I think by now, everyone has learned I've not been feeling too well. So I decided to find a song theme to fit that. No worries, this is where the topic of my health begins and ends. It's time to celebrate music, and that's what I plan to do. I love much of Jackson Browne's music, that when I thought of this song, I thought it would be a great fit.
However, as you might imagine, it would be somewhat unfair to pit Jackson Browne against a cover artist. So I have found two cover artists to compete for your votes. The first artist is named Wilson, as is the second artist. That is, Wilson Phillips is competing against Gretchen Wilson. That's right. It's a battle of the Wilson's.
The two musical contenders for this Battle of the Bands are below.
Please listen to both and tell me which you like best.
Wilson Phillips
Gretchen Wilson
Those are the two contenders. Ignoring the actual videos, who do you think performs the song best? I collected the two bands to battle it out, now it's your job to vote on your favourite. Please list your preferred song choice in the comments. Additionally, let me know why you feel the way you do. Voting ends on the 22nd when I'll cast my vote and announce the winner in a separate posting.
Additional Questions:
What was the name of Dennis the Menace's grumpy neighbour?
Who is your favourite fictional doctor?
Do you have a favourite Jackson Browne song?
If you enjoyed this Battle of the Bands feature, don't forget to visit the other participants in the Battle of the Band to see what sort of music they are featuring. You will certainly be entertained, so click on their links below.
Firstly, I apologize for getting this r.a.n.t. out late today. However, there is a good reason for it. I'm still feeling a little under the weather. I've had a nagging cough for two weeks now and all my OTC and home remedies do not seem to be working. My sisters are urging me to head into the doctors office to get it checked out. Unfortunately, I've always been reluctant to do so. Doctors always seem to simply tell me to wait it out and send me on my way. So I'm out half a day pay and my HSA dips about 100 bucks or so. Then there is the other problem. About ten years ago, I kind of had a family doctor. He has since retired and I've never really picked a new family doctor. Should I be doing that? I'm really not sure. Maybe I don't need to do that any more. Perhaps all I need to do is show up at the clinic and ask to see anyone. To be honest, I'm not even sure how that really works. As I said, probably part of the reason I've been reluctant to go. My awkwardness around other people makes me nervous to call, or stop in. But, that's another rant for another time. Additional Questions Do you have a family doctor? When you are not feeling well, how long do you wait before getting check out? Should we immediately trust whatever a doctor tells us to do? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* R.a.n.t. - an acronym for 'Rage About Nothing, Typically'. It's writing about life's little nuances that are, (for the most part), trivial. Something we can all relate to. Do you have something that irritates you? Would you like to r.a.n.t. about it? Of course you would! Join the monthly R.a.n.t. blog hop today. When will we be ranting? The second Monday of each month. How long should my r.a.n.t. be? The length is up to you, I find one or two short paragraphs enough to quench my rage. How do I join? Let me know you are interested. To the right, you'll notice a banner you can proudly use on your site. Link back to this blog and I'll be linking to yours. Who has joined? Write With Fey
What should I r.a.n.t. about? Whatever you feel irate about. Preferably, something that's been bugging you. Examples: Your writing - the supermarket - annoying people - drivers The sky is the limit. If you need suggestions, check out my r.a.n.t.archive below.
How To Play:
Using only song names from ONE ARTIST OR BAND, answer the following questions. Try not to use the band I used, or repeat a song title. (It’s a lot harder than you think!) Publish as “My Life According to (BAND NAME)” and link back to this post.
Pick Your Artist:
Huey Lewis & the News
Questions: 1.) Are you a male or female?
Jacob's Ladder
2.) Describe yourself.
Hip to be Square
3.) How do you feel?
But It's Alright
4.) Describe where you currently live.
Finally Found a Home
5.) If you could go anywhere, where would you go?
100 Years From Now
6.) Your favourite form of transportation.
Pineapple Express
7.) Your best friend is...
You Crack Me Up
8.) Your favourite colour.
Blue Monday
9.) What's the weather like?
It's Al right
10.) Favourite time of the day.
When the Time Has Come
11.) If your life was a TV show, what would it be called?
Who Cares?
12.) What is life to you?
Perfect World
13.) Your relationships.
Never Found a Girl
14.) Your fear.
So Little Kindness
15.) What is the best advice you have to give?
Respect Yourself
16.) If you could change your name, you would change it to...
Bobo Tempo
17.) Thought for the day.
Better to Have and Not Need
18.) How you would like to die.
Going Down Slow
19.) Your present condition.
I'm Not in Love Yet
20.) Your motto.
I Know What I Like
If you had fun reading this, make sure you stop by and visit the inspiration behind this post.
I was recently nominated (twice) for the Music & Words Award. First by Stephen T. McCarthy (even though we rarely see eye to eye on our musical tastes), then by Michele Truhlik. With two such nominations, how could I ignore this?
Here are the rules:
Once accepted, the award process has five steps:
1.) Link back to the person who nominated you.
2.) Answer the questions with words AND music.
3.) Pass the award on to 5 bloggers who inspire you with their posts about music.
4.) Tag your post with #MWA, for Music&Words Award so that we can all find you down the line.
5.) Quote these 5 steps and the award icon in your post. You can display the icon on your sidebar as well.
Questions & Answers. Q1: What does music mean to you?
Music is my motivator, music is my constant companion, music is my best friend, music enhances my emotions. I listen to rocking songs when I'm in a good mood and sad songs say so much when I'm depressed. What would life be without music? It wouldn't be life at all. So music means life to me.
Q2: What is your first music related memory?
I never listened to music much as a kid. It wasn't till middle school that I started to notice it. In fact, I remember the first day I started listening. It was 1983, I wasn't even in High School yet. But I was sitting around the house when I heard a loud noise from outside. I ran to the door to find out what it was and it was someone walking across the street blasting their ghetto blaster. You see, back in those days kids, we didn't have headphones. We walked around with large cumbersome radios if we wanted to take our music to go. And we LIKED it that way. The song was Eddie Grant's, 'Electric Avenue'. The radio and the song were soon gone, but I wanted to hear more. I ran to my bedroom and turned on the radio, turning till I found another song I liked. I was now hooked. So much so, music became a part of my personal journal. Every year I would listen to radio stations count down. Here is an actual countdown I recorded in my 1984 journal. Do you remember any of these?
10.Klymaxx - I Miss You
9. Eddie Murphy - Party All the Time
8. ZZ Top - Sleeping Bag
7. Mr. Mister - Kyrie
6. Sting - the Russians
5. Starship - Sara
4. Survivor - Burning Heart
3. Sheila E. - A Love Bizarre
2. [I inaccurately noted this one as A-Ha - Amotaua / I literally have no idea what it should be]
1. Paul McCartney - Spies Like Us
Q3: What was the first album you've purchased yourself?
Does anyone remember Columbia Record Club? Yea, I got sucked into that. 6 or 8 cassettes for only one penny!!! And then the fine print. LOL I still remember most of the cassettes I picked out. Prince 1999, Fleetwood Mac Greatest Hits, Hall & Oates Rock 'n Soul Part 1 & Huey Lewis and the News Sports.
Q5: Which song did you listen to last? (No cheating, it's only fun if you're honest).
I love listening to all sorts of music. I have the maximum amount of Pandora stations and they are always changing. When I listen, I put all the stations on shuffle. When I started answering this question my 'Wang Chung' channel started and Billy Idol's 'White Wedding' was playing.
Nominations:
The people I nominated, I've noticed have almost all been nominated already. So I'm simply going to nominate them again, so they know they were thought of. I'm a little slow, so most of these have already done a similar post. Shady Del Knight Jingle Jangle Jungle Doglady's Den Tossing It Out Mike's Ramblings
I've had some really lop-sided battles here lately. So much so, I was hoping to make things difficult for everyone. Didn't turn out exactly how I was hoping, but turn out, it was still a great battle. The artists selected both surprised and/or amused everyone. So how did the battle go?
First round had me thinking this was another battle where the winner was going to run away with it all. How could I not? Andy Williams took almost all the votes.
First Round Votes for Andy - Alex, Doe Do, Shady and Arlee
First Round Votes for Gloria - Debbie D.
Then came the second round. Would Gloria start to make a come-back? NO!!!! Not a single vote was cast for Gloria. It seems no one liked her upbeat version of the stalker song.
Second Round Votes for Andy - Mary, Dixie, Cathy, Robin & Hilary
But wait! Suddenly Andy started to lose a little steam. His supporters were beginning to wane. Though he received a few more votes, Gloria took the third round. It seems several actually liked the peppier version. Who knew?
Third Round Votes for Andy - John & Cherdo
Third Round Votes for Gloria - Mike, Michele & FAE
It was now the fourth and final round. Once again, Gloria won the set! In fact, she took all but one vote. But was it enough? Could this be the biggest upset in Jeffrey Scott's BOTB history? Unfortunately, no. Even with a final vote from my for Gloria, the battle ended 12-8. At least it wasn't the biggest upset in Jeffrey Scott's BOTB history.
Fourth Round Votes for Andy - Janie
Fourth Round Votes for Gloria - Stephen, ReInVintigedGood, Birgit and Jeffrey Scott
Winners Circle Congratulations to Andy Williams
So, since Andy Williams wins by watching 'Every Breath You Take'
He's returning to sing "Can't Take My Eyes Off You'.
Get it?!!!
Top Comments
Doe Do - Ohhh, the very best of Andy Williams, I miss hearing his song. Glad this song remind me to breath. I love his song and pretty good voice, it is remind me of Alan Jackson. Anyway I like Andy Williams.
Shady Del Knight - Forgive me for going a little negative on you today, good buddy. This battle required me to choose between two artists I don't particularly like covering a song I don't particularly like by a band that I don't particularly like. It had me bouncing back and forth between the two contestants trying to find something to hang my hat on.
Debbie D. - Andy Williams' version is so bland. At least Gloria's version has some pizzazz and I always enjoy good sax. ☺ Please give my vote to her.
Dixie@dcrelief - I'm voting Andy Williams because I love the saxophone in the middle.
Cathy Kennedy - WOW, you blew out of the water using a Police Every Breath You Take song for two cover artist. I was surprised to see Andy Williams take this song on. It seems so out of character, but like some reflected on thoughts of Pat Boone stepping out of his comfort zone to do heavy metal. That was just crazy. At least Andy Williams didn't go wild man on us, in fact, I liked his cover fine. It's closer to Police's style than Gloria Gaynor.
Michele Truhlik - I thought I was going to vote for Andy Williams on this one but the more I listened to Gloria Gaynor's version, the more I liked it. I really enjoyed the instrumentation and her upbeat take on the song.
Robin - I was surprised to see that Andy Williams covered this song. I had reservations before pressing play. I was surprised. I liked it. He changed it up a bit and the addition of the sax in the middle was very enjoyable. As soon as Gloria Gaynor started I knew this wasn't going to be my cup of tea. The peppy instrumentation combined with her vocals (which somehow seemed way too happy for a song about stalking)... It all just rubbed me wrong. So, my vote goes to Andy Williams on this one.
Stephen T. McCarthy - Ordinarily, I like Andy Williams. I know that's supposed to be un-cool but too bad - I go my own way. However, I don't feel this song really suited him. It wasn't bad at all, but it kind of bored me. But I thought the GLORIA GAYNOR version was terrific. From the super-charged vocals and funky sax to the playful piano, I thought GLORIA's cover was better than Andy's, and better'n the Police original, too.
John Holton - I'm sorry, Gloria Gaynor's version just made me bust out laughing. I've been in a crappy mood all day, so I appreciate the ha-ha's.
Cherdo -SHOCKINGLY, I liked Andy Williams best. To be clear, I never disliked him but when I saw the song, I didn't think he could pull it off. Gloria seemed like a shoe-in, but I really didn't care for her version as much. I love a surprise! That's a great battle.
ReInVintagedGoods - My vote goes to Gloria Gaynor. Her version might not have been better, per se, but Andy's version is just too similar to The Police. He didn't need to necessarily turn the song inside out, but he didn't put enough of his own spin on it, IMO.
Once again, thanks to everyone who stopped by and placed a vote.
Come back again for a new battle March 15th
Who will you vote for?
What song will I choose?
Which artists will battle it out?
Stay tuned.
Don't forget to visit the other participants in the Battle of the Band to see who won their battles.
Last entry, I decided it would be a good idea to stop dragging my feet and move forward with my writing goals. Per a few suggestions, one of the things I did accomplish was to take down sample chapters I earlier posted online. I think I need to have something complete before I start asking people to peruse it. Additionally, keeping the entire story posted online may work against me in the long run. Once I've complete the first four stories in the series, I think I shall then start looking for test readers. A few suggestions would be nice. I also ran into another wall. I was sick, which didn't help. As such, I was unmotivated to work on the goals I set out. As a few of my regular blog readers are already familiar with, I'm still feeling under the weather. This means I'm still dragging my feet to get the goals from last month accomplished. Am I biting off more than I can chew? Are my goals too large? Am I doing far too much blogging and not enough story writing? I guess I shall be exploring that this month. My Goals: Old Goals: 1.) Finish the next chapter in my 'Writer's Block' series. (I failed to do this, this month. I will try again this month.) 2.) Remove the sample chapters of my story from my blog. (This was one goal I accomplished. I hope this will encourage me to move forward with the goal above.) 3.) Start compiling a list of what I need to be working on and questions I should be researching in regards to my writing and what to do with it. (Perhaps I shall put this goal on the back-burner till I get nearer completion of the four story YA series I'm writing.) New Goal: April is going to be a blogging explosion here. My goal this month, is to get a few posts prepped and ready to post before April 1st. My Encouragement: If you think you are a writer, you are a writer. So write something grand! Questions to ponder: How do you deal with a failed goal? Do you think it's better to set difficult goals? Or simple baby-step goals? Should an unfulfilled goal with a time limit be scraped, amended, or extended? * * * * * * * * * * The Insecure Writer's Support Group posts the first Wednesday of every month. Please follow along as my fellow writers and I relate why we feel insecure, or read as we help encourage others suffering from insecurity. Are you an insecure writer? Why not join the group? Find out more information via the group HERE. The site is founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh - Thanks for all the support!
I've been fighting a cold for the past few weeks. What started as a flu, morphed into a sore throat. This past weekend, it's changed once again. It has now moved into it's (I hope), final stage of a wheezing, hacking cough. This means it's been increasingly difficult for me to breath. Each breath is hard because it triggers a fit of coughs. I've been trying to self-medicate with such things as cough drops, cough suppressants and Muchinex, but to no avail. I'm told I should see the Doctor, but I'm stubborn. Yes, I'm stubborn, even though I can barely breath, let alone sing.
Speaking of singing, It's time once again for another Battle of the Bands. Since I've been having such a hard time breathing, I thought this would be the perfect song to utilize. Yes, I know the song is more about a stalker, and less about difficulties in breathing, but I think you get the point.
How does this work? Listen to the two cover artists below and in the comments, tell me which of the two you most enjoy. Keep in mind, 'the Police' can not be your vote. We are looking to see which cover artists you most enjoy.
BATTLE OF THE BANDS
The two musical contenders for this Battle of the Bands are below.
Please listen to both and tell me which you like best.
Andy Williams
Gloria Gaynor
Those are the two contenders. Ignoring the actual videos, who do you think performs the song best? I collected the two bands to battle it out, now it's your job to vote on your favourite. Please list your preferred song choice in the comments. Additionally, let me know why you feel the way you do. Voting ends on the 15th when I'll cast my vote and announce the winner in a separate posting.
Additional Questions:
Is there something you are stubborn about doing?
What is your #1 cold remedy?
Do you have a favourite Sting/Police song?
If you enjoyed this Battle of the Bands feature, don't forget to visit the other participants in the Battle of the Band to see what sort of music they are featuring. You will certainly be entertained, so click on their links below.
