The United States has become so divided, so mixed up, so outlandishly crazy at times, so seemingly self-destructive, that one might wonder if we need extra lithium added to our water supply...
How About a Hearty Dose of Lithium to Cure the Ills of the World?
Lithium is an element that can be found just about everywhere including the food we eat and the water we drink. Since the mid-nineteenth century lithium has been used to treat various mental disorders and lithium compounds are still used regularly to help patients afflicted with conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and others.
The lithium salts induce a calming effect and can reduce suicidal tendencies. My late youngest brother, who was diagnosed as schizophrenic, was on lithium for many years--at least since the eighties. When he passed away in 2017 he was very likely still on lithium. I can recall at least one occasion when he stopped taking his lithium he descended into a highly agitated state until he resumed taking his prescribed doses. From all indications that I observed, lithium was very helpful in keeping him in a fairly docile and reasonable state. And believe me, he was a pretty big guy and one you didn't want to see agitated.
Not to make light of mental illness--like I say my late brother suffered from it and this was a burden upon our parents as well as a sadness for all of my siblings--I do believe there is a great deal of crazy in our world today. Just look at the so-called "peaceful protests" so many U.S. cities have endured this past year. There is something not quite right about what has been going on and I don't think it has much really to do with racial or any other kind of injustice or whatever grievances these people claim.
So what IS going on anyway? Maybe we'll have a clearer perception after the election or maybe things will just get crazier. Leftist lunacy has been around for a while now and I can't say that thinking has made the world a better place. Perhaps these people need more God in their lives? Or maybe less college indoctrination?
Or it might just be that a liberal dose of lithium in the water supply will do the trick. Actually this is a serious suggestion made by some scientists. Google it and you can find a number of references to this concept, the suggestion being that the additive might reduce suicide, crime, and depression. I'm not sure how good of an idea this would be--maybe a notch better than adding LSD to the water supply, but, hey, I'm no scientist so what do I know?
Battle of the Bands
Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands. This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month. My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months. The premise is simple: Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it. Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.
Lithium
The song was originally recorded by angst-ridden Nirvana (you can hear their version if you click this link, but please don't vote on this one). In this episode of Battle of the Bands I'm offering up a couple of pretty crazy sounding versions of the song. But it's a pretty crazy song anyway so I guess just about any version would sound crazy. So just take a listen and see which version you like best...
Time to Vote!
Hope the music didn't agitate you in any way and you were able to listen with an open mind. Now let your opinion be heard! Which version do you prefer? Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind. You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.
Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.
Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:
StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands
‘Storms and Stardust’
'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'
'Curious as a Cathy'
Sound of One Hand Typing
The Doglady's Den
Angel's Bark
Jingle, Jangle, Jungle
Cherdo on the Flipside
A I Love Music
Winner of this Battle Announced on Wednesday October 7th
Shefita "Lithium" (2018)
Though a Jew from Israel, Shefita's stage persona is an Arabic diva who specializes in unique covers of popular rock songs,
The Bad Plus "Lithium" (2008)
The Bad Plus "Lithium" (2008)
Making their second appearance on my Battle of the Bands, The Bad Plus is a jazz trio that often has performed and recorded covers of rock songs. Avant-garde is one way to describe this groups music or maybe to some of you it might just be crazy sounding jazz...
Time to Vote!
Hope the music didn't agitate you in any way and you were able to listen with an open mind. Now let your opinion be heard! Which version do you prefer? Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind. You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.
Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.
Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:
StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands
‘Storms and Stardust’
'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'
'Curious as a Cathy'
Sound of One Hand Typing
The Doglady's Den
Angel's Bark
Jingle, Jangle, Jungle
Cherdo on the Flipside
A I Love Music
Winner of this Battle Announced on Wednesday October 7th
The results of this Battle will be incorporated in my Insecure Writer's Support Group post for October. This is my first post using Blogger's new format which has been forced on us Blogger users. I hope everything shows up okay when it publishes because it sure doesn't look right from my vantage point on the composition page. The preview looks fine though so hopefully that's the way it will really publish. Sometimes these media sites drive me crazy. Pass the lithium please...
Have you ever taken lithium salts? Do you think the crazy will end soon or will it get worse? Who else hates the new Blogger format with a passion?
Can I cast a negative vote for both bands? Sorry, really disliked both versions.
ReplyDeleteDidn't know that about lithium.
Ultimately, we all need more of God in our lives.
Alex, since you're the first, uh, vote? then that leaves us with zero to start. You really need to expand your musical interests--well, my opinion.
DeleteGod is all we really need.
Lee
Not with a passion, since I'm currently on a hiatus with my blogging, but I'm not overly thrilled about it. Similar to the new change on FB, I think Google is trying to keep Blogger a tiny bit relevent in this day of reduced blogging and short attention spans.
ReplyDeleteNo matter how many changes one can make to a product, it still can't hide the fact that the product in question (in this case blogging), is becoming increasingly irrelevant in this day and age of the news medium.
You can (sort of) compare it to the classic rock format that is all the rage these days (even among up and coming drummers on YouTube, who use the format to build their audience base), in that it was good back in the here and now of when it came out, but now just annoys a certain percentage of the population who have moved on from the format and can't be bothered to pay attention to it.
Blogging is going down a similar pathway, and while the two majors and one minor platform (Blogger & WordPress for the majors, Tumblr for the minor) have their adherants, the fact still remains that there's a growing percentage of people who see blogging/bloggers as passe and their short attention spans are better spent elsewhere (e.g. FB, podcasting and other digital media).
GB, Maybe it's not so much a matter of blogging become less relevant as the bloggers interacting with more negativity & belligerence that they have alienated themselves into camps. But, yeah, there are so many outlets of communication out there that it's a big time-consuming mess.
DeleteActually I've started watching more television than I used to. Catching up with a lot of old movies and interesting documentaries.
Lee
Well I'm all i favour of having Lthium in our lives I chose the one I preferred.... but only just "The Bad Plus".
ReplyDeleteKeep well and safe in this uncertain situation Lee.
Yvonne.
Yvonne, I'm not sure about extra lithium, but if it works then sure, why not.
DeleteFirst vote goes to...
Bad Plus.
Lee
Lee,
ReplyDeleteThere's no cure for the mental breakdown in America, except what Jesus can give and even then the individual has to follow His prescription for a healthy heart & mind. I say this because even Christians are under the spell to a degree to this craziness. It's beyond my comprehension why so-called children of God are champions for pro-choice. This madness isn't about race. The sole purpose of these riots is to destroy America, drive people's fears, collapse the economy, let the 2% take over to rule this country as a socialist nation.
Now to the battle at hand. Your song is one unknown to me. Listening to the covers I'm conflicted. I have to decide which one is less weird. After hearing Shefita I thought surely The Bad Plus has to be better but their cover was disconcerting to my ear. Therefore, I'm giving my vote to SHEFITA. Have a bandtastic day, my friend!
Cathy, most of the war is either actively at war with Jesus Christ or complicit with the enemy, Satan. The advocates of "choice" are really just defending the shirking of responsibility. And I think you are correct about the purpose of the riots (as well as the vocal dissent we see and hear everywhere around us).
DeleteThe music seems weird probably because it is unfamiliar. You'd probably need to listen to each version a number times to acclimate your ears and mind to the sound.
A vote for Shefita.
Lee
I don't know this song at all but I never listened to Nirvana but I cast my vote for Shefita. She gave it that neat middle east vibe and I love those instruments used to create this. The second one was just annoying...not much for that type of jazz so Shefita gets my vote.
ReplyDeleteOh look..a paragraph! I am a full believe in protesting but when people start looting and destroying businesses, then you lose me because it simply is not right. The old adage, 2 wrongs don't make a right applies. I totally understand the frustration and rightly so, but no to looting and no to tear gassing etc... on truly peaceful protestors just to go to a church and hold the bible, upside down.
Lithium should not be in the waters, mind you who knows what is in the water we drink. It must have been hard to have a brother with a mental illness and I feel bad for your parents because, when he was growing up, little was talked about regarding mental illness. That debacle from the other night..Lithium was needed for the Orange man. He created that chaos. Oh well, what will be, will be. People need to find a way to sit back, meditate and find a way to let all of this pass.
Birgit, lithium naturally occurs in most water from what I understand. My brother began to exhibit aberrant behavior in high school after I had left home. Prior to that he always seemed like a regular kid with a lot of talent. No point in me saying anything about the final part of your comment other than it seems obvious to me that the real crazy comes from the media. I think it's being done intentionally to screw up the populace.
DeleteIf you never listened to Nirvana then I can understand why you might have never heard this song (or remembered it if you did hear it). I've heard it a lot over the years, but don't know exactly where.
Another vote for Shefita.
Lee
From Facebook my Cousin Tom says he didn't much care for either, but because he understood the lyrics better he voted for...
ReplyDeleteBad Plus.
Lee
I thought they were both rather 'quirky'. The more I listened to Shefita, the more I got into her style. But when I listened to the Bad Plus.. I just couldn't get past the obnoxious instrumentation. My vote is going to Shefita.
ReplyDeleteMary B, "quirky" is partly why I chose these versions. I was connecting them to "crazy" behavior--it was all part of the theme. Both versions need a chance to sink in.
DeleteA vote for Shefita.
Lee
Hi, Lee!
ReplyDeleteThis one is all-around new for me... song, bands, etc. My vote goes to Bad Plus for a perfect personification of this whole off-kilter year ;-)
Interesting points you have, regarding lithium. I've known people who might have benefited from the salts. As far as experimental use by 'scientists', could that be the reason folks are leery of taking the Covid vaccine?
I'm with you on the Coughy Filters (masks), I'm never a fan of unnecessary changes - especially those that constrict freedom, or simple enjoyment.
Good battle, great blogging, my friend ;-)
Diedre, so many are just blindly accepting the mask propaganda. I sometimes wonder if many people even think for themselves these days.
DeleteI don't know that there is any actual "experimenting" with lithium across the general population so I don't think it's really in the radar of most people. But I don't completely understand the aversions or fears about taking the vaccine. I don't think the vaccine should be mandatory and I'm not going to make a special effort to get it, but if I'm at the doctor and they offer it I'll probably take it. It doesn't bother me that much.
Good observation about Bad Plus--you got my point.
A vote for Bad Plus.
Lee
I am not crazy as well just don't tell thoses guys in my head.đŸ™ƒđŸ™ƒ
ReplyDeleteMike, wish you'd been crazy enough to vote on the Battle. Didn't you hear those guys in your head telling you to vote?.
DeleteLee
Let's start with the easy thing first: I much preferred the Arabic styling of Shefita over the "outside" jazz of The Bad Plus (and any band that has an oud is almost assured of winning if I have anything to say about it). Big win for Shefita.
ReplyDeleteI think The Beatles' song "Revolution" best expresses my feelings about what's happening, particularly three lines:
* When you talk about destruction, don't you know that you can count me out...
* But if you want money for people with minds that hate, all I can tell you brother is you have to wait...
* But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, you ain't gonna make it with anyone anyhow...
I have much more to say, but I'm tired and too worked up to talk about it. Suffice it to say that if Martin Luther King were alive today, he'd be spinning in his grave...
John H, The Beatles had the right sentiment in that song I would agree. Whatever happened to peace, love, and understanding?
DeleteI think a lot of people from past years would be disappointed about what has been happening in our country, but really it's happening all over the world. COVID is not the virus we should be fearing.
I like a well played oud as well.
A vote for Shefita.
Lee
LEE ~
ReplyDeleteI know I could come up with a few very appropriate Bible verses that not only describe what is happening today but which also prophesied it! But I will spare everyone from a Biblical browbeating.
Just know this... it is "the End Times" and sides are being chosen daily. Decisions have consequences!! ...And, 'Somebody's Coming'.
I never heard this song before... which I'm sure doesn't surprise you.
At first, I thought Shefita's recording just sounded bizarre. (And I probably should have avoided watching the video, because that only served to fuel my dislike.) But, like MMQE said, "the more I listened to Shefita, the more I got into her style".
Nevertheless, I expected I would be BOTB Boting for the Jazz group, The Bad Plus. And I would be boting for them, if not for...
...er, well, in a word, I would describe that presidential "debate" on Tuesday night as "atrocious", and by coincidence, that's the same word I would use to describe the "singing" on The Bad Plus' version of this song. (Somewhere, there's a farm that's missing its female farmer.)
If it had been an instrumental, I would have boted for The Bad Plus. But when the "plus" is that singing, then it becomes a "negative" for me.
So... Shefita (and all her artificiality) for the win.
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS
STMcC, there is so much in the Bible that seems to refer to our times or can be used as good advice for everyone getting caught up in a crisis of the mind. I think it's part of a "great delusion" that I recall reading about somewhere but can't cite a verse at the moment.
DeleteThese days I feel like I'm just waiting at the station waiting for a train.
I'm surprised that mostly everyone has said they don't know this song. I thought it would be a song that most would at least recognize.
The singer, Wendy Lewis, is maybe an acquired taste though I liked her style from the start. I hear something like Julie Driscoll's style. But it's a matter of taste I guess.
Another vote for Shefita.
Lee
Neither video was my cup of tea, but I chose Shefita.
ReplyDelete2020 is going to be remembered, eh. Notoriety can be confused with fame.
Two things I think about with the uproar over the election is first civility. Civility is truly the oil to ease the friction between people. The other thing is humility. Humility helps us all to see things clearer. It is a bit disconcerting when another mortal tries to explain God's intent. Ego can distort all of our realities.
My older brother was a Trumper. I am a never Trumper. We never had a hard time with the other having a different opinion. We both recognized we were more important to each other than an opinion. I lost my brother last March. I'm glad we had a lot of good times and conversations.
Ann, I had great hopes for 2020. Boy, was I confronted with a peculiarity.
DeleteTo a great extent civility has gotten derailed by social media. Upbringing probably enters in somewhere. Too many are rejecting or defying God and that's bad for how we all relate to each other.
I hope some of the divides can be fixed, but I think it's mostly a matter of the times we live in.
Not too many people have liked the participants in this Battle or the song.
A vote for Shefita.
Lee
Very familiar with the song, being in the Northwest. Nirvana was so overrated I cannot put it into words, and Lithium was overplayed and I'd hit the button every time it came on the radio.
ReplyDeleteThe two versions were therefore NOT songs I would ever want to hear. The first one I simply loathed more than words can explain. The Bad Plus, as I have said before, is a group I like and have paid to see them live twice. That was back in the old days when we had freedom of movement and association, before the profoundly deadly wuhan virus that has killed 200 million Americans (as Joe Biden says.) Anyway - even though the singer sucked and the song sucked, I LIKE the Bad Plus (affectionately called "The Bald Plus") so I am voting for them.
A bit of self indulgence here. The only Nirvana song I like and the only version of it I like is this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOfkNuSuYKM
It was done several years ago while he was in college. He arranged and is drumming to a jazz version of "Heart Shaped Box." (You might enjoy seeing it... but your readers certainly don't need to waste their time on it!)
6=-Gun, I can't believe so many people didn't know this song. Maybe you should try listening to these versions a few more times. But then I tend to have weird tastes in music as you have seen in the past.
DeleteI really enjoyed Alex's video. I like that combo combination with the percussive sharp sound. I think it's worth seeing. I shared it on Twitter. Hope some folks will break from nasty political tweets and listen to some music.
A loyalty vote for Bad Plus.
Lee
I took your advice and listened again. I still am very negative about the first one, but upon a second listen, I actually LIKED The Bad Plus' version. The tempo variations and dissonant piano riffing were interesting and... enjoyable the second time around. That involved a certain amount of ignoring the vocal work, but still.
DeleteThanks for tweeting out a shout out about his video. It was really just posted for family and friends of the band. If I had a twitter account I would follow you. Glad you liked it.
Twitter can be kind of a nightmare, distressing at times, but it's a mixed bag.
DeleteI thought the interplay of vocals and disjointed music make for an interesting musical illustration of mental disturbance. It's almost as much acting as it is music.
Lee
Lee,
ReplyDeleteI listened again to these artists. The Bad Plus still sounds rather disjointed to my ears. The thing I like most about Shefita's cover is the middle eastern sound and I prefer her version of the song. Overall I like the original the best.