Well, as y’all know, the FIFTEEN FANTASY ISLAND FAVORITES festival is only four days away. This is “A McBirdDogg Production” in which every blogger in Blogland and every non-blogging friend of mine is invited to compile their list of the 15 favorite music albums they would take with them for a life confined on an island.
.
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This project has generated some amusing dialogue between myself and some of my friends, which I thought might make for a worthwhile Blog Bit as we approach the FFIF festival. So, I’m posting below some of these exchanges that have taken place over the last week and a half. I hope you read and enjoy them, but then you’d better get back to work on your album list because you’re runnin’ outta time, Dudes and Dudettes:
MR. PAULBOY PRODIGALMAN VI: I think at least one Electric Light Orchestra album will be necessary, if for nothing else than to power the CD player.
STMcC: Ha!-Ha! Only YOU would think to say something like that. That's pretty funny, Mr. Paulboy. It made me laugh out loud for real. But don't sweat it - we're going to have a professor on this island with us who will be able to generate electricity from two coconuts and a palm leaf. Although he won't be able to figure out a way to fix the hole in our boat. Sheesh! :-O
Yak Later, my man.
STMcC [to Ol' WP]: I'm looking forward to seeing your choices... no matter what they are. (Is Barry Manilow going to make your list? Yeah, it doesn't look like he's gonna make mine either ;o)
OL’ WP [a.k.a. KALAMATA BR-O]: Barry Manilow, ha! The funny thing about him is that everyone knows like at least 5 of his songs by heart, even though they've never owned an album of his. I believe that every one loves at least one Barry Manilow song, even if they will never admit it. Yes, even you! C'mon man, I'll let you keep your membership in the "He-Man Woman Haters Club", and I won't tell anyone. Which one is it STM, "I Write The Songs" or "Copacabana" maybe? Yeah, you seem like a Copa guy. : )
STMcC: A challenge, is it, Kalamata?
OK, Brother, YOU'RE ON!...
Well, first of all, I honestly hate "I Write The Songs". And you know what? I honestly hate "Copacabana" EVEN MORE! I mean, "hate" is a strong word, but in this case, not strong enough.
But just to be fair, just to see if you might have any chance at all of winning this challenge, I got out my Billboard Book Of Top 40 Hits and looked up Unmanly Manilow. Wow! Dude had a lot of hits - the vast majority of which I don't even recognize by title.
His song "Looks Like We Made It" I find tolerable, but that's a long ways off from saying I like it. So it seemed I was going to win the challenge, but then working my way backwards through his list of hits, I came to 1974 and the very first hit he ever had: 'Mandy'. DOH!!!
OK, I admit it, I always really liked 'Mandy'. Haven't heard it in ages but I'm sure I would still like it, would still "turn it up". Yeah, that was a really good song - to my ears anyway - and I think he just gets flushed down the toilet after that. But, dang it, man - HA! - you winz!
ARLEE BIRD: You seem to be making the assumption that I'm just going to be listing a bunch of trivial rock and roll. My choices are going to be rooted in many of the genres which I will be omitting and will also have relationships to the same.
15 albums are so limiting when covering all genres.
STMcC: That's right, McBuddy. That's what makes this challenge so "challenging"; that's why not everyone has the guts and the mental toughness to play the game and make those really difficult cuts. And that's why I agonized - AGONIZED - over my 15th selection. I knew that this was my "last chance" - only 1 of my remaining (approximately) 146 albums would I be allowed to hear again FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.
What made it worse is that when I narrowed my final #15 choice down to 3 contenders, one was a 3-disc box set, one was a single disc movie soundtrack of 70+ minutes of music, and one was a "Greatest Hits" album of just 11 songs totalling less than 23 minutes of music (the longest song on the record is a mere 2:26).
But I'm so freakin' tough that in the end, I went with the sentimental choice: the twenty-two and a half minutes "Greatest Hits" album. Now THAT'S makin' some hard decisions, McBrother. And that's why this list idea is not for the weak-minded. Gotta be able to make those tough cuts because this is all the music you'll ever hear again until you get to that place where angels sing and play harps on clouds. :o)
When it dawned on me that my friend DiscConnected (owner of about 9,000 compact discs) was contemplating including Tom Petty and Warren Zevon on his list of 15 albums, while excluding Bob Dylan, I commented on his Blog:
STMcC: Hoo-Wee! Petty over Dylan? Zevon over Dylan? Just what kinda "music fan" are ya? My island's gonna have better tunes than yers, and unless you bring a lot of rum with ya, you ain't welcome to come visit. ;o)
~ “Lonesome Dogg” McD-Fens
DISCCONNECTED: Well D-Fens, it's my island and I can ditch Bobby D. if I want to!…
Yer lucky I just don't pick 15 Todd Rundgren titles and get the silly thing over with.
Don't think I have ruled that out, and don't think I wouldn't be just fine with a (sort-of) complete Todd Rundgren catalog.
And my island is going to have better pot than yours, so I can pack some butt-kickin speakers instead of rum!
STMcC: Ahhh... But my island is gonna have the best lookin', uninhibited, "all-natural" native womenfolk, and no other man present to compete for their attention. I can already smell the coconut oil on their tanned skin, and see them leaning over me, peeling grapes for me while I kick back in my hammock and spill rum.
Yeah, you can keep yer pot and yer Todd Rugrat. Heck, you can have all the Dylan ya want, too. Take yer albums and 14 of mine as well. I think all I'm going to need is Ravel's 'Bolero'. (I hope no one ever rescues me!)
;o)
Well, folks, it’s been fun ALREADY!
See y’all on Monday, May 17th, with yer list in hand.
WIN! – WIN!
PRIZES! – PRIZES!
I hereby promise that if
in my estimation, anyone produces on
May 17th a better list of FIFTEEN FANTASY ISLAND FAVORITES than I do, I will pay that person one million dollars before the week is out! That’s how confident I am in the list of music albums I’ve put together!
“The large print giveth and the small print taketh away”.
~ Tom Waits
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
YE OLDE COMMENT POLICY: All comments, pro and con, are welcome. However, ad hominem attacks and disrespectful epithets will not be tolerated (read: "posted"). After all, this isn’t Amazon.com, so I don’t have to put up with that kind of bovine excrement.
.
LOL. Stephen. I'm speechless.
ReplyDeleteI'll hold you to that one million dollars, because no matter how good you think your list is, it ain't gonna top another person's love and subjectivity towards their own!
Looking forward to it 'darl' ;)
AlliAllo ~
ReplyDeleteApparently you failed to read "the small print". (That's what comes of skimming important Blog Bits which should be read carefully.) Didn't yer mama tell you NEVER to sign a contract 'til you done read the small print?
I would NEVER carelessly risk losing the one million dollars I'll never have.
~ "Lonesome Dogg" McD-Fens
Don't worry I read the fine print ;) My mama taught me dat too. Just wanted to sought your attitude out ... hahaha.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, "Mandy" was a great song! I remember that one well:
ReplyDeleteThe sailor said, "Mandy, you're a fine girl. What a great wife you would be, but my life, my lover, my lady is the sea."
Yeah, love that song, but I used to think he was singing "Brandy" and are you sure that was Manilow?
And get ready to fork over that million.
Lee
May 17th FIFTEEN FANTASY ISLAND FAVORITES
Enjoyed the post, looking forward to being on Fantasy Island.
ReplyDeleteEveryone is differnet therefore their musical taste are different,
I won't get back to compiling my 15 albums......all done and dusted ready to be sent,
WHAT'S THIS ABOUT MONEY? ARLEE DIDN'T MENTION MONEY!!!!!!!!
Yvonne.
rLEE-b ~
ReplyDeleteHa!-Ha!
You gots da wrong song, Brother! Yes, "Brandy" is a good song, too. But if memory serves me, it was a One-Hit Wonder group called "Looking Glass" who did "Brandy". But Manilow's "Mandy" has a chorus that goes like this:
Well you came and you gave without taking
But I sent you away, oh Mandy
Well you kissed me and stopped me from shaking
I need you today, oh Mandy
Ahhh... now you remember, huh?
Actually, between the two, I like Looking Glass' "Brandy" better than Barry Manilow's "Mandy", however, they're both Oldies But Goodies.
YVONNE ~
Yeah, the money thang was my idea. I don't mind offering copious amounts of the stuffs when I know there's really no danger of me losing any of it ;o)
~ Stephen
"As a dog returns to his own vomit,
so a fool repeats his folly."
~ Proverbs 26:11
Thanks for another laugh. Honestly All I would bring to an island would be old Celtic airs and reels plus some classical. Nobody wants to see that list. That's why I'm sitting out this one.
ReplyDelete"The large print giveth and the small print taketh away”.
ReplyDelete~ Tom Waits"
Love the word play.:)
Regarding the comment you left on latest post: "Say, I ain't heard a peep outta ya since I linked ya to that interview that Yoey O'Dogherty conducted with me. Scared ya, huh? Ha!-Ha! Well, I warned ya that you'd be sorry if ya read it. I warned ya, didn't I?! Can't say I didn't!"
It didn't scare me/make me sorry in the least. But in my opinion, it was just more of the same stuff I already knew about ya. It left me wanting more. You're still an enigma. :)
"I just wanted to ask if you've noticed anything different about your skin since you've been on the Lecithin. Especially your face and the backs of your hands. Does it seem softer or changed in some way?"
I can't really tell a difference - but my skin was already pretty soft I think. If anything has changed, it may be my forearms. They do appear to be a little softer, but it may just be my imagination. But I'm more concerned with what it's doing on the inside.
Thanks for checking in and I hope you have a great weekend my friend! :O)
MARJORIE ~
ReplyDeleteHmmm... Perhaps you're right. Nobody WOULD want to see that list. Ha! Me, I had a hell of a time narrowing my list down to 15 choices, and that's without even once considering any old Celtic airs and reels or Classical.
Ain't it "funny" how different every person is? Thanks for stopping by!
LISA ~
--> But in my opinion, it was just more of the same stuff I already knew about ya. It left me wanting more. You're still an enigma.
Someone else also said that they felt it only revealed a little more about me. And I'm thinkin': Sheesh! Iz youz all kiddin'? I mean, what more is there to tell about me? It elucidates my spiritual views, my political views, my personality "type", my legal and illegal drug use, my stay in a Mexican jail, and even my favorite color! What more could there possibly be to say about me?!
--> If anything has changed, it may be my forearms. They do appear to be a little softer
Oh, yes. I seriously doubt it's your imagination. I didn't think to mention your forearms because I myself didn't notice a difference there, but that's probably because of the far greater amount of hair that men have on their forearms.
But a woman where I work was influenced by me to get on the Lecithin recently, and just Wednesday night she told me that she had noticed the skin on her forearms seemed much softer (as well as a previously dry section of her face which is now cleared up and extra soft).
Oddly enough, she also said that a problem she's had with her eyesight for many decades - which no doctor was able to help her with - seems to be suddenly clearing up.
Yeah, it's what's going on inside that really counts, and I guarantee ya that is "good stuffs".
~ "Lonesome Dogg" McD-Fens
Marjorie -- I'd like to see your list! I'm leaving classical off mine even though it's probably my favorite-- I'd like to see how your taste compares to mine.
ReplyDeleteAnd back when I used to play fiddle I used to dabble in Irish fiddle music and still love that stuff. We'll need plenty of varied input!
Lee
May 17th FIFTEEN FANTASY ISLAND FAVORITES
I love your confidence and your
ReplyDeletefake monopoly money, lol!
It is Brandy, that was the fine girl, not Mandy! Arlee is right on that count~
It is a challenge, one I am still toying with; If I could be alone and let the cobwebs settle a bit, I might be able to do this! It feels like summer camp, at my house. Husband is home for 3wks, I am finding keeping up with my
blog a challenge. I did throw this
challenge at him, curious to what he would come up with. So, far I have heard him mutter Aerosmith...
I agree with Alliterative Allomorph, the bottom line is OUR
choice! How many islanders, how big is the island, and how many
cd players are going? I do not want to hear your whole list before I hear some of mine. We need to mix it up and who is bring what? I can cook, Can I be Mary Ann? tee,hee
ELLIE ~
ReplyDeleteSure! I would rather you were Mary Ann than Ginger. ;o)
As far as Arlee B. and me and Brandy and Mandy are concerned, methinks you need to go back and reread that exchange because Mr. Bird was mistaken; I was the one who got it right. (Shame on you! Don't you know by now that I NEVER make misteaks?!)
Everyone is marooned on their own island, so you need not fear being subjected to my musical choices, even though my musical choices will be the best by any objective measure.
Having said that, watch some joker post an album list that, to my amazement, I think is better than my own. I'll owe them one million dollars by the end of the week. (Would have to raid my piggy bank to come up with THAT kind of money!) This reminds me of a great Foghorn Leghorn cartoon I saw decades ago but... I'll not try to explain it to yaz.
Hubby mutters "Aerosmith", eh? Aww, he's just tryin' to keep up with the Aerojoneses!
Looking forward to seeing your list. Get 'er done!
~ "Lonesome Dogg" McD-Fens
Mr. Bird knows what he was talking about. He walking just playing around. I kept trying to sing "Mandy" to myself and it would always turn into "Brandy", which tells me that "Brandy" is the far superior song and "Mandy" is more Manilow dreck. Well maybe that's a bit harsh-- I appreciate Manilow's artistry at what he does.
ReplyDelete"Brandy" is a fine song.....
Dang! How did I leave off Aerosmith?
Lee
rLEE-b ~
ReplyDeleteI agree, "Brandy" is superior to "Mandy" - and not just for listening purposes but for drinking purposes, too!
And "Mandy" may be more "Manilow dreck", but I likes it. And as Kalamata Br-O points out (and I suspect correctly so), you like at least one example of "Manilow dreck". Be HONEST! You a 'Copa' guy? (Ha!)
And you HAD to leave off AEROSMITH because Ellie's hubby already picked 'em. They can't be in two places at once! You can take KISS or FOREIGNER or DEEP PURPLE or the ROLLING STONES or CHEAP TRICK or the GEORGIA SATELLITES. It's all the same thing.
~ "Lonesome Dogg" McD-Fens
Stephen-with all that coconut oil flowing, you might wanna skip the CD's to make room on the lifeboat for some viagra!
ReplyDeleteViagra?
ReplyDeleteI don't need no stinkin' Viagra!
Hmmm... But then again, I guess having several dozen cases of it stored on the island wouldn't hurt anything.
~ "Lonesome Dogg" McD-Fens
Lone Dogg, hubby chose KISS, his fav; not so much mine! I will get my monopoly $ ready, just in case... tee,hee! Remember, he isn't playing! No Mandilow on my list! I appreciate his appeal, I think he wrote a lot of great music, that other artists performed, before he decided
ReplyDeleteto sing. I could be wrong....This is starting to feel like "Bandstand". Who that reminds me I like swing music, too.... So Dogg, let it Wail, off to get some ale~
Whoah, check this out
ReplyDeletehttp://en.allexperts.com/q/Manilow-Barry-511/number-songs-written-recorded.htm
I bow to Manilow for his gift of lyrics and song!
oops, wrong about KISS, he says, I'm confusing him with someone else.
ReplyDeleteNo more music talk with him! He would probably pick a metal band....that's all I say~ Good thing he doesn't read my blog!
ELLIE ~
ReplyDelete--> oops, wrong about KISS, he says, I'm confusing him with someone else.
Ooh! Never a good sign when you're confusing your husband with someone else. Probably even worse when it's vice versa.
--> that reminds me I like swing music, too....
Hear ya! I loves me music that "swings"!
--> So Dogg, let it Wail, off to get some ale.
Ha! Now yer singin' my tune! :o)
~ "Lonesome Dogg" McD-Fens
Great list, and great commentaries!!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you showed yours to me...now did you look at mine?? ;)
Hee hee...
Sig
I don't want to get into the battle of the bands but my vote is on YOU! Your list totally rock. I remember and love all the artists and songs except one. You have in my opinion really picked the best of the best.
ReplyDeleteSIG ~
ReplyDeleteI have seen yours and left a comment. (I'm slowly working my way top down from Arlee's list.)
You made me laugh. So far, you're the only one to do that... but I have a lot of lists to look at yet.
DEBRA ~
Wow! Thanks!
I'm gonna copy what you said and show it to my friend DiscConnected who is trying to give me hell about my choices. Thanks a lot for the ammunition! ;o)
~ "Lonesome Dogg" McD-Fens