This past April, I decided to start taking my blog seriously and joined an A-Z challenge. Not only did it help me find cool blogs to follow, I started to receive more attention. Indeed, I've started to see more traffic. I still compare my blog to others and have notice there is still not as much traffic as I'd like to see. It's obvious to me, I have a lot of work to do, and a long way to go. Yes, it's going to be a Long Way to the Top.
Which brings me to my Battle of the Band feature. Like Beevis, AC/DC is one of my favourite rock bands and has one of my favourite rock anthems. Can you guess what it is? That's right, "It's A Long Way To the Top". I love the song so much however, I refused to put them up against anyone else. It just wouldn't be fair. So I'm offering two covers of this great hit. Which song do you enjoy most?
Our first contender is Lucinda Williams. She is a music perfectionist and enthusiast.
Does this come across in her rendition? Take a listen:
Our second song is from the band Dropkick Murphy's. I love Celtic music and they do as well, but play it with a punk flair. Here is their rendition of "It's A Long Way to the Top".
So those are the two contenders. Who do you feel performs this song the best? I found the two bands to battle it out, now you have a job to do. It's time to vote on your favourite. Which group did you think performed the song best? Let me know in the comments. Also, please let me know why you feel the way you do. Voting ends on the 22nd when I'll cast my own vote and announce the winner in a separate posting.
Did you enjoy the Battle of the Bands feature? Come back on the first of August when I'll have a new battle. Also, be sure to check out my friends below who have all banded together to offer up their own music battles.
FAR AWAY SERIES
STMcC PRESENTS 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS'
TOSSING IT OUT
JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE
WOMEN: WE SHALL OVERCOME
YOUR DAILY DOSE
BOOK LOVER
MIKE'S RAMBLINGS
CURIOUS AS A CATHY
THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING
DCRELIEF - BATTLE OF THE BANDS
THE DOGLADY'S DEN
CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE
ANGELS BARK
NOVEL BREWS
QUIET LAUGHTER
HOLLI'S HOOTS AND HOLLERS
ALEX CAVANAUGH
Are you currently in the BOTB and don't see your name in the list above? Let me know in comments and I'll include it.
You had me at AC/DC, Jeffrey! ☺
ReplyDeleteLucinda sounded a bit like a sloppy drunk at the beginning, but she got better as the song progressed. Not bad, but I have to give it to Dropkick Murphys! I was rockin' out with them! \m/ KICKASS!
You're on the right track with your blog, but it takes patience and as you said - work. It's a time consuming activity, but if you love it, it's worthwhile. Cheers!
Very true. Anything worth doing, is worth doing well. And that means a lot of time and effort. And patience.
DeleteThanks for the vote.
Oh I wholeheartedly agree: nobody does that song like AC/DC! I love them. Their music courses through my blood! :)
ReplyDeleteI think I'm going to give my vote to Dropkick Murphys. It's the closest to AC/DC's version.
Lucinda Williams has an interesting voice. When she first started singing, I felt like I was listening to a female version of Jim Morrison! Cool voice. But my vote is still going to Dropkick.
Good battle!
Michele at Angels Bark
Yes, I found Lucinda's voice interesting as well. I had to listen to her version quite a few times before I decided to think where I will be casting my vote.
DeleteThe faster pace in Dropkick Murphys is groovier because it sweeps you along. Murphys got my vote.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm, could this be a sweep?
DeleteLucinda didn't start out strong - but it got better. For whatever reason, I wasn't feeling the Dropkick Murphys one. So I'm voting for Lucinda! Neither do justice to the original, in my opinion, but oh well :)
ReplyDeleteIt's always hard to compete against a true classic song.
DeleteThanks for the vote.
I like seeing how your blog had grown, Jeffrey. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteSadly, I really didn't feel either option. I love rock and some heavy metal but I couldn't get into the "screaming" in the Dropkick Murphys' version and I agree with Madilyn that Lucinda started out weak. But for the sake of voting I'll go with Lucinda.
*has grown
DeleteI wish Blogger allowed the author to edit their comments. Shouldn't be that difficult thing to do. Awwww, thanks for saying so about my blog. It's ever a work in progress. First the A-Z April challenge now this Battle of the Bands. It's slowing getting more involved.
DeleteAnd thanks for deciding on a vote.
Lucinda's version just didn't do it for me - gotta give it to D M, Jeffrey! GREAT pairing; both good versions (if that's your genre), equally interesting.
ReplyDeleteAnother vote or Dropkick Murphy. Thanks for your assist in voting.
DeleteConsarn it! I thought this was going to be 'IT'S A LONG WAY DOWN TO THE TOP' by Backstreet Crawler! I love that band and that song.
ReplyDeleteWhen I realized it was an AC/DC song, my first thought was: Well, at least AC/DC isn't a competitor. Sorry, not a fan. Any bloke who would appear on stage in short pants is a doofus, period, end of story.
Between these two, I thought for sure I'd be voting for Dropkick Murphys. Some kid I worked with used to play them on Spotify, and to my surprise, I kind of liked 'em.
But I did NOT like this recording by them. The guitar sound was cool, but the vocals were rubbish.
Color me "Surprised" and give my vote to LUCINDA WILLIAMS.
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
I don't think I've ever heard that song or band. Don't like the DKM version? That sort of thing happens to me all the time. See a band I really like, but end up not liking the version they sing in the battle. Very interesting.
DeleteThanks for the vote.
Interesting battle. Love me some ACDC! Lucinda had me waivering for a minute.. I even paused her video and moved on to the Dropkick Murphys.. but as soon as they started 'singing' I went back and finished listening to Lucinda - much easier on the ears. My vote goes to Lucinda.
ReplyDeleteI heard the Lucinda version the other day on a user supported radio station and loved the song so much, that's why I decided to go with this song for the battle. Especially when I saw DKM also did it and I like some of their music.
DeleteHi Jeffrey - it's great that you've embraced the A-Z and realising that it's all about connecting ... next you'll be rocking and rolling with many more followers and commenters .. though not bad now. Good luck .. music 'ain't' my thing .. but it's lovely you've found another connective challenge .. cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Hilary, even if you are not participating in the battle. It's always good to hear from you and I'm looking forward to you returning to the blogging world.
DeleteThank you for this post. Lucinda Williams not only gets my vote. Her version blew me away! One she made the song her own. Two it has that dirty rock sound. Someone mentioned Morison on her vocals I can hear that but I also hear a vintage Stones vibe too. Dropkick Murphy does a great job too just didn't blow me away like Lucinda.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the vote. Nice to see this battle is not as one sided as it started out as.
DeleteHi, Jeffrey! Before I vote I would like to briefly address your remarks at the beginning of the post. Blog growth and success is a double-edged sword. Eventually you will gain so many friends and followers that you reach a tipping point and find that you don't have time for all of them. That's when you need to make the hard decision to continue a friendship with some and leave others behind. It doesn't take very long to determine which blogs and bloggers are a good fit and which ones are not. You can tell if a connection feels right or if it feels awkward and forced. I happen to like your style of communicating. I have no problem understanding you and, as it turns out, we seem to share similar tastes in music. I deeply appreciate your regular support of my blog even though I am not an active participant in this original band battle group. Your comments on my blog are interesting, encouraging and supportive and that means a lot to me.
ReplyDeleteFor those about to rock (in your latest BOTB) I salute you! You did it again, Jeffrey. You're killing me here! My ears tell me that these two acts are very evenly matched. I will reveal my vote in a minute.
To backtrack a little, I love hard rock and heavy metal. AC/DC is also one of my my favorite bands and I listen to them often. Back in the day, I collected their vinyl albums. In recent years I collected most of their catalog on CD.
Now for the vote. To my ears, the second entry, Dropkick Murphy, sounds so similar to the original, right down to the bagpipes, that it seems as though they simply laid their punk style vocals over the AC/DC instrumental track. I realize they didn't do that but it just sounds so similar to me that I found myself asking "What's the point?" The first contestant, on the other hand, Lucinda Williams, offers a fresh new arrangement that boasts a nasty female lead vocal and wailin' blues guitar. That exciting combination gave me goose bumps. I truly enjoyed both bands but I am voting for the most original sounding recording of the two, the one that offers a fresh new interpretation of this rockin' old classic. Please record my vote for Lucinda Wms. and thank you for another brilliant contest, Jeffrey!
Thanks for the awesome comments and the vote. I do love long comments. It gives me more to reply about. And as I writer, I kind of like that. I also thought the version by Lucinda was so different, it was what inspired me to use it for this battle. I had other songs picked and prepared, but this called out to me. But then I found the DKM version and had no idea they did a cover of the song as well, and have always liked their music. So my vote is not set in stone as yet.
DeleteAs for your thoughts on getting to be too big and having to start cutting back, I truly see your point because I have already had to do that. There are many blogs I've frequented in the past, that I have cut back stopping by for a visit and the reasons are valid ones. Even if I enjoy a blog, if I never see them stop by my own part of the world, nor do they reply to my comments, I start to feel my visits are not appreciated. So there have already been a few that I have stopped going back on. And yes, there already are a few I have not gone back to in awhile even though they do reciprocate frequently. A bloggers job is never done I guess.
And then there is the other hazard which I've started to identify, that of falling behind in my other writings. I've been meaning to finish the second part of my Writers Block YA story but still two chapters shy and finding time to get back to it is difficult. Double-edged sword indeed.
Thanks again for the visit.
PS - I would have visited and replied earlier to a few of your posts, but when I visited the site, I mistakenly thought it was the same post. I was just viewing the header it seems so I shall endeavour to make sure a post is indeed new before I go off in another direction.
Cheers!
Hi again, Jeffrey! Thank you very much for all that you shared in this reply. You and I have a lot in common. We are both writers. We both appreciate long comments because they reveal a high level of interest and commitment. We both understand the dilemma faced by successful bloggers. Eventually you reach the saturation point and need to make the difficult and often painful decision to trim the roster. Thank you very much for this reply. I look forward to being here when you announce the winner of your latest battle. I am very curious about the outcome. Have a great weekend, Jeffrey!
DeleteDropkick Murphy's version of this tune was more of an assault on my ears than Lucinda Wiliams's, so I'm going with her version.
ReplyDeleteI'll record the vote, and strive to deliver something more soothing for you next time.
DeleteWhat a choice you proffer! One is a twang version of rock and roll and the other never learned that shouting and screaming is vastly different from singing.
ReplyDeleteI vote for the music of Dropkick with ALL the "singing" (screaming, shouting) removed.
Thanks for the vote. Come back next week to see if everyone else agrees with you.
DeleteLOVE this song, Jeffrey--and loved-loved that you didn't pit AC/DC against anyone. Nobody does it better (forgive the bad music-genre-mismatch-pun :D ). And... wow, yeah, hard choices. Dropkick Murphys (never heard of them, will have to look up more of their stuff) seems to strive more towards a copy of the original... And as much as I enjoy the original, I do prefer the original, haha. Lucinda's version was very different; she gave it her own flavor, to my ear. And I liked the taste :) So it's Lucinda for me.
ReplyDeleteAs for your blog-traffic comment, I'm certainly no expert (I blog irregularly at best), have probably lost more followers than I've found, but I can tell you this: there are plenty of ways to grow an audience... bloghops, awards, communities, social media, you name it. However, it's not about getting the numbers, is it? It's about keeping them. The blogs I keep going back to, the ones I subscribe to get posts in my inbox from, are not necessarily the ones that spout opinions that reflect my own (that's nice and comforting, but not always growth-inducing), and they're definitely not the in-your-face blogs (the auto-tweet-every-2-seconds ones). The blogs I love usually belong to bloggers that seem to want to engage in conversation, that provide content that broadens my horizons: whether it's a spin on current events or a book or film recommendation or sharing an experience which might make me laugh or cry but which shows me a side to life I might not have been aware of but which resonates with me nonetheless. It might seem like a tall order, but I think the key is genuineness. It's impossible to please everyone all the time, but genuineness will guarantee that the people that enjoy your cyber-company, whether few or many, keep coming back.
And you're off to a great start :)
Guilie @ Quiet Laughter
First of all, thanks for the vote.
DeleteSecond, thanks for the comments. Lots of good information. And yes, I welcome discussion on my blog. I love long comments and always try to reply to everyone. Sometimes the length of my reply is based on the length of the commenter. People who leave more than a two word comment do indeed show they are interested in what is being discussed and have put some thought into their comment. I have never been one of those people who like to constantly spam others with my blog postings. When I post, I generally post a comment to twitter, one to g+ and one to a few different writing groups I am in. But then that's about it for a week. Sometimes if I really like the post, I'll retweet, or repost the link. But that's rare and usually only odne once more within the week. Yes, I think my audience is growing slightly. I just need to find ways to keep my blog interesting and refreshing.
The Murphys' version had some interesting elements about it, but I'm casting my vote for Lucinda Williams. She's more my style.
ReplyDeleteLee
Wrote By Rote
I've noticed we seem to pick a lot of the same songs in the battles. Will we vote the same way this time? Stay tuned....
DeleteOH I am not a fan of either version or even this song so I have to go with the one that hurt my ears less:) Lucinda sounded like a cat in heat to me but The Murphy's version sounded like a man who needs some anger management. In the end I like the Celtic influence in the 2nd version so I vote for the 2nd version
ReplyDeleteLOL - You crack me up. Thanks for stopping by and casting a vote.
DeleteIt was a long way to the end of this song in either case, for me. Not a fan of this type of vocals. That raw, raspy, grating voice just does not do it for me, Having said that I found The Murphy's version to be less irritating to my ears, therefore they get my vote,. Lucinda was just plain awful, IMO>
ReplyDeleteThanks for the vote. Ironically enough, I find it interesting when a battle choice is determined by the less annoying one. I think we have all been there because we do not all like the same type of music.
DeleteMy vote is for the Dropkick Murphy's. Lucinda has a really unique voice that I suspect could be very versatile... But sounds more bluesy to me. Her version was too slow for my taste and I didn't feel that her voice was a good match for this song.
ReplyDeleteDropkick Murphy's seemed to stay truer to the original without trying to mimic it, and they had that incredible bagpipe sound.... I love me some excellent bagpipe.
Thanks for stopping by and the vote. I had an odd feeling you were going to choose DKM.
DeleteFirst of all, while I might not comment as much as I could I have been following your blog for as long as I can remember. :)
ReplyDeleteNow on to the music...Lucinda was very...interesting. She has a bluesy, acidic sound to her. For this type of song it felt too slow for me. It is like you're waiting for the pick up and it never comes.
I am a huge fan of DKM so when I saw this was a contender I was concerned it would be a no brainer. Well, unfortunately for Lucinda, it totally was. It has that rock sound that we love from AC/DC with a punk flair and additional bagpipes! Can't go wrong. Go Dropkick!
Thanks for dropping by again and for the vote. I had a feeling you would like the DKM.
DeleteThough Lucinda has a few supporters this week.
Jeffrey, you must be doing something right with your blog to get these sorts of comment numbers. :D I'm not too familiar with AC/DC's tunes, so I can't make a comparison to the original and these two uniquely different covers.I like the music of Murphy, but I like the vocals better of Lucinda. At least that was my first take after listening to each one, but after the second go around it became clear that I preferred Murphy. So, give my vote to Dropkick Murphy!
ReplyDeleteI do a lot of support with other bloggers. That helps.
DeleteAS for the vote, you got your vote in, just in time. Thanks for the support here. :)