Easy Breezy #BattleOfTheBands

Holey Moley!
 
It’s the middle of the month again!

Sure, I’ve been watching this calendar date quite a bit - but that doesn’t exactly mean I was prepared for it :)

Do you ever have moments like that? I seem to lose entire blocks of hours at a time. The days go by so quickly for me anymore. My poor brain sometimes has trouble keeping up.


I had a hard time coming up with a battle for today. The good news is - I do believe I found a good one for Halloween. Random. I know.  I should probably go ahead and write and schedule that one before I forget about it. 

I did garner some inspiration at the last moment, though, for today’s battle.  You’ve got our fearless Battle Of The Bands BlogHop Leader (that title is quite a mouthful!) to thank for the inspiration.  His May 1 battle was the light and airy tune “Theme From A Summer Place” You can feel the welcoming of Spring and Summer weather with that one. It’s the perfect type of music for this time of year.

Today’s song that will be used in the battle is  “I.G.Y. (What A Beautiful World)”.  

IGY is short for International Geophysical Year.  IGY was written by Donald Fagen.  You might recall that Donald Fagen partnered with Walter Becker to form Steely Dan. Between 1972 and 1981, Steely Dan had ten Top-40 singles, including three top-ten hits.  Unfortunately, Fagen and Becker parted ways in 1981.  Donald Fagen went solo, and today’s song was included in his first solo album “The Nightfly”, which was released in 1982.  You will certainly hear the influence of Steely Dan in this tune.

Because I hold a high regard for Steely Dan and Mr Fagen’s music, I have decided to not use Fagen as a contender. It just wouldn’t be fair to the others competing. Instead, I have listened to quite a few covers and have chosen two of the better covers for you to choose from.

As a reminder for you seasoned readers and to help out those of you who may be new here (Welcome, BTW!) ~

Here is how a battle works:

Step one - Listen to each of the contenders. TRY not to be persuaded by the videos (unless specifically requested - in the case of today’s battle, listening is more important than watching)


Step two - Pick the contender that you prefer the most


Step three - Comment with your selection. (Yes, I know my blog can be pretty sometimes. Yes, I know you may not be familiar with the song(s) or artist(s). Don’t tell me about that. Instead, give me your opinion on which is the better contender.)  It’s not rocket science.  Most of you are bloggers, so putting together a minimum of two sentences (or 15 words) should not be that big of a task. (And if it *IS* a big task for you, perhaps blogging is not for you - just sayin’) 


Step four - Visit Stephen’s blog to check out his battle and for a list of other bloggers that have have battles going on. We each have different battles, so please be sure to visit everyone. I'll provide a link below the videos to Stephen's blog for your convenience.



Contender #1 - Howard Jones

Howard Jones is a British singer, musician and songwriter. He had ten top 40 hit singles in the UK between 1983 and 1986, including six which reached the top ten, and his 1984 album Human's Lib went to number one. Around the world, he had 15 top 40 hit singles between 1983 and 1992. He has been described by AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine as "one of the defining figures of mid-'80s synth pop." He also performed at Live Aid in 1985.

Contender #2 - The Kites

The Kites is steeped in legend, folklore and beer coasters. However, it would be safe to say that Mark Kennedy’s early bands – ‘Third Reform’, ‘Opaque Jake’ and ‘Hot Springs’ were the genesis of the Kites lineup who made their way onto the stage at The Grand National Hotel in Paddington, Sydney sometime in 1980. The band became instantly popular with punters and musicians alike, who packed out the pub on the weekends to hear an eclectic mix of classic tunes of the day from Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Boz Scaggs, Toto and many more. After a ten year run the band took a long hiatus. Reforming in 2013 with a new line-up and the cream of the repertoire, mixed with new music – they have proved to discerning Sydney music lovers that the Kites heritage is in good hands.

YOU DON’T NEED TO BE FAMILIAR WITH AN ARTIST OR A SONG TO KNOW WHICH ONE YOU PREFER.  There are no right or wrong votes, unless you vote for someone not listed as a contender or don’t vote at all.


I’ll keep the voting open until Sunday, May 20 @ 3pm EST with results posted on Monday, May 21. 


I’d like to encourage you to visit the other bloggers participating in the battle of the bands as well. We’ve put a lot of time and effort into putting together these battles and they are a lot of fun. Each blogger has a different battle taking place. You can find a current list on Stephen’s blog (you can also request to join the battle of the bands blog hop on his blog).