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Yes, it's time once again for Battle Of The Bands (BOTB).
Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!...
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When I was young, I hated to see the Summer end. It meant that days at the beach were over and I had to return to school. In June, the kids would say, "See you in September!" (Yeah, not if I had anything say about it, you wouldn't.)
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But now that I am retired from the workforce and there are no schoolrooms in my immediate future, I can't wait to see the dog days of Summer come to an end. I can't wait to see 90-100 degree days end and the gorgeous Fall weather arrive to cool things down.
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For a variety of reasons, my all-time favorite Summer was 1974. I was recently thinking about how much I adored Summers at the beach when I was a teenager, and how at the end of August I'd be wishing that we could do Summer all over again. Why did there have to be a September? Why couldn't we just go back to June after August 31st?
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And all of that thinking reminded me of the funky Beach Boys song 'DO IT AGAIN'. (Yes, I really DID use the words "funky" and "Beach Boys" in the same sentence.) Naturally, this also made me think of Steely Dan's different song with the same title. And so... HERE we are, about to do one of those 'Same Title, Different Song' Battles.
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The Beach Boys' 'Do It Again' was a #20 Billboard hit in 1968, while Steely Dan's 'Do It Again' climbed to #6 in 1973. In researching those Billboard stats, I was surprised to learn that 'Do It Again' was The Dan's first Top 40 hit. For some reason, I'd always thought it was 'Rikki Don't Lose That Number'. In fact, 'Reeling In The Years' also preceded 'Rikki...' in the Top 40 charts.
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Anyway... below are the songs. You know what to do:
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DO IT AGAIN: Beach Boys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWOKiIONgi8
.DO IT AGAIN: Steely Dan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UwvNxO_8Nw
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I'll be back to cast my own BOTB bote and announce the winner on (or about) the 8th. Until then...
BEHAVE YOURSELVES, Damn-It!!
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
I'm with you in welcoming fall and winter. Funny though, when the cold comes I start missing the hot days of summer. I prefer a happy medium of 70 degree days and 50 degree nights.
ReplyDeleteBased on my memory of your two picks I immediately figured I'd be voting for Steely Dan. Their song hooked me from the first time I heard it on the Midnight Special TV show. I'm a big Dan Fan.
But I've liked the Beach Boys even longer. I can't recall being overly enthralled with the Boys take on a "Do It Again" song. However maybe sentimentality of older age has drawn me back to their sound. It is a great song though.
Give my vote to the Beach Boys! Either deserves a win. Nice match up.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
LEE ~
DeleteIt took me awhile to figure it out, but I decided that a sunny day at 64 degrees is my body's idea of "perfect weather". I expect Heaven to be 64 when I get there.
I'm a Dan Fan, too. Always liked them and their quirky sound. Are you familiar with their 1975 album 'Katy Lied'? Such an odd but likeable set. I really immersed myself in that one for a couple of years when I was still in high school.
~ D-FensDogG
Katy Lied is a great album. Listened to it on cassette for many years when I was on the road. I've since acquired the box set Citizen Steely Dan which has all of their studio albums and a few bonuses. If you like SD then you'd love this box set if you can find a copy at a reasonable price now. I think it's been discontinued by the manufacturer. The set comes with a nice booklet of info about the albums and the band.
DeleteLee
LEE ~
DeleteThat's definitely a CD set I would really like. I'll have to take a look and see what it's going for.
I don't really listen to my CDs nearly as often as I used to, since I discovered I can create my own personalized Playlists at YT, and they have most of what I like - even a lot of the more obscure Jazz music I dig. But, still, it would be nice to have all those great Dan tunes in a physical medium for when the AlGoreNet gets erased.
~ D-FensDogG
I'm a Beach Boys fan. Count one for Brian and the boys.
ReplyDeleteComing from Jingle Jangle Jungle.
Thanks, Anonymous #1. I appreciate your participation. Welcome, and feel free to return any time!
Delete~ D-FensDogG
I'm ready for cooler weather to arrive, but not winter. I don't like the extremes. I didn't know that you retired. It won't be long before DH does the same, though. It's a chapter we're both looking forward to.
ReplyDeleteSteely Dan takes me back to my teen years. Oh how wonderful it would be to Do It Again! Well...not really those were tough times. Not being a huge Beach Boys fan, I've gotta go with Steely Dan.
Have a bandtastic day, my friend!
Howdy, CAThy, muh friend!
DeleteThanks for stopping by with two cents for my BOTB kitty (I think I'll name her "Kitty").
Curiously, the 1974 Steely Dan song 'Rikki Don't Lose That Number' has always made me reminisce about my life in 1969-1970. I don't know why it's always sounded to me like an earlier-than-1974 song. But I love it, regardless.
~ D-FensDogG
We have couple of good songs here, but I have a clear favorite.
ReplyDeleteI went to see Steely Dan at the San Diego Sports Arena in 1974, just before they stopped touring to concentrate on the music. It was a great concert, and "Do It Again" is excellent with mucho memories for me from that time!
With two albums under their belt, they had a large setlist to showcase the great musicians. They had two fantastic drummers that played that tour: Jim Hodder and Jim Gordon. (Gordon is still in prison for murdering his mother. He was a schizophrenic but not under treatment, and "voices" told him to kill her.) They ended the concert encore with "Reeling in the Years." One by one, musicians left the stage until it was just the two drummers drumming in perfect unison: "ta-da-DAT-da, ta-da-DAT-da, ta-da-dadadad-DAT-da" and expanding on the theme with a complicated unified "solo".... until the lights shut off. The memory still makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck!
I am voting for Steely Dan in this battle.
Sixgun McItchyfinger
McBROTHER SIXGUN ~
DeleteThat sounds like it was a fantastic concert! And Steely Dan is the kind of band that, as an old guy now, I would find very interesting to see (if I could time-travel). The Dan had Jazz chops, and I imagine they did some pretty cool improvising.
I mentioned their album 'Katy Lied' above. Do you know that one? I guess 'Black Friday' is the most well-known song from that album, but that was just the start of the weirdness. Somehow, that record really appealed to me when I was about 15-17 years old. I can't even remember how I came across that one, because during those years, I was much more of a Hard Rock / Heavy Metal guy.
I don't think I ever heard a Dan song that I didn't like.
~ D-FensDogG
Yup. I still have Katy Lied (because she didn't instead of did.)
DeleteSteely Dan got more and more complex as the years went by, IMO. They got jazzier and jazzier. They are a great, great job! Rick Beato (that goof ball) has mentioned them frequently and is very thrilled with them.
Sixgun
Mr. McItchyfinger ~
Delete>>... Rick Beato (that goof ball) has mentioned [Steely Dan] frequently and is very thrilled with them.
That's good to hear. But even so, a broken, nutty squirrel finds a blind clock twice a day.
However, I don't personally feel it's strictly Dill Pickle Kosher of you to refer to Mr. Beato as a "goofball" simply because he loves Rush & U2, and he idolizes the Communist John Lennon & the egomaniac Joni Mitchell. I'm not sure all of that justifies you referring to him as a "goofball".
Of course, the fact that he simply refuses to ever pay a mere $20 for a decent haircut, now THAT justifies calling him a goofball. :^D
~ D-FensDogG
Steely Dan all the way for me. I still get the hippy dippy shakes when I think about back to school...blecchhh. I Also can't stand this hot summer so bring on fall.
ReplyDeleteOh, I hear ya, BIRGIT!
DeleteI really disliked school. I was a straight-C student, a complete outcast maverick. I didn't fit in with *ANY* group, even though I belonged to some (Theatre Arts, Sports, a Law Enforcement gang, etc.)
In my last junior high school yearbook, I submitted this quote to appear next to my picture: "Three years and I'm happy to leave."
At least I refrained from telling them how I *REALLY* felt. ;^D
~ D-FensDogG
There are a couple of Beach Boys songs I like and a couple of Steely Dan songs I like so it's six of one, half a dozen of the other. I'm really not crazy about either group BUT in this case Steely Dan wins hands down. No long explanation why - just a matter of taste.
ReplyDeleteANONYMOUS #2 ~
DeleteHokey-Smoke! Two "Anonymous" votes in a single BOTB installment. Cool! Never happened before, but I'll take it!!
Feel welcome to invent a screen name and become a "regular" BOTB participant. I've been on my best behavior lately, so it's probably not as dangerous as it would have been at one time. Ha!
The Dan appreciates your support. (He asked me to tell you that, and I ain't kiddin' neither. I always do what The Dan tells me to do.)
~ D-FensDogG
Just stopping by to cast my vote. I wouldn't want to get yelled at for forgetting and you ending up with another tied battle. Heh.
ReplyDeleteI like summer, just not the high 90+ degrees. Looks like we're not out of the woods yet with those. Our state fair starts tomorrow and the avg temp is going to be around 97. Hope it cools off soon as Spud Harvest is supposed to start in about 2 weeks. We need the cooler temps for a good harvest.
The battle is a good one, although my vote is easy here. I like the Beach Boys, but not nearly as much as I like Steely Dan.
Steely Dan gets my vote here!
MMQE ~
Delete>>... I wouldn't want to get yelled at for forgetting and you ending up with another tied battle. Heh.
Yeah, well you'd better I hope I don't end up with a tie BECAUSE you showed up and voted!! It could go that way too, ya know?
20 years in Phoenix, Airheadzona, was enough heat for me. I'm tired of it. I'd rather just stay indoors and watch the snow fall while drinking rum and listening to The Beach Boys all day and night.
>>... Spud Harvest
Spud Harvest?! That was my favorite Rock group when I was in high school!
>>... I like the Beach Boys, but not nearly as much as I like Steely Dan.
Gee, and Brian Wilson has nothing but wonderful things to say about you!
~ D-FensDogG
Love this match-up! Truth be told, I planned on voting for Steely Dan. But I'd forgotten that Beach Boys tune until I heard it just now! A vote for the Beach Boys, please. They remind me of all the things about summer that are so hard to let go of.
ReplyDeletedIEDRE ~
DeleteThanks! I'm glad the Battle was an E-ticket ride for ya! I'd had it on my 'To Do' list for quite a long time.
THIS was one of the first three albums I ever purchased with my own money when I was a teenager. And at that time, I didn't even know the song 'Do It Again', but it became one of my favorites from that LP.
Those were the days - sun, surf, sand; no real worries, no real cares - and Lifeguard Station #26 on Santa Monica Beach was my home away from home, all Summer long, Summer after Summer.
~ D-FensDogG
Lifeguard, huh? So California ;-) And to think I just watched "Jaws" over the long weekend at my home away from home.
DeleteThanks for the music tip - I've been listening all morning - now that I'm home. Good tunes!
dIEDRE ~
DeleteHa! No, I was never a lifeguard. That would be way too much responsibility for a carefree dude like me. It's really just that I always parked my beach towel near Station 26. And that's where it would remain while I spent hour after hour riding waves.
Fun Fact: Today my old beach towel from the late '70s & early '80s is my bath mat. Instead of lying in the sand next to Lifeguard Station 26 in Santa Monica, it lies next to my bath tub / shower in Northern Nevada.
Yep. Things ain't as good as they used to be. (Change is BAD! ;-)
~ D-FensDogG
Gotta go with the Dan, man. Just like their "Do It Again" better.
ReplyDeleteYo! BROTHER JOHN...
Delete>>... Just like their "Do It Again" better.
Mmm-hmmm. Do you really think that superficial explanation is gonna cut it?
Look, John, despite the claim of the promotional advertising, not EVERYTHING that happens in Vegas really stays in Vegas. Why don't you come clean with us and spill your guts? It'll lighten your conscience and could even be the first step on your road to recovery.
Don't you want to tell us anything about secret trips made to Vegas in the dead of night? About slot machines calling out your name? About a "lucky feeling" that you could never shake and which always let you down? Don't you wanna tell us about a lucky lady who worked at the Lady Luck casino in downtown and would put extra "Irish" in your Irish Coffees?
No? You're sticking with that "just like their 'Do It Again' better" story, eh? OK. Fine. I'll keep you in my prayers, Brother John, and maybe someday you'll be able to "out with it" and get that gambling monkey off your back.
~ D-FensDogG
Yo S-Man,
ReplyDeleteGus the sidekick may have a layup on his pick. Not quite a slaaam DUNK! (Chick Hearns reference, who word has it coined the term, a radio word picture).
"Peg" is my favorite of Steely Dan and for some odd reason reminds me of Goldie Hawn.
A vote for Steely Dan and the ubiquitous Michael McDonald. On a best group's song's vs best group's songs matchup, I'd take the Beach Boys. But in this matchup, Steely Dan is in their forte sweet-spot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC39ku85nAs
Cheers,
G Dogg
G-DOGG ~
DeleteThanks for always being here to feed Miss BOTB Kitty your two cents. I appreciate your support. (No, I didn't just call you a brassiere.)
Chick Hearn & Vin Scully... Chick 'N' Vin --L.A. was blessed in the 'Announcing' category.
Ha! Looking at the lyrics just now, I can see how Peg & Goldie might become joined in your mind.
I like so many Dan songs, but there's never been one clear-cut favorite. Maybe 'Rikki...', I guess, because of how I associate it with moving to Santa Monica from Orange County and starting 5th grade.
Just do it. Just do it. Just do it again.
If I can find that movie for free on one of my channels, I'm a-gonna watch it. It looks like it'll be much better'n the real ("real" as in TV series) 'Starsky & Hutch'.
Come to think of it... I'm kinda surprised I never got a call to work on S&H. The show aired 1975-1979, and that was right in the pocket for my time in Hollyweird.
~ D-FensDogG
And Stephen,
ReplyDeleteGood battle, yof, and two good songs both with memories all over em. Now Steely Dan is a little bit more druggy and the Beach Boys are, let's say, a bit on the lighter side of summer. It's a tough choice but I think I will stay out of the deep end and go with the Beach Boys on this one as they capture the essence of summer's gone by better than Steely Dan.
See you at Station 26 and JW,
Pooooooh
...AND, POOH, THAT'S NOT ALL!...
DeleteWho-ooooooooooooo you callin' an "O.F.", you O.F.?! Ahh, a wiseguy, eh?
I think these are both really goot songs. The one features "girls... the beach... suntanned bodies... waves of sunshine... warm and out-of-sight nighttimes... surfing and dancing... and a beautiful coastline"; and the other features "sorrow... stolen water... getting dragged by the feet... a cheating girlfriend... Vegas slot machines, roulette wheels, and cards that are black (just like how I prefer my coffee and my... well... I think you know the rest).
It's a tough call.
>>... See you at Station 26
You bring the pizza and beer, and I'll bring the case of Neutrogena SPF 100+ sunblock.
~ D-FensDogG
The next 4 days in a row, including today, are forecasted to be 97 degrees. Like you, I'm very much looking forward to fall, my favorite season of the year (and not just because of my birthday). Summer's nice, in theory, but you can only enjoy the morning and the evening around here. From 10 am to about 6 pm, it's too damn hot to be outside. Sure, I can cool off with a bomber or three of Mickey's, but I'm starting to think that might not be the most healthy way to regulate my body temperature.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, I like both songs here, but after a careful re-listen (out of order), I have to give my bote to The Beach Boys.
And speaking of, if you haven't seen, my second favorite TBB (The Babylon Bee) recently released a very timely/battle relevant song that says your wonderful California childhood summer at the beach... is most likely no more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApfBvkql0lI
~ Chief J S-A
Brother Beer Boy Bryan Bodyguard Betty ~
Delete>>... Summer's nice, in theory...
Ah-Ha! That's it, right there!
Back when I was young, Summer really was NICE, and I loved it. But nowadays, everything has changed, and Summer is nice in theory only. When it's 14 degrees out and everything is covered in snow, I fondly recall recent Summers, forgetting about the 103-degree days which, honestly, I find less pleasant than 14-degree days.
>>... Sure, I can cool off with a bomber or three of Mickey's, but I'm starting to think that might not be the most healthy way to regulate my body temperature.
Then again, you could be mistaken. After all, you did made a mistake once before, so I say, "Carry on, soldier!" ;-)
>>... ...your wonderful California childhood summer at the beach... is most likely no more.
That is a "True Fact". I had it figured out a long time ago, and I got smart and got gone in 1992. I was actually a bit late in getting outta town, but it's all worked out well, praise God!
That Babylon Bee parody was E-Ticket entertainment. Thanks!
And thanks so much also for taking time to visit, listen and bote! Your participation is always appreciated, Beer Brother!
~ D-FensDogG
Hi Steven, I recently said to hubby how I wished we could go back to June, as summer is my favourite season. Can't believe it's already September! Early fall is nice too, but I sure hate what comes after. BRR! As for the battle, I was never a Beach Boys fan, so it has to be Steely Dan. That song triggers a few memories, as well. ☺
ReplyDeleteDEBBIE D'DOGLADY ~
DeleteHey, I'm pleased as double-spiked punch that you stopped by to toss two cents into 'Kitty'. (Kitty do get hungry.)
I hear ya completely! If I lived where you do, I'd also definitely prefer Summer to Winter... and probably any other season, as well.
Considering how much you prefer warmer weather (i.e., Summer) and where you live, it somewhat surprises me that you never really liked The Beach Boys. Seeing as how The Boys are very much about celebrating the Sun and the Hot stuffs that relates to Beach Culture.
I beLIEve that I've actually invented an anti-Winter recipe. Check this out the next time Old Man Winter starts knocking on yer door (it might actually increase your appreciation for The Beach Boys) :
[Link> NOTES FROM DOGTOWN'S DOG POUND (Or, 80-PROOF CLIMATE CHANGE)
Thanks again, Debbie, for participating in BOTB. I appreciate it more than you truly realize.
~ D-FensDogG
I'm not a huge fan of pop music in general - and the Beach Boys' stuff is pretty light and breezy. ☺ Cruzan Black Strap Rum would surely warm things up nicely, but I'd rather listen to my own summer playlist. 😉
DeleteAlways a pleasure to weigh in here, Steven, even if I'm usually late.
But... but... but... MY recipe has been scientifically proven by NASA to stop the snow from falling, and to speed up the melting process of that white crap that already fell.
DeletePlus, 9 out of 10 doctors recommend Cruzan Black Strap Rum & The Beach Boys' 'Endless Summer' album to their patients who live where Winter sucks.
Nevertheless, I'll give your playlist a listen because I'm an open-minded bloke and... given enough Black Strap Rum, I'll agree to just about anything. :^D
~ D-FensDogG
Al Bondigas here. Great battle here. It looks like it could go either way. I like both songs quite a bit, and depending on my mood, I could vote for either song. I haven't heard the Beach Boy's song in years and forgot how good it was. Anyway rulin' fer The Beach Boys very slightly. That's it, that's muh rulin'.
ReplyDeleteJUDGE AL ~
DeleteI thank you kindly for yer rulin'.
Yeah, I am very pleased with this match-up, since I also like both songs a great deal and the competition has been first-rate. Especially considering that the Beach Boys song was only a minor hit (and now pretty obscure) but The Dan tune was a monster hit that everyone has heard a godzillion times.
~ D-FensDogG