2017, MAY 15: BATTLE OF THE BANDS (Or, BAD LEROY BROWN VS. BIG JIM WALKER)

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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...
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'BATTLE OF THE BANDS' ('BOTB')
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Shoop-Shooby -
Shooby-Duh-Dooby-Doop-Dooby-Dooby-Doo-Wah -
Buh-Doo-Wah!
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Yes, it's time once again for 'Battle Of The Bands' ('BOTB').
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Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!...
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But first, ANNOUNCEMENT #1: Debbie from 'The Doglady's Den' and Michele from 'Angels Bark' have rejoined BOTB. So please be sure you remember not to forget to visit their Battles this round.
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EUGENE  MARTONE  VS.  JACK  BUTLER

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Back "in the day" (aka "The 1970s"), the great JIM CROCE had two Top Ten hit songs about tough guys. The first one was YOU DON'T MESS AROUND WITH JIM. It went to #8 in '72. The following year, Croce had his biggest hit ever with BAD, BAD LEROY BROWN, which stayed at #1 for two weeks.
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I thought it might be fun to see both tough guys step into the BOTB ring to fight each other for the first time. And it is WE who will decide who's really bigger and badder. I guess Jim is the underdog in this bout, but we know that with BOTB anything can happen.
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GOODNIKS  VS.  NO-GOODNIKS

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YOU DON'T MESS AROUND WITH JIM -- JIM CROCE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4qUXcXuMSE
 
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GODZILLA  VS.  KING  KONG

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BAD, BAD LEROY BROWN -- Jim Croce
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBVobhHn5IY

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RIDDLER  VS.  BATMAN

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Question: Will Big Jim Walker beat Bad Leroy Brown?
Magic 8-Ball  sez:  "Most Likely"
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Well... the ol' 8-Ball is consistent if nuttin' else can be said for it.
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ANNOUNCEMENT #2: I'm sad to report that for a couple of reasons, I will be leaving the BOTB blogfest. Or... to be more precise: I will be "semi-leaving" the BOTB blogfest. You see, I've been doing BOTB since the beginning -- August 1, 2013. And at this point I feel like I've exhausted the concept. More importantly, though, is that I currently have 3 active blogs and not enough time for all 3. 
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My Spiritual / Political blog, FERRET-FACED FASCIST FRIENDS, has always been my most important. And my new Product Reviews blog, STEPHEN T. McCARTHY REVIEWS... is... well... new. So, naturally, I have more interest in that one at the moment.
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I've decided that the anniversary date of August 1st will be my last BOTB Battle. Or... last for awhile. I have one or two Battle ideas I'm interested in doing during the Christmas season. So, I'm thinking I'll become an occasional "Guest BOTBer" from time to time.
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One thing you can be certain of, however, is that I will ALWAYS support BOTB with my votes. As long as anyone is still putting together music Battles, I will still be coming around to submit my own (loud-mouthed, overly-opinionated) votes.
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Alright now, “you know the gig”... I welcome you (whether I know "you" or not) to vote for your favorite of these songs in the comment section below. And feel free to tell us WHY you chose one song over the other.
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Voice Your Vote...

@ ‘TOSSING IT OUT’ by clicking HERE.
@ ‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’ by clicking HERE.
@ 'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CURIOUS AS A CATHY' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING' by clicking HERE
@ 'JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE' by clicking HERE.
@ 'ANGELS BARK' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE DOGLADY'S DEN' by clicking HERE.

As I've done in the past, I will continue to return to my 'BOTB' blog bits on the 7th and 21st of each month to post my own votes and announce the winners in the comment sections.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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2017, MAY 1: BATTLE OF THE BANDS (Or, WHITNEY HOUSTON VS. JESSE McGUIRE)

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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...
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'BATTLE OF THE BANDS' ('BOTB')
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Yes, it's time once again for 'Battle Of The Bands' ('BOTB').
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Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!...
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EUGENE  MARTONE  VS.  JACK  BUTLER

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May 1st is called May Day, and some o' y'all may not be aware that for quite some time it has been a tradition for Communists to celebrate on this date. They call it International Workers' Day -- you know that whole workers = proletariat bit, right? (Whenever you find the words "workers" or "The People's" in a title, look deeper.) The following notes come from Wackypedia:

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International Workers' Day, also known as Labour Day in some countries, is a celebration of labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement, socialists, communists or anarchists and occurs every year on May Day (1 May), an ancient European spring festival. The date was chosen for International Workers' Day by the Second International, a pan-national organization of socialist and communist political parties...

In fact, while you're reading this, in Nashville, Tennessee (among other places), communists are publicly protesting. Known for their recent rioting and acts of personal violence against innocent people, the "Antifa" Communists (short for "Anti-Fascists") in Nashville are being met by a counter group of American Patriots. The street fighting may have already begun:

[link:) Nashville Patriots Announce Counter Protest In Response To Communist Antifa May Day Rally.

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(Go, American Patriots! Kick a Commie for your mommy!!)
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FUN FACT: On May 1st in 1957, Communism's worst nightmare, Senator Joe McCarthy, was lying deathly ill in a hospital bed. What a celebration it would have been for the communists if McCarthy had passed away on May Day. Personally, I feel that great patriot's soul literally willed his body to remain alive until May 2nd.
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I figured this would be an ideal day to use 'THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER' in BOTB.
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Our first contestant is Whitney Houston whose recording of our National Anthem is almost certainly the most famous. Here's more from Wackypedia...
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On January 27, 1991 -- 10 days into the Persian Gulf War -- Whitney Houston took the field at Tampa Stadium and performed "The Star Spangled Banner" ... The patriotic feeling of Houston's stirring cover resonated strongly with the public. ... According to Clive Davis, Arista Records' decision to release the record came after three days of being flooded with phone calls from all over the country from people asking to buy copies of the single. Hundreds of radio stations around the country aired the song from tapes they had recorded from the TV broadcast.
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Take it away, Whitney!
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THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER -- Whitney Houston
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_lCmBvYMRs

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A less well-known but intensely stirring instrumental rendition of the National Anthem was played by trumpeter Jesse McGuire just before the start of the final game of the 2001 World Series.
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Baseball fans will remember that due to the postponement of Major League Baseball games as a result of the September 11th World Trade Center attacks, the World Series between the New York Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks did not begin until October 27th. When Jesse McGuire took the field to play the National Anthem, the recent terrorist attacks were on everyone's mind and a sense of American patriotism was cranked "up to eleven".
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THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER -- Jesse McGuire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hHisW49nJE&t=66s

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Question: Will Whitney Houston win this Battle?
Magic 8-Ball sez:  "It Is Certain" 
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Alright now, “you know the gig”... I welcome you (whether I know "you" or not) to vote for your favorite of these songs in the comment section below. And feel free to tell us WHY you chose one song over the other. 

After voting here, I suggest - actually I insist - you pop over to the blogs of the other 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS' participants 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 their blogs to vice your voice ...vote your vice ...voice your vote.)

Voice Your Vote...

@ ‘TOSSING IT OUT’ by clicking HERE.
@ ‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’ by clicking HERE.
@ 'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CURIOUS AS A CATHY' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING' by clicking HERE
@ 'JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE' by clicking HERE.

As I've done in the past, I will continue to return to my 'BOTB' blog bits on the 7th and 21st of each month to post my own votes and announce the winners in the comment sections.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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