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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.]

Saturday, October 9, 2021

BOTB RESULTS: OCT. 1, 2021 (Or, THE EAGLES VS. JOHN 'COUGAR' MELLENCAMP)

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Part 2 of my 3-Part James Dean 'Battle Of The Bands' series took place HERE, and it was one heckuva blowout!

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The songs battling it out were 'JAMES DEAN' (The Eagles) and 'JACK & DIANE' (John 'Cougar' Mellencamp). The turnout was good and the conversation was fun, as usual. What wasn't so good was the competition: Yes, I was pretty sure that 'Jack & Diane' would beat 'James Dean' - after all, it *WAS* two against one - but I didn't expect that level of a beat-down. 'Jack & Diane' had 5 votes recorded before The Eagles even got on the scoreboard! And The Eagles fortunes didn't improve much after that, either. It isn't often that The Eagles are dogs - I mean, "underdogs". Well, they were this time, and they got BIT!

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The Final Tally:

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The Eagles = 3 votes

John 'Cougar' Mellencamp = 12 votes

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My vote? Yeah, I went along with the majority. It's rare that I can be counted amongst the majority, rather than being a loud voice in the minority, but it happens once in a Chartreuse Moon.

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Why the Cougar rather than the Eagle? Well, I simply like the song better and find it more interesting, even though 'Jack & Diane' merely mentions James Dean while 'James Dean' is ABOUT... well, James Dean. Aside from the neat 'Rebel Without A Cause' reference in the line "Well, then, there, Diane", I can really relate to the lyric "Life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone". That line didn't particularly resonate with me back in 1982, when this song was a radio hit, but today I consider it one of the most profound observations ever sung in a song!

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Not that I'm complaining about my life, mind you. But I'm tired, and "there is nothing new under the sun"

There is a season (turn, turn, turn)

And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time to be born, a time to die

A time to plant, a time to reap

A time to kill, a time to heal

A time to laugh, a time to weep

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And unfortunately, I've reached the stage in my life where everything I do is something I've previously done. It may be fun, but it's been dun.

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There is a time to be young, energetic and full of life; 

and a time to be bored and ready to go Home (capital H).

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However, below is a picture of me in my bedroom (circa 1983), when life was still wild and full of spirit (and spirits!) One of my drinking buddies, Cranium, has passed out on my floor, a can of Colt .45 malt liquor is just beyond his reach. My gesture for the camera seems to say, "You see what I have to put up with?" Right over my shoulder, you can see a red-jacketed 'Rebel Without A Cause' James Dean cardboard stand-up next to my bookcase.

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By 1988, the acting dream had burned out, or faded away. Truth be told, I had really begun to find my own true self, and the idea of pretending to be other characters didn't really thrill me. I guess "the thrill was gone", and I was now focusing more on writing. ("Writing is your forte, STMcC", my Pa told me a thousand and 3.5 times. Coincidentally, my Pa had actually been enrolled in the same California elementary school as James Dean. Although Pa didn't recall Dean, we did the math and it's a fact that they were in the same school at the same time.)

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I still believed that James Dean was the most naturally gifted actor of all time, and in October of '88, some of my fellow Dean fans and good friends whom I had met at the 1980 James Dean festival in Fairmount, Indiana, came out to Los Angeles where I escorted them to some of the important Dean-related sites in the area:

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[Left to Right: Russ Hodson, Larry Minor, Ed Lane, me, Bob Pulley --photo by Carole Redus]

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[Left to Right: Larry Minor, Sally Hinton, Mary Alice Rodes, Bob Pulley, Carole Redus, Russ Hodson, and me.]

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Those were some pretty big names in the world of James Dean Fandom in '88. Bob Pulley was one of Dean's friends and classmates in high school and he was the last surviving pall bearer from James Dean's funeral.

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The pictures were taken at Santa Monica High School, which is the school I attended and graduated from, and which also played the role of "Dawson High School" in the movie 'Rebel Without A Cause'. In that first photo, we're gathered around the very spot where Jim Stark (James Dean) accidentally stepped on the school seal on his first day at Dawson High and caught hell for doing so. Even in 1974-1977, when I went to "SAMOHI", there was an unwritten rule that you weren't supposed to step on the school seal.

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The photo above, also from October of 1988, was taken when Kenneth Kendall's bust of James Dean was first unveiled at the Griffith Observatory in L.A. That was Sylvia Bongiovanni, president of the We Remember Dean International Fan Club, posing with the artist.

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Once again, I thank EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU who took the time to visit my blog, listen to the songs & cast a vote.

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On November 1st, the Super Bowl of my 'James Dean BOTB' series will appear here. Part 3 will be the finale, where the winner from Round 1, 'ROCK ON' by David Essex, will go up against the winner of Round 2, John 'Cougar' Mellencamp's 'JACK & DIANE'. I hope all y'all will return to help determine the ultimate winner. I'll be yakking a bit and showing pictures of my years on M*A*S*H in Part 3. See ya then (I hope)!

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~ Stephen T. McCarthy

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6 comments:

  1. I was glad to see that I wasn't the only one who felt the same way about the Eagles' song. I agree with you that the Mellencamp song is more interesting. The song "James Dean" is kind of repetitive in a typical rock and roll song sort of way. It's fun to listen to when I hear it, but it's not a song that I go back to on any regular basis and actually not at all. I thought I might be going against the grain with my opinion but I guess I'm with a lot of company.

    There are a lot of actors I enjoy, but few that I've taken time to delve into their lives and those to only a minor extent of looking them up online to find out more about them.

    Now that I'm in my sunset years I don't do much exciting, but I blame that on COVID crap and all the ridiculous restrictions. I still feel like I could have a lot of living to do if the government would allow it to be done freely. But sitting in the house is okay too. Life is fleeting and memory fades. Whatever befalls me I try to be content and thankful. And if our government ever gets back any sense I'll be more thankful and content. Life has been good and I'll still try to enjoy what comes my way despite the assholes in charge of things.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. McLEE ~

      Boilerplate Response:

      Mucho, mucho sorry-o for the later than late response!!

      Now that I'm officially "retired", I dun been tryin' to git a part-time business started and it's eating up more of my time than full-time employment ever did. (Retirement SUX!)


      Original Reply to follow:

      I think that 'JAMES DEAN' by The Eagles - while being a revved-up standard Rock 'N' Roll song - was actually better and dug deeper than its poor showing against 'Jack & Diane' might seem to indicate. I really DO like the song, and always have. Unfortunately, it just went up against a song that seemed even deeper and probably struck a number of more personal strings with the majority of our listeners (myself included).

      >>... Now that I'm in my sunset years I don't do much exciting, but I blame that on COVID crap and all the ridiculous restrictions. I still feel like I could have a lot of living to do if the government would allow it to be done freely. But sitting in the house is okay too. Life is fleeting and memory fades. Whatever befalls me I try to be content and thankful. And if our government ever gets back any sense I'll be more thankful and content. Life has been good and I'll still try to enjoy what comes my way despite the assholes in charge of things.

      Fortunately (GOD BE PRAISED!!!), where I am now living, life is pretty much normal. Yeah, 50% of the brainwashed maroons are still walking around wearing face-diapers, but we who choose not to "diaper" are not bothered by anyone - employee or customer. I'm definitely living in a smarter'n-average U.S. locale, and I was led here by God in late-2018 / early-2019.

      BOTTOM LINE:
      My life has been astoundingly blessed by my Creator, and i have no complaints at all!! I have no doubt that things are about to get even more wicked than they currently are, but my 'GOOD SHEPHERD' protects me and shows me "The Way". I have NO fear whatsoever and I feel incredibly blessed in every possible "Way"!!

      ~ D-FensDogG
      LEARN THE HOLY BIBLE IN 15 MINUTES!

      Delete
  2. You are a rebel with the blahs, Mr. McCarthy.

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOVE, JANIE ~

      Boilerplate Response:

      Mucho, mucho sorry-o for the later than late response!!

      Now that I'm officially "retired", I dun been tryin' to git a part-time business started and it's eating up more of my time than full-time employment ever did. (Retirement SUX!)


      Original Reply to follow:

      I think you sed it better'n I ever could.

      Indeed, I am a natural-born rebel with the blahs!

      However, I am genuinely convinced that over the next 8 years we are truly going to see something "new under the Sun", and I'm pretty sure that I'll be working too hard to survive to feel any blahs or boredom.

      (In all seriousness, I have already picked out my 'CHRISTIAN CAVE' to live in during the very-soon-upcoming 7-Year Biblical "Tribulation" period.)

      My "blah-dom" is coming to an end very, Very, VERY soon.

      ~ D-FensDogG
      LEARN THE HOLY BIBLE IN 15 MINUTES!

      Delete
  3. Go John Cougar! Can't wait for the next battle.
    Chartreuse? Now there's a word you don't hear every day ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. dIEDRE ~

      Boilerplate Response:

      Mucho, mucho sorry-o for the later than late response!!

      Now that I'm officially "retired", I dun been tryin' to git a part-time business started and it's eating up more of my time than full-time employment ever did. (Retirement SUX!)


      Original Reply to follow:

      Chartreuse is a word I use only once every Blue Moon.
      ;^D

      We got David (Essex) Vs. John (Cougarcamp) in the 3rd and final installment of the 'James Dean BOTB' series. It's almost like Old Testament Versus New Testament!!

      ~ D-FensDogG
      Stephen T. McCarthy 'STUFFS'

      Delete

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