BOTB RESULTS: DEC. 15th, 2019 (Or, BURL, BOB, AND THE BOYS)

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STMcC’s Vote On '2019, December 15th: Battle Of The Bands' (BOTB) - Or, Burl Versus Boys Versus Bob - And The Final Tally:
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My last Battle Of The Bands installment for 2019 (may the likes of this year never be seen again!) took place [link> HERE. The song was 'The Little Drummer Boy' and our contestants were Burl Ives, The Vienna Boys Choir, and Bob Seger (not to be confused with Pete Seeger!) Several voters - myself included - felt the Battle was a goot juan, even though Big Burl didn't have much trouble whipping the competition.
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I'm not a big fan of the Bob Seger rendition, as I don't really feel the prominent electric guitar and saxophone solos belong in a song about a drummer boy. (It almost seems as if Seger was saying: I may be singing a Christmas song, but don't forget I'm still really a rocker at heart!)
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I truly LOVE both of the versions by Burl and The Vienna Boys Choir, and it's a pretty tough call for me. But I cast my BOTB bote for Big Burl, as I like the way he sings 'The Little Drummer Boy' in such a way that makes it feel very intimate, personal, and heartfelt.
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Burl Ives = 8 votes
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The Vienna Boys Choir = 4 votes
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Bob Seger = 1 vote
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Now for some sad news:
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Carnac The Magnificent predicted the outcome of this Battle correctly, giving him a record of 4-2. Twice as many hits as misses - not bad at all. Unfortunately, however, Carnac got run over by a reindeer, walking home from my house the other evening. He'd been drinking too much egg nog and I begged him not to go, but he forgot his medication, and he staggered out the door into the snow. When I found him the next morning, at the scene of the attack, he had hoof-prints on his forehead and incriminating Claus marks on his back. I guess Carnac didn't see that coming. (They should never give a license to a man who drives a sleigh and plays with elves!)
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Carnac will be missed, but BOTB will go on. In fact, I'll be back here again with a new Battle on "Margarita Day" (That's "New Year's Day" to you). With Debbie the Doglady out until January 15th, and Doc Cherdo taking a break until February, our first BOTB Blogfest of 2020 promises to be a meager affair. But the show must go on, and I hope to see all y'all here again. Until then, my friends, my friends, thanks for participating in BOTB, and I wish a Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year to you and yourn!!
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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2019, DEC. 15: BATTLE OF THE BANDS (Or, BURL VS. BOYS VS. BOB)

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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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On the Positive side: Yip! I'm doing a second BOTB installment this month, only because I'm such a fan of Christmas and Christmas music! 
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On the Negative side: BOTB is increasingly feeling less and less like the community it was years ago. (See? I pulled that linguistic trick again, by using "increasingly" to describe something that is becoming "less". Phunny, huh?)
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Anyway... the idea behind a blogfest is that people join a collective project which has a beginning and an ending - you know, like a beginning and ending? As opposed to a haphazard collection of stray cats and dogs running willy-nilly around an unfenced property that experiences neither day nor night.
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The original idea for BOTB was that each Battle would be initiated and concluded in a single week, with the voting window open for 6 days, and the voting results announced on the 7th day of rest. It looked like this:
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1st of the month - a new Battle begins.
7th of the month - the Battle Results are announced.
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15th of the month - a new Battle begins.
21st of the month - the Battle Results are announced.
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See how that works? That little bit of structure gave BOTB a sense of cohesion and made it feel like a fun family game or community project. But today - with Results getting posted any old time - or not even getting posted at all, until the next Battle begins - BOTB seems like it's not really a blogfest at all, but just random individuals doing whatever whenever. 
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Now, of course, I understand that occasionally real life happens, and we can't always keep strictly to a predetermined schedule. Even I myself have been a day or two late announcing BOTB Results, but that has only happened a few times in over 6 years! And I'd like to see BOTB regain some of its earlier structure, which made it seem more like an "event" than just a handful of music-lovers milling around.
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Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!...
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I rarely do the more time-consuming 3-Way Battles, but I'm presenting a 3-Way this time because I think I've got a goot juan that features 3 strikingly different renditions of the song 'The Little Drummer Boy'. Here's the first one for your consideration:
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THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY - BURL IVES
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJMqcynrZRo


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In 1968, Rankin & Bass created the stop-motion animated Christmas television special 'The Little Drummer Boy', based on the popular song. I'm sure you've all seen it.
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Featured in the TV special was a rendition of the song by The Vienna Boys Choir, and that is our second competitor in this contest:
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THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY - THE VIENNA BOYS CHOIR
(Note: The song doesn't begin until 14 seconds into the video.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJHmvrkOSqU


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And our final competitor is a famous Rock star with some notable 'night moves'...
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THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY - BOB SEGER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxW-4YaRZnI


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Carnac The Magnificent (3-2): The jolly fat man.
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Question: Who will prevail, Burl, Boys, or Bob?
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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. Vote your vice...   Vice your voice... 
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Voice Your Vote...
@ TOSSING IT OUT by clicking HERE
@ MIKE'S RAMBLINGS by clicking HERE
@ THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING by clicking HERE
@ JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE by clicking HERE
@ THE DOGLADY'S DEN by clicking HERE
@ CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE by clicking HERE
@ CURIOUS AS A CATHY by clicking HERE
@ AI LOVE MUSIC by clicking HERE
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I will return to this 'BOTB' blog bit on December 21st to post my own vote and announce the winner.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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BOTB RESULTS: DEC. 1, 2019 (THE RONETTES VERSUS CHICAGO)

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STMcC’s Vote On '2019, December 1st: Battle Of The Bands' (BOTB) - Or, The Ronettes Versus Chicago - And The Final Tally:
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"Ma-ma-ma-ma-cita, donde esta Santa Cleese... da vato wit da bony knees... he comin' down da street wit no choos on his feet... and he's going to..." No, no, that ain't it... 
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HOT DOG! As I sit here drinking my morning coffee and typing up this BOTB Results page, I'm looking out my living room windows and seeing sunshine. The sky is blue and the white sh*t on the ground is starting to melt! We haven't seen sunshine here for about a week and a half! I was starting to feel like I was living in a Twilight Zone episode! 
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My thanks to each and every one of y'all who took the time to participate in my latest Battle Of The Bands contest! You folks made it a really goot juan! The contest took place [link> HERE, and it was The Ronettes battling Chicago over the classic Holiday song 'Sleigh Ride'. 
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Chicago jumped out to a quick lead but The Ronettes' sleigh - pulled by Rudolph, Donner, Blitzen, Chuey, Tavo, and 'Berto - soon caught up, and from that point on, we had us a real serious reindeer race on our hands! 
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As for me, I love the song 'Sleigh Ride' so much that I think it would be difficult for someone to mess it up. And so, naturally, I enjoyed BOTH versions of the song that I used in this Battle. The Ronettes do it with so much upbeat cheerfulness that their energy rubs off on me. But... that Chicago sleigh seems so loaded with fun romance that it makes me want to climb in and go along for the ride! To me, no version of 'Sleigh Ride' could ever touch Leroy Anderson's instrumental. Leroy was the composer of the song and he got it right right from the start! But I gotta say, of all the many covers I've heard, Chicago's just might be my favorite. 
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So here's the final tally, with my vote included:
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The Ronettes = 8 votes
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Chicago = 7 votes
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The house psychic, Carnac The Magnificent, predicted the outcome correctly, giving him a prognosticating record of 3-2.
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I intend to return here with another Battle Of The Bands installment on December 15th and I hope all y'all will come back again for that one. In the meantime, please have 12 hot buttered rums for me! But don't drink and drive! If you *must* drink, then crawl. 
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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2019, DEC. 1: BATTLE OF THE BANDS (Or, THE RONETTES VERSUS CHICAGO)

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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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Eugene Martone versus Jack Butler

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Because it's Christmastime, and because I love Christmas and Christmas music so much, I'm planning to do two (count 'em: 2) BOTB contests this month - the first one on the 1st (hey, that's TODAY!) as well as the second one on the 15th. 
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STMcC at Santa's Village, circa 1990.

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I've never been on a sled pulled by dogs. But I have been on a sleigh ride - kinda-sorta. That was at [link> Santa's Village near Lake Arrowhead, California, in probably 1989, '90, or '91. 
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When my Brother, Sister, and I were very little, our parents took us to [link> Santa's Village two or three times. We LOVED it! 
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When I went up to Santa's joint a couple times from '89 to '91, the place had fallen on hard times, and since there were no reindeer (horses or mules) to pull the sleigh ride, an employee had to get behind the sleigh and push it around the track. Ha!-Ha! It was like something out of a satirical, black comedy Holiday movie.
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I'm happy to report that after closing in 1998 and remaining abandoned for 15 years, Santa's Ghost Town was purchased and refurbished and apparently looks great again. I'd love to revisit Santa's Village someday:
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OK, that was my lead-up to today's BOTB song, the classic 'SLEIGH RIDE'. Here are the two competitors: 
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SLEIGH RIDE - THE RONETTES
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6rDA2Czz0E

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SLEIGH RIDE - CHICAGO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fskjw1czWmI

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Carnac The Magnificent (2-2) : "Jessica Claus"
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Question: Who will win this Battle of the Sexes?
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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. Vote your vice...   Vice your voice... 
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Voice Your Vote...
@ TOSSING IT OUT by clicking HERE
@ MIKE'S RAMBLINGS by clicking HERE
@ THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING by clicking HERE
@ JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE by clicking HERE
@ THE DOGLADY'S DEN by clicking HERE
@ CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE by clicking HERE
@ CURIOUS AS A CATHY by clicking HERE
@ AI LOVE MUSIC 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 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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