2018, APRIL 15: BATTLE OF THE BANDS (Or, PIONEER CHICKEN VS. GOLD CUP COFFEE)

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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, 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 'BOTB' and another installment in the "Battle For Los Angeles" category.
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Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!...
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When the city of Los Angeles comes to mind, most folks probably think first of Hollywood -- maybe the movie studios, or the famous Sunset Strip, or the intersection of Hollywood & Vine and the hand / footprints of legendary stars at the Chinese Theatre. Others might first think of the warm, sunny skies and "The Beautiful People" on the beaches in Malibu, Venice or Santa Monica. 
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For the majority of folks, the thought of L.A.'s seedy underbelly -- the hustlers, the prostitutes, the grime 'n' crime -- are probably just afterthoughts, if they are thought of at all.
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Circa 1982, a buddy and I drank Jack Daniel's whiskey one night while hanging on the letter "H" of the Hollywood sign. But that's a story for another BOTB installment. 

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Studying to become an actor, I spent a lot of time humanity-watching in different parts of L.A. The city has many moods and many types of people, and I liked to immerse myself in them and interact with them. 
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Echo Park and Hollywood Boulevard (both of them pretty grungy and edgy in the 1970s and early '80s) are just two of the places I used to spend days blending into the background to observe people. 
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Today's Battle looks at the sketchy side of L.A. life. The first song is from the point-of-view of a writer-wannabe with a drug problem and living in Echo Park. (Fun Fact #1: My parents' first residence as newlyweds in '58 was in Echo Park. The stork brought me the next year and they moved to an apartment in Santa Monica.) And the second contender is singing about the raunchy life of runaway teens hustling on dirty, dangerous Hollywood Boulevard. (Fun Fact #2: The second artist actually produced the song by the first artist.) 
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Warren Zevon's eponymous 1976 album was produced by Jackson Browne and it contained 'Poor, Poor Pitiful Me'. Linda Ronstadt's cover of that song became a Top 40 hit for her. But the ninth track on that LP was a ballad titled 'Carmelita'. It was about a drug-addicted writer listening to a Mexican radio station from Echo Park in L.A. and it mentioned a "Pioneer Chicken Stand" on Alvarado Street. (In the 1970s and early '80s, Pioneer was Kentucky Fried Chicken's biggest competitor in the L.A. area. My family got the Pioneer take-out pretty often because it was cheaper than KFC.)
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Let's listen in...
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'CARMELITA' by Warren Zevon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeb0OI8wXN4

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Interestingly, in the old photo below of Hollywood Boulevard, there is a white Pioneer Chicken fast food sign at the right edge. On the left, The Gold Cup coffee shop sign dominates the photo.

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Ironically, The Gold Cup plays a part in our next competitor's song...

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"The Gold Cup" at extreme left.  "Pioneer Chicken" at extreme right.

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If there truly is a "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams", it's Hollywood Boulevard. (I'd almost chuckle to think of the disappointment people must have felt after traveling across the country to stand at the world-famous intersection of Hollywood & Vine. That dirty little corner swarming with winos, druggies and prostitutes must have been one of the world's all-time greatest let-downs! Ha!!)
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In 1980, 'Boulevard' became one of Jackson Browne's biggest hits. Wackypedia sez:
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Browne said in a radio interview: "It's about runaways, and, you know... as sort of a bystander, it's about Hollywood Boulevard. I used to live right above Hollywood Boulevard, and there's a place called The Gold Cup and there's a lot of runaway kids and there's a lot of teen prostitution around there. It was partly written from the point of view of a young person on that street ...  You're sort of, maybe, empathizing with them to some degree, and also trying to say 'it's only time.' It's time on the boulevard, but this doesn't mean this is who you are and where you'll always be, I guess was what I was trying to say..."
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From my old days of hanging out people-watching on Hollywood Boulevard, I vividly remember The Gold Cup (Browne refers to it as "the Golden Cup" in the song), and indeed there were always lots of teenage street urchins in and around that coffee shop.
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'BOULEVARD' by Jackson Browne

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajnjhU4CAUw&t=16s

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The Battle Within The Battle:

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VERSUS

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Question: "Will Warren Zevon lose to Jackson Browne?"

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The Magic 8-Ball (1-0) sez:  "Don't Count On It"

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The Amazing Sixwell (0-1) sez:  "Most Likely"

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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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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.
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Vote your vice... Vice your voice... Voice Your Vote...
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@ ‘TOSSING IT OUT’ 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.
@ 'CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE' by clicking HERE.
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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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