BATTLE OF THE BANDS: 2025, FEB. 1 (Or, BEAUTY And THE BEAST... In Conflict)

We've been told that opposites attract. Hmmm.... well, sometimes... 

in some areas. 
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Obviously, the major theme in all of my Battle Of The Bands' Battle Of The Booze installments is booze. Every song mentions some sort of hooch or a cocktail made with hooch. Most of the time, I attempt to include a kind of secondary theme, such as a shared subject, shared musical genre, tempo, or mood. 

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This time I decided to present two songs that are opposites in almost every way (e.g., ballad vs. rocker, vocal group vs. solo singer, beautiful vs. beastly, etc.)

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For a very long time I have greatly loved the clever harmonizing by Spanky & Our Gang. I rank them higher than The Mamas & The Papas; lower than The Beach Boys; but at the very least, equal with The 5th Dimension. And I consider Tom Waits to be one of the two greatest lyricists of all-time. Let's see what happens when these two opposites square off against each other in Battle Of The Booze! (I think I know who's going to win, but I haven't a clue about the margin of victory.)

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It's champagne & beer versus whiskey . Please vote for the song you prefer, and then please visit all of the other BOTBers and drop your two cents in their upturned hats. I intend to return to the comment section with my own vote & the final tally on Feb. 8th.

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Cherry blossoms lose their bloom in the autumn

You lost your cool in the fall

You stumbled and you fell right down to the bottom

Nobody cared at all

But for me

You would have stood there with egg on your face

The bitter taste of old CHAMPAGNE

Up to your neck in rain 

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Here's a prescription for convalescent hippies

You oughta know

Get some Japanese BEER that I call sipsies

Ah-So,

Ret yourself go

Northwest Orient

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(It Ain't Necessarily) 

Byrd Avenue 

by Spanky & Our Gang 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shjU99o3kls

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Hang on, St. Christopher, on the passenger side

Open it up, tonight the devil can ride

Hang on, St. Christopher, and don't let me go

Get me to Reno, got to bring it in low 

Put my baby on the flat car, got to burn down the caboose

Get 'em all jacked up on WHISKEY, then we'll turn the mad dog loose

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Hang On, St. Christopher 

by Tom Waits 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WMeJJ3LdHU

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~ STMcC

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: JAN. 15, 2025 (Or, THE RAT PACK, BING & COLUMBO Versus HANK & HIS ROWDY FRIENDS)

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This'll be a "goot juan" or my name isn't 

Baby-Face Braunschweiger D-FensDogG!
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This installment of BOTB's Battle Of The Booze is "demon RUM" & "bootleg GIN" versus "BEER on ice"... 

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OR... 

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Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby, Peter Falk, and King Tut Victor Buono versus Hank "Bocephus" Williams Jr., George Jones, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Little Jimmy Dickens, Paul Williams, Cheech y Chong, George Thorogood, Mel Tillis, Kris Kristofferson, Grandpa Jones and Porter Wagoner, etc. (Psst! I love Mel Tillis. But don't mention that to my Momma... she's tryin' to forget about it.)
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This is one of the rare occasions when I am allowing voters - should they wish to do so - to also take the videos into consideration while deciding how to vote. And you can click the video URL links if'n you want to see them more bigger.
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The first song is 'MISTER BOOZE' from the 1964 movie 'Robin And The Seven Hoods'.
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MR. BOOZE
by The Rat Pack & Friends
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjFyX2sSTGs

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When you were younger, did you have any rowdy friends? I've always wondered what that would be like, as all of my friends were teetotalin', tie-wearin', church-goin' wallflowers. We never got invited to hang out with the "cool kids".
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ALL MY ROWDY FRIENDS ARE COMING OVER TONIGHT
by Hank Williams Jr. & Rowdy Friends
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2GBQqSKl8w

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Please vote for the song and/or video you liked best, and then be kind enough to visit all of the other BOTBers (see links in right sidebar) and deposit your two cents in their Battles.
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I intend to return to the comment section here on January 22nd with my own vote and the final tally.
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~ STMcC
DogGtor of Alcohology &
King of Inebriation Nation

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: MARGARITA DAY 2025 (Or, THE CHAMPS Versus THE BUTTON-DOWN BRASS)

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 HAPPY  MARGARITA  DAY!  

"A Tradition Since 1986 

(...Except For 1994)"

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A couple of announcements before The Main Event:

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1) Remember that Mary, Mary, Quite Extraordinary (MMQE) is now bloggin' & BOTBin' at this site:

https://jinglejanglejungle.blogspot.com/

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2) For the foreseeable future, I am reverting to my original practice of posting my BOTB Results at the bottom of the comment section of the actual contest, rather than creating a separate BOTB Results page. 

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BOTB's 2025  Margarita  Day 

Battle Of The Booze

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My Pa experienced his first-ever Margarita on New Year's Day in 1986, thus beginning the 'Margarita Day' tradition. Pa went Home in 1996, but I carry on the tradition in his absence. And, as most everyone knows, the primary booze in a Margarita is tequila. 

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This blogfest, Battle Of The Bands (BOTB), began 11.5 years ago. There are no real "rules" in BOTB, except for this: There should be, at the very least, some tenuous theme that ties the two (or three?) combatants together. I mean, we don't want to see a Battle between 'How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?' by Patti Page & The Sex Pistols' 'God Save The Queen'. 

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Nevertheless, anyone who's been participating in BOTB for awhile knows that there are some unwritten forewarnings in the unwritten 'Book Of BOTB Forewarnings'; and the very first unwritten forewarning is this: #1: One should not put (or, "Thou shalt not pit", as it's worded in the unwritten Prince James Version) a cover version of a massive hit song against the original massive hit song... unless one seeks a massive blowout or even a complete shutout. 

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Therefore, I know perfectly well that what I'm about to do in my first BOTB installment of 2025 is playing  with fire. However, I enjoy the challenge of messing around with matches and a bottle of 190-proof Everclear. Call me crazy MISTER Crazy.

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'Tequila' -- The Champs' original recording was a #1 Billboard hit & has been heard by everyone many times. So, putting a relatively unknown cover version against it is simply BOTB insanity, no? Here ya go... 

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TEQUILA 

by The Champs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_JFLb1IItM

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TEQUILA 

by The Button-Down Brass 

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

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Please vote in the comment section for the recording you like best, and then please visit all of the other BOTBers and "bote" in their Battles. 

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I'll return here on or about Jan. 8th with my own vote and the Final Tally.

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~ Stephen T. McCarthy