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Welcome back, my friends, to the "Battle" that never ends.
We're so glad you could attend. Come inside! Come inside!
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This is 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS' ('BOTB') where you listen to different recordings and vote for the one you like best. A new Battle gets posted on the 1st of each month and on the 7th, I place my own vote, tally 'em all up and announce the winner.
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Friend? Foe? Stranger? No matter, ALL are welcome. So pull up a chair, pour yourself 24 oz. of DOG BITE High Gravity Lager (or the poison of your choice) and turn it up to Eleven!
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[NOTE: Links to the first year of 'BOTB' (#1 - #24) can be found at the very bottom of this page.]

Friday, February 8, 2019

BOTB RESULTS FOR FEB. 1, 2019 (Or, ANN PEEBLES VS. ETTA JAMES)

STMcC’s Vote On '2019, February 1st: Battle Of The Bands' (BOTB) - Or, Ann Peebles Versus Etta James - And The Final Tally:
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Well... the bulk of the move is over and I have Internet access again. I'm not going to lie - this was brutal and I really feel my age now. In fact, I'm DogG-tired, and I have little doubt that this move took 4 years off my life.
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I'm going to keep this short because I'm too tired to type much; because my fingers are full of "skin splits" which hurt like hell; and my mind and body are just too exhausted to put much into this BOTB Results post. Plus, I still have a ton of things to do (like cleaning up my old house, moving furniture around, unpacking books, and finding my toothbrush).
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The only time I can remember being even more wiped-out than I am right now is when I was doing that UCLA Medical Receiving job in 1994.
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I thank all of you who took the necessary time to listen and vote!
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Assuming I counted correctly, the final tally looks like this:
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Ann Peebles = 4 votes
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Etta James = 11 votes
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Why my vote went to Ann Peebles: 
Well, to begin with, I liked her voice better'n Etta's. But then there was also that almost-scary, foreboding whispered intro, the organ, the moaning background singers, that sinewy snake-like sound - simultaneously seductive and sinister. (I got an "F" in Math, but I got an "A" in Alliteration.) 
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By comparison, Etta's rendition was a standard, straight-forward Blues song. Not that there's anything wrong with that! I dig standard, straight-forward Blues. But I enjoyed the unique elements that Ann brought to the table, making the song a bit unusual, rather than giving it the usual Blues treatment like Etta did.
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My original idea was to use Albert King against Etta James on 'Breaking Up Somebody's Home', but after awhile I realized that King would clobber her. I didn't think I had a competitive Battle there. Nor did I think that *anyone* would be able to give Albert a run for his money on this particular song. So, I went in search of someone else to put up against Etta, and I settled on Ann Peebles.
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But now that Etta James has done to Ann Peebles what I felt sure Albert King would do to Etta, I think it's payback time for Etta. Before too long, I may use this same song again, but next time I'll go with my original idea - Albert versus Etta - and see if the Battle actually shakes out the way I feared it would, and which discouraged me from going down that route to begin with.
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In THE BATTLE WITHIN THE BATTLE, The Magic 8-Ball (13-8) got it wrong, and The Amazing Sixwell (15-6) got it right.
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I'll be back with a new Battle on February 15th, and I hope to see you all here again. Maybe - MAYBE - I'll be feeling like my old jocular self by then.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy

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13 comments:

  1. Etta for the win!!!

    Glad you're settling in, my brudder. Take it easy, after you find the toothbrush, of course.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I found the toothbrush, DOC. But I'm still looking for the floss.

      ~ D-FensDogG
      'Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends'

      Delete
  2. Always fun to see who will win. Moving is never easy so one has to sit back, watch a good movie or listen to some good music while having a drink

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BIRGIT ~
      Thanks for checking back.

      I'm so burned out right now, I'd have difficulty concentrating on a complex movie. I could probably handle 'Hollywood Shuffle', though. Heck, I even feel like a Zombie Street Pimp!

      ~ D-FensDogG
      'Stephen T. McCarthy Reviews...'

      Delete
  3. Welcome Home, bro!

    Doing a battle while moving is tough. I know. Been there, done that, tore the T-Shirt.

    You'll be all settled in in no time at all. I've decided that should I need to move again, I'm hiring the whole thing out - from packing to unpacking. And like you, I sincerely hope that I don't have to move again anytime soon.

    I think you should have some Cake to celebrate.

    ~Mary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, MMQE.

      I see what you did there.
      Cake? Nah. Make mine pie - a 'Moon Pie'. ;o)

      ~ D-FensDogG
      'Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends'

      Delete
  4. Glad you've got most of the moving wound up. If I were to move I guess I'd pack all my stuff, but I'd likely hire somebody to do the actual moving work. It is grueling as you indicate and this old man doesn't like grueling labor all that much these days.

    If you and I both voted for Ann then I think that makes her the actual winner. Etta just won on recognition advantage. Well, maybe.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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    Replies
    1. LEE, this is the first time I've really felt my age. It all caught up with me today.

      >>... Etta just won on recognition advantage.

      I'll admit that crossed my mind. I have a hard time understanding that big of a margin in the voting outcome. I don't hear it. To me, Etta was Etta, but Ann added some different aural textures that worked well within that theme. Oh, well, the BOTB mystery continues...

      ~ D-FensDogG
      'Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends'

      Delete
  5. McBruthaMentor,

    Sixwell's on a roll. Like the Patriots, some people may not like him but he finds a way to win.
    I see what you noted now on having to wait a little bit and be a little concerned. Researching, I see that there are three criterion to get into a mobile home park. (And I bet in some cases the managers take their sweet-ass time. Rocking chairs on the porch, drinking hard lemonade, "ain't no reason to hurry 'bout nothin'):
    1) Make or have 3 times as much as the lot fee.. or prove you can pay for it
    2) Have good credit scores
    3) Can't be a felon

    That's what my research on the web has gleaned. I'm sure they do a background check, but I would love to do an interview:

    - Have you ever been convicted of a felony?

    Convicted? No, they've never convicted me.

    I did such research because I'm about to "retire" in three weeks which means quiting my job (100%, mind made up) and getting paid for it. When your new boss is a corporate head hunter who gets bonuses by getting rid of people, it's like, "I'm going to get out of here and get retirement pay before you get rid of me." (I've been there 18 years so I get a decent fraction). And I don't have to give any notice. Having "380k" in equity on my house (minus this and that a lot when I sell) it doesn't last very long... so I'm looking at mobile homes as the best long-term option.. the only option and moving from abstract to zeroing in on it. In the words of my older sister, "He doesn't decide to do things very often. But when he decides, he does it." Tens and tens and tens of hours of more research, it'll happen. I'm thinking may have thought that or you inspired it.

    This is a music thread. Ann Peebles and Sixwell all the way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bruhthuh McG Dogg ~
      Sixwell is starting to get downright scary!! If I were the Magic 8-Ball, I'd be peeing my... uh... pants(?)... right about now. And, by the way, I have already received their predictions for the Feb. 15th Battle, and my Spidey-Sense, as well as all the gadgets and gizmos in the Batmobile, tell me that Sixwell is going to "Pow!", "Biff!", and "Zap!" the 8-Ball yet again! Sixwell is really starting to look like a psychic supreme. (Physic Supreme - I think that's even a specialty pizza sold at a joint in Salem, Massachusetts.)

      I think your 3 points to purchasing a mobile home are about right on.

      I like the question, "Have you ever been arrested?" I always answer "No" and, in my mind, I add: "Not in *this* country". (I guess that's a little like crossing one's mental fingers.)

      Wow! You're younger'n me, and I'm still 3-4 years away from retiring. Well, truth be told, I phuq'd up when I left my UCLA job. I'd be retiring about now, too, had I stayed at that job. But I wanted out of L.A. Or to put it in 'League Lingo' (The League Of Soul Crusaders): UHP! I'm an idiot!!

      To be upfront, I think you should seriously explore the possibility of RENTING a mobile home, rather than buying one. Buying a (mobile) home but still having to pay rent on the space is not really the brainiest dog idea (i.e., I don't think Mr. Peabody would do it).

      If you can buy a mobile home AND own the lot, so you ain't payin' rent to nobody, that's a good move. But buying a home, and yet still paying rent to a lot owner (who will raise the rent every single year) isn't the best situation.

      My first choice was to RENT a mobile home in a mobile home park for seniors (55+) ONLY. But here in Carson City, there is only ONE such park, and they had no openings. And God only knows when they would have one. And there was no guarantee that it would be *I* who got the joint when a home came available.

      I really wanted OUT of Reno, and I really wanted to be IN Carson City, so I bought a home and agreed to pay the rent. I would have much preferred to rent, but this seemed my only immediate option. Time will tell how well it turns out, but I sincerely feel that God was orchestrating this whole move for me, so I am very optimistic that it will turn out to have been a very good move for me.

      Best O' Luck, Bro! I sincerely hope it all goes well for ya.

      Think about moving to Carson City. It's like a combination of Willoughby (Twilight Zone episode 'A Stop At Willoughby') and Mayberry (The Andy Griffith Show). I've been calling Carson City "Willoughberry" since 3:45 PM on Oct. 29, 2018. (I'm a stickler for details, ya know?)

      If you buy a mobile home in "Willoughberry", we can hang out together and drink regularly at the 11th Frame Winner's Lounge near the bowling alley. They don't have any Cruzan Black Strap Rum, but I'm sure you could find some other drinks to buy me. :o)

      ~ D-FensDogG
      'Stephen T. McCarthy Reviews...'

      Delete
    2. McBruthaMan,

      I looked into it and they've got me figuratively in handcuffs. Because of healthcare (162$ per month which isn't bad on the national average) I've got to stay locked up in CA or the price will rise dramatically. Don't know if you know but the head of the UC system is Janet Napolitano - not a good sign.

      I hear you on UCLA/LA... I hadn't to get lucky for years and am now leaving UC also.

      Thanks for the tip on renting... I know, even though know park will state monthly fees on the web.. prices can go up willy nilly. Or because of your words, "living off the fat of the (owned) land (Of Mice And Men reference but you already knew that)

      I think I wanted out of UC Davis as much as you wanted out of Reno. Faith does allow people to jump into the next episode.

      To renewal... and rum, Cheers,

      Delete
    3. Gotcha, McBruhthuh DogG!

      Well, Best O' The Irish Luck to ya in your new endeavor. I hope you find your own "Willoughberry" in the same way I hope I have found mine.

      Keep me in the Info Loop, my friend!

      ~ McStephen

      Delete
  6. Thank you kind McBrother. In order, I'm equal Irish and Scottish with a few other countries thrown in for good measure.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Q1fDf0GeY

    ReplyDelete

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