Time Is Now ( #IWSG & #BOTB Results )

   Christmas is over and I'm still talking about presents.  However, I'm thinking about the most important present of all and that is now, today, the whole where we are in our lives at this moment.  Really though, I'm always thinking about past, present, and future.  Aren't we all?  For the most part.  Maybe...

The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog. 
     The co-hosts for the January 7 posting of the IWSG are Shannon Lawrence, Olga Godim, Jean Davis, and Jacqui Murray.

January 7 question - Is there anything in your writing plans for 2026 that you are going to do that you couldn't get done in 2025?

    Couldn't get done?  I don't know.  I can always get something done if I really want to, but I'm a bit lazy I suppose.  And maybe conflicted too?  Sometimes I feel the importance of things that later I ponder as to why they are important anyway.  My writing is important to me I suppose, but how far beyond that does this "importance" go?  I guess the best way to find that out is to keep writing and so that is what I plan to do.

      In essence, my plans for this year are the same as most years that came before.  I want to keep writing songs, but also do something with them.  We'll see.  I still have a ton of songs started that I'd like to finish some day which means now is a good time to do that.  Same with my memoir writing.  I'm more focused on that than any fiction aspirations, but apparently I haven't been focused enough to actually produce any significant progress on that front. 

       Time is not going to stop for me to get on board.  I'm already there and whatever I do with my time is up to me.  I'd better get busy.  The station of my destination is getting closer.

Battle of the Bands Results

Holding Back the Years Battle

     My previous Battle was a showdown between two different artists performing the Simply Red hit "Holding Back the Years".  I must say that I really liked the Angie Stone version with the percussive backing and all.  Love that kind of sound.  And the organ!  But, like the rest of you I had to give my vote to Dan Mason.  Just enjoyed his sound better.  And he won.

Final Vote Tally

Daniel Mason Band       7 votes

Angie Stone                    0 votes             

MY LAST POST (of 2025) ( #BOTB Results )

     It's before Christmas as I post this.  I said I'd do this and now here is my last post of the year.  It's just a Battle of the Bands results post as well as another holiday greeting. Maybe no one will read it or maybe so.  I don't know.  And I'm not thinking about it that much...

Battle of the Bands Results

       This is the outcome of my "O Holy Night" Battle between the Lost Dogs and Rebecca St James. Not many attended this show and voted on it so I'll just be brief.  I liked both of these takes quite well, but for my taste I'll have to go with the more traditional version as done by The Lost Dogs.

Final Vote Tally

Lost Dogs                    5 votes

Rebecca St James       2 votes

Merry Christmas!

    Hope you all have a wonderful, happy, safe holiday season!  See you next year!

Puttin' on My Shoes and Presentin' a Results Post ( #BOTB Results )

Last night I was standing on my front porch and looking at a great big full moon. Not a star could be seen although the night was perfectly clear. But I'm in the Los Angeles metro area and there's a lot of light pollution.  Then this morning I'm reading a story from some publication that the Earth is getting darker.  Well, whatever...

Battle of the Bands Results

        My previous Battle was another good one I thought since I liked both versions quite well. However, my vote definitely goes to Barefoot Jerry.  They somehow seemed almost like homeboys to me.  Or at least I'd heard about them back in my heyday of the 70s.  Did I ever actually have a "heyday"?  That's another post I guess.

        A lot of you agreed with my vote for Barefoot Jerry.  Here's the outcome:

Final Vote Tally

Alabama                 8 votes

Barefoot Jerry        7 votes

   

      New Battle coming on Wed Oct 15!

        

Who Reaped the Riches? ( #BOTB Results )

     

      If I had a million dollars for every blog post I've done about Battle of the Bands I'd be surprised.  And I'd probably still be broke.  Life is like that sometimes.  In any case, with every BOTB post comes a results post.  And this is another one...

Battle of the Bands Results

      My most recent Battle was a contest between sixties pop groups Dino, Desi, & Billy and Gary Lewis & the Playboys. I like both groups pretty well and they both presented good versions of the old Cyrkle song "Turn Down Day".  I was tempted to give my vote to DD&B because I do like their version and they needed the help with the vote.  Still, my vote wouldn't have made much difference, so I stuck with my real choice of Gary Lewis and gang.  I liked the orchestration and fuller vocals better. So did most of the voters I guess...

Final Vote Tally

Dino, Desi, & Billy                      2 votes

Gary Lewis & the Playboys       8 votes

Next Battle on Sunday June 1st

Wrapping Things Up ( #AtoZChallenge Reflections & #BOTB Results )

 

    I've got some Battle of the Band results to post, but first I'll make some reflections on my recent Blogging from A to Z April Challenge experience.  

     It was a good year I thought.  I managed to post as I should daily in April and wasn't too stressed about it.  I enjoyed the content I posted and hopefully some of you did as well. Simplicity was my goal and I think I achieved it.

     As usual, I didn't visit other blogs as much as I had intended and know that I should for a blog event such as A to Z.  Bottom line is that I'm just not on my computer as much as I used to be and blogging time is sacrificed.  I guess I'll have to figure that out eventually.

     Thanks to everyone who participated by posting and reading.  And a very big appreciation for the fantastic A to Z Team:

J Lenni Dorner (captain)
Blog of Author J Lenni Dorner

Zalka Csenge Virág
The Multicolored Diary

John Holton @
The Sound of One Hand Typing

Jayden R Vincente (spreadsheets)
J R Vincente Erotica Writer

Ronel Janse van Vuuren(graphics)
Ronel the Mythmaker

     I thought it was a very nice April Challenge!

Battle of the Bands Results

     My recent Battle was between the groups Badfinger and Electric Light Orchestra.  I have so many more memories associated with Badfinger that they are my general favorite.  I do enjoy the classical music setting of ELO and there is not a thing wrong with their music in my view.  I just prefer Badfinger.

Final Vote Tally

Badfinger                           2 votes

Electric Light Orchestra     8 votes

Next Battle on May 15

    That's my plan and I'm not planning to change it yet.

And Now the Moment You've All Been Waiting For... ( #BOTB Results)

    I still haven't found what I'm looking for, but I guess that goes for you too.  If you get my reference then maybe you thought that was a funny joke.  No charge. I'm giving this one to you pro bono...

Battle of the Bands Results

 Where's That Tune?

      I never did find the song I was looking for in my previous Battle, but I ended up using versions of "Misirlou" which is now most oft-remembered as the Dick Dale tune used in the film Pulp Fiction.   Since I was initially drawn in by the artist I remembered from childhood, Korla Pandit went into the contest as my favorite.  But then when I heard Olga's version I was blown away a bit.  When the flute kicked in I was thinking "shades of Jethro Tull" but, no, that's not Ian Anderson blowing that flute.  But I find everything about Olga's version to be very satisfactory.

     Still, I keep going back to that mysterious sounding version by Korla Pandit and he gets my vote.

Final Vote Tally

Korla Pandit         4 votes

Olga Avigail          5 votes

Next Battle on March 15th

      Sure why not.  

Somedays Sunday Is Monday ( #BOTB Results )

     Some days seem like Sunday while some Sundays seem like Monday.  Of course, what's one day to another when you're retired like me.  So I'm just gonna say it's Monday now and be done with it.

     Besides there's some kind of football game going on today and I'm feeling a bit under the weather so despite what I said in my earlier post I'm going to give you my Battle of the Band results today Sunday.  Everyone else is, so why not me?

Battle of the Bands Results

Drifting Dreamy Songs

     My most recent Battle featured two dreamy songs that I like quite a lot. "What to Do" is a lovely violin driven song by progressive rock group Wally. This song was a big part of my life in my mid-twenties when this song posed the question that I was asking myself at the time. The Flaming Lips song "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate" is a song that I've recently embraced as it sounds good to my ears and it expresses some of what I've been feeling recently.

      Both songs are absolute winners in my mind, but I'm going to cast my vote for Flaming Lips.  What a great song!

     As you can see by the results, both songs were favored by voters. Nice outcome!

Final Vote Tally

Wally                   5 votes

Flaming Lips       7 votes

Next Battle on Saturday February 15th

      Happy Valentines Day to those who care.  Happy Days to everyone as well.  I may not be the Terminator, but I'll be back...

News from L. A. ( #BOTB Results )

 

If no news is good news then I've got nothing to say.  Everything is as normal as can be where I live.  But not so much for other parts of town.  What next?

Battle of the Bands Results

L.A. Burning

     My recent Battle was fire versus fire in the guise of the bands Spirit and Blue Oyster Cult.  Blue Oyster is one of my most favorite of heavy rock bands. But I appreciate the versatility and musical skill of Spirit even more.  My vote went to Spirit.

Final Vote Tally

Spirit                          5 votes

Blue Oyster Cult        7 votes

I'll be back on February 1st with some kind of new Battle of the Bands.

See you then God willing...

Party's Over, Results Are In ( #BOTB Results)

        Betty and I had a nice anniversary celebration and now we're ready for a quiet Christmas.   It's probably going to be quiet.  Nothing on the schedule at least.  And now for Battle results...

Battle of the Bands Results

          

Anniversary Songs  

   Most recently I had a showdown between Al Jolson's "Anniversary Song" and Little River Band's "Happy Anniversary".  As one might expect, the more modern LRB tune got more votes, but old Al didn't do too badly.

     Betty went for Al Jolson's song as did I.  It's kind of like one of "our songs" as might be said.  I've been a big Jolson fan since I was about 9 or so when I saw the film The Jolson Story.  I still rank it as one of my favorite films.

      When I was on the road in the eighties LRB's greatest hits cassette was one of the albums I had highest on my playlist. Spent many a night drive listening to that music.  There's not a bad song on that album in my opinion.

       Still, I'm going with Al Jolson.

Final Vote Tally

Al Jolson                   6 votes

Little River Band      10 votes

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

     I plan to be back on January 1 with a new Battle of the Bands.  Everyone have a fun and safe holiday time.

       

     

What Time Is It? ( #BOTB Results )

     I feel like I have so many projects that I'd like to tackle that it gets difficult to focus on just one at a time.  Guess that's why I seem to get so little done.  And then there's all the daily chores that take up a lot of my time.  By the way, dinner will be around 4:30 PM.  Tonight, we're having pinto beans with Cajun sausage...

Battle of the Bands Results

Night and Day

     My most recent Battle saw the venerable Rod Stewart go up against the oft-despised Bono and his group U2. Stewart played it safe with his traditional take on the Cole Porter standard. I can't help but like the backing band and the arrangement of Stewart's version and I'm even okay with his gravelly vocals.  That's the Rod Stewart I "grew up" with.

     On the other hand, Bono takes a rather daring approach that appeals to me. I can hear the pretentiousness that some of you hear, but I just think that's part of the U2 style. I still remember. watching the TV concert at Red Rocks special they did in the eighties and I've liked them ever since. That's who I'm voting for.

      I figured this would be a tight Battle since I know so many of my readers have a distaste for U2 and would go for the more traditional sound of Rod Stewart.  Me?  I like them both, but in this case I just like that U2 sound better.

Final Vote Tally

Rod Stewart      5 votes

U2                    10 votes 

       Well, what about that?  I expected a closer race and wasn't sure about the outcome.  

        I plan to be back for an October 15th Battle and who knows what else.  See you when...

 

Who Did the Best Message Song? ( #BOTB Results )

 

The anxiety has been mounting as the countdown continues.  For what?  Christmas?  New Year?  

No...it's the...

Battle of the Bands Results

Who Delivered Their Message Best?

      My recent Battle between pop/punk powerhouse The Police and Karl Wallinger's cool nineties band World Party was a neck and neck race to the end.  As much as I've always liked The Police and this big hit of theirs, a recent rediscovery of World Party has been putting a smile on my face.

       Over the past month I've been doing some housecleaning and room rearranging.  Having a nice compact entertainment system in my home office has tempted my opportunity to listen to some of my old cassette tapes.  These are 30 or more years old so it's kind of surprising they all still play so well--or at least the ones I've listened to so far.

      After I put on my World Party cassette I was pleasantly reminded of their jaunty hit "Put the Message in the Box" and it's been an earworm since hearing it. I'm a sucker for finely crafted pop songs and this song certainly is a winner.  That's why I voted for World Party and put them over the top.  My apologies to The Police.  Still great music.

Final Vote Tally

The Police         7 votes       

World Party       8 votes

         Next BOTB?

     Let me think on that a while.  Not much time I know, but the week-end has just begun.

Oh Baby! Who Won the Battle? ( #BOTB Results )

 

    Tuesday:  The trash trucks came by today.  For a while I watered my lawn.  I had a Stouffers frozen dinner for supper.  All in all it was a decent day.  I'm glad I lived it.  And now for the news...

Battle of the Bands Results

     Here's the results of my most recent "You Baby" Battle:

Final Vote Tally

Lovin Spoonful    6 votes

The Turtles         10 votes

Next Battle on Friday December 1

     My November schedule is pretty busy in the coming weeks.  I probably won't be doing much in the way of blogging activity, but I'll try to visit any midmonth Battles that I see.   Have a nice Thanksgiving!

Autumn Waft ( #BOTB Results )

       Not much of a breeze on this fall evening.  Just cool autumn air wafting through the windows.  But even when summer is gone, we can still sing summer songs...

Battle of the Bands Results

Summer Showdown

       The most recent Battle found two contrasting renditions of the Seals and Crofts classic hit "Summer Breeze" which all voters seemed to agree on it being a fine summer song.  

        The somewhat ominous sound of Dark Side of Light I did enjoy quite a bit.  I even liked the weird electronic sounds and such.  But it was the mellow delivery of the duo that won me over.  Guess it just fit my mood better.  I gave my vote to The Running Mates.

Final Vote Tally

The Running Mates        5 votes

Dark Side of Light           6 votes

An unpleasant sounding write-in      1 vote

Next Battle on Wednesday November 1

       Did I really say that?  Time to think about Christmas.  Happy Halloween!

Who Was on Top & Who Got Just a Little Amount of Votes? ( #BOTB Results )

       The title of this blog post gives the answer to the question asked albeit in a somewhat cryptic fashion.  If you are interested in knowing which artist won my previous Battle then read on.  If you're not interested in knowing then go ahead and read on anyway...

Battle of the Bands Results

Soul of the Soundtrack of My Life

      During my high school and college years I spent many hours in the retreat of the basement of my family's house.  There was a stereo record player there that was usually playing when I was down in that favorite room.  The musical styles were widely varied so one might hear just about anything playing while I was in my lair.  During the late 60's I'd mostly play rock and pop with a heavy emphasis on The Beatles, but I had some excellent Soul and R & B records as well that spent a fair amount of time spinning on the turntable.

       My most recent Battle featured popular songs from two popular groups of the era--The Four Tops and Little Anthony & the Imperials.  In those days my preference would have been with The Four Tops while Little Anthony was more to my sister's liking, though I also enjoyed their music.  Now in my mellowing older age of my life have my tastes changed that much.  In regard to these two songs I would have to say no.  Between Little Anthony's "Hurt So Bad" and The Tops "Reach Out", I still prefer the latter so The Four Tops captured my vote in this contest.  And in the final tally, The Four Tops turned out to be the predominate favorite, though most voters also approved of Little Anthony's hit. 

      

Final Vote Tally

Little Anthony & the Imperials        5 votes

The Four Tops                               11 votes

Next Battle on Sunday October 15th

     At least that's my plan for now.  If I decide not to do this then that will become my plan.  Come back and see what happens.

   

Whirlwinds and Hurricanes ( #BOTB Results )

 

    California is still here despite all the hype giving us expectations of doom.  Maybe still being here is the biggest doomsday scenario.

       On the day of my most recent Battle of the Bands posting, I embarked upon four days of a whirlwind trip that covered over 1000 miles and three states.  It was somewhat unexpected for me, but I took on the role of chief driver and tour planner.  It was hot, but that's Las Vegas in the summer.  I hadn't been to Vegas in several years--November 2015 it had been.  

       With the coming of COVID went the departure of the famous Vegas buffets.  I suspected this was the case but my party still had expectations of dining at the buffet at the Mandalay Bay, where we had eaten often in the past. The buffet was gone so we settled for some bad over-priced Mexican food.

      That was basically the story of the trip.  Restaurants there are way high-priced and often not that great of quality.  But that seems to be the case everywhere these days.  Since we hadn't made any reservations like I normally would have (that's another story that I won't go into here), I got a room at Harrah's for the same low price I had paid last time I was there.  Oh, except for the $45 resort fee and $18 parking.  Vegas nickels and dimes the visitor every chance it gets and that's not even mentioning the gambling.  At least my wife came out ahead $135 on the slot machines.  She's usually pretty lucky like that.

     The next morning we were anxious to get back home to Los Angeles (which seems strange, but it's home and not Las Vegas).  This was a long desert journey with a side trip to Hoover Dam.  We didn't take any tours but we walked across the dam in the 112 degree heat.  Then it was homeward.  I filled up before I left Arizona and paid $2 less per gallon than I would the next day in Los Angeles.  

     Friday as I was looking up an address where I was going to drop off my wife's cousin who had come to visit us from Ecuador, hence our road trip of the previous days, I received an alarm message about an impending hurricane.  What?  California doesn't get hurricanes, or at least I thought, but there it was all over the news.  This past weekend the hurricane came and went.  It was what we used to call back East a "rain storm".  I guess there were some problematic areas with flooding and such, but where I live it just rained and that was good news for my lawn. 

       Oh, then there was the earthquake in the middle of the hurricane.  You might have heard about it. It was a 5 or so on the Richter scale with no real significant damage. We are always expecting earthquakes out here in Southern California, but never hurricanes.  Guess we're trying to keep up with Florida.

      And now....

Battle of the Bands Results

       This Battle had a small turnout with a very decisive outcome.  And really, this one did not turn out like I anticipated.  I figured The Band probably had more of a fan base and Crazy Horse would be too nasally or country or whatever.  For me, Crazy Horse being a particular longtime favorite my vote goes to their song, but listening to this Band cut after many years gave me a new appreciation for it.

Final Vote Tally

The Band             1 vote

Crazy Horse         9 votes

Next Battle on Friday September 1

        I'll be continuing with my series of "Songs from Lee's Basement" and hopefully will have some pictures I took back in those days.

The Eyes Have It ( #BOTB Results )

     I'm not late.  I'm just not posting this when I originally suggested I would.  It's summer.  It's hot.  I guess it doesn't matter that much.  But at least here I am now with...

Battle of the Bands Results

     My most recent Battle put "Girl with No Eyes" by It's a Beautiful Day up against the song "Lost a Number" by Nils Lofgren and Grin.  Both songs come from the amazingly musically diverse period spanning the latter sixties to the early seventies. Some of my most favorite music comes from this era and these songs, while quite different in sound, represent some of the best music in my opinion. 

      Having played violin I was drawn to It's a Beautiful Day since it's principal artist was vocalist/violinist David Laflamme.  Their first two albums got a lot of play back in the days when many of my friends would congregate in my parents' basement rec room.  However an even bigger favorite amongst most of our circle was Nils Lofgren and Grin.  Their second album was oft requested for a spin on my turntable with "Lost a Number" being a particular favorite.

      Even though Beautiful Day featured the violin as well as some really fine songs, my personal favorite between the artists was Lofgren and his group.  I thought they recorded some excellent songs that were very accessible to music fans.  Unfortunately, Nils and his groups didn't have quite the commercial success I would have anticipated, but still they managed to put out some excellent albums before Nils went on to become part of Bruce Springsteen's band.

      In this Battle my vote goes to "Lost a Number" by Grin and that was what the majority agreed with.  It was a pretty close race nonetheless.  

Final Vote Tally

It's a Beautiful Day       6 votes

Nils Lofgren & Grin       9 votes

Next Battle on Tuesday August 15th

         Yeah, I'm still planning to do this one.  But you know what they say about mice and men and whatever.

Singers and Stringers Showdown ( #BOTB Results )

 

       Keeping things short because I've got other more pressing things ahead of me.   I'll be a bit more offline in the coming weeks, but I guess it's like having a month with only one Battle.  My recent internet access issues are going to be increased to a great degree.  Just for a few weeks I think, and then maybe back to a routine.

       Speaking of routine, after a Battle of the Bands post must come....

Battle of the Bands Results

       I know I'm not the only one to have noticed a sparser turnout.  Mine might have been lower since I didn't combine the post with an Insecure Writer's Support Group post so traffic might have been lighter for BOTB.  Or maybe it had something to do with A to Z fatigue.  Or just maybe it's time to round up new followers for the BOTB posts.  Some things to think about I guess.

     In the meantime here's the outcome of the voting, including my own vote for the Swingle Singers....

Final Vote Tally

Swingle Singers       3 votes

40 Fingers               10 votes

Next Battle on Thursday June 1st

    Hopefully I'll manage this.  If I do then I might be a little late coming to your Battles, but I plan to do that.  I'll tell you readers more in June.   For now I'm going to become scarce for a while.  I think so at least.

Rainy Days and Mickey Mouse ( #BOTB Results )

 

    It's raining again.  In Los Angeles that seems weird.  So much talk of drought last couple of years.  But now it seems like it's been raining for months.  Not that it bothers me that much since I mostly stay home these days.  Bad for the teachers now on strike.  I guess.  But that's good for the kids who get to stay home and goof off.

       That's what I would do on snow days when I was a kid.  Or whenever we got off.  I don't think our teachers ever went on strike.  I had some really good teachers when I was in school.  We got a pretty decent education, and more importantly, we learned to be inquisitive.  

        Then there was television.  I grew up in a household that had one black and white television with a 15 to 19 inch screen as time progressed.  When we finally did get a color television I had just started high school.  It was an impressive "big screen" that measured in at 25 inches.  There wasn't that much to watch back then any way.  We could only get three stations that went off the air around midnight or so.

       When I did watch TV I might watch a serious show like Twilight Zone or Dragnet.  But one show I did watch for  many years is The Mickey Mouse Club.  Which brings to mind...

Battle of the Bands Results

         My most recent Battle was a showdown between two classic TV themes:  "Mickey Mouse Club March" and "Dragnet".   These days I'm not a Disney fan, but I fondly recall watching the Mouseketeers almost every day.  Hearing that theme sure brings back happy memories.  I voted for the Fifties Disney "Mickey Mouse Club March".  

Final Vote Tally

Dragnet                 6 votes

Mickey Mouse       10 votes

Next Battle on Saturday April 1.

      What a day this should be.  It's also day one of this years Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.  This year my theme will be a look at my book collection.  Last year I enjoyed doing my record collection so much that I thought books would be good too.  Now I've got to get focused on getting my April posts ready.  See you then!

Marching into the Winner's Circle ( #BOTB Results )

 Just as I was getting used to the time change here we go again back into Daylight Savings Time.  I mean, really, do we really need to keep doing this?  So I guess this means after this coming Sunday we're back into summer again?  Aw, who needs spring anyway...

         Actually spring is maybe my favorite season.   I'd like to have a nice spring.  However here in Los Angeles it's kind of moot.  The real question here might be:  How do we know when it's spring?  Here in L.A. I mean.  Mostly things stay kind of the same here.  There are fluctuations in the weather of course, but not all that much.

       Perhaps out in Southern California where I am one needs only to look at the calendar to see what the season is.   When April comes then it must be spring--right?  Or at least we know in the blogging world that the coming of April means it's time for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.  Yeah, that thing.  Guess I need to start getting ready!

        But for now let's get to something more immediate...

Battle of the Bands Results

Toy Shop Marches

        My most recent Battle was between two classic march tunes from over a hundred years ago.  Due to the similarity between the two pieces, this was a tough decision for me and possibly for some of the other voters.  But in the final analysis I had to cast my vote for the grander of the two, Victor Herbert's "March of the Toys".  From the trumpet clarion call that opens the piece to the stately march that comes nearly midway into the piece, this is a big production worthy of the Arthur Fiedler touch in the version that I used.  Jessel's piece is certainly fun, but Herbert's is epic.

         The outcome of this Battle was quite good with votes coming in for both.  However as one would hope, there was a clear winner in this match, as you can see from the final vote count...

Final Vote Tally

Leon Jessel  "Parade of the Tin Soldiers"       6 votes

Victor Herbert  "March of the Toys"              8 votes

And now, to celebrate the victory, here is a fun scene from the 1961 Disney version of Babes in Toyland featuring Herbert's March of the Toys with an army of toys in stop motion.  It reminds me of the old George Pal Puppetoons that I loved so much as a child.   Hope you enjoy...

Next Battle on Wednesday March 15

       I've got a couple more marches lined up for a midmonth Battle.  These are more recent marches that I'm sure you all know well.  Hope you'll stop in then to see what they are.