Falling into Fall ( #IWSG & #BOTB )

      It's that time of year again:  Halloween will be here soon, then Thanksgiving, Christmas, and, inevitably, another New Year.  If I didn't have the same old things to say every year I'd have to think up new same old things to say...

The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog. 
     The co-hosts for the  October 1 posting of the IWSG are Beth Camp, Crystal Collier, and Cathrina Constantine.

October 1 question - What is the most favorite thing you have written, published or not? And why?

       Back around 1974 I think it was, I started what I decided would be my epic novel.  Every now and then through the following years I might tinker with my idea.  Sometimes I write snippets.  Sometimes I've even written several pages.  Not much in recent years, but I think about that early novel often.  I even think I might sit down and write it. 

       Probably the main reason why I like this particular idea so much that it's basically an autobiography of sorts.  A fantasy autobiography more like, but still kind of based on things from my own life.  Maybe I should just write some kind of memoir.  But maybe I should do a lot of things that I haven't done yet.

 Battle of the Bands

 

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and  StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   I do this event  each month on the 15th and the 1st of the month.  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.

Barefootin'

     Continuing on with my theme of "Hits from the summer of '66" I offer up a couple of covers of a song that was popular with a lot of kids at my school. "Barefootin'" was written and performed by Robert Parker and got a lot of radio play on Knoxville's WNOX during my first summer in Tennessee. See what you think of the following covers and vote on your favorite in the comment section...

Alabama   "Barefootin'"   (1988)

Barefoot Jerry  "Barefootin'"  (1977)

 

Time to Vote!

        Kick off your shoes and get up on your feet.  Enjoy the music!  Which song interpretation  do you prefer?  Battles are no fun without you the reader participating.    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
 
'Curious as a Cathy' 

Sound of One Hand Typing

Landmark Sounds (Diedre Knight)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BY DEBBIE D

Trivial Music Silliness

Mike's Ramblings

Results on Wednesday October 8th 

    Or thereabouts.  I'm gonna have to get back to some regimented blogging schedule I think.  Or maybe not.  

Whispering Pines ( #BOTB )

      These past weeks have been a bit of turmoil personally as has it been for the world.  But time just moves on and so does life.  It's good to just sit back and relax and reflect on the good things of life and the positivity that we can get out of it all. It's there.  Somewhere...

 Battle of the Bands

 

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and  StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   I do this event  each month on the 15th and the 1st of the month.  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.

Whispering Pines

    Ever since I first heard this song on The Band's second album, it has haunted me through the years.  It's one of my favorite songs by The Band and one of my favorite songs period.  I find it so dreamy and relaxing.  But it is also a great piece of songwriting.  Take a listen to these versions and let me know which you like best...

Doris   "Whispering Pines"  (1970)

 

Outer Park  "Whispering Pines"   (2023)

 

 

Time to Vote!

        Relax.  Enjoy the music.  Which song interpretation  do you prefer?  Battles are no fun without you the reader participating.    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
 
'Curious as a Cathy' 

Sound of One Hand Typing

Landmark Sounds (Diedre Knight)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BY DEBBIE D

Trivial Music Silliness

Results on Monday September 22

      What do you think of this song featured here in this Battle?  Are you familiar with it?   What are songs that "haunt" you?

Working on a Labor Day ( #BOTB & IWSG )

       "Vacation" is over.  Well, my hiatus is done for now as I come back to the blogging scene.  Now it's back to work.  And I'll kick things off with music...

Battle of the Bands

 

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC 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  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.

Work Songs from the Summer of '66

       Let's go back to my reflections on the summer of '66 and the hit music I was hearing back then on the Knoxville Tennessee top ten station and through new friends I was meeting as I acclimated to my new environment. 

        In honor of Labor Day I'm going to honor two songs that I liked pretty well and they always reminded me of specific jobs.  Lee Dorsey's song is pretty obviously work inspired.  However some of you might find The Capitol's "Cool Jerk" a stretch as far as work goes.  But when I first heard it it made me think of a soda jerk (a popular cool job back in the day) so that was the image bopping around in my head.  Of course there was the dance crazes back then and the jerk was one.  The song makes me want to do the jerk or something and that's cool.

     Check them out and let us know what you think.  

Lee Dorsey  "Working in a Coal Mine"  (1966)

The Capitols  "Cool Jerk"  (1966)

Time to Vote!

        Hey!  This ain't work.  It's fun.   You're supposed to vote on one of these songs.  Which one do you prefer?  Battles are no fun without you the reader participating.    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
 
'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Landmark Sounds (Diedre Knight)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BY DEBBIE D

Trivial Music Silliness

Mike's Ramblings

Results Monday September 8

*******&*******

 The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog. 
     The co-hosts for the September 3 posting of the IWSG are Kim Lajevardi, Natalie Aguirre, Nancy Gideon, and Diedre Knight.

September 3 question - What are your thoughts on using AI, such as GPChat, Raptor, and others with your writing? Would you use it for research, storybible, or creating outlines\beats?

       Since I haven't had that much experience with using the AI stuff much at all, I'm not much of one to add anything about what I've done.  I've played around with those trial song writing generators and it's really creepy how it can come up with some pretty good songs that incorporate all my absurd inputs.  It sounds like a lot of the modern music I hear.  Not sure I like what's going on, but maybe it's what it is for now.  I think a lot of that "writing" will start getting pretty stale. A lot more stale than it is now.

      Talk about shirking work on Labor Day.  AI offers a lot of potential for shortcuts.  But is it worth it in the long run?  Time will tell I guess.

      Don't you think a lot of fun of writing is in doing the hard stuff like research and such?   I know I can end up going down a lot of rabbit hole chases when I do research--what about you?

  

See You In September ( #BOTB & #IWSG )

         It's all in the title of this post so I guess you might be able to see where I'm going here.  If you know, you know and whatever else.  Sit back and enjoy...

Battle of the Bands

 

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC 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.

     It's almost like a cliché I guess.  It's the first song I thought of when I figured I'd take a blogging break.  I do need one I think.  Or what I really need is to figure out where I go next with my blog.  Let me think on this awhile and you can tell us which version of this song you like best.  Thanks for playing along!

The Happenings  "See You In September"  (1966)

t

Julie Budd  "See You In September"  (1972)

Time to Vote!

        This is my last Battle for the summer so please help make it a good one.   You're supposed to vote on one of these song versions.  Which one do you prefer?  Battles are no fun without you the reader participating.    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
 
'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Landmark Sounds (Diedre Knight)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BY DEBBIE D

Trivial Music Silliness

Results on July 7th

        I hope so at least.  I'll likely be doing some traveling so I'll do what I can.  But you do have to vote to provide me a greater sense of urgency.

The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog. 
     The co-hosts for the July 2 posting of the IWSG are Rebecca Douglass, Natalie Aguirre, Cathrina Constantine, and Louise Barbour.

July 2 question - Is there a genre you haven't tried writing in yet that you really want to try? If so, do you plan on trying it?

          I've done a lot of writing experiments in younger days. I don't know that I've missed out on much.  Maybe mysteries of some sort.  I've never been too effective at writing such things, but I've wanted to try someday. Probably won't, but who knows.  Perhaps one day if I get really bored and become infused with inspiration.  You never do know.

Have a wonderful summer!!!!

     

Hits from the Summer of '66 ( #BOTB )

         Did you ever hear a haunting song from a distance that seemed dreamlike, but strangely familiar?  I've often had that sensation.  I think that's one of the things that can make music so special for many of us and filled with so many memories.  Here's a couple of songs that wove their ways through my summer of 1966...

 Battle of the Bands

 

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC 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.

Hits from '66

      When I moved to Tennessee in the summer of 1966 I had already started immersing myself in popular music of the day.  Only vaguely familiar with a few crossover country hits, I was no fan of that twangy sound of country.  As I had done in Indiana keeping up with the current songs on Chicago's WLS radio station, I was now listening to music on Knoxville's WNOX to see what the next interesting song would be.  

        Some songs were monsters that couldn't be ignored because of their dominance on the radio waves, while others lingered enough to become locked in my memory banks.  In this Battle I present two different country hits that were remade for the rock and roll audience. At the time the songs seemed new to me though I had undoubtedly heard them many times over the years.  It's just that I essentially was rather dismissive of the country genre back then and couldn't tell you much about it other than there were a few good songs that I had liked over the years, but they somehow didn't seem so country to me perhaps.  Bottom line is that I was young and still musically uneducated to a great extent.  

        In my fifteenth summer I was spending many of my idle hours listening to music over my little transistor radio that by audiophile standards was not much at all, but to me was enough to fire up my musical imagination and curiosity. I was anxious to hear the next new thing while hoping to keep hearing favorites being repeated throughout the day into the late night.  

       Here are two of my favorites of that summer.  You likely know both songs well so I won't even mention who were the artists who originally performed the songs or those who had subsequent hits with the songs--both have had several covers done.

        These are the covers from 1966 and personally I think both covers are the best ever for either song.

         Do you remember these?  Which do you like best?

Tommy McClain  "Sweet Dreams"  (1966)

B. J. Thomas  "I'm So Lonesome I'm Could Cry"  (1966)

Time to Vote!

        Get your kicks on route 66 or from the summer of '66.  You're supposed to vote on one of these songs.  Which one do you prefer?  Battles are no fun without you the reader participating.    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
 
'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Landmark Sounds (Diedre Knight)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BY DEBBIE D

Trivial Music Silliness

Results on Monday June 23

Pow! Take That! ( #BOTB Results)

 Currently it's cloudy and mild in Los Angeles with a chance of riots and civil disorder later today. Might be like this all week and maybe all summer.  You never know what you're going to get in this city, but on this blog you can expect some Battle of the Band Results...

Battle of the Bands Results

A double whammy of Double Shot

       My most recent Battle was pretty much a pounding.  Dick didn't Holler much when the Medallions came out Swinging and knocked him down for a resounding win.  McCarthy and I both went with Dick Holler.  We both liked that organ in the SM version, but as for me I don't like the party sounds as much as I did when I was a teen.  Call me old-fashioned or just call me old.  I'm either not paying attention or I can't hear you.

Final Vote Tally

Dick Holler                        2 votes

Swinging Medallions       10 votes

Next Battle on Sunday June 15th

      This will be a good one staying with the 1966 theme.  Two of my big favorites of that year against each other.  What will they be?

Influences ( #IWSG )

       

Voting is still open for my current Battle of the Bands!  Stop by if you will and cast your vote!

The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog. 
     The co-hosts for the June 4 posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, Pat Garcia, Kim Lajevardi, Melisa Maygrove, and Jean Davis

 June 4 question - What were some books that impacted you as a child or young adult?    

      My earliest childhood memories regarding books were the several of the Little Golden Book series that my parents bought me early on.  My favorites were The Little Engine that Could, The Gingerbread Man, and Little Black Sambo. I'm not sure how many of the books in the series I had, but I can recall looking at those books often as a young child.  I don't know how much literary impact those books had on me, but they did give me a certain sense of pride of book ownership and having my own home library.

     When I was about 8 years, the pastor at the church we were attending at the time gave me my first Bible, a book which I still have to this day although it is very well worn with the cover coming off.  I gave this a lot of use throughout the years and like many people I'd say that this is the book that has had the most influence over me and a book that continues to influence me.

     Two more huge influences on me were the Webster's Dictionary and the grocery store bought set of Funk & Wagnall's Encyclopedia.  Through the years I spent hours perusing the dictionary and the encyclopedia set just for the fun and curiosity. This probably made a huge contribution to my good grades through my school years.  Kids today who no longer use these resources are missing out on a wealth of information in my opinion.  And I question the veracity of some of the online resources.

      I read a lot when I was a kid--especially after I entered my teens and began getting regular deliveries from various book clubs.  I can't say any one particular writer impacted me greatly when I was a kid.  However, after I started college I discovered some of the great Southern writers like William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, and Cormac McCarthy.  This school of writers from the American South have impacted me most as far as literature goes.  

    What were some of your biggest writing influences?

Double Shot ( #BOTB + Battle of the Booze? )

 

    Looks like I've gotten onto a themed subject matter which is the music of the summer of 1966.  My previous Battle got me to thinking about all the great music that came out during the summer when my family first moved to East Tennessee from the Chicago area. 

      It was the summer before my first year of high school.  I made some new friends and many of them were into music--like really into music.  I recall many an hour with the transistor radio blaring as we listened to the current hits playing on Knoxville's top forty station at the time, WNOX. So many great songs!  Including this next one...

Battle of the Bands

 

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC 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.

Double Shot of My Baby's Love

      When this hit by The Swinging Medallions started getting airplay I immediately liked it and apparently a lot of other music fans liked it as well.  It's now a classic from 1966 and it's one of the first songs of the era that popped into my head.  And does it qualify for a Battle of the Booze?  I'll let Mr. McCarthy be the judge. It does sound like a fun drinking song nevertheless. The recording has lots of fun party sounds and rowdiness which was likely something that attracted me as a teen.  

       As I started exploring I discovered that not only there are many covers of the song available, the hit version that I have always known was actually a cover of an earlier regional hit that didn't go much of anywhere on the charts. I guess this is one of those cases where I can use an original version against a later version and see what the crowd thinks.  Hope you enjoy...

Dick Holler & the Holidays  "Double Shot of My Baby's Love"  (1963)

Swinging Medallions  "Double Shot of My Baby's Love"  (1966)

Time to Vote!

       It's a double shot of musical fun and games.  You're supposed to vote on one of these song versions.  Which one do you prefer?  Battles are no fun without you the reader participating.    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
 
'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Landmark Sounds (Diedre Knight)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BY DEBBIE D

Trivial Music Silliness

Results on Monday June 9