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| Scared child (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Halloween is nothing when it comes to scary. It's just a time when we make scary an entertaining thing and poke fun at fear. Horror movies have long been a popular genre and ghost stories probably go back to the beginning of time. It's a wonder that so many of us relish hearing about scary fantasy when we've got more than enough scary in real life to turn all of our hair white and make us want to lock ourselves away forever.
One need only watch the television news or read about events happening in the world, in the nations in which they live, or right in their own communities. There are plenty of frightening stories that are real and sometimes it seems like things just keep getting scarier. Health issues, climate change threats, cyber-terrorism as well as the dark clouds looming over the economic horizon are enough to stimulate doubts and fears within us. We never know when violence will strike where we are.
Uncertainty about what tomorrow holds and what the forces of evil are cooking up around the world might be driving some of you to feelings of insecurity and anxiety. Personally I don't feel too threatened by a lot of what I hear about other than issues that are most likely to affect me directly. Each day though it does seem like there is more to fear. Especially when my imagination starts going a bit wild.
"I Scare Myself"
My recent Battle of the Bands was a contest between Thomas Dolby and a Dan Hicks/Rickie Lee Jones duo performing Dan Hicks' own song "I Scare Myself". These were both outstanding performances for my taste in music. I was on a seesaw at first with these versions. The Dan Hicks version had the violin and I typically gravitate toward anything with a violin in it. I loved that hot jazz sound and I'm just a big fan of the campy Dan Hicks style.
However in the final analysis Dolby's dark ethereal smoky jazz version won me over. I've been a Dolby fan since I first heard his music in the 80's. He's a talented guy who is very musically innovative. My vote went to Dolby's version as did the majority of those of you who voted. Still, Hicks managed a credible showing with several voters boosting his numbers toward the end of the voting.
Thank you all for your votes on this excellent match.
Final Vote Tally:
Thomas Dolby 19 Votes
Dan Hicks and Rickie Lee Jones 11 Votes
Coming soon!
Another Battle of the Bands post will be appearing on Sunday November 1st. Since it comes during Halloween weekend and on the Day of the Dead, I'm going to continue with another scary themed song by one of my favorite artists. It's a song that you might enjoy better as a cover than as the original which most of you probably haven't heard anyway. Hope you come this grand musical haunting and cast your vote.
Do you think the world around you is getting scarier? Do your fears tend to be rational or more toward the irrational? Do you ever secretly hope for something really scary to happen like a zombie uprising, a nuclear attack, or the breakout of utter chaos?
Sorry I was on vacation and didn't get to vote, Lee.
ReplyDeleteReal life is far scarier than any fictional monster or setting. So no, I don't want anything really scary happening. (For some, the Rapture and Judgment Day will be beyond terrifying, but I'm not worried.)
Alex, if the fiction became true then that would be totally terrifying. All I can say about the Rapture is "Maranatha".
DeleteLee
I don't hope for any big terrible event. Being a parent makes the world scarier. I worry about my daughter in the big city, my boys driving and at their work places. I don't worry about supernatural things like ghosts or zombies.
ReplyDeleteSusan GK, my biggest fears also are for my children and grandchildren. My parental instincts wants me to protect them from any bad things. I know where you're coming from.
DeleteLee
Nice. I just featured "I Scare Myself" and other Dolby songs in my Friday Night Videos feature.
ReplyDeletehttp://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2015/10/friday-night-videos-thomas-dolby.html
Tim, I enjoyed your post. It's good to know Dolby still has fans out there.
DeleteLee
Yay, Dolby!
ReplyDeleteNothing scares me more than the evils inflicted by mankind. I much prefer scary movies to the horrifying realities flashed across the news - except for Freddy Krueger. I could do without that.;-)
Diedre, with the news you can't say "It's only a movie" and the potential for more bad things happening is always there.
DeleteLee
I do not wish for anything super scary to happen, esp. not nuclear war. OMG. I stopped watching the news though. It was bad for my mental health.
ReplyDeleteJoJo, I grew up with a continual awareness about nuclear war. It's still scary, but it's like background noise now in a way. I watch, listen to, and read a lot of news. I like to be informed.
DeleteLee
Lee, I agree. Nothing but bad stuff happening in the world. That's why I try to write my worries away. I do worry about what kind of world our children and grandchildren will have to contend with. I missed the battle of the bands. I'll catch the next one, though. *waving*
ReplyDeleteRobyn, there are still plenty of good things in the world and we should never forget those otherwise the future seems hopeless. We need to protect the future and have a good degree of optimism about what is to come.
DeleteLee
If I can't do anything about it, I do my best not to worry about it. That's what growing up in the 80s taught me.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, in my thinking worry is typically a big waste. If we use the worry constructively to create change then the worry is a tool. When we worry about what we have no control over we are burdening ourselves needlessly.
DeleteLee
There's a lot in real life to be terrified about. Whenever I hear about school shootings, I have to stop and remember to breathe. My daughter is in kindergarten now. If that happened at her school...
ReplyDeleteYeah, I try not to dwell on the things that terrify me and just do my best to prepare myself to rationally handle those fears.
Loni, we can't let our fear paralyze our existence. When something really bad happens there's usually little we could have done to have prevented it.
DeleteLee
It's true, there definitely is more of that scary stuff, but I'm not sure if it's because of better communication or the break down of the family. I'm going with number 2. Parents get so busy with careers and aspirations that kids get shoved off to other places, and how is the rising generation supposed to really know right from wrong when no one is in the home teaching them?
ReplyDeleteCrystal, you make a good point. Some of our choices can lead to bad outcomes.
DeleteLee
Real life is pretty scary. I just read a story on FB that was pretty bad. Maybe our fascination with horror movies and such is us trying to cope with fear and understand it.
ReplyDeletePatricia, truth is stranger, and scarier, than fiction. I think you might be right though about why so many want to watch horror films.
DeleteLee
Gosh, I listened to the stories my mom went through when she was in the bombings of Hamburg and Dresden and after, when the Russians marched in and rape and destroying photos and books was a regularity. I listened to my dad how he also dealt with hunger hopping the rails in the 30's and being in WW2 fighting for Canada. I grew up hearing, when I was 7 (another story) that I could get my throat slit or my parents and brother and then the severe bullying in school until I went to University. Heck i remember "This was a test of the Emergency broadcasting system..." I think we just hear more about all that goes on in the world but one can't be ruled by fear because it will only cripple us. We can only do the best we can and enjoy each day. I think that's why we love music and being scared because it takes our minds off the realities of life. I mean, in the 30's, musicals were huge because everyone was in the same boat and needed an escape.
ReplyDeleteBirgit, escapism has been the way out for so many throughout history. Most of us in North America have been fortunate to have relatively coddled lives free from terror.
DeleteLee
I figure fears in the real world are exactly what drives us to horror. It's escapism, where fears can be conquered, which isn't something we can always do in our day to day lives.
ReplyDeleteShannon, so maybe horror is like a training course to get us more ready for the real thing should we encounter it?
DeleteLee
I think all fears, even the seemingly irrational ones and fears of fantasy creatures like werewolves and goblins, are based on deep-seated rational fears. At heart, these are fears of the strange and unknown, and that sort of fear kept our long-distance ancestors safe from danger.
ReplyDeleteCarrie-Anne, we have an instinct for survival so what you say is probably true to a great extent. The unknown is one of the biggest fears of all and often it's difficult to say whether those fears are rational or not.
DeleteLee
Halloween I think is getting out of hand with what goes on, especially for the little ones.
ReplyDeleteI didn't vote for the winner, look forward to the next vote.
Yvonne.
Yvonne, I don't know how much kids like Halloween anymore. I loved it when I was a kid and I enjoyed the scary aspect. Now it's much more gory.
DeleteLee
Hi, Lee! Lately you and I have been matching votes more often than not in the battles around the circuit, but not this time in your battle. A two to one voting ratio is still an interesting contest and I thank you for introducing me to some new sounds. Enjoy the rest of your week, good buddy Lee!
ReplyDeleteShady, this match turned out like I would have expected, but I wouldn't have been too surprised if the numbers were the other way around.
DeleteLee
The closeness of this battle doesn't surprise me. I liked both, but Dolby was my best choice. See you in November, Lee :)
ReplyDeleteDixie, both choices were good so this contest could have gone either way.
DeleteLee
Oh yes, the world is scarier now. There are lists of "remember when..." but that will never return. The best way to combat society's melt down is to surround yourself with family, set strong moral standards, be responsible...and above all, ask God to forgive sins and protect your family.
ReplyDeleteLove James Dolby.
Susan, good advice to stay as safe as we can be. If nothing else we should be ready to meet our maker with a good record behind us.
DeleteLee
Even the horror movies are satanic. Why must they be? It's no longer a good wholesome scare, but gore and violence and death. (Oh brother)
ReplyDeleteI love what Susan Kane said!
♥.•*¨Elizabeth¨*•.♥
Elizabeth, the satanic influence isn't only found in horror movies either. Some horror films go way overboard these days--we don't have to see everything. Some fearsome things are better left to the imagination.
DeleteLee
Although it's often sad and shocking what goes on in the world, as you said, it generally doesn't affect me personally and life is good, here. I'm not a huge fan of Halloween or the horror/fantasy genre either, but a good ghost story can be fun.
ReplyDeleteNice to know I was on the winning side for this battle. Thanks for the introduction to the song.
Debbie, my wife and I stay home a lot and generally avoid places where threats are more likely to exist. We rarely go out at night either. We do enjoy a good scary story on our movie nights, but not so much the overly graphic ones.
DeleteLee
I think the world is a very scary place and I think people are scary. Because you never know what someone is capable of. I find myself looking at strangers when I'm out and wondering, is he a killer? is he a pedophile? Is he a rapist? You just never know. They can all look so normal... THAT's scary to me.
ReplyDeleteMichele at Angels Bark
Michele, you do never know about other people. When someone does something truly horrendous we often hear people who knew the perpetrator say what a nice quiet person they always seemed to be. Evil often comes from unexpected places.
DeleteLee
Not a big fan of horror genre, but I'm also not scared by it. There is just no appeal to me. As you say, there is enough in the world to fear without adding to it. I've been accused of adding too much levity and humour when I discuss problems or rants. To me, I find it more entertaining that way.
ReplyDeleteJeffrey, I like humor to take the edge off of uncomfortable situations. I've been accused of being inappropriate at times.
DeleteLee
Wow... Congratulations, Dolby! Good battle, Lee... It really was too bad about that second Hicks version not being available for us non-US web people, but I hope that didn't unduly influence voting in Dolby's favor ;)
ReplyDeleteAs to your questions... I don't know if the world really is getting scarier, or if it's just that our cruelty is more out in the open. Human nature has always been human nature, from day 1. Psychopaths and other conscience-less people have also existed from day 1... Maybe the difference is that back then, in Day 1, not only were they less in number (we all were) but they were also considered outcasts. Today, on the other hand, we make them CEOs ;)
Being Mexican, the Halloween / Day of the Dead tradition for me is very much linked with making our fear of death more palatable, more manageable, less... well, scary. Having been brought up an atheist, I never understood the fear of the supernatural; devils and witches and goblins and monsters never did it for me—which is probably why I loooove ghost stories :) Being "scared" for entertainment is, I suppose, pretty weird, psychologically speaking... I'm not without my own fears—but they're of the living, of the physical and tangible, of the human capacity for senseless violence and utter lack of compassion. That scares me for real.
Guilie @ Quiet Laughter
Guilie, the real stuff is far more scary than the fantasy or even just the unknown stuff.
DeleteLee
Good answer.
Delete~ D-FensDogG
Sorry for the delay!
ReplyDeleteI loved this battle and it was nice to see ole' Rickie Lee raising her head again. The first time I saw her was on SNL years ago (don't do the math) and at first I thought she was subpar. She grows on you. Dan Hicks is Dan Hicks, lol.
I usually love Dolby but for some reason, this one didn't do it for me. Too elevator-y. Copyright that word for Cherdo.
Thanks, dear Arlee, for a great battle.
Cherdo, I saw Jones on SNL at least once also. Dan Hicks is a unique artist. I wouldn't mind hearing a Dolby song like "I Scare Myself" in an elevator--that would be kind of classy piped in music I think.
DeleteLee