My A to Z Themes in the past have covered a range of topics and for 2024 the theme is a personal retrospective that I call "I Coulda Been" which is in reference to my job and career arc over my lifetime. I'll be looking at all sorts of occupations that I have done or could have done. Maybe you've done some of these too!
I've been mulling over whether or not to do Thanksgiving dinner this year. Maybe I should check with the bank to see if I could take out a loan to finance the groceries. I mean, really! Prices are getting ridiculous...
Battle of the Bands Results
What Happened with the Persian Market?
My recent Battle was a showdown between two jazzed up versions of Ketelby's "In a Persian Market". The contestants were American jazzman Wilbur de Paris and British popster Acker Bilk with a couple of Dixieland flavored interpretations of the light classical piece.
I'm very partial to the classical tinged piece as it was the one I used to hear during the levitation act of the Ken Griffin Magic show which I worked on for a few years. I enjoy hearing the jazzy versions and after repeated hearings I can go either way depending on my mood. Why not Acker Bilk? He really needs the vote more anyway.
Pretty low turn out for this Battle>>>
Final Vote Count
Wilbur de Paris 6 votes
Acker Bilk 4 votes
Next Battle on December 1st
That's the plan and I plan to stick to that plan. Better than sticking to a pan I guess.
Life is a magic show. And since I toured on a number of magic shows over the years I think I know a thing or two about magic shows. I tell you--life is definitely a damn magic show...
Battle of the Bands
Battle of the Bandsisthe blogging event started byFar Away Seriesand now hosted byStMcC Presents Battle of the Bands. This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month. My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months. The premise is simple: Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it. Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.
In a Persian Market
The tone poem by Albert Ketelby is a musical piece that you've undoubtedly heard many times over the years. It often will be used as background for magic or circus shows or scenes of mystery. During the years of 1975 to 1980 when I toured off and on with them, I frequently heard it during the levitation sequence of the Ken Griffin Magic Show. In this part of the show, Ken Griffin the magician would put his lovely wife and assistant Roberta into a trance and then raise her into the air from a prone position. The levitation was one of the highlights of the show. I won't say where I was or what I was doing during this sequence of the show, but I will say that I had little else to do but listen to Ketelby's "In a Persian Market" which wasn't all that bad since I did enjoy that piece of music.
The recording we used was in a more classical vein like originally intended. For this Battle I'm using a couple of updated jazzy versions that I find quite entertaining. I hope that you will too.
Time to Vote! Now that you're all jazzed up how's about voting for one or the other. Either way you might or might not like them. Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind. You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.
Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours. I don't know if anyone else will be doing a Battle this time around, but you can still check out these sites. Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts: StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands 'MIKE'SRAMBLINGS' 'Curious as a Cathy' Sound of One Hand Typing Jingle, Jangle, Jungle
The voting has decided! Read on to get my perspectives on why I voted as I did and what the final results amounted to. Did you vote? Whether or not you did vote, you can still read about what I'm talking about...
Battle of the Bands Results
Fun and Folly in Lee's Basement
Back in the first years of the seventies, I was in college as well as working summers. During this time my friends and I began discovering psychedelics and other mind-altering substances. Add to that a frequent abundance of alcohol and it was party time whenever or wherever we gathered.
Music was such a huge part of any event as well as in our times of solitude. My range of musical interest was very eclectic as it is today so any visitor to my basement might be exposed to some very different music than they normally listened to. When one's mind is "expanded" that can be a good thing.
My recent Battle matched a group of those times, Autosalvage, against a more sunshiny pop song by the group Wichita Fall. This was a tough choice for me since I love the sounds of both groups and both albums. I listened to both often back in those days and still enjoy hearing the albums. So what to pick in this Battle?
When my basement was my escape, my domain, and place to entertain friends, I would be more apt to put on the Autosalvage album. It rocked more and probably would have been better received by a bunch of partying guys. This was an interesting album to be in party mode with.
After everyone had gone home and I was still coming down from wherever I had gone, that was the time that I'd usually put on my Wichita Fall album. It was a calming aural experience for me. I also enjoyed listening to this album on quiet afternoons when I was alone. Wichita Fall's Life Is But A Dream is a delightful extravaganza of pretty decent songs with dazzling orchestration and harmonies reminiscent of groups like The Association, another of my favorite groups.
That being said, for this Battle my vote goes to Autosalvage and their song "Land of Their Dreams". Love the crazy sound of that group and love that song.
But just for the pleasure of listening to music these days I'd still likely gravitate more to the Wichita Fall album.
Ever since I retired, sometimes it seems like I work more than I ever did when it comes to stuff around the house. What I want to know is who did all this stuff back when I was actually working a paying job. Idle time can be a lot of work!
November 6 question - What creative activity do you engage in when you're not writing?
This is a fun question that I could go in so many ways with. But I might as well go with the truth. I haven't been writing other than on my blog or just jotting down ideas now and then. Lately--and I mean the last few years I guess--I just haven't been feeling the motivation to write. I've got plenty of ideas with no writing after they appear.
Bottom line is that I watch way more television than I used to. Hey, I guess I'm entitled to wind down in my later years. Watching television might not sound so creative but when I'm doing this I often come up with some of my most creative ideas. I always keep a pen and notebook nearby so that I can jot down whatever pops into my mind. Someday--you know.
Otherwise, I could think of creative things I might be doing, but I'm not doing any of them so what's the point of suggesting that I've been doing creative things.
I'll be writing soon. I think. At least I've been planning to. I've come up with some pretty nifty ideas.
How about you? Are you as lazy as I've been lately?
As we head into another winter season, my thoughts go back to younger days of high school and college. Not that cold weather drove me to the retreat of the basement of my parents' house, but it was a great anytime place to go when I wanted to listen to my records. Sometimes I'd listen alone and sometimes I was joined by friends. For a while, Lee's Basement was the place to be. We had some great times and listened to some interesting music. Today I present a couple of my favorites...
Battle of the Bands
Battle of the Bandsisthe blogging event started byFar Away Seriesand now hosted byStMcC Presents Battle of the Bands. This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month. My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months. The premise is simple: Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it. Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.
Psychedelic Sounds from the Basement
During the late sixties and early seventies, when I was still living in my parents' home and going to high school and university, my favorite retreat when I was home was our basement. During this time it was mostly my domain. I had a decent portable stereo down there along with my ever-growing record collection which was becoming heavily influenced by psychedelic music as well as classical and an array of music that was not on the normal listening lists of most of my friends. But they listened anyway if they were in Lee's Basement.
It's not like I was aurally torturing them, but I was just giving a different musical diet beyond the Allman Brothers or whatever the favorite of the week was. They could get the popular stuff anywhere. And I'll admit that sometimes we were a bit mind-altered if you know what I'm saying and that weird stuff that I would play just seemed to be pretty durn appropriate.
So, digging back into the memories, let me dust off a couple of cuts from two among my favorites of that era. I don't know if having your mind-altered a bit helps, but these songs still sound pretty good to me. Maybe you had to have been there. Or maybe just have weird eclectic tastes like I have. Hope you can find something interesting or fun about these. Open your mind. Feel the groove. Listen and sit in judgement and then tell us which you like best and why.
When I first read about this group in Lillian Roxon's Rock Encyclopedia I started my search for the album. I actually don't remember the when or where, but I did find it without too much trouble in some cut-out bin somewhere. I got most of my music from the cheap record section. Times were spare. I was a student. I was living in the land of my dreams so this song connected with me.
I haven't found much about this album or group other than they started out as a band in the style of Buffalo Springfield, went into the studio with members of the L.A. Philharmonic and ended up with a record that is more like the Moody Blues or The Association. The album is reviled by some, loved by others, and unknown by most. I especially used to enjoy this one after everyone had left my basement and I was unwinding in the wee hours. The album is one that has been described as "popedelia" but I still think of it as kind of psychedelic. Take a listen and let us know what you think...
Time to Vote! Hallucinogens are not needed to enjoy these songs. It's music for any occasion. Either way you might or might not like them. Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind. You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.
Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours. I don't know if anyone else will be doing a Battle this time around, but you can still check out these sites. Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts: StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands 'MIKE'SRAMBLINGS' 'Curious as a Cathy' Sound of One Hand Typing Jingle, Jangle, Jungle
There will also be another posting for the Insecure Writer's Support Group coming next Wednesday. And don't forget to come back for the results of the above Battle. Those will show up on Friday November 8.
