The Rebel Black Dot Songs o' History Quiz Night

Project MERCATOR: Misty Beavers (uncertain)—The History o' History Quiz Night '18, in Song
Dienstag, 20. März
Dr. John & the Blues Brothers Band, "Season of the Witch" from Blues Brothers 2000: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (The Last Angry Man)

Commentary: The hostility at the Fox (formerly the Firkin & Fox, formerly the—something or other) was palpable. There were many fresh faces, several high schools having fielded teams, but among the old veterans, the foes we Misty Beavers bested year after year, the hatred was seething. Though the Fox has long been the home of History Quiz Night & the site of every Misty Beavers victory, thinking back on my entry into the upper room that hosts the contest, I am reminded of the line from Macbeth:

"By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes."

For all that, though, I'm accustomed to that envy-inspired hated. (More on that with Wednesday's R.B.D.S.O.T.D.) No, the true trouble was among us. We Misty Beavers have always won the quiz because we won the fun, because we laugh & joke & pound the table & chant loudly & absurdly. (Small wonder we're reviled.) This year, though, we were all out of sorts. We were nervous, agitated, on edge. We were relatively joyless. We seemed to be convinced that we could only win the fun if we won the quiz, perceiving the matter exactly backwards. The Bard of Avon again comes to mind, the line from Julius Caesar:

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings."

There had been very little communication 'twixt us all in the weeks leading up to History Quiz Night. As the night unfolded, it turned out that the fault really was in ourselves, not in our stars. There were fractures that needed to be mended, friendships that had been neglected that needed to be reaffirmed & rejuvenated. Something was off that night. Something was odd that night. Which takes us to "Season of the Witch."

"When I look out my window,
So many sights to see,
When I look in my window,
So many different people to be.

"You got to pick up every stitch,
Rabbits running in the ditch,
Beatniks are out to make it rich,
Oh no, oh no, must be the season of the witch,
Must be the season of the witch,
Must be the season of the witch,
Must be the season of the witch."