It's Friday night, around midnight, and I was hoping to get another “early” Top-5 on the blockchain for week 77 tonight. However, I can barely keep my head above my keyboard, and I’m totally spent. Thus far, it looks like “Saturday” will be the day that I post – and trust me; it’s gonna be a different kind of Top-5 post.

SPECIAL SHOUT-OUT

So it’s Saturday now, and I simply had to take the liberty to put this entry at the top because of how flattered and honored I am that for week 77, @tarotbyfergus covered one of my originals that I had entered prior to becoming a judge way back in week 58.

This is part of an effort that @pechichemena has undertaken under the tag #coverasteemian. I think "Cover A Steemian" is a great idea! Do check out the tag and @pechichemena's blog for all the details.

By the way, I have a short list of 9-originals (along with lyrics and chords) if anyone wishes to cover any of them. Just send me a request in the comment thread or on discord, and we’ll make this happen in #coverasteemian.

Plus, I am permanently waiving the customary tribute back to myself for covering any one of my songs, in addition, I’ll feature your cover (of my original) here as a special shout-out somewhere within my weekly top-5 post.

COVER A STEEMIAN: @tarotbyfergus – "You Know It’s Me" - (Cover)

Below is the original.

I friggin’ LOVE this, Tarot! What a true honor for me – the very first time in my life that someone has covered one of my original songs! So freakin’ cool, dude – you don’t even know!! I especially enjoyed some of the lyrical embellishments and liberties you took with this song, all of which were right in keeping with my style – sunglasses too! Thank you so much, brother, I shall cherish this forever! NICE!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@tarotbyfergus/steemit-open-mic-week-77-you-know-it-s-me-cover

Summary

...Okay, so this week’s summary is going to continue being a bit different. Sometimes ya just gotta shake things up, you know what I mean?

Many facets of week 77 were rather passionate and quite emotional. I suppose that’s what spurred me on to drift slightly astray from my usual “Top-5” presentation format. Anyway, here goes.

Sadly, I must admit that for the better part of my life, my basic ethos had been in general keeping with a lyrical passage from Johnny Winters kick-ass “Self-Destructive-Blues” track, whereby he lyrically states that, “Spending money on feeling good, - gettin’ down like he knew he would,” - and more specifically, that; ”He don’t trust women, and he don’t like men – but he might not feel this good again!” – was for me, the epitome of what many decades of my life had more or less embodied.

Yeah, I know… it’s a rather blue sentiment to have embraced over the course of such time, and trust me, I do realize this with some level of regret. Yes, I know better now, so, like Johnny says, "I’m gonna get-up and tear my blue self down".

“Yes, I am,” and you know what, - by the time I’m done with all this, - “there ain’t gonna be no more blues around!” That’s what I’m talkin’ bout people! And, I suppose, that’s one of the primary reasons why I’m here, speaking with you today!

If you’ve never heard “Johnny Winter,” and if you love some passionate, hard-driving, Rock & Roll Blues, then you owe it to yourself to check this dude out. He’s gone now, but he’ll never be forgotten.

"Self Destructive Blues" by John Dawson Winter III: (a three-piece rock/blues trio)

Anyway, the point of posting these musically represented statements amid this unique intro to week 77, is to simply point out a rather liberating element relative to the hope and promise that the Open-Mic Venue and all of its brilliantly talented participants bring to the fore in grounding me (and all of us) to a place where I/we can so totally embrace humanity and the individual people who comprise it, on a most beautiful and accepting level.

It’s so real, so tangible, and I can feel it - like it’s right there in front of me, and I know you can feel it too, - and so far as I’m concerned, that’s all I need to know to stay “all-in” with this venue!

If we are not able to elevate ourselves above such inherent misery that may occasionally define our basic existence, beware: for as “Johnny” so eloquently states, it may well then “Serve Us Right to Suffer – and/or Serve Us Right to Be Alone.”

The final musical prelude to my week 77 Top-5 picks is perhaps one of my all-time favorite blues songs. “Memory Pain,” which embodies all that any passionate Rockin’ Bluesman/Guitarist can ever hope to feel and experience! I just can’t keep from cryin’ if you know what I’m talkin’ bout people! Johnny’s guitar and vocals scream out with passion here, like no other IMO…

"Memory Pain" by Johnny Winter: (a three piece rock/blues trio)

At the end of the day, this Open-Mic experience is truly liberating in so many ways, that I just have to once again thank each and every one of the qualifying artists, along with @luzcypher, @Pfunk, @Ausbitbank, & @Teamsteem and the Steemit platform at large - for reconnecting and grounding me, (and all of us), with a never-ending level of hope, - replete with all of the beauty that it entails, in concert with a venue in which we can embrace every individual born to this world who adds a level of enduring and unique musical value to our existence, which is truly priceless, and for me, makes life truly worth living.

Back-tracking on all of the above, and reflecting upon the sage wisdom and human sorrow that @nathankaye dropped on all of us this week, insofar as I’m concerned, each and every mundane same-old, same-old day that passes whereby I and all whom I love and care for are of general sound mind and body – is indeed another absolutely PERFECT DAY to be forever grateful for.

For those not experiencing such “mundanely perfect days,” DO NOT remain silent, but instead, reach out to those that truly care, - talk and cry about it, - and lean on them to get you through your times of trouble – better days shall most assuredly follow – all you need to do is to love and to trust in yourself and in your brothers and sisters who love you in kind. Let’s just keep being there for each other, like we always have, like it’s supposed to be – till' the end of time…

Before we move on, please don't forget to vote for @Pfunk, @Ausbitbank, & @Teamsteem as witnesses! All of whom are our biggest supporters who play major roles in helping to run, fund, curate, build and expand the Open Mic contest. You can vote for each of them right now by going to this link: https://steemit.com/~witnesses

So with that said, following some further insights as to how I judge, let’s get it on, shall we?

Steemit Open Mic Week 77

My Process

As one of the esteemed Open Mic judges, it is my job to come up with (or “curate” as it were) a short-list of my top 5 entrants each week. With all of the great talent here, that is by no means an easy task. Sure, tossing in another 5 honorable mentions helps, but not when my weekly list starts out with 100 or more of my favorite entries... You guy's rock - I'm tellin ya!

Yes, I am a Libra – so I have an inherent drive deep within me to be fair and balanced – good qualities for a “judge” if you ask me. That being said, I’m still human – filled with emotion and subjective feelings – just like you. So, in order to mitigate my subjective tendencies to the best extent possible, I’ve come up with a method by which to narrow down my selections in a more objective vs. arbitrary manner.

Here’s how I go about my personal judging process: I first start out with a list of 100 or more of my most favorite entries for the week, and score them (yes, subjectively) in six distinct categories via a spreadsheet. The categories I’ve selected for scoring are in general harmony with those explained by @luzcypher in his post titled How We Pick The Top 3 Entries, referencing such.

To get a more in-depth perspective as to how I personally go about selecting my artists, please refer to What I go through as an Open-Mic Judge.

Even though it’s still a “subjective” process – diligently going through each scoring category to come up with a “total” score for each entrant helps to minimize any overzealous subjectivity that I may harbor with respect to any specific entrants.

Quite often, this exercise doesn’t give me the exact results I would personally prefer to see – but that only means that my system of judging is working as intended and designed. With all of that said, here are...

My Top-5 Picks in Order

FIRST PLACE: @lucybanks - "Spanish Sahara - Foals" - (Cover)

Aside from how hard she must have worked behind the scenes in producing this gem, Lucy’s 8-part acapella accompanied only by a click track, just knocked me out! I do love Lucy! Her vocal dynamics along with the passion and harmonies that she brings to the table here left me no choice but to place her at the top of my list. I know it would be asking too much, but man would I have loved to see split screens of each of Lucy’s most outstanding performances. Perhaps another time …hint, hint, Lucy. XX
https://steemit.com/openmic/@lucybanks/steemit-open-mic-week-77-spanish-sahara-foals-cover

SECOND PLACE: @pedromrmourato – "Bang" - (Original)

Wow man, Pedro just gifted us with a most outstanding vocal artist, Ella Nor. Ella reached down deep here, and held nothing back, while Pedro provided the perfectly passionate and dynamic guitar accompaniment, which really brought out the very best of Ella’s amazing heartfelt vocals. This original composition and performance by these two is rather captivating, and that’s why they’re here in my number-2 spot for week 77.
https://steemit.com/openmic/@pedromrmourato/steemit-openmic-week-77-bang-original-song

THIRD PLACE: @nathankaye – "Silence (Waves of Life)" - (Original)

Okay people, this incredible performance really tugged quite hard at everyone’s heartstrings this week. It certainly got to me; there is no doubt about that. Our esteemed resident storyteller, Sir Nathan Kaye, ever-so passionately shared with us the frailty of our human existence and offered up some sage wisdom in the process. Beyond his most impactful message, one must also appreciate the sheer musical skill he displays here. Not only were his vocals incredibly gripping, but his guitar playing along with working his two percussive foot pedals in perfectly timed fashion gave this powerful performance everything it needed to be just that. Beautiful, brother!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@nathankaye/steemit-open-mic-week-77-silence-waves-of-life-nathan-kaye-original-song

FOURTH PLACE: @eyewritedaily – "Bonnie Doone" - (Original)

Oddly, the first thing that caught my attention was @eyewritedaily’s friendly gaze into the camera stating, “What’s up everybody!" Shortly after his brief and pleasant introduction, his melodic guitar playing immediately caught my attention, and I was then quite eager to hear his original composition and vocal performance. His vocals are great, and the melodies of this piece are quite pleasing to the ear. I believe his lyrics have the ability to mold themselves into storylines that many can easily identify with. I don’t know who “Bonnie Doone” is, but I’m sure glad she inspired @eyewritedaily to compose this song.
https://steemit.com/openmic/@eyewritedaily/steemit-open-mic-week-77-or-bonnie-doone-original-song-or-eyewritedaily

FIFTH PLACE: @alejandra23 – "Let's Twist Again" - (Cover)

Alright, so on the lighter and brighter side of week 77, we have one of my favorite vocal artists, Alejandra! Here again, it is obvious that tons of work went into this super-fun production! Alejandra went out of her way to provide us with 8-screens of accompaniment to showcase her engaging center-stage live performance. Oh, and her harmonies - they were so exquisite. Engaging, passionate, and fun! All that in combination with this being a favorite song of my childhood left me no choice but to make certain both the song and Alejandra were represented properly here in week 77.
https://steemit.com/openmic/@alejandra23/steemit-openmic-semana-77-alejandra23-lets-twist-again-cover

My Top-5 Honorable Mentions in Order:

First: @michaeldietrich – "To the Farthest Shore" - (Original)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@michaeldietrich/steemit-open-mic-week-77-to-the-farthest-shore-original-song

Second: @dannyhamilton - "Land of Confusion" - (Cover)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@dannyhamilton/return-to-editingsteemit-open-mic-week-77-land-of-confusion-phil-collins-acoustic-cover

Third: @joseacabrerav – "Teoremas (Con el cesar)" - (Original)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@joseacabrerav/steemit-openmic-semana-77-teoremas-con-el-cesar-original

Fourth: @melavie – "Feeling Good" - (Cover)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@melavie/openmic-week-77-feeling-good-nina-simone-cover

Fifth: @enazirma – "Yesterday When I Was Young" - (Original)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@enazirma/steemit-open-mic-week-77-yesterday-when-i-was-young-original-song

Thank you for reviewing my selections for this week’s Open-Mic contest. If you find this content I’ve curated entertaining and of value to you, then please consider up-voting and/or re-steeming it.

Peace, Love, and Justice for All

A Very Special Shout Out To:

The following 20 artists who were very much on my radar, each within a splitting hair of making it into my overall top-10, and whose performances I loved, cherish, and respect most assuredly. This special list is very much an extension of my most honorable mentions.

They are - in no particular order:

@melissakellie, @wilins, @ikasumanera, @darrenclaxton, @petrajordan, @senzenfrenz, @v1tko, @sallyswitchblade, @pauliecruz, @arjimi, @jaybird, @abelfernandez, @raliczfealk, @dr00min, @johannesburghart, @spankmetender, @danieldyemusic, @juliopalomo, @nirtsfaty, and @exzorltg!

Another Special Shout Out To:

The following artists whose performances I very much enjoyed this week.

They are - in no particular order:

@ed-the-songster, @moderndayjester, @maerod, @pechichemena, @williamsreinoso, @untaljames, @timothybusker, @miguelarl, @silviagoh, @art-mess, @moontse, @melodeons, @babycrow, @luiskrupaz, @drewley, @wethepatsies, @lk666, @lerondill, @timothympratt, @pollocyber, @danielmonteso, @leomolina, @honeymoon-1611, @coruscate, @emmadux-vzla, @marillion, @yetxuni, @dianasteem7, @popsoz, @solburgos, @gabrielkrupa, @nadabrahmasounds, @rosaimm, @operahoser, @laleerock, @caracortada, @edwardstobia, @mightyjoenolan, @donatello, @thesimpson, @cezanne, @andrewmarkmusic, @carrion, @vjeanns, @premmlinbass, @rial17, @chrisgoans, @elisonr13, @paulove, @chaifm, @itinerantartist, @gibber, @helyorsini, @klynic, @liat, @jumpmaster, @graceleon, @tamsguitar, @vera.carla, and @denis.savisko3!

Much love and thanks to each and every one of you who have touched a part of my heart and soul - not only this week but forever!