It's My Life ( #BOTB )

          

   Do you sometimes look back upon your life and think "I should write an autobiography"?   Or think of some period of your life that might be good material for a memoir?   Maybe you should write it.  Maybe I should too.  It's my life after all.  And that sounds like a cue for...

Battle of the Bands

 

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and  StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   I do this event  each month on the 15th and 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.

It's My Life

     This song originally by the English New Wave/Synth Pop movement band Talk Talk was a big favorite of mine back in the eighties and the band produced music that I continue to enjoy to this day.  Talk Talk did not achieve the recognition that I think they deserved, but "It's My Life" did reasonably well on the world wide charts.  Years later the bigger rock group No Doubt released their excellent version to even greater chart success.  I think they are both good.  Which one do you like best?

Talk Talk    "It's My Life"  (1984)

No Doubt   "It's My Life"  (2003)

Time to Vote!

        It's your life, but put some fun in it by voting on this Battle.   Which song interpretation do you prefer?  Battles are no fun without you the reader participating.    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

Landmark Sounds (Diedre Knight)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BY DEBBIE D

Trivial Music Silliness

Mike's Ramblings

Results in a week or so

         You've got time to vote, but don't wait!  Do it now!  I'll tell you who won later on.  And in the mean time I need to work on my autobiography.  It's my life.

Ask Arlee & Battle of the Bands Winner

 Needed for inforbox User:Titodutta/userboxes/Busy Wikipedia Editor
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

         I'm still taking questions for my occasional "Ask Arlee" feature here on Tossing It Out.   If you have a question you'd like to pose to me then leave it in the comment section.   I still have plenty of questions from previous calls, but it's nice to get some interesting new ones.

         The question I'm addressing in this post comes from Buck at Buck Inspire.
     

bucksaver said... ...Arlee, "How do you keep blogging when your schedule gets busier than normal?" Thanks!
February 25, 2013 

           That's a question that many of us struggle with and something I touched on in my previous post.   Many of us have busy enough lives without adding social media into the mix.  Blogging is often just a part of a social media regimen that can suck up hours if we don't keep things in check.  If you're like me you probably go beyond the time you intend to spend on activities such as blogging and other social interactions.

            It all has to come down to priorities.  To me family matters have to come first--these are the people who mean a great deal to me and the ones I deal with directly on a regular basis.   Blogging has its place in my life and there are a few approaches I use to make blogging fit more easily into my regular schedule even if busier than normal.

             Here are some of my suggestions:

• Write posts in advance as much as you are able.  
• Keep a few non-time-sensitive posts in reserve in case you have to throw something up quickly.
• Maintain a list of blog post ideas that will help you compose posts more quickly.   A brief outline or list of discussion points for each topic can help greatly.
• If you are overwhelmed in your schedule, write short posts.   Avoid trivialities as much as you can so your readers can still feel rewarded or have something they can relate to.
• Avoid posts that require a lot of research and searching for links to add.
• Write about personal topics that can be composed quickly, but still be of interest to many readers.
• Sometimes you might have to cut back on visiting other blogs.  This may cut down on the comments on your own blog, but there's only so much time in each day.  You can't spend what you don't have without having to pay for it later and time cannot be recouped.

       Yeah, I might be stating the obvious here, but if this helps someone then it's worth my time to put it up in this post.

We Have a BOTB Winner!

          My last Battle of the Bands installment pitted the original version of "It's My Life" by Talk Talk against the remake by Gwen Stefani and No Doubt.  Both versions are quite good and the voting outcome bears this out.

           It was another close one.

           I think the remake is excellent.   I had heard Stefani's version recently as part of the piped in music line-up in some business establishment I was visiting.   Not knowing who it was, but recognizing the song, I researched it on Google and decided this might be a pretty good Battle match-up.

            There's nothing wrong with Stefani's version of "It's My Life"--it rocks--however I still prefer the original sound of Talk Talk's version of the song.  That's where my vote goes--Talk Talk.   Still it was not enough to bring them a win.   No Doubt nudged ahead for the victory.

Final Outcome:

 Talk Talk             15

Gwen Stefani and No Doubt   16

Stay Tuned for the Next Battle

        On Wednesday October 15th I'll have another one of those Battles that may provoke some controversy.   It's a weird one, but Halloween is coming soon and it's a time to be weird.

        How do you find time to social network without interfering with the other aspects of your life?   Have you cut back on blogging activities?   Do you have any suggestions for finding more time for blogging?

Related articles

• How To Blog Better: An Interview with Blogging Guru Mitch Mitchell
• Are we more productive or just busier?
• Ask Arlee & BOTB Winner
• Ask Arlee: Arlee Has Some Questions For You

#IWSG & Battle of the Bands: It's My Life

           Another month, another edition of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, the monthly event sponsored by the blogging master Alex J. Cavanaugh.   Click on the link to find out more.  Also, I'm combining this post with my bi-monthly Battle of the Bands post--more on that later,  First, my insecurity for this month

It's My Life--Kind of Maybe

       This week I'm on call for jury duty.  It's the second time this year since I didn't get put on a jury the first time around.   Jury duty is something that I can no longer get out of even though I don't really want to participate, but if I don't then I risk getting in trouble with the law.  Whose life is it anyway?

      The government puts certain restrictions on what I can do and can't do.  When I was working, my job put a lot of limitations on my life.  I accepted that because I liked getting a paycheck.  Even now if the right job came my way I'd be willing to give up part of my personal life to merge it with a work life.

         Our lives are filled with compromises, cooperative efforts, and trade-offs.   We have the things we need to do, want to do, kind of have to do in accordance with societal expectations, or feel an obligation to do within the context of those around us.   We are not isolated beings who operate totally on our own, but we are codependent in a social sense even if not so in the dysfunctional psychological definition of the term.

         What I'm trying to say is that much of my messed up writing ambitions are certainly my own fault.  I've got a lot of control over my time and what I do with it.  Still there are family and personal obligations that I must attend to sometimes.  There are chores and life duties that must be looked after.  I give some time to church and community.

           Time is limited therefore I must take better control of it.  But there's always something to distract me from writing.  I admire all of you who are cranking out books and stories and other writings on top of doing whatever else it is you do. 

            Yeah, it's my life and I've got a lot of choices.   Getting things done takes commitment, focus, and structure.   But it seems like a lot of people want a piece of me.   I feel like Janis Joplin when she sings, "Take another little piece of my heart".   That's life I guess.  My life, but not totally.

Battle of the Bands:  It's My Life

      And now Battle of the Bands, the epic event where music loving bloggers offer up two different versions of one song for you to vote on your favorite one.   This popular event which has been ongoing for over a year now was founded by Stephen T McCarthy and Faraway Eyes.   After you vote on my pairing, please visit their posts and vote on theirs.   More possible participants will be listed at the end of this post.

Talk Talk "It's My Life" (1984)

          I was not a big fan of Talk Talk when I first heard them.   They seemed kind of weird to me.  The music was somewhat morose, brooding and introspective.  I bought a couple of their cassettes out of curiosity knowing virtually nothing about their music.  With repeated listenings their music grew on me until now I like them quite well.   "It's My Life" is one of their songs that is a favorite of mine.

No Doubt "It's My Life"  (2003)

        Gwen Stefani puts a more sultry touch to the vocals and the synthpop sound of Talk Talk is not as prevalent.  There is more energy to this version though it stays relatively close to the original in the arrangement.   No doubt that No Doubt's version is a different take on the original recording by Talk Talk.







Time to Vote!

           Which do you prefer?   I hope you'll vote, but it's your life and you can do as you like in regards to voting in this Battle of the Bands post.   But please take time to vote 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.


‘FAR AWAY SERIES’ 

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

 ‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’ 

 ‘DISCCONNECTED’ 

 ‘CREATIVE OUTLET OF STRATPLAYER’ 

 'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

 Alex J. Cavanaugh

           The results of my Battle will be announced on Wednesday October 8th.  I might even post something else at that time.  I'll see what's happening in my life and whether I have time to do a real post.

            Do you sometimes feel like you're being pulled in too many directions at once?   Are you in control of your life for the most part?    What is the biggest competition for your time and attention?