Song Fight Review: Beaten Man

The last challenge over at Song Fight was titled "Vest Factory", and there was a tie for first. DJ Ranger Den & The Panna Cotta Army get to share the victory, while Darkroom (who I voted for) finished in a 3 way tie for 6th. A new batch of songs can be found over at Song Fight, so I suggest you go pick your favorite songs for the current round. My picks are listed below:

(PS: My reviews are normally pretty lazy, in that I don't write much, but this time even more so. I was short on time, and even though I listened to everything, I wasn't motivated to put much effort into this.)

Voted For:
(Right Click "Save As" on the artist's name for a MP3 of their entry.)

Caravan Ray - I would like to hear more of the story. It felt like more should have been included, but I like what's there.

Tibor - Really enjoyed this music a lot. So much so that I was able to just chill, and not pay attention to the lyrics. Which is good, cause I hated the lyrics.

Others:
(Head over to Song Fight to listen to these songs.)

Metaluna with BBABM - Liked the music, didn't care for the lyrics. Not really into that type of vocal performance.

bgm - I think I would have enjoyed this fight more if it was required that everything was instrumentals. I know I say it a lot, but I enjoyed the music...lyrics not so much.

EggNogAdam - Enjoyed the performance, but got bored before the song ended...and it was a short song.

Hate Mail - You have a great death metal voice...I hate death metal.

Berkeley Social Scene

Honolulu (1939)

Honolulu (1939) is probably my favorite Eleanor Powell film. The story & acting isn't all that spectacular, but the dancing is. The story is about a famous actor who switches places with his double so he can get a vacation. Robert Young does a decent job with both those roles. While pretending to be his double the actor falls in love with Eleanor Powell who is travelling with Gracie Allen. With the story being on the weak side, it's a good thing they had Gracie to throw in her odd ball 1 liners from time to time. Her husband (irl) George Burns plays Robert Young's manager, and for the most part fell flat.

There are 2 dance routines in this film that will really stick with you. The first is a sexy hula/tap number & the second is a blackface medley done in the style of Bill Robinson. Unfortunately I couldn't find a video of the blackface routine on YouTube, but I did find 2 others to share. Here's a link to the movie Trailer if you're interested, but I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys musicals. When The Queen Of Taps starts dancing, you won't be able to take your eyes off her.

The La Conga Tap This number was cut from the final film, but later used in the film The Great Morgan (1946). This clip from Honolulu (1939) is probably the best thing about the Frank Morgan film. I also found a talk Eleanor did in 1981 at the Variety Arts Theatre, Los Angeles, CA. I found it very interesting if you want to give it a listen. Be warned, the video & audio quality suck. (LINK)

Honolulu
Not her most difficult routine, but it's fun, and Gracie's line at the end of the clip is funny.

Hola E Pae
The entire "Hola E Pae" number of the Hawaiian Medley was inserted into the movie I Dood It (1943).

"A tap dancer is really a frustrated drummer." - Eleanor Powell

Fun Facts: (Source)
- One of Eleanor Powell's first New York jobs was working with the legendary Bill Robinson in private shows (1927).
- This was the last film in which George Burns & Gracie Allen appeared together.

Nur Ein VI Is About To Start!

It's that time of the year again. The time when the toughest annual online songwriting contest kicks off for another run. I followed Nur Ein for the first time last year, and it was a blast. I reviewed each round & tried picking the winners. You can find links to all those reviews --> HERE <--.

Niveous (the man behind Nur Ein) started a thread in the Song Fight forums (Song Fight Thread) to announce the start of the contest. If you want more details about the contest I suggest you go there.

I plan on reviewing each round here on the blog once again, and will attempt to pick the winners each round. I told Niveous I would help out in judging if he needed someone, but don't know if he needs my help yet. Probably not, but since he was nice enough to judge SpinTunes #1, I wanted to lend a hand if needed.

Now that Nur Ein has started, I'll be able to announce sign up dates for SpinTunes #3 in the near future. I will not start SpinTunes until Nur Ein is completely over, and if you like SpinTunes you should really give Nur Ein a shot. Nur Ein (& Masters Of Song Fu) was a huge influence on how SpinTunes was set up.