MJ Smackdown: Billie Jean

John nominated Billie Jean. Hard to argue against his statement that it is one of the best pop songs of all time (well, Chase would...). MJ's appearance on the Motown Special was also probably one of television's greatest moments. I remember asking, with most of America, "How'd he do that?" when MJ unveiled the Moonwalk about 3.50 into the song.

Rats! (and MJ Smackdown, II)

Caroline's rats, Reepacheep and Steve, would like to introduce Beth's suggestion, Ben.

Michael Jackson Smackdown: Wanna Be Startin' Something.

Okay, now where were we? Oh, yeah: Michael Jackson smackdown. Already got a couple of suggestions, and I'll post them, but I'm trying to go one at a time. My daughter, Caroline, has come to stay for awhile, and has brought a menagerie of pets, including a kitten, pictured at left, which she found by the side of the road. Vampire kitten brings the attitude, which is, I'm hoping, consistent with today's selection, Gonna Be Startin' Something, from Off the Wall.

Happy Father's Day mini-smackdown.

In the last smackdown, the early favorite, Jane's Addiction, edged out his mellower competitor, Ben Harper, who apparently got caught stealing kisses. Today, a mini-smackdown in honor of Father's Day. Who's your daddy?

Clif Huxtable.


Atticus Finch.


Peter Griffin.


Homer Simpson.

Stealing Smackdown: The Poll

Roger Miller and the Pretenders narrowly beat the Boss in the last Smackdown. The last Smackdown was not a huge ratings success. Oldest child suggests that you guys are tired of Smackdowns. We'll see what happens with this one. The choices this time are: Jane's Addiction, Dr. Berniece Johnson, Ben Harper and the Dead Kennedys. Vote in the upper left-hand corner. Vote for more than one, if you want. Vote more than once if you can (though you may need a second computer to do it).

Stealing Smackdown: Two

Star suggested Jane's Addiction's "Been Caught Stealing" (Col has also referred to it not long back). It's got to be the early favorite:



John recommended Dr. Berniece Johnson's religious thievery, "Steal Away to Jesus". It good, soulful, stuff (you can tell be the earnest white guy's expression):



Dead Kennedy's- Stealing People's Mail at least has the benefit of being very short:



Ben Harper's Stealing Kisses:




"Rob and Steal" by Paul Wine Jones was an unexpected cool bluesy find:



Jimmy Buffett's Great Filling Station Holdup cost him two good years (In SC, it'd cost him at least ten):




Lonely Island's "The Heist" is a funny faux-rap video with an, er, unexpected ending. The stick figures somehow add to the charm:



That probably more than we need. I might need some help picking out the four or five best.

Road Smackdown: The Poll

Last smackdown, Angel Heart ruled the self-seeking movie polls; this time, we've got five selections for the tournament: Roger Miller's "King of the Road", Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again", Thunder Road by Springsteen, Middle of the Road with The Pretenders, and former Fleetwood Mac-ian Lindsey Buckingham's Holiday Road.

In other news, yer basic Coupon King (er, me) saved a whopping $84.65 at Bi-Lo between newspaper coupons and store discounts. Brought the bill down from $268.03 to $187.38, thankyouverymuch.

Road Smackdown: Part 2

You guys came up with some good ones. The first was John's suggestion, Holiday Road (the opening theme to Chevy Chase's "National Lampoon's Vaction", by Lindsey Buckingham:



Col named a bunch of 'em, including Bruce Springsteen's Thunder Road. There are a couple of good live versions of it. This one, from 1976 isn't the best one vocally, but the visual of The Boss is pretty good, and shows how much the crowd digs him:



Another of Col's suggestions is The Door's "Roadhouse Blues" (Roadhouse is not the road, proper, but it's ON the road, so it counts). This video has the Doors and John Lee Hooker:



Chase mentioned Bob Seger's "Get out of Denver". Travel songs are all about the road, but I got to thinking that there are enough good songs about Denver to rate a separate smackdown. Instead, you get another Seger travel song, Turn the Page:



Can't imagine doing a road smackdown without Willie:



I've loved the Pretenders since "Brass in the Pocket". Their "Middle of the Road" is right up my alley:



Col had several other fine nominees, but I think we've got plenty from which to choose. I'll pick four tomorrow. Feel free to lobby for your favs.

Road Smackdown: Part I

Internet friend John suggested a Roger Miller smackdown after yesterday's "King of the Road" post. Now I dig Roger Miller, but for my money "Dang Me" and "Chug-a-Lug" just can't compete with "King of the Road". Still, John was onto something: there are a lot of good "Road" songs. Steve Earle's Copperhead Road is maybe my favorite, but it's not eligible (embedding disabled). "Road to Nowhere" by Talking Heads/David Byrne isn't not too shabby:



Six Days on the Road by Red Sovine has been covered by a bunch of folks, but I like Sawyer Brown's version about the best:



The Eagles know something about the road. They've lived in the fastlane:



Way back in the stone-age, I was jamming to Deep Purple's Highway Star:



That's a few of 'em. Bet you guys can come up with a few, too.

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" Smackdown: The Poll

No new nominations? Okay, we'll go with "The Departed", "No Way Out" and "Angel Heart". Hope you all find what you're looking for. U2 evidently haven't yet.

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" Smackdown 3: Angel Heart

Our previous entry was from 1987; today's contestant is also from 1987. Angel Heart stars Mickey Rourke as a "hard-boiled" private detective, Harry Angel. Angel is hired by Louis Cypher, played by Robert DeNiro, to find a fellow named Johnny Favorite, so Cypher can collect a debt. Johnny Favorite's daughter, Epiphany Proudfoot, played by Lisa Bonet, is the key to finding Favorite. New Orleans, murder, dark imagery and satanic sacrifice all figure prominently in this less-than-cheery film (which gave me nightmares for months). Does Angel find Johnny Favorite? Well, you know the theme of the Smackdown, don't you? Apparently, 1987 was a good year for self-discovery. This film, and the previous two, are all I had in mind for this Smackdown. If anyone has any other nominees, speak now, or forever hold your peace.

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" Smackdown 2: No Way Out

Remember Kevin Costner? Remember when he was one of the kings of the box-office? Remember the 1980's? In 1987, Costner starred Tom Farrell, a naval liaison to the Secretary of Defense, David Brice, played by Gene Hackman. Seems that Farrell and Brice have a lover in common, Susan Atwell, played by Sean Young. Brice ends up killing Atwell over her other lover, whom Brice is unaware is Farrell. Brice wants to pin the killing on the other lover, and appoints Farrell to find out who it is. Shouldn't be hard for Farrell, since it's him. There are plot twists a-plenty in this cold-war era thriller. The old Soviet Union was a wonderful enemy.

"I Still haven't Found What I'm Looking For" Smackdown: The Departed

Saw The Departed the other day. Cool movie. Matt Damon plays Colin Sullivan, a crooked cop loyal to local mobster Frank Costello, played by Jack Nicholson. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Billy Costigan, a crooked mobster loyal to the Massachusetts State Police. When the State Police figure out that Costello has a guy or guys inside the Police, it's Damon's character's job to find him. Shouldn't be too hard, since he's the mole. Anyway, this isn't the first movie where one of the characters is supposed to hunt down himself, but it's the first in this Smackdown. I've got two others in mind right now. How 'bout you?

Fightin' the Man Smackdown: The Poll

Coupla songs; coupla movies. Vote early and often.

Fightin' the Man Smackdown: Part III

Here's a commercial that won't make the cut, but which I still liked. Here, Sprint, is a little more free advertizing. A reward for your ad agency's creativity:



Naruto and Jack Black together, Stickin' it to the Man:



Enough playing around. Bob Marley stuck it to the man with style. Thought about "I Shot the Sheriff", but ultimately, this is the right one, Baby:



Now, fightin' the power with Flava:

Fightin' the Man Smackdown: Part II

Andy, John and Tallahassee Lassie Vickie had some excellent nominees, a couple of which will definitely make the list. Before I get to theirs, though, I got another one: Paul Newman died last year. Yeah, and he's had his share of tributes. He hardly needs more, but how can you talk about fightin' the man without talking about Cool Hand Luke? Well, you can't.



Andy suggested Footloose, with the farmkids rebelling against their puritanical folks. No doubt, that is fighting the man. John provided the clip.



When you're fightin' the man, sometimes ya gotta pull out all the stops. No Marquis of Queensbury rules for these guys:



John suggested two of my favorite "fightin' the man" fighters. I'll post them tomorrow.

Fightin' the Man Smackdown: Part I

Last smackdown, Solitary Man stood alone at the top of the Neil crop. Buddy Chase regularly comments in his blog, Chase's Dirty Thoughts, about the need to "Fight the Man". As a Public Defender, I fight the man every day. Many public defenders get worn down over the years, and just sort of whimper when their clients are getting the bad end of the stick. I had a tough week, but I'm no whipped dog. No way. Gotta fight the man! Here's our first entry. I'd love your suggestions for more fightin' the man songs or movie clips.

Neil Diamond Smackdown: The Poll

Okay. Poll's posted. I didn't include either of my two favorite Neil Diamond songs, Sweet Caroline and Done Too Soon, because I wanted a sample of the various phases of Neil's long journey. Careers and lives evolve. Think about pre-military, rebel Elvis compared to Vegas Elvis. Well, 60's Neil isn't the same as 80's Neil, either. Anyway, you can vote for more than one, if you want (and if you've got access to more than one computer, you can vote more than once), but if you don't vote, I'll say mean things to cute puppies.

Neil Diamond Smackdown: Two Last Picks

Love on the Rocks. Heartlight. Forever in Blue Jeans. Longfellow Serenade. Yeah. I know 'em, but they're not making the cut. It isn't always about me; but sometimes it is. Coming to America is an anthem, which for me can be anathema; but, truth be told, I like it:



Producer Rick Ruben did a great job with Johnny Cash in Cash's last albums, using song's like Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" to highlight the Man in Black's earnest and haunting voice. Ruben has worked with Neil, too, producing songs on two new (2006 and 2008) Neil works that highlight the aspects of Neil that make him uniquely Neil. Pretty Amazing Grace is one from his newest album, Home Before Dark. I like it a lot (Betcha John will too; though probably Chase won't).



Neil Diamond is a classic American songwriter and performer. Hard to call him a classic rocker. More of a pop music artist. Still, James Taylor is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and dammit, Neil should be too! I'll post the poll tomorrow. John has weighed in with Neil and Babs, so that'll be in. The rest? I'll put something up.

Neil Diamond Smackdown: The 1960s (plus tributes!).

Neil rocked back in the 1960's, back before he got "serious". A lot of other artists covered his songs, too, some serious, some not-so-serious.

Cherry Cherry was fun stuff:



...or maybe you'd like to see Jack Black do it (not so serious):



Kentucky Woman rocked, too:



...or maybe you'd like to hear heavy metal Neil Diamond tribute band, Nine Inch Neils, do it (I'm not really sure if they're serious or not):



Deep Purple covered it. So did Waylon Jennings (serious, and pretty good):



Solitary Man was pretty good, too:



...or maybe you'd rather hear Johnny Cash do it (you gotta know he was serious):