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This is my fourth contribution to MMQE's 'ROCKTOBER MusicFest' at 'Jingle Jangle Jungle'. Click HERE for more!
.
In my second installment of this series, I stated that I thought Van Morrison's [link> 'It's Too Late To Stop Now' (1974) was unquestionably one of the very greatest live albums ever released. Truthfully, I'm not ordinarily a big fan of live albums and thus I don't have a lot of them in my music collection. ('It's Too Late To Stop Now'; The Band's 'Last Waltz'; Wes Montgomery's 'Smokin' At The Half Note'; 'The Dave Brubeck Quartet At Carnegie Hall'; Louis Prima's 'The Wildest Show At Tahoe'; and two live sets by The Pat Metheny Group.)
.
To me, a good (or great) live album is when many (or most) of the songs performed live are superior to their studio-recorded counterparts. And that's why I think 'It's Too Late To Stop Now' is a great live album. The only song on the album that I don't feel was better'n the studio track is 'Listen To The Lion' (but even that one is fairly close). Bassist David Hayes once said: "When I speak to Van about that album, he still talks about it as having marked the peak of his career. He really feels he was on to something very special."
.
At the bottom of this blog bit I am going to embed a 5-song playlist from the terrific live album 'It's Too Late To Stop Now'. (Psst! I really love the melancholia that pervades 'Wild Children' and the mention of James Dean's final ride.) But before you listen to those wonderful songs, I want you to see and hear Van Morrison saving the night.
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It was 1976, and The Band was performing their final concert, "The Last Waltz", with a bunch of invited musical guest stars. Levon Helm, The Band's drummer, wrote a very interesting book which I read years ago:
.
.
On pages 264 and 265 of 'This Wheel's On Fire', Levon Helm wrote this:
.
By now it was after midnight, and the crowd was subdued. The momentum of the show had been lost halfway through Joni's set [Joni Mitchell]. Richard Manuel turned the piano over to John Simon and began to sing "Tura Lura Lura", the Irish lullaby. Van Morrison (in a maroon suit) made his entrance amid much cheering - this was Van's first appearance onstage in more than two years - and The Last Waltz was suddenly revived with a spectacular version of "Caravan". John Simon conducted The Band and the horns as Van burned through his great song - "Turn it up! Little bit louder! Radio!" - complete with kick-steps across the stage at the end. Van turned the whole thing around, God bless him for being the showman that he is.
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I saw Van Morrison perform live in Los Angeles 3 or 4 different times and what I found was that when Van isn't really in the mood, the shows are pretty standard fare. But when Van IS in the mood, he's a doggone fantastic performer who puts on one of the greatest concerts you're ever likely to see and hear.
.
So, let's take a look 'n' listen to Van-The-Man in 1976, when he came out and saved the night after Joni Mitchell put the crowd to sleep. And do as Van commands: "Turn it up! Little bit higher!" :
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'CARAVAN' - Van Morrison (from 'The Last Waltz')
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Alright, now that you are "in the mood" like Van, here is a 5-song playlist from Van's own 1974 live album 'It's Too Late To Stop Now' :
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Van Morrison - 'It's Too Late To Stop Now' (5 songs)
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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Sunday, October 20, 2019
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
ROCKTOBER MusicFest - 3 (Or, Van Morrison's Imaginary Movie Soundtrack)
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.
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This is my third contribution to MMQE's 'ROCKTOBER MusicFest' at 'Jingle Jangle Jungle'. Click HERE for more!
.
In 1987, Van Morrison released his 17th studio album, 'Poetic Champions Compose'. How many music artists can unleash one of their very greatest albums after having already made 16 of them? Well, Van-The-Man sure did.
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'Poetic Champions Compose' may or may not be Van's greatest studio album, but I think it definitely has to be considered among his Top 5, without a doubt.
.
One of my very favorite tracks from the collection is 'Did Ye Get Healed?' (You are required to listen until the Irish woman asks that very same question at the very end of the song! ...Don't make me have to come over there!!)
.
DID YE GET HEALED? - Van Morrison
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfKRz6_S9fc
.
However, as much as I LOVE that song, I did not indicate that it should be used in my one and only attempt to write and sell a movie screenplay. I wrote 'BILLY 'N' BILLIE' in 1989 / 1990. It's a romance story about "Billy" (surname: Withers), a White, alcoholic, wanna-be writer living in Venice Beach, and "Billie" (surname: Clayton), a Black, Venice Beach woman who wants to be a Blues and Jazz singer.
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I actually had a real shot of selling this screenplay! It garnered me a one-on-one interview with [link> Tony Bill, who had a production office in Venice Beach. (Yes! *THAT* TONY BILL! The actor, and the director of the terrific movie 'My Bodyguard'.) But I [damn-near deliberately] sabotaged my chances of selling the movie because... I was young & stupid & idealistic, and I objected to having to personally (with my personality) "sell" the story to Mr. Bill when I felt the story sold itself. So, I shot myself in the foot. Wasn't the first time; wasn't the last time.
.
Anyway, that's Bourbon Under The Bridge.
.
But in my screenplay, I indicated that 3 (Van Morrison) songs should be used - one at the very beginning; one just past the middle, when Billy and Billie dance together for the first time; and at the very end, while the final credits are rolling on the silver screen.
.
Below, I am pasting the pages from my screenplay which indicate where the 3 Van Morrison songs were supposed to be used. The first two songs - 'I Forgot That Love Existed' & 'Someone Like You' - came from Morrison's 1987 album 'Poetic Champions Compose', and the End Credits song, 'Brand New Day', came from Morrison's 1970 album 'Moondance'. And below the screenplay pages, you will find a YouTube playlist including those 3 songs in proper order.
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I ask you to try doing this: Imagine watching the opening credits of a movie on the big silver screen, while seeing the activity described on the written page, and hearing the song 'I Forgot That Love Existed'. I still - STRONGLY! - believe that would have been an unforgettable opening for a Hollyweird movie!
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.
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'Billy 'N' Billie' soundtrack - Van Morrison
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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![]() |
| My First Place award-winning entry for a fake pumpkin decorating contest, 2014. |
This is my third contribution to MMQE's 'ROCKTOBER MusicFest' at 'Jingle Jangle Jungle'. Click HERE for more!
.
In 1987, Van Morrison released his 17th studio album, 'Poetic Champions Compose'. How many music artists can unleash one of their very greatest albums after having already made 16 of them? Well, Van-The-Man sure did.
.
'Poetic Champions Compose' may or may not be Van's greatest studio album, but I think it definitely has to be considered among his Top 5, without a doubt.
.
One of my very favorite tracks from the collection is 'Did Ye Get Healed?' (You are required to listen until the Irish woman asks that very same question at the very end of the song! ...Don't make me have to come over there!!)
.
DID YE GET HEALED? - Van Morrison
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfKRz6_S9fc
.
However, as much as I LOVE that song, I did not indicate that it should be used in my one and only attempt to write and sell a movie screenplay. I wrote 'BILLY 'N' BILLIE' in 1989 / 1990. It's a romance story about "Billy" (surname: Withers), a White, alcoholic, wanna-be writer living in Venice Beach, and "Billie" (surname: Clayton), a Black, Venice Beach woman who wants to be a Blues and Jazz singer.
.
I actually had a real shot of selling this screenplay! It garnered me a one-on-one interview with [link> Tony Bill, who had a production office in Venice Beach. (Yes! *THAT* TONY BILL! The actor, and the director of the terrific movie 'My Bodyguard'.) But I [damn-near deliberately] sabotaged my chances of selling the movie because... I was young & stupid & idealistic, and I objected to having to personally (with my personality) "sell" the story to Mr. Bill when I felt the story sold itself. So, I shot myself in the foot. Wasn't the first time; wasn't the last time.
.
Anyway, that's Bourbon Under The Bridge.
.
But in my screenplay, I indicated that 3 (Van Morrison) songs should be used - one at the very beginning; one just past the middle, when Billy and Billie dance together for the first time; and at the very end, while the final credits are rolling on the silver screen.
.
Below, I am pasting the pages from my screenplay which indicate where the 3 Van Morrison songs were supposed to be used. The first two songs - 'I Forgot That Love Existed' & 'Someone Like You' - came from Morrison's 1987 album 'Poetic Champions Compose', and the End Credits song, 'Brand New Day', came from Morrison's 1970 album 'Moondance'. And below the screenplay pages, you will find a YouTube playlist including those 3 songs in proper order.
.
I ask you to try doing this: Imagine watching the opening credits of a movie on the big silver screen, while seeing the activity described on the written page, and hearing the song 'I Forgot That Love Existed'. I still - STRONGLY! - believe that would have been an unforgettable opening for a Hollyweird movie!
.
.
.
.
'Billy 'N' Billie' soundtrack - Van Morrison
.
.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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Friday, October 11, 2019
ROCKTOBER MusicFest - 2 (Or, VAN MORRISON - Uptempo & Funky)
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This is my second contribution to MMQE's 'ROCKTOBER MusicFest' at 'Jingle Jangle Jungle'. Click HERE for more!
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In my first installment [Here], I yakked about the VAN MORRISON song 'Cleaning Windows'. Well, dogged if I ain't back with more Van-The-Man for ya!
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A lot of Morrison's music has spiritual themes, and a great deal of it slowly rolls itself out, gradually becoming almost a kind of hypnotic "music meditation". However, Van has a great love of early American Folk, Blues, Country and R&B styles and incorporated them into many of his songs.
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Below, I put together a 3-song playlist titled 'VAN MORRISON - Uptempo & Funky'. The first song on the list is Van's cover of the old standard Country Blues song [link> 'MIDNIGHT SPECIAL'. He turns it into a Blues-Rock powerhouse! This was amongst Morrison's earliest recordings, and I think he delivers the ultimate rendition of this great old song. I LOVE the bass playing on this track!
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The second song, 'I'VE BEEN WORKING', comes from Van's first live album 'It's Too Late To Stop Now' (1973). I believe this is unquestionably one of the very greatest live albums ever released, and I also believe this may be the funkiest song I've ever heard; I can't sit still while it plays! I'm wild about the interplay between the musicians - the way they all take turns bursting in and playing off of each other's licks. Bassist David Hayes once said: "When I speak to Van about that album, he still talks about it as having marked the peak of his career. He really feels he was on to something very special."
.
And the third and final song of this set is 'IF YOU ONLY KNEW', a cover of a Mose Allison song from Morrison's 1985 album 'A Sense Of Wonder'. In my first blog bit of this MusicFest, I mentioned how much I love the saxophone playing of [link> Pee Wee Ellis. Ellis played with James Brown in the 1960s, and Van knowing a great musician when he hears one, enlisted Pee Wee for recording and touring for over two decades. 'If You Only Knew' contains possibly my very favorite example of Pee Wee's playing, where he takes a kind of scorched-earth policy into the solo and just blows everything away!!
.
Here ya go - 3 "Uptempo & Funky" Van Morrison songs - I hope you dig 'em!
.
.
.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
.
.
This is my second contribution to MMQE's 'ROCKTOBER MusicFest' at 'Jingle Jangle Jungle'. Click HERE for more!
.
In my first installment [Here], I yakked about the VAN MORRISON song 'Cleaning Windows'. Well, dogged if I ain't back with more Van-The-Man for ya!
.
A lot of Morrison's music has spiritual themes, and a great deal of it slowly rolls itself out, gradually becoming almost a kind of hypnotic "music meditation". However, Van has a great love of early American Folk, Blues, Country and R&B styles and incorporated them into many of his songs.
.
Below, I put together a 3-song playlist titled 'VAN MORRISON - Uptempo & Funky'. The first song on the list is Van's cover of the old standard Country Blues song [link> 'MIDNIGHT SPECIAL'. He turns it into a Blues-Rock powerhouse! This was amongst Morrison's earliest recordings, and I think he delivers the ultimate rendition of this great old song. I LOVE the bass playing on this track!
.
The second song, 'I'VE BEEN WORKING', comes from Van's first live album 'It's Too Late To Stop Now' (1973). I believe this is unquestionably one of the very greatest live albums ever released, and I also believe this may be the funkiest song I've ever heard; I can't sit still while it plays! I'm wild about the interplay between the musicians - the way they all take turns bursting in and playing off of each other's licks. Bassist David Hayes once said: "When I speak to Van about that album, he still talks about it as having marked the peak of his career. He really feels he was on to something very special."
.
And the third and final song of this set is 'IF YOU ONLY KNEW', a cover of a Mose Allison song from Morrison's 1985 album 'A Sense Of Wonder'. In my first blog bit of this MusicFest, I mentioned how much I love the saxophone playing of [link> Pee Wee Ellis. Ellis played with James Brown in the 1960s, and Van knowing a great musician when he hears one, enlisted Pee Wee for recording and touring for over two decades. 'If You Only Knew' contains possibly my very favorite example of Pee Wee's playing, where he takes a kind of scorched-earth policy into the solo and just blows everything away!!
.
Here ya go - 3 "Uptempo & Funky" Van Morrison songs - I hope you dig 'em!
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.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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Thursday, October 10, 2019
ROCKTOBER MusicFest - 1 (Or, My First 2019 Contribution to MMQE's Annual Blogfest)
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As I sit here drinking a Tervis Tumbler of Cruzan's 'Black Strap Rum' and listening to one of the all-time, ALL-TIME(!!) greatest "Albums To Drink By" ['El Rayo-X' by David Lindley], I am going to tap out something about a great song by a different artist. This is my first contribution to MMQE's 'ROCKTOBER Blogfest' at 'Jingle Jangle Jungle'. Click HERE for more!
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.
VAN MORRISON released his album 'BEAUTIFUL VISION' in March of 1982. I loved it! Heck, I loved SO MANY Van-The-Man albums and I owned nearly all of them... until the time he released a song praising "lucifer".
.
(Yes, *THAT* [
] lucifer.)
.
And that's when I took a good, long, hard look at the lyrics of Van Morrison songs I'd been listening to for decades and I found a LOT of New Age 'luciferian' stuffs in there. And that's when - like a big, bad, angry dog shaking the dirt off a bone - I began purging away (down to the pure, clean, white bone) my music collection of every Van Morrison album that contained New Age (i.e., 'luciferian') references - many of them being extremely subtle, which only the most informed researchers (like myself) could catch.
.
When the purging was done, only 6 albums remained in my collection, and 'Beautiful Vision' wasn't amongst them. [Technically, I should have also tossed into that same dumpster in Phoenix, Arizona, Van's album 'Hymns To The Silence', but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It's a 21-song double album, and some of those songs are big favorites of mine. I couldn't toss out the whole double album because of only 1 offender. So, I just skip that song when it comes up on my CD player.]
.
.
Pro Tip: At the time of the purge, my very favorite album in the whole history of the world (by anyone at any time!) was Van Morrison's 'Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart'. In fact, that was the very first compact disc I ever owned! I told The Countess (before she became "The Countess"), "I will never start replacing my LPs with compact discs until 'Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart' is available on compact disc!" I figured that would NEVER, EVER happen!
.
Two hours later, The Countess came back and handed me 'Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart' on compact disc. Ha!-Ha! ...UHP! I'M AN IDIOT!! {*In hindsight, I realize that, from that very moment, she was destined to become my girlfriend.*}
.
Sadly, even my 'Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart' CD had to go into that Phoenix dumpster. But I saved the CD's insert as a souvenir of a terrific Countess / Black Cole Kid moment!
.
.
However, I still have Van Morrison's album 'Into The Music', which is now my favorite Morrison album. You should definitely listen to it. Dang! If you don't dig *that* album, there is something seriously sick in yer soul!!
.
.
Alright, back to the subject at hand:
.
One song on the 'Beautiful Vision' album (my old copy which is now lying deep down in an Airheadzona dump somewhere) was 'CLEANING WINDOWS'. I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't dig this song! I have even played it for a couple of folks who generally DISLIKE Van's music, and EVEN THEY liked 'Cleaning Windows'. It just might be "the universal song".
.
Wackypedia sez:
.
The version of "Cleaning Windows" that was released as a single and was included on the 1982 album ['Beautiful Vision'] was recorded at the Record Plant Studios in Sausalito, California on 27 July 1981.
.
The biographically based song chronicles a cheerful and nostalgic look back at a carefree time in Morrison's life when he was still a part-time musician, playing saxophone with Clubsound at the weekend. He names his favourite musical artists of the time such as Muddy Waters, Jimmie Rodgers, and Lead Belly, along with author Jack Kerouac and his books 'The Dharma Bums' and 'On the Road', and even Buddhist judge Christmas Humphreys and his "... book on Zen."
.
According to Steve Turner, in 'Cleaning Windows' "Van sketched the details of his life during 1961 and 1962, and captured the balance between his contentment at work and his aspirations to learn more about music. It conveyed the impression that his happiness with the mundane routine of smoking Woodbine cigarettes, eating Paris buns and drinking lemonade was made possible by the promise that at the end of the day he could enter the world of books and records..."
.
John Milward wrote in a 1982 Rolling Stone review: "Hung on a metaphor as clear as glass, 'Cleaning Windows' applies one night's notions to a lifetime. It's the LP's musical highlight as well, with a guitar-organ combination reminiscent of The Band, and a jumping sax solo to boot".
.
Paul Macinnis with The Guardian wrote: "The message of the song is simple – the window cleaner's happy in his work – and the lyrical vignettes combined with delicate, upbeat R&B (with Mark "That ain't working" Knopfler on guitar) convey that feeling wonderfully."
.
In his descriptions of the songs on Beautiful Vision, Erik Hage wrote that this song is an exception as it is "stuffed with images and remembrances ... and is therefore somewhat anomalous to the rest of the record, which took up more esoteric and spiritual matters."
.
AllMusic's Bill Janovitz, on the other hand, suggests a spiritual reading of the song, with Morrison's literal image of "cleaning windows" doubling as "a metaphor for Zen-like clarity, seeing the essence of life via the repetition of basic chores."
.
"Cleaning Windows" was released as a single in March 1982 but was not promoted as a 45 single by Mercury records and therefore did not chart. Writer Howard A. DeWitt felt that it would have charted "because it generated a response similar to 'Domino' in Van's 1982 concerts". ('Domino' charted at #9 in America in 1970.)
.
Morrison chose "Cleaning Windows" to be one of the songs included on The Best of Van Morrison, his first "Best of" album, which was released in 1990.
.
I have NO DOUBT that 'Cleaning Windows' would have been a huge Top 40 hit in 1982, if Van's record company had the brains of gnat! Like I said, EVERYONE I've ever played this song for has really liked it - even Van-The-Man haters!
.
Van Morrison - vocals
John Allair - organ
Pee Wee Ellis - tenor and baritone saxophones
Mark Isham - trumpet
Mark Knopfler - guitar
Gary Mallaber - drums
Chris Michie - lead guitar
Michele Segan - percussion
Rob Wasserman - bass
.
Pee Wee Ellis -- what a BEAST on the saxophone!! Some of my all-time favorite sax solos were played by Pee Wee! Saxophone: On ballads, give me Ben Webster, every single time; but on rockin', squawkin' songs, I choose Pee Wee Ellis, yesterday, today, and tomorrow!!
.
CLEANING WINDOWS - Van Morrison
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgAf0Rjfm5s
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
.
.
As I sit here drinking a Tervis Tumbler of Cruzan's 'Black Strap Rum' and listening to one of the all-time, ALL-TIME(!!) greatest "Albums To Drink By" ['El Rayo-X' by David Lindley], I am going to tap out something about a great song by a different artist. This is my first contribution to MMQE's 'ROCKTOBER Blogfest' at 'Jingle Jangle Jungle'. Click HERE for more!
.
![]() |
| 'BEAUTIFUL VISION' by Van Morrison |
VAN MORRISON released his album 'BEAUTIFUL VISION' in March of 1982. I loved it! Heck, I loved SO MANY Van-The-Man albums and I owned nearly all of them... until the time he released a song praising "lucifer".
.
(Yes, *THAT* [
] lucifer.).
And that's when I took a good, long, hard look at the lyrics of Van Morrison songs I'd been listening to for decades and I found a LOT of New Age 'luciferian' stuffs in there. And that's when - like a big, bad, angry dog shaking the dirt off a bone - I began purging away (down to the pure, clean, white bone) my music collection of every Van Morrison album that contained New Age (i.e., 'luciferian') references - many of them being extremely subtle, which only the most informed researchers (like myself) could catch.
.
When the purging was done, only 6 albums remained in my collection, and 'Beautiful Vision' wasn't amongst them. [Technically, I should have also tossed into that same dumpster in Phoenix, Arizona, Van's album 'Hymns To The Silence', but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It's a 21-song double album, and some of those songs are big favorites of mine. I couldn't toss out the whole double album because of only 1 offender. So, I just skip that song when it comes up on my CD player.]
.
.
Pro Tip: At the time of the purge, my very favorite album in the whole history of the world (by anyone at any time!) was Van Morrison's 'Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart'. In fact, that was the very first compact disc I ever owned! I told The Countess (before she became "The Countess"), "I will never start replacing my LPs with compact discs until 'Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart' is available on compact disc!" I figured that would NEVER, EVER happen!
.
Two hours later, The Countess came back and handed me 'Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart' on compact disc. Ha!-Ha! ...UHP! I'M AN IDIOT!! {*In hindsight, I realize that, from that very moment, she was destined to become my girlfriend.*}
.
Sadly, even my 'Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart' CD had to go into that Phoenix dumpster. But I saved the CD's insert as a souvenir of a terrific Countess / Black Cole Kid moment!
.
.
However, I still have Van Morrison's album 'Into The Music', which is now my favorite Morrison album. You should definitely listen to it. Dang! If you don't dig *that* album, there is something seriously sick in yer soul!!
.
.
Alright, back to the subject at hand:
.
One song on the 'Beautiful Vision' album (my old copy which is now lying deep down in an Airheadzona dump somewhere) was 'CLEANING WINDOWS'. I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't dig this song! I have even played it for a couple of folks who generally DISLIKE Van's music, and EVEN THEY liked 'Cleaning Windows'. It just might be "the universal song".
.
Wackypedia sez:
.
The version of "Cleaning Windows" that was released as a single and was included on the 1982 album ['Beautiful Vision'] was recorded at the Record Plant Studios in Sausalito, California on 27 July 1981.
.
The biographically based song chronicles a cheerful and nostalgic look back at a carefree time in Morrison's life when he was still a part-time musician, playing saxophone with Clubsound at the weekend. He names his favourite musical artists of the time such as Muddy Waters, Jimmie Rodgers, and Lead Belly, along with author Jack Kerouac and his books 'The Dharma Bums' and 'On the Road', and even Buddhist judge Christmas Humphreys and his "... book on Zen."
.
According to Steve Turner, in 'Cleaning Windows' "Van sketched the details of his life during 1961 and 1962, and captured the balance between his contentment at work and his aspirations to learn more about music. It conveyed the impression that his happiness with the mundane routine of smoking Woodbine cigarettes, eating Paris buns and drinking lemonade was made possible by the promise that at the end of the day he could enter the world of books and records..."
.
John Milward wrote in a 1982 Rolling Stone review: "Hung on a metaphor as clear as glass, 'Cleaning Windows' applies one night's notions to a lifetime. It's the LP's musical highlight as well, with a guitar-organ combination reminiscent of The Band, and a jumping sax solo to boot".
.
Paul Macinnis with The Guardian wrote: "The message of the song is simple – the window cleaner's happy in his work – and the lyrical vignettes combined with delicate, upbeat R&B (with Mark "That ain't working" Knopfler on guitar) convey that feeling wonderfully."
.
In his descriptions of the songs on Beautiful Vision, Erik Hage wrote that this song is an exception as it is "stuffed with images and remembrances ... and is therefore somewhat anomalous to the rest of the record, which took up more esoteric and spiritual matters."
.
AllMusic's Bill Janovitz, on the other hand, suggests a spiritual reading of the song, with Morrison's literal image of "cleaning windows" doubling as "a metaphor for Zen-like clarity, seeing the essence of life via the repetition of basic chores."
.
"Cleaning Windows" was released as a single in March 1982 but was not promoted as a 45 single by Mercury records and therefore did not chart. Writer Howard A. DeWitt felt that it would have charted "because it generated a response similar to 'Domino' in Van's 1982 concerts". ('Domino' charted at #9 in America in 1970.)
.
Morrison chose "Cleaning Windows" to be one of the songs included on The Best of Van Morrison, his first "Best of" album, which was released in 1990.
.
I have NO DOUBT that 'Cleaning Windows' would have been a huge Top 40 hit in 1982, if Van's record company had the brains of gnat! Like I said, EVERYONE I've ever played this song for has really liked it - even Van-The-Man haters!
.
Van Morrison - vocals
John Allair - organ
Pee Wee Ellis - tenor and baritone saxophones
Mark Isham - trumpet
Mark Knopfler - guitar
Gary Mallaber - drums
Chris Michie - lead guitar
Michele Segan - percussion
Rob Wasserman - bass
.
Pee Wee Ellis -- what a BEAST on the saxophone!! Some of my all-time favorite sax solos were played by Pee Wee! Saxophone: On ballads, give me Ben Webster, every single time; but on rockin', squawkin' songs, I choose Pee Wee Ellis, yesterday, today, and tomorrow!!
.
CLEANING WINDOWS - Van Morrison
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgAf0Rjfm5s
.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
.
Monday, October 7, 2019
BOTB RESULTS: OCT. 1, 2019 (Or, CHUCK JACKSON VERSUS CRAWFORD & McGRIFF)
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STMcC’s Vote On '2019, October 1st: Battle Of The Bands' (BOTB) - Or, Chuck Jackson Versus Hank Crawford & Jimmy McGriff - And The Final Tally:
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.
First and foremost (as always) my sincere thanks to each and every one of youz who took the trouble 'n' time to come by here to listen, consider, and vote. It was a nice BOTB turnout, and without y'all, there'd be no point in any of this.
.
Dang, mang, this was an excellent Battle!! (I susexpected it would be.) The song was 'Any Day Now' by Chuck Jackson (vocal version) and Hank Crawford & Jimmy McGriff (instrumental interpretation) and the Battle took place HERE. After 14 votes were recorded, the score was 7-7. It don't get no better'n dat!
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But then G DogG came in at the 11th hour and 59th second with a bote for Crawford & McGriff, and I sealed the deal with my own (final) bote for the duo.
.
Chuck Jackson = 7 votes
.
Crawford & McGriff = 9 votes
.
To me, the Crawford & McGriff instrumental is extremely exciting, musically masterful, and *EVERYTHING* I look for in a Jazz performance! It's also pretty high up on my list of all-time favorite instrumental Jazz recordings!!
.
Our resident psychic, Carnac The Magnificent, said that Chuck Jackson would narrowly win ("by the hair of his chinny-chin-chin"). But, actually, it was Crawford & McGriff who won, in the final seconds, by the hair of their chinny-chin-chins. That makes our psychic's record for accurately predicting BOTB outcomes 1-2 after three Battles. If he doesn't pick up the pace pretty soon, I predict there is careening, out-of-control bus with his name on it in his immediate future. (Which probably makes me a better psychic than Carnac is!)
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Thanks again, All Y'All! I hope to see ya here again on November 1st for my November 1st BOTB contest. (You see how those dates work? Perfectly in-sync! ...And, NO!, NSYNC will *NEVER* appear on this blog in a BOTB contest! Damn it! Even Carnac could accurately predict THAT!)
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
.
STMcC’s Vote On '2019, October 1st: Battle Of The Bands' (BOTB) - Or, Chuck Jackson Versus Hank Crawford & Jimmy McGriff - And The Final Tally:
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![]() |
| 'Good Vibrations' illegally parks to go to church. |
First and foremost (as always) my sincere thanks to each and every one of youz who took the trouble 'n' time to come by here to listen, consider, and vote. It was a nice BOTB turnout, and without y'all, there'd be no point in any of this.
.
Dang, mang, this was an excellent Battle!! (I susexpected it would be.) The song was 'Any Day Now' by Chuck Jackson (vocal version) and Hank Crawford & Jimmy McGriff (instrumental interpretation) and the Battle took place HERE. After 14 votes were recorded, the score was 7-7. It don't get no better'n dat!
.
But then G DogG came in at the 11th hour and 59th second with a bote for Crawford & McGriff, and I sealed the deal with my own (final) bote for the duo.
.
Chuck Jackson = 7 votes
.
Crawford & McGriff = 9 votes
.
To me, the Crawford & McGriff instrumental is extremely exciting, musically masterful, and *EVERYTHING* I look for in a Jazz performance! It's also pretty high up on my list of all-time favorite instrumental Jazz recordings!!
.
Our resident psychic, Carnac The Magnificent, said that Chuck Jackson would narrowly win ("by the hair of his chinny-chin-chin"). But, actually, it was Crawford & McGriff who won, in the final seconds, by the hair of their chinny-chin-chins. That makes our psychic's record for accurately predicting BOTB outcomes 1-2 after three Battles. If he doesn't pick up the pace pretty soon, I predict there is careening, out-of-control bus with his name on it in his immediate future. (Which probably makes me a better psychic than Carnac is!)
.
Thanks again, All Y'All! I hope to see ya here again on November 1st for my November 1st BOTB contest. (You see how those dates work? Perfectly in-sync! ...And, NO!, NSYNC will *NEVER* appear on this blog in a BOTB contest! Damn it! Even Carnac could accurately predict THAT!)
.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
.
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
2019, OCT. 1: BATTLE OF THE BANDS (Or, CHUCK JACKSON VS. HANK CRAWFORD & JIMMY McGRIFF)
..
Republican Vs. Democrat, Male Vs. Female, War Vs. Peace, Light Vs. Dark, Good Vs. Evil, Man Vs. Machine, Love Vs. Hate, God 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...
.
BATTLE OF THE BANDS (BOTB)
.
.
Shoop-Shooby -
Shooby-Duh-Dooby-Doop-Dooby-Dooby-Doo-Wah -
Buh-Doo-Wah!
.
Yes, it's time once again for Battle Of The Bands (BOTB).
.
Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!...
.
.
Howdy, Y'All! We be back.
.
"Complicated ligation was the words of the 1861", but 101 years later, in 1962, Burt Bacharach and Bob Hilliard wrote the song "ANY DAY NOW". As I stated [HERE] in a review of the 1990 album 'On The Blue Side' by Hank Crawford & Jimmy McGriff...
.
I'm an inveterate whistler. I catch myself unconsciously whistling all the time, and almost always it's either 'Sunshine Of Your Love', 'Keep On Loving You', 'Bumpin' On Sunset', 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen', or 'ANY DAY NOW' from this collection. My gosh, I've been whistling 'Any Day Now' for 14 years!
.
I believe the first rendition of this song that I heard was that instrumental by Crawford & McGriff, but Chuck Jackson had a #23 Billboard hit with it in '62. And there are several really good recordings of the song out there by folks such as Elvis Presley, Paul Carrack, Ronnie Milsap and others. I toyed with the idea of using Presley's notable version [HERE] in this Battle, but Elvis was indeed "the king", and using his recording would probably be beggin' for a blowout. (In BOTB, it's a good rule of thumb to largely avoid using certain performers like Elvis, Sinatra, Satchmo, and Nat King Cole... unless one feels like flirting with a blowout or shutout.)
.
.
So, I'm giving you a Jackson (vocal) versus Crawford & McGriff (instrumental) Battle, which might be a real slugfest. Here ya go, my friends!...
.
.
ANY DAY NOW - Chuck Jackson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPgE991VDwM
.
.
This next video is restricted but supposedly will play in Canada. If it doesn't, try clicking HERE and listening. 'Any Day Now' is the first track on that alternate video, and it plays from 00:00 to 07:07.
.
ANY DAY NOW - Hank Crawford & Jimmy McGriff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0rvM97Y2vs
.
.
Carnac The Magnificent (1-1): "By the hair of his chinny-chin-chin."
.
Question: Will Chuck beat Hank & Jimmy?
.
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.
.
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.Vote your vice... Vice your voice...
.
Voice Your Vote...
@ TOSSING IT OUT by clicking HERE
@ MIKE'S RAMBLINGS by clicking HERE
@ THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING by clicking HERE
@ JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE by clicking HERE
@ THE DOGLADY'S DEN by clicking HERE
@ CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE by clicking HERE
@ CURIOUS AS A CATHY by clicking HERE
.
As I've done in the past, I will continue to return to my 'BOTB' blog bits on the 7th of each month to post my own votes and announce the winners in the comment sections.
.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
.
Republican Vs. Democrat, Male Vs. Female, War Vs. Peace, Light Vs. Dark, Good Vs. Evil, Man Vs. Machine, Love Vs. Hate, God 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...
.
BATTLE OF THE BANDS (BOTB)
.
.
Shoop-Shooby -
Shooby-Duh-Dooby-Doop-Dooby-Dooby-Doo-Wah -
Buh-Doo-Wah!
.
Yes, it's time once again for Battle Of The Bands (BOTB).
.
Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!...
.
.
Howdy, Y'All! We be back.
.
"Complicated ligation was the words of the 1861", but 101 years later, in 1962, Burt Bacharach and Bob Hilliard wrote the song "ANY DAY NOW". As I stated [HERE] in a review of the 1990 album 'On The Blue Side' by Hank Crawford & Jimmy McGriff...
.
I'm an inveterate whistler. I catch myself unconsciously whistling all the time, and almost always it's either 'Sunshine Of Your Love', 'Keep On Loving You', 'Bumpin' On Sunset', 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen', or 'ANY DAY NOW' from this collection. My gosh, I've been whistling 'Any Day Now' for 14 years!
.
I believe the first rendition of this song that I heard was that instrumental by Crawford & McGriff, but Chuck Jackson had a #23 Billboard hit with it in '62. And there are several really good recordings of the song out there by folks such as Elvis Presley, Paul Carrack, Ronnie Milsap and others. I toyed with the idea of using Presley's notable version [HERE] in this Battle, but Elvis was indeed "the king", and using his recording would probably be beggin' for a blowout. (In BOTB, it's a good rule of thumb to largely avoid using certain performers like Elvis, Sinatra, Satchmo, and Nat King Cole... unless one feels like flirting with a blowout or shutout.)
.
.
So, I'm giving you a Jackson (vocal) versus Crawford & McGriff (instrumental) Battle, which might be a real slugfest. Here ya go, my friends!...
.
.
ANY DAY NOW - Chuck Jackson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPgE991VDwM
.
.
This next video is restricted but supposedly will play in Canada. If it doesn't, try clicking HERE and listening. 'Any Day Now' is the first track on that alternate video, and it plays from 00:00 to 07:07.
.
ANY DAY NOW - Hank Crawford & Jimmy McGriff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0rvM97Y2vs
.
.
Carnac The Magnificent (1-1): "By the hair of his chinny-chin-chin."
.
Question: Will Chuck beat Hank & Jimmy?
.
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.
.
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.
.
Voice Your Vote...
@ TOSSING IT OUT by clicking HERE
@ MIKE'S RAMBLINGS by clicking HERE
@ THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING by clicking HERE
@ JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE by clicking HERE
@ THE DOGLADY'S DEN by clicking HERE
@ CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE by clicking HERE
@ CURIOUS AS A CATHY by clicking HERE
.
As I've done in the past, I will continue to return to my 'BOTB' blog bits on the 7th of each month to post my own votes and announce the winners in the comment sections.
.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
.
Saturday, September 7, 2019
BOTB RESULTS: SEPT. 1, 2019 (Or, GUNS 'N' ROSES VERSUS THE ZONE)
.
.
STMcC’s Vote On '2019, September 1st: Battle Of The Bands' (BOTB) - Or, Guns 'N' Roses Versus The Zone - And The Final Tally:
.
First of all, as always, my sincere thanks to each and every one of you who displayed your loyalty to the Battle Of The Bands blogfest by stopping by, listening, and taking the time to cast a vote (aka bote). I appreciate you all.
.
The Battle took place HERE and it was between 'Welcome To The Jungle', a #7 Billboard hit in 1988 for Guns 'N' Roses, and 'Johnny's Gone' by The Zone, which is a band you never heard of until you met me, because it was my Cousin's former group. My Cousin was the principal songwriter and lead vocalist.
.
This was a reasonably good contest, but despite being a major underdog, The Zone didn't have a lot of trouble beating up on Girls 'N' Roses. How come that? Well, this might be a clue:
.
"...the loudness of Guns N Roses which is just noise"
~ Birgit
.
"I agree with Birgit that Guns ‘N’ Roses just sounds like a lot of noise"
~ Julie
.
That makes three of us. I also think 'Welcome To The Jungle' is a helluva lot closer to "noise" than it is to "music". I might have fallen for that nonsense when I was 17 years old, but that was a long, long time ago. However, I did enjoy making fun of the Girls in the comment section.
.
.
Guns 'N' Roses = 6 votes
.
The Zone = 10 votes
.
Our resident psychic, Carnac The Magnificent, correctly predicted this major BOTB upset. Maybe he really *is* psychic?! ...Nah.
.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
.
I received some feedback and input from some voters regarding my plan to take a BOTB hiatus for the rest of 2019, and I appreciated that. Having given it greater consideration, I feel it might be more prudent for me rather to revert to a once-a-month BOTB schedule and see if that's enough of a break for me.
.
Therefore, beginning now, I will be posting Battles on the first day of each month. And although I won't be featuring a BOTB installment of my own on the 15ths, I WILL still be around to cast my botes on All Y'all's Battles. Just as Debbie posts only on the 15ths but still votes in BOTB rounds she's not participating in, I will do likewise, but with the participation dates reversed.
.
Thanks again, Everyone. And I'll stop by to check out your new Battles in about a week and a half from now. (Hopefully I'll have found employment by then.)
.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
.
.
STMcC’s Vote On '2019, September 1st: Battle Of The Bands' (BOTB) - Or, Guns 'N' Roses Versus The Zone - And The Final Tally:
.
First of all, as always, my sincere thanks to each and every one of you who displayed your loyalty to the Battle Of The Bands blogfest by stopping by, listening, and taking the time to cast a vote (aka bote). I appreciate you all.
.
The Battle took place HERE and it was between 'Welcome To The Jungle', a #7 Billboard hit in 1988 for Guns 'N' Roses, and 'Johnny's Gone' by The Zone, which is a band you never heard of until you met me, because it was my Cousin's former group. My Cousin was the principal songwriter and lead vocalist.
.
This was a reasonably good contest, but despite being a major underdog, The Zone didn't have a lot of trouble beating up on Girls 'N' Roses. How come that? Well, this might be a clue:
.
"...the loudness of Guns N Roses which is just noise"
~ Birgit
.
"I agree with Birgit that Guns ‘N’ Roses just sounds like a lot of noise"
~ Julie
.
That makes three of us. I also think 'Welcome To The Jungle' is a helluva lot closer to "noise" than it is to "music". I might have fallen for that nonsense when I was 17 years old, but that was a long, long time ago. However, I did enjoy making fun of the Girls in the comment section.

.
![]() |
| What a buncha sweethearts! |
Guns 'N' Roses = 6 votes
.
The Zone = 10 votes
.
Our resident psychic, Carnac The Magnificent, correctly predicted this major BOTB upset. Maybe he really *is* psychic?! ...Nah.
.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
.
I received some feedback and input from some voters regarding my plan to take a BOTB hiatus for the rest of 2019, and I appreciated that. Having given it greater consideration, I feel it might be more prudent for me rather to revert to a once-a-month BOTB schedule and see if that's enough of a break for me.
.
Therefore, beginning now, I will be posting Battles on the first day of each month. And although I won't be featuring a BOTB installment of my own on the 15ths, I WILL still be around to cast my botes on All Y'all's Battles. Just as Debbie posts only on the 15ths but still votes in BOTB rounds she's not participating in, I will do likewise, but with the participation dates reversed.
.
Thanks again, Everyone. And I'll stop by to check out your new Battles in about a week and a half from now. (Hopefully I'll have found employment by then.)
.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
.
Sunday, September 1, 2019
2019, SEPT. 1: BATTLE OF THE BANDS (Or, GUNS 'N' ROSES VERSUS THE ZONE)
..
...Or, SEPTEMBER SWAN SONGS - Part 1 Of 2.
(I like the ring of that.)
.
BATTLE OF THE BANDS (BOTB)
.
.
Yes, it's time once again for Battle Of The Bands (BOTB).
.
Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!...
.
But first, an announcement:
.
I'm planning to take a (possibly very extended) hiatus from BOTB. I thought about reverting back to once-a-month Battles, but the way things are right now, I think I need a full-on break. Plus, I only have time for one blog, and I'd *REALLY* like to finally get all of my old product reviews posted at my blog [link> 'Stephen T. McCarthy Reviews...'. (Please feel free to read my stuffs there and leave comments. As always, my policy is to respond to everyone who takes the time to write something to me.)
.
I want to reiterate that (I think) I am not quitting BOTB. I plan to post another Battle on September 15th and then take a break - a break that may last until 2020. Everything is kind of fluid right now; I'm playing it all by ear. But please know that even when I'm not posting my own BOTB installments, I'll still make it a point to vote and leave one of my trademarked snarkcastic comments on All Y'All's BOTB posts.
[Lucky you, eh? ;^) ]
I'll still be participating as a voter and a smart-assed commenter.
.
2 of my 3 cardinal rules of BOTB:
.
1) Don't use a Top 40 hit {*'Welcome To The Jungle'*} against a cover of the same song.
.
2) Don't use a famous musical artist {*Guns 'N' Roses*} against a relatively unknown musical artist {*The Zone*}.
.
But I've been a Maverick since the beginning of BOTB, and none y'all would respect me if I didn't exit BOTB in the same fashion.
.
So, I'm using two songs - one by a very famous Rock group, and one by an obscure Rock group - and the themes are Los Angeles and the idea of a "jungle" as a metaphor for that infamous city.
.
First up is the famous Guns 'N' Roses and their massive hit 'Welcome To The Jungle'. Here's what the experts have said about it:
.
The title and lyrics came to Axl [Rose] when he was visiting a friend named Tori near Seattle.
.
Seattle is "a big city, but at the same time, it's still a small city compared to L.A. and the things that you're gonna learn. It seemed a lot more rural up there."
~ Axl Rose
.
Removed from Los Angeles, Axl was able to reconnect with the feelings he had on arriving in the city [L.A.] in 1982 as a wide-eyed, 20-year-old escapee of rural Indiana, drawn to the bright lights of Hollywood like so many other dreamers before him. He wrote of the struggle for survival in this place.
.
“It was a very telling lyric,” Slash says. “Just the stark honesty of it. If you lived in Los Angeles, and lived in the trenches, so to speak, you could relate to it. And knowing Axl, I could relate to exactly where it was coming from.”
.
Rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin summarises the song as "about Hollywood streets; true to life."
.
.
Welcome To The Jungle - Guns 'N' Roses
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bDD914rahc
.
When the singer / songwriter for The Zone sang in 'Johnny's Gone' that "He's walkin' through the jungle like strollin' through the park", the park he may have had in mind was Penmar Park in Venice, [Los Angeles] California, which was located directly across the street from the house he grew up in:
.
[link> Two Dead, One Wounded in Penmar Park Shooting
Two people were killed and one other was wounded Wednesday afternoon when a gunman opened fire in a reportedly gang-related shooting at Penmar Park in Venice, police said.
.
..
.
"Uuh! Aah! Dig!"
~ 'Johnny's Gone'
.
Johnny's Gone - The Zone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLpYMuG6d_A
.
.
Carnac The Magnificent [0-1]: "Does a Catholic bear pope in the woods?"
.
Question: Will The Zone beat Guns 'N' Roses?
.
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.
.
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.Vote your vice... Vice your voice...
.
Voice Your Vote...
@ TOSSING IT OUT by clicking HERE
@ MIKE'S RAMBLINGS by clicking HERE
@ THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING by clicking HERE
@ JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE by clicking HERE
@ THE DOGLADY'S DEN by clicking HERE
@ CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE by clicking HERE
.
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.
.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
.
...Or, SEPTEMBER SWAN SONGS - Part 1 Of 2.
(I like the ring of that.)
.
BATTLE OF THE BANDS (BOTB)
.
.
Yes, it's time once again for Battle Of The Bands (BOTB).
.
Alright, let's get on it. Let's get ON this thing!...
.
But first, an announcement:
.
I'm planning to take a (possibly very extended) hiatus from BOTB. I thought about reverting back to once-a-month Battles, but the way things are right now, I think I need a full-on break. Plus, I only have time for one blog, and I'd *REALLY* like to finally get all of my old product reviews posted at my blog [link> 'Stephen T. McCarthy Reviews...'. (Please feel free to read my stuffs there and leave comments. As always, my policy is to respond to everyone who takes the time to write something to me.)
.
I want to reiterate that (I think) I am not quitting BOTB. I plan to post another Battle on September 15th and then take a break - a break that may last until 2020. Everything is kind of fluid right now; I'm playing it all by ear. But please know that even when I'm not posting my own BOTB installments, I'll still make it a point to vote and leave one of my trademarked snarkcastic comments on All Y'All's BOTB posts.
[Lucky you, eh? ;^) ]
I'll still be participating as a voter and a smart-assed commenter.
.
2 of my 3 cardinal rules of BOTB:
.
1) Don't use a Top 40 hit {*'Welcome To The Jungle'*} against a cover of the same song.
.
2) Don't use a famous musical artist {*Guns 'N' Roses*} against a relatively unknown musical artist {*The Zone*}.
.
But I've been a Maverick since the beginning of BOTB, and none y'all would respect me if I didn't exit BOTB in the same fashion.
.
So, I'm using two songs - one by a very famous Rock group, and one by an obscure Rock group - and the themes are Los Angeles and the idea of a "jungle" as a metaphor for that infamous city.
.
First up is the famous Guns 'N' Roses and their massive hit 'Welcome To The Jungle'. Here's what the experts have said about it:
.
The title and lyrics came to Axl [Rose] when he was visiting a friend named Tori near Seattle.
.
Seattle is "a big city, but at the same time, it's still a small city compared to L.A. and the things that you're gonna learn. It seemed a lot more rural up there."
~ Axl Rose
.
Removed from Los Angeles, Axl was able to reconnect with the feelings he had on arriving in the city [L.A.] in 1982 as a wide-eyed, 20-year-old escapee of rural Indiana, drawn to the bright lights of Hollywood like so many other dreamers before him. He wrote of the struggle for survival in this place.
.
“It was a very telling lyric,” Slash says. “Just the stark honesty of it. If you lived in Los Angeles, and lived in the trenches, so to speak, you could relate to it. And knowing Axl, I could relate to exactly where it was coming from.”
.
Rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin summarises the song as "about Hollywood streets; true to life."
.
![]() |
Welcome To The Jungle - Guns 'N' Roses
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bDD914rahc
.
When the singer / songwriter for The Zone sang in 'Johnny's Gone' that "He's walkin' through the jungle like strollin' through the park", the park he may have had in mind was Penmar Park in Venice, [Los Angeles] California, which was located directly across the street from the house he grew up in:
.
[link> Two Dead, One Wounded in Penmar Park Shooting
Two people were killed and one other was wounded Wednesday afternoon when a gunman opened fire in a reportedly gang-related shooting at Penmar Park in Venice, police said.
.
..
![]() |
| Dead man in Penmar Park ("The Jungle", Los Angeles, CA.) |
"Uuh! Aah! Dig!"
~ 'Johnny's Gone'
.
Johnny's Gone - The Zone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLpYMuG6d_A
.
.
Carnac The Magnificent [0-1]: "Does a Catholic bear pope in the woods?"
.
Question: Will The Zone beat Guns 'N' Roses?
.
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.
.
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.
.
Voice Your Vote...
@ TOSSING IT OUT by clicking HERE
@ MIKE'S RAMBLINGS by clicking HERE
@ THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING by clicking HERE
@ JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE by clicking HERE
@ THE DOGLADY'S DEN by clicking HERE
@ CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE by clicking HERE
.
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.
.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
.
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