Tuesday, August 21, 2018

BOTB RESULTS: 2018, AUG. 15 (Or, MARK McCAIN VS. LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE)

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STMcC’s Vote On '2018, August 15th: Battle Of The Bands (BOTB)' (Or, 'Johnny Crawford Versus Aileen Quinn') And The Final Tally:
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HOOT GIBSON! This was an excellent BOTB contest which far exceeded my expectations. The song was 'LONESOME TOWN' and the competitors were two former child actors -- Johnny Crawford (Mark McCain from 'The Rifleman') and Aileen Quinn (Little Orphan Annie from the movie musical 'Annie'). The Battle can be found HERE.
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I'll be honest -- before this Battle went live and open for voting, I believed that Aileen was going to take it pretty badly on the chin. I was thinking: [link> "Come on, Aileen!" But secretly, I was fearful of a blowout. Boy, was I ever wrong. And, but doggone, it can sometimes be hard to predict these BOTB outcomes even after 5 years of hosting them!
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The contest started the way I feared it would go: The first 4 votes all went to the little cowboy, Johnny Crawford, and I was thinking: Yip! Here it comes. Over as soon as it started. But then the next 5 votes all went to Aileen, and she took the lead. (It can be fascinating to chart the voting patterns that develop in these BOTB installments!)
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After 3 more votes rolled in, the Battle was tied 6-6. It wasn't until the very last day of voting, when Johnny Crawford scored 5 unanswered votes, that the coffin lid was finally hammered shut. Plainly, the contest was much, much closer than the final score would seem to indicate:
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Johnny Crawford = His votes went "up to 11"
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Aileen Quinn = 6 votes
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I liked BOTH versions of the song. And I appreciated the sparse musical arrangement of Aileen's recording, which enhanced the "lonesome" feeling of her 'Lonesome Town'. But -- with apologies to Lelly, whose guitar playing was indeed "spot-on" (as Calamity Kat said) -- I also had to side with Johnny Crawford's rendition. All those weeping strings and his surprisingly good vocal control leave me thinking that he might actually be able to give even Ricky Nelson a run for his money on this song.
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It was a very nice voter turnout (I sincerely thank all y'all for that!), and as is usually the case, I had a lot of fun in the comment section! I love the banter -- the clever and creative back 'n' forth -- that takes place in my BOTB comment sections. Over the years, I have often said that I think I have the best commenters in Blogland. I may have a meager following, but those folks who read and interact with me are truly A-list & E-Ticket commenters. They know how to ramp up the stream o' consciousness badinage.
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Someday, I'd like to go through all of my BOTB comment sections, excerpting many of the amusing exchanges, and create an entire blog bit out of them. I think that would be Comedy Gold!
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In The Battle Within The Battle, both The Magic 8-Ball and The Amazing Sixwell predicted the outcome accurately. So they remain tied at 7 hits and 3 misses. Pretty good prognosticating. (Can I say that on a family-friendly blog?)
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I hope you will all return again (and bring a friend!) for my next Battle Of The Bands installment here on September 1st. I'm strongly leaning toward doing a Twisted Battle with a twist that no one has previously conceived of. It will feature two rockin' hit songs that you're probably all familiar with. See ya then! Be here or... bring a note from Doctor Cheech or Doctor Chong.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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12 comments:

  1. Um homem tem que ocupar um lugar em sua vida.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Um homem tem que fazer o que um homem tem que fazer. Uma mulher tem que fazer o que um homem tem que fazer.

      ~ D-FensDogG
      Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends

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  2. oooooh a twist with a twist! Sounds like you're going to feature Chubby Checker :)

    I believe that Michele and I have nailed down the logistics of our Championship Round that will take place on the First. I'm just holding out for a few more comments that I'm due before I wrap up my Semi-Final Round. I've a pretty good idea of who won, but just not ready to put that nail in the coffin.

    ~Mary
    Jingle Jangle Jungle

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    1. I can't decide: Chubby Checker versus Fats Domino, or Slim Whitman versus Slim Pickens.

      I'm pretty sure Harry won your Battle, MMQE. Quit stallin'. ;o)

      I think the next Tournament should be a BOTB-180, where you ask people to vote for the song they HATE THE MOST!

      Think of the possibilities...

      'Feelings' versus 'You're Having My Baby'

      Captain Kirk's 'Lucy In The Sky...' versus 'Gangnam Style'

      'Achy Breaky Heart' versus 'Muskrat Love'

      And so on and so forth...

      ~ D-FensDogG
      Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends

      Delete
  3. Very strange--your ratio of votes is the same as I had on my Battle (to be posted tomorrow--Wednesday). Not a bad outcome in either case.

    I hope a lot of folks will bring friends to the next Battle. I really want to see a good turnout for that one.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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    1. LEE, it sounds like you're hinting that you'll be able to post your own song Battle next time.

      ~ D-FensDogG
      Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends

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    2. I do have two versions to work with and probably a third to come so I do have enough for a Battle or test market or something.

      Arlee Bird
      Tossing It Out

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    3. Ahh, that's terrific! Glad to hear it, and I really look forward to your next Battle!

      ~ D-FensDogG
      Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends

      Delete
  4. Johnny Crawford had the singing chops despite his young age and made the song more interesting than Aileen. I usually read your comment section and agree it would make an entertaining blog post. ☺

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    1. Thanks, DEBBIE! I'll probably never really find the time to put that blog bit together, but I do think it would be pretty amusing. There's been a lot of off-the-cuff repartee that strikes me as being very witty. (But of course some of it has been inside jokes between myself and people I've known for a long time. I guess that would require some background explanation if anyone else were to "get" the jokes.)

      I too was really surprised by Johnny Crawford's singing ability. I wasn't expecting THAT the first time I ever hit the "Play" button on the video. But as soon as I heard it, I knew I had found a BOTB installment.

      ~ D-FensDogG
      Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends

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  5. McBro S-Man, Well, I liked Aileen Quinn's version which apparently is as bland as Wonderbread with not even mayonnaise but Miracle Whip. I like it. I'm a bit despondent that good people of America would vote against it, this staple of American culture.
    If you ever want to do a shutout on purpose, put Dexy's Midnight Runners against any song since 1980. There seems to be some purism about voting for songs without videos. Put up Come On Eileen against a Pat Travers or Yngwie Malmsteen album cover. Again, Dexy's win with a shutout.

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    1. Hey, wait a minute, McDogG!! What do you mean by calling Wonder bread and Miracle Whip "bland". That happens to be my all-time favorite sandwich. Nothing tasted better after a long Summer day of body-surfing than a WONDERful Miracle Whip sandwich. (In flush times, I'd even add a slice of that cellophane-wrapped plastic yellow cheese.)

      I'll tell ya what, Bruhthuh -- I sure as hell would vote for 'Come On, Eileen' before I'd vote for anything by Pat Travers or Yngwie Mammarysteen. When it comes to those two blokes, I'm all in with you in the "No Guitar Solos" Club.

      Praise God for the likes of Danny Gatton, Danny Caron, and Gary Moore. Because otherwise, guys like Yngwie and Joe Satriani would have killed off any interest I had in guitar solos.

      How do YOU spell "repetitious"? I spell it "Yngwie Satriani".

      ~ D-FensDogG
      Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends

      Delete

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