Battle of the Bands: You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. I saw white stuff blowing across the road and huge drifts. I took a picture of it..



I guess winter is here! To get in the Holiday spirit I picked a joyful classic "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch." The rules are simple I pick a song and present a couple of bands battling it out with the song. You pick the one you like best by casting your vote in the comments. The why's and other comments are always welcomed.

Please check out the other battles:

 list of Battle of the Bands participants..

 I snagged it from STMcC Presents 'Battle of the Bands': 

@ ‘FAR AWAY SERIES’ by clicking HERE.
@ ‘TOSSING IT OUT’ by clicking HERE.
@ ‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’ by clicking HERE.
@ 'BOOK LOVER' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CURIOUS AS A CATHY' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING' by clicking HERE.
@ 'DCRELIEF - BATTLE OF THE BANDS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THIS BELLE ROCKS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE DOGLADY'S DEN' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE' by clicking HERE. 
@ 'ANGELS BARK' by clicking HERE.
@ 'JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE' by clicking HERE.
@ 'WOMEN: WE SHALL OVERCOME' by clicking HERE.
@ 'J.A. SCOTT' by clicking HERE.
@ 'NOVELBREWS' by clicking HERE. 
@ 'HOLLI'S HOOTS AND HOLLERS' by clicking HERE. 
@ 'QUIET LAUGHTER' by clicking HERE. 

It's a win win really. They get another visit and they treat you with some more battles featuring cool songs, musicians and bands!

The original from 1966..

Fun facts it was originally sung by Thurl Ravenscroft, who was the voice for Tony The Tiger. The song was written by Dr. Suess and Albert Hague.

Challenger One: Jim Carrey

Challenger Two: Straight No Chaser

Vote in the comments! I'll be back soon with a new post. Now I don't know about Sea-sick crocodiles but me and Santa Gator have a lot of work to do before Christmas..

Happy 180th Mark Twain!

Today marks Mark Twain's 180th birthday. He passed away in The Ad1910. Most famous for his novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He wrote a total of 11 novels, some non-fiction and several short stories.

Here are some fast facts on Mark Twain from The History Channel...

Here are some great quotes...

What is your favorite book or story by Mark Twain? Feel free to leave your favorites in the comments.

Strange world: Is Goat Man Real?

Rumor has it a creature half goat, half man who may have originated from Maryland as been reported in three different states. You can read the story here. Is it real?

Here is a story about it..

More...

Is it a freak of science? Is it a demon from hell? Is it an Alien? Is it all just a figment of someone's imagination?

I don't know. I doubt it because I've never seen it. Which could be considered a weak argument. However, I really don't care. There are so many other concerns in my world that goatman is on the bottom. That could change if I met him. Of course I heard goats are good at cutting grass, where was he last week when I cut my grass?

Oh well I will be back soon with a new post..

Martial Arts: Remembering Bruce Lee

This morning I celebrated the birthday of Jimi Hendrix an tonight I celebrate the birthday of Bruce Lee. Like Hendrix, Lee also died too soon at the age of 32. Time Magazine list Bruce Lee among the 100 most influential people of he 20th century. More than likely any martial arts star in Hollywood owes a little something to Bruce Lee.

Here is a list of the Top 10 Bruce Lee films?

Do you agree with the list? Any that belong that were omitted?

Jackie Chan shares a story about Bruce Lee...

Do you have any Bruce Lee stories or memories?

I'll be back soon with something new!

Celebrating The Birthday of Jimi Hendrix

I've blogged about Jimi Hendrix in the past and I will blog about him in the future. Most recently I posted about his passing 45 years ago in September. The last time I marked his birthday was in 2013. Mentioning these posts because they contain more music than what I am going to post today.

I mentioned music so I guess I should start the celebration.

"Voodoo Child" done live in 1969 from Stockholm...

Here is Jimi with "One Rainy Wish" off the vinyl..

Here is Jimi with "Somewhere"..

Jimi died way too young at 27. Thankfully he left behind a legacy that was caught in his recordings. Feel free to share your Jimi Hendrix favorite songs in the comments. I'll be back soon with a new post.

Remembering Albert Collins

Albert Collins the famous blues singer and astounding guitarist past away. I was lucky enough to see
Albert Collins in concert before his death when he opened for John Lee Hooker.

Two late greats, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert Collins performing "Frosty"..

Here Albert performs "Iceman"...

"If Trouble was Money"...

Hope you enjoyed this blues break. I'll be back soon with a new post!

Battle of the Bands Results: Fortune Teller

Another blow out on the Battles of the Bands. It was rigged! How was it rigged? I liked all artists who were involved.

The results were 12-3 in favor of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. If I was going to vote I think I would have given the nod to the Stones. I like that early, vintage Stones sound. 

Some of you mentioned Alison wasn't featured as much on this song. That is correct. Some tracks on the disc are truer duets than others. Both Alison and Robert were given songs to take the lead in as well. In this case Robert was given the green light.

I think the real hero of the Raising Sand project is T-Bone Burnett. His production got mixed reviews in the comments. However, he has a golden finger when it comes to production. Handling two big vocals (and  perhaps egos) Burnett was able to create a musical masterpiece that dominated the Grammy Awards.

I must admit it was cool to see him play guitar as well. As you know on my results posts I feature additional music. Instead of the obvious choices of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss I am going to choose T-Bone Burnett.

"Driving Wheel"...

"Shut it Tight"

Here he is with Robert...

 I will leave you with this one...

The Machines Won

Well I believe my laptop finally did. I found a work around and had success the other attempts were starting to prove my insanity. I attempted to use my daughter's laptop that worked well until her battery died. My daughter's computer was better than mine, she has Grandparents!

Thinking it was strange it wasn't fully charged since it was plugged in. I plugged it in again and notice the connector to the computer had been broken and it wasn't going to charge. I later found out she dropped it while plugging it. Impact probably created the broken piece.

On the way home from work I decided I would stop by a store and buy a new power supply. The ones I found were way over priced. $50 for a power supply I think I could do better. I almost bought it. They were the universal ones with several different jacks to fit several different laptop brands. Of course my daughter's laptop brand wasn't listed. Should I buy it? Try this warped version of Russian Roulette? Everyone knows what would happen. Yes I would rush home and try all the different jacks and of course known of them would work. Then to add to that shame my wife would say I told you shouldn't have gone to that store. Nope not me! Not this time. I wasn't going to play just the fool.

No I was going to play the damn fool! So, I bought a new laptop. Yes I still buy a power cord for my daughter's laptop. This whole misadventure just won't cost me $50, it will cost me a wee bit more!

Happy Birthday Tab Benoit!

Today is Tab Benoit's birthday. If you don't know who Tab Benoit is don't worry. At one time I had never heard of him. That all changed the first time I went to Jazz Fest. The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival commonly referred to Jazz Fest.

My friend Eric who knows my musical tastes pretty well took me to the Blues Tent and told me I had to watch this guy Tab Benoit perform. I have been hooked ever since. My friend Eric took a year off to write and experience New Orleans and if interested you can check out his blog My Year of Mardi Gras. We don't always agree on music and we don't it leads to great debates, often we do agree and ends up being turned on to an artist we might not have been aware of.

Besides Tab's musical talent I also respect him for his work on saving the wetlands and the environment. Stop by the Voice of the Wetlands site to learn more about that. Tab also puts together one of the best family friendly music festivals, the Voice of the Wetlands Festival which I blogged about here.

Tab performing with the Voice of the Wetland's All-Stars photo by me..




Here Tab and the VOW All-Stars perform "Louisiana Sunshine"..

Here is something from the Festival I went to, Tab Benoit joined by Albert Castiglia on "Night Train"

Here is a song you may have heard "Shelter Me"..

Happy Birthday Tab Benoit! If you like blues, blues rock, swamp music then do yourself a favor and check out Tab Benoit.

Battle of the Bands: Fortune Teller

One of the greatest songwriters in New Orleans and perhaps the World passed away recently. I paid tribute to him with this post. His songs offer so many choices so I will narrow it down to one.

The rules are simple I pick a song and present a couple of bands battling it out with the song. You pick the one you like best by casting your vote in the comments. The why's and other comments are always welcomed.

Please check out the other battles:

 list of Battle of the Bands participants..

 I snagged it from STMcC Presents 'Battle of the Bands': 

@ ‘FAR AWAY SERIES’ by clicking HERE.
@ ‘TOSSING IT OUT’ by clicking HERE.
@ ‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’ by clicking HERE.
@ 'BOOK LOVER' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CURIOUS AS A CATHY' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING' by clicking HERE.
@ 'DCRELIEF - BATTLE OF THE BANDS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THIS BELLE ROCKS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE DOGLADY'S DEN' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE' by clicking HERE. 
@ 'ANGELS BARK' by clicking HERE.
@ 'JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE' by clicking HERE.
@ 'WOMEN: WE SHALL OVERCOME' by clicking HERE.
@ 'J.A. SCOTT' by clicking HERE.
@ 'NOVELBREWS' by clicking HERE. 
@ 'HOLLI'S HOOTS AND HOLLERS' by clicking HERE. 
@ 'QUIET LAUGHTER' by clicking HERE. 

It's a win win really. They get another visit and they treat you with some more battles featuring cool songs, musicians and bands!



Today's song "Fortune Teller"

Contender One: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss

Contender Two: The Rolling Stones

Short and sweet today. One great song writer. One of the greatest Rock and Roll bands, one of the greatest voices in Rock and the awesome voice of Alison Krauss. I hope you enjoy! It is all up to you, just vote in the comments for the one you like the best! I went to the Fortune Teller and she told me the winner is...stay tuned!

My heart is with Paris and Allah weeps tonight

My heart, prayers and positive vibes are with the people in Paris. Over 10 dozen music lovers massacred in a music club. If you have followed my blog for anytime you have probably realized I am a music fan. This could have happened almost anywhere. It could have been a club that I was at enjoying a band. It could easily have happened to a friend of mine or a love one. Perhaps that is why this tragedy is laying heavy on my heart.

Perhaps it is laying heavy on my heart because so many people died! So many people were injured! So many people have been scarred for life.  The band, Eagles of Death Metal, what a terrible thing to happen at a show.

More attacks happened at a restaurant. I eat out more than I should. I have many foodie friends. Again this could have been me, a friend or family member.

Another at a stadium. I like sports. You get my point.These are all places I could be, a friend or a love one could be,

CNN reports a witness heard the gunman shout "Allah Akbar" (Allahu Akbar) which means God is great or God is greatest.

I have met Muslims. I have worked with them, formed relationships with, and even broken bread with some. The ones I have met have been great people. I say that because these terrorists have a backlash on their communities.

I say Allah weeps! These murderers are not heroes. I am sure the Allah my friends worship weeps over these attacks just like my God weeps.

Peace and healing is needed. I urge the Muslim leaders and community to denounce these events and other events! We can coexist on this planet. You can worship who you want and your neighbor can worship what they like and believe it or not we can live in peace.

These attacks won't bring peace. As I started this post I pray for peace, healing, for Paris. I send them prayers and positive vibes. A city storied in love, now filled with tears. 

Happy Birthday Neil Young!

This is the third year in a row I have celebrated Neil Young's birthday. Though the thought is the same I try to mix up the songs. An artist like Neil Young makes it easy since he has done so many songs in diverse styles. If you want more music I recommend visiting my old posts from last year and 2013.

I wouldn't be celebrating his birthday if I didn't share music. So let's start the celebration.

"Like A Hurricane"..

"Harvest Moon" is always nice for Fall...

"Everybody Knows this is Nowhere"..

What is your favorite Neil Young album? Song? Memory? Feel free to share in the comments.

"This Notes For You"

Happy Veterans Day A Simple Thank You

I've written plenty of Veterans Day posts in the past and they all give thanks to Veterans who deserve it for the job they do.

Veteran's Day is wrapping up. Really it should be an everyday thing. My Veteran's Day celebration started Monday. My daughter's school had a program for the Veteran's in the community. I live in a very big military community. 

My picture is a poster my daughter made to honor my Dad's service and that of other Veterans. Other students made handmade cards which they gave the Veterans. It was nice to see the community coming together to say thank you.

That day I was inspired and told one of my colleagues at work Thank You for your service since she was a Veteran and it made her day.

To those who have served and to those who are currently serving in the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, or reserves thank you for your service. 

Just a simple but heart felt Thank You!

R.I.P Allen Toussaint

Allen Toussaint has been awarded the National Medal of the Arts, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an AMA Lifetime Achievement Winner, and an artist who has been covered by a who's Who's list of artist. It might be easier to klist who hasn't cover his songs.

He passed away today. After a show in Spain he suffered a heart attack and at the age of 77 passed away.

Here he is with "Southern Nights"..

"On Your Way Down"..

"A Certain Girl"

The world has lost a great songwriter. You may not recognize his name but you will recognize his songs. His songs is a treasury to the music world and quite a legacy to pass on. 

Happy Birthday Sinbad!

Today Sinbad turns 58! I've seen him perform a couple of times and  I always enjoy his show. His comedy isn't filled with vulgarity just humor!


Here's a taste..Carnivores and Vegetarians...

A Woman Who Understands the Signs of a Stroke..

On Lopez Tonight..

Have you ever seen Sinbad? Have you seen him in a movie or TV show? Do you have a favorite bit? Do you have a favorite memory? Feel free to share in the comments.

I'll be back soon with a new post!

November 7: Happy Birthday Joni Mitchell

Happy 72nd birthday to Joni Mitchell! She is a songwriting legend. Whose health hasn't been great recently. I celebrated her in the A to Z: Challenge I will try not to repeat songs.

Yes I am going to share some more of her wonderful songs.

" A Case of You"

 

"Help Me"

"Big Yellow Taxi:

What is your favorite Joni Mitchell song? Have a memory? Feel free to share!

Results for Battle of the Bands: The Lancers Band is Victorious!

The results weren't dramatic. The winners won by a landslide which was nearly a shutout. However, there were still a lot of surprises. A contest pitting an Australian Army Band against a hip hop band with a song which I felt was somewhat obscure I did not expect the turn out.

This battle of the band had more page views then both of my Battle of the Bands contest in October had combined. The votes and comments were up as well!

The results..drum roll..

One abstention who would rather have world peace and less people dying in wars. Which I think everyone would like!

The winner was The Lancer Band 16 to one! Yes the pros of Hip Hop in The Herd were soundly defeated by the Australian Army Lancer Band. An outstanding job by those young woman and men! I would like to thank them for the job they do for their Country and way to represent your army!

The Lancers has a proud history dating back to 1891! The versatile band can entertain as a jazz or rock outfit. However, the musicians can perform as a Military Marching Band, a concert band, or as a wind or brass quartet. You can discover more about  The Lancer Band at their facebook page.

The Lancer Band won and to celebrate here is some more music!

                                                        "I Am Australian"

A different side of the group with "Brass Machine"

A little jazz with "Orange Colored Sky"

Congratulations to The Lancers! Thanks for visiting, thanks for voting! I will be back on the 15th with a new Battle of the Bands.  I will be back sooner with a new post!

Happy Birthday: Bryan Adams

Today November 5, 2015 is Bryan Adams birthday. He just released a new album last month called Get Up! Keeping with that spirit we will get on with the musical celebration.

Here is his new single "You Belong to Me"..

Keeping with the Spirit..the movie Spirit  here is the song "Here I Am"..

Sometimes "It Cuts like a Knife"

.                                                           Because "I Do it for You"..

I hope you enjoyed my birthday celebration for Bryan Adams and I will have a new post soon!

Congrats to Dusty Baker!

(Image via Wikipedia)

Congratulations to Dusty Baker for being named the manager of the Washington Nationals! Baker enjoyed a 19-year career as a player in the Big Leagues. As a manager he owns a record of 1671 wins and 1504 losses and has managed 45 post season games.

Dusty Baker on motivation through fun..

He takes over a team with a talented roster. I wish him luck at his new job!

Happy Belated Birthday Chief Dr. Joe Medicine Crow

I heard it was Chief Joe Medicine Crow's birthday on Facebook. However, after a little research I found out his birthday was actually October 27. Still living to be 102 years old is quite a feat and to live such an extraordinary life is more amazing. I am still going to celebrate his birthday on my blog even if it is late. At 102 I might not have that many more chances too.

With Veteran's Day just around the corner celebrating Dr. Joe Medicine Crow's birthday makes even more sense. He is a decorated World War II veteran who was honored with the Presedential MEdal of Freedom.

Here is a video from his 100th Birthday Celebration..

It is quite an achievement to earn a Master's Degree. Quite an accomplishment to be the first one in your family to achieve this. Dr. Crow was the first member of the Crow tribe to earn a Master's Degree!

He is the last living person with a direct oral history of the Battle of Little Bighorn from a participant.

A veteran, a leader, an achiever, Chief Dr. Joe Medicine Crow has lived quite a life. He is a hero to his people and to ours! 

Battle of the Bands: I Was Only 19 by Redgum

It is a new month Rocktober is over! I am shifting gears this month. Veteran's Day is this month and I am going to honor Veteran's with my battle of the bands.

The rules are simple I pick a song and present a couple of bands battling it out with the song. You pick the one you like best by casting your vote in the comments. The why's and other comments are always welcomed.

Please check out the other battles:

 list of Battle of the Bands participants..

 I snagged it from STMcC Presents 'Battle of the Bands': 

@ ‘FAR AWAY SERIES’ by clicking HERE.
@ ‘TOSSING IT OUT’ by clicking HERE.
@ ‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’ by clicking HERE.
@ 'BOOK LOVER' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CURIOUS AS A CATHY' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING' by clicking HERE.
@ 'DCRELIEF - BATTLE OF THE BANDS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THIS BELLE ROCKS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE DOGLADY'S DEN' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE' by clicking HERE. 
@ 'ANGELS BARK' by clicking HERE.
@ 'JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE' by clicking HERE.
@ 'WOMEN: WE SHALL OVERCOME' by clicking HERE.
@ 'J.A. SCOTT' by clicking HERE.
@ 'NOVELBREWS' by clicking HERE. 
@ 'HOLLI'S HOOTS AND HOLLERS' by clicking HERE. 
@ 'QUIET LAUGHTER' by clicking HERE. 

It's a win win really. They get another visit and they treat you with some more battles featuring cool songs, musicians and bands!

I discovered an Australian band called Red Gum. They had a song called "I Was Only 19" and that is the song I am choosing for my Battle.


The Song: I Was Only 19

Contestant One: The Lancer Band (Australian Army)

Contestant Two: The Herd

 One song, two different versions. One close to the original with a female vocalist and the second one done in hip-hop fashion. It is all up to you, just vote in the comments for the one you like the best!