2020, JAN. 15: BATTLE OF THE BANDS - SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS!

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BATTLE OF THE BANDS (BOTB)
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Shoop-Shooby -
Shooby-Duh-Dooby-Doop-Dooby-Dooby-Doo-Wah -
Buh-Doo-Wah!
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Yes, it's time once again for Battle Of The Bands (BOTB).
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Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!...
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No, no, that's not right! Actually, it's NOT time for Battle Of The Bands again for me, because (with only rare exceptions - namely "Christmastime") I only BOTB now on the 1st of each month. I DO, however, make the rounds and vote on all the Battles presented on the 15th of each month. So, if you've got a BOTB installment posted for this round, you can bet your bottom AND your bottom dollar that I'll be around to cast a vote.
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The real reason for this blog bit is to announce some Bad News & Good News.
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BAD NEWS:
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If you haven't already learned, our Battle Of The Bands friend MARY BURRIS (aka "MMQE"), who is also the BOTB historian (she's made a public record of every Battle and every Battle outcome since the beginning of BOTB on August 1st, 2013!), is undergoing cancer treatments. She had cancer in the past and overcame it, but it has now returned about 5 years later.
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This is Mary.

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Mary's blog is [link> 'JINGLE, JANGLE, JUNGLE' and I hope you will ALL go there and post some words of encouragement to her. More *IMPORTANTLY*, I hope you will all say some prayers to God, our Creator, and Jesus Christ, our Savior, and ask Them to heal Mary Burris of her cancer, and grant her the Peace of God which surpasses all understanding!!
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From her hospital bed, Mary Emailed to me the following:
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Sorry for not being able to join in BOTB this time, but with luck, I will be joining in for February 1.
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I ask every one of you to pray to God for Mary Burris!!!
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GOOD NEWS:
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A new-old BOTBer has (re-)joined our ranks. You old-timers probably remember KIM.
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This is Kim.

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Kim used to have a blog titled 'This Belle Rocks' and she rocked BOTB installments with us from December 15, 2014 until May 1, 2015. (I know that only because it's listed in the historical records of Mary Burris!) But then Kim was abducted by space alien dogs from the planet Goofy Pluto, and disappeared from BOTB. But, surreptitiously slipping some
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• Ambien®, Ambien® CR (zolpidem tartrate)
• Dalmane® (flurazepam hydrochloride)
• Halcion® (triazolam)
• Lunesta® (eszopiclone)
• Prosom® (estazolam)
• Restoril® (temazepam)
• Rozerem® (ramelteon)
• Silenor® (doxepin)

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into the dog food dishes of her captors, Kim recently managed to make good her escape on a flying filly-waggit, and has returned to planet BOTB, where she belongs. 
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Kim's new(er-ish) blog is titled 'Storms And Stardust', and there she has posted her first Battle Of The Bands installment in over four and a half years. So, please BE SURE you visit Kim's blog, congratulate her on her escape from Pluto, cast a vote in her Battle, and welcome her back to the fold. (And if you don't, the Wolfman's gonna getcha!)
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As for me, I'll be back here again on February 1st with a very special Valentine's Day-themed BOTB installment. 
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I suggest - actually I insist - you pop over to the blogs of the other 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS' participants to see which songs they have chosen and vote there also. Vote your vice...   Vice your voice... 
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Voice Your Vote...
@ TOSSING IT OUT by clicking HERE
@ MIKE'S RAMBLINGS by clicking HERE
@ THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING by clicking HERE
@ JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE by clicking HERE
@ THE DOGLADY'S DEN by clicking HERE
@ CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE by clicking HERE
@ CURIOUS AS A CATHY by clicking HERE
@ AI LOVE MUSIC by clicking HERE
@ STORMS & STARDUST by clicking HERE
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy 
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BOTB RESULTS: 2020, JAN. 1 (Or, THE VENTURES VERSUS WES MONTGOMERY)

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STMcC’s Vote On '2020, January 1st: Battle Of The Bands' (BOTB) - Or, The Ventures Versus Wes Montgomery - And The Final Tally:
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Well, I'll be dogged! It's a brand new year, but another BOTB blowout. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the comment section yak, and I very sincerely thank each and every one of you who took the time to stop by, listen, and "bote" on my Battle. It was a pretty nice turnout considering the Battle was initiated on a holiday.
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The contest took place HERE, and I had expected a lopsided result, but not as lopsided as it was. The song - in honor of my traditional 'Margarita Day' (aka New Year's Day) - was the song 'Tequila', and my contestants were The Ventures (surf guitar style) and Wes Montogomery (Jazz guitar style). The Ventures had 8 votes before Wes even managed to get on the scoreboard. It was an obvious blowout from the very beginning.
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I like the song and I enjoyed BOTH renditions. But if I were going to try to use tequila itself to make an (xtreme) analogy about the difference in stylistic approaches to the song, I'd maybe say it was Señor Rotgut Tequila (The Ventures) versus [link> Gran Patron Platinum Tequila (Wes Montgomery). 
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I love Wes Montgomery and all the little guitar flourishes he tosses in so effortlessly. The smoothness of his playing and his innate musical sense makes me favor his version. It would be a pretty rare day when I'd vote against a Wes recording. I love Montgomery's entire 'Tequila' album, which also sports one of my all-time favorite album covers, as well:
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My personal review of the Wes Montgomery 'Tequila' album can be found [link> HERE. It's titled 'A SOUTH-OF-THE-BORDER SHOT OF WES (Salt Mandatory, Lime Wedge Optional)'.
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Voting Tally:
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The Ventures = (cranked it up to...) 11
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Wes Montgomery = 5
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Thanks again for playing along, all y'all! Please return here again on January 15th to read my special announcement regarding BOTB. (Psst! We have a new old BOTB participant joining our ranks... again!)
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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2020, JAN. 1: BATTLE OF THE BANDS (Or, THE VENTURES VERSUS WES MONTGOMERY)

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Republican Vs. Democrat, Male Vs. Female, War Vs. Peace, Light Vs. Dark, Good Vs. Evil, Man Vs. Machine, Love Vs. Hate, Dog Vs. Cat, Sun Vs. Moon, Brain Vs. Brawn, Oscar Vs. Grammy, Angel Vs. Demon, Laurel Vs. Hardy, Beer Vs. Wine, TV Vs. Radio, Pitcher Vs. Batter, Paper Vs. Plastic, Reality Vs. Fantasy, Yeshua Vs. Beelzebub, Conservative Vs. Liberal, You Vs. Me, House Vs. Senate, Offense Vs. Defense, Kramer Vs. Kramer, Spy Vs. Spy, Fischer Vs. Spassky, W.C. Fields Vs. Sobriety, Harold Gimpy, Jr. Vs. Sheldon J. Pismire, Rock Vs. Paper Vs. Scissors, Islam Vs. Everything, Singer Vs. Singer, Band Vs. Band...
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BATTLE OF THE BANDS (BOTB)
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"How long have you been combing your hair with a wrench?"
('Wossamotta U'?)
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You call it "New Years Day", but the coolest of the cool call it "Margarita Day", and the coolest of the cool have at least one Margarita every January 1st! (And don't blame me if'n you ain't the coolest of the cool! Helck! I'll betcha didn't even make a Christmas Day wish that Tiny Tim would get a second Top 40 hit song! Tsk-Tsk!!)
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Official 'Margarita Day' Theme Song 
[*sung to the tune of [link> 'Howdy Doody Time'*] :
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It's Margarita Day!
It's Margarita Day!
Hooray! Hooray! Hooray... 
For Margarita Day!
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Yes, it's time once again for Battle Of The Bands (BOTB).
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Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!...
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It was my Pa who started the tradition of 'Margarita Day' in 1986. And this SHOULD be the 35th year of the tradition... except that somehow we inexplicably forgot to drink a Margarita on January 1, 1994. Hence the humorous official slogan "A tradition since 1986, except for 1994".
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This being the 35th 34th annual 'Margarita Day', I decided to use the famous song 'Tequila' for my 1-1-2020 BOTB installment. 
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As any skoolboi knows, the song 'Tequila' was a Billboard #1 hit song (five consecutive weeks) for The Champs in 1958. And being way smarter'n the average bear, I am NOT using the original version by The Champs in this Battle. Nor am I using [link> this cover by the great Boots Randolph, which would probably clobber every other version (except for The Champs').
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Wackypedia sez:
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The tune was covered by the Ventures twice. Initially it was on their 1963 Dolton album 'The Ventures Play Telstar and the Lonely Bull'. ... 
Jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery recorded a version of the tune on his 1966 album 'Tequila' on Verve Records.
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So, let's put the Surf Guitar cover up against the Jazz Guitar cover and see which rendition staggers to the Finish Line first :
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TEQUILA - The Ventures
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYCl2Hbvl3c

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TEQUILA - Wes Montgomery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSoZDKIRclI

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Alright now, “you know the gig”... I welcome you (whether I know "you" or not) to vote for your favorite of these songs in the comment section below. And feel free to tell us WHY you chose one song over the other.
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After voting here, I suggest - actually I insist - you pop over to the blogs of the other 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS' participants to see which songs they have chosen and vote there also. Vote your vice...   Vice your voice... 
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Voice Your Vote...
@ TOSSING IT OUT by clicking HERE
@ MIKE'S RAMBLINGS by clicking HERE
@ THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING by clicking HERE
@ JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE by clicking HERE
@ THE DOGLADY'S DEN by clicking HERE
@ CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE by clicking HERE
@ CURIOUS AS A CATHY by clicking HERE
@ AI LOVE MUSIC by clicking HERE
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As I've done in the past, I will continue to return to my 'BOTB' blog bits on the 7th of each month to post my own votes and announce the winner.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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