Song Showdown: Don Atari

"Dusty Ventures" (dustyventures) 02/23/2016 at 13:00 • Filed to: Song Showdown

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Song Showdown request week rolls on!

If you like a good old fashioned blowout then Friday’s Showdown was your Ticket To Ride. Two rock legends went up against each other, but it wasn’t even close. Chuck Berry earned four times the votes of Hendrix, easily defending his legendary song Johnny B Goode. Honestly I expected Chuck to take it, but I thought the voting would be closer purely on the merits of Jimi’s shredding.

Based on the weather forecast it looks like summer might be coming early (at least to the Northeast), so it seems appropriate that our next song is the Don Henley hit “Boys of Summer.” Two fun facts before we kick off the voting:
1) Don supposedly got the beat from walking in on a recording of Pat Benetar’s “Love Is A Battlefield” when they were toying with alternate beats.
2) There’s one key lyrical difference between Don’s original and the Ataris cover. Don sees a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac, while the Ataris see a Black Flag sticker.

Don Henley - (1984)

The Ataris - (2003)

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(Side note, I’m earning my obscure reference bonus points on this one).

If you haven’t weighed in on what songs to use off RATM’s Renegades album, be sure to get in on that now.

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And speaking of good old fashioned blowouts, there’s still a day left in the voting between Pink Floyd and Pearl Jam

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Wacko > Dusty Ventures 02/23/2016 at 13:09

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for me it’s the original,

you stumped me one the bonus points for this one. No simpsons reference for me here.

$kaycog > Dusty Ventures 02/23/2016 at 13:10

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I love Don Henley. That is all.

Baeromez > Dusty Ventures 02/23/2016 at 13:24

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Man, The Ataris version really rocks during the chorus, but Imma give it to DH for that pure melancholy factor.

Hoccy > Dusty Ventures 02/23/2016 at 14:11

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The Ataris was better than expected, but has very generic early 00's vocals. Don Henley doesn’t have that rough edge, but the singing is a lot better.

I also have a new suggestion:

Metropolis - Motörhead vs Kvelertak

Dru > Dusty Ventures 02/23/2016 at 14:46

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Maybe I'm the only one for whom this is tough. When I hear Don Henley, I want to be in my '85 on a rainy day sobbing about a memory from the past. When I hear the Ataris, I'm 16 again and full of angst about how everyone is so preppy and mainstream and I'm cool because I wear 700 doodads on my wrists. Two very different songs to me.

Where have all the lightweights gone? > Dusty Ventures 02/23/2016 at 14:57

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Black Flag stickers > Deadhead stickers on Caddies. Ataris FTW.

Where have all the lightweights gone? > Dusty Ventures 02/23/2016 at 15:00

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I have a battle suggestion: Badfinger vs The Knack: “No Matter What”

Original:

Cover:

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Dusty Ventures 02/23/2016 at 15:45

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Both good, but DH’s style just doesn’t fit me and the merits of black flag can’t be denied.

DrJohannVegas > Dusty Ventures 02/23/2016 at 19:27

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So, unlike $kaycog, I fucking abhor Don Henley. Like, I want to fire each of the Eagles into the sun twice. Once for their group career, once for their solo careers. Also, he’s a grade-A dick off the stage.

Now, against this distaste, I am faced with a pretty generic cover. If I didn’t know it was the Ataris, it could have been any of a dozen late 90s/early 2000s bands. (Also, lazy/overdone cymbal fill.)

Sadly, Henley wins this round, and hopefully this is the last time I ever express support for him.

Brian, The Life of > Dusty Ventures 02/23/2016 at 19:28

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For me it’s the Ataris because:

blacktruck18 > Dusty Ventures 02/23/2016 at 19:33

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The Atari’s, by the way you should keep reposting this.

f86sabre > Dusty Ventures 02/23/2016 at 19:39

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From Songfacts.com...

Don Henley told the NME that he really did see a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac. Said the Eagles frontman: “I was driving down the San Diego freeway and got passed by a $21,000 Cadillac Seville, the status symbol of the Right-wing upper-middle-class American bourgeoisie – all the guys with the blue blazers with the crests and the grey pants – and there was this Grateful Dead ‘Deadhead’ bumper sticker on it!

Tom McParland > Dusty Ventures 02/23/2016 at 20:33

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Man that Ataris album takes me back. That was a good CD.

Dusty Ventures > Wacko 02/23/2016 at 20:42

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Since no one else has pointed out the obscure references:

1) In the review of the Berry/Hendrix round I called that round your “Ticket to Ride.” Ticket to Ride is a Hendrix song.

2) In the vote box for Don, “Touch of Grey” is a Grateful Dead song (deadhead sticker)

3) In the vote box for The Ataris, “Pole Position is an Atari brand video game

Stef Schrader > Dusty Ventures 02/26/2016 at 11:51

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Arrrrrgh, the poll is closed, but I love The Ataris’ cover of this so much!