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I currently have a list of about 115 different songs to use in my BOTB Battle Of The Booze contests. The problem is that my mind makes an infinite number of connections between different things. So, if I really wanted to, I could probably find some sort of connections between all 115 of these songs & reasons why one song should do battle with any number of the others. In other words, it's difficult for me to narrow down the possibilities. My brain was doing cartwheels, whirligigs, somersaults, and bibbidi-bobbidi-boos trying to figure out what my Sept. 15th Battle oughta 🐝.
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I finaventually narrowed it down to doing a birthday tribute to my good friend Joe, who was born on Sept. 21st. Meaning that I was going to use the hit song 'Ventura Highway' by America, which I recorded from the radio on Sept. 21, 1985. I titled the cassette tape 'Me, Lynth & The Beach Report' and, to this day, it is one of my all-time favorite possessions. It's not just a physical tape; it's a Spiritual message. I'd explain that, but you'd think I was more'n a wee bit o' crazy.
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| 'Me, Lynth & The Beach Report' cassette tape from 1985. |
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| cassette notes |
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I couldn't even calculate (with a calculator) how many different songs I considered using against America's hit. But then on the night of 9/11, the Light suddenly came shining through. The keyword was "America".
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My mind connected America, the 2/3rds American group formed in London, with 'America Sings', one of my all-time favorite Disneyland attractions. 'America Sings' was created for America's 1976 Bicentennial Celebration, which is humorously recreated in the movie 'The Spirit Of '76', starring David Cassidy.😏
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In 'America Sings', Disney's animatronics perform Three Dog Night's 'Joy To The World'. {There's your "dog", if'n you was waitin' for it to appear here.}
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As be necessary, BOTH songs mention booze:
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Jeremiah was a bullfrog
Was a good friend of mine
I never understood a single word he said
But I helped him a-drink his wine
And he always had some mighty fine wine
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Ventura Highway in the sunshine
Where the days are longer
The nights are stronger than moonshine
You're gonna go, I know
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For anyone who might want to see 'Joy To The World' sung in Disneyland's attraction 'America Sings', which was dismantled in 1988, click HERE and then skip forward to the 17:00 mark.
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Alright, let's get on it.
Let's get ON this thing!
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Please vote for the song you like best here, and then please visit all of the other BOTBers and participate in their Battles also. I thank ye kindly.
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JOY TO THE WORLD
by Three Dog Night
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VENTURA HIGHWAY
by America
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I'll return here on or about Sept. 22nd with my own vote and the final tally.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
I'd explain that, but you'd think I was more'n a wee bit o' crazy.
ReplyDelete1. No need to explain. I understand completely.
2. You ARE more'n a wee bit crazy, regardless. 😜
I'm trying not to let my love for TBR cloud my judgment in this battle, but let it be known that even now, on a perfect 85 degree day (the water temperature is just right... wherever that water may be), I'll often slip into the backyard, kick my feet up on the new patio table, and enjoy TBR on my digital portable radio while I sip a cold one.
I do like both songs. I also believe that even if it wasn't for TBR, I'd still pick America. Therefore, my bote enthusiastically goes to America, and now I'm gonna have to chill a cold one, because after I mow the lawn, the water temperature seems just right for a nice afternoon of TBR.
(Now if only I could get this little radio to pick up 69 XTRA Gold)
~Chief Julio down by the train, er backyard
6-B(ackyard) ~
DeleteWhat the Outlaw sang about himself applies equally to me: "I've always been crazy but it's kept me from going insane".
FUN FACT: I actually listened to side A of The Beach Report yesterday while putting the finishing touches on this blog bit.
If your radio could pick up 69 XTRA Gold, it would mean that you have time-traveled to the past and entered The Twilight Zone.
Thanks for coming by to participate in my 203rd(?) BOTB installment.
~ D-FensDogG
It's Ventura Highway for me! Gotta love those alligator lizards. Besides, around here you only see (and hear) Jeremiah or his relatives when the washes overflow during Monsoon. Cool battle, full of fun reminders of summers past ;-)
ReplyDeletedIEDRE ~
DeleteI used to have alligator lizard cowboy boots and a bullfrog bolo tie. Whenever I'd wear them at the same time, they'd argue endlessly over which of them was better. So I finally decided to settle that question once and for all with this edition of Battle Of The Bands.
Thanks for helping in the decision making process, my friend!
~ D-FensDogG
Stephen -
ReplyDeleteThis is a rough one! Just the other day I was singing Three Dog Night to a mini schnauzer as she was getting belly rubs.
But Ventura Highway plays loud in my head as well.
Joy to be world was one of the first songs we learned in elementary school and I vaguely recall a group coming to perform a concert for us there - I have no idea if it was the real group or a great knockoff band- I was too young to know the difference.
But for this battle - I am going to have to go with Ventura Highway. It's currently playing loud in my head.
-MMQE
PS.. moving into Assisted Living either tomorrow or Tuesday!
MMQE ~
DeleteGood luck with the assisted living situation. I imagine that could be a good thing... sometimes.
I also remember 'Joy To The World' from when I was a tot. That song was at #1 for 6 weeks, and I suppose there wasn't anyone anywhere who didn't know it. Probably why Disney essentially closed out the 'America Sings' show with that selection. And I believe it was also performed at a junior high school concert I attended. Definitely takes me back to the tie-dyed T-shirt and yellow Smiley Face era.
~ D-FensDogG
We already know you're crazy, Stephen...
ReplyDeleteI'm going to go with Three Dog Night and their only #1 hit, which compared to their earlier hits was kind of a surprise, because I didn't actually like it that much. I just wasn't exactly all that thrilled with "Ventura Highway." America tends to have these songs that have two chords, which isn't all that interesting music. Plus, yesterday was the birthday of Mae Boren Axton, mother of Hoyt Axton, author of "Joy To The World."
So there you have it. Three Dog Night.
>>... "We already know you're crazy, Stephen..."
DeleteYeah, crazy like a fox... terrier.
I did know that Hoyt Axton wrote 'Joy To The World', but that was a Fun Fact about Hoyt's mom's birthday being yesterday.
However, 3 Dog Night actually had a #1 hit the year prior to 'Joy To The World'. It was a cover of Randy Newman's song 'Mama Told Me (Not To Come)'. I remember that my Ma liked that song, and so do I (like mother, like son). My Ma also liked The Temptations' 'Psychedelic Shack' stuffs. She was all over the musical map!
~ D-FensDogG
3 Dog Night for me. I love both songs but I we t wit the first.as lo g as you don’t have converstions with yourself, you are fine.
ReplyDeleteBIRGIT ~
DeleteArguments, yes; conversations, no.
Three Dog Night told me to tell you:
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
~ D-FensDogG
~ D-FensDogG
~ D-FensDogG
The Disney angle does nothing for me. That kid in me left years ago and now it's a negative.
ReplyDeleteThree Dog Night was a very eclectic and versatile group who had some great songs over the years. I like just about all their music. However, I like America's music even better.
Give my vote to America, God bless 'em.
Lee
BOIDMAN LEE ~
DeleteIn 1998, when I read the book 'DISNEY: The Mouse Betrayed' (Greed, Corruption, and Children at Risk) by Peter Schweizer, I went into full, 100% Disney boycott mode, and have never given them an inch (or a dime) since then.
But my memories are loaded with 'Disneyana', and that is one of the reasons why the little boy in me never died. I have a LOT of old classic Disney animated movies and watch them OFTEN! I still love the old movies & old songs.
Unfortunately, Walt's company later became purely evil, and I smile every time they put out a new movie that completely bombs at the box office. They will never recover from what they've done, but I'm sure glad to have the ghost of Disney past in the form of DVDs, compact discs, and even some VHS tapes.
Thanks for stopping by with two cents for the kitty, Lee!
~ D-FensDogG
R. Lee Boid ~
DeleteIn my comment above, I forgot to mention the Disney movie 'SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON'. My brother (Judge Al Bondigas) and I practically worshipped that movie when we were little kids. It seemed to play as part of a double feature for many months (or "years", in "child time") in a theatre near us. Our Ma would drop us off and then pick us up hours later. She was probably doing housework while we were watching pirates die from "coconut bombs" and palm tree & tiger traps!
For many years, our favorite movie was Disney's 'Swiss Family Robinson' and, today, I own it on DVD and watch it on significant days, such as my birthdays. It keeps me young (probably even more than the vitamins & minerals & lecithin does... well... maybe NOT more than the lecithin does).
~ D-FensDogG
This is a TOUGH one for me, Stephen, as both songs hold precious memories. In 2010, I drove up the coast from San Diego to see a friend in Santa Maria, so have personally experienced the Ventura "Highway", real name "Freeway" And yes, I played that song. ☺ "Joy to the World" harkens back to those heady days of youth. Which to choose... I'm going with Three Dog Night, for two reasons. One, that band was my first-ever rock concert in 1971, and, singing those lyrics always puts a smile on my face!
ReplyDeleteDEBBIE ~
DeleteAwesome comment!
And those were two good reasons for voting for Three Dog Night. I would have liked to have seen them perform.
You beat me to a Rock concert by 5 years. My first one was Styx opening for Journey at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in 1976.
Yip! You're right as rain. It's really the "Ventura Freeway". My best Ventura Highway / Freeway story?...
One night in October of 1983, The League Of Soul Crusaders was heading home on the Ventura Freeway when we saw this guy standing in the right emergency lane and exposing his genitals to the passing vehicles. In true League fashion, Torch pulled "Tiburon" (our 1964 Cadillac) over and we chased the sicko off the freeway and through a neighborhood. Torch later found him hiding in a trash dumpster and whimpering. Sad, sad, sad!!!
Thanks for bringing some hooch to this boozy party, Debbie.
~ Stephen
This is a great battle! I just got back from a weekend of camping and hence am late to comment.
ReplyDeleteA couple of iconic songs and different enough to be completely torn as to how to vote. I like both songs a lot, but was not a HUGE fan of either band, so there is no innate bias for one or the other because of a life-long love for 'Merica or Tres Perros Noche.
I am going to vote for America because an early girlfriend really liked them and they were HER first concert. And liked her... although she only sorta liked me! Plus: they had great harmonies.
Sheboyganboy Six
Dang, McBROTHER SIXY, medigs this "first concert" vibe that has appeared! (I didn't see that coming... like The Amazing Sixwell would have.)
DeleteThat's right, Sir, if one can write "methinks" he can also right "medigs". I learned all this terrible, anti-Strunk & White stuffs from the King James Version of The Holy Bible. It was King James what done set me FREE! Well... OK... I guess Jesus he'ped a little, too. ;-)
My Stetson's off to ya, buddy! I used to love camping (I camped my way 2/3rds of the way across the country in '83 - from NYC to helL.A. I puzzed-out and got motel rooms the other 1/3rd). But at my age, camping seems too... tough. And I know yer even older'n I am, so... my Stetson's off to ya!
>>... "Tres Perros Noche."
I knew you spoke Norwegian fluently, but I didn't realize you also fluently spoke German. I thought you told me that you had struggled with Grunting 101 in school.
G:^DL!
Thanks for bringing a quart of orange juice for the punch bowl, Sixy. (Psst! I was only just beginning to worry 'bout ya. I hadn't started praying for ya yet.)
~ D-FensDogG
I did not say - although I meant to - that I, too, REALLY enjoy "Me, Lynth, and The Beach Report." It goes from memorable song to great song to fine song, most all excellent. Decent radio is hard to find these days, and you captured the best in a 1980's bottle. An ever-accessible musical cornucopia from McCarthy's old empty bottle of Thunderbird.
DeleteSix
SIR SIX OF THE ROUND TABLE ~
DeleteVery, very cool that you took the time to return here with this comment!
The personal Spiritual (message) aspect of 'Me, Lynth & The Beach Report' is the primary reason it means as much to me as it does. But, even if I ignore that facet of the tape, I still think it's a perfect example of *time & place* captured in an audio recording.
There's so much in there, beyond just some really good music. I know that Bryan has always been tickled by the weather reports, which include the water temperature at the beach. Because where he grew up in Colorado, such a thing did not exist in radio reports. We have a lifeguard giving us the beach conditions. And I love how the DJs mention upcoming events and concerts in the L.A. area (The Pointer Sisters, Harry Belafonte, Bruce Springsteen). Portions of broadcasts from five different radio stations. The goofy caller who does the negative movie critique. The tape is just loaded with old stuffs that still entertains me.
And, of course, that mystery woman whom I mentioned the other day in the comment section of dIEDRE's BOTB installment:
https://landmarksounds.blogspot.com/2024/09/botb-september-15-2024-full-moon-rising.html
I was immediately reminded of a favorite Warren Zevon song called 'Carmelita'. Here are some of the lyrics:
I hear mariachi static on my radio
And the tubes they glow in the dark
And I'm there with her in Ensenada
And I'm here in Echo Park
And 'Carmelita' always reminds me of the woman who announced the radio station call letters (69 XTRA Gold) in Spanish from Tijuana, Mexico. I had no idea what she looked like, but fantasized about her, having fallen in love with her voice.
When I rediscovered my Beach Report tape some decades later and played it, as soon as that woman's voice came through the speakers, I literally started to weep. I had forgotten all about her, and yet there she was again! She was my 'Carmelita' (or my Mexican 'Emily').
Incidentally, if you have the time and inclination, you might want to check out dIEDRE's Battle, because she has a good one going that I think you might like. That Styx guy is one of the competitors.
And I've not forgotten that it was *YOU* who identified that snippet of a Boston song for me! That had bugged me for quite awhile.
Every time I play 'Me, Lynth & The Beach Report' I am re-astounded when it gets to the parts where I switch stations as 'Stormy' by Santana & 'Nights In White Satin' by The Moody Blues begin to play. I have always LOVED both of those songs and it is absolutely inexplicable that I didn't record them all the way through. Those are just two examples of details that prove to me that it was not I who was really in charge of what got put on that cassette!
1985: L.A. RADIO ('Me, Lynth & The Beach Report') - recreated
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNBztZRTnDxCY4NEu0zYyV7LIPIbYOZ-3
Thanks for this comment, Sir Six!
~ D-FensDogG
VOTE = THREE DOG NIGHT
ReplyDeleteOops. Accidentally sent that vote without any explanation. TOUGH decision. These are a couple of my favorite bands, first of all. And although these songs are not my favorite songs by these bands, I DO like both of these songs. I almost went with America because of the mellowness of this song, and the line 'alligator lizards in the air.' But I went with Three Dog Night primarily because who doesn't love a bullfrog named Jeremiah? And, important, Joy to the World is much easier to dance to. ~Ed.
ReplyDeleteHERMANO EDUARDO ~
DeleteI'm pleased you enjoyed the Battle and found it tough. Great comment!
Ha! I was never a dancer ("tough guys don't dance"... and neither do I ;-), so that won't be a consideration in my own vote. BUT!... mang, "Jeremiah was a bullfrog" has got to be one of the most ear-catching and memorable opening lines in the history of recorded music. It almost *demands* that the listener like the whole song! (And I always have, too.)
Thanks for bringing your two cents to the BOTB kitty. Kitty lapped it up.
~ D-FensDogG
And Stephen....
ReplyDeleteWell this was a good battle but to be honest for some reason unbeknownst to me I never really liked Jeremiah being a bullfrog. While I do hope that something can bring Joy To The World such as the magic of a four beer buzz followed by a Christmas Morning my vote goes with America. While I always saw them as the younger step brother of the Eagles Ventura Highway describes Cali and always reminds me of road trips and meandering drives in southern California moreso on Mullholland Highway than Ventura Highway. And you may recall some of those drives were enhanced by the Santa Ana winds of late summer and a beer or two. But It is hard not to think of the song as I venture north on the 101 to elsewhere in the Golden State.
JW,
Pooh!
Doh! I forgot to mention the good memories with that cassette! Thanks for brining me back to those good old days we were drinking to forget.
ReplyDeleteJW agin,
Pooh!
...AND, POOH, THAT'S NOT ALL!...
Delete>>... "I never really liked Jeremiah being a bullfrog."
What, you would have preferred that Jeremiah was a June bug, maybe?
Indeed, there WILL be joy in the world because [Link> Somebody's coming. However, unfortunately, it's going to get a whole lot worse before it becomes joyful.
And, Pooh, I definitely had you pegged as an America voter, what with that subject matter an' all.
I still remember that while I was taping that stuffs off the radio, you came by. I temporarily stopped taping so that you and I could go out somewheres together and wet our whistles. (I'm not 100% sure, but methinx we may have gone to Azteca for margaritas. That's my best, edgeukayted guess. After all, you still had almost another year's worth of imbibing to do before the Cease & Desist order came.) And *that* is the true story of how your name got included in the tape's title!
Thank you, ye olde friend o' mine, for bringing a pint of SoCo for the punch bowl. After all, it ain't really "punch" if it ain't got no SoCo poured into it! Ever'body knows THAT! ;^D
~ D-FensDogG
Al Bondigas here. I like a lot of songs by Three Dog Night, but, oddly enough " Joy To The World " is not one of my favorites. I do like it though, just not in the top three or four. Now, I can't listen to " Ventura Highway "' without a massive flood of memories of beautiful sunny California summers deluging my brain. It always picks up my mood when that songs playing. Rulin' fer America and " Ventura Highway ". That's it, that's muh rulin'!!
ReplyDeleteJUDGE AL ~
DeleteBut, who do you like better, Jeremiah the Bullfrog or Willie "Three Dog" Davis? Who would you rule for? (And don't forget Willie's three errors in a single inning!)
Thanks for reminding me of the memories I'd forgotten. You know, like, all those sunny Summer days, and the lemonade stand, for when the waves were too big a-surf.
~ Bro Stephen