My A to Z Themes in the past have covered a range of topics and for 2025 the theme is a random assemblage of things that are on my mind--or that just pop into my mind. Whatever! Let's just say I'll be "Tossing It Out" for your entertainment or however it is you perceive these things.
Showing posts with label Julieta Venegas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Julieta Venegas. Show all posts
Are you feeling a bit insecure? Want to talk about it? Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh'sInsecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog.
How do you find the time to write in your busy day?
I've got to admit that I've grown pretty lax about writing over the past couple of years. When it comes to writing I haven't been finding the time to do it. It's not that the time isn't available, but I've been using my time to do other things. Still, I have some advice on finding more time to write.
Keep the television off
Forget household chores
Don't get caught up in conversations and activities with other people
Stay home and focus on the writing
Stop blogging!
Avoid surfing the internet
Skip naps and don't sleep much at night
If it's not writing then don't do it
Okay, so maybe that's going overboard, but it might work. Or it might not. In fact, probably not in the end. If I had to give all these things up then I guess I'd give up writing. As with all things, moderation is the secret of successful living.
Battle of the Bands Results
My most recent Battle of the Bands contest featured the song "El Listón de Tu Pelo" with versions by Julieta Venegas and Denise Gutiérrez (with backing by Los Angeles Azules). My concern that the hip-hop style intro of the Venegas version might be a turn-off to voters proved to be unfounded with that version turning out to be the runaway favorite. While I did like the Julieta Venegas version a great deal, my preference was the eclectic mash-up of orchestra, cumbia band, and alt rock vocals from Denise Gutiérrez. There are a number of these collaborative videos available on YouTube so it's likely that I be using more of them in the future. Maybe next time the collaboration will pull off a win. This time not so much.
Final Vote Tally Julieta Venegas 20 votes Denise Gutiérrez 10 votes Next Battle of the Bands on Thursday September 15th My next Battle of the Bands post will be a bit ironic considering my thoughts about this last one. You'll see what I mean when that battle comes, but I'll also explain myself then. The songs I'll be using--there will be two different songs--will tell stories relating to similar concepts. In a way this upcoming battle will be kind of a writer's battle to make up for my own lack of writing of late. Maybe I'll get inspired to write something between then and now. To close out this post I leave you with an English language song by Denise Gutiérrez with her alt rock group Hello Seahorse!. The first 12 seconds are silent so hang in there. I guess they're dealing with some irony in the beginning of the video. Hope you enjoy it.
How's your own writing been going? Have you ever gotten mired down in distracted ennui that keeps you from doing what you probably should be doing? If you listened to the Hello Seahorse! video, what did you think?
Why do we like the music that we like? What makes us avoid listening to certain types of music? I've explored these questions in previous posts, but still the topic continues to be worth consideration. Next Monday (September 5th) I'll be contemplating these thoughts with my next Question of the Month post. But first comes a Battle of the Bands post that is the beginning of the views that I'll be expressing in that Monday post.
In this round I'm using a song that will be likely unfamiliar to most of you and this is probably because you don't listen to this type of music. Though there have been some big chart hits in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom that were in a language other than English, it's certainly not the norm. Many music fans like to understand what the lyrics are saying so they are often turned off by music in a language they don't understand. Then there are those like me who typically don't pay much attention to lyrics--at least not on first hearings--and instead take in the feel of the music. For me lyrics are secondary to the sound of the music.
There are many songs that I can sing through the first line or two and then I'm lost. Perhaps it seems odd for a person who enjoys writing not to care about the lyrics. In my case that's just the way it is. If a song consisted of nonsense syllables then I might not like that so much. I want a song to be saying something, but I don't always care much about what it is saying. There are songs that I have listened to and enjoyed for many years and I still don't know what the lyrical content is about. And that's fine with me as long as the song sounds good to my ears.
Battle of the Bandsisthe blogging event started byFar Away Seriesand now hosted byStMcC 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.
"El Listón de Tu Pelo" In the year 2000 when I was frequently listening to one of the popular Los Angeles Spanish language music stations, a song that began to receive frequent airplay caught my attention. "El Listón de Tu Pelo" ("The Ribbon in Your Hair") initially struck me as somewhat comical sounding with its banda cumbia fusion. Punctuated by flourishes of a mariachi-like brass section with an infectious percussive background that makes one want to move in rhythm to the music if not actually get up and dance, the song caught on with me. There was something about the plaintive vocal trade-offs between the male and female singers. I didn't have much idea of what the song was about, but the sound of the music was appealing to me. I found the song to be a catchy tune that inspired me to purchase the album. Fast forward to the present time when I happened to run across this song again on YouTube. Los Angeles Azules--or The Blue Angels in English--had been collaborating with other well known artists as well as symphony orchestras in covering their own hits. I was blown away by these performances. The song that had captivated me some 16 years earlier was again on my regular playlist. And not only were there the new covers of "El Listón de Tu Pelo" that I found but another cool version by a popular Latina female rocker. To me this seemed like an ideal pairing for another Battle of the Bands contest. For reference only here is the original version of the song. DO NOT VOTE FOR THIS VERSION! If the video is restricted in your country you can try this link.
Besides being a very attractive singer, Julieta Venegas is an incredibly talented songwriter, producer, and instrumentalist. Venegas was born in Long Beach, California, but grew up in Tijuana, Mexico where she started her musical career at a young age eventually joining various rock groups including the influential Tijuana No!. In 1997 Venegas embarked upon her very successful solo career. She has won several Grammy awards and written music for theater and movies. Her many musical collaborations include her cover of "El Listón de Tu Pelo" with Jarabe de Palo, a rock group from Spain.
Try to listen to this with an open mind as the initial rap/hip-hop sounds might be a turn off to some--it was for me. The recording does get better with the Latin percussion and some funky singing that retains the cumbia flavor of the original while keeping the sound fresh and updated. But you decide with your own ears.
Denise Gutiérrez "El Listón De Tu Pelo" (2014) This version is actually by the original group Los Angeles Azules who are joined by a small symphony orchestra, a choir, and singer Denise Gutiérrez who is the vocalist with the Mexican alternative pop band Hello Seahorse!. Denise was born in Van Nuys, California, but raised in Mexico City. This video is one of many collaborations with orchestra and well known Mexican artists. These videos are pretty incredible and I've been watching (or listening to) these repeatedly over the past few months. (If you cannot access video below, try clicking on title above.)
Time to Vote! Hope you've enjoyed this music that might be new to you and perhaps a bit alien sounding. Maybe it's not your style of music, but hopefully you'll keep a musically open mind in assessing the two versions. Let us know what you think about these two recordings. Is there one that you prefer over the other? If you're visiting a Battle of the Bands post for the first time then let me briefly explain. Please give each song version a fair listen to decide which one you enjoy the most. If you don't like either then at least tell us which recording was least innocuous to you. This comes down to your preference and it's as easy as that.
the pedestrian writer Winner Announced on Wednesday September 7th Since I'll be posting on Wednesday the 7th for the Insecure Writer's Support Group, rather than do too many posts next week I'll merge my BOTB results into the IWSG post. Add to that my Question of the Month post on Monday the 5th and I've got a busy schedule according to my posting habits as they have become. Please join me for these posts. Do you pay much attention to song lyrics or do you typically just absorb the musical experience? Is listening to music in a language you don't understand a turn-off to you? What is your favorite pop/rock music collaboration with orchestra?
Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog. 
