Battle of the Bands!
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I'm excited about today's post. After all it's time for the Battle of the Bands, the event where music loving bloggers offer up two different versions of one song and you the readers decide which version you prefer. The Battle of the Bands blog event was founded by Stephen T McCarthy and Faraway Eyes. After you vote on your favorite of the two selections I've offered, please visit the participants who are listed at the end of this post to vote on their Battles.Today and throughout this coming week I'll be presenting a very different approach to the Battle of the Bands. I'll explain more at the end of this post so be sure to read all the way to the bottom so you don't miss what's to come. But first let me introduce today's musical selection and then we'll listen to two interesting and outstanding recordings based on this very famous work of music.
Für Elise
You're all undoubtedly familiar with the piano work by Ludwig Beethoven known as "Für Elise". You might not recognize this title, but I'm sure when you hear the opening notes you will have that a-ha moment of recognition. This piece is one of the most famous piano compositions that nearly anyone who has taken piano lessons has played at some time or another. Beethoven's "Für Elise" is among the most recognizable of all classical works.
For the reference only, if you wish to hear the traditional classical piano version you can check it out at Fur Elise but PLEASE DON'T VOTE ON THIS VERSION. Vote between the two artists who are featured in this Battle. While the featured recordings aren't note by note covers of the Beethoven work, they are artist interpretations in updated styles. Please give them a listen in order to give each a fair judgement. I will refrain from commentary on either for reasons to be explained at the end of the post. Now enjoy!
Orion's Reign "Für Elise" (2014)
For the alternate guitar duo metal version by George and Michael from Orion's Reign visit Fur Elise Duet.
Sebastian Sidi "Für Elise" (2008)
An alternate concert version by Sebastian Sidi solo piano with synthesized back-up can be found at Fur Elise Cover.
Time to Vote!
For this round of voting I'm using a tandem system to help me with voting verification. Please vote using the poll included below this red message and also leave your vote in the comment section with reason you chose the artist you did. Use the "Anonymous" option ONLY if you are unable to vote using one of the other "Comment as" options. If using the "Anonymous" option please include your name (first only is okay) and your city.
Which do you prefer? It's up to you to determine the winner. Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the one 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.
And don't forget the special news at the bottom of this post!
Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:
‘FAR AWAY SERIES’
StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands
‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’
'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'
DC Relief Battle of the Bands
Special Coming This Week!
You'll want to check back here on Tossing It Out throughout this week.
Tomorrow Monday March 2nd I'll be hosting Michael from Orion's Reign with an exclusive interview and some photos of the band. You might be surprised by some of his answers to my questions about the band and their music.
Then on Wednesday March 4th I'll be assisted by Sebastian Sidi for a special Insecure Writer's Support Group post.
Finally, the results of my Battle of the Bands post between the versions of "Für Elise" as performed by Orion's Reign and Sebastian Sidi will be announced on this coming Friday March 6th.
This should be an interesting week so I hope you stay with me at Tossing It Out!
Which version of "Für Elise" was your favorite in this Battle? What did you like about the version you chose as your favorite? Did you ever take piano lessons and learn to play this song?
You'll want to check back here on Tossing It Out throughout this week.
Tomorrow Monday March 2nd I'll be hosting Michael from Orion's Reign with an exclusive interview and some photos of the band. You might be surprised by some of his answers to my questions about the band and their music.
Then on Wednesday March 4th I'll be assisted by Sebastian Sidi for a special Insecure Writer's Support Group post.
Finally, the results of my Battle of the Bands post between the versions of "Für Elise" as performed by Orion's Reign and Sebastian Sidi will be announced on this coming Friday March 6th.
This should be an interesting week so I hope you stay with me at Tossing It Out!
Which version of "Für Elise" was your favorite in this Battle? What did you like about the version you chose as your favorite? Did you ever take piano lessons and learn to play this song?
If you have any questions about leaving a comment, please read message at the bottom of this page below the comment box which will appear if you click on "No. of comments" next to the posting time or you can click on main post title then scroll down to bottom of the page.
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Hi Lee,
ReplyDeleteInteresting and unusual challenge for me.
I love the simplicity of "Fur Elise's" melody.
Sets of repetitious notes bridge to other sets of repetitious notes.
In "Orion's Reign" first version, I continue hearing those "traditional" sets repeating. The band steps outside the melody, but only slightly. I never thought I'd prefer a heavy metal version of this song. Life is full of surprises! Thank you, Lee.
My vote: "Orion's Reign."
I did prefer the heavy metal option of 2014. For reasons I cant quite put my finger on the drummer in the second option I found a bit irritating.
ReplyDeleteYou dont often see me voting in a battle of the bands but I'm sat watching a cold wet Sunday outside putting off doing some work on the house. . . .
There is a joyfulness that comes in more vibrantly with the Sebastian Sidi. I also love piano.
ReplyDeleteBoth produced very unique versions of the song. Sebastian's was smooth and reminded me of TSO. Orion's Reign was raw with a lot of power.
ReplyDeleteI like the heavier sound of Orion's Reign and it had more energy. Sorry, Sebastian, but they get my vote.
I intentionally did not read your comment before I voted, Alex, but I thought you'd go with Orion (reminded me very much of TSO and Dream Theater).
DeleteLarry
well if Orions are guests here tomorrow then their version is certainly the better one :)
ReplyDeleteBut did you listen to both versions?
DeleteLee
I love the version of Orion's Reign!I love the orchestral and guitar parts!!The guy with the keyboard is so cute...
ReplyDeleteMy vote: ''Orion's Reign.''
Eveline
I enjoyed the lyrical piano more on Sebastian's version although both were a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteI just love it when hard rock or metal artists interpret classical music, so my choice is Orion's Reign, by far! (And I see they're from Greece - one of my favourite places. ☺) The second one was good, but not really my taste.
ReplyDeleteI like the beginning to the Sidi version... gives the whole thing a different spin. Other one's not bad either, but I will shock the world and go with Sidi.
ReplyDeleteI attempted to listen to both but neither style was my forte at all...esp. the metal. I just like this played classically. Maybe Transiberian Orchestra or Mannheim Steamroller could pull this off but I guess I'm a purist. I took organ lessons as a kid and this wasn't something taught b/c it wouldn't have sounded that good on an organ. I hated those lessons. I bailed before the recital. I like the idea of being able to play music, but not the idea of having to actually learn to read it and then practice.
ReplyDeleteYikes, both were utterly dreadful. Beethoven must be spinning in his grave. BUT, and this really surprised me, I found myself preferring the version by Orion's Reign. It seemed to have more heart and life than the second piece. So, Orion's Reign for me, but now I'm off to find my Beethoven CDs.
ReplyDeleteI liked Orions Reign, this tune brought back childhood memories for me as I used to play this on the piano. Thanks for the memory Lee.
ReplyDeleteWhile I liked elements of the first version (very TSO-esque), there were moments that were almost jarring. I liked it, but it comes in second.
ReplyDeleteHere's why.
Sidi's version still rocked, but toned it down to a level I found more pleasing.
So my vote is for Sidi.
You really went for some rock music today. I liked both, but Orion's was crunchy rock fun.
ReplyDeleteAnd since you are having BOTH as guests this week, I suspect one of your commenters didn't even listen to the songs.
And I don't see any poll or place to vote below that message.
DeleteVoting box is hopefully okay and fully operable at this time
DeleteLee
Thanks, it's working now.
DeleteO love this piece so this was hard for me to listen to since I am such a traditionalist when it comes to this. Having said that I liked Orion's Reign better because it had power and I could hear the melody better. I enjoyed the instruments more. The second one reminds me more of Manheim Steamroller and they are not my favourite for interpreting music. I took piano for 6 years and I did learn this piece:) Don't ask me to play it now though:)
ReplyDeleteOh and I wanted to use the poll but couldn't locate it:)
ReplyDeleteMy first option for the voting poll site apparently had a limit on number of votes. I replaced it with a site that says unlimited votes are permitted. This was my first attempt at using a voting poll so I'm not sure what I'm doing. I'll learn!! :)
DeleteLee
And what about the previous votes????You should add them to the new vote system.....
DeleteSee further explanation below in my reply to your first inquiry. I think I'll have it covered--at least to the best I can do. This will not be totally scientific, but it should be pretty close.
DeleteSee my full explanation on my post coming up this Friday and see if I managed it okay.
Lee
Hi Lee!
ReplyDeleteI would normally vote for the heavy metal version of most songs, but I found the Sebastian Sidi "Für Elise" version to be so much fun. I played them both for my son to hear and he was jammin' out to the Sebastian one.
Heather
Why the system of voting cancelled all the votes and then restarted from zero????
ReplyDeletePeter
Apparently I used a voting poll that maxed out so I recorded those votes and had to start with a new poll.
DeleteSorry, this was my first attempt at using and embedded poll so I don't know exactly what I'm doing. Normally I just take votes from the comment and tally them up. Since I figured I'd have new voters who were non-bloggers they might have problems figuring out the commenting system (they often do).
I will try to carefully monitor all the votes I receive here and hopefully come up with a fair extrapolation of the results. Please bear with me on this.
Thanks
Lee
My vote and my respect for Orion's Reign!!!! Metal Rules..!!!!!!! Best version ever!!!
ReplyDeleteVeronica
I actually like both but prefer the more classical rendition by Sebastian.
ReplyDeleteAh man, I forgot to hit publish for my comment and it was eaten when I clicked on the poll - which immediately set off alarms from my anti-virus software and it shut down the internet.
ReplyDeleteWell, long story short, I loved the Orion version. It blew me away. I have to download this asap. The piano was used in the song, but also clearly recognizable as Fur Elise with the other instruments overwhelming the piano. Love it.
Sadi is an awesome pianist, but I could not tell this was Fur Elise at all.
Orion gets my vote. I will try to return the rest of the week for your posts. I posted late today for the Battle.
I liked Sebastian Sidi's version better than Onion's Reign's. I'm not much of a metal fan.
ReplyDeleteThis BOTB was a nice surprise. Your hints led us to know it would be a "classical" piece... but this ubiquitous number by these bands was unexpected!
ReplyDeleteUnlike some folks, I find bands playing a rock/jazz/metal version of a classical piece I find to be an interesting exercise, rather than an offense. From my limited understanding of music theory, classical and rock forms have much more in common than, say, jazz. My dad often played drumset while listening to Bach. It sounded good.
Today, I much prefer Orion's Reign over Sidi.
Hearing Orion's R. reminded me of many days (not long past) of listening to my son's metal band play when he was in high school.
BOIDMAN LEE ~
ReplyDeleteThis was a pretty interesting BOTB installment, and it's cool that you'll have some of the musicians on both sides interacting with you in blog bits this coming week. (When Kim at 'This Belle Rocks' used 2 covers of Norman Greenbaum's classic 'Spirit In The Sky', I sent an Email to Norman and tried to get him to show up and vote for the cover of his song he liked best. Unfortunately, Norm was a no-show though.)
This one was close enough for me that I had to listen to both versions twice each.
Alex Cavanaugh said he thought the Sebastian Sidi version sounded a lot like Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Actually, I think it's the Orion's Reign version that sounds (almost exactly) like TSO.
I never took piano lessons, and I'm not really into Classical music big time (I like some of it though), but I'm certainly very familiar with this famous Beethoven composition. You'd pretty much have to be living on the Moon not to recognize it.
Both versions were pretty good. If I heard the Orion's Reign cover on the radio and the DJ didn't name the group, I would think that Fur Sure it was TSO.
But because the Sebastian Sidi version didn't sound so much like another, more well-known band, I will vote for it. Plus, I generally prefer piano over heavy metal guitar, and those were the two instruments that primarily dominated the two different covers.
Cool BOTB, my Friend!
My earlier guess about your forthcoming BOTB ["Is your next BOTB going to be the song 'I'm Not Lisa'? Claude Debussy's version against Franz Schubert's version?"] had it backwards. It was a Classical piece done by modern-day performers.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
You'll be closer to your "I'm Not Lisa" guess on my next Battle I guess. Hope you'll be able to catch that one, but if not I'll understand your situation.
DeleteLee
Voted away and Sebastian got my vote. A more smoother feel I guess. I never knew what they name of the work was, but surely heard it a couple hundred times.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read your blog post (very early this morning), I thought¬¬--no, No, NO. Please don’t ruin this beautiful piece of music with a ‘heavy metal’ version. It took me a few hours to open up the computer and actually listen AND I was really rather surprised. I actually like both versions!
ReplyDeleteI haven’t really read the other comments, but I did kinda scan them and notice more than one reference to Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Not sure what the others are saying, but I felt that both pieces solidly referenced TSO to my way of hearing.
I have listened to both of them twice and as I stated earlier I do like them both, I felt that Sebastian Sidi strays farther from the melody and some of his piano interludes go on a bit long for my taste. SO, as surprising as this is to ME, give my vote to the Heavy Metal Dudes - Orion’s Reign.
NOW…how cool is this that you will have both bands participate with you in blog posts during this week. I will definitely be back.
What a fun Battle!
ReplyDeleteI liked Orion's interpretation better and voted for that one . For me, it sounded more familiar than the other one.
ReplyDeletebetty
Being a metal chick at heart, Orion's Reign gets my vote :)
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to come back tomorrow for the Q&A.
I had Für Elise as my ringtone on my first cellphone! One of my co-workers thought it was rather creepy.
ReplyDeleteI love the original version, I learned it on piano. I do find it interesting to hear different arrangements of classic pieces, but I'm not a huge fan of the metal version. I had to vote for Sidi because I like his piano skills and I just found it more pleasing overall.
ReplyDeletehope this isn't a duplicated comment - original one bit the dust it seems.
ReplyDeleteArrrggghhhh, do not care for either version or even for the original ... too repetitious and the original has become white noise in e.g. shopping malls. Both versions keep the repetitive strain in the murderous treatment of it ... I'll go for Sidi. Least offensive ...
I'm somewhat surprised that you don't even care for the original--Such a masterpiece! I can see what you're saying about the repetitiveness of the work, but that's probably one of the reasons it has such popularity even among non-classical fans. But thanks for listening and voting.
DeleteLee
I also liked the fluid piano playing on Sebastian's version. I'm excited about your upcoming interviews, Lee!
ReplyDeleteJulie
I was totally surprised that the screaming metal sound of Orion's Reign would be my pick. This cover jumped right into the familiarity of Fur Elise whereas Sidi took too long with his intro to move into the song. Maybe it's the mood I'm in this morning, but whatever the reason OR got my vote. Interesting BoTB, Lee! BTW, we gave DD#2 the Elise as her middle name. Yes, this song was our inspiration. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm not a hard metal fan but I have to go with Orion's Reign on this one. I could actually enjoy that on my iPod when I'm jogging. Might get me moving faster. This is one of my favorite battles so far.
ReplyDeleteI've never been a big fan of metal. At all. With that said, Orion's Reign blew Sidi's version out of the water, and I very easily cast my vote for them.
ReplyDeleteStarting off: I actually had a difficult time with this. Usually, one version is okay and the other choice(s) lack. But I really liked both.
ReplyDeleteI am casting my vote to Sebastian Sidi's version, however. I love metal music and all, but there were style choices in Sidi's I appreciated more. It felt like a more robust version. *Though, to be honest, I found the presented attitudes of the players a bit... off-putting.*
I think they were just displaying what we call "showmanship"--that bit of acting stage presence that often can appear ostentatious, but is needed to keep them from looking flat or dull from the audience perspective.
DeleteLee
I liked the Orion's Reign version a lot (also several of their other songs), and voted for them. The Sebastian Sidi version sounds like something I'd expect to hear at Cirque Du Soleil. Great BOTB Lee!
ReplyDeleteI love classical music, and Beethoven, in particular. But I also love it when music genres merge, like when a symphonic orchestra plays rock music. (Like the London Symphony playing Rolling Stones standards...super!) And rock musicians including bits of classical music in their songs... love that, too.
ReplyDeleteAnd THESE...these two interpretations of Fur Elise...I love both of them, too. But I'm casting my vote for the heavy metal version. What an energetic version! Now I'm gonna have to see if I can find some more of this group's stuff when I go to the music store next time.(Thanks!)
Gosh, do they still have music stores where you are? :)
DeleteLee
I posted after the poll, but figure I'll post here as well. Although I did have my heavy metal phase, I prefer Sebastian's version. I did take some piano and know some parts of the song so this post resonated with me. Are you going to work at Rolling Stone the magazine soon?
ReplyDeleteWorking at Rolling Stone was once a dream of mine. I wouldn't turn down the job, but I don't even read that magazine anymore.
DeleteLee
I keep waiting for a day to vote on these BOTB when I'm not under the influence of a migraine. I know that migraines heavily influence my voting. Everything hurts my head... including sound. It's just not fun.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, as soon as the first one started, I knew it probably wasn't going to get my vote. That heavy guitar just sent my migraine up up up.
Of course, in almost every battle I will prefer having my ivories tickled versus a serious strumming. This is no exception. I'm a piano gal. Give me Sebastian and his piano excellence over the groove of an electric guitar any day. Even a migraine-free one!
Sorry to hear you're still dealing with the migraines. I figured you'd go for the piano.
DeleteLee
Orion's Reign get my vote!
ReplyDeleteWow, I never thought I'd choose a heavy metal version of anything - it's just not my music - but I'm voting for Orion's Reign. Sebastian plays a great piano but it was all "off to the races" and anything of Fur Elise was left behind.
ReplyDelete