Battle of the Bands: I'm Jumping in the Song River for Round 3

And Now for the Friday Night Fights
   
         This is round three of the Battle of the Bands.  I missed rounds one and two but when I saw this going on I just had to dive in--I love this music stuff as you regular readers may be aware.  If you're wondering what I'm even talking about you can check my original announcement or you can go directly to the source at Faraway Series and Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends.   In fact you need to go to those sites to see who the other contenders doing battle are.  Then you vote your opinion.  Don't forget there are prizes at stake.

Here's the Deal

        Let me explain more about this.  On (or around) the first and fifteenth of each month we who are participating will post our selected match-ups.   In the comments readers will vote for their favorite versions of each song.  Be sure to give us your reason for voting on the selection you have chosen.  Then on (or about) the 7th and 21st of each month we who have participated in the BOTB posts will announce the vote tally and tell you our own personal choices.   Easy enough, right?

        Why should you vote?  Here's Stephen T McCarthy's explanation: Every 4 months there will be a new compact disc winner. In other words, ‘Battle Of The Bands’ #1 was posted on August 1, 2013, so at the end of November, one of you lucky voters is going to win a CD that includes one of the songs we’ve featured in our ‘Battle Of The Bands’ installments (you get to choose, and it doesn’t matter if the song won or lost its battle – if you like it, it’s YOURS!)

        Stephen at Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends is monitoring the contest so be sure to vote at his site. And Faraway Eyes at Faraway Series put together this whole extravaganza so be sure to visit her site as well. 

          So on with my part of the show!   Here are my contenders:

Neil Young "Down by the River" (1969)

         This classic song is from prolific songwriter/music artist Neil Young's  second album.   In his sophomore solo effort Young was backed by Crazy Horse, a band made up of most of the members of Los Angeles based group The Rockets.  I probably don't have to say much about the artist or the song since most of you are probably familiar with both.

         Take a listen...




McKendree Spring "Down by the River" (1972)

        McKendree Spring appeared on the music scene in 1969, but I didn't pick up on them until they had released their third album in 1972.   When I noted that they were covering one of my favorite songs by Neil Young and had a violin player in their line up, I decided that this was an album that I had to own.  I was not disappointed.  Their albums frequently include cover versions.

         Lamentably, the third album is the only McKendree Spring album I've ever owned and the only one that I'm familiar with.  Since Amazon and other internet purveyors were not around yet, finding the Spring albums was not always easy.  Back then I rarely ordered albums in record stores and music buying was mostly an impulse thing for me.  If I had seen other Spring albums at times when I had the money on hand, I would have probably picked them up.

        This group is still together and has a few recent recordings.  They apparently still play on occasion.  You can find more about them at the McKendree Spring website.

         Here's their version...





Now It's Your Turn

        Please vote for your favorite version in my comment section.  Then go to the blogs of Stephen and Faraway Eyes  to vote for their contenders.   Your votes will be kept on record for the final tally.

         You may win a CD!

          If  you want to join in and post your own battle we welcome you to do so.  Let us know in the comment section that you are adding your own match ups.   It's not a blogfest officially, but it's kind of like one.  If you're joining us then be sure to link to the three blogs that are in the contest (mine, Faraway Eyes, and Stephen T McCarthy) so readers will know what's going on and join in on the contest.  I've already heard that Alex J Cavanaugh is doing a battle on his site.

          Don't forget to come back on September 7th (or the case of Tossing It Out Friday September 6th) to see which version readers preferred and why I chose my personal favorite.

           Which version do you prefer?   Why do you prefer this version?   Had you previously heard of McKendree Spring?

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What's Fun for You?

Battle of the Bands (video game) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

       Can you believe another summer is almost gone?   I've had a great one for the most part and I hope yours has been good as well.

        I've had fun doing some traveling this year.   Road tripping is one of my favorite fun things to do.  But I do have fun just staying home doing things on the internet, watching movies on television, or just hanging out.  Gotta have fun sometimes.

Here's Something Fun

        Two of my good blogging friends have started a bi-monthly (as in twice a month) event called Battle of the Bands.  Usually on the first and the fifteenth of each month, they face off two versions of the same song for readers to vote on to decide which artist made the best recording.  They also have a giveaway as a part of the fun.   Read more about this event at their sites Far Away Series and Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends.  You can track back through their posts to see the two battles that have already taken place.   Next battle will actually be posted on August 30th due to Labor Day weekend.   Be sure to keep up with the battles to come.

        And guess who is going to join them in this.  If you guessed me then you'd be right.  How can I resist something like this?   Me and my passion about music and all.  I've got some interesting picks lined up.  You may know how obscure I can get.  Well, I can promise some picks that are rather out there, but I'll have some mainstream stuff as well.   Join me next Friday August 30 to see who will be battling in my first round.

         If you want to join in the fun then you can do your own battle on your blog.  Please be sure to link to Faraway and Stephen T. McCarthy and Tossing It Out of course.  Leave us all a comment to let us know that you've added your own band battle so we can check out your picks.   It's all pretty informal and unofficial and all.  Kind of a blogfest without a Linky List.  And most of all, it's fun!  Next Friday!

         What do you like to do for fun?   What fun things have you been doing this summer?   Would you like to match up your own song versions to do battle?



         

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One Thing Leads to Another

Donald Duck as he first appeared in The Wise Little Hen (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

          A few days ago I was visiting a blog post by Chuck at Apocalypse Now--an innovative, wacky, and often twisted blog (Happy Birthday Chuck)--and I followed a link that he'd left in the post to an earlier post that he'd done that had a topic that intrigued me.

        Anyway, I went to that earlier post and left a comment there.  Chuck seemed somewhat surprised and pleased that I had actually gone to the link, read the post, and left a comment.  In a later response Chuck said, "...thanks for going back to square one to read and leave a comment. You inspired an upcoming post by doing that."


          So as I considered this, I was inspired to write a post related to this topic of comments.   As some of my regular readers may recall, I am fascinated and entertained by comments and the ensuing dialog that sometimes springs from them.  In fact, if some of you wonder why I don't visit more blog posts, it's often because I am wrapped up in ongoing conversations on my blogs or other blogs.  Don't every apologize for leaving me a long comment--I love 'em, especially when they lead to a discussion.


          In any case, this concept of ongoing blog comment discussions made me think of a rather lengthy interchange prompted by my most recent post at A Faraway View--a blog that doesn't usually receive too many comments, but the ones that are left are often quite involved and interesting.  


           One massive exchange on this most recent post occurred amongst myself, Stephen T McCarthy, and Faraway Eyes.   I mean this exchange was epic in proportion and will probably be resulting in an additional guest post or two or more.  I had a great time exchanging thoughts with these two ever-fascinating bloggers.  Hopefully I'll have Stephen's guest post on site this Thursday.


          Another blogger who invariably has been leaving comments at my dream blog is the ever contemplative Jay Paoloni, Actor.  He also has been occasionally posting on the topic of dreams, as well as other topics such as Donald Duck's disposition.   Whatever he writes about he does so with eloquence and sometimes a dash of tongue in cheek.  It's a thoughtful blog for those of you who enjoy a moment to ponder now and then.


          I want to also thank all of my other regulars who comment on that site as well as those who manage to pop in every now and then.   I try to keep things interesting at A Faraway View. 


          Thinking of guest posts, I hope that all of you will visit Wrote By Rote for the guest visit by Christine M Grote.  If you're not yet familiar with Christine, be sure to visit her extraordinary blog Christine M Grote which is filled with well told stories, reflections on life, and samples of her remarkable photography. In her guest spot she tells about her acclaimed book Dancing In Heaven.


           I guess I should stop here because as soon as I think of one thing to write about another thing pops into my head.  If you let me I could be here writing all day if I knew somebody was reading it.  Instead, maybe you can check out a few of the above links, leave some comments, and start your own ongoing blog conversations.  Or maybe this post will inspire a post of your own.


            Do you ever get involved in ongoing comment discussions?   Do you like it when readers leave lengthy comments?    Have you ever been surprised by a comment left on an older post that you've written?  Are you familiar with any of the above mentioned blogs and bloggers?


                

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