2018, NOV 15: BATTLE OF THE BANDS (Or, ELLA FITZGERALD VS. ANN STREET SOUL)

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Agent 86 of Control Vs. Siegfried of KAOS, Batman Vs. Catwoman, 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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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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DOH! I'm not sure how well I'll be able to pull this off. On the 18th - just a few days from now - I fly to Phoenix for business and Thanksgiving with Nappy & Bonehead. Then I'll hit the Arizona highways for my first real vacation in 9 years! 
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I'm afraid that until December 2nd, my ability to respond to comments will be greatly diminished, if not entirely negated. Please bear with me and know my lack o' response is not borne from a lack o' love.
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Early on, I got a well-balanced exposure to music from my parents. Although Pa's favorite singers were Nat King Cole and Dinah Washington, what he most often played around the house was silly stuffs like Roger Miller and Louis Prima, and mostly Country music radio stations in his car. (My writing style was largely influenced by Roger Miller, as well as Bob Dylan and Mark Twain.)
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It was my Ma who exposed me to the more "soulful" stuffs, like R&B, B.B. King & Cannonball Adderley. 
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I've decided to use in this Battle a song that my Ma loved. Bobby Hebb wrote 'Sunny' and had a #2 hit with it in 1966. I was playing Cowboys & Indians in our Orange County, California, driveway at the time. 
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Do any of you remember [link> 'Personics' from the late 1980s? It was a machine in record stores that allowed you to create your own custom-made cassette tapes. That tape in the photo above ('An Old Timer's All Timers') is the one that my Ma asked me to have made for her. As you can see, the very first song she requested on it was Bobby Hebb's 'Sunny'.
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Alright, today's first competitor is the legendary Ella Fitzgerald:
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SUNNY - ELLA FITZGERALD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avi86YHKHAQ


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I don't know anything about the group Ann Street Soul. I just found them at YouTube and was pleased to see young guys digging the good ol' stuffs:
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SUNNY - ANN STREET SOUL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_y4X-tz2qY


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The Battle Within The Battle

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VERSUS

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Question: "Will Ann Street Soul lose to Ella Fitzgerald?"

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The Magic 8-Ball (10-5) sez:  "It Is Decidedly So"

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The Amazing Sixwell (10-5) sez:  "My Sources Say No"

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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. (If their ‘BOTB’ blog bits aren’t posted yet, pour yourself two shots of ‘Grand Marnier’ over ice – do it twice – and then return to their blogs to vice your voice ...vote your vice ...voice your vote.)
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Voice Your Vote...
@ ‘TOSSING IT OUT’ by clicking HERE.
@ 'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CURIOUS AS A CATHY' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING' by clicking HERE
@ 'JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE' by clicking HERE.
@ 'ANGELS BARK' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE DOGLADY'S DEN' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE' 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 and 21st of each month to post my own votes and announce the winners in the comment sections.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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BOTB RESULTS: NOV. 1, 2018 (Or, JESUS SEZ: "DO-WAH, DO-BE-DO-DO-WAH, DO-WAH-DO-LANG")

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STMcC’s Vote On '2018, Nov. 1st: Battle Of The Bands' - BOTB (Or, America Versus Electric Light Orchestra) And The Final Tally:
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It was my 'All Saints Day' Battle which took place HERE. And it was a "Twisted" BOTB installment, meaning that I used two different songs that were tied together by a theme. In this case, the theme was "Soundalikes" - America's 'A Horse With No Name' sounding like Neil Young, and ELO's 'Telephone Line' sounding like Paul McCartney & The Beatles.
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It was not a close contest, and although I generally like America better'n Electric Light Orchestra, my own vote went to 'Telephone Line'. The peculiar thing is that had this Battle taken place prior to July 27th of this year, I likely would have voted for 'Horse...'. But as I mentioned, I have had some Spiritual experiences occur this year, and as a result, ELO's 'Telephone Line' has become extremely meaningful to me.
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America = 6 votes
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Electric Light Orchestra = 12 votes
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My sincere thanks to all of YOU voters! Without you, BOTB would not exist.
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In The Battle Within The Battle, The Magic 8-Ball predicted the outcome correctly, while The Amazing Sixwell's prognosticating took a nosedive. This means our two psychics are all tied up again at 10 Hits & 5 Misses apiece. (That 8-Ball is tenacious!)
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Shortly after becoming a (Maverick) Christian, I bought the album 'Crimson & Blue' by Phil Keaggy, which contained the song 'Love Divine'. It may sound even more like Paul McCartney & The Beatles than does ELO:
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALVI-O_vbiM

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I wasn't really planning to elaborate on my Spiritual experiences related to my tape 'Me, Lynth & The Beach Report' (songs, advertisements, disc jockey banter, traffic reports, and a beach report recorded from Los Angeles area radio stations in September, 1985). But we do take requests here, and Sixgun McItchyfinger wrote:
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"I am very interested in the revelations/divine inspiration that hit you TWICE, as described in your narrative above. I hope you tell us about it in the voting summary."
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Actually, there were three or maybe even four different occurrences. Below is an overview of the various "revelations" all blended together into one perfect, cold Mojito concocted by The Great Bartender in the Sky. Most of you readers will likely think I'm out of my mind, but that is 100% irrelevant to me. Whether folks believe this story or not, it makes no difference to me in the slightest.
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On Saturday, March 24th, I played 'Me, Lynth & The Beach Report' for the first time in over a decade. I couldn't even remember what was on the tape, but I was knocked out by some seemingly mystical quality to it.
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By analyzing things randomly recorded on that tape (including what appears to be a chronological impossibility), I came to believe that much of the tape was not "randomly" recorded after all. I now believe that the tape was largely "designed" by The Eternal Designer (aka The Great Bartender in the Sky).
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That is to say that, nine years before becoming a Christian on April, 6, 1994, I believe God was inspiring or guiding me to tape certain things. He was prompting me to turn the dial to radio stations at certain times. There are myriad clues that I wasn't fully in charge of this recording. Examples: That'll be the day when I change the radio station while Santana's 'Stormy' or 'Nights In White Satin' by the Moody Blues are playing, but I tape in their entirety Eric Clapton's 'She's Waiting' and 'Let's Go' by The Cars. No way are those decisions made by me! NO WAY is that the STMcC I've ever known!!
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Why would God do this? Because God, in His omniscience, knew that in 2018 I would need to receive an amazing message from Him in order to get me back on the Divine Railroad Track. I admit it, I had fallen back on my Spiritual life. I was nowhere near my previous peak Spiritual point - when I was being visited by angels and felt so connected to God and Christ that I was in that state Saint Paul spoke of as praying without ceasing.
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In 1985, God dropped little clues into 'Me, Lynth And The Beach Report' (too many to mention and too many to be "coincidental") that He knew I would recognize in 2018, when I would need the inspiration to get "back on Track". And then Jesus started using some of the songs on this tape to speak to me. (Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm insane. Tell me that when you get to Heaven and find me there sipping the perfect Mojito in the 'Cloud Nine Silver Lining Lounge'.)
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Jesus was telling me that if I would 'Take The Long Way Home' and enter through "the narrow gate", that 'Someday We'll Be Together' again. He was telling me that He has 'Two Tickets To Paradise' and one of them has my name on it. And especially, He wanted me to know that He was calling me back to the Spiritual place where I was in 1994 through the early 2000s. I needed to re-dedicate and re-devote myself to the Spiritual "walk of Life" for this final 10 or 11 years. We are - all of us - in the final Stretch Run now, and I was blowing it. 'Me, Lynth & The Beach Report' was exactly the Divine boost I needed right now to reignite my Spiritual passion.
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I really do believe that, through this tape, Yeshua (Jesus) is "calling" me back to Himself again, pleading with me to answer His Spiritual phone call.
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Huh? God can't design a cassette tape in 1985 that is specifically meant to deliver messages to one of His children in 2018? I would not presume to place ANY restrictions on what The Eternal God can do. He can do anything He chooses to do!
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One Spiritual experience that really blew my mind occurred while I was putting together my BOTB post and listening to the song 'Telephone Line', which is included on Side B  of 'Me, Lynth & The Beach Report'. The song includes these lyrics:
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Don't you realize the things we did, we did, were all for real - not a dream?
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Initially, I thought this line about "a dream" was referring to the fact that my Spiritual peak was so long ago that it now seems almost like a dream to me.
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But on Oct. 28th, The Holy Spirit told me that the "dream" was actually a LITERAL dream I had in early January, 1998 . In truth, I believe that dream was a flashback to a previous lifetime in which I saw Yeshua on the original Palm Sunday and accepted Him then as my Savior King.
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Yes, I'm referring to reincarnation. Reincarnation is explicitly stated and frequently alluded to in The Holy Bible, and yet, Yeshua said that only those who have the Spiritual ears to hear it will recognize this fact.
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Reincarnation has also been objectively studied and been all but proven to occur on a pretty regular basis. These books shown below, by Dr. Ian Stevenson, are rather "dry", as they approach their subject in a very scholarly way, but they are also persuasive as all get-out!
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Well, that's it, my friends. I hope to see ya back here again for my November 15th BOTB installment.
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Bless And Be Blessed!
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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2018, NOV. 1: BATTLE OF THE BANDS (Or, YOUNG AMERICA VERSUS BEATLES LIGHT)

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Light Vs. Dark, Good Vs. Evil, Love Vs. Hate, Angel Vs. Demon, Yeshua Vs. Beelzebub, Neil Young Vs. America, The Beatles Vs. Electric Light Orchestra, America Vs. ELO, Singer Vs. Singer, Band Vs. Band...

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BATTLE OF THE BANDS (BOTB)

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I've been doing BOTB so long that, with the exception of Christmas, I don't really do "Holiday themes" anymore. However, even though I'm not and never have been Catholic, [link> TODAY is kind of special (right, Countess? If you're a Countess, click HERE.). So there will be a Spiritual subtext to this Battle, but you needn't concern yerselves with it.
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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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A few times on this blog I have mentioned a 90-minute cassette tape titled 'Me, Lynth And The Beach Report', which I created in September of 1985 by randomly recording songs, advertisements, disc jockey banter, traffic reports, and a beach report from Los Angeles area radio stations. My buddy, Julio Seis-Abeja (you know him as Bryan), burned the tapes' two sides onto two compact discs for me.
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What I didn't tell you is that while listening to the Side B compact disc on July 27th this year, I had a profound and intense Spiritual experience. It wasn't the first time I had a Spiritual experience while listening to 'Me, Lynth And The Beach Report', nor was it the last!...
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Why, just today (Sun. Oct. 28th), at about 12:00 Noon, while listening to one of the two songs I'm using in today's Battle (a song which also happens to be on Side B of 'Me, Lynth And The Beach Report') I had yet another powerful encounter with Jesus which brought me to tears. (John Wayne-like tears, NOT Millennial soy boy tears, ya un'erstan'?) You can laugh - go ahead. I don't mind at all. When a person knows The Truth they are impervious to the razzing of others.
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Anyway, on to the show, Pinocchio!...
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Last March, BOTB's own Michele published a music post HERE, in which she mentioned that Bob Dylan had been annoyed by how much 'Heart Of Gold', by Bob-Dylan-fan Neil Young, sounded like something Dylan would have composed and sung:
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"The only time it bothered me that someone sounded like me was when I was living in Phoenix, Arizona, in about ’72 and the big song at the time was “Heart of Gold”. ... I always liked Neil Young, but it bothered me every time I listened to “Heart of Gold.” I think it was up at number one for a long time, and I’d say, "Shit, that’s me. If it sounds like me, it should as well be me." 
~ Bob Dylan in 1985

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Karma's a funny thing: Neil Young's 'Heart Of Gold' was a Billboard #1 hit in 1972, but it got bumped from the #1 spot by a song that became an even bigger hit than 'Heart Of Gold'. America's 'A Horse With No Name' replaced Young's 'Heart Of Gold' at #1, and it remained there for 3 consecutive weeks. The funny thing is that 'A Horse With No Name' sounds more like Neil Young than 'Heart Of Gold' sounds like Bob Dylan!
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Wackypedia sez:
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The song's resemblance to some of Neil Young's work aroused some controversy. "I know that virtually everyone, on first hearing, assumed it was Neil", (America songwriter) Dewey Bunnell says. "I never fully shied away from the fact that I was inspired by him. I think it's in the structure of the song as much as in the tone of his voice. It did hurt a little, because we got some pretty bad backlash. I've always attributed it more to people protecting their own heroes more than attacking me."
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STMcC's refrigerator door.

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But WAIT! There's more!...
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Decades ago, I heard or read where someone said that Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) sounded just like Paul McCartney & The Beatles. I thought: WHAT?! What's this guy yakking about?! ELO doesn't sound like The Beatles!
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The very next time I heard an ELO song (which wasn't more than a few weeks later) I thought: Hokey-Smoke! They DO sound just like Paul McCartney & The Beatles!! How could I have not noticed that before?!
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Wackypedia sez:
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Critics often compared Electric Light Orchestra to The Beatles, and they were often criticized for "ripping off" the band. Jeff Lynne (of ELO) admitted that he "was very influenced by the Beatles' sound of '68 and '69. That has obviously been a big influence on the way [he] looked at songwriting" and said that being compared with The Beatles was the "ultimate compliment".
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And John Lennon said:
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"We're gonna play Electric Light Orchestra from last year - "Showdown" - which I thought was a great record and I was expecting it to be number one, but I don't think UA got their fingers out and pushed it. And it's a nice group. I call them 'Son of Beatles' - although they're doing things that we never did, obviously. But I remember the statement they made when they first formed was to carry on from where 'The Beatles' left off with "Walrus" - and they certainly did."
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Your Mission:
*Primary Question [#1]: First and foremost, please tell me which song you simply like better, 'A Horse With No Name' by America, or 'Telephone Line' by ELO?
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Optional Question: Do you think 'A Horse With No Name' sounds more like Neil Young than 'Telephone Line' sounds like Paul McCartney & The Beatles, or vice versa?
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A Side Note On Your Way Down To The Battle:
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Most Jesus Freaks, like me, have Jesus... AND a sense of humor, too!... 
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A HORSE WITH NO NAME -- America
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2naehMUQpQY


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Just say "No"... to needles and scalpels... but not to Jesus. I was looking for a sign when I saw this one:
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TELEPHONE LINE -- Electric Light Orchestra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVd-n3e7QLo


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The Battle Within The Battle

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VERSUS

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Question: "Will ELO lose to America?"

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The Magic 8-Ball (9-5) sez:  "Very Doubtful"

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The Amazing Sixwell (10-4) sez:  "It Is Certain"

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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. (If their ‘BOTB’ blog bits aren’t posted yet, pour yourself two shots of ‘Grand Marnier’ over ice – do it twice – and then return to their blogs to vice your voice ...vote your vice ...voice your vote.)
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Voice Your Vote...
@ ‘TOSSING IT OUT’ by clicking HERE.
@ 'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CURIOUS AS A CATHY' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING' by clicking HERE
@ 'JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE' by clicking HERE.
@ 'ANGELS BARK' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE DOGLADY'S DEN' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE' 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 and 21st of each month to post my own votes and announce the winners in the comment sections.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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BOTB RESULTS: OCT. 15: (Or, JOBIM VS. SERGIO & BRASIL '66 VS. SINATRA)

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STMcC’s Vote On '2018, October 15th: Battle Of The Bands' (BOTB) Or, Antonio Carlos Jobim Versus Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 Versus Frankie Babee Sinatra And The Final Tally:
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This album includes 'WAVE' by Antonio Carlos Jobim

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Good Morning, BOTBers & Non-BOTBers ~ 
(Well, as I type these words, it's still mornin' - barely - where I am, anyway.)
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I hope the day will be a lighter highway
For friends are found on every road
Can you ever think of any better way
For the lost and weary travelers to go?
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The Battle took place HERE, and it was the first 3-Way BOTB I've done in awhile. The song was the Bossa-Nova classic 'WAVE', and our competitors were the original artist Antonio Carlos Jobim, along with Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, and Frank Sinatra. 
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Thanks for coming by and tossing your $0.02 into the BOTB kitty, my friends! As usual, the comment section was a zoo full o' fun. 
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I mentioned in my BOTB blog bit that the song I used had really etched itself into my heart and mind earlier this year while I was on a quest (like brave, brave Sir Robin) to find the Holy Grail the ultimate music album to play in the mornings while waking up with cups o' joe. The funny thing is that a goodly number of voters (boters) took that cue to vote according to which version of 'Wave' they felt they'd most want to wake up to with coffee. HA! That wasn't really my intent for this Battle. I was still just doing a "Vote-For-Your-Favorite-Recording-Period" kind of contest. I guess I kinda confused some o' yaz. But I didn't mind the alt-voting interpretation in the minimalist of minimums. Or geraniums. Or even just mums. As the saying goes: "All is fair in Love and War... and BOTB."
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When I constructed this contest, I expected one of the two vocal covers would probably win, with the instrumental original by Mr. Jobim getting some votes but coming in 3rd. Instead, it was really a two-way Battle all along, between Jobim's original and Sinatra's cover. After 10 votes were recorded, they each had 5. Sergio & Brasil '66 (whom I initially thought might win this) were getting shut-out until the 14th vote came in. And then Sergio received the final 4 votes recorded -- including mine -- but it was too little too late. BOTB - the mystery continues!
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I think the tune itself is truly beautiful -- I dig me some Bossa-Nova and Antonio! Normally, I'm just kind of "Eh" about Frank Sinatra, but in my opinion, all 3 versions were top-notch, including Sinatra's. And this made for a very good Battle. 
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Why did I vote for Sergio & Brasil '66 when I so love Jobim's original instrumental? Because there's just SO MUCH going on in it. Sergio took a simple, very pretty melody and constructed a complex song out of it. I love the way he changed the tempos while incorporating all those voices. (I'm really a sucker for Group Vocals, as y'all know.) And then at the very, very end of Sergio's recording, there's that instrument that keeps scratching away in the left speaker. Didja notice that? I'm not even sure what that instrument is, but I find it fascinating how it continues to play while all the other instruments and voices are barely audible. I don't know why, but I love that! Go back and check it out [link> HERE, if you've a mind to.
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Antonio Carlos Jobim = 8 votes
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Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 = 4 votes
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Frank Sinatra = 5 votes
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I'm pleased to report that in The Battle Within The Battle, both The Magic 8-Ball (9-5) and The Amazing Sixwell (10-4) predicted the outcome correctly. Man, that really IS a Battle between them! 
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Meanwhile, back at the moose . . .
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My quest to find the Top Three 'Morning Music With Joe' (MMWJ) albums continues. This has been ongoing for most of this year and I believe, I think, I feel, I suspect... that I have established my Top Two albums (Win and Place). But I still need to find that final horse who will come in the money (Show) in this race. I'm getting close, but I still have some compact discs to try. In fact, just this morning, I spun something I only recently considered as a potential competitor and it worked fabulously! This *might* be one of the horses in the $. But there's really a good amount of stiff competition.
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What I know FOR SURE is that none of these albums below are gonna be on my final list. (Didn't even need to test 'em out!)
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Bad photo! BAD photo!!

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Thanks again for participatin' (y'all get a "Participation Trophy"). I hope to see ya here again for my November 1st BOTB competition on... uh... well... November 1st. In the meantime, remember to use your God-given talents for Niceness and not Meanness, and don't be an NPC! Search for the "true facts" (as the trivia game in that Prescott bar used to say) and think fer yerself!
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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