‘BATTLE OF THE BANDS’ #6 (Or, ‘ZEVON VERSUS RONSTADT’)

[‘BOTB  #6’  Is  Dedicated  To  Kimberley  At  ‘Staples’,  Store  #377  On  Peoria  Avenue  In  Phoenix,  Airheadzona.]

Republican Vs. Democrat, Male Vs. Female, War Vs. Peace, Light Vs. Dark, Good Vs. Evil, Man Vs. Machine, Love Vs. Hate, Dog Vs. Cat, Sun Vs. Moon, Brain Vs. Brawn, Oscar Vs. Grammy, Angel Vs. Demon, Laurel Vs. Hardy, Beer Vs. Wine, TV Vs. Radio, Pitcher Vs. Batter, Paper Vs. Plastic, Reality Vs. Fantasy, Yeshua Vs. Beelzebub, Conservative Vs. Liberal, You Vs. Me, House Vs. Senate, Offense Vs. Defense, Kramer Vs. Kramer, Spy Vs. Spy, Fischer Vs. Spassky, W.C. Fields Vs. Sobriety, Harold Gimpy, Jr. Vs. Sheldon J. Pismire, Rock Vs. Paper Vs. Scissors, Islam Vs. Everything, Singer Vs. Singer, Band Vs. Band...

. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  BANDS!

.

.

Shoop-Shooby –

Shooby-duh-Dooby-Doop-Dooby-Dooby-Doo-Wah –

Buh-Doo-Wah!

Yes, it’s time once again for ‘Battle Of The Bands’ (BOTB).

.

EUGENE  MARTONE  VS.  JACK  BUTLER

.

I have enough potential 'BOTB' match-ups to last me from now until ‘The Twelfth Of Never’. Until recently, I had those match-ups scribbled on paper in three different places: a pocket notebook, the back of an old employer memo, and a sheet of computer paper. On October 3rd, I decided to combine them all into one source and then to xerox the source in case I lose my original copy.

So I went to my local Staples and asked Kimberley, the young woman with the good personality behind the Copy counter, to xerox my ‘BOTB – 2013’ list. When she returned, she said to me, “I can’t help being nosey. What does ‘BOTB’ stand for? Best of the best?”

“No”, I answered. “It means, battle—”

She cut in quickly, “BATTLE OF THE BANDS!!”

“Right”, I answered.

Then looking at the first match-up at the top of my list she asked, “Did ____ ___ really do a version of the song ‘________ __ ______’?!”

Understanding her surprise, I laughed and said, “Yep. Hard to believe, isn’t it?”

Kimberley and I went on to have an entertaining discussion about weird, warped, and wacky things related to music. At one point she mentioned Warren Zevon’s song ‘Excitable Boy’ and asked me if I was familiar with it. Why, of course! Agreement: ‘Excitable Boy’ is just too creepy for our tastes.

Warren Zevon? He’s the One-Hit-Wonder whose one hit, ‘Werewolves Of London’ went to #21 on Billboard’s Pop Chart in 1978. The weirdness known as ‘Werewolves Of London’ was written at L.A.’s Venice Beach. Where else? Surely you weren’t thinking “London”, were ya? 

.

I suggested to Kimberley that she should someday compare the lyrics of Warren Zevon’s original recording of his song ‘POOR, POOR, PITIFUL ME’ with the lyrics in Linda Ronstadt’s Top 40 Billboard cover version.

I already had “POOR, POOR, PITIFUL ME: Warren Zevon Versus Linda Ronstadt” on my ‘BOTB -2013’ list and figured I’d get to it eventually, but had something else in mind for #6. However, it was while having this discussion with Kimberley @ ‘Staples’ that I made the decision to make this my next ‘BOTB’ entry. My spontaneous conversation with Kimberley, combined with the fact that Linda Ronstadt has been in the news lately for announcing her decision to cease singing publicly due to her problems with Parkinson’s Disease, convinced me to bump this battle up to the top (a.k.a. "today").

.

GODZILLA  VS.  KING  KONG

.

Yes, in 1978, Linda Ronstadt took her version of Warren Zevon’s song to #31 on the Billboard chart. Zevon recorded his song in 1976 and it appeared on his self-titled ‘Warren Zevon’ LP, which would have been his debut album if not for the fact that he had previously released an album. (Funny how that works.)

Ronstadt’s version of the song appeared on her album ‘Simple Dreams’, but below is a picture of her album cover for ‘Hasten Down The Wind’ (the title of another song written by Warren Zevon), which I am posting instead for no pointicular reasons:

.

.

Lyrically, there were some expected changes considering the shift in gender viewpoints. For example:

Linda Ronstadt: Well, I met a man out in Hollywood

Warren Zevon: Well, I met a girl in West Hollywood

He/She put me through some changes, Lord
Sort of like a Waring blender.

But the REAL lyrical surprise occurs when comparing the third verses of each rendition (understand, I’m yakking “verses” here, NOT “choruses”).

Linda sings:

Well, I met a boy in the Vieux Carré

Down in Yokohama

He picked me up and he threw me down

He said, “Please don't hurt me, Mama.”

*Ahem!*

Warren saw it differently when he penned it. But first, before the infamous third verse, a little background info is in order...

The ‘Sunset Strip’ in Los Angeles is located in WEST Hollywood, not Hollywood. The ‘Sunset Strip’ is where the world famous nightclubs and concert venues were/are located. Right next to The Roxy is The Rainbow Bar, where all the visiting Rock stars like Donny Osmond John Denver Jimmy Page and Robert Plant hung out when in town for sold-out shows. Further East down The Strip was the Hyatt House Hotel (also known as “The Riot House’), where Led Zeppelin would stay and throw TV sets out of their windows into the swimming pool below. 

[For Rock ‘N’ Roll Trivia Buffs: It’s the roof of the Hyatt House Hotel where the ‘END OF TOUR: Los Angeles’ scene in the movie ‘This Is SPINAL TAP’ was filmed. That scene, by the way, includes what to me is probably the funniest line in the entire movie... “...cranking out some mediocre head-banging bullshit!” Ha!]

.

THE  RAINBOW  BAR,  JUST  TO  THE  LEFT  OF  THE  ROXY

.

THE  HYATT  HOUSE  ("THE  RIOT  HOUSE")

.

Alright, keep that stuffs in mind when you get to the Warren Zevon original. But first, Linda Ronstadt’s hit version:

Linda Ronstadt - 1977-07-Poor Poor Pitiful Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmKJ66X0QvM

And now Warren Zevon’s 1976 original (listen for the 3^RD verse difference!)

Warren Zevon - Poor Poor Pitiful Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TbfQPRgcS8

.

RIDDLER  VS.  BATMAN

.

Alright now, you know the gig... I welcome EVERYONE to vote for their favorite of these songs in the comment section below. And feel free to tell us WHY you chose one song over the other. (NOTE: Comment Moderation is activated. All submitted comments that do not transgress "Ye Olde Comment Policy" will be posted as soon as possible. Thanks for taking the time to comment.)

.

After voting here, I suggest - actually I insist - you pop over to FAE’s ‘Far Away Series’ and Arlee Bird’s ‘Tossing It Out’ blogs to see which songs they have chosen and vote there also. (If their BOTB blog bits aren’t posted yet, pour yourself two shots of ‘Grand Marnier’ over ice – do it twice – and then return to ‘Far Away Series’ and ‘Tossing It Out’ to vice your voice ...vote your vice ...voice your vote.)

Voice Your Vote @ ‘FAR AWAY SERIES’ by clicking HERE.

Voice Your Vote @ ‘TOSSING IT OUT’ by clicking HERE.

Find  The  True  Meaning  Of  Christmas:  Win  Money!-Money!-Money!  Spectacular,  Super-Colossal  Neighborhood  Christmas  Lights  And  Display  Contest!

Find  The  True  Purpose  For  Voting  On  ‘Battle  Of  The  Bands’  Installments:  Win  Compact  Discs!-Compact Discs!-Compact Discs!  Spectacular,  Super-Colossal  Blogosphere  ‘Battle  Of  The  Bands’  Voting  Contest!

Here’s The Deal: By voting on the ‘Battle Of The Bands’ blog bits here and at the ‘FAR AWAY SERIES’ and ‘TOSSING IT OUT’ blogs, you can win the compact disc of your choice. Every 4 months, FarAwayEyes, Arlee Bird and I will add up how many times you voted on our blogs, and the person who has participated most often (i.e., submitted the most eligible votes) will get to select one compact disc that contains any one of the songs that were included in any of our ‘Battle Of The Bands’ installments (“Super-Colossal” expensive boxed-sets, imports, and ‘out-of-print’ compact discs not included). In the event of a tie, the names will be put in a Stetson and the name drawn from the cowboy hat will win the CD.

Rules For Voting: FAE, Arlee Bird and I post new ‘Battle Of The Bands’ blog bits on the 1st and 15th of each month. We also post our own personal votes for the respective blog bits on the 7th and 21st of each month (i.e., six days later). For your vote to be counted, it must be submitted in our comment sections BEFORE we post our own votes (BEFORE we make our own votes known on the 7th and the 21st).

Every 4 months there will be a new compact disc winner. In other words, ‘Battle Of The Bands’ #1 was posted on August 1, 2013, so at the end of November, one of you lucky voters is going to win a CD that includes one of the songs we’ve featured in our ‘Battle Of The Bands’ installments (you get to choose, and it doesn’t matter if the song won or lost its battle – if you like it, it’s YOURS!)

Alright, now... VOTE ON and ROCK ON! (while we 

‘Count On...’)

~ Stephen T. McCarthy

POSTSCRIPT: If you are a blogger participating in the BOTB posts but are not involved in the vote-counting for the compact disc prize, please be sure to mention your BOTB blog bit in my Comment Section, so that others (including li’l ol’ me) will know to visit your blog and cast a vote.

Links To Previous 'BOTB' Installments:

‘BATTLE OF THE BANDS’ NUMBER 1 (Or, ‘BEBEL VS. BEBEL’)

‘BATTLE OF THE BANDS’ NUMBER 2 (Or, ‘FLEETWOOD MAC VS. THE ROCKETS’)

‘BATTLE OF THE BANDS’ #3 (Or, ‘THE BEATLES VS. BRIAN AUGER AND TRINITY’)

‘BATTLE OF THE BANDS’ #4 (Or, ‘BROADWAY HAIR VS. HOLLYWOOD HAIR’)

‘BATTLE OF THE BANDS’ #5 (Or, ‘NAT VS. VAN VS. D'MODE’)

~ Stephen T. McCarthy

YE OLDE COMMENT POLICY: All comments, pro and con, are welcome. However, ad hominem attacks and disrespectful epithets will not be tolerated (read: "posted"). After all, this isn’t Amazon.com, so I don’t have to put up with that kind of bovine excrement. 

.