Out of the Box and In Again ( #IWSG & #BOTB Results )

 From a personal perspective, the COVID absurdity came along at the best time in my life--I'm not in school, not working a job, not having to socialize with anyone for any reason.  Being retired, the lockdowns and restrictions haven't mattered to me since I'm mostly doing the same thing now that I've been doing over the past few years.  And so I'll keep telling myself...

The Insecure Writer's Support Group

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. 

The co-hosts for the October 7 posting of the IWSG are Jemima Pett, Beth Camp, Beverly Stowe McClure, and Gwen Gardner!

October 7 question - When you think of the term working writer, what does that look like to you? What do you think it is supposed to look like? Do you see yourself as a working writer or aspiring or hobbyist, and if latter two, what does that look like?

        If I were a working writer then I'd be working at writing and making money at it.  Since I'm doing neither then the term working writer doesn't apply to me.  The most writing work I've been doing of late is writing these blog posts so I don't consider that to be much in the way of work and I'm certainly not making any money writing.  

         So I guess my writing these days would be more as a hobbyist and I'm doing a pretty lousy job at that as well.  One should have some degree of passion in pursuing a hobby.  My passion just ain't there either.  These days when I write I'm more in a mood of just getting it out of the way rather than immersing myself in the joy of the experience of writing.

        Recently I dug my old stamp collection from childhood out of the closet.  Perusing some of the old albums and other items from those days of pursuing my hobby of philately, old memories came back to me of the excitement of the quest to fill blank spaces in my albums and the hours of pleasure derived in organizing and studying my stamp collection.  I was passionate about that hobby in those younger days.  But then, I eventually put my stamps away into a box labeled "Stamp Collection" and it has remained stowed away with my other life stuff until it found its way into the closet where it now resides--next to another box labeled "Writing".  

        That probably pretty well sums up my writing life these days.  Stuff stored away in boxes or recesses of memory.  Hopefully this is a temporary state of affairs.  Just like the COVID restrictions.  I'd like to think that this too shall pass.

          Everything does eventually...

Battle of the Bands Results

    Lithium

      My most recent Battle featured two versions of the Nirvana song "Lithium" and it did not go over too well with my visitors.  Firstly, I was surprised how many of the commenters didn't seem to know the song.   I've heard that song so often even though I was never a big Nirvana fan.  I guess it wasn't as memorable a tune as I thought it was.

      And once again, my eclectic tastes and predilection for the weird was apparently a bit off putting to those who did vote.  Not many cared for the song nor either version that I presented in my Battle.  Maybe I should stick to more known entities, but I like to go off into the woods sometimes--well, maybe a lot of the time.

       I liked both versions a great deal (that's why I used these versions).  Since I was a kid I've liked Middle Eastern music.  My favorite Led Zep song?  "Kashmir" of course.  I've long enjoyed exotic sounds from around the world and when you add the modern touch of rock and pop, for me it can be very engaging.  

        When it comes to jazz music I am especially fond of jazz trios--primarily with instrumentation in the mode of The Bad Plus.  Crazy improvisation with sharp percussion grooves cool with me.  Then with the somewhat psycho sounding vocals added on top of it all I was understanding the crave for lithium.  That version was out of sight and over the moon to use vernacular of another age.

        It was a tough choice for me because I could have gone in either direction (Middle East or Far West?).  In the final analysis I had to go with The Bad Plus.  I have to admit I didn't expect so much dislike or ambivalence to these versions, but in the end whatever preference there was turned out pretty equal.  

       I'll call this Battle a good outcome with an asterisk*

Final Vote Tally

Shefita                       6 votes

The Bad Plus             5 votes

Next Battle of the Bands on Thursday October 15th

           I plan to be here then.  Will you join me?

Lithium (#BOTB)

The United States has become so divided, so mixed up, so outlandishly crazy at times, so seemingly self-destructive, that one might wonder if we need extra lithium added to our water supply...

How About a Hearty Dose of Lithium to Cure the Ills of the World?

       Lithium is an element that can be found just about everywhere including the food we eat and the water we drink.  Since the mid-nineteenth century lithium has been used to treat various mental disorders and lithium compounds are still used regularly to help patients afflicted with conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and others.  

       The lithium salts induce a calming effect and can reduce suicidal tendencies.  My late youngest brother, who was diagnosed as schizophrenic, was on lithium for many years--at least since the eighties.  When he passed away in 2017 he was very likely still on lithium.  I can recall at least one occasion when he stopped taking his lithium he descended into a highly agitated state until he resumed taking his prescribed doses.  From all indications that I observed, lithium was very helpful in keeping him in a fairly docile and reasonable state.  And believe me, he was a pretty big guy and one you didn't want to see agitated.

        Not to make light of mental illness--like I say my late brother suffered from it and this was a burden upon our parents as well as a sadness for all of my siblings--I do believe there is a great deal of crazy in our world today.  Just look at the so-called "peaceful protests" so many U.S. cities have endured this past year.  There is something not quite right about what has been going on and I don't think it has much really to do with racial or any other kind of injustice or whatever grievances these people claim.

         So what IS going on anyway?  Maybe we'll have a clearer perception after the election or maybe things will just get crazier.  Leftist lunacy has been around for a while now and I can't say that thinking has made the world a better place.  Perhaps these people need more God in their lives?  Or maybe less college indoctrination?   

         Or it might just be that a liberal dose of lithium in the water supply will do the trick.  Actually this is a serious suggestion made by some scientists.  Google it and you can find a number of references to this concept, the suggestion being that the additive might reduce suicide, crime, and depression.  I'm not sure how good of an idea this would be--maybe a notch better than adding LSD to the water supply, but, hey, I'm no scientist so what do I know? 

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.

Lithium

      The song was originally recorded by angst-ridden Nirvana (you can hear their version if you click this link, but please don't vote on this one).  In this episode of Battle of the Bands I'm offering up a couple of pretty crazy sounding versions of the song.  But it's a pretty crazy song anyway so I guess just about any version would sound crazy.   So just take a listen and see which version you like best...

Shefita   "Lithium"   (2018)

     Though a Jew from Israel, Shefita's stage persona is an Arabic diva who specializes in unique covers of popular rock songs,   




The Bad Plus   "Lithium"  (2008)

       Making their second appearance on my Battle of the Bands, The Bad Plus is a jazz trio that often has performed and recorded covers of rock songs.   Avant-garde is one way to describe this groups music or maybe to some of you it might just be crazy sounding jazz...

Time to Vote!
        
           Hope the music didn't agitate you in any way and you were able to listen with an open mind.  Now let your opinion be heard!  Which 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 Wednesday October 7th

         The results of this Battle will be incorporated in my Insecure Writer's Support Group post for October.  This is my first post using Blogger's new format which has been forced on us Blogger users.  I hope everything shows up okay when it publishes because it sure doesn't look right from my vantage point on the composition page.  The preview looks fine though so hopefully that's the way it will really publish.  Sometimes these media sites drive me crazy.  Pass the lithium please...

           Have you ever taken lithium salts?   Do you think the crazy will end soon or will it get worse?   Who else hates the new Blogger format with a passion? 

This Speed I Don't Need (#BOTB results)

         Oh, for those days of childhood when time would last forever and forever was a day.  
          And holidays and birthdays always seemed a million miles away.
         But now my today is tomorrow and I seem to be missing a lot of yesterdays.
        Yes, such is life.  There's not much more that I can say.
   

Time to pack up...

          Time really got away from me this week, but I guess that happens every week.   I do have somewhat reasonable excuses like getting ready for our summer trip and working on that song that I mentioned on earlier posts.

           If you missed those mentions, the song is called "Let's Run" and my friends and I finished a reasonably decent demo considering the rush job that we put on it.   I think I will have a surprise of sorts concerning this song in August or thereabouts. 

          For now, though, I do need to "run" in order to get this results post out for the Friday appearance.

Battle of the Band Results

        I'm going to be doing a couple of summer-themed Battles in June and my recent Battle was one of those.   The song was "Tom Sawyer" originally by Rush.  The covers were jazzed up versions by an acoustic guitar trio and a heavy jazz piano trio whose specialty seems to be covers of heavy rock songs.

        I like both of these a great deal, however I think Bad Plus captured the spirit of the song best.  As John and Sixgun noted, any re-creation of Rush should have a massive drummer.  The interplay between the musicians in both bands is amazing, but I felt that The Bad Plus version was more spontaneous and wild flowing as opposed to calculated precision playing--which is not a bad thing by any means.

        In any case, my vote is going to The Bad Plus.   

Final Vote Tally

Montreal Guitar Trio      11

The Bad Plus                    4

Next Battle on Friday June 15th

        Another summer daydream song in the vein of "Tom Sawyer" as I would envision the barefoot boy in Hannibal, Missouri with his pals.  My next song has to do with a boyhood fantasy that Tom and his buddies might have played and I know that I did too.  I don't know if kids still play this, but I'll bet more than a few readers probably did when they were young.

          What was your favorite fantasy game to play when you were a kid?   Do you like to hear artists performing in one genre doing cover versions from very different genres?   Do you prefer precisely composed music or improvisation?  

Tom Sawyer (#BOTB)

      Summertime hearkens back to memories of a childhood roaming barefoot, exploring caves and woods, and floating on a raft downriver.  Those aren't my memories of anything I did, but I saw it in movies and read about it in books.   My summer memories are of going to an air-conditioned theater to watch movies. Yeah, I guess that sounds bad and it's not totally true either...

Drawing of Huckleberry finn with a rabbit and a gun,
 by EW Kemble from the original 1884 edition of the book.。
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

         There are so many songs that are about summertime.   I'm sure you have a few favorites in this genre.   Add to those the songs we associate with summer vacation because of memories those songs bring to us.   I think of songs that were on the charts and being played on the radio.   Then there are songs about concepts or cultural references.  Can you think of any examples of songs that might fit into this category?  One that comes to my mind is the song I'll be using in this episode of...

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.


Tom Sawyer

         I've always liked the Rush song epic "Tom Sawyer" (click to be reminded, but please don't vote on this version).   For years I'd heard this song and others by the Canadian band, but I never jumped on the Rush fan-wagon until I saw a concert video of them on television back around 2003 I'm guessing.  After that I was sold on the band and went and bought a large part of their library on CD.

         For this Battle I've chosen two interesting acoustic covers of the Rush song.   To some extent I think these covers are equal to the original.  I have no doubt that  some of you might say they are even better.  Take a listen and you be the judge...

Montreal Guitar Trio  "Tom Sawyer"  (2014)




The Bad Plus  "Tom Sawyer"  (2007)







Time to Vote!

        What d'ya think?  What's your favorite between these two choices? Which song version do you like best? 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 


Winner of this Battle Announced on Friday June 8th

      On Wednesday the 6th I'll have my post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group, so be here for that. And by all means see who won this Battle on June 8th. It's been busy for me of late and it looks like things might get busier. I'll try to keep the pace.
       
        What are some of your favorite childhood summer memories?   Do you ever look back with some wonder that you survived intact?   What was your biggest summer adventure in your adult years?