Monday, January 31, 2011

Battle of the Bands Upset

Our competition on Dr. John's Record Shelf to determine the great British (or Commonwealth) rock band between 1960 and 1974 has been relatively short on surprises so far. But when the Troggs knocked off the Band this week, that was a major upset. Here's a video of the song that propelled the Troggs into Round Three:

Battle of the Bands Update

The Troggs

Here are the winners in this week's matchups on the Battle of the Bands on Dr. John's Record Shelf: Buffalo Springfield (seeded no. 3 in the Pop Bracket) knocked off the Easybeats (11) by a 7-2 margin, while the Troggs (10) scored an upset over the Band (2) 6 votes to 3. The songs in the competition this week were "Sorry" by the Easybeats, "Bluebird" by the Springfield, "Love Is All Around" by the Troggs and "This Wheel's on Fire" by the Band.

Buffalo Springfield

This means that Buffalo Springfield will face the Troggs in Round Three. Other groups moving on, so far, include Jethro Tull and the Kinks; the Rolling Stones and Manfred Mann; and the Who and Moody Blues. We're halfway through Round Two. Next week will see "I've Seen All Good People" by Yes (11 in the Mod Bracket) v. "Hand Me Down World" Guess Who (3); and "Smoke on the Water" Deep Purple (7) v. "See Emily Play" by Pink Floyd (2). If you have an opinion on either of those matchups, feel free to cast your vote in the comments section.

Today's Quote

I kind of think that newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951) was correct in this observation:

"Any man who has the brains to think
and the nerve to act for the benefit of
the people of this country is considered
a radical by those who are content with
stagnation and willing to endure disaster."

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Cool Song

I really like this band, Darker My Love. This song is off their second album called 2, which is one highlight after another; their most recent album, Alive As You Are, is possibly even better. Check'em out:

Sunday Funnies

I've been noting this past week how out of touch I feel with current popular music and films. But apparently I remain on the same wavelength as the cartoonists: first Bill Griffith in Zippy and now Delainey & Rasmussen in Betty seem to be commenting on the same kind of disconnect.

A Sunday Quote

I was planning to do a little housekeeping today, but then I remembered this line from George Carlin (1937-2008), and it made me wonder if there much point to it...

"Dusting is a good example of the futility
of trying to put things right. As soon as
you dust, the fact of your next dusting
has already been established."

Saturday, January 29, 2011

One of the Great Unsung Bands

I'm thinking of adding a new regular feature to my radio show, which I plan to call the "Bobby Fuller Memorial Unsung Artist of the Week." The idea is to feature a group or singer that doesn't get the respect they deserves in the annals of rock and roll. I'm naming it after Bobby Fuller, because although everyone remembers his classic "I Fought the Law," no one aside from music geeks (like me) seem to have any knowledge of all the other great material in his catalog. Here's some video evidence of that greatness, including two songs that in a perfect world would've been chart-toppers:

Soup Diary 110129

I lunched today at the Mackenzie River restaurant in Butte, where I began my meal with a cup of the soup of the day: Beer Cheese. You might recall that a week or so ago I had some cheese soup at Subway which was surprisingly tasty. But where the previous sampling was kind of light and creamy, today's was rather rich and chalky. In fact, I'd compare it to a Welsh rarebit more than a soup, and I think it would've been a bit better poured over some hearty homemade bread than standing, as it did, all by itself. I don't mean to complain too much-- it wasn't bad. It was just striking to me that it wasn't as good as the stuff from the fast food place, which I might not have even noticed if I hadn't had them so close together. Oh well. I did spot a recently opened place in uptown Butte a little later in the day, that was advertising its soup in the front window, so next time I'm there, I'll have someplace new to try.

I Love Zippy

Evidently, I'm not the only one feeling out of touch with contemporary pop music.

Saturday Morning Cartoon

Daffy Duck as Carmen Miranda-- I don't think I need anything to that particular teaser:

Today's Quotation

I really like this line from the great novelist William Faulkner (1897-1962):

"A man's moral conscience is the curse
he had to accept from the gods in order
to gain from them the right to dream."

Friday, January 28, 2011

Whatever Happened to ...

... KRS-One? I'm hardly the biggest hip hop fan in the world (gross understatement), but I always liked this song, and it still makes me smile. Maybe it'll strike a chord with you too:

Friday Family Blogging Quiz

Okay, here's another in the ongoing series of "Whose eyes are these?" Put your answers in the comments and I'll reveal the winner next week.

Last week there was a spirited competition to identify the nose sneaking into the top of a picture of Ben and Nik. In fact it was Ben who guessed (remembered?) that it was Aunt Theresa's schnozz. Congratulations Ben, and good luck to everyone this week!

The Last Movie I Saw

I was pretty thoroughly entertained by the recent Coen Brothers remake of True Grit, just as I recall being when I watched the Henry Hathaway/John Wayne original thirty odd years ago. In fact, although it's been that long since I saw the original, the new version seemed to be pretty much the same at least as far as the story (no surprise really, since they both spring from the same novel). Jeff Bridges, as Marshall Rooster Cogburn, was even more dissolute than I recall Wayne in his portrayal of the character, and I guess the violence was a bit more stark (though here I thought the Coens showed more restraint than they have in other of their films-- it certainly wasn't over the top). In fact the biggest difference that I could discern was that Matt Damon played the Texas Ranger LaBoeuf as a more archly comical character (in fact, I'd count this as the biggest highlight of the movie), while Glen Campbell played it straight in the earlier version. As I say, though, that's all based on a pretty dim memory. Maybe the original will pop up on Turner Classics in the next few weeks as they roll out their pre-Oscar programming, and I'll see how keen my memories are. But here's the thing-- if all I can think of to comment on is how same or different the two versions are, does that suggest that, despite the craftsmanship of all concerned, there's really not a whole lot to justify arguing that the new film is anything more than a pleasant time-waster? In some ways, this reminds me of the Richard Linklater remake of Bad News Bears from a few years back-- his version was good, but certainly didn't add or change anything to what Michael Ritchie had accomplished thirty years earlier in the first telling. I don't have anything against remakes, but it reminded me of something I read recently (possibly on Jonathan Rosenbaum's blog-- to which there's a link in the left margin of this blog): that if Hollywood is going to persist in doing remakes, wouldn't it be so much more interesting if good directors (a category that certainly includes the Coens and Linklater) plied their talents in redoing stinkers or failures of the past instead of trying to one-up the classics?

More Friday Family Blogging

Natalie got her learner's permit last month, and looking back at these old photos, I'm starting to understand now why she was so anxious to get behind the wheel-- she's been champing at the bit since her toddling days.

Friday Family Blogging

Here's a picture of the Wild One and his youngish Old Lady. Dad's got the hat, and Natalie's got the hard-case expression, don't you think?

Friday Philosophy

Here's a passage from Immanuel Kant's Critique of Practical Reason. It's a bit weighty, but I think rewarding if you spend some time thinking about what Kant is saying:

"Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing wonder-- the starry heavens above me, and the moral law within me. I need not search for them, and vaguely guess concerning them, as if they were veiled in darkness or hidden in the infinite altitude. I see them before me, and link them immediately with the consciousness of my existence. The former begins from the spot I occupy in the outer world of sense, and enlarges my connection with it to a boundless extent with worlds upon worlds and systems of systems. The second begins with my invisible self, my personality, and places me in a truly infinite world traceable only by my understanding, with which I perceive I am in an universal and necessary connection, as I am also thereby with all those visible worlds. This view infinitely elevates my value as an intelligence by my personality, in which the moral law reveals to me a life independent of the animal and even the whole material world, and reaching my destiny into the infinite."

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Classic Comedy

It's easy to forget that at one time Steve Martin was on the cutting edge of comedy. I still find him funny, but he's moved past the truly weird and wild stuff he did early on in his career. Here's a little sample of what I mean:

Toonerville Thursday

More hijinks, courtesy of the Skipper this week. His customers like to try and put one over on him, but they rarely succeed!

The Oscars

Is it just me, or does the expansion of candidates for the Best Picture Academy Award from five to ten kind of diminish the drama of the competition? I've seen eight of the ten, and will likely see a ninth (no way I'll sit through 127 Hours, not because I doubt it's good, but because it sounds likely to trigger my claustrophobia). When there were five candidates, there were generally a couple I thought deserved to be honored and at least one that I could avidly root against. But with ten, there are several that really ought to win, and the odds of a stinker sneaking through seems truly remote. I guess the two "best" films could conceivably cancel each other out in the voting, opening the door to no. 3, but in a field this large, no. 3 is still likely to be pretty good. Maybe that impression is just a result of the specific films nominated this year, none of which really look to me like a masterpiece, meaning its anyone's game, and whatever the result my reaction will be a shrug. Maybe after I watch Winter's Bone, I'll feel differently. I doubt it, though. I'll probably make some picks here when the ceremony is looming, but right now I'm seeing very little to get really excited about. I hope that doesn't mean I'm losing interest in the cinematic arts; but then, when were the Oscars ever about art?

Thursday's Thought

Here's something to keep in mind the next time you hear politicians or pundits yelling at each other. It's a line from teh great British statesman William Gladstone (1809-1898):

"Men are apt to mistake the strength
of their feeling for the strength of their
argument. The heated mind resents the
chill touch and relentless scrutiny of logic."

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Good Stuff

Here's a song off one of my favorite albums of last year (no. 62 on the Pazz & Jop poll mentioned in the previous post): The Brutalist Bricks by Ted Leo & the Pharmacists. I'd argue that it shoulda been ranked much higher, but I guess we've already established that my opinions aren't exactly in synch with the critics.

Pazz & Jop


The Village Voice Annual Pazz & Jop poll came out last week, which you can read all about here. Last year when the poll came out I wrote about how it revealed how far I've fallen away from being "hip" as far as music is concerned. This year's list certainly continues that trend. Virtually every record I bought in the last year and really liked actually made the list, but very few were anywhere near the top (there several hundred albums listed, with a great many of those named on a single ballot from critics around the country). I do own three from the top ten, and five in the top twenty, but I wouldn't count any of these as favorites. Meanwhile, most of the rest of the elites were either unknown to me, or something I actively dislike (or don't find very appealing or interesting). I guess this trend was inevitable, and it doesn't really bother me-- it just seems to have happened rather suddenly. Oh well, I doubt I'll ever be without plenty of stuff I like to listen to, so what difference does it make if it's not what the cool kids like?

Wednesday's Word of Wisdom

Here's an interesting observation from the Austrian philosopher (wouldn't you guess as much from his picture?) Martin Buber (1878-1965):

"There are three principles in a man's being
and life, the principle of thought, the principle
of speech, and the principle of action. The
origin of all conflict between me and my
fellow-men is that I do not say what I
mean and I don't do what I say."

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Classic Comedy

It's been awhile since I put up a clip of the great W.C. Fields, so let's go ahead and remedy that right away:

This Week's Top Five

Due to circumstances beyond my control, there was no Top Five list on this past week's Dr. John's Record Shelf. But that didn't seem like a good reason to deprive my readers here, so I dug up this old recording from a show about three years ago. Hope you like it:

Today's Thought

William Dean Howells (1837-1920) was considered one of the great literary minds of the late nineteenth century, though he's rarely read these days (as far as I can tell). Still this is a line worth remembering:

"There is little proportion about either
pain or pleasure: a headache darkens
the universe while it lasts, a cup of tea
really lightens the spirit bereft of all
reasonable consolations."

Monday, January 24, 2011

Battle of the Bands Video

These guys just got knocked out of the Battle of the Bands on Dr. John's Record Shelf, but it was largely just due to the luck of the draw (having to face the Kinks in Round 2). Personally, I'd rank them higher than all but a handful of the other groups moving on. At any rate, here's one of their best songs, even if it doesn't quite reach the level of "Waterloo Sunset:"

A Nice Little Time Waster

We all know that the internet is all about wasting time, right? Here's a game that you might enjoy to wile away a few minutes while you're trying to think of something else to Google.

Battle of the Bands Update

Jethro Tull

We had a couple of close ones in the Battle of the bands this week on Dr. John's Record Shelf. Jethro Tull (seeded no. 6 in the Empire Bracket) upset the Bee Gees (3) by a 5-4 margin and the Kinks (2) took down Badfinger (7) by a 6-3 score.

The Kinks

The songs in the competition this week were "Thick as a Brick" by Tull, "I Started a Joke" by the Bee Gees, "Waterloo Sunset" by the Kinks, and "No Matter What" by Badfinger-- not a stinker in the bunch. So this means that the kinks and Jethro Tull will meet in Round 3. Next week's Pop Bracket pairings look like this:"Sorry" by the Easybeats (11) v."Bluebird" by Buffalo Springfield (3); and "This Wheel's On Fire" by the Band v. "Love is All Around" by the Troggs. If you'd like to vote on one or both of those, just put your choices in the comments section.

Monday's Quote

Today's message comes from one of the key philosophes of the Enlightenment, Denis Diderot (1713-1784):

"To attempt the destruction of our passions is
the height of folly. What a noble aim is that of
the zealot who tortures himself like a madman
in order to desire nothing, love nothing, feel
nothing, and who, if he succeeded, would
end up a complete monster!"

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Cool Song

This goes back a few years, but still sounds really good to me. Freedy Johnston never broke through to a mass audience (this tune probably came closest to being a hit), but he did fine work. Check it out:

Three Pictures: Vegas Black & White

Here are three photos taken on a recent trip to Las Vegas, starting with a view of the Statue of Liberty in front of the New York New York Casino. One one doesn't often think of the Statue looming over palm trees.

This shot was actually taken out at Red Rocks, a little ways outside the city. But I think it turned out pretty good, with some nice contrast in black and white.

It's hard to avoid the neon in Vegas. This sign advertises one of the smaller motels on Las Vegas Boulevard just north of the Strip. I like how the black and white emphasizes the glow of the lights.

Sunday Funnies

Today we feature several examples of The Gumps from 1937. This was a classic family strip created by artist Sidney Smith that was, according to comics historian Maurice Horn, the most popular strip of the 1920s.

Unfortunately, Smith died in an automobile accident in 1935, and these examples are the work of his successor Gus Edson (who kept the strip going for another 25 years). Some might say Edson wasn't a match for Smith, but these are fun in a kind of sit-com-ish way.

They kind of remind me a bit of Blondie and Dagwood, though Andy Gump wasn't quite such a dim bulb (at least not all the time like Dagwood), and Min was hardly as glamorous as Blondie. Son Chester rounded out the regular cast, and was a pretty typical kid (though in earlier sequences, he was almost a rival to Milton Caniff's Terry for the adventures he got caught up in). This is a good example of a cultural phenomenon (there were movies, novels, toys, etc. at the strip's peak) that's somehow been mostly forgotten today-- it makes one wonder what will last from among today's many pop culture fads.

A Thought for Sunday

Here's a little bit of truth (I believe) expressed by Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) in his classic satirical novel Gulliver's Travels:

"And he gave it for his opinion, 'that whoever
could make two ears of corn, or two blades of
grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where
only one grew before, would deserve better
of mankind, and do more essential service to
his country, than the whole race of
politicians put together.'"

Saturday, January 22, 2011

An Old Favorite

"Cracklin' Rosie" was always my favorite Neil Diamond song, for reasons I'd be hard-pressed to explain. Maybe it was just a matter of timing, as this came out around the time I was first starting to pay attention to pop music. At any rate, here's a video of Neil doing that song:

Soup Diary 110122

Do you know how they say you shouldn't go grocery shopping on an empty stomach? Well, today I broke that rule and ended up filling my cart, followed by a trip to Subway for a sandwich (as I couldn't wait to get home and make my own). Normally, I just get a sub, but as they were putting together my order, I noticed they had some soup on the menu too, so I had to have some of that as well. Now, I've had their soup before, and it's just what you would expect from a fast food place-- nothing special, but if it's good and hot you figure you've come out ahead. I was very surprised to find today's soup to be much more than that-- very tasty and a nice complement to my chicken sandwich. It was a Cheese with Ham and Bacon concoction, and often that means something heavy and salty (given my hunger, that didn't cross my mind ahead of time). But this was actually pretty light and creamy, with just enough tiny chunks of meat to give it some texture. Maybe I got there just as it was peaking, as opposed to having sat in the kettle for a couple of days. I imagine if I ordered it again, I wouldn't be so lucky, but for today at least it was a pleasant surprise, so kudos to the chef.

Saturday Morning Cartoon

When I was a kid, TV stations had no qualms about showing old black and white cartoons. I doubt that would be the case anywhere today. As a result, I remember watching all these really old Popeye cartoons on Rocketship 7 (our daily kid's show). Here's an example of one:

A Saturday Quote

Here's some implicit advice from the great Spanish novelist (author of Don Quixote) Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616):

"Diligence is the mother of good fortune,
and idleness, its opposite, never brought a
man to the goal of any of his best wishes."

Friday, January 21, 2011

A Favorite Song

Granted, they're not Pere Ubu, but Living Colour do a really nice job on the former's classic punk anthem, "Final Solution." Check it out:

Friday Family Blogging Quiz

I think I've got a good one this week. You'll all recognize Nik and Ben, but whose nose is that sneaking into the upper left hand side of the frame? Here's a little hint: this is from the summer of '06 when we all got together at Dan & Theresa's house for the Fourth of July. In other words-- there are a lot of candidates!

Last week, I asked who the baby was, and who was holding her. For it was indeed a her: Marenka, which Theresa finally guessed. But no one figured out that it was yours truly, Dr. Uncle John, holding Marenka so she could reach forward and snap the pic of the two of us. Better luck this week!

Spring is On the Way...

Today I heard, for the first time this year, those truly wonderful words: "pitchers and catchers report in three weeks." Boy, did that make me feel good!

More Friday Family Blogging

Here's a shot of Natalie that looks a little sinister. Actually, we were just burning candles to keep the bugs away, but that's not so interesting.

Friday Family Blogging

Admittedly, this was originally a botched picture of Emma. But by pushing up the levels as far as I could, it came out looking kind of interesting to me. You certainly can't miss those blue eyes, eh?

Friday Philosophy

Today's words of wisdom come to us from the great Chinese thinker Lao Tzu (6th Century BC). This is from verse 54 of his Tao Te Ching:

"Cultivate Virtue in yourself,
And virtue will be real.
Cultivate it in the family,
And Virtue will abound.
Cultivate it in the village
And Virtue will grow.
Cultivate it in the nation,
And Virtue will be abundant.
Cultivate it in the universe,
And Virtue will be everywhere."

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Good Song

Here's a live performance by one of my favorite contemporary singer-songwriters, Erin McKeown:

Toonerville Thursday

I'm not sure I'd want to live in Toonerville (I've never seen that they have a good bookstore, for example, or a taco place), but I sure do enjoy visiting. I hope you do too.

Thursday's Quote

Today I got my first pair of bifocals-- so this line from journalist Martha Gellhorn (1908-1998) seemed particularly appropriate:

"Why do people talk of the horrors of old age? It's
great. I feel like a fine old car with the parts gradually
wearing out, but I'm not complaining,... Those who
find growing old terrible are people who haven't
done what they wanted with their lives."

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Cool Video

I didn't realize that the Forty-Fives were still around, as their last record came out about six years ago. But this video (dated 2010) suggests they are still performing, with a new recording on the way (yippee!). They are kind of like the Atlanta version of the Chesterfield Kings...

Five Reasons Why I Prefer Soccer to Football

Didier Drogba, Chelsea

I grew up loving American football. But over the years, I've grown more and more bored by how the game has evolved. It's reached the point where nowadays, I'd much rather watch a soccer match, especially Premier League soccer out of England, which is available on one of the cable channels I receive. Here are the main reasons why:

1. Soccer players are more athletic. Obviously there are plenty of NFL players who exhibit great athleticism, but let's face it, a lot of guys make a career out of being extremely large, and probably couldn't run for more than thirty yards without falling over. On the soccer field, everybody runs, almost non-stop, for ninety minutes without a break, regardless of the position they play (well, except for the goalies). There's also less specialization in soccer. Certainly different players play different positions on the field, and have certain responsibilities based on that, but the core skills are the same across the board-- the ability to handle the ball, make passes, play defense, etc. They remain on the field, usually for the entire contest with few substitutions, and they certainly don't field entirely different teams on offense and defense, as is true in the NFL.

2. Injuries are much less common, and much less frightening in soccer. I can't remember the last time I watched an NFL game where there wasn't at least one long stoppage in play as a player was prepared for a stretcher, or a player hobbled to the sideline unable to place any weight on a leg. Concussions are a common occurrence, and there's endless discussion about whether someone or other will be able to return to the field after taking a vicious hit. Yeah, it's a rough game, but it seems to have reached a point where the media and fans demand even harder hits as part of the entertainment, and that just doesn't appeal to me. Contact in soccer is pretty constant, but hardly of the type that lays out football players on virtually every play. And it's rare to see someone take such a hit that they can't get up and continue (though sometimes the players act like it-- granted, not the most attractive element of the sport).

3. NFL announcers these days are to a man repetitive and boring. Every game seems to have prepared script points, focusing on a star or a matchup that is endlessly commented on, almost regardless of how the game plays out. There's virtually nothing original in content from either the play-by-play guys or the color men. Maybe this is just the result of watching games for over forty years, but I've never noticed the same level of redundancy in baseball, or now soccer (though I'm willing to concede the latter may be because I'm a relative newcomer to the sport). Some of this, it seems to me, is an unwillingness to give the viewer credit for being a long-time fan-- there's very little historical context offered in football commentary (again, not the case with baseball), as if no one watching realizes the game was played before the time of say John Elway or Dan Marino. Given all the "down-time" between plays, you'd think it would give the broadcast crew some opportunity to wax nostalgic, at least some of the time.

4. The clock never stops in soccer. The players play for 45+ minutes per half, and the clock never stops. If there is a break in play, extra time is added, so that the fans get a full 90 minutes of competition. In the NFL, everyone is consumed with the clock, either running it down while you're ahead (which does not involve actually running plays, at least not very quickly), or stopping it if you're behind (with techniques that also lead to long breaks between bursts of action). The irony, to me, is that for most of the game, the clock just keeps on running while nothing is happening. That never happens in soccer.

5. You don't see soccer managers wearing headphones, getting information from observers up in sky-boxes providing data or intelligence on what the other side is doing. This is one of the most irritating aspects of the NFL to me-- the use of technology to gain some kind of edge. Talk about taking the game out of the hands of the players! This of course is part and parcel with the common analogy that football is like battle, and one wonders if it isn't a case where the side with the higher tech toys is inclined to win. Give me the relative purity of soccer any day.

Thought for the Day

Chew on this one for awhile, a line from the famous humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935). I think there may be something profound in there (or maybe not):

"An onion can make people cry but
there's never been a vegetable
that can make people laugh."

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Classic Song

I remember watching this performance live back in 1975 (the first season of Saturday Night). It was possibly the first reunion between Simon and Garfunkel after they had split a few years earlier (or anyway, I vaguely recall this being promoted that way at the time). Too bad the actual video isn't available, but then it's the voices that count most here. Check it out:

Cool Photo Site

The Library of Congress has a great on-line exhibit called "In His Own Words: Photographs and Commentary by William Gottlieb." Gottlieb was famous for capturing the jazz milieu in New York City in the mid-twentieth century (that's the jazz mecca of 52nd St. above). Some of these are real stunners-- something about the visual style of jazz really lends itself to especially black and white images, though Gottlieb also worked in color (check out the fragmented portrait of Stan Kenton with Buddy Childers). I like looking at pictures like these in part because they make me want to take better pictures myself. Check'em out.

This Week's Top Five

I always enjoy a good movie-oriented list, especially if it's somewhat historical in nature, like this one (which originally aired on my radio show a couple nights ago):

A Quote for Tuesday

I like this comment from the great British statesman Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881):

"Knowledge must be gained by ourselves.
Mankind may supply us with facts; but the
results, even if they agree with previous
ones, must be the work of our own mind."

Monday, January 17, 2011

Battle of the Bands Winner

Here's the Rolling Stones and the song that took them into Round Three of the Battle of the Bands on Dr. John's Record Shelf:

Three Pictures: Berlin B&W

I've been going back over pictures I took last Spring in Germany, and seeing if I can punch them up one way or another . All of these are cropped, adjusted for lighting, and converted to black and white. Above is a street scene near the old Checkpoint Charlie.

This is the umbrella roof at Potsdamerplatz, a rather hip night spot in what was at one time a stately old residential neighborhood before being bombed out during World War II.

Last is a scene on, if I recall correctly, the Unter den Linden looking up the river towards the Berliner Dom (Cathedral).

Battle of the Bands Update

Manfred Mann

No upsets this week in the Battle of the Bands on Dr. John's Record Shelf. We had two Round Two pairings in the Teddy Boy Bracket, where the no. 1 seeded Rolling Stones knocked off Mott the Hoople (8) while Manfred Mann (4) took care of Free (12). These winners will face off in Round Three.

The Rolling Stones

The songs played this week included "Street Fighting Man" by the Stones, "All the Young Dudes" by Mott, "The Mighty Quinn" from Manfred Mann, and "The Stealer" by Free. The Stones and Manfred Mann join the Who and Moody Blues as groups moving on to the next round. Next week's matches will see Led Zeppelin and "D'Yer Mak'er" facing the Zombies with "She's Not There" while the Small Faces pitch "Itchycoo Park" against "Can't You See That She's Mine" by the Dave Clark Five." If you want to vote on those matches, just put your preferences in the comments section.