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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:
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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
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TEQUILA
by The Button-Down Brass
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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
Happy New Year Stephen!
ReplyDeleteWhile the calendar starts with a WTF this year, just like it did in 2020- I am hopeful 2025 will prove to be a much better year.
The Button Down Brass was good, but they sounded a tad muted.
Therefore I am voting for The Champs.
Have the happiest of happiests and I will catch you later!
-MMQE
MMQE ~
DeleteHow lovely to find you here again at the center of the universe!
Hey, think nut'n of it, as my entire life started with a WTF. (When it got to the point that I was 3 weeks late, my Ma figured out that I was clearly stating: "No! I don't wanna do this!")
The Button-Down Brass sounded a tad "muted"? Really? OooooKaaay.
I got some Eddie & The Hot Rods cranked up to eleven while I'm taking down the Christmas decorations... and I feel fine.
~ D-FensDogG
Happy Margarita Day, Stephen! ☺The Button Down Brass certainly put their unique stamp on this iconic song, but, I have to be predictable and go with the original. It had much more vim and vigour. Cheers! 🥂
ReplyDeleteDEBBIE D'DOGLADY ~
DeleteThank you for the nice Margarita Day wish! It was a goot juan. Went to my favorite casino for Margaritas & video poker.
Always a sadness in the heart of the evening, though, because it's all uphill after Margarita Day is over. ;^)
~ Stephen T.
Okay, I'm going to blame it on the Rose Parade which I was watching briefly before I came to my computer. The Brass version made me picture them marching down the street with the organ player on a float. The Champs were all just playing on their own float without much flair in presentation.
ReplyDeleteThis song is to me a novelty song and the second version was like a novelty version of a novelty song. But it was really cool arrangement and all. I really started digging the percussion part as well. In all, I think the Brass was quite the tour de force and I loved it.
I keep gravitating toward that original version though.
Okay, give my vote to Button Down Brass because they work better for parade day.
Lee
R. LEE BOID ~
DeleteWow! I can't even remember the last time I saw The Rose Parade! That seems like two lifetimes ago. (The Thanksgiving Day Parade, too!)
Yeah, I suppose 'Tequila' is something of a novelty song, but one that's musically much better'n most.
~ D-FensDogG
Great song! Button Down wasn't bad but I'm voting for the Champs because you never forget your first ;-) I danced to this song before I was even allowed to wear make-up - ha! Hard to believe this song is old enough to have one at the first Grammy Awards.
ReplyDeleteHappy day and year, my friend!
Won. They WON at the first Grammy awards. Sigh. ;-)
DeletedIEDRE ~
DeleteYip! Great song indeed. It's hard for me to imagine that there are people out there who don't like it (even though I'm sure there are).
>>... "I danced to this song before I was even allowed to wear make-up - ha!"
My parents drilled it into my mind that I should avoid wearing make-up because it led to dancing.
~ D-FensDogG
Ha! Glad to hear it ;-)
DeletedIEDRE ~
DeleteFYI: When I respond to blog comments, I "u-yully" go into [Link> 6'83 mode. Which means that lots 'n' lots o' stuffs I write will go over readers' heads. Unquestionably, Judge Al Bondigas picks up more of my references than any other human (or subhuman) could hope to.
My reply to you was a spontaneous (6'83) twist on an old joke I heard long ago. The joke went something like this:
The Amish* discourage premarital sex because it often leads to dancing.
*in the orginal joke, it may have been Quakers instead of the Amish, but... [Link> "it's all the same thing, man". ;^D
~ D-FensDogG
(Livin' in the moment's moment!)
Happy New Year, Stephen ole pal! I don't drink as you know but I do have a sugar hang-over. Actually, I've had one throughout the holiday season with all the goodies I've made. I really need to not make so much but we both have such a huge sweet tooth that's hard to satisfy sometimes, DH more so than me. Anywho onward to your battle. I listened to both songs three times. In the end, my The Champs got my vote. Button Down did a great job but they seemed a bit too loud or showy in their presentation. There you have it another vote for The Champs! May the good Lord bestow many riches upon you in body, soul, and your bank account this year!
ReplyDeleteMerry 2025, CAThy!
DeleteThanks for the top-notch wishes. I believe my soul is in Good Hands, but I could use a new body and a generous deposit in my bank account. (Obviously, Santa didn't get my letter at the North Pole.)
Bless & Be Blessed, My Fun Friend!!
~ D-FensDogG
VOTE = BUTTON-DOWN BRASS
ReplyDeleteI liked the '60s TV theme song jazziness, and the organ solo. ~Ed.
MR. ED ~
DeleteI don't know why, but me had a hunch you might be a Button-Down Brass man. And, helck, I do know that you dig some of those '60s TV shows, so your "bote" makes a good deal o' sense. (More sense than I make a good amount o' da time.)
~ D-FensDogG
This is a goodie of a battle to start the new year... which is probably - in this mortal realm - going to be a pretty rocky one.
ReplyDeleteObviously the original song is great! But I have to go with the Button Down Brass. I had no idea that The Who went incognito with a new name, hired some horns, set the synth to "B3," brushed up on their "Magic Bus" licks, and covered this song! Even down to the Moon drum solo in the middle!
Yep... this one is my kinda version! "all gilt and flash."
Sixgun McSheboyganboy
SIR SIX-A-LOT ~
DeleteI'm pleased as spiked punch that you dug this first Battle of 2025 and that you didn't keep your lip buttoned down about it! (Yeah, I saw what you did there.)
Funny, I didn't tink a ting about The Who in connection with this recording but... but now that you mention it, I can see it coming through the haze.
Two (Count 'em: 2) FUN FACTS:
By weird coincidence, I selected my Eddie & The Hot Rods CD to listen to while responding to comments. It's the kind of high-energy racket I always listen to after a month of beautiful Christmas carols and holly jolly pop songs (IOW, it's almost anti-Holiday music). And these English blokes are very much Who-like, even to the point of doing a cover version of 'The Kids Are Alright'.
In doing a wee li'l bit o' research for this BOTB installment (I wanted to see how many weeks 'Tequila' was at #1 on the charts), I dragged out my big book of 'Billboard's Top 40 Hit Songs 1955-1995'. When I read the entry about The Champs I was shocked - SHOCKED! - to learn something that immediately called to mind the saudade / goldenshadow comment exchange we had in my previous BOTB blog bit.
Read THIS and be amazed, stunned, flabbergasted, etc. Be forewarned that if you tell me you already knew this, I shall publicly call you a liar and I may even taunt you a second time! ;^D
~ D-FensDogG
HA! Well, I knew about Seals and Crofts and Campbell, but I did NOT know that they were named after Gene Autry's horse! I only knew those other facts because two weeks ago we was yakkin' 'bout S&C and I read a bunch about them then. I was so caught up in the "Magic Bus" opening of the BDB that I forgot to mention it!
DeleteSix
Well! I never!...
DeleteAlright, Sir Six-A-Lot, I'm going to let you get away with that but ONLY because you're claiming to be ahead of me on that inside scoop by only a couple of weeks; and because, after all, you are a member of The Knights Who Say "Ni!"
But don't try to steal my thunder ever again or I shall fart in your general direction!
~ Sir D-FensDogG
“If you do not appease us, we will say… Ni again!”
DeleteI'm appeasin'.
DeleteI'M APPEASIN'!
I'm a peas-in-a-pod-din'.
~ D-FensDogGappeasin'
Happy New Year! I think the second version is fine but it has a little too many instruments for it to be as enjoyable, so I vote for The Champs.
ReplyDeleteThat last comment was from me voting for the Champs. I don't know if it came up as anonymous or not.
ReplyDeletehttps://christinebialczak.com/2025/01/02/botbs-2025-margarita-day/
ReplyDeleteCHRISTINE ~
DeleteHey, how cool to find you here for my Battle Of The Bands - Battle Of The Booze - Margarita Day music festival! And I'm happy that you posted a Battle of your own.
I added a link to your blog in this site's sidebar, and I've got your vote for The Champs logged in. I hope you'll continue with us. BOTB still occurs on the 1st & 15th of each month (a person can post Battles on both dates or just the 1st or just the 15th - whatever works.)
May you Bless & Be Blessed in 2025!!
~ D-FensDogG
Pick another day and I might go for the 2nd but I just love the original...has a cool vibe to it. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteBIRGIT ~
DeleteI thanks ya for coming by with a vote for The Champs. (They aren't called that for nut'n, ya know!)
I sincerely hope that happiness & good health await you in 2025! Although world conditions don't look promising, I like the fact that 2+5=7. Lucky? We'll see.
~ D-FensDogG
This was actually a lot harder and a lot more enjoyable than I thought it would be. I, too view this as a bit of a novelty song, though it is one I enjoy. Also, I laughed out loud at Ed's comment above, because I had the same thought upon first listen - The Button Down Brass version sounds like it could be a 60s TV show theme song. I could easily imagine Batman ZIFFing and POWing his way through that song.
ReplyDeleteI had to play this one a few times. I love the crispness of the guitar and the Mexican flair of the original, but the layering of the instruments and that killer organ solo actually works really well for The Button Down Brass. Give my bote to them... and don't tell The Champs. My people may disown me.
~Chief Julio (sides with the whiteys today)
CHIEF BIG SHOOTER ~
DeleteHey, mang! I'm as happy as Happy Hour that you feel I got off to a goot start in my 2025 music Battles. Of course, it's said all the time: "The key to a good BOTB is starting with a good song!" It's all downhill after that. As a fake psychic once (accurately) said, "Oh, anybody can do it!"
>>... "I could easily imagine Batman ZIFFing and POWing his way through that song."
Methinx you're conflating your Zaps and your Biffs. However, your Pow was - BAM! - spot-on. :^D
And, you needn't worry about your "peoples" disowning you for failing to vote for The Champs. It seems that The Champs only had one token Paco Mendoza (who was actually named Danny Flores), and rest of 'em were a bunch of White Supremacists. (You know how those Whiteys are, they've been doing the cultural appropriation thing for as far back as the Old Testament!)
~ Jive Turkey DogG
I've sometimes mistaken a Zap for a Biff, but at least I've never Dricked or Double Dricked.
DeleteAnd hu-wait, you're telling me The Champs aren't all Messican? Next thing yer gonna tell me, the Kansas City Chiefs don't have a single chief among 'em!
Kidding aside, Danny Flores' story always made me kinda sad. He wrote "Tequila" himself, recorded it with The Champs as he was a member at the time, and was even the voice that called out "Tequila!" But he was under contract with another studio at the time, so he had to give a phony name for his part in the band. After that he had a falling out with the band, signed away his rights to the song, and never got any royalties or really any credit for what I would call one of the most popular and recognizable novelty songs of all time.
Typical why-pepo supremacists, stealing all the credit and all the pesos from the hard workin' Messican in the group!
~Chief Julio (actually bought some tequila for this weekend, guey)
>>... "Danny Flores' story always made me kinda sad."
DeleteGOL! Sad during all of the last 24 hours, or only a percentage of 'em? ;^D
Hey, it ain't Whitey's fault that Paco Mendoza's career went KUH-POOEY! He bought his ticket, he knew what he was getting into. Paco shoulda planned ahead!.
To quote Deputy Fife, "Am I gettin' through to ya, fella?"
~ DR. Jive Turkey DogG
Al Bondigas here. Goot battle once again muh bruthu. To my uneducated ear, I find the Champ’s musicianship much tighter. The Button-Down Brass seemed kind of all over the place, but I dig that all over the place sound, so rulin’ fer The brass dudes. That’s it, that’s muh rulin’. You could probably tell that I was just winging it there, but I had to write something.
ReplyDeleteJUDGE AL BONDIGAS ~
DeleteI'm no expert either, but methinx the term you were looking for to describe the sound of The Button-Down Brass is this:
'Musically Uninhibited With A Bonk Of B-3, A Bash Of Keith Moon, And 2 Capsules Of Premium Health Ultra Energy Booster With Caffeine On An Empty Stomach'.
At least, that's the term used in courses at the Berklee College of Music to describe that sort of sound.
With your (early! Early! EARLY!) vote added, this Battle is now a 6-5 nail-biter! And to think that some peoples thought I was crazy to put an unknown cover against a massive #1 (for 5 weeks) hit song. Yeah, I'm crazy. Crazy like a Gray Fox!
~ Gray D-FensDogG
Hi-Ho, Steverino!
ReplyDeleteThanks for introducing me to The Button-Down Brass, yet another name in the "Now Sound" category that includes Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, The Brass Ring, The Baja Marimba Band, and other purveyors of mid-'60's jazz-pop. I didn't know the name for the pseudo-genre until recently, but have enjoyed it for close to 60 years. All of which goes to say that they get my vote this round. Nothing against The Champs, who at one time included the Baha'i-folk duo Seals and Crofts, but really, give me that brassy '60' sound any day...
SIR JOHN ~
Delete"Now Sound" - HA! - that just seems so Waybac Machine-ish! I can almost mentally picture that printed on the cover of albums owned by my Grandpa. And, no surprise, that he also owned 'Whipped Cream & Other Delights', which I have always dearly loved!! (Plus+... one of the all-time Top Ten album covers, IMO.)
I discovered The Button-Down Brass a little over a year ago while looking for 'Tequila' covers at the Second-Hand Songs site. Interestingly (but, again, not surprisingly), Wackypedia has this to say about the group:
[Link> In the 1960s, he [Ray Davies] took part in a session for Reader's Digest, which, wanting a British response to Herb Alpert, led to Davies forming his band. This group was known as Ray Davies and The Button-Down Brass (or The Button-Down Brass Featuring The Funky Trumpet of Ray Davies), and it released a series of popular easy-listening albums, as well as covers of television and film theme tunes.
I'm pleased that I could turn you onto another facet in the "Now Sound"... which should probably be changed to the "Then Sound".
~ D-FensDogG
And Stephen,
ReplyDeleteOne tequila, two tequlia, ...eleven tequla floor. As you may recall (or are unable to recall) my friend tequlia usually leads to bad decisions and deep regret. That said, good battle ol friend of mine! I actually gave the second one a good listen and was impressed but it's hard to dethrone the champ as you know, so I'm votin for The Champs!
Happy New Year and JW,
Pooh
AND, POOH, THAT'S NOT ALL!...
DeleteI appreciate you rememberin' li'l ol' me and your first "bote" of the new year!
Bad tequila! BAD!
It's poison, I tell ya! It's poison! Thanks to tequila, April 23rd & 24th, 1983, will live in infamy!
I really have no use for tequila, except on Margarita Day. And even then, I'll only have a couple and I'm done for the year.
Tequila is the only hooch that ever got me in serious trouble, but I learnt my lesson well.
Carry on, General Poohregard -- you of the 365 Christmas Days per year!
~ D-FensDogG
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ReplyDelete****************
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BATTLE OF THE BANDS
Results For 2025, January 1st ('Margarita Day')
'Tequila' by The Champs vs. 'Tequila' by The Button-Down Brass
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Firsteth & Foremostest, I sincerely thank each & every one of you who took the time to visit & vote. Without your participation, my Battle Of The Bands contests would be boring, lousy & lonesome!
As I stated in the blog bit, what I did in this BOTB contest broke the most important unwritten forewarning in the unwritten 'Book Of BOTB Forewarnings'. I put a very obscure cover version of 'Tequila' against The Champs' monumental original hit song (#1 in Billboard for 5 weeks in 1958!)
Don't try this at home, kids! Remember, I am a trained professional.
Truth be told, prior to posting this Battle I did something I rarely do. In advance, I sat down and carefully considered how I suspected that each & every one of my regular voters would vote. Ordinarily, once I am reasonably sure that my BOTB contest won't be a shutout, that's as far as I pre-think the thing.
However, in this case - knowing how dicey a match-up like this can be - I carefully calculated in advance the artists whom I believed my regular participants were likely to favor. There were only TWO regulars whom I felt totally unsure about (I thought of them as 50-50). All the rest, I felt semi-confident about, based on my years of BOTB experience. But, as we all know, BOTB is frequently filled with major surprises!
As it turned out, I HAD CORRECTLY GUESSED EVERYONE'S PREFERENCE, and both of the voters whom I thought were 50-50 actually wound up voting for the big underdog, Button-Down Brass.
Me? I dig *everything* about The Champs' original recording - I always have! Love the saxophone in the song; tenor sax is my second favorite musical instrument. BUT!... my very favorite musical instrument is the electric organ. Therefore, I voted for the extremely exciting jam by Button-Down Brass, with its organ, maracas & percussion. Unfortunately, the final tally was my least favorite kind of BOTB final tally:
FINAL TALLY:
The Champs = 7 votes
The Button-Down Brass = 7 votes
This means that BOTH recordings will advance to the eventual Post-Season Playoff Rounds of 'Battle Of The Booze'.
Again, a big ol' THANKS!! to everyone who participated in this musical Battle. God willing - the creek don't rise & the bombs don't fall - I intend to return here with a new BOTB installment on January 15th. I hope YOU will be here, too.
Bless & Be Blessed!!
~ STMcC
Great battle, love the song! Interesting outcome;-)
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, Stephen T.
dIEDRE ~
DeleteYes, the song is just too catchy not to like. It's got to be one of those "universal" kinda songs that nearly everyone can appreciate.
I sure hope good health catches up to you and yours and sticks around throughout 2025.
~ D-FensDogG
Thanks, Stephen. So do we.
DeleteThoughts and prayers to you and all of your California friends and fans.
Wow! I'm so surprised you got a tie. I thought FOR SURE, The Champs would take this one by a mile. Nicely played! ☺ I haven't written my results post yet. Maybe tomorrow... I like your idea of just tacking it on the end of the original post. Saves a fair bit of time.
ReplyDeleteDEBBIE D'DOGLADY ~
DeleteYes, I myself really liked the Button-Down Brass cover a lot and had a good deal of confidence in it after carefully considering the musical tastes of every one of my regular voters. This was an exceedingly rare example of when a BOTBer can get away with a match-up like this. I don't pull this kind of stunt often because it can easily lead to a shutout, and never having had one in 11.5 years, I don't want to experience one now.
For the first year or two of BOTB I always posted my Results at the bottom of the comment section. And I've decided to return to that approach because the Results posts (understandably) don't attract many comments and don't justify the extra time it takes to create them. This way makes more sense and I've always been a big believer in the K.I.S.S. & L.I.M. concepts.
~ Stephen