STMcC’s Vote On '2018, June 1st: Battle Of The Bands' (Or, Broadway 'Hair' Versus Hollywood 'Hair') And The Final Tally:
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To the best of my recollection, only twice in the nearly 5 years of Battle Of The Bands have I not known how I would cast my own vote prior to posting my BOTB installment. I almost always make up my mind how I'm going to vote in advance, BEFORE any of you have even seen what my Battle is, and this contest was no exception.
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The song this time was 'GOOD MORNING, STARSHINE' from 'Hair' -- the Original Broadway Cast recording versus the Hollywood Movie Soundtrack recording -- and the Battle took place [link> HERE. I knew all along that I would be casting my vote for the Hollywood version. Therefore, despite the fact that the Broadway recording got the first 9 votes submitted in the contest, I was never truly in fear of a dreaded BOTB shutout. I knew that I'd be saving myself from a shutout even if no one else saved me from one sooner.
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Nevertheless, I was hoping someone would vote for Hollywood Hair before I did, just so it wouldn't appear that I was doing so solely to save myself from a shutout. I would accept a BOTB shutout before I would lie about which recording of a song I preferred. But how do I KNOW that YOU KNOW that's true?
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I have always liked the song 'GOOD MORNING, STARSHINE' for the sense of joyful exuberance that it conveys, and I genuinely liked BOTH of the versions I used in this Battle. (However, I feel Oliver's hit version is the best recording of it.)
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From a purely musical standpoint, I probably prefer the Broadway recording a wee bit (everything goes better with trumpet!) But both versions are musically sparse -- rightly choosing to focus primarily on the vocals to express the song's happiness. Therefore, in my decision about which to vote for, I give more weight to the singing, and I definitely prefer the singing in the Hollywood rendition, which used some nice counterpoint background vocals in the arrangement. The Broadway version's background vocals were more straightforward and thus less interesting to me. Hollywood's slightly quicker pace also appeals to me.
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Lynn Kellogg was the lead vocalist in the Broadway recording, and her voice was a shade too high-pitched for my tastes. Although I don't think much of her as an actress (well, truthfully, I don't think anything of her as an actress), it was Beverly D'Angelo who provided the lead vocals in the Hollywood version, and I'll take her singing over her acting any day! I certainly liked Beverly's voice better'n Lynn's.
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Incidentally, I really dig the movie [link> 'HAIR', and if this clip below had been filmed with the intention of being a music video, rather than a movie scene, it would be one of my favorite music videos of all time! In my opinion, EVERYTHING about these images perfectly matches the joyful exuberance expressed by the song. (It's also evidence for why I think Milos Forman is probably my #1 favorite movie director.)
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This, below, is the same recording of the song that the majority of you voted against in this edition of BOTB. Had I used this video, do you think the images might have swayed how you voted?:
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmZqb2VVc48
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Despite my personal opinion, the Broadway recording beat the Hollywood recording somewhat easily (meaning that The Amazing Sixwell also beat The Magic 8-Ball somewhat easily)...
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Broadway 'Hair' = 10 votes
Hollywood 'Hair' = 6 votes
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6 of the final 7 votes went to Hollywood. It was a good comeback, but it didn't come back quite enough to achieve a monumental upset.
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The Magic 8-Ball = 4-1
The Amazing Sixwell = 3-2
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I have now used Broadway 'Hair' versus Hollywood 'Hair' against each other in 2 BOTB matches and they are both 1-1. I think this means that a future rubber match is in order. I'd said that I would relate to you a very odd "Fun Fact" about how The 5th Dimension scored their biggest hit song, 'Aquarius', but I think I'll save that story for the future Broadway / Hollywood 'Hair' rubber match.
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I thank every one of you who came by and submitted your $0.02. Without you, there'd be no BOTB.
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I hope to see Y'All again here on June 15th, when I will be presenting my next Battle Of The Bands contest.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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POSTSCRIPT: Hey, where was the dog?
Oh... there it was.
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I missed the voting but looked like a good battle!
ReplyDeleteMIKE, it was looking like one of my worst Battles ever for quite awhile but it ended fairly competitively.
DeleteOverall, I'm actually pretty happy with it.
~ D-FensDogG
Stephen T. McCarthy Reviews...
What a comeback for the Hollywood version. It did look like a shut out was coming your way, but the late voters saved you from that.
ReplyDeleteOliver would have beaten everyone if he had been in the contest.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
LEE, I agree about Oliver. In the very beginning of BOTB, when I was a newbie just like everyone else, I might have made the mistake of using Oliver's recording against some other one. But I'm a whole lot wiser than that now and wouldn't have even considered it for a moment.
DeleteYeah, this was really a terrific comeback. Had Hollywood 'Hair' managed to win this thing, it would have been my greatest BOTB comeback ever.
I was completely flabbergasted when Hollywood started out 0-9 in the voting. I KNEW there was NO WAY this Battle should have been THAT lopsided.
Privately, I had predicted that Broadway would probably win this one, but only by approximately 3 votes. I was very close to spot-on. And the 4-vote victory margin was by no means a blowout. So, despite the dismal 0-9 start, I wound up pretty pleased with the outcome (even though I myself like the Hollywood recording better).
~ D-FensDogG
Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends
Nah, the video wouldn't have changed my mind. But I really liked it! Now that's how to do a road trip ;-)
ReplyDeleteHowdy, dIEDRE.
DeleteYeah, that scene really captures for me the carefree fun of some of the road trips I took when I was still young and... well, when I was still young.
Thanks for checking in for the Results, my friend!
~ D-FensDogG
Stephen T. McCarthy Reviews...
Another great intro and better synopsis, McBro. That was a close one, if two Broadway votes went Hollywood the vote would be tied. Having voted with the winners for the first time, and as a fan of Sixwell, I Must say the video doesn't sway my vote. I'll say this - it does make the song sound better. Another example: Some Kylie Minogue songs on CD don't sound like much. (With neo Chuck E Cheese Simon* techno music). In videos with a static picture, the songs sound good. With full video and movement the songs sound really good.
ReplyDeleteIf Beverly D'Angelo stood up in the convertible with a tank top the song may have gotten my vote.
I'm already betting that Sixwell and 8-Ball will be tied at 4-2 after the next round. (Hands you a C-note - keep it fair, keep it fair).
* Figured you'd get the reference but just in case
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQfiMrIgdZo
You rock, MR. G DOGG!
DeleteThanks for the kind words and encouragement!
>>... "...if two Broadway votes went Hollywood the vote would be tied."
Man, very good point! My mind is pretty decent with letters and words... and booze... but it completely shuts down where numbers are involved. I wouldn't have thought of it that way, but when one does, it puts the competitiveness of the Battle in better perspective.
>>... "If Beverly D'Angelo stood up in the convertible with a tank top the song may have gotten my vote."
Ha! Well, I can do you one better'n that. Er-- actually, TWO better'n that: In the movie, there's a scene where Beverly stands up WITHOUT a tank top... if you catch my meaning. (She seemed to do that a lot in movies. I suspect she GOT some of her parts by revealing her -- uhm -- parts.)
But the scene in question is actually VERY FUNNY! Every time I think of it, it still makes me laugh. Lesson: "How to hail a taxi cab in Central Park".
You are not only the president of The Sixwell Fan Club, but possibly the entire membership. Sixwell needs more fans like you, McBrother!
And thanks for the YouTube video reference URL. I needed that. (I don't even recall that [annoying] toy. Apparently, I'm older'n you think. But Brother Nappy and I DID have Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots.)
I appreciate your continued participation in BOTB!
~ D-FensDogG
Stephen T. McCarthy Reviews...
Mc B to the R to the O, I learned that math with basketball. (Remember when sports in newspapers was about statistics instead of arrests and business contracts and we're taking our team to another city unless you taxpayers build us an Astrodome 3000 with a shopping mall on the fourth floor) Team X is down by 5 points. They miss a wide open 3 pointer which would have brought them down by 2. Team Y gets the rebound and within in a few seconds hits a 3 and are up by 8. These young bloods today need to learn the fundamentals... then they can improvise. The 3 point shot is a gimmick for ratings and flash.
DeleteI googled Beverly D'Angelo then clicked "images" ("selected" is the phrase young whippersnappers use because they don't click anything they swipe or touch the smartphone screen). A lot a lot of 70's actresses took off their shirts naturally did that for the good of humanity. For example, google image Suzanne Sommers, Adrienne Barbeau, Angie Dickinson. All actresses did what Beverly D'Angelo did.
Dyan Cannon (I'm shocked that she didn't lift her top "She's got a shape to her," as Robert Goulet said while smoking a cigarette with Freddie de Cordova backstage, Susan Dey, Joyce DeWitt somehow got away with not doing that. They were rather brazen colts in the biz. "The times require imagination," JFK said. Sometimes we'd rather not use our imagination and just see the proof.
Anyway, you guessed it. I have pictures of Sixwell on my walls - including some I drew in charcoal, pastel crayons, and painted. Along with newspapers clippings of Sixwell on the walls and graffiti written in crayon in capital letters looks like written by my left hand. And in front of every wall, lots of candles. I'd raise money on GoFundMe.com to put up billboards of Sixwell… but I'd rather keep him to myself... and watch him from 600 feet away - that's the court restraining order.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jwtenNl77w
Cheer, Bro.
Mc DOGG ~
DeleteVery funny comment, muh bruhthuh.
>>... unless you taxpayers build us an Astrodome 3000 with a shopping mall on the fourth floor
And a private nail salon for our players in the rooftop suite!
Well, it's a fact that bearing o' de breasts was always an acceptable substitute for genuine acting talent.
>>... "Susan Dey ... somehow got away with not doing that."
Au contraire mon frère! 'FIRST LOVE' and 'ECHO PARK'. (The only four good reasons to see those two movies.)
Fred deCordova... Ha!-Ha! Just his name reminds me of why 'The Tonight Show' starring Johnny Carson is one of my all-time Top 10 TV shows:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Wz8lhPhWVg
>>... "I have pictures of Sixwell on my walls - including some I drew in charcoal, pastel crayons, and painted ... and graffiti written in crayon in capital letters looks like written by my left hand."
I understand why The Amazing Sixwell has that restraining order in place against you, but I STILL think he's lucky to have a fan like you!
Your remarks reminded me of the following true story:
About 8 years ago, I bought a used copy of Tiny Tim's book 'BEAUTIFUL THOUGHTS'. It was the cheapest one available for sale at Ebay.
Because of the low price, I expected the book to be in pretty bad condition but, actually, considering its age, it was in exceptionally terrific condition. All except for the scribbling that some child had done with a pink marker on page 7.
Just the other day, I finished reading the massive biography on Tiny Tim, 'ETERNAL TROUBADOUR'. It includes a photograph of the book he autographed for Miss Vicki, his first wife whom he married on Johnny Carson's 'The Tonight Show'. (It was Johnny's most highly viewed show until his final one when he retired.)
And then it suddenly clicked!... I got my 'Beautiful Thoughts' book from a bookshelf and compared the child's scribbling in pink marker to Tiny Tim's autograph in Miss Vicki's copy and... you guessed it!
The cheapest copy of the book at Ebay was in fact an autographed copy. And that's why it was in such excellent shape. The original owner really took care of it because s/he'd had it autographed by the "original freak" himself!
God bless Tiny Tim... and the person at Ebay who unknowingly sold me an autographed copy of 'Beautiful Thoughts' at the lowest price on the web!!
These comments remind me of our BigBitch.com years.
~ D-FensDogG
Stephen T. McCarthy Reviews...
"Au contraire mon frère! 'FIRST LOVE' and 'ECHO PARK'"
DeleteAs Johnny Carson would say, "I did not know that." Susan Dey in her Hey-Deys'.
"(The only four good reasons to see those two movies.)"
That's funny and, well, she's pretty. Five things at least.
Cool Fred deCordova clip, I had an abstract vision of what he looked like - good to see him again. Johnny Carson - the more late night shows "evolve" the more I appreciate Carson.
The private nail salon for NFL players. Simon and Garfunkel should sing, "Where have you gone Ken Stabler?" Now that sports has gone international, the money is off the charts as has so many of the players' sense of entitlement and jumping from team to team.
Kudos on the Tiny Tim treasure chest find/discovery. You may like him more than I like Richard Cheese - it's a tie :)
Ha! So true -- that is EXACTLY what Johnny Carson would have said! And I'm with you, G DOGG, on the Carson comparison to today's TV talk show hosts. (Ain't nuttin' in "this world" gettin' better.)
DeleteI never thought I'd see this day but... I have almost no interest in sports anymore. To quote from a Bob Dylan song:
"I used to care but...
THINGS HAVE CHANGED."
~ Stephen
'Loyal American Underground'