders of the season đÂ
After you vote, and before you go – I highly recommend visiting the rest of the BOTB participants â theyâre pros! And a few of them hold two battles a month! Hereâs where to find them:
Contenders and votes for the October 1, 2022 Battle of the Bands â Last Kiss:
J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers vs. Pearl Jam
J. Frank Wilson â 7 + 1 = 8
Pearl Jam â Zip + zero = Nada
Am I supposed to feel defeated by a shutout, a landslide, a runaway, or a blowout? Well, I donât (this time) because the truth is I really love the Frank Wilson version đ So, with nimble fingers and a tune in mind, Iâm off to see how the other battles did! See you all soon đ
The Battle Of the Bands (BOTB) is your basic Which-do-you-like-best contest where the one that gets the most votes wins. All you have to do is show up (the 1st of every month) give a listen and cast your vote in the comment section. Votes will be tallied and the winner revealed on the 8th day of the month.
Known in some circles as The White Knight of Soul, not even Wayne Cochranâs flamboyant stage presence (laughably gigantic white pompadour and outlandish outfits) nor the fact that he wrote the song featured in todayâs battle was able to garner the singer of âBlue-eyed bluesâ and the C.C Riders more than a single that didnât quite chart in 1961. He tried again in 1963, under a different label with similar results.
A year later, J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers revived the song and took it to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100âs in June of 1964. This was the version I must have heard a hundred times as it and other treasures continuously played in the room of my (then) teen-aged aunt.
By the time I was a teen and finally trusted not to contaminate or damage anything, I was allowed access to my auntâs outstanding collection of what we now know as âGolden Oldiesâ. As time went on, I heard the popular teen tragedy song less and less and had all but forgotten about it until I heard it playing in my own daughterâs room! I could not believe sheâd come across the age-old hit by Wilson and the Cavaliers.
As it happened, my daughter was listening to a new version performed by Pearl Jam after vocalist Eddie Vedder found the old version in an Antique Mall in Seattle, WA, and convinced the band to try it. Their cover and subsequent release in 1999 (also) eventually climbed to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100s and remains Pearl Jamâs highest-peaking single.
So there you have it, folks. Which do you like best?
After you vote, and before you go – I highly recommend visiting the rest of the BOTB participants â theyâre pros! And a few of them hold two battles a month! Hereâs where to find them:
“From even the greatest of horrors, irony is seldom absent” H.P. Lovecraft
A Disney masterpiece – from 1929!
New Release!
Buy your copy now! Chapter book for ages 5-8 ISBN 9798848409956 Paperback: $6.99 | ebook $3.99
Blurb Oscar the ghost dwells happily in his cozy cottage, where he hides from creatures that lurk in the dark. After a mysterious message arrives, he must find the courage to go out and discover whatâs waiting for him. Will he be brave enough or will the monsters send him rushing back home?
About the Author H.R. Sinclair is a left-handed hermit prepping for the squirrel apocalypse. She writes fantastical stories and visits cemeteries for inspiration.
The Battle Of the Bands (BOTB) is your basic Which-do-you-like-best contest where the one that gets the most votes wins. All you have to do is show up (the 1st of every month) give a listen and cast your vote in the comment section. Votes will be tallied and the winner revealed on the 8th day of the month.
In honor of Halloween, Iâm going with associated scary (or not) movie soundtracks. If youâve seen the movie, all the better! Pick which one you like best.
After you vote, and before you go – I highly recommend visiting the rest of the BOTB participants â theyâre pros! And a few of them hold two battles a month! Hereâs where to find them:
Fun fact: While the movie itself all but tanked, Ennio Morricone (of spaghetti western fame) a relative newcomer to Hollywood blockbusters was given free rein to compose the score for the âExorcist IIâ and delivered arguably his best weirdly creepy scores for the âHereticâ soundtrack . He later won an Oscar for his musical contribution to âHateful Eightâ using leftover scraps from âThe Thingâ
Have a thought? Drop a line in the comment section. Thanks for stopping by the stream!
With my vote for Daughtry, we had a three-way tie in our very first BOTB until a music-loving member of Gen Z stepped up to post his vote for the best September song; leading to a win for Earth, Wind and Fire! Released by RCA Records in 1978, the song âSeptemberâ was recently included by Rolling Stone magazine at #65 on their â500 Greatest Songs of All Timeâ list. Thanks, everyone, for participating!
Fun fact: In terms of music tastes, Gen Z Americans tend to believe âold is the new coolâ and despite the stereotype of excessive users of technology (staring at phone screens while sitting next to friends and or family,) Gen Z (Zoomers) overwhelmingly prefer face-to-face conversations.
Itâs Hug a Greeting Card writer day! If you canât find one, itâs also Read an Ebook day!
and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.”
Sylvia Plath
Hello, Friends!
Happy Autumn! As summer insists on ending, I continue to revel in the recent thrill of having our rivers running bank-to-bank with August rain. Getting that much rain during monsoon had become such a rarity that this yearâs deluge actually enticed people out of their homes to gape in awe at flooded streets and floating lawn furniture. A couple of adventuresome folks took kayaks out for a swift-water ride down the Rillito River and got their picture in the local paper. I donât suppose they received an award, but they should have. Why, I can remember a time when monsoons, like we had this summer, were the norm and just about every afternoon thereâd be small fishing boats riding the waves on Alvernon Way, quite a busy thoroughfare back in the day. And there was that timeâŚ
“Rushing water charged through the arroyo like a prize bull out of the gate at the Rodeo. Rosie was amazed and amused by the items in its tow: an oven door, a mate-less shoe, tree branches, food wrappers, lawn chairs – and sometimes, careless kids. Rosie had no intention of becoming one of the latter.
âWell? Are you coming?â Manny called from the opposite bank, his voice barely audible above the roaring water.
Rosie fiddled with the rope in her hands. Youâd think sheâd never done this before by the way her stomach churned. Somehow it had been more enjoyable when she hadnât yet discovered what could happen if she let go of the rope too soon, or worse if she didnât swing out far enough. Steeling herself, she took three steps back, checked her hold on the rope, took five running steps and swung clear across the arroyo – and back again.
Rats! She grimaced at Mannyâs laughing face and tried again.
It was not the most elegant landing, but they both laughed as they rolled on a cushion of crabgrass and mud. Thunder rumbled in the distance reminding them that monsoons were indeed upon them, flooding streets daily and causing typically dry riverbeds to overflow into arroyos such as the one they sat beside. Rosie knew they should be heading for cover before they found themselves running for it. She stood and brushed off her well-worn jeans.”
~Excerpt from âOwning Upâ by dee Kay
Has weather ever inspired you? Has weather ever caused an event that inspired you? Something about September always seems to want to either gently coax, or drag kicking and screaming, every little memory right to the surface. Some say having to let summer memories go makes it harder to settle into autumn. Maybe it does, a little. But let go anyway, even if you donât have a Manny on the other bank, you do have a memory bank in which to store those precious moments for all time đ
So letâs celebrate September, shall we? In this, my inaugural attempt at participation in a musical bloghop called âBattle of the Bandsâ – otherwise known as BOTB – I hope to encourage at least one cool September memory from at least one of these cool September songs to resurface for at least half of all who care to cast a vote.
Did the songs stir any memories? We wonât know if you donât say đ
âHopâ being the operative word here, you’re invited to hop on over and see what battles the other participants have posted for your enjoyment!
The last super moon of the year is upon us tonight and I, of course, am stoked! The August full moon was named âSturgeonâ because thatâs when the Algonquin tribes (first nation aboriginals of southeastern Canada) gathered around the Great Lakes and other large bodies of water to fish for enormous prehistoric sturgeon. While they do have their own original language, todayâs Algonquin tribes speak French or English, and live and dress just like anyone else in todayâs modern world. An enduring reminder of Algonquin cultural spirituality is the creation of the original âDream Catcherâ
Dream Catcher
With all the much-needed rain weâve been getting, temperatures are cooler and tomorrowâs ending of the old âDog Days of Summerâ might actually have gone unnoticed had I not just mentioned it. Youâre welcome đ âDog Daysâ is basically a catchphrase for extended periods of extreme heat, but itâs also a reference to Sirius, the Dog Star (the brightest star visible from earth) located within the Canis Major â or Greater Dog constellation. In summer (July 3 â August 11) Sirius, in perfect conjunction with the sun, is so dazzling in brightness that ancient Romans were certain it caused the hottest days of summer. In actuality, days are always warmer when earth is tilted more directly towards the sun, as it is this time of year.
I love the name Sirius, from the binary star system to XM entertainment! However, a galâs gotta do what she has to do to share her love of a big full moon. Thank you, Youtube!
âThe moon is magic for the soul and light for the sensesâ
Now then, do you have a Dreamcatcher? Have you ever fished for Sturgeon? Are you a fan of Sirius? Do you have a favorite âmoonâ song?
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