Surprise My Heart Again! ( #BOTB Results )

           What was I thinking in this previous Battle?    Well, looking back, my aim was to see if anyone else could hear a similarity between two songs.  My expectation was that the currently popular artist Finneas singing in English would be the predominate favorite.  I projected that outcome way wrong.  Finneas captured a few votes while Gianluca Grignani ran away with the rest including my own.  His song ranks high on my list of favorite songs.

           As to the similarity between the two songs, the question was unaddressed by most who left a comment.  However there were some good observations:

I hear an "emotional similarity" but not a musical one.  said  Sixgun McItchyfinger
   
"As for the song being similar, to quote Billie Eilish, "Duh." They are basically carbon copies of each other, in some ways. But I doubt either artist has heard the other. In one, I hear "Where Do You Go To My Lovely" as sung by the late Peter Sarstedt. But hey, that's just me." so commented Myke Todd

So I checked out "Where Do You Go to My Lovely" to see if I agreed about the similarity.  I can hear it.  Now does anyone know if there is some kind of special musical term to describe this sort of thing?  Just wondering...

Battle of the Bands Results

Final Vote Tally

Finneas                          3

Gianluca Grignani        12


Next Battle on the First of September

      Wait can that be right?  Where has this year gone so quickly?  Where is it going next?

Sounds Similar--To Me at Least ( #BOTB )

         This is not the Battle I planned for this round, but then something came up this past week that kind of insisted that I change my original plan to use this Battle that's been in the hopper for several weeks.  What inspired this Battle originally was when I saw on America's Got Talent a 17 year old high school student from Nashville TN sing a song that I'd never heard before, a song with what I think is a beautiful haunting melody.  It's one of those kind of songs that sticks with me.

         After hearing it, I looked it up on YouTube and found that the song "Break My Heart Again" was by another artist that I'd never heard of by the name of Finneas.  Yes, I'm certainly out of touch with music.  Finneas is the brother of Grammy award winning artist Billie Ellish and he's won a few Grammies as well.  I am out of touch with modern music, but ho-hum.

             Now, I'm sure a few of you might consider the song rather schmaltzy--it's kind of a tear-jerker for sure--but like I say--I'm a sucker for a lovely melody and I think this song has it.  Anyway, soon after I figured out who sang the song and listened to it by the original artist a few more times, I came to the realization that the song was very familiar to me.  Had I heard it before?  I was sure that I had not, but I decided that it must sound like another song I'd heard.

        It took a bit of pondering on the subject before it struck me that it sounded very similar to one of my very favorite Spanish language songs called "Mi Historia Entre Tus Dedos" ("My Story Between Your Fingers") by Italian artist Gianluca Grignani.  I used covers of this song in a Battle that I did over four years ago (you can find it here along with the translation of the lyrics). 

         But this may be just me.  However, I think there is a great deal of similarity between the songs though I can't precisely call it from a technical musical perspective.  Maybe it's the tempo, the key, chord progressions, but whatever it is the songs sound very similar to me.  I'll let you listen and be the judge.

         Back when I first added this Battle to my queue I figured I'd get around to doing this Battle someday. That was until this past week when I was again watching America's Got Talent and last year's winner, the incredibly talented blind autistic singer Kodi Lee performed the Finneas song (listen here).   The song and the someday Battle had been bugging me as it was and after hearing Kodi perform it again my original Battle for this week was put back in queue so I could get this one out of the way.

        Okay, so that's my story and now for the Battle...


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.

 On to the Contest

          This might be a mostly giveaway Battle.  On one hand we have a currently popular artist who those of you who are hip to the new stuff will probably know singing a heart-wrenching song with a dreamy melody.  On the other hand we have an Italian artist from the 1990's singing a song in Spanish so that you might not understand what he's singing, but still might appreciate the melodic accompaniment the words are set to and the melody of the song itself.  The song always mesmerizes me when I listen to it.

          But these songs have been fixating themselves in my mindscape. Hope you enjoy and can  name your favorite in the comments.  I know which one I'm choosing, but you'll have to wait for my results post.  Now listen and vote...


Finneas   "Break My Heart Again"  (2019)






Gianluca Grignani   "Mi Historia Entre Tus Dedos"   (1995)





Time to Vote!
        
       Personally I think this is a tough call, but after all they both sound somewhat similar to me.   Which song 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 Saturday August 22nd
    
           I've got some more "sounds like" Battle in my line-up so I hope this one goes well.  Vote.  Come back to see which was the popular favorite.  See you then...

Lost & Found: Mi Historia Entre Tus Dedos (#BOTB)

       This post is my entry for the Lost & Found: Valentine's Edition blog hop hosted by Guilie Castillo-Oriard, Alex J Cavanaugh, Denise Covey, Yolanda Renee, Elizabeth Seckman, and me.  Be sure to visit all of the hosts for this event.  To find the full list of participants visit the list on Tossing It Out or any of the host sites.  I'm combining my Lost & Found post with two other blogging events--The Question of the Month and Battle of the Bands.

        This month is a special one for Question of the Month – we’re joining forces with the the Lost & Found: Valentine's Edition. In honor of an upcoming Valentine’s Day, we want you to write about love lost or found. Share the highs and lows that only matters of the heart can bring. As such, our question for this month is just that:

“When have you lost or found love?”

       

     Let me answer this way: In all my years I've seen love come and go on several occasions. In some cases that love seemed more serious at the time than it really was--I guess I could say they were more like infatuations or love false alarms. A few were marriages and those were the most significant found and lost loves. I'd always thought that marriage was a forever kind of love, which in some abstract way it is, but the reality that I've experienced is that sometimes love gets a bit derailed along the marriage journey resulting in that train wreck called divorce. I'm no fan of divorce, but sometimes things break and no amount of effort can fix that which has been broken.

      I prefer love found, but love lost has had some upside in my life--especially when I consider what I've found after having lost a love.   My Tossing It Out post for the Lost & Found blog hop is not a story. If you want to read one of my stories about this then check out my post at Wrote By Rote.  Instead of a story, this post is about the impact that losing or finding love has had upon my own creativity.  Love has inspired many a person throughout the ages.   The ways that love has affected my creativity is probably similar to the ways it has affected some of you.  For my Battle of the Bands song pick I'll offer a bit of evidence that I see in the lyrics of said song.  

       On Wednesday my #IWSG post will deal with creativity with more specificity, but today I offer you a song with some lyrics that illustrate how love lost has affected me.  


Battle of the Bands

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event hosted by Far Away Series and  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.


"Mi Historia Entre Tus Dedos" ("My Story Between Your Fingers")

       This a song that I heard frequently on the Los Angeles Spanish rock station that I was listening to back in the 90's.   I was immediately captivated by the beautiful melody and plaintive lyrical content.  Despite my limited understanding of Spanish, I was able to grasp much of the sentiment of this song and I related to it.   This has become one of my favorite songs of all time.  In fact I'll make a bold claim that this is among the most beautiful pop songs ever written.   Considering the hit status of the song in Europe and Latin American countries I think many might concur with my statement.

        Now here's a puzzling mystery about this song.   It was written and first recorded by Italian artist Gianluca Grignani.   However when it was played on the radio I understood the artist to be the popular Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti.  In fact I liked "Mi Historia Entre Tus Dedos" so much that I went and bought every Ramazzotti album that I could find in hopes that my song would be included on one of them.  To my disappointment the song was on none of those albums that I bought.  In my recent research I cannot find the song on any Ramazzotti recording or any indication that he had ever recorded it.  I might have said that I had misunderstood what I thought I heard on the Spanish language radio, but then I found more than one YouTube video attributing the recording to Ramazzotti.  Somewhere a confusion developed not only with me, but with many others.

          I'm offering one of these recordings--although I'm pretty sure now that this is actually Grignani's recording--for you to listen to if you are interested in the version that enthralled me so much when I first heard it.   Please don't vote on it!  I think this is the best version out there so I feel like putting it up against any other version would be unfair.   If you wish, take a listen to "Mi Historia Entre Tus Dedos".   If you can solve the Eros Ramazzotti mystery I'd love to hear about it.

 

This Song Is My Story Too

       Thanks to my Lost & Found Co-host Guile Castillo-Oriard here is the English translation of the lyrics of "Mi Historia Entre Tus Dedos":
 

I think they’re not so useless

the nights I gave you.

You’re leaving, so what?

I’m not trying to argue,

you know as well as I.

At least stay just tonight,

I promise not to touch you — are you sure?

Maybe I’ve begun to feel alone,

because I know that smile, so definitive,

that smile of yours that to me

became the gateway to your paradise

It’s said that for each man

there’s one like you.

But my place—later—you’ll fill with someone

just like me (or better, but I doubt it).

Why do you look away this time?

You ask me to stay friends.

Why friends, dammit?

A friend I forgive, but you I love.

They might seem banal, my natural instincts.

There’s something I haven’t told you yet,

That my problems, you know, are called “You”

That’s why you see me act tough,

To feel a little safer.

And if you won’t even say where I’ve failed,

remember that I’ve forgiven you, too.

Instead, you say “I’m sorry, I don’t love you,”

and leave, taking this story between your fingers.

What will you do?

Look for an excuse and go.

Because about me you shouldn’t worry,

you shouldn’t provoke me.

I’ll write you a couple of songs

doing my best to hide my emotions.

Thinking, but little, about the words,

and I’ll speak of the smile, so definitive

That smile of yours that, to me,

became the gateway to your paradise…

      

      I've said these similar things in my partings with past loves. My times of loss have become times of great creativity when I'd write poetry and songs expressing my sentiments and desires. Maybe this was an action performed too late--my sad songs and poetry never resolved my break ups. Still I tried to fix the broken relationships with words such as those of this song. My guess is that the songwriter of "Mi Historia" went through one of those losses that inspired great creativity.
     There are many interesting recordings of this song to be found on YouTube (more evidence to why I consider this song to be so great). The recordings come in a wide variety of styles. I avoided the heavy thrash metal version (which I actually like especially because a violin is included in the instrumental line-up) but I thought it best to avoid that version. If you're curious check out Titanium for a rocking version of this song.

      In this round my choices for the Battle are two live versions that are in similar performance settings, but quite different in their stylistic approaches.  

Here are your voting choices:

Sergio Dalma & Vanesa Martín "Mi Historia Entre Tus Dedos" (2014)

        Dalma and Martín are both popular artists from Spain.  Here is a jazzed up version of "Mi Historia Entre Tus Dedos".  




Los Verduleros "Mi Historia Entre Tus Dedos"  (2013)

       This is a reggaeton/cumbia group from Paraguay.  They give the song an uptempo flavor that makes me want to get up and dance.

Time to Vote!

        Even if you don't understand what the artists are singing you can still judge whether you like the sound of a song or not. If you're visiting a Battle of the Band post for the first time then let me briefly explain.  Please give each song version a fair listen to decide which one you prefer over the other.   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:

‘FAR AWAY SERIES’ 

 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

NovelBrews

Be ReInVintaged



Results on Monday February 8th
      
        You've got a week to cast your vote, but try to do it soon so you don't forget!   On Wednesday I'll be discussing the topic of creativity a bit more as I post for this month's edition of the Insecure Writer's Support Group.   In that post I'll explain some of my thoughts on losing or finding love or any other circumstances that might cause our creative juices to flow.