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The very first comment on my Battle of the Bands post was from Mr. Arlee Bird and he predicted that Ricky Lee Jones would win this one by a landslide. Well just to be contrary, I was hoping he was wrong. I mean, the nerve of that guy, trying to predict the outcome of my BOTB.
I got a kick out of more than one comment that said they were really surprised, BUT they were voting for Bette Midler. I'm not sure what anybody should be surprised about. That woman has got a great set of pipes and she knows how to work a song. There were even two last minutes votes, rather late last night, that came in on her side.
In the end it wasn't enough. The final tally looks like this (NOT including my vote):
Bette Midler 6 votes
Ricky Lee Jones 10 votes
Now it really doesn't matter where my vote lands, but it would be kind of unfair to not tell you what I think. I cast my vote for Ricky Lee Jones. I don't think of her style as 'vocal acrobatics' or 'flights of fantasy', as some of you said, I just think of it as 'her style'. If you haven't already guessed, I like Ricky Lee Jones. I know she has a strange style, I know she mumbles a lot, and even swallows some of the words, but for whatever reason, she appeals to me. Many of her songs also sing to my heart.
Anyway, if you add my vote to the final count she did beat out Bette by almost 2 to 1. Is that enough of a landslide for you Mr. Bird?
Comeback on the 15th for my next BATTLE OF THE BANDS and see what you think of the song and competitors I've chosen. As always, I appreciate your continued support of this little project.
haha too funny as they couldn't believe they'd vote for her, closer than I thought it would be
ReplyDeleteYeah, more than one voter said they were surprised to cast their vote for Bette, but on this particular song, they just couldn't help themselves. I was glad to see her pick up those extra votes at the end. I voted for RLJ, but also like the Bette Midler version.
DeleteHahaha. I read "vocal acrobatics" and thought to myself... "I bet I said that." So, I went back to the original battle and scrolled through the comments... and there it was!!! Sometimes I crack myself up just the littlest bit. This was one of those times.
ReplyDeleteI thought that this was a great battle. I know it was tough for me in the voting department, and a few others also had dilemmas in the decision-making department. Great job FAE!
You should have recognized that 'vocal acrobatics' comment. I think it's one of your signature comments. I certainly have seen it more than a few times.
DeleteI' glad to hear that it was a tough decision for you. Those are the better BATTLES, IMO.
Bette Midler lost? Are you kidding? It's my fault. Sorry. I didn't get to the polls and vote repeatedly.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. I hope you're well. Have a great weekend. xo
Well your one vote wouldn't have given Bette what she needed to win this one, unless of course, you intended to vote like a Chicagoan (where even the dead vote, multiple times), but regardless, you need to make it by here on the 1st and 15th of each month and cast you vote.
DeleteUnfortunately, you are in error.
ReplyDeleteRicky Lee Jones did not win.
However, Rickie Lee Jones may have pulled one out.
Ah...OK, whatever you say.
DeleteBette Midler staged a pretty decent comeback though, because it seemed she was getting clobbered much worse until it got toward the end when she picked up a few more votes.
ReplyDeleteOrdinarily, I would probably vote for Rickie and against Bette 98% of the time, but you happened to find one of those very rare occurrences when I actually liked Midler's singing. Normally, I find her kind of bland.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
It seems you weren't the only one who was surprised by their own vote. You certainly shocked me.
DeleteI was surprised again, but the number of votes that came in for Bette there at the end, but I'm glad it wasn't quite a landslide.
Actually I'm surprised that RLJ came out ahead as I was thinking that Bette had pulled ahead as I kept up with the voting. I wasn't counting, but it just felt that way. I didn't think Bette's version would do all that well and I'm actually surprised that she got as many votes as what she did. I'm most surprised about the way STMcC went with his vote--he was probably just voting against my vote to be contrary.
ReplyDeleteRLJ is not a favorite singer for me, but I can appreciate the excellent musicianship that always goes into her recordings. She's always reminded me of a holdover from the beatnik days--like she should be playing in some smoky basement club for a hepcat crowd.
Fun battle--glad my prediction kind of panned out. Gives me a little bit of cred maybe.
Lee
Wrote By Rote
Yeah, Bette pulled in quite a few votes there at the end, but RLJ had a pretty big lead. I think there are a lot of people out there who don't like RLJ, and her style.
DeleteAs far as STMc goes, well, he states that he even surprised himself with this vote. And aren't you just full of yourself, thinking he would throw a vote away just to vote against you. Ha!
I love a good battle with much controversy. Perhaps I'll have to redeem the audacious Ms Bette in a battle sometime. It pained me to vote against her.
ReplyDeleteBette has quite a catalog of music to her credit, so it shouldn't be hard to do.
DeleteI think it's kinda cool when you have a BOTB and the better voice doesn't win. Further proof that music isn't all about the voice. As I said before, Bette's got an amazing voice. Far better than RLJ in my opinion. But RLJ's music is something I can listen to, while Bette's is just not my cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteThese battles are always subjective. I agree with you that Bette does have the pipes and a great delivery, but for my taste I enjoy Ricky Lee Jones and her vocal acrobatics and flights of fantasy.
DeleteI am a little surprised it was that far apart.
ReplyDeleteYeah Michael, Bette (with your help) made a decent comeback, but she was still pretty far behind.
DeleteHey FAE! Just getting back up on my little computer feet after a virus knocked me down. I'm hoping I didn't miss too much in your world. Hope all is well. Miss talking to you!!
ReplyDeleteSo, who had the virus - you or the computer - the computer I hope. When you missed the IWSG post I really started to worry. Glad to see you're back at it.
ReplyDeleteWell, pooh, I missed this one. And I'm a big Bette fan, too, so I might have kept things closer.
ReplyDelete