Songwriter ( #AtoZChallenge ) ( #BOTB Results )

The songwriter can make you laugh or cry
He's pumping gas, yet manages to survive
And all he asks is for you to sing his song
And put his name in lights where it belongs
                                  ---Peppi Marcello lead singer/songwriter of 
                                                                 The Good Rats

Arlee Bird 4/21/2019 Easter

     Over the past year I've been turning back to one of my earliest creative loves--song writing.  During high school and through the seventies I used to write a lot of songs that would end up in some notebook.  Nothing has ever come of my songs, but I've never tried to get them published or recorded.  Still I think I can legitimately call myself a songwriter.  This is me--I write songs.

           This talent of mine--I do consider it a talent--seems to be coming back into its own this year. There is something I must do.  I've been working on it.  My dreams still include writing a book (or books) and publishing other writing. For now I'm on a creative interlude.  What has been happening with me recently might be just the ticket to dreamland.

              For now we'll have to wait and see.

Battle of the Bands Results



The Global Challenge Edition

          I don't know if my prediction about Afro Celt Sound System winning the previous three way Battle had any bearing on how anyone cast their vote, but for whatever reason my prediction turned out to be wrong. Actually I was rather pleased with the way things turned out at the end.

           As for my own vote, it was a difficult choice since I like all of these and have listened to them frequently since first discovering them. Afro Celt Sound System I first heard on the radio early the morning of August 2nd of 2015.  I was driving alone from Houston to Maryville Tennessee.  At about 9 or so that morning I started listening to some Sirius station playing Irish music and they played "Whirligig" by ACSS.  It blew me away and I've enjoyed their music since that day.  But as I said in the Battle post this was not going to be my vote.

            In previous posts I have acclaimed the cumbia group Los Angeles Azules, a group I've enjoyed since the end of the previous century (it sounds funny to say that so I did).  A few years ago I discovered the amazing Sinfonic collaborative videos they had started putting out and I was pleasantly surprised.  The group was going to new levels that I find to be quite exciting. I guess others have too. Last year they even played the Coachella music festival in Indio California.   Even though this video inspired this particular Battle, I am not voting for this group either.

             That of course leaves Datu with Han Han and company.  This is a new comer to my realm of music appreciation so maybe there is a freshness that influences my vote.  I first ran across this particular video when I was researching Filipino music earlier this year (I won't go into that story here, but it does fit into my current This Is Me blog series for the 2019 A to Z Challenge).  At first I was a bit taken aback, but the costumes and ethnic instruments drew me in.  Even the rapper became less annoying after a couple more listenings.  Other videos related to this artist collective are also interesting.  My vote goes to Datu.



Final Vote Tally

Los Angeles Azules                     8

Datu                                              4

Afro Celt Sound System             6




Next Battle of the Bands on Wednesday May 1st

        The next Battle will be on May 1st which is also the day that bloggers everywhere will exhale a collective sigh of relief that another Blogging from A to Z Challenge has ended.   If you can, please come back for my final A to Z posts, but do not miss that next Battle.  Not exactly sure yet what I'll choose in the way of music, but as always (most of the time) it will be something that I like and hope you like too.

          Is there something you enjoyed doing in younger days that you eventually stopped doing and then picked up again in later years?    At what point does a pastime become a career and vise versa?

Musical Mash Ups ( #AtoZChallenge ) (#BOTB)

           Music is often on my mind.  Often it's my own music.  When I'm seeking out music for my own listening pleasure I might scour the world looking for new sounds.  The language of music is a language we all can understand if we are willing to listen closely enough...







         From my early memories of childhood I can recall my fascination with music.  Since my parents had somewhat eclectic musical tastes that trait was passed to me.  Growing up I had exposure to many kinds of music.  Later, after I had reached my teens and began buying records on my own, my listening went beyond the regular Top Forty radio stations as I sought out diverse types of music.  I would delight in any music that was new and strange to me. 

          In college I took several classes dealing with appreciation and understanding of music.  For me this turned out to be some of the best education in respect to knowledge gained and retained.  The classes I took in ethnomusicology were particularly eye-opening.  There is a world of music that most of us rarely take time to appreciate.

          The Battle to follow is somewhat of an introduction to world music with the added twist of a fusion between traditional styles and modern music.  It's a musical adventure of songs and performances that I enjoy.  I hope you will like them or at least give them a listen with an open mind...



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 blogs there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle on the 1st of the month.   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.


World Music Sampler

        For this Battle I'm going to change things up (as though the nature of the music isn't a big enough change).   Since it's a busy A to Z April post and I'm not a big fan of using more than two song versions, I'm going to provide an escape for the impatient, the intolerant, or anyone who feels the need to just rush through.

         Personally, I think you'll be missing some rewarding listening experience if you don't listen all the way through or at least most of the way through the three offered recordings, but I understand the various reasons some might have for doing so.

           All I ask is that you give each video at least 30 seconds before leaving.  If you can, continue on for as long as you can take it.  These might be alien sounds to some of you, but doesn't most music come across that way before you've become accustomed to it?

           So, let us begin...

Los Angeles Azules   "17 Años" (2014)

I've used Los Angeles Azules in a previous Battle where I used another song from their symphonic mash-up tour. The song version that I'm using for this current Battle is one of the ultimate mash-ups of the three I'm presenting. Let's see--we have a Mexican group which performs in the cumbia style of Colombia in concert with a symphonic orchestra which also includes a chorus of opera singers. As if that isn't enough to mix things up just add to the mix a renown Mexican rock singer/guitartist who breaks out into a Jimi Hendrix style solo toward the end of the song (@ the 3 minute mark) if you can hang in that long. This is one crazy mixed up live performance that works well for me. How about you? I hope you can stay for the whole song...







Han Han w/Datu  "World Gong Crazy"  (2014)

            Based in Toronto Canada, Datu is a collective of musicians, dancers, and other artists of Filipino origins or others who have an interest in the culture of the Philippines.  They will often dress in traditional garb using musical instruments of their culture fused with electronics to present music that combines rock and rap with sounds of a culture many of us know little to nothing about.

           "Datu" is a title given to kings, princes, and chiefs.  The group has taken the name to designate the role they would like to play as future leaders of their community and purveyors of their culture. If you are curious about the translation of the rap lyrics which are in Tagalog and Cebuano, you can find the English translation on their Bandcamp site. 

           Hopefully you will make it to the end of the song (the video is also kind of interesting to watch in my opinion).   Try it and see what you think...






Afro Celt Sound System  "Honey Bee"   (2016)

         I don't like to make predictions about the outcomes of the Battles I present on Tossing It Out or indicate how I will vote, but due the nature of the music this time around, I am going to predict that this song will win the most votes.  As much as I like this group and this performance, I will not be casting my vote for this song.   I think most voters will go for this one because I think it is musically the most accessible of the three choices.  I kind of hope  this selection doesn't win, but if this is the one you like the best then you should vote on it.

         Afro Celt Sound System was founded in 1995 as a bit of an experiment to combine some African musicians with some from Ireland and Britain.  The collaboration worked well enough for the group to be signed by Peter Gabriel's Real World Records label.  The band has been touring and recording since those origins, collaborating with many other artists as well.

        It's a fun sound and not too strange sounding--at least to my ears.  You'll just have to take a listen and see what your opinion is...








Time to Vote!

     This music might sound a bit alien to your ears, but can you connect to any of these?  I like all of these, but I'm going to pick one as a favorite.  What about you?   Have some fun with us.  What's your favorite between these two choices?   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

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Angel's Bark  

Debbie Doglady's Den

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Cherdo on the Flipside

A I Love Music


Winner of this Battle Announced on Monday April 22nd

         The world on this blog won't stop between then and now.  You know there's this A to Z thing happening all month so there will be plenty of action this week at Tossing It Out.   Hope you'll pop in now and then, but don't miss the winner announcement post next Monday!

           Do you tend to shut out most foreign styles of music when the songs are not in English?   Do you feel music of other cultures gets degraded by incorporating pop sounds primarily derived from Western cultures?   Would you consider yourself to be musically prejudiced against foreign music?

El Listón De Tu Pelo (#BOTB)

     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 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.



"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.




Vote for one of the following:

Julieta Venegas - "El Listón De Tu Pelo"  (2005)

        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.

     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

DC Relief Battle of the Bands

The Doglady's Den 

Angel's Bark  

Cherdo on the Flipside  

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Janie Junebug Righting & Editing.
  
J. A. Scott  

Quiet Laughter

Holli's Hoots and Hollers

Be ReInVintaged

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?