STMcC’s Vote On '2020, June 1st: Battle Of The Bands' (BOTB) - Or, Starbuck Versus Vicki Sue Robinson Versus The Tavares Brothers - And The Final Tally:
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First and foremost, my sincere thanks to everyone of you who voted on my Battle [link> HERE.
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When I made the decision to treat Starbuck like a red-headed stepchild by removing their big hit 'Moonlight Feels Right' from this 3-way BOTB competition, I pretty well figured it meant that I was giving the victory to Vicki.
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And that's exactly how it played out:
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Starbuck = 3 votes
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Vicki Sue Robinson = 9 votes
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The Tavares Brothers = 4 votes
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Because I done Starbuck wrong, for fear of facing a BOTB shutout, I feels bad. And to rectify the situation, I'm seriously thinking that on June 1, 2021 (if the Internet and BOTB is still a "thing"), I may give Starbuck a rematch against Vicki and see if she can still wallop Starbuck on an even playing field. (My Magic 8-Ball sez: Outlook not so good.)
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I had a lot of fun in the comment section. (Thanks again all Y'all!) And I got a kick out of it when G Dogg referred to Starbuck's 'Rock 'N' Roll Rocket' as "The Plan 9 From Outer Space of Songs!"
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Ha!-Ha! That still makes me COL! (Chuckle-Out-Loud!)
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And now for the rest of the story...
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As much as I love Vicki Sue Robinson's 'Turn The Beat Around' (and, yes, I really do LOVE it!), my vote went to Starbuck because... there's just so much history there for me.
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I told y'all (here) how I happened to see Starbuck play their final song of the night ('Rock 'N' Roll Rocket') at Disneyland during "Grad Nite '77". The very next day I drove to a record store and bought ALL of Starbuck's LPs. ...(They only had two albums out at that time.) Over the next two or three years, I played those albums to death - damn-near wore the grooves smooth.
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If you listen to [link> ROCK 'N' ROLL ROCKET' / LITTLE BIRD (Reprise) once more, you'll notice that in the segue to 'Little Bird (Reprise)' there's this weird Framptonesque "Talk Box" segment in which Starbuck's singer, Bruce Blackman, asks the question "Is it fun to be serious? Ha!-Ha!-Ha!-Ha!-Ha!"
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Believe it or not, hearing that so many times over the next few years, it actually had a pretty huge impact on me. As some of you even mentioned in the BOTB comment section, my senior portrait showed a very intense and serious 17-year-old. Indeed, that was me.
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But within a few years of that picture having been taken, I had lightened up to a tremendous degree and had actually developed a pretty quick 'n' sharp sense o' humor. And although there are certainly plenty of reasons for the change - or more well-rounded development - I have always given credit first to Bruce Blackman for asking me a godzillion and two times, "Stephen, Is it fun to be serious? Ha!-Ha!-Ha!-Ha!-Ha!"
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Thanks, Bruce! You done helped me come outta my shell quite a bit!!
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Well, that's all for this one. But I hope all Y'all will join me again for my next Battle Of The Bands installment on July 1st.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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