Crazy Love (English Edition) (#BOTB)

     Well, I just had a birthday in which I made it to 73 years.  Now that seems pretty crazy to me.  And I'm not especially loving it.  But I don't hate it either--as long as I keep feeling as good as I have been lately.  How the heck did I get here!  Here I am at 73, feeling physically more like 30 (to a certain degree) and mentally like 17.  Yeah, it's all crazy, but life is a bit crazy, especially in our crazy times...

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.

Crazy Love

 

        I've used the Paul Anka penned song "Crazy Love" in a past Battle.  That time I used two foreign language versions, but I always intended to do another Battle with English versions.  That intended Battle sat in my queue for the past 7 years and now seems like a good time to bring it back.  Here we are:  Are you ready to go crazy?




Freddie Falcon   "Crazy Love"   (2007)








Dimitris Poulikakos    "Crazy Love"  (1979)

Time to Vote!

         Am I crazy to say that I'd love for you to vote in this Battle?  I don't think so.  It's just time to have some fun.  In other words, which song version do you like best?   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. I don't know if anyone else will be doing a Battle this time around, but you can still check out these sites.


Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Landmark Sounds (Diedre Knight)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BY DEBBIE D

Stine Writing

Results coming on Friday February 9th

 

         There will be another #IWSG post in the interim, but I'll have some results after that.  Hope you stop back by for both.  Happy February!

Crazy Love Affair (#BOTB Results)

        Love can make you feel crazy and love can make you feel cozy, but love doesn't pay the rent.  If you think it does, then that ain't love.   ---someone somewhere sometime must have said this or something like it. If they didn't then I just said it.

 Old computers (including a Xerox Star). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My Crazy Love Affair

          I've got this crazy love affair going on that seems to have hopelessly taken hold of me.  Many years ago I said--with complete sincerity--that I didn't need no stinkin' computer.  Then I started messing with someone else's computer and discovered Google and Amazon and stuff like that and before I knew it I was hooked.  Not long after that I became a computer junkie.

         Computers are so darn helpful.  They're also a huge diversion and time suck.  Now I don't know that I'd ever want to be without computer access. This is why I started getting frantic a few weeks ago when my internet started becoming very inconsistent.

          Seems like every year shortly before the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge I start encountering strange computer problems.  Probably I just notice more at this time when abnormal computer things start happening, but some years the slow downs and disruptions have been serious issues for me during April.

           So when my internet connection totally shut down on me one day I contacted my provider to see what the heck was happening.  They said they were upgrading the lines in my area and had no idea when the job would be finished.  Up until last summer I'd been getting service from Verizon and then suddenly for reasons of which I am not aware, my provider become Frontier.  Okay, no big deal if I've still got service, but last November I began noticing that my connection was no longer reliable.  I was becoming annoyed with this new provider.  And as the months went by, the service got worse until that day of the shut down.

          The tech guy at Frontier said that it could be a while before the upgrades in our area were completed and he had no idea when things would get better.  He did, however, offer to connect me with a sales rep who might have some other service to offer me.  I accepted--after all, it couldn't hurt to listen and I wasn't doing anything else.

          The rep said that they could install a different kind of service through another cable other than my phone line and that service would be far faster and more dependable.  After I inquired as to how much additional I'd be paying, he checked my current plan and told me that the new faster plan would be about $25 less.  Sounded like a deal to me so I said to proceed.

          The technician came today and set me up with the new service.   I've only been working with the new set up for half a day now, but if this is how it's going to be then you can count me as a happy camper.  If everything continues as it's been going today then I'll be rocking and rolling this April.  And if the price and service stays like it is now I'm going to be so crazy in love with Frontier.

         And by the way, if you haven't been doing so already, be sure to be checking the A to Z Challenge Blog for updates and tips about the upcoming April Challenge.  Things are being done differently this year and that's where you can get your Challenge info as well as helpful pointers to make the Challenge--and blogging in general--a bit more rewarding.

Battle of the Bands

        In my most recent round of Battle, I pitted two versions of Paul Anka's 1958 hit "Crazy Love" as done by the Serbian artist Miki Jevremović and the Cuban singers Dúo Los Diablos.   I liked both of these a great deal.   Miki's version was certainly the most commercial sounding and closest to Anka's original recording.  The Dúo gave a darker jazzier bluesy turn to the song and that is the version that I gave my vote to.  My vote was enough to break a tie and push the Cuban duet over the top for the win.  And before doing the tally I was sure that Miki had won.  What a race that was!

Final Vote Tally

Miki Jevremović      12

Dúo Los Diablos      13

Next Battle on Wednesday March 15th

       I'm planning a post or two before that next Battle.  I may not get directly political, but I might be a bit controversial nevertheless.  After all, Tossing It Out is my business on this blog.  My next Battle is one that came to me recently and mid-March seemed to be a good time to do it.  With the April Challenge quickly approaching, the pairing I've planned seemed to be something on the minds of many.  The next Battle will consist of two different songs by two well-known groups.  The songs involve a related theme--it's something we all deal with on a daily basis.   Maybe that gives you some hints so you're free to guess the songs or the theme.  You've got some time to think about it.

       Are you planning to participate in this year's A to Z Challenge?   How's your internet service?  Have you become somewhat dependent on computers and internet? 


        

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Crazy Love (#BOTB)

     
If people in the media cannot decide whether they are in the business of reporting news or manufacturing propaganda, it is all the more important that the public understand that difference, and choose their news sources accordingly. ----Thomas Sowell

       

 

     My contribution to this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group can be found on my Monday post.   But please do vote on my Battle of the Bands found below.   It's related to the Monday post as well.  

Propaganda As Art

       In my previous post, I discussed how many in today's media have become outlets of propaganda for whatever agenda they are pushing whether it be a political party or whatever.  In my view, much of the blame for the divisiveness in the United States as well as the world is due to the ideological media outlets that masquerade as vehicles to disseminate news and information.  To me this seems like a dangerous trend that will make it more difficult to bring opposing sides to a point of unity where they can work together to get more positive things happening in our society.  The power of informational and ideological propaganda can work as mind control if we aren't careful.

      I am fascinated by much of the anachronistic propaganda of the past such as that of the Nazis, the Soviet Union, and Communist China.  The garishness of the poster art can be visually enticing.  Film propaganda is frequently highly stylistic and arty. The cinematic work of filmmakers such as Leni Riefenstahl who created classic documentaries for Nazi Germany are still admired for the artistry. Despite the arguably insidious nature of the art of propaganda, there can be an appreciation for that which the artists have created when examined aside from the context of the intent of the work.

       As I have written about on my blog Wrote By Rote, I became interested in the propaganda that I used to pick up on shortwave radio broadcasts coming from Radio Havana back when I was in high school in the sixties.  Since that time I have had an interest in Cuba and whatever little information I would hear from time to time coming from that country.  This is why a year or two ago, when I noted that the Cuban sixties propaganda film I Am Cuba was going to be broadcast on TCM, I was drawn to watch it.   I'm glad I did.

        Soy Cuba (I Am Cuba) was released in 1964 to a poor response.   The film was financed by the Soviet Union as a propaganda vehicle to promote the Castro revolution, however the audiences in the Soviet Union and Cuba largely rejected it and it was mostly forgotten until "rediscovered"  and show at the Telluride Film Festival in 1992.  The film was championed by U.S. directors, including Martin Sorcese and Francis Ford Coppola, who rallied for restoration and re-release.  The film has since been screened at a number of film festivals and events receiving wide accolades.

        What interested me most about the film was seeing the Havana and Cuba of the early sixties and how the revolution was seen through the eyes of the people who fought and lived through it.  Scenes in the film show how Havana retained some capitalistic vestiges of the past.  The one sequence that especially blew me away was a superbly shot musical number by a couple of musicians singing a song that made me search online until I found it.  I was shocked to discover that the song had been written and originally performed by Paul Anka when still in his teens.

          The film I Am Cuba looks like it could have been done by Fellini or David Lynch.  It was shot in black and white often using some innovative camera techniques.  The musical number that caught my attention used the 1958 Paul Anka hit "Crazy Love" song performed in Spanish by two musicians strolling through a nightclub setting with the camera following them.  The sequence is surreal and aloof like a dream.  When I found the clip on YouTube I knew I had the makings of a good Battle.

           The match I found for this Cuban version is one by a Serbian recording star with a name I won't even try to pronounce.  This version is a raunchy slow rock version complete with searing saxophones and a solid backup band driven by a steady piano tinkling away along with the beat. So let's have a Battle of the Bands!

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 twice each month on the 1st and 15th.   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.



Paul Anka  "Crazy Love"  (1958)

          "Crazy Love" was Paul Anka's sixth single which charted at #15 in the United States.  Anka was a teen singing sensation at that time, but he is now perhaps most notably known as a songwriter with standards like "My Way".   He has appeared in numerous movies and television shows and continues to perform as a singer.   I'm offering his version for those who want to hear what the original sounded like.   But please don't cast your vote for this version.

For reference only!!!   Do not vote for this version!!!




Here are your voting choices:

Miki Jevremović   "Crazy love"  (1962)

       Serbian singer Miki Jevremović was born in Belgrade in former Yugoslavia in 1941, Miki achieved his greatest popularity during the sixties and seventies with numerous hits in his native country as well as recognition in other countries as well.  He died of a stroke in January of this year.






Dúo Los Diablos     "Loco Amor"  ("Crazy Love")  1964

         This group consists of Sammy and Richard, two artists that played through the years with a number of popular Cuban bands.  They changed their names in the early sixties to reflect the artists who had inspired them and most influenced their styles--Sammy Davis, Jr and Little Richard.  Sammy continued to perform until he died in 2014.  In his 70's, Richard stilled lived in Havana according to the article that I resourced which was published in 2014.  

         If you've got the time to watch the video, it's pretty cool cinematography.  But just listening to the music is a real treat especially if you're a fan of that musical era.

     






Time To Vote!

        These might sound strange to you--maybe even a bit crazy, but hopefully you have an opinion of some kind.  Which version do you like the best?   Surely one version drove you less crazy than the other.

        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

 ‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’ 

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

The Doglady's Den 

Angel's Bark  

Cherdo on the Flipside  

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 
  

Winner Announced on Wednesday March 8th

       I'll tally up votes on Tuesday the 7th and be back here on the next day with the winner of this Battle.   On Monday the 6th I'll show up with some kind of post.   I haven't decided what yet and, who knows, I might forget to post on that day.  Whatever happens, happens.

        Do you like propaganda art?   What are some favorite propaganda films that you might have seen?   Have you ever written a story that you might feel is propagandist in some way?