The Lure of the Undefined ( #BOTB Results )

    There's a town--a place that exists in my dreams and yet is as real to those who live there as my current home is to me.  I wonder if anyone in my dream town dreams of being where I am...

Downtown Marion Virginia  (http://www.marionva.org/business.

       Undoubtedly, you might think of stories you've heard about someone feeling the urge, the absolute draw, to go somewhere to see or even live.  Our BOTB host Stephen T, McCarthy mentioned it in a comment to me.  After having moved to Reno Nevada a few years back, he made another move which he explained in his comment:

...for now, Carson City, Nevada ("Willoughberry"), is home. I love it here, and I am convinced that God Himself directed me here. It's the place I'd been looking for since 1992. It's 30 miles and 50 years away from Reno.

      I've heard similar stories from others and I've felt that draw within myself.  For many years I had felt the draw to California.  In the end I found that draw was more of a Beverly Hillbillies revelation from an economic standpoint mostly, but it was not a lasting compulsion.  California is a nice place in many respects, but ultimately this place is feeling more like a hellhole than heaven on Earth. 

      Now I feel a lure pulling me to Marion Virginia--a small community in Southwestern Virginia nestled along Interstate 81 in the mountainous Appalachian region.  It's a couple thousand miles from Los Angeles, but it seems like a universe away in many respects. Size and traffic are the most obvious differences.  There's no shopping mall there which is fine since I can't afford to do much shopping and don't want much these days anyway.  They've got a Walmart and that provides me about as much as I need.  Besides, being on the 81 corridor puts me in convenient access to larger cities as well as putting me closer my family.

      Why Marion?  That's what I've been pondering for a couple years now.  This town first caught my attention in 1977 when I looked down upon it while passing by on I-81 as I was heading to Richmond Virginia.  Over the next couple decades I frequently made that trip.  Every time I would pass by Marion I would go into a brief fantasy about living there.  At other times when I was not on the road my mind might return to reflecting about the town.

        Aside from pulling off for gas a few times at one of the Marion off-ramps, I never actually went into the town until December of 2017.  It was very cold that day so I only spent a brief time walking downtown where I was staying at the venerable Francis Marion Hotel.  Then, last summer, I spent another night in Marion and was able to explore the surrounding area countryside as well as walk again downtown--this time far more comfortably.  The place had a feel that felt right to me. Certainly not what everyone might want, but it somehow seems like home to me.

        Marion is a pretty little place and I still don't know what it would really be like to live there. I've read some negative things as well as positive, but I'd say that Los Angeles far outweighs any bad things that Marion has to offer and the "good" things in L.A. are probably not as good to me as they might be for some other folks.

         But let me cite a few things that I've discovered over the past few months about Marion that I find interesting in respect to me:

• Marion was named after Francis Marion, a revolutionary war hero who was immortalized in the Disney series "The Swamp Fox"--one of my favorite TV shows when I was a kid in the 1950's.  Francis Marion was also the inspiration for the Mel Gibson role in the 2000 film The Patriot (among my favorite films).
• Marion is the jumping off point for "The Back of the Dragon" which is a curvy mountain highway well-known to bikers.  Near Maryville Tennessee (another of my favorite towns that I dream of  settling down and where I had lived before moving to L.A.) is the jumping off point for another famed biker destination--"The Tail of the Dragon".  
• In my absolute favorite film--yes, The Greatest Showman--one of the main characters is the Bearded Lady Lettie Lutz.  The real life Bearded Lady who had gained famed in Barnum's attraction of the 19th century was Annie Jones, who had been born in Marion Virginia. 
• One of my best friends from church came from the Southwestern Virginia region and is well aware of Marion since he has cousins living there and has often visited the town.  This connection is part of what drew us together.
• Real estate seems to be very reasonable.  If we sold our California house right now we would probably have enough to buy a very nice house on a decent plot of land and still have a whole lot of money left over.
• And though I could probably think of many more things about Marion that seem to somehow connect to me, my final entry on this list is the fact that I've been following an excellent young Christian band called Forsaken Hero and they are from Marion Virginia,       

      Call it what you will, but to me some of this seems a bit more than coincidence.  Maybe I'm forcing pieces into a jigsaw puzzle.  Maybe I'm just dreaming.  I probably am, but I can dream can't I?   Sometimes the dreams are what keeps us going.  While at other times dreams inspire a Battle of the Bands like my last one...

Battle of the Bands Results

      My most recent Battle was between Christian themed versions of the song "From Now On" which comes from the movie musical The Greatest Showman. The versions I offered were from Susan Shiebler & Company from New York and Forsaken Hero from Marion Virginia.  I think both versions are outstanding, but I think I've demonstrated my bias in statements previously made.

      So there's probably no secret to how I voted, but if you haven't figured it out my vote goes to Forsaken Hero from Marion Virginia.  When I first watched their video I was moved to the point of tears.  Later I showed the video to my wife--no fan of most rock music, but like me a big fan of Greatest Showman--and when I looked at her at the end of the video I could see by her face that she was also moved.

       Thankfully I didn't have the lopsided outcome as my previous Battle though it was still a decisive outcome.  I'm happy that my pick was the winner, but my commendations go to the other group of artists who are also winners from my perspective.


Final Vote Tally

Susan Shiebler & Company       6 votes

Forsaken Hero                              12 votes



Next Battle on Monday July 1st

        Summer is taking it's blogging toll on all of us from the appearances of things.  Bloggers are dropping like flies as real flies are probably annoying some of you.  I'm kind of lucky where I am since I rarely see any flies around my house.  Maybe the lizards eat them.  I'm okay with lizards in my yard, but I sure hope those rats from downtown L.A. stay there and don't migrate to our neighborhood.  Hope the homeless folks stay there too.  Our local removed a bunch from our community last year to the chagrin of the city of L.A. officials.

         By the way, if you've seen TV reports about the homeless in Los Angeles, believe me it's not a hyped story.  I avoid downtown these days other than passing through on the freeway, but you can still see the encampments as you pass by.  It is disturbing.  I've got a solution, but our spineless local and state government would never put that plan into action.  It's a sad state of affairs.

       It's also another reason that I would be lured to Marion Virginia.

       I'm looking for feedback:  Do you know anything about Marion Virginia?   (Thank you Cathy for your input on this in my last post)   Would you feel content in a small town?  What would be your solution to fixing the homeless problem?
     

From Now On ( #BOTB )

        Home is not just a physical place, but it's also an idealized vision of something that can be different from one person to the next.  If home is where the heart is, I wonder what happens when someone gets a heart transplant?...

     
        I'll be honest--I'm a bit of a homebody.  Now that I'm retired I spend a great deal of time at home and I'm completely comfortable doing so.  And yet, if tomorrow I had an opportunity to take off to live on the road doing something I enjoyed (and able to afford to live the lifestyle in comfort) I'd be gone without too much thinking it over.  Still, I'd want to have someplace that I could think of as my home base--a place where I keep my stuff and lay my head when I need a break now and then.

       I want the best of all worlds.  I want to be true to my own self, but to consider those for whom I care the most.  That's what I think.  Is it what I do?

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 blogs there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle on 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.


From Now On

         For anyone who has been reading my blog posts this year, you are probably aware by now that I have become a fanatic about the 2017 film The Greatest Showman. Since I've said a great deal about this film in previous posts, I won't delve into this more in this current post.  However, I'm going to use another great song from the film for another Battle.  The film has so many great songs that have inspired a myriad of YouTube covers by some very talented artists and I keep finding more of them.  Here are some recent finds that are covers of the song "From Now On".

         In the film, this song expresses the revelation to the re-imagined historical figure of P.T. Barnum of what is most important to him--family and friends and home.  This is a message that can likely resonate with most of us.  No matter how hard we pursue our dreams or how far we go from our roots, our hearts yearn for the love of those who support us and encourage us onward.  If we forget those who gave us our lives, we have lost the truest essence of who and what we are.

        Initially I was a bit surprised to find so many Christian interpretations of songs from The Greatest Showman, but as I watched those videos and listened to the lyrics I soon realized why.  The film is decent family-friendly fare that extols the values of love, acceptance, friendship, and heritage.  When I received notification that a band that I've started following had released their own Christian version of "From Now On" then I started researching the other versions and hence a Battle was born...

Susan Shiebler & Company   "From Now On"  (2018)

         From East Patchogue, New York we have this video that is apparently a Christmas greeting of sorts produced by the Susan Shiebler Photography and Arts Studio.  I didn't find much in regard to the performance artists or video producers other than the statement on YouTube that explains:  "Each person in this video is a survivor, a survivor of cancer, abuse, anxiety, addiction, bullying or depression; all rescued by the restorative love of God." Take a listen and see if this version provides you some inspiration...

Forsaken Hero   "From Now On"  (2019)

        One of my dream places to live is Marion Virginia.  My discovery of the Christian band Forsaken Hero came when I was perusing YouTube for videos about the town of Marion and found the band's live performance version of the song "This Is the Greatest Show."   As I started exploring many of their videos on YouTube I took a liking to the band and began following their social media accounts. A few weeks ago I was notified about their latest CD (now available) and after listening to the cut of "From Now On" another Battle was born!  I've been disappointed that the band has for some reason taken down most of their YouTube videos, but I guess maybe they have their reasons for doing so.  In any case we at least have this video for now...





Time to Vote!

     In this round we have a couple videos where the musical arrangements are similar, but the presentations are somewhat different.  Both groups are very talented and I like them both, but I'm going to vote for one as my favorite.   What about you?    What's your favorite between these two choices?   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.




Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Angel's Bark  

Debbie Doglady's Den

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Cherdo on the Flipside

A I Love Music


Winner of this Battle Announced on Friday June 21st.

        It's the summer blogging slowdown I think. Or maybe blogging is just slowing down.  I'll be just here counting the votes and reporting the outcome in a week.  I'm living my life here at home--for now.

         Where do you think of as your home?   Do you have a tendency to be content wherever you are as long as the circumstances are reasonable?    What are reasonable circumstances in your view?  Have you seen The Greatest Showman yet?

This Is Me ( #BOTB ) ( #AtoZ Theme Reveal )

When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out
I am brave, I am bruised
I am who I'm meant to be, this is me

                                        ---Songwriters: Justin Paul / Benj Pasek





The official A to Z Theme Reveal begins on March 18-28--that's when the sign up list opens.  

My Theme:  This Is Me

         Since this will be the 10th annual Blogging from A to Z April Challenge I thought it might be appropriate to do a retrospective look at my life especially as it is related to my blogging.  Also it will be a time to consider my dreams and my hopes for the next few years. There will be some memoir material as well as ruminations about what's been on my mind of late as well as whatever might pop into my mind as I write.

          Over my years of blogging I've accumulated a number of ideas for the April Challenge, but those have been again put on hold in favor of the theme I have chosen for 2019--This Is Me.  Some of you might recognize this title as the Oscar nominated song from the 2017 film The Greatest Showman.  And that is exactly where my inspiration came from.

           I first saw The Greatest Showman this past September after renting it from Netflix.  The film blew me away to the extent that I purchased a copy for my home video library--something that I rarely do these days.  Since that purchase I have watched the film numerous times--again something that I rarely do--and touted the merits of the film to anyone who lent me their ears.  You might say that I've become Greatest Showman obsessed.

           This movie has literally become a life-changing experience for me.  Every time I watch it I feel exhilarated and uplifted.  The film speaks to me in its message as well as its stylistic approach. The musical score has become ingrained in my mind not in an earworm way, but as a touchstone for my hopes and dreams for my future.

           If you haven't seen the film yet, I urge you to see it.  However, seeing the film is not a prerequisite to reading my A to Z posts.  The movie is merely my personal inspiration and what I write will not specifically have anything to do with the movie.  My April posts will not be the story of my life, but hopefully they will create an impression of who I am and where I am at this point of my life.

         This is me...   



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 blogs there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle on 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.


This Is Me

         Just one of many great songs in The Greatest Showman "This Is Me" received an Oscar nomination for Best Song in 2018, but lost to the pretty ditty from Coco "Remember Me".  That song is a nice tune to listen to, but I found it rather insipid and not particularly inspiring whereas I believe that "This Is Me" is one of the best movie songs of recent years.  It's a powerful anthem of self-acceptance that would seem to be the type of song that Hollywood would embrace.  I suspect there was something behind the Hollywood snub of Greatest Showman as a Best Picture nominee as well as not giving "This Is Me" the Best Song award.

           Using "This Is Me" as my song for Battle this round is an obvious tie-in to my A to Z theme so it makes a lot of sense for me to use it.   Perusing through YouTube I found so many fantastic versions of the song, but decided to go with a couple of contrasting interpretations that are different from the original movie version which you can hear HERE.  Just don't vote on that one!  Here are your voting choices...


Haley Klinkhammer  "This Is Me"  (2019)

        This artist comes out of Wisconsin, but her name might have told us that.  Looking at her tour schedule on her website her shows are mostly concentrated in the Wisconsin area so I guess I'll have to catch her performances on YouTube.  I like her style.  What do you think?









Mylou   "This Is Me"   (2018)

        I didn't find much specific information about this band.  Their Twitter account says they're from Jakarta Indonesia.  My assessment is maybe they could use some better marketing or maybe they are staying low for a reason.  Whatever the case, I listened to two of their YouTube videos--both to my liking--and this is one of them...








Time to Vote!

     Though both very different, I think both are quite good.  But I'm going to vote for one of these as my favorite.  What about you?--Vote for your favorite version!   Have some fun with us.   What's your favorite between these two choices?   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.




Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Angel's Bark  

Debbie Doglady's Den

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Cherdo on the Flipside

A I Love Music


Winner of this Battle Announced on Friday March 22nd
          
            There will be no posts before then because of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.  Oh, wait, that's the way I've been doing it, but seriously I'd better rest up and get ready for April. No matter what though, definitely come back to see who won this Battle.  And be sure to vote in the comment section! 

          Have you ever seen a movie that you would consider to have been "life-changing" for you?  Do you enjoy uplifting songs with a positive message?   What song almost always makes you feel better when you hear it?

The Greatest Snub (#BOTB Results)

The Oscars aren’t about popular movies. It’s time for the Academy to accept that.  A better answer, perhaps, is something like, “The Oscars represent the way Hollywood sees itself.”   Sunny Bunch (Washington Post)

The Greatest Snub

       This past Saturday night a grandchild who was spending the night asked to watch her now favorite film The Greatest Showman.  I reminded my wife that it was quarter to nine at night and the girl would never be able to stay up for it.  My wife assured me that she'd fall right to sleep and then we could turn it off and go to bed.  As predicted, the young one fell asleep, while my wife and I proceeded to watch the entire movie for the umpteenth time.

        As the credits rolled at the end, we both marveled at what a wonderful film this is.   I mentioned to my wife that I had kept intending to turn off the DVD, but then I wanted to hear that next song and then the process would happen with that next song.  "Yes! Same with me," exclaimed my wife.  Neither one of us wanted to give up watching the film to the end.

        That's the way that film is with me and with millions of others around the world.  And yet I still am somewhat perplexed by the Oscar snub and the thumbs down by so many critics.  But that's Hollywood and the modern world of the celebrity culture.

        Looking at the negative reviews for Greatest Showman on the internet we get some rather peculiar reasoning about historical inaccuracies of the story and the characters portrayed.  Are they missing the point that this film is supposed to be a family friendly musical?  If someone wants to make a dark story about P.T. Barnum and the circus then let them have a go at it if they think that's better.  After all, The Greatest Showman leaves most people feeling happy and uplifted.  Of course that's probably frowned upon by today's Hollywood.

        Then there was the anti-circus agenda crowd.  In recent decades there has been some ultra-strange thinking about the circus.  It probably amounts more to a certain fear, envy, or ignorance about the circus along with that odd desire to erase America's past or paint it as evil.  And one of the oddest objections was that Greatest Showman had CGI animals. I had no problem with them--certainly better than CGI monsters and superheroes.

        I don't know if we'll see an Oscar snub this year, although Oscar might get snubbed by the television audience.   Will having Black Panther on the list somewhat save the day?  I'll probably be watching off and on between channel hopping.  Watching the Best Picture award is obligatory in that case--unless something distracts my attention.

         This year--as has been the case most years in the past 20 years or so--I don't have any particular favorite.   I've only seen Bohemian Rhapsody out of the films nominated.  It was a good film though it didn't have the same effect on me as Greatest Showman.   Most of the others I don't care much about seeing and most of them I probably won't see.

         There is one that I do want to see and hope is the Best Picture winner.  That film is Green Book which is about one of my favorite jazz pianists, Don Shirley.  I didn't realize that was what the story was about until just a week or so ago when I heard the film being described on some television show. Based on the topic I'll pick that as my Oscar favorite.

          I'm sure Green Book will get snubbed just like The Greatest Showman which was the greatest Oscar snub of all.   The Academy voters had their reasons I'm sure and I'm sure they were all bad reasons.





Battle of the Bands Results




The Greatest Show

         The song for the most recent Battle was "The Greatest Show" as performed by the Mexican arts collective HousePuzzle and the rock group Second Floor Stereo.  Since the song is essentially a rock song it lends itself well to treatment by a standard rock group.  There were a number of good rock covers that I found on YouTube, but this group was my favorite.

         However, the exuberance and variety displayed by the singers and musicians participating in the HousePuzzle rendition were more appealing to me.  I liked the way they had females doing the lead vocals done by males in the film while retaining the spirit and flavor of the film. It's an exciting theatrical song performance with good ensemble work.

          Nevertheless, rock rules...at least in this match up...

       


Final Vote Tally

HousePuzzle                      8 votes

Second Floor Stereo         16 votes


Next Battle on Next Friday March 1st

           I'll be biding my time until that day.  Maybe I'll suffer the Oscars and I'll likely be keeping up with happenings in Viet Nam.  Yes, more of the same ol' same ol' until April first arrives when most of you probably know what will happen then.  If you can't guess what that will be then check out my next Battle which will in part be a tribute to the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.


         Do you have a Best Picture favorite this year?   Which of the nominated films have you seen?  How out of touch with the common folk do you think Hollywood is?   

The Greatest Show (#BOTB)

“The noblest art is that of making others happy”

― P.T. Barnum

P T Barnum (Wiki)

The Greatest Showman

          When I was a kid Oscar night was almost like a holiday type event.  Kind of like Halloween or Christmas for other people that you watched on television.  The night was a night for dreams and entertainment.  I probably didn't see most of the films nominated for awards, but it didn't matter.  That was a night where you saw stars and enjoyed a show.

          Then it all became over-commercialized and politicized.  Every year it seems to get worse.  Now not only have I not seen most if any of the films celebrated on Oscar night, but I don't care to see many of them.  The Academy usually gets it all wrong as far as I'm concerned.  Last year was a travesty that seems to support my opinion about getting it wrong.

          This especially came to my attention this past September when I first saw the film The Greatest Showman.  At some I had heard about this film then forgotten about it which seems somewhat surprising to me.  Then again, I don't keep up with new movies or entertainment news in general.  I was oblivious to the film's release in December of 2017.  Then last summer when I was visiting relatives I noticed the teens in the group watching the film on DVD.  Realizing that the film was about the circus and specifically one of my childhood heroes--P.T.Barnum, I made a mental note to watch the film when I returned from vacation.

         The film blew me away.  I was captivated from the first foot-stomping scene until the good-feeling ending.  Soon after that first viewing, I bought a copy of the film for my personal library--something I don't do much anymore.  Since that purchase I've watched the film in it's entirety at least ten times not to mention the extras on the DVD and song covers on YouTube.  The Greatest Showman has easily taken a top spot as my favorite film of all time.  This is due to a great extent to the soundtrack.  Every song is a winner with each contributing to the flow and theme of the story and still being highly listenable when taken out of context of the film.

         This is where my biggest beef with the Oscars comes so far:  How could the Academy have snubbed this film as it did?   I look at the dubious line-up of Best Picture candidates last year and have to shake my head that The Greatest Showman was not on the list.  I feel sad that a film of questionable value like Shape of Water was named Best Picture--it's a film that I will likely never see because I have no desire to do so.

         Equally abominable, but so predictable, was the chorus of critics slamming the film for an array of absurd reasons.  Reading some of the reviews (by the pros as well as the users on sites like Amazon or IMDb) I have some suspicions about some of the reasoning behind not liking the film.  Some are cliched while others strike me as ignorant.  In other cases I think the reviewers are almost talking in code to express an indirectly referenced agenda.  What's going on in those cases?

         From the public--the ones who really matter for the film's success--the reactions have been overwhelmingly positive.  Considering that the film is now one of the highest grossing most successful movie musicals of all time and the soundtrack has sold millions worldwide, we unwashed masses who love the film appear to be in the majority.  This summer Barnum portrayer Hugh Jackman will be embarking on a touring production that will feature music from Showman. They are playing very large venues so there must be substantial fan base the show producers are marketing to.

         Of course it's all a matter of taste and subjective view.  I think The Greatest Showman is one of the best musical films of all time with some of the best songs I've heard.  Every time I've watched this film I feel uplifted and inspired.  Just thinking about it can move me deeply.  I can actually say that having seen this film has been a life altering experience for me. 

        Seeing all the outstanding YouTube cover versions of songs from The Greatest Showman I knew that I'd have to compile at least one Battle using one of the songs.  Rather than go with a more obvious choice like the Oscar nominated "This Is Me" (the amazing anthem of acceptance that should have been an Oscar shoo-in, but was instead snubbed with the sweet if not a bit cloying sentimental ballad "Remember Me" from the Disney film Coco), I decided to go with the big  theme song that introduces the film as well as ties everything up at the end.

          So on with the show--The Greatest Show--The Battle of the Bands...



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 blogs there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle on 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.



The Greatest Show

       As the film The Greatest Showman first appears on the screen we hear the foot-stomping and the chants of "Woah" and then the magic takes hold.   To me every song in the film is an absolute winner, but "The Greatest Show" is definitely one of my favorites.  Since it's so difficult to pick just one song from the show I was tempted to use two of some of the great medleys to be found on YouTube, but instead why not just start with that iconic first song?   This is "The Greatest Show"!



HousePuzzle   "The Greatest Show"   (2018)

          This video is a collaboration by a group of artists and others from near Mexico City.   There's a lot of talent in this group as is evident in the video.  They use many of the characters and themes from the film production though they switch up the gender roles of the vocalists.  I think it works just fine and if you've never seen the film you wouldn't know the difference...






Second Floor Stereo  "The Greatest Show"  (2018)

        Here's the same song with a rock group giving it a heavy metal treatment.  In this setting the song works fine as far as I am concerned.  But you can judge for yourself...

       






Time to Vote!

     This ain't no disco, this is the circus!  It's the Greatest Show on Earth!  So come on and have some fun with us.   What's your favorite between these two choices?   Which song version do you like best? 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.

Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Angel's Bark  

Debbie Doglady's Den

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Cherdo on the Flipside

A I Love Music


Winner of this Battle Announced on Friday February 22nd
          
             Any rumors of me making some special announcement are hereby revoked.  I had some wild-eyed scheme under consideration, but wisely stopped myself from proceeding.  Besides, somebody else already put my ideas out there and hearing it all made me realize how nutty my plan was. 

             And with that I'll close this post with encouragement to return next Friday to see if your favorite song version won the Battle.  And if you haven't seen The Greatest Showman yet, you must rent it, buy it, or whatever--see it!  Then let me know what you think.

          If you saw The Greatest Showman, did you like it?  If not, why not?  Do you think the film got snubbed by the Oscars and if so, why do you think that was?   Why do you think a certain segment of people disliked the film so intensely?