Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Battle of the Bands for April 15

On tax deadline day, no less! Not much (superficially, at least) makes people feel more ragey and battle-worn than that annual rush to get taxes done. Hopefully, you've already done yours by now! If not, best of luck to you. But I doubt you're out perusing blogs if that task is still in the works. I may be a master procrastinator (HEY! I rhymed! Sort of.) about many, many things. Just about everything. But not taxes. Taxes and FAFSA paperwork are two things not even I will put off till later.

So yeah. It's time for another Battle. What is Battle of the Bands? I am so glad you asked. Every month on the 1st and 15th, I will put two covers of a song up on the blog for you to listen to (or listen to enough of to get a "feel" for the song). I will also ask that you cast a vote for your favorite version, or least disliked as some of them have gone. Six days later, on the 7th and 21st, I will come back to cast my own vote and declare a winner.

I was MIA for the last battle due to a raging case of not having enough time to sit still, so I am really excited to be back! This week I am pitting a collaboration between rockers Foo Fighters with (mostly) country artist Zac Brown against legendary alternative rockers Cake. Both have absolutely fantastic covers of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs". But don't take my word for it; have a listen for yourself:

Well, what do you think? Who did it better? Be sure to let me know in the comments and if you feel like it, tell me why you voted the way you did. I love both versions, but I have a very clear favorite. I can't wait to see how everyone else votes!

Want to participate in the next Battle of the Bands? Then head to the link above and let Stephen T. know! He can hook you up!

Be sure to come back tomorrow for Thrift Score Thursday - the one I've been relentlessly pimping out all week long. I will reveal the rest of that super-zoomed black sneak peek photo so you can actually see what it is! And of course, I'll be blogging all about it. Oh, I do hope you'll come back for that!

20 comments:

  1. Hi Kim,
    Thanks for the tough battle! And thanks to your blog I've been exposed to a great many bands I didn't know before. I've recently begun to enjoy a little of Black Sabbath. I enjoyed Zak and the Foo Fighters. Interesting combo. But I really found more delight in the Cake version. Maybe it was the quirkiness - yeah, sure - sirens and all. And I wish they'd put those horns in more. Still I found myself smiling, and when that happens I'm ready to vote!

    My vote is for Cake. Terrific battle, (smile).

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    1. One for Cake, then :) I am glad you enjoyed this battle. Cake is indeed quirky! I love all their other stuff, as well. And YOU KNOW I love the Foo Fighters and the Zac Brown Band (though only Zac was featured in this collaboration).

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  2. My taxes are filed and my refund appeared in my bank account today. Yay! Done with another year.

    I think I have "War Pigs" set for some future battle but now I don't remember what artists I used. I'll have to see if I used Cake and may have to nix that one if I did.

    I'm a big fan of the Cake sound. The Foo Fighters do an excellent job with this, but it's pretty true to the original Black Sabbath version so I'm going to cast another vote for the quirkiness of Cake. They put their own twist on the song.

    Arlee Bird
    A to Z Challenge Co-host
    Tossing It Out

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    1. #2 for Cake! I'm loving this. Don't worry about nixing Cake if you used it - as long as it's not the exact same battle, it should be good, right?

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  3. Hello Kim...

    Several thoughts today. Would you be willing to add the Google Follow Connect button to your blog? It used to set up automatically. Now you have to work a bit harder for it in the Layout. If you don't know how to find it, leave me a comment on my blog so I can go into the Layout and write down the steps to find/add it. That way I can follow your blog. As it is, I have to get here via Stephen's blog, and I only remember to do that for BoTB.

    Two, I did come by last battle and read your existing non-BoTB post. From that I dedicated something to you on my last HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY post. I don't think you saw because I don't recall you commenting. Now, that said, you could have and I've forgotten. My mind is deteriorating rapidly.

    Third, make it Cake for me. I really liked everything about their sound!

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    1. Robin, I will have to make sure to come by your place on non-BotB days, too. I keep meaning to! I don't recall having seen a "Here's to you!" Post, but I surely would have commented if I had. I will get back to you on the button when I come by your BotB after work tonight.

      Another for Cake!

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  4. RING IN A BELLE! ~
    Nice to have you back to BOTB.

    In this contest, my vote is for CAKE - they have a more pronounced rhythmic sense (and then I get horns too). I don't really know either of these bands but I think someone (Girl Wonder?) used Cake in a previous BOTB and I think I liked that song (whatever it was) pretty well.

    Gotta go. I hear sirens. I think the coppers have found me.

    ~ D-FensDogG
    'Loyal American Underground'

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    1. One more for Cake! They definitely have a unique, unmistakable sound. Just an all-around weird yet incredibly funky band.

      You had me scared for a minute there; I thought you were going to tell me she'd done this particular battle before. I know it's only a matter of time before I pick something someone has used before, I just hope to never do an exact battle that someone has done before, as I have no way to go back to every participant to see what they've done in the past.

      Thanks for the welcome back. Hope you can outrun the cops!

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  5. Hi, Kim! Stephen sent me over to experience your BOTB post. Holy crap! The Foo Fighters performance on Letterman blew me away. (Clearly, Letterman was blown away, too.) I realize the FF had an advantage over Cake in this contest because we could watch them as they rocked out their live performance but, even so, their version destroys. That's just the way I like my rock, flat out and no holds barred. For that reason, vid #1, the Foo Fighters with Zac Brown, gets an enthusiastic thumbs up from me.

    I look forward to participating in your next band battle, Kim. Thanks for having me over!

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    1. Thanks so much for stopping by, Shady! I am glad to make your acquaintance, and I shall return the visit ASAP!

      Did FF rock this song or what? I know others have noticed that it stays pretty true to the original, but they definitely still put their own sound to it, and I love it! Also, thank you for voting for them. I was headed into shutout territory - never been there before, but I guess it's not good.

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    2. Ha! I seem to have voted against the grain in most of yesterday's BOTB posts. I suppose that's a good thing because, as you pointed out, nobody wants their contest to turn into a landslide.

      I am very grateful for your visit to my blog, Kim. If rock's your thing, stay tuned, because I am heavily into European gothic symphonic heavy metal bands and American hard rock bands like In This Moment, Motionless in White, Marilyn Manson and The Pretty Reckless, and will be presenting these hard and heavy acts on my blog occasionally. In other words, you and I have more in common that you might think. I hope we can follow each other and become friends. In fact, I feel as if we already are. Thanks!

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    3. No problem, Shady! I"m a fan of a lot of metal and hard rock as well. I'm not lying when I say I love all types of music, but it's really all about my mood. And what's good at the time :) I'll definitely be following you!

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  6. Hey, Girl! I was so certain I would go one way and was pulled the other. Zack Brown and the Foo Fighters did a good job. But, I really, really liked the version by Cake best! This really blew me away because usually alternative rock usually doesn't rock well me when I hear a more traditional sounding band. I may have to check out more songs by Cake, but before I do let me cast my vote for Cake! Good BoTB show down, Kim! ;)

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    1. Now there's a quirky band for ya! Adding another mark for Cake :) Their version definitely stands out.

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  7. I liked the sound of Cake, with its Sixties vibe, much better than the Foo Fighters. Give them my vote.

    My battle is here.

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  8. Oh Foo Fighters All the way!!
    and hubby does our taxes, so I assume he's done them!! LOL
    he's pretty good about that - I keep the kids alive and well and he handles the bills: it works for us. haha

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    1. LOL, that would work for me, too! Taxes are the thing that I both dread and look forward to the most every year.

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  9. OK, I was sure I missed voting on somebodys BOTB, but I couldn't remember who. So, today I scrolled back though all the A to Z posts and checked everyone out, only to find it was you whom I missed. sorry about that.

    Excellent BATTLE. I really though they were both going to be very similar, but they really weren't. I like the Cake version better, so give them my vote.

    Oh, and yeah, my taxes are done, thank goodness. Hopefully this year will be the end of a long hard uphilll climb with the IRS, YIKES!

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    1. I hope your tax issues are over, too! At least you have them done, and that's at least half the battle, right? I don't even like hearing the words "The IRS". It gives me the cold sweats.

      One more for Cake!

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