Monday, June 1, 2015

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

Gentle Readers . . . and  Maxwell,

Recently my beloved friends Cherdo of Cherdo on the Flipside and Shady Del Knight of Shady Dell Music & Memories became affiliated with a bloghop called The Battle of the Bands.

I don't know if the concept for this bloghop originated with Stephen McCarthy, but since he can be found at  STMcC Presents 'Battle of the Bands," I requested information. He added me to the list of participants and provided this simple format:

The whole thing is really quite simple: You select two different versions of the same song (versions you feel might give each other some competition in the voting) and you post them on the 1st and the 15th of each month.

On the 7th and 21st of each month, you add your own personal vote to the mix, total up all the votes and announce the winner on your blog.

Beyond that, just try to have fun with it and let your readers/voters have fun with it.

I definitely want to have fun with this hop, so my first song choice is Bohemian Rhapsody. 


You think I'm going to play Queen, don't you? Fooled ya already.

I begin with Wayne (Mike Myers) and Garth (Dana Carvey)  from Wayne's World, along with some of their buddies. However, they are backed by Queen. According to the Internet Movie Database:


Myers had originally developed the Wayne character as a solo character while performing with Second City. The character of Garth was added for Saturday Night Live (1975). At the time, Carvey was arguably the bigger star.


The movie Wayne's World was released in 1992, and became quite a success:






Party on, Wayne and Garth!

My second version of Bohemian Rhapsody is by none other than the Muppets:



My favorite Muppets, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker, appear in the video.

Jim Henson created the Muppets in 1955, starting with Kermit the frog. In 1969, some of the Muppets became characters on Sesame Street. They zoomed to popularity.They had their own television show, and made several movies. I understand they will have another series on ABC in the fall. I don't watch many series, but I won't miss the Muppets. The rights to most of them have been purchased by Disney.

Wikipedia states:
Disney began gradually reintroducing the [Muppets] franchise to the mainstream in 2008. As a method of regaining a wider audience, Disney began to produce and air their own comedy shorts on YouTube. After the "Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody" was posted on the Muppet Studios' YouTube Channel, it ultimately gained 25 million views and took home two Webby Awards. Videos are being posted on the site regularly.

I hope now that you'll vote in the comments section under this blog post. Do you prefer Wayne and Garth (with Queen), or the Muppets?

On June 7th I'll count your votes, cast my own vote, and announce the winner.

Enjoy!


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

P.S. I have two blog posts today because I'm participating in two bloghops.

69 comments:

  1. Wayne and Garth! Wayne and Garth! My favorite scene in the movie.

    (No insult to Muppets...you know I love a good Muppet or even a Muppet-Fail).

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  2. The Muppets version was funny and had good production value, but I'd say I couldn't take listening to that too many times. It's entertainment more than pure music.

    That clip from Wayne's World is a classic and now I can't hear that song without picturing those guys bobbing their heads. And the music is Queen. Since we're judging on the music then I have to go with the original guys.

    WWW---Wayne's World wins! At least for me that clip gets my vote.

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

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    1. Wayne's World might end up winning. The voting is pretty close already.

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  3. Best BOTB debut... EVER!

    Believe it or not, the Muppets have been used in a BOTB blog bit below. If memory serves me, it was Alex Cavanaugh who used them (and I voted for them then, too).

    As I recall (which may or may not be correct), Alex also once mentioned on his blog (a couple years ago) that his daughter and her friends were singing along in the car to some then-popular song, and he said, "What do you think this song is? 'Bohemian Rhapsody'?"

    Anyway, I'd never heard these versions before. I know, I know! But, hey, I march to the beat of my own insane drummers.

    Wayne and Garth got an assist from Queen. But Queen is not a band I was ever a fan of ("Not that there's anything wrong with that"... band.) But in the end... I gotta give my vote to THE MUPPETS.

    But I'll tell ya, JANIE, just the competitors alone made me Laugh-Out-Loud! Good show, Junebug! This be how it'z done!

    ~ D-FensDogG
    'Loyal American Underground'

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  4. I do enjoy the muppets very much, but I have to vote for Wayne and Garth on this one. :)

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  5. UGH. I dislike both versions. BUT if I have to choose - my vote goes to Wayne's World. Hope to see you at my BOTB http://www.jinglejanglejungle.net

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  6. What a great idea, Janie Junebug! Only you (or maybe me) could come up with such a creative pairing for your first band battle. I love Wayne and Garth and have them in the pipeline on my own blog. I vividly recall this performance of "Bohemian Rhapsody" in Wayne's World. Know what? I enjoyed the Muppets version even more. Theirs is funnier and the backing band rocks hard. Give my vote to the Muppets, dear friend Janie, and enjoy your Monday!

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    1. Thank you, Sir Shady. Your approbation means the world.

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  7. I love the Wayne's World one, haven't listened to the Muppets one yet but I am totally intrigued! I will have a listen tomorrow when I can borrow someone else's less used up internet connection ;)

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  8. Janice, thanks for the smiles this morning and welcome to the BoTB! It's nice to have you join the June 1 round. Great fun choices to a classic by Queen. I love the Muppets! Who doesn't, right? So, chalk up another vote for The Muppets!


    Mad World #BOTB

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    1. Janice! Janice! Someone is looking for you. Where are you, Janice?

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  9. The Muppets version was pretty good, especially the one just screaming "MAMA!" over and over again, but Wayne and Garth were part of my childhood. And they were pretty decent years. I still love that scene after all this time. Party on, Janie.

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  10. Oh Janie! Life, and singing in a Gremlin - Wayne's World cracks me up. Then you bring Cherdo's Gonzo, (with the chickens) over or the Muppet version! Ha! You made my day - I am still laughing. So glad you joined BOTB!

    You ARE the Queen! My vote goes to the Muppets!

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    1. But my Gonzo is REAL! Ha ha ha...He's my youngest son (Juggernaut, Magoo and Gonzo!).

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    2. Dixie dear, I must confide in you. Cherdo's "Gonzo" is a fantasy. She carries a stuffed Muppet around all the time. Thank you, Dixie, for recognizing my Queendom.

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  11. I did not even need to click play on either of those videos. Song promptly inserted into head. My husband's been on Queen kick lately so anytime we get into the car it's either Bohemian Rhapsody or Bicycle Race blasting.
    As for my vote: MUPPETS! That one makes me nearly cry with laughter. So great!

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  12. Welcome to BOTB, Janie! ☺ This is a fun debut and both versions made me smile, but I have to vote for Wayne and Garth, mostly because that one is so engrained in my pop culture mind. Plus, Mike Myers is a local (Toronto) icon.

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    1. I haven't watched SNL since it's early days, but I can't help loving Wayne and Garth.

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  13. Oh Please....
    THE MUPPETS !

    cheese, parsnip

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  14. Hi Janie - yes I'd say the Muppets - but love listening to the song twice ... cheers Hilary .. Easy come, easy go .. yes let me go .. cheers again!!!

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  15. What a fun battle! Welcome aboard. Great debut battle. I adore the muppets. And I like the Wayne's World version too and it's a favorite scene from the movie. But for this one I have to go with the Muppets, especially if watching the piece is to be taken into consideration. Those little guys just crack me up. The drummer was hilarious! So my vote goes to the Muppets. Great fun here!
    Michele at Angels Bark

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    1. It's pretty difficult to avoid fun when a Muppet is around.

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  16. How can anyone vote against the Muppets? They rock!

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  17. Wayne and Garth - Wayne's World, gets my vote. How can you not like singing longhairs cruising about singing opera, I mean really? Although the Muppets were very entertaining, especially Animal (I think that's the name of the muppet screaming Mama), I gotta go with the singing boys. A great inaugural BOTBs, Janie!

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    1. Thank you, and yes, I think his name is Animal.

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  18. Oh, Wayne and Garth totally get my vote. Love that movie!

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  19. The one from "Wayne's World" is a classic, and has special meaning to me because I'm from Chicago and they pass by the Indian statue at 63rd and Pulaski (which used to advertise White Owl cigars for the tobacconist in the shop underneath him, except now it advertises eye exams for the optometrist in the same building--they put glasses on the Indian, I kid you not). Plus, I took my brother to a White Sox game, and on the way home they played this song on the radio, and we did the head-bobbing thing and almost got in an accident on the Dan Ryan Expressway with another car whose occupants were listening to the same radio station and who were also doing the head-bobbing.

    Nevertheless, the Muppets win, because Beaker and the Swedish Chef totally break me up.

    Welcome aboard!

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    1. I like your personal experience with the song and the city. IMDb says that Mike Myers and Dana Carvey complained that their necks got sore from all the head bobbing. Dana Carvey also didn't bother to learn the words to the song, so he just moved his mouth the best he could.

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  20. Wayne's World. My friends Bob and Pam dressed up like Wayne and Garth for Halloween. Soon after that, they got divorced. I dressed up like a tampon at that same party. The first comment I ever left on your blog was about the tampon costume.

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    1. I remember that comment. It's the only comment ever about a tampon costume.

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  21. Wayne's world for the win in my book....I'm the party pooper who finds the Muppets annoying. How I suffered through my daughter's childhood, poor pitiful me. LOL

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    1. Take a slow deep breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth. Children grow up and sometimes they even move away.

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  22. I love this song but, to me, the only one who does it great justice is The Muppets. I mean everything from the chickens to the Swedish Chef. The great band with Animal. Plus one of my dad's favourite shows was "The Muppet Show" and he was a rugged lumberman in his 60's when this aired. They get my vote!!

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    1. I loved The Muppet Show. I look forward to their new show.

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  23. Too bad Wayne and Garth weren't actually doing their own singing; I felt like it was just lip sync to Queen. Queen against Queen? Nah. It was fun, but, still Queen.

    The Muppets, on the other hand, sing, dance and add their own style to everything they perform. Hands down, who can vote against Gonzo; or be brave enough to defy Ms Piggy, lol. Muppets all the way for originality. And cuteness.

    Welcome to the show June :)

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    1. But it's WAYNE and GARTH lip syncing to Queen. Voting for the Muppets is fine, of course. I wouldn't have made them contenders otherwise. Thank you for welcoming me. It is, indeed, the month of June.

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  24. LOL. Have you seen the Glee version? It was in the first or second season and it was used to show how amazingly kick-butt the opposing glee club was. It was quite jaw-dropping:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOr1dQNOTwQ

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    1. I remember that episode of Glee. That's when Glee was good.

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  25. Replies
    1. Your particular shade of Blue would fit in well with the Muppets.

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  26. Oh wow this is tough one. I am really huge fan of the muppets but I have to say musically I will go with Wayne's world.

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  27. My first thought was "this is silly." Turns out I was right. It was silly and SO MUCH FUN. (So, I was also quite happily wrong:)

    Both versions made me smile, but The Muppets made me laugh out loud. They were awesome. So, one wholehearted vote for The Muppets.

    Note to self: come back and play these again later!!!!

    Thanks for the great battle, Janie!

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  28. Welcome to the BOTB's! The Muppets get my vote

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  29. The muppets video was fun to watch. What's interesting is there are many characters I love, and many I hate. I love the Swedish Chef and the old hecklers. But I hate Mrs. Piggy. But then, the Pigs in Space I find to be one of my favourite sketches.

    Unfortunately, I'm a big Wayne's World fan. Especially since I live so close to Aurora Illinois, Milwaukee to be precise. Did you know Milwaukee is an Indian name? It's pronounced "mill-e-wah-que" which is Algonquin for "the good land."

    So put my vote for the Wayne's World video.
    Thanks.

    Having seen some of the other battle of the bands, I've decided I'm going to give it a try starting with the 15th of June. Hope to see you around my neck of the woods.

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    1. I loved it when Alice Cooper provided the information about Milwaukee. Great part of the movie. I look forward to seeing you on the 15th.

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  30. Oh, the Muppets all the way! Their version is EPIC!

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  31. Muppets for me. They win the battle of my nostalgia.

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  32. I don't like Bohemian Rhapsody but I love the muppets--I'll vote for them!! How did I miss this post?

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