FERRET-FACED FASCIST FRIENDS

Friday, November 1, 2013

‘BATTLE OF THE BANDS’ #7 (Or, ‘FATS VS. SATCH VS. BOCEPHUS’)

[First things first... this ‘Battle Of The Bands’ blog bit is dedicated to The Countess (you know who you are). Why? Because it’s ‘ALL SAINTS DAY’ of course!]

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

Back in 1929, a Jazz piano player named FATS WALLER composed and recorded a song that has since become one of the all-time most highly recognized ‘Standards’ of American music. The song? AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’. In 2001, AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ was one of 365 Songs of the Century selected by the RIAA. It is one of the most recorded songs ever, having been covered by an incredibly diverse number of singers and musicians, as mentioned at Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ain%27t_Misbehavin%27_%28song%29

GODZILLA VS. KING KONG

Fats Waller later performed the song in the 1943 film ‘Stormy Weather’, and this later version I find more interesting than the original recording, particularly due to the wild Jazz improvisation right at the song’s conclusion. Although this ‘BATTLE OF THE BANDS’ (‘BOTB’) contest is primarily between a Black Jazzman (who isn’t named Fats Waller) and a White Country-Western singer, I am inviting all of you to cast your vote for the Fats Waller version of the song, if you’d like to. Listening to the Fats version is totally optional, but if you prefer it to the two featured versions I’m posting below, you can vote for it and your vote will be counted as valid in this contest. Here’s a link to the Fats Waller version from the movie ‘Stormy Weather’. Click on it if you’d like to hear the songwriter’s take on his own famous tune:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG9myp90oM4

Undoubtedly, I first heard AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ when I was a kid and my Pa would play his records. He owned a Fats Waller album that I’m sure must have included AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’. But Pa’s favorite female vocalist was Dinah Washington, and he owned and played ‘Dinah Washington Sings Fats Waller’ periodically, and that’s likely how I first became acquainted with the song. But I was too young and stoopid to appreciate it then; all I cared about back then was loud, fast electric guitars turned “up to eleven”.

Over the decades, my taste in music changed drastically, and today I absolutely LOVE Waller’s AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ (like, way more than I love ‘Come Sail Away’ by stinky Styx!)

Today’s ‘BOTB’ match-up is between LOUIS “SATCHMO” ARMSTRONG, the Jazz genius, and HANK “BOCEPHUS” WILLIAMS, JR., the Country music outlaw.

First thing you need to understand is that no musician’s shadow looms larger over the American Musical Landscape than Louis Armstrong’s shadow does. (His nickname, “Satchmo” was actually a combination of the words Satchel Mouth – because of his tremendous trumpet playing.)

SATCHMO was the single most influential musician in American history, and that’s not just my opinion but the consensus of American music scholars all across the country. Regardless of whether or not you like Jazz, you can be sure that your favorite musical genre and your favorite artists were influenced by Louis Armstrong, even if they never heard of him or a single note he ever played.

For all intents and purposes, JAZZ begins with LOUIS "SATCHMO" ARMSTRONG. It is impossible to overestimate his importance in American music. It is he who is responsible for transforming the musical genre into a virtuoso soloist's improvisational medium. It was SATCHMO who invented the vocal "scatting" technique ('HEEBIE JEEBIES') which has been employed at one time or another (with varying degrees of success) by nearly every Jazz vocalist since. It was SATCHMO who opened the door for the singers from every musical genre whose voices may have necessarily substituted "uniqueness" for classic purity and polished tones. And as far as I know, SATCHMO was the first to conceive of a "battle" between two musical instruments ('CHINATOWN, MY CHINATOWN').

ARMSTRONG was unquestionably a musical genius; years ahead of the Jazz curve, and an ideal ambassador for this genuinely American form of music.

It is my opinion that every single American ought to own at least one Louis Armstrong album, even if that album is just ‘DISNEY SONGS THE SATCHMO WAY’ (which, incidentally, I own and love!)

Alright, let’s hear Armstrong’s version of AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’, eh?

Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong and the All Stars 1955

Ain't Misbehavin'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz1_5Z9FCM8

When Hank Williams Jr., son of the Country-Western music legend Hank Williams, was just a little kid, his famous father nicknamed him “Bocephus”, which was the name of a then-popular ventriloquist’s dummy. Pretty funny, huh? Anyway, the nickname stuck.

BOCEPHUS made a name for himself as well in Country music because he was one of the earlier pioneers (along with the likes of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson) of what came to be called “Outlaw Country”. This was a style of Country music that bucked the Nashville trend at the time and combined Country music sensibilities with a more Rock ‘N’ Roll energy and attitude.

In 1985, Hank Williams Jr. released his album ‘FIVE-O’, which included his take on the famous Fats Waller tune, and he was nominated for ‘Best Male Country Vocal’ for his version of Ain't Misbehavin'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-O_%28album%29

Let’s hear it:

Ain't Misbehavin' by Hank Williams Jr

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I3P8uqCG_c

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’)

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

~ 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.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

MIXED UP, SHOOK UP PRODUCT REVIEWS (Or, PASSEL O’FLUFFS ‘N’ McSTUFFS)

LICENSE PLATE IN THE MOVIE 'FALLING DOWN', THE INSPIRATION FOR MY COMMENT SECTION SIGN-OFFS.

.
We hardly know where to start with this one.

I said “we” even though it’s just me, because... well, haven’t you heard that you’re not supposed to start a piece o’writing with “I”? Yeah, Henry David Thoreau hadn’t heard that either... or... i-ther.

I’m tryin’ to follow “the rules” here, but I admit that I ain’t no good at it, and I axe you to forgive me transgressions.

This is going to be a mixed up, shook up, semi-stream o’unconsciousness, kinda spontaneous-like blog bit o’product reviews... which reminds me that I got Dylan singin’ next to me and a glass o’sherry within arm’s reach, and the third band I ever paid money to see play live-in-concert was Mink DeVille. That was 1977, my senior year in high school. The year before, I had seen Styx (my favorite band) open for Journey at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. My second “professional” concert (again at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium) saw Mink DeVille opening for Styx (my favorite band).

All these years later, I realize that (the millionaires) Styx stunk, and that (the poor) Mink DeVille was a far better band. Sorry, blokes, but sometimes the crap also rises (to the top). Proof of my “confident heterosexuality” is the fact that I can publicly admit to having loved Styx back in 1976 / ’77. But I was a mere boy then, a lad of 16. And although I went out and bought Mink DeVille’s ‘Cabretta’ album right after their concert, it would be years before I’d come to realize that they were way cooler than Styx ever was.

Mink DeVille: ‘MIXED UP, SHOOK UP GIRL’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLbo8fhFvrU

If you’re already familiar with Mink DeVille, chances are it’s because of their version of the song ‘CADILLAC WALK’, which I definitely dug and do dig:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dzVU4bKScA

Pretty good, right? Lean, clean, and mean. But by far my favorite Mink DeVille song was always ‘SHE’S SO TOUGH’. I used to crank that “up to eleven” in my bedroom and practice my Air Guitar. I absolutely loved (and still absolutely love) the “hiccup” in the rhythm guitar line! And note the orange, black, and wee bit of green on the album cover below. How Halloweenie, eh?...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXr0BCILFQI

In my last blog bit and its comment section, I related to all y’all how a woman stood me up for ‘The Retro Theatre’ showing of the movie ‘FALLING DOWN’. The dumb ~~blonde~~ orange has since contacted me via Email, apologized profusely, and said that she didn’t meet me at the theatre only because she was “under the knife” – having forgotten until the last minute that she had scheduled an appointment with her doctor for ‘Breast Augmentation’ surgery.

What could I say? Naturally, I forgave her (it was the ONLY excuse for standing me up that I would have accepted) and, like any other guy would have, I then asked her, “So... what are you doing ten minutes from now?”

We later caught another showing of ‘Falling Down’ and laughed ourselves silly. (Not really; it’s a drama, but there are several humorous scenes.) If you’ve never seen that 1993 movie, you’ve missed some great lines like... “You forgot the briefcase!” and “I’ll give you something to fix” and “Now you’re going to die wearing that stupid little hat. How does it feel?” (It’s that “How does it feel?” that prompted me to play Dylan’s ‘Like A Rolling Stone’.)

A few scenes from ‘Falling Down’ were filmed at L.A.’s famous Venice Beach.

VENICE BEACH... YEAH, IT'S A "COLORFUL" PLACE!

And so shortly after watching the movie again for the godzillionth time, I was inspired to pour a beer (that never takes much arm-twisting) and dig out my old 1992 compilation compact disc ‘SPIRIT OF VENICE, CALIFORNIA’. But first, let’s yak beer:

Below is the first beer I ever opened with my new, unique bottle opener (a gift from a good friend), which I then poured into my Dogwood design TERVIS TUMBLER, customized with a “Wastin’ Away Again In... Margaritaville” patch. I don’t care what Nappy says, Tervis Tumblers keep my beer colder longer and I LOVE them for that!

GREAT ALE, AND GREAT BOTTLE OPENER, TOO

TERVIS TUMBLERS... THEY'RE THE DOG'S BARK!

That’s ‘DAYTIME ALE’, a limited-time offering from the Lagunitas Brewing Company and now one of my favorite IPA’s. It’s only 4.65% alcohol, so you can drink plenty of it, and it has a very bold, unusual, up-front flavor for something I would consider to be a “light” beer. And best of all, I’ve discovered that it doesn’t have to be daytime to drink it; it goes down very well not only for breakfast, but for lunch and dinner, too! Get it while you can. Pour it in your Tervis Tumbler. Drink it down. Pour another. Drink it down. Repeat as necessary until all your troubles are gone.

Another brew I tried fairly recently (but before I owned this new, unique bottle opener) is Boulder Beer Company’s ‘KINDA BLUE’. It’s a “blueberry wheat beer”. Now I do NOT like “flavored” beers. As I told 4-B Old Soul (Bryan of the blog ‘A Beer For The Shower’), I only like “beer-flavored beer”. But since I do love the taste of blueberries, I figured I’d give this one one shot, since I was able to buy just a single bottle of it at a reasonable price.

First sip: “Hey, that’s not bad; kinda light and refreshing.”

Second sip: “Wow! Surprisingly decent for a fruit-flavored beer.”

Third sip: “I may have to mention this one to Brother Beer Boy Bryan.”

Fourth sip: “Ugh. I’m tired of this flavor. Never again!”

There you have it... a beer review in four sips.

However, I will say that I love the ‘Kinda Blue’ label. Notice the blueberry notes emanating from the trumpet? It’s obviously a reference to the Jazz classic ‘KIND OF BLUE’ by Miles Davis, considered by many to be the best, most influential and best-selling Jazz record ever made. I certainly dig it, but my favorite Davis album is ‘PORGY AND BESS’ by miles and miles.

'KIND OF BLUE', THE JAZZ AND THE BEER

OK, so where were we? Oh, yeah... ‘SPIRIT OF VENICE, CALIFORNIA’ (A Collection Of Venice Street Musicians). Back in ’92, someone got the idea to record a bunch of the street musicians on Venice Beach, along with snippets of sounds like boardwalk chatter, children playing on the beach, the Pacific Ocean waves crashing near the lifeguard station at Rose Avenue, etc. The compilation includes songs representing a wide array of genres from Rock, Pop, Blues, Folk, Gospel, Reggae, Rap, and there’s even a traditional Russian song. Surprisingly, of the 13 full-length musical tracks, I genuinely like 11 of them (this compilation album goes “up to eleven”), making this, for me, much more than just a novelty souvenir reminder of my Venice Beach years. You can find the album at the great website CD BABY: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/henhouse3

ROCK: ‘Flim Flam’; ‘I’ve Been Searching’

POP: ‘Groovy Little Things’

BLUES: ‘Scarlet May’; ‘Don’t Come Here Running’; ‘Don’t Tell Me What To Do’

FOLK: ‘Under The Shade Of A Black Palm Tree’

GOSPEL: ‘I’m Listening’

REGGAE: ‘Eclipse My Soul’; ‘Rhythm Of The World’

RAP: ‘Venice Beat’

RUSSIAN FOLK: ‘Gop Stop’

CHEECH AND CHONG MEET SIMON AND GARFUNKEL MEET BOBS ~~WATSON~~ MARLEY: ‘On The Road To Your Life’ [That was the closest classification I could come up with.]

From a second story, a post office building

Stands a friend of mine, a letter in her left hand

Looking down on the circles of town

And wondering why it’s not at her command

Some of us are shattered

Others worn and tattered

That’s the way life always seems to be

But you might find me

Somewhere in Venice

Under the shade of a black palm tree

~ Peter Demian

‘Under The Shade Of A Black Palm Tree’

I know just what he’s talking about in that song. In Venice, just two blocks East of the beach, there used to be a post office which overlooked a roundabout (or rotary, or “traffic circle”).

THE VENICE BEACH MUSICIANS GATHER ON THE BOARDWALK

JIM MORRISON AND THE DOORS GATHER ON THE VENICE BEACH BOARDWALK

Well, that’s enough product reviews for one blog bit. But if you’d like me to review anything else for you (or even review YOU), send six box tops, a self-addressed stamped envelope and your vital measurements to:

Review THIS!

P.O. Box Eleventy eleven

Grand Central Station

Nude York, Nude York

10017

Send before midnight tonight and receive as our special gift to you, absolutely free, a genuine ‘Little Orphan Annie’ secret agent decoder ring that pulls in the Moon, the stars, the planets, and the satellites and the space men. If you want to jitter jive... Buster Brown, ‘Fanny Mae’! [See? I told you this bit was semi-stream o’unconsciousness.]

On behalf of myself and Bess Gilberto, my tigress of a girlfriend with the new, surgically plumped up “pumpkins”, I wish all y’all a...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

MY GIRLFRIEND, BESS GILBERTO, A REAL TIGRESS!

BEFORE SURGERY FOR "PUMPKIN AUGMENTATION"

~ Stephen T. McCarthy

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

THE JACQUES COUSTEAU UNDERWATER MISADVENTURE THEATRE (Or, FISHING FOR ANSWERS TO OUR ECONOMIC WOES)

51-second video opening:

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

Some of you are old enough to remember John Denver’s hit song ‘CALYPSO’ which celebrated the life and ship of underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau, whom we used to watch on TV with such fascination.

Here is the first verse and chorus of Denver’s big hit:

To sail on a dream on a crystal clear ocean

To ride on the crest of a wild raging storm

To work in the service of life and living

In search of the answers of questions unknown

To be part of the movement and part of the growing

Part of beginning to understand

Aye, Calypso, the places you've been to

The things that you've shown us

The stories you tell

Aye, Calypso, I sing to your spirit

The men who have served you so long and so well

Following is a Jacques Cousteau quote from a 1991 interview published in the UNESCO Courier.

From Wikipedia:

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization... UNESCO is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN).

Its purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights along with fundamental freedom proclaimed in the UN Charter. It is the heir of the League of Nations’ International Commission on Intellectual Cooperation.

JACQUES-ASS COUSTEAU:

“Our society is turning toward more and more needless consumption. It is a vicious circle that I compare to cancer ... Should we eliminate suffering, diseases? The idea is beautiful, but perhaps not a benefit for the long term. We should not allow our dread of diseases to endanger the future of our species ... In order to stabilize world population, we need to eliminate 350,000 people a day. It is a horrible thing to say, but it’s just as bad not to say it.”

A reminder... JOHN DENVER's lyrics in ‘CALYPSO’:

To work in the service of life and living

In search of the answers of questions unknown

To be part of the movement and part of the growing

Part of beginning to understand

Uh-huh. Right. To begin with, although a few areas of the world are overpopulated for their own good, the world overall is not even remotely close to being overpopulated. In fact, watch the documentary ‘DEMOGRAPHIC WINTER’ and you’ll learn that many of the developed nations are suffering from and about to economically collapse from a severe population replacement deficit. (And that, by the way, is the real reason for Russia’s recent strident anti-homosexual stance.)

FYI, the Cousteau quote came from my copy of the 1998 book ‘YOU DON’T SAY: Sometimes Liberals Show Their True Colors’, by Fred Gielow. It’s a good book filled with a ton of valuable info. You should read it, Brothers and Sisters!

In keeping with today’s ocean theme, I want to recommend a second book to you as well...

Which one of these fish is not like the others?

Angelfish

Balloonfish

Catfish

Dogfish

Dizzygillespiefish

Frogfish

Goatfish

Hogfish

Jewfish

Kingfish

Lumpfish

Mudfish

Needlefish

Oarfish

Parrotfish

Rabbitfish

Shark

Did you answer “Shark”?

Wrong.

Dizzygillespiefish is the only one that isn’t real - I made it up.

Sharks, however, are real... and some of them walk on land with two legs, and take economic advantage of the rest of us.

Let’s cast our line out and see if an economy runs through it:

In his clever and easily-understood book on economics, ‘HOW AN ECONOMY GROWS AND WHY IT CRASHES’, Peter Schiff uses fish instead of dollars to explain sound economics as well as the opposite of sound economics (i.e., The Federal Reserve System). If you ever thought economics was too deep a subject for you to mentally hook, then you need to read Peter Schiff’s explanations, cloaked in simple, amusing parables.

It’s amazing what people can wrap their minds around when you change one thing into another... like dollars into fish and capitalists into island fishermen. Make it simple, make it fun, and people will learn deep (sea) stuffs almost despite themselves!

In his story, economist Peter Schiff names his fish characters after real politicians and money magicians (charlatans). See if you can guess who or what these “fish characters” represent in real life:

Franky Deep

Grouper Cleveland

Hughey Humpback

Ally Greenfin

Buddy Goldfish

Slippery Dickson

Cliff Cod

Finnie Mae and Fishy Mac

Piker Skiff

George W. Bass

Barry Ocuda

Carp for Carts

Nan ShallowSea

Hyperfishflation

So, how many of those did you figure out?

If you ever thought the subject of economics was “too many” for you, ‘HOW AN ECONOMY GROWS AND WHY IT CRASHES’ is the book for you. ~~Peter~~ ~~Schiff~~ Piker Skiff will ‘splain it to you, Lucy Lungfish.

A few days ago, ‘The King Of Blogs’, Arlee Bird of ‘TOSSING IT OUT’ fame Emailed me with a link to a video. I wanted to find a way to post it. Although it states the truth, it does not include a lot of verifiable facts like most of my blog bits do. Nevertheless, I thought it was a cool video... in a very “blue” way. Here it is, and only 5.5 minutes long:

The Real American Theatre Is All An Illusion!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9TIU8OMO-A

NOTE: Up until just now - as I write these final words - I believed that I was dealing with one theme: ocean fishes (particularly sharks). But I paused long enough to check my Email before posting this (to see if I’m taking this woman to ‘The Retro Theatre’ tonight) and what I found was another link sent by Arlee Bird. I watched the video and was amused, but it was at the point where Tim Hawkins sings of the government, “They’re power-hungry and malicious; their economics are fictitious”, that I knew I would add this short, last-minute video as the coda to this blog bit.

And the moment I made that decision, my mind realized that I was dealing with a second theme and a third “theatre”. The first one, I had already nicknamed the “The Jacques Cousteau Underwater Misadventure Theatre”. The next one on my mind was ‘The Retro Theatre’ (now playing ‘Falling Down’ starring Michael Douglas). And the third one, Tim Hawkins himself named “Uncle Sam Theatre”. Hokey-Smoke and Hoo-Wee times three! Life can be so weird sometimes!

Anyway... forget John Denver! How many of you remember the 1972 Sammy Davis Jr. #1 hit song ‘The Candy Man’? It was 1972 and I was a paperboy [“I want my TWO DOLLARS!!”] and there was a man on my route who would often give me a piece of candy. (No, no, it wasn’t like THAT! Times were different then, and a nice man could innocently give the paperboy candy.) I nicknamed him “The Candy Man” after the Sammy Davis Jr. song.

Sit back now for three minutes and enjoy...

Tim Hawkins - The Government Can

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO2eh6f5Go0

~ Stephen T. McCarthy

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

‘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.]

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!]