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My sincerely sincere gratitude to everyone who took the time to visit & vote on my July 15th BOTB's Battle Of The Booze installment which happened HERE.
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Warren Zevon's zong 'Werewolves Of London' (pina colada) went up against the other Warren Zevon's 'Desperados Under The Eaves' (margarita) and it was a very good Battle (meaning "a very close Battle").
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I really like a lot of Warren Zevon's zongs, and still own four of his albums on compact discs. My music collection wouldn't be complete without songs like 'Poor, Poor Pitiful Me'; 'I'll Sleep When I'm Dead'; 'Carmelita'; 'Bad Karma'; 'Even A Dog Can Shake Hands'; 'The Heartache'; 'Ain't That Pretty At All'; 'Looking For The Next Best Thing'.
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And although 'Werewolves Of London' is essentially just a novelty song, I happen to love novelty songs. (Anything that can put a smile on my face in this pathetically sad world is A-OK by me!)
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However, 'Desperados Under The Eaves' has always been my very favorite Zevon zong. I won't drone on and on and on and on and on and on and bore you with all of the details that make 'Desperados...' my favorite of Warren's recordings. But I do want to say that I find the song very anthemic, in the way that it builds up, through the down-'n'-out paranoia of the beginning, to that very hopeful chorus and orchestra at the end.
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"LOOK AWAY DOWN GOWER AVENUE!"
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I've also always been intrigued by the mystery of this song. "Gower Avenue" is really a "Street", but I suppose Zevon called it an avenue for the additional syllables in the lyrics' meter. I don't know what Gower looks like today, but when I lived in helL.A., Gower was a very dirty, grungy, impoverished looking street that ran through the center of disappointing Hollywood. The only notable thing about Gower that I'm aware of is that it runs right alongside the western edge of Paramount Studios and the Hollywood Cemetery, which abuts Paramount to the north.
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I've always wondered what Zevon found hopeful (and maybe even salvational?) about Gower Street. Was it the fact that a historical dream-making facility like Paramount was located there, right in the middle of slumsville? Perhaps Warren found it funny that there in Hollywood, smack-dab against a major movie studio was a cemetery (the final resting place for Rudolph Valentino, Judy Garland, Cecil B. DeMille, Mickey Rooney, Tyrone Power, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mel Blanc).
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At any rate, I've always loved the lyrics, the melody, and the strange, positive ending of 'Desperados Under The Eaves', so naturally that is where my vote landed, giving us this...
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FINAL TALLY:
Zevon's 'Werewolf' = 5 votes
Zevon's 'Desperados' = 6 votes
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Warren Zevon's zong 'Werewolves Of London' (pina colada) went up against the other Warren Zevon's 'Desperados Under The Eaves' (margarita) and it was a very good Battle (meaning "a very close Battle").
.
I really like a lot of Warren Zevon's zongs, and still own four of his albums on compact discs. My music collection wouldn't be complete without songs like 'Poor, Poor Pitiful Me'; 'I'll Sleep When I'm Dead'; 'Carmelita'; 'Bad Karma'; 'Even A Dog Can Shake Hands'; 'The Heartache'; 'Ain't That Pretty At All'; 'Looking For The Next Best Thing'.
.
And although 'Werewolves Of London' is essentially just a novelty song, I happen to love novelty songs. (Anything that can put a smile on my face in this pathetically sad world is A-OK by me!)
.
However, 'Desperados Under The Eaves' has always been my very favorite Zevon zong. I won't drone on and on and on and on and on and on and bore you with all of the details that make 'Desperados...' my favorite of Warren's recordings. But I do want to say that I find the song very anthemic, in the way that it builds up, through the down-'n'-out paranoia of the beginning, to that very hopeful chorus and orchestra at the end.
.
"LOOK AWAY DOWN GOWER AVENUE!"
.
I've also always been intrigued by the mystery of this song. "Gower Avenue" is really a "Street", but I suppose Zevon called it an avenue for the additional syllables in the lyrics' meter. I don't know what Gower looks like today, but when I lived in helL.A., Gower was a very dirty, grungy, impoverished looking street that ran through the center of disappointing Hollywood. The only notable thing about Gower that I'm aware of is that it runs right alongside the western edge of Paramount Studios and the Hollywood Cemetery, which abuts Paramount to the north.
.
I've always wondered what Zevon found hopeful (and maybe even salvational?) about Gower Street. Was it the fact that a historical dream-making facility like Paramount was located there, right in the middle of slumsville? Perhaps Warren found it funny that there in Hollywood, smack-dab against a major movie studio was a cemetery (the final resting place for Rudolph Valentino, Judy Garland, Cecil B. DeMille, Mickey Rooney, Tyrone Power, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mel Blanc).
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At any rate, I've always loved the lyrics, the melody, and the strange, positive ending of 'Desperados Under The Eaves', so naturally that is where my vote landed, giving us this...
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FINAL TALLY:
Zevon's 'Werewolf' = 5 votes
Zevon's 'Desperados' = 6 votes
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'Desperados Under The Eaves' will advance to BOTB's Battle Of The Booze playoffs, while the 'Werewolf' drowns his sorrow in pina coladas at Traver Vic's.
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Thanks again, y'all. Please return for my next Battle on August 1st. "We are going to drink... > WINE!"
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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Thanks again, y'all. Please return for my next Battle on August 1st. "We are going to drink... > WINE!"
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
I don't know if in reality nobody has commented, or you are too tired to post the hundreds of comments submitted and in queue. But if I am the first comment, then shame on us all! ("I've been sick.")
ReplyDeleteI had a strong feeling that you would vote for Desperados and have a back story on it. Your saudade for the L.A. long gone, one that only exists in memories, includes many streets, restaurants, and bars. If a song contains references like Desperados does then it automatically has a head start on most other songs. But it still has to be good!
And this one really is. Zevon is a guy that would have continued to make good music had he not passed, I am sure. He was not the sort of writer that just relies on a catchy hook and the experiences of yout for material, as do most rock/pop stars that are tapped out after one or two albums. This was an excellent battle... a top 10% one fer sure!
Sheboyganboy Six
Hoot Gibson! Excellent comment, Sir Six! And, yes, indeed you were the first (and still only) person to submit a comment on my BOTB Results post. Maybe everyone was so astounded that Warren Zevon won that it left them speechless (and fingerless?)
Delete'DESPERADOS...' always appealed to me, even before the L.A. of my yout was but a distant memory.
That line about the motel still standing until he paid his bill always made me chuckle, because I was similarly morose & paranoid at times. Also, back in my hazy, dazey days of drinking like a fish, I did sometimes wake up with "shaking hands" while hoping to find a girl who understood me. I always loved the mystery behind the "Gower" reference & the hopeful ending of the song. It really was like a "fight on!" theme.
Then there's something else that I didn't even mention in my post: Nappy, Twinkie & I drove to Antonio's for dinner many times. (Antonio's is gone now, but it was / is my all-time favorite restaurant.) It was located on Melrose, near Hollywood. On the drive there, we'd pass these dumpy motels and we each claimed one as our own. Mine was called the 'Hawaiian' and was located on La Brea Avenue. It wasn't the same motel Zevon refers to in the song, but it further connected me to 'Desperados...' / further connected 'Desperados...' to me.
I'm pleased as a Shirley Temple that you enjoyed this Battle so much and have commented on the outcome. Top 10% is really saying a lot, considering I've done 197 Battles over the last 11+ years.
My next Battle probably won't be a very popular one, however it was inspired by something I recently wrote and *YOU* are perhaps the only person who has read it, so you will initially have the inside track on my August 1st contest.
Thanks again, Sir Sixy!
~ D-FensDogG
Aooooooooh! Had I remembered to blog, I would have tied the bote here St Mac. Warren Zevon zang Werewolf of London?? Huh, I thought it was Skynard. Warren is a bit depressing in his lyrical outlook I guess, but I like his humor.
ReplyDeleteI thought this phase of your existence was finished like, a year ago.
Wine you promise here! Well, I guess I should show up with a large empty glass and leave a nasty comment :)