El Cumbanchero ( #BOTB )

      It's Christmas time and that means time for favorite Christmas songs and that provides another opportunity for sharing that music fun in what we call...

 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.

Favorite Christmas Song

       What song most evokes the Christmas season for you?  So many to choose from!  And so many that you might wish would go away.  I have many favorites among traditional as well as pop Christmas songs, but one song takes me back to many Christmas events in my younger days.   

        You might remember "El Cumbanchero" from my earlier Battle "The Real Juggling Music" where Xavier Cugat's version of the song ran away with the victory.  This Battle consisted of two songs my family used in our juggling act.  So why, you might wonder, does this song have any particular significance for me during the Christmas season?  Naturally I'm going to explain it to you now.

       Since my father always worked at a regular job in all his years as head of a household, our juggling performances were mostly relegated to two times of the year:  summer vacation and Christmastime.  Back in the fifties and sixties it was fairly common for companies and organizations to host Christmas parties for their employees.  Often a part of the festivities would include some kind of variety show or entertainment.  From November to Christmas we would be booked on many of these shows and since "El Cumbachero" was the back-up for our act's exciting finale, we would hear that song repeatedly throughout the holiday season.  It was a song we probably heard as much as any Christmas song. So now if I hear it, my thoughts will take me back to those days juggling with my family and the many Christmas shows we would do.

       For this Battle I am offering a version of "El Cumbanchero" that we actually used from 1966 and after up against a very different version that I recently heard on the PBS television show Song of the Mountains.

The Pepper Pots  "El Cumbanchero"  (1958)

Jeff Little Trio  "El Cumbanchero"    (2022)

Time to Vote!

          Don't be a Scrooge!  Have fun and play along.  Which song version do you like best?   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

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Landmark Sounds (Diedre Knight)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BY DEBBIE D

Stine Writing

Results coming on Friday December 22

  

        It's a busy time I know, but I'll try to do this in a timely manner.  No matter what--Have a Wonderful Christmas.   Hope your 2024 is pretty good too.

Soul of Lee's Basement ( #BOTB )

     When my family first went to Maryville Tennessee I figured it was more like a vacation except that my father had to go to work every day.  It was a vacation for the rest of us though.  My parents and four siblings were staying in our travel trailer parked at a mobile home park.  Each day after my father went to work, my mother took the rest of us to some nearby tourist attraction--and there were many!  We all fell in love with the area.  By  mid-August it was decided that we would move here.  My parents put our Indiana house up for sale and by September we were settled in our new home in East Tennessee.

     The house we decided on was a nice sized recently built brick house on a very large lot. Of particular appeal to all of us was the large finished half basement that had a large open area with a fireplace, a sort of alcove with small closet, and a laundry room with a bathroom.  My father saw a good space for practicing our juggling act.  I envisioned a retreat where I could listen to music.  There was something for everyone, but I felt like it was mostly my domain.  Eventually those in my circle of friends would call it Lee's Basement.

       When our family made the move to Maryville, my record collection was likely not much more than 20 records if that many.  I treasured each and every one of them and played them often.  My sister also had her records, but she didn't take collecting as serious as I did.  My records were usually in better shape than hers and always inside their proper dustcovers. I occasionally listened to her records and enjoyed them, but we had distinct inclinations to like different types of music.

        Each Christmas my mother would take an album wish list from each of us and that would be another 20 or so albums in the house.  There would be my Kinks album versus her Bobby Vinton or my Beach Boys against her Diane Renay (anyone remember her?  "Navy Blue"?).  When she got over Beatlemania and stopped being interested in Beatles records is when they caught my attention an I started listening.

        My sister had her music and I had mine even though I really did like a lot of what she was listening to.  I like music and that's why I do this thing...

       

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.

A Little Bit of Soul

       Both my sister and I leaned heavily in the direction of the rock or pop genres, but some of the R & B groups caught our attention.  We both started listening to the Motown artists, but Joy had already been a fan of the NYC group Little Anthony and the Imperials for a couple years.  I also liked their hits that were often played on the Chicago station we listened to when we were still in Northern Indiana.  Joy probably liked having their songs as a background to young teenage angst.  I just liked their sound, but I could understand how some of their songs could set a mood for reflection or whatever.

      The Four Tops had released several hits before they really registered with me, but soon they caught my attention with their edgier sound.  They seemed more like a group for action rather than reflection and being moody.  Of course Joy liked those Four Tops songs, but I'm pretty sure she would have rather listened to Little Anthony if the choice were hers for music to set her mood and I think that would be the case even now. 

        Has my musical tasted changed over the years as I've become older and more reflective?  Back in the late sixties in my basement, my go to music would have been Four Tops over Little Anthony.  Where am I now?  That's not only for you to find out when I post my results for this Battle, but also for you to decide which you prefer.  Listen and remember.  And then, please vote...

       

Little Anthony & the Imperials   "Hurt So Bad"  (1964)

Four Tops   "Reach Out I'll Be There"  (1966)

Time to Vote!

           Do these songs bring back memories for you?  Which do you like best?.  Just listen and have fun.  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

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Landmark Sounds (Diedre Knight)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BY DEBBIE D

Stine Writing

Results coming on Monday October 9th

Time to Face the Juggling Music ( #BOTB Results )

  Sitting on the edge of your seat, the music starts to play.  Let the juggling begin!  Or at least the blogging. Let the blogging about juggling begin! Yay!...

Battle of the Bands Results

The Real Juggling Music

       My most recent post featured a Battle of the Bands segment with Xavier Cugat's "El Cumbanchero" going head to head with "This Could Be the Start of Something Big" by Les Brown and his Band Renown.  These were both songs that my father had chosen as part of the music backing our family juggling act and for this Battle I used two of the actual recordings we often used.  

       Let me set the scenario up with a description of how the songs were used in the act. Sometimes my family did a whole show where my father did some comedy, my mother or sister would do an acrobatic dance specialty, and then we closed the show with the entire family doing a fast paced juggling routine. That latter portion was what my father called "The Big Act" and often we were hired to perform that act in a show that included other acts.

       We opened the Big Act with the entire family entering the stage while juggling to the song "This Could Be the Start of Something Big" as played by Les Brown & His Band Renown.  Only recently did the significance of this song choice occur to me.  My father probably purposely used a song with this title to open the Big Act, or maybe he just used it because it was popular at the time.

         Our closing used various recorded versions of "El Cumbanchero" that was Cugat's version for a few years until we discovered a version by The Pepper Pots which had a lengthy percussion part that made for an exciting climax to the act.

       As many agreed in the post comments, "El Cumbanchero" is the better juggling song.  In fact, it's among the most commonly used songs by jugglers and other performers--or at least back in our day it was. My parents had been using "El Cumbanchero" in their act even before my sister and I joined. "Something Big" was added when we joined after 1960.  The song is not the greatest for juggling, but it made for a nice opening.  

         "Something Big" was written by the great Steve Allen who has written a ton of songs over the years.  Allen was one of my childhood heroes--a likeable personality who did some creative stuff on his TV shows.  That's pretty much why I'm going to give my vote to Allen's song in this Battle, but if I were picking out music for juggling then I'd probably cede to that Latin sound.

Final Vote Tally

Xavier Cugat       7 votes

Les Brown           4 votes

Next Battle on Sunday October 1st

Xylophones Are Funny ( #AtoZChallenge )

Think about the last time you saw a cartoon with a funny dancing skeleton.  Can you remember what music was being played?  I can almost guarantee you that whatever the music, the main instrument playing it was a xylophone...

A professional model xylophone

           As I had mentioned in my post for the letter 'F', my father could be quite funny.  I never got tired of watching his comedy juggling act even though I'd heard the jokes and seen the funny tricks more times than I can remember.  My dad had a boldness that I have often envied.  And he could make people laugh.

          When I went on went on with my own solo career in show business, with my father's blessings I incorporated some of his gags into my own comedy juggling act.  As part of my shtick I was introduced as a serious violinist.  Well, as most anyone who has heard me play, I am not strong enough of a violinist to pull off being serious for long.  And though not a strong juggler either, at least I somewhat successfully made a living playing that role.

           There have been a number of comic violinists through the years--Jack Benny and Henny Youngman immediately come to my mind.   Not that playing a violin is inherently funny, but it acts as a humorous prop as people anticipate that they will hear some serious playing that never quite seems to come about.  A person who is not overly funny--like me for instance--will often resort to some prop as a distraction.  The audience sees a guy in a tux come out to begin a serious concert piece that devolves into nonsense--that might be funny.

          While violins are not usually thought of in terms of comedy, the sound of the xylophone is genuinely funny.  Just think about cartoon music.  Do you eventually hear a xylophone somewhere in the music?   Of course you do!  Just like slide whistles, tubas, and trombones.  Instrument sounds can be very funny.  Xylophones are indeed funny!  Hitting tuned wooden bars with a couple of mallets is a funny concept and can be quite funny to watch when performed by the right player.

          Frank Zappa--one of my favorite modern composers--used xylophones often in his music.  There is an absurdity to much of Zappa's music that lends itself well to the comic tinkling of the xylophone.  I'd like to be able to play a xylophone, but a good one can be very expensive and take up a lot of room.  Though necessity might be the mother of invention, it is a fact that I do not need a xylophone.  My wife would be very annoyed if I were to bring a xylophone into our home.  And that wouldn't be funny. 

           But the sound of a xylophone playing can bring a smile to my face as well as an occasional guffaw.  In a way xylophones are kind of ridiculous, but at the same time I find the instrument to be rife with musical possibilities. 

           Not that I'll ever play one or even be around one for much length of time--I can't say for sure right now.  However, one thing of which I have no doubt:  Xylophones are funny!

           Can you name any serious music written for xylophone?   Where can you recall hearing a xylophone used for comic effect?  Who are some of your favorite musician comics?

Variety Shows ( #AtoZChallenge )

If all the world's a stage then a variety show is like a microcosmic representation of the universe in all of its infinite variety...

A holy grail of television variety shows

       One of the biggest attractions of the vaudeville stage show was the variety of entertainers presented.  In the span of a couple hours on the same stage one could enjoy singers, dancers, and comedians along with jugglers, magicians, acrobats, or whatever talent had been employed for that show.  It was an extravaganza intended for the delight of audiences who didn't get to see such things on a daily basis.

        While radio might have helped vaudeville in several ways, the advent of television was the death knell for vaudeville.  If movies had already taken a toll on the vaudeville show, television essentially sealed the deal.  The live stage variety show became a rare event in theaters while these shows became the mainstay of television.  Families in the fifties and sixties regularly gathered around their television sets to watch variety shows throughout the week.  For over two decades The Ed Sullivan Show was the most popular of them all.

          For performing acts like my family--The Juggling Jacksons-- an appearance on The Ed Sullivan show was synonymous with "hitting the big time."    A big break came in the spring of 1970 when the show's talent coordinator contacted our agent to have us come to Philadelphia to audition for the show.  It was uncommon for my father to accept an audition offer, but it was worth making the exception for a chance at Ed Sullivan.  

           Since we were living in Tennessee at the time, my father decided to take some time off from work and make the trip a vacation.  We visited NYC and DC among other places.  The audition went very well and it looked like we would be set for the upcoming season.  Then the show was cancelled from the CBS line-up.  After over 20 years and our chance to make it on national TV the Ed Sullivan dream vanished.  

          There are still variety revues being presented throughout the United States and other parts of the world--there likely always will be as long as there are entertainers with skills to present to audiences. There is not the organization in routing or organized tours like there were in the heyday of vaudeville, but there is certainly the potential to do so.  After all, with the resources available today a very organized tour could be put together--and some have been.

          Today's audiences are more sophisticated than a hundred or even fifty years ago. It's like they've seen everything and have access to anything they'd want to see by looking no further than their computer screens and television sets.  Still, people enjoy being entertained.  Variety shows have evolved in some cases in order to accommodate modern minds.  Then there are the retro shows that seek to recapture the flavor of the old shows.  Something for everyone is like a mantra for modern times.

          Perhaps there is something worth considering in this thought.  I am considering something.

          When is the last time you saw a live variety show, whether professional or amateur?  Are there any television variety shows that you still watch and enjoy?    Which bands have you seen that have incorporated elements of novelty entertainment?

Juggling Jackson ( #AtoZChallenge )

I'm not a Darwinist, but I do believe in evolution where it applies to society, politics, and juggling acts...

The Jugging Jacksons @ 1966
(photo taken by studio in Alcoa Tennessee)

         Up until I was about age 10 the act known as The Juggling Jacksons consisted of two people--my father and my mother.  They performed that way from about 1953. when my mother due to a couple of pregnancies temporarily stopped doing her dancing act and worked up a team juggling act with my father, up to around 1961 when my sister joined the act.  Not to be outdone by my younger sibling, I too learned to juggle and was soon incorporated into the family juggling act. 

         We practiced a lot and worked rather sporadically with gigs that fit my father's work schedule.  School schedule was never a consideration--my parents would just take us out when a job came up for us and settle with the principal later on.  After all we were good students and being out for a spell now and then didn't affect our grades to any great extent.

          The juggling jobs provided a nice little income for me over the years.  I'd get paid $25 per job, which was money that in the sixties I could stretch out as a kid and still put some away in savings.  There were also perks like the restaurant meals my father paid for, the interesting places we'd go, and the general fun of performing and being around show people.

          As is frequently said, show business gets in your blood.  My sister essentially departed from her interest in the show biz lifestyle after she moved away from home, but I was hooked.  I continued to work in the family act throughout college (with a pay hike to $50 per show).  Then, after I dropped out of college (I'd been going for five years already) I was offered a job to tour with a magic show.  It was an offer too good to refuse.

           The night before I was to leave on the new show I played my last date with The Juggling Jacksons performing in the Emmett Kelly Jr. circus which was playing a high school gym in Cleveland Tennessee.  The next day I was on a Trailways bus leaving the Knoxville station on my way to meet up with the magic show somewhere in North Carolina.  It was a bittersweet parting, but it was also a new chapter in my life and the history of The Juggling Jacksons.


            The family juggling act that had established a good reputation as being a top notch professional passing act had gone back to its beginnings--a husband and wife juggling team. The big act had permutated into two working entities--the Juggling Jacksons and one solitary juggler known as The Juggling Jackson (singular).

The Lone Juggling Jackson in 1976
(photo taken by a studio in Spencer, Indiana)

       

          This is me--The Juggling Jackson formerly of The Juggling Jacksons.  I'm not juggling much anymore.  Sometimes I'll toss up a few on a whim, but I doubt whether I'll ever again be performing in the sole capacity as a juggler.  Now it's mostly something to entertain the grandkids and that doesn't happen often.

             Nevertheless, I'll always think of myself as The Juggling Jackson even if it should legitimately be qualified as "former".   It's unlikely that you'll ever find me busking for money from passerby in some place like Venice Beach.   And I'm quite certain that I'll never be a star attraction juggler in any show of any sort.  Maybe a juggler, but not a star juggler--I'm not that good, never was, and not ambitious enough to put enough practice in to become one.

           Who knows what the future holds at this point.  I'm considering my options and developing a plan.  I might not be in the center ring juggling all sorts of objects, but I might be doing a different sort of juggling soon.  Hopefully I can keep everything in the air without dropping anything.

           But on the advice often given to jugglers, musicians, or anyone for that matter, if you make a mistake just keep going and act like nothing happened. As long as I'm still going on with the act, no one will even noticed that I dropped a ball.  So on I will go with metaphorical juggling.

          Did you ever work in a family business?   Did your plans of younger days match up with what the real outcome of your life was?   Was there ever a time when you split off from a business association to go off on your own in the same business?

Juggling Stuff ( #AtoZChallenge )

 Juggling is a full-time job that we all deal with every day.   There was a time for me when this statement was more than a metaphor...

My Strange Career of Yesteryear

      As some readers know, for many years I worked as a professional juggler.    It all started with my parents, who were also jugglers.  I grew up working in the family juggling act and then after college went on for the next fifteen years as a juggler/show manager for touring theatrical productions. 

       That all ended around 1990 when I settled into a regular job so to speak.  Occasionally my juggling skills would come into play since I was still in a theatrically related business in the Los Angeles area.  Any juggling would have been for impromptu demonstrations of equipment we sold or just for fun.  I haven't juggled at any length for quite some time, but I still have plenty of juggling props just in case the urge ever hits.   I should probably go to one of the busking places in my area and try to juggle for tips to make extra money.   Hmmm--nah, I'm not sure about that gig.

        Over the years I acquired several books, magazines, and other items that are good additions to my little juggling research library.  Before my mother died she gave me books that had been my father's.  The juggling books would probably be among the last of my books to go if I were to start clearing out my shelves.  They're not especially interesting to read for the most part (though some have pictures), but they might be considered among my more curious collectibles.  Keepers for now.

       Then there is the Juggling Jackson Gallery of Wall Art--and I use the term very loosely.  I have an array of old juggling photos given to my parents over the years.  For years those hung on the walls of whatever room in our house we practiced juggling.  Also there's the collection of dime-store framed prints of clowns--most who are juggling--that hung all around the house.   If something had to do with juggling or reminded my father of juggling then he'd buy it.

        We got rid of most of the family props by sending them a juggling museum that I wrote about on my memoir blog.   Still I have quite a number of props and other fun items mostly stored away in my garage or closets.  This is a collection for which I wish I had a special room set aside.   I guess for now I'll just dream about that room and hang on to these personal treasures.   It's not clutter to my eyes and it's not junk either. 

         Are there any tools of your trade that you have hung on to?  Have you ever bought a how-to book even though you already knew how to and just wanted the book because you liked the topic?  Do you have a special room in your house that is focused on some certain theme?  

         

Watching the World Go By (#BOTB Results)

The dreamer in me makes me see this world as a wonderful place.  Then this old world slaps me around and knocks me down leaving me battered and bruised.   Still, I intend to make the Dreamer win--even if it kills me...

Arlee Bird with daughter Ada @ 1984

       Life seems much like a parade to me.  Sometimes I might be just watching it go by while at other times I'm marching in step to the flow of it all.  All might be crazy wonderful in one moment, then comes just the moving forward, ever forward.   No matter what,  we're all a part of that parade whether it be marching, watching, or just knowing that it keeps on going.

        Sometime around Thanksgiving of 1964, my family's juggling act participated in the Chicago Christmas Parade.  We were living in northeastern Indiana at the time--about 40 miles from The Loop as downtown Chicago is called.  The parade was there. 

         We had to leave the house at some wee hour of the morning.  We got dressed in our show apparel before leaving and put heavy coats over that because it was very cold.  Chicagoland tends to get extremely bitter harsh cold in late November.  Now here we were driving in the middle of the night dressed in silly costumes.  My father said we had to do it.  And my sister and I would each get $25 which was not bad for a thirteen year old like I was at the time.

         My father drove to a designated area where we could park and assemble with the parade which was organizing in a staging area.  We shucked our coats into the car.  Now my father and I were only wearing tuxedos with those thin pants that didn't offer much protection from the cold, but I guess it was better than my mother and sister who were wearing short costumes with black fishnets.

        I can't say how long that parade was but it was a long way to walk in the freezing cold while juggling.  Exerting the activity of both of those actions did warm us all up considerably.  At first the wooden handles of the clubs we were juggling slapping against our cold hands stung as though we'd been slapped in our open hands with a cane.   It hurt.  The cold hurt.  I was numb from being cold, tired, and generally overwhelmed by everything all around me.  And walking and juggling and walking and juggling.

        At the end of the parade route, we simply stopped juggling and got in a taxicab that took us back to the car.  I'm sure my father had that heat blasting in no time.  I had survived and now I would have twenty-five bucks.  My legs burned like they were on fire.  The numbness was gradually going away, but at the time it seemed like it lasted forever.

         I only marched in one other parade juggling along with my family.  We got paid for that one too.  It was a 4th of July parade in Johnson City, Tennessee.  Damn!  It was hot!  I'm not sure what's worse:  Juggling in a Christmas parade in Chicago or a July parade in Tennessee.   Neither I'd say.  They're both just fine because here I am still marching along.   Those parades were just parts of a much bigger parade.  I hope it still has a way to go, but when it does end I hope there's a warm taxi waiting for me.

Battle of the Bands Results

Where Is Your Heart?

        In my recent Battle between versions of "The Song from Moulin Rouge" known later as "Where Is Your Heart?", vocalist Joni James dominated the voting.  My vote goes to her version as well.  While the jazzed up Jonah Jones version is slick and catchy (it's been playing in my head a lot over the past couple of weeks), Joni's version is a lush melancholy arrangement such as the ones I've been used to hearing since childhood.  As many of you noted, the slower version is more fitting to the song's lyrics and intent.

       Without the lyrics and played at a faster tempo, Jonah Jones presents a fun performance that as both Stephen T. McCarthy and I noted as being similar to the style of the Ray Coniff Singers who were popular during the 1960s.  Or as Michael Todd pointed out in his humorous observation, "while I was listening to the Jonah Jones Quartet rendition, I was expecting to hear "Manamana" as sung by the Muppets".    Yeah, I can hear it.

      The Jonah Jones rendition has a lot of entertainment value and it's good music as well.  I liked it a lot.  But the version sung by Joni James has a lot of heart (that's appropriate) and evokes the emotion that the song intends.  Both versions are winners, but in this contest Joni James takes the trophy.

Final Vote Tally

Jonah Jones         7 votes

Joni James          12 votes



Next Battle on Friday December 15th

         There might be a post or two between now and then.  I live by whim these days.  That is unless I absolutely have to do something.  My next Battle will be one inspired by Stephen T McCarthy's recent Los Angeles showdown.    What you can expect to see on Tossing It Out next time are two different songs that are not exactly about Los Angeles, but both are filmed in Los Angeles from very different perspectives.  It's gonna be weird.

          Do you enjoy weird?   Do you like parades?   What are some parades you have been in (don't forget your school days!)?

Juggling Museum & BOTB Results

The Juggling Jacksons promo shot 1966--That's Arlee
standing behind Dad.

The Juggling Jacksons

        Some of you might have seen my post at Wrote By Rote (my memoir blog) concerning my family's donation to the Historical Juggling Props Museum.   If you missed it you can see our contributions here and here.  The web site for the Museum is fun to peruse especially if you're not close enough to visit the actual museum display in person.

         So far there isn't much video available on YouTube of anything Juggling Jacksons related, but below is a brief video of my sister Joy and I a few years ago goofing off in her kitchen with an enthusiastic audience cheering us on.  Hopefully one day I'll get some other video transferred and up on YouTube.





Battle of the Bands Results
(for 12/15/2015)

       

      If you missed the Battle that goes with these results you can visit here, but the vote has been decided. I wasn't overly surprised by the outcome of this Battle considering how my previous Battle turned out. The readers who vote on my BOTB posts tend to be traditionalists where it comes to music so techno or more extreme forms of rock or other genres usually don't go over that well. It's gone that way in this contest as well.

     The version of "Trouble of the World" as performed by Rose Stone and the Abbot Kinney Lighthouse Choir is a rousing rendition that I can't resist liking. This interpretation of the song reflects a joyousness that one might expect on leaving this world into the security of God's heavenly realm. Right from the opening electric guitar riff to the vocal interplay, this song is filled with so much energy. My favorite part of this recording is the steady solid drumbeat. My head gets to bobbin', my toes a-tappin', and I just want to get up on my feets and praise the lord all over the house. This is musical dynamite.

     On the other hand, Mahom is tough for many listeners to get into. For my part I didn't even finish listening during my first sampling of the song. I quickly decided to use another version and believe me, I found many great versions. However, I returned to the Mahom version to give it a fair chance. Noting the points of comparison and contrast between the Rose Stone version I began to see an interesting Battle in the works.

     No one listened to these versions side by side as many times as I did--and I listened to them repeatedly. My opinion of Mahom began changing as I listened more. The performance version from The Ladykillers is no doubt outstanding, but in the end the version I keep hearing in my head now--the one that sticks with me most--is the version by Mahom. Sure it's computer driven music, but I find the sound to be innovative as well as clever. The vocals are very pleasant to my ears. Taking all things into account my favorite version is now Mahom though I certainly cannot dispute anyone's vote for Rose Stone.

     Two great renditions, but my vote goes to Mahom.

Final Vote Talley

Rose Stone    26 votes

Mahom           8 votes

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         Have a Very Merry Christmas and be sure to join me here for my next Battle which will open on New Year's Day with a very appropriate song for the season.
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There's Something I've Been Meaning To Do

World wide web (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

        There's something I've been meaning to do here at Tossing It Out, but you probably know how one can get distracted and keep putting things off and that sort of thing.   I'm always thinking of blog post ideas that I put in the queue to write about some day and then they become outdated or I just flat out forget why the topic was so important or interesting to me at the time.  But it's probably time to get to this one thing I've been meaning to do.

         However before I get to that here are a few little things that have crossed my mind:

The Infinite Web

         They say that once something is on the web that it stays forever.  I'm not sure that I totally buy that theory.  There are lot's of things that I've found on the internet that seem to get lost when I go back to look for them.  Besides all this data isn't just floating out in space as far as I know.  If I understand correctly I think everything is stored on servers or something like that.  What if there was some major catastrophic event that destroyed all servers?   Or some electromagnetic pulse type thing that eradicated all man-made power?  I'm probably not being technologically correct in some of my terminology or thinking, but I'm just not sure that the statement "What goes on the internet stays there forever".   Will there be internet in Heaven?   Or maybe it will be reserved for Hell.

From the Arlee Archives:

       Here's a relic that I ran across on the internet regarding my own past.   A wedding announcement from my first marriage to Cathy Clarke appeared in the December 20, 1976 edition of Circus Report.   Scroll down to the top left side of page 36--it's not far down since the pages start at 33.

Check it out:


http://circushistory.org/Publications/CircusReport20Dec1976b.pdf  

        Maybe things do stay on the internet forever.

College of Blogging

         Sommer Leigh at Tell Great Stories offers some great suggestions in her College of Blogging posts. This is actually an entire series of blogging help tips.  If you're looking for a good resource for yourself or to help someone you know who is new to blogging, send them over to Blogging College with Sommer.

Update!! -- Looks like the individual "College" Posts are all gone!   But you can still get to Sommer's blog.  Maybe she compiled them into a book form?

Vacation Notice

         I'll be taking a leave for the next couple of weeks.  I'll tell you more about this after my return in July.  In the meantime I'll be leaving Tossing It Out in the very capable hands of bloggers such as Colby Marshall, Damyanti Biswas, Nicole Ayers, and Alex J. Cavanaugh.  Stay tuned as the blog will remain open while I'm gone.  I'll probably be scarce or nonexistent in blog visiting for a short while.  But I'll be back.

Now What Was I Going To Say?

         I know I had something else that I intended to do in this post, but I guess I got sidetracked.  Besides, this post is long enough now.   Whatever it was that I meant to do can wait until another post.

         What odd tidbits about your own history or someone else's have you run across on the internet?   Do you believe that what appears on the internet will really stay there forever?   Do you have any things that you keep meaning to post about but keep postponing?   

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