I Got Something (BOTB Results)

Our House Runneth Over

        Have you ever taken a thorough inventory of your possessions?   If you're like my wife and I, you probably have a ton of material goods that you own with much of it stashed away in closets, sheds, or garages.   A lot of stuff that you neither need nor particularly remember that you even own.

          I've never really bothered to assess everything that's in my house, but in clothes alone I'm sure there's a cumulative investment of many thousands of dollars--and I'm not talking about particularly expensive clothes.   There's just a lot of clothes.  If I could give up all the recorded music, movies, and other media that I own and get the money back that I originally invested in them I would imagine I could pay off our house and have a lot of money left over.   We don't own much in the way of high value items, but we have a ton of crap that has accumulated over the years that adds up to a lot of money spent.

        We've got something and a lot of it.  Yet how much do we need?  And I think we are pretty much exemplary of most households that fit our demographic description.   And yet we both kind of want more in a way, but in another sense we don't.

          The Gershwin Porgy and Bess tune "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'"  is about not needing material possessions for happiness or security, but enjoying the gifts of people and the blessings of the world around us--the God given gifts of life.  It's a similar philosophy as expressed in the popular song "The Best Things in Life Are Free".   Let's face it, most of the things we buy for ourselves wear out, break, or disappear and will typically lose the value that we invested in them.   It's those intangibles of life, our relationships with other people, and the amazing world all around us that are there for all of us to enjoy.   We don't need much when we've already got everything of true value that makes life most worth living.

I Got Plenty Of Results

          I can't complain about the votes my Battle of the Bands entries got in this recent round (follow the link if you missed the original post).  It was another crazy race with Brian Wilson's version remaining in the lead until right near the end.  Suddenly Tee and Cara swept ahead to win by a narrow margin.  But then Brian Wilson took another vote to bring things to a tie.  It was an exciting race to follow.

          And as it happens with a tie in a BOTB contest, I am left with the deciding vote.  Who do I bestow with the win?

           My love of pop music was nurtured to a great extent by Brian Wilson's group The Beach Boys.  Among the earliest albums I owned were The Beach Boys Concert (1964),  The Beach Boys Today! (1965), and The Beach Boys Party (1965).  I played the heck out of those albums when I was in junior high school and have long admired the genius of Brian Wilson.   I'd never realized that Wilson had released an album of Gershwin tunes until I began compiling candidates for this particular Battle.  What a discovery that was for me!  Two of my musical favorites, George Gershwin and Brian Wilson, on one fantastic album is like a dream come true.  This is an outstanding recording in my estimation.   Wilson's interpretation of "I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'" is fun and original and highly enjoyable.

          However, Tee and Cara get my vote in this musical pairing.  It was their recording that inspired this Battle so in essence the Wilson recording was sort of like an afterthought.  I'm a huge fan of the album As They Are and the fact that Tee Sapoff and Cara Beckenstein never recorded anything else as a duo (at least not to my knowledge) is one of the great disappointments of modern music.   They wrote outstanding songs and everything on their album was performed with brilliance.   To think they were essentially kids when they recorded this album leaves us to wonder what they might have created as they gained more musical maturity.

 Final Count

Brian Wilson          15

Tee & Cara             16

      Be sure to be here at Tossing It Out next Thursday January 15th for my next Battle of the Bands entry.  The song I'll be using?  Watch for some hints on my Monday and Wednesday posts. 

Bonus Song!

       Cara Beckenstein continued with her career as a singer and writer after her pairing with Tee Sapoff ended.   I haven't found too much about what she did in the 40 years after recording As They Are, but there is the following recording she made in 2001 based on a children's book she wrote.   Give it a listen if you like and see what you think:



           Did you enjoy Cara Beckenstein's children's song?    What artists do you lament never having recorded more than they did?    Is there anything in your personal inventory of material possessions that you wish you could get your money back for?

Related articles

• A Bit of Nostalgia Courtesy of Annie Lennox
• The 500 Greatest Songs of all Time - no. 25 - "God Only Knows" - The Beach Boys
• Happy Birthday Ira Gershwin
• Battle of the Bands: I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'

Battle of the Bands: I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'

Christmas gifts. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

   Welcome to 2015!

       Here we are again--another start of another year.  I was okay with the last one and wouldn't have mind staying in it for a while longer.   Seems like each new day just leaves me behinder and behinder.   Wasn't it just summer a few minutes ago?   And I barely noticed Thanksgiving and Christmas fly by.  

       Some of you may have had a big Christmas with lots of gifts while others may have been like me and got plenty of nothing.   Actually that's fine with me since I've been trying to downsize my life and I don't want a bunch of additional stuff I don't really need.   Since I don't buy Christmas gifts anymore due to my downsized income, I guess I shouldn't expect much in the way of gifts anyway.

       I shouldn't be moping about my lack of gifts because I actually did get a few things.  Now with my mother gone I didn't get the new shirts that I could always expect from her.  That's okay Mom--I still have plenty of the shirts you'd given me in previous years and most of them are still in pretty good shape.  My wife said she'd get me a new pair of shoes for Christmas, but we've been too busy to shop for those yet and that's okay because I've got plenty of wearable shoes in my closet.

       Don't get me wrong.  I wasn't completely neglected at Christmas.  One of my daughters sent me some delicious gourmet chocolate-covered strawberries from Sherri's Berries, but they're long gone now so I've got nothing to show for those except for a very fine shipping box that I'm not sure what I'll do with now.  Another daughter got me three DVD's and that was nice other than the fact that I already had two of them so now I'll have to do an exchange on Amazon so I can get something that I don't have already.  

      Really though, I don't need much of anything more.  I already have plenty of stuff and after more reality checks over the past year of losing people I loved and cared about I'm reminded how all the stuff we own is just more stuff we leave behind when we leave this world.  Stuff for someone else to decide whether to keep or just toss out.  After all, life is about tossing it out, material possessions as well as thoughts and ideologies.  People matter more than things and as long as I've got the love of family and friends I don't need much of nothing else.

       What a convenient way to lead into my Battle of the Bands pick for the New Year!

First Battle of the Bands Post for 2015!

       Another Christmas is now behind us and we're off to embark on another year.   And to start the year off right there's no better way than the new year's first Battle of the Bands, the blogging event first introduced by our friends at Far Away Series and  StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens twice each month on the 1st and 15th.   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 

I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'
     
       Once again I'm presenting a song from an opera or musical.   This time it's "I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'" from the folk opera Porgy and Bess by George and Ira Gershwin based on the novel and stage-play Porgy by DuBose Heyward.   The story centers around Porgy, a poor disabled black man living in the slums of Charleston, South Carolina.   Infatuated by Bess, the girlfriend of a cruel and possessive guy named Crown, Porgy sets out to win her and take her away from her unhappy life.  The controversial opera introduced several popular songs including "Summertime" and "I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'".  

     "I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'" has been covered numerous times by a wide range of song stylists and instrumentalists.   If you're not familiar with the song you can hear a traditional take from a 1935 recording by Lawrence Tibbett under the direction of composer George Gershwin.   Listening to this version will give you a pretty good idea of how the song was originally conceived to sound like.   If you do listen to this version, please don't vote on it, but save your vote for one of the two selections to follow.

Tee and Cara "I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'" (1968)

      I've written about the wonderful duo Tee and Cara in the past not only on Tossing It Out, but also on my memoir blog Wrote By Rote.   Their only album As They Are from 1968 is among my favorite albums.   The original compositions on the album are superb, but the duo does a couple of fine covers as well.   They put a very nice touch to the Gershwin tune with an updated folk/pop sound.  I especially like what they do with harmony in not only this song, but all of their songs.  Take a listen and see what you think.




Brian Wilson "I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'"  (2010)

       Brian Wilson is often referred to as a musical genius and listening to his 2010 album Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin is evidence of that claim.   Wilson turns the Porgy solo into a fun bouncy instrumental jaunt.  To my ears it's almost Christmassy in a way which makes it kind of appropriate for my post-Christmas Battle of the Bands round.   Settle back and have some listening fun with this version.





Time to Vote!

           Which do you prefer?  Please vote on your favorite to start the New Year off on the right foot.  I'd hate to get plenty of no votes on this one, but since it's a holiday I realize that voting might not be as active as it's been for most of my Battles.   If you do vote please let us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the one 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.


‘FAR AWAY SERIES’ 

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

 ‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’ 

 ‘DISCCONNECTED’ 

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Book Lover

 And welcoming new Battlers:

This Belle Rocks

DC Relief Battle of the Bands

        The results of this Battle will be announced on Friday January 9th.  I'll be trying to get back in the swing of my old three day a week blogging schedule--hopefully I can keep that going okay. 

         Did you reap a big haul of good things for Christmas?   Do you have any big plans for the upcoming year?    Are you a George Gershwin fan?

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• The Battle for Christmas

Remake blogfest

When Hollywood runs out of ideas, they remake older films. Sometimes this works, and sometimes it fails miserably. 

On May 17, list the best remake you’ve ever seen and the worst. 

Added bonus – list the worst and/or best song remake you’ve ever heard! 

Hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh, Stephen Tremp, Livia Peterson, and Al Diaz.

For the list of participants go here.

My choices:


Best Movie Remake:    

 True Grit (2010) --The 1969 John Wayne version is a fine very entertaining film, but the remake captured what the story really should be.  It's a fantastic film

Worst Movie Remakes:  

The Out of Towners (1999)--I expected so much better of Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn but maybe their over-the-top performances were part of the problem.  Jack Lemmon played the lead role with his wonderfully subtle style and Sandy Dennis was ideal as his wife eternally incredulous in the face of adversity.   The latter version lacked the hilarity of the original and I was not able to feel it the same way as I did the first one. 

  I Am Legend (2007) -- In the serious film category I would list this Will Smith version only because I expected so much more.  I'm a big fan of the 1964 version with Vincent Price.  I had figured with modern film technology a really cool remake could have been done, but to me there was something lacking about this one.  In all fairness, I probably need to see this one a second time.  There were some good effects and well-played scenes.   Yeah, I need to see it again, but for now I'm going to put it in the worst of science fiction remakes.

Best Song Remakes: 

(click on song titles if you want to hear the songs)

   "Hard Day's Night"  by Tee and Cara (1968)  --I've mentioned this song on my site before (did we do a remake blogfest once before?), but it's such a favorite that I'm touting it again.  How can you top the Beatles with their own song?  By playing it the way that it sounds like it should be played like Tee and Cara did.   Too bad they never got more recognition for their beautiful album.

"Lalena" by Deep Purple (1969)--It's difficult to improve on the beautiful original by Donovan, but hard rockin' Deep Purple did it with a sensitive jazziness.

 "Blinded By the Light"  (1977) Manfred Mann--I don't even remember ever hearing Bruce Springsteen's original until I listened to it while researching this blog post.  Sorry Bruce, you may have written the song, but Manfred's number one hit version beats yours by a million miles (and probably a few million record sales).  

Worst Song Remake   --I know they're out there, but I couldn't think of any.

          I know I went above and beyond what was called for, but the post is still short.  What do you think of my choices?   

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Gonna Go Back to the Sugar Shack

In today's post I have added links to youtube if you are interested in hearing some of the music that I am talking about.    

     In a post from last week I described how as I was growing up my musical taste was primarily developed according to what my parents had in their record collection.   I don't recall listening to the radio much, but I listened to my parents records on their hi-fi often.  There was always a wide variety of music to listen to so my musical taste became eclectic and I was pretty open-minded to hearing new music sounds.

       In elementary school I played in the school orchestra and took private violin lessons.  Also music appreciation periods in school introduced to classical and other forms of music.  I was becoming fairly well musically educated.  However, I was not really too aware of the rock and roll scene.  All of that changed in 1963 when I entered junior high school in San Diego.

       Almost a teenager entering a school mostly populated by those who were already teens was jolting.  Childhood was officially over.  I felt out of place.  Now the day consisted of several classrooms and several teachers instead of the security of one classroom with a teacher who knew you.  Now there was phys ed where we had to change into gym clothes and take communal showers, language class where I was going to learn Spanish, and school orchestra where I was no longer the best violinist in the lead chair.  It was like starting school all over again.

         One of the new experiences was a greater freedom at lunch.  There was a Snack Shack where we could buy tacos and hamburgers.  As we sat outside eating our lunches, music was being played over the loudspeakers.  Day after day I recall hearing one song, the big hit of the fall of 1963, and that song was      Sugar Shack by Jimmy Gilmer.  I don't remember hearing any other song.  For all I know "Sugar Shack" was the only song they ever played.  My musical sensibility was resisting the pop sounds I was hearing, but at the same time I couldn't help but kind of like it as well--just a little bit.  The teen chart hit sound was starting to worm its way inside of me.

          Less than two months after I started junior high my family moved to Indiana.  The transition was major, but occurring in the middle of the school year like it did it wasn't really that bad.  No more orchestra, but there was a sort of general music class that all 7th graders were required to be in.  But there was still the popular music that was starting to intrigue me.  And then came the British invasion.  I became hooked.

            I started buying 45 RPM records--those were smaller records with one song on each side.  They were less expensive than albums.  Then I started finding albums that were intriguing to a 13 year old male.  Early on I bought a knock off version of James Bond themes.  I also bought a series of novelty records by Frankie Stein  and his Ghouls.  It was instrumental beach dance music.  The one pictured here was Ghoul Music (1964) by Frankie Stein and his Ghouls.  Much of the music sounded alike and eventually I realized a lot of the songs were repeated from album to album and just had different names.  I still loved them at the time. 

Frankie Stein & his Ghouls Dreaming and Screaming

         In 1965 I graduated to a different type of more sophisticated instrumental music-- Herb Alpert and  the Tijuana Brass.   With an album cover that intrigued every adolescent boy, Whipped Cream provided hours of listening enjoyment for me.  I built a collection of Tijuana Brass.

Whipped Cream by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass

       At this same time I was beginning to take note of my sister's Beatles records.  Those are the records she was collecting.  I had already began to appreciate some of the other English groups, but my sister owned the Beatles records.  Then I discovered one that I could appreciate.   The Chipmunks had been popular since the late 50s, and I had enjoyed their novelty songs.  Now as they performed the Beatles hits, the music of the Fab Four was mine too.  I could enjoy the harmonies Chipmunk style.

Alvin & the Chipmunks "All My Lovin'"

          From here something happens to my memory.  Music is everywhere and I am obsessed with it.  Are the dates on Google and other internet sources wrong?  I remember the time much differently than what the internet sources cite.  Here is what I remember.  I recall one very bizarre night in what I think is early 1966.  I am with my family traveling to Rochester, NY where we are to perform in the Shrine Circus.  It is the early hours of the morning and there is a great deal of snow.  My father has the radio tuned to a station that is playing some very interesting music.  First I hear "All My Loving" by the Chipmunks.  Then I hear a bright and peppy vocal quartet called The Sugar Shoppe singing a vaudeville sounding song called "Poor Poppa".   Then finally a hauntingly beautiful version of the Beatles song "A Hard Day's Night" performed by a sweet vocal duo call Tee and Cara.  I swear it was all there that early morning, lost and circling the snowed in city of Rochester, New York in the mid-winter of 1966. 

The Sugar Shoppe Poor Papa

There was so much music then.  Everywhere.  It was on the radio in the car, on the school bus, and at home.  My mind was filling up with great songs and new sounds.  I began reading about music and watching it on television.  It was a long time ago and I seem to remember it all so well, but then as I think about it I begin to wonder:  How well do I really remember it all?  I should have written it all down, but I never thought I'd be trying to remember it all later.  I'll have to ask my mother and see if she can remember.

 Tee & Cara Hard Day's Night

One thing I do remember for sure is that in December of 1965 everyone was waiting for the new Beatles album.  Rumors were going around that this would be a very different album.  I don't recall the exact date, but I remember hearing some songs, perhaps the entire album, debuted on WLS radio in Chicago.  Every night thereafter, when WLS would play the most requested song for the night, it would be "Michele".  I had to have this album.  I got it for Christmas.  From that point on my sister was not particularly interested in the Beatles, but I got every Beatles release after the release of Rubber Soul.  I began building a collection of records that was only limited by how much money I had to spend and how many albums I would get for Christmas or birthdays, which was limited.   In other words, the collection built slowly, but steadily.  I only showed symptoms when I was getting those early novelty albums and 45 RPM records.  With Rubber Soul I became fully infected with musical fever.

"I've Just Seen a Face" by the Beatles