The Ultimate Dog v Cat Battle of the Bands Final Results
It’s all over now!
The felines took on the canines in what was perhaps a historic tournament in the battle of the bands history.
You guys voted, and chose the winner. Now it’s time to see how your vote stacked up against the others.
But first, let’s recap how we got to this place in history.
My good friend and fellow blogger, Michele from Angels Bark approached me and suggested this tournament idea. I thought it sounded like fun, so we went for it. Of course, she would be rooting for the doggies and I would be rooting for the kittehs.
Round One took place on each of our sites on July 15. Round One was intended to be our ‘harder’ rock tunes representing our sides.
Michele featured Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” and Ted Nugent’s “Dog Eat Dog”
I didn’t quite get the memo and went with covers of Ted Nugent’s “Cat Scratch Fever”
Round Two was for our ‘softer’ rock tunes. This round took place on August 1.
Michele featured Marvin Gaye’s “I’ll Be Doggone” and Lobo’s “Me & You & a Dog Named Boo”
I featured Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s In The Cradle” and Ugly Kid Joe’s “Cat’s In The Cradle”
Round Three (The Semi-Finals) happened on August 15, and we each battled our own harder rock against our own softer rock winners from Rounds One and Two.
The Championship Round took place on September 1. The winners of the Semi-Finals faced off to see once and for all who is better - The CATS or The DOGS!
I had a pretty good idea who was going to take the Championship - but one never really knows with the unpredictability of our readers.
I found it rather interesting, on my page, the cats were scratching up those poor little doggies left and right. But on Michele’s page, the doggies were doing a darn good job of defending their territory.
After the votes were in, we combined our votes - removing the duplicates. After all was said and done, it was a fairly close battle, as far as battles go - only separated by 5 votes.
The final tally -
Led Zeppelin with 16 votes
Harry Chapin with 21 votes
And just like that… the cats have been declared a winner!
Michele and I are talking about making this an annual tournament. What are your thoughts on this? What cat and dogs songs would you like to see featured in such a tournament? Or would you rather see a different theme? Let’s discuss in the comments! We know one thing is for certain - this was a lot of fun!
Be sure to check back tomorrow, September 15 for the next installment of battle of the bands. At the time of this writing, I don’t know for sure what I’m going to do for the battle - so it will be a surprise for all of us!
Yikes, no comments?? What?? The biggest battle tournament in history and no one came for the finals?? I read this on Friday but wanted to wait to come back here to comment so I could see how folks responded to your request for suggestions for future tournaments. hmmpf...
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to mine since I posted it on Friday (this weekend was nuts and nothing much got done as far as online stuff) so not sure if you had a chance to visit and comment but I'll head over there later on...
Well Girl, this was SO MUCH FUN! Hopefully that was clear in my Results post. I really enjoyed doing it, I especially enjoyed interacting and chatting with you through all of it and I can't wait to do the next one!
I'll stop back by here later in the week to see if anyone comes and responds to ideas for future dog/cat songs and/or other ideas. Maybe if you send out a promotion post/comment via your other groups or FB friends and ask them to come over here and give some suggestions, we could get some ideas. Or hey, why not leave us to our own devices? A scary proposition but it worked for this last one. Surely we'll do it right on the next one too!
Thanks for everything Friend! It was truly a pleasure hanging out with you these last few weeks. <3
Michele at Angels Bark
I know, crazy, right?!? Not even a peep from that McStephen dude. Oh well.. I have a new battle going on now that seems to be taking a life of it's own. Am busy gearing up for my big Rocktober Blogfest. I've decided to do daily linkies for that.. plus more brainstorming taking place for after October.
DeleteNow, to just put it all into action...
~Mary
ps. I can't remember if I made it over to your results post or not. I better go check it out.
Part 1 Of 2:
ReplyDeleteMARY, MARY, QUITE EXTRAORDINARY ~
>>... Michele and I are talking about making this an annual tournament. What are your thoughts on this? What cat and dogs songs would you like to see featured in such a tournament? Or would you rather see a different theme? Let’s discuss in the comments!
"McStephen Dude" checking in now...
As I said to Michele, this tournament was tons o' funs, and I hope y'all do it again, sooner than later. I dig dogs more than I crave cat companionship, so I was rootin' for dem dogs even though my vote went to Chapin's 'Cats...' After all, it's about the music first and foremost.
Quite a long time ago, when my BOTB co-founder FAE was still active in BOTB, she and I did a much more scaled-down version of a BOTB Tournament. On the same date, we each put together Battles featuring the song 'The Look Of Love' (4 versions total). And then in the next BOTB, we each put our respective Battle winners up against each other to determine which one of the four versions reigned supreme.
So, I was totally on-board with this much more extensive BOTB Tourney idea you and Michele came up with.
If I can make a constructive suggestion...
I suspect a major reason for the lack of comments here is due to timing. Not announcing the Results until just a day before a new BOTB round is beginning probably killed off the chances that this post would get much attention.
I had noticed that with this Final Battle, and at least one (if not more) of the earlier Battles in the Tournament, the voting window stayed open for quite a long time -- like maybe 10 to 12 days, I think. But I feel there's a beat or rhythm to most things, and if some things seem too "open-ended" it will diminish the tension and cause interest in general to dissipate.
That's why when FAE and I first started doing BOTB, we created very definite beginning and ending dates for each Battle (1st-6th, with Results announced on the 7th; and 15th-20th, with Results announced on the 21st). Six days seemed plenty enough time for folks to get their votes in, and each Battle then, from Start to Results Post, constituted one full week.
Over time, a lot of BOTBers started establishing their own Ending Dates, which is perfectly fine with me (I'm no dictator and don't ever want to be one), but I think that drawing a Battle out too long tends to cause a loss of interest over time. I still stick to the original one-week schedule and I still feel it's pretty ideal.
Continued Below...
Part 2 of 2:
DeleteAlso, I think that this post appearing just one day before the start of a new BOTB round didn't help it much. By the time people were noticing it, they were already wrapped up in their own new BOTB posts, commenting on other Battles and responding to comments on their own Battles.
I don't feel that the lack of comments here indicates a lack of interest in your Tournament's outcome, but is simply a matter of timing that was not to your advantage. Had the Final Battle's voting window been closed sooner and the votes tabulated and announced several days earlier, I believe people would have had enough time to visit here before their time and attention was necessarily directed to the next round of Battles.
There are so many songs that mention dogs and cats that you and Michele could easily re-use this theme. Or you could go with a new theme -- and the creative possibilities are endless.
Songs about places - countries, states, cities; songs about colors; songs that mention water; songs that mention historical events... endless possibilities.
Here's an idea that just popped into my head: How about you and Michele do a BOTB Tournament where you pick a theme, pick one song each, and then ask all the regular BOTBers to submit a song of their own which matches the theme? Then add the rule that no one is allowed to vote for their own song which they submitted.
As one example: You ask each BOTBer to submit a song they like or love which mentions the state or city where they were born. Then we find out which state or city song is the most popular with BOTBers and other voters over the long haul.
Or you could do the same idea but with songs that mention, say, a color or a number ("BOTBers, pick a song that mentions your favorite number"), etc., etc., etc.
But whatever the next BOTB Tournament idea you and Michele decide to run with, I'll be looking forward to it and supporting it.
~ McStephen Dude
Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends
Hey McStevo
DeleteI think a big part of this first time out the gate was that we weren't fully prepared for various scenarios. I don't know that either of us knew exactly what to expect to happen.
One of those issues that we ran into was timing. It was difficult to get our posts out at same time - due to basic life issues. Hope that makes sense.
The reason I had been keeping my battles open for as long as I had was that I was only posting x amount of times per week. This final results, I had it all tallied up on Sunday the 9th, but due to circumstances that were out of our control Michele and I weren't able to get our acts together until the 14th to post. At that point I would have typically just held over the results until the new battle on the 15th, but I felt the Championship Round deserved it's own post.
As far as comments go - I don't think either of us were lacking in the comment department on the days of battle. And if I'm being completely honest - I'm not offended that many have not commented on the Final Results post.
I'm still going to look forward to next year's tournament, and will most definitely be better prepared.
I'm starting a new endeavor on October 1st - Perhaps you read that post - Rocktober MusicFest - a month long blog hop. I'm almost certain that I will encounter some hiccups along the way, but undoubtedly it will be a load of fun!
My Oct 1 battle is already written and set to go live at 12am Eastern. I've had the Oct 15 battle pre-planned for months now, just need to put it in writing and get it scheduled.
Hope you are having a good week!
~MMQE
Howdy Again, MMQE ~
DeleteWell, considering this was BOTB's first major Tournament styled contest, I think you and Michele did a great job. And I am certain that the voters enjoyed it, even if timing kind of diminished commentary on the Results announcements.
Yes, your voter turnouts during the various phases of the Tournament were very good. It was only the Results posts that saw fewer comments. But when it really counted, the people came around.
And, I totally understand why you felt that the Tournament Results deserved its own post, regardless of timing. I completely concur! As a blogger, one should do what they think they should and what they want to, and let the chips fall where they will. (I know I could have gained far more followers on my principal blog, 'Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends', if I had toned down my "voice" and played real nice. But that wouldn't have been being true to myself. I never did score high marks in "Plays Well With Others", anyway.[;o)
Now I gotta start thinking about my next Battle. I've had a couple blowouts in a row, but they didn't come as a surprise, so I'm OK with that. But I think I want to put together something that'll be a tight race for my next one.
See ya then!
~ D-FensDogG
Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends
Hey again yerself!
DeleteI think that the regular BOTBers enjoyed the tournament, but it felt as though the non-regular peeps (sounds like they need more fiber!) struggled with the concept and many of them told me privately that they had thought they had already voted - when they truly had only voted in an earlier round. They were so confused!
And try as I might, no matter how I worded the post, there was always at least one who voted for someone that wasn't even in the battle. I've been trying to be nicer in my responses to them, I've always been a patient person, but the older I get, the less patience I seem to have. I have a hard time biting my tongue and not pointing out the fact that these same people also write blogs and they would be just as offended if I left them a comment that had nothing to do with their actual post. I worry about this younger generation. They are the ones who will be caring fur us in the nursing homes. Scratch that thought. I worry about 'US' as an older generation being left in the care of the younger generation.
So yeah.. I get the whole 'Doesn't Play Well with Others' and it would not surprise me one iota that you also 'Run With Scissors'.
Can you believe this month is practically over?
~M