Thursday, August 1, 2013

‘BATTLE OF THE BANDS’ NUMBER 1 (Or, ‘BEBEL VS. BEBEL’)



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Republican Vs. Democrat, Male Vs. Female, War Vs. Peace, Light Vs. Dark, Good Vs. Evil, Man Vs. Machine, Love Vs. Hate, Dog Vs. Cat, Sun Vs. Moon, Brain Vs. Brawn, Oscar Vs. Grammy, Angel Vs. Demon, Laurel Vs. Hardy, Beer Vs. Wine, TV Vs. Radio, Pitcher Vs. Batter, Paper Vs. Plastic, Reality Vs. Fantasy, Yeshua Vs. Beelzebub, Conservative Vs. Liberal, You Vs. Me, House Vs. Senate, Offense Vs. Defense, Kramer Vs. Kramer, Spy Vs. Spy, Fischer Vs. Spassky, W.C. Fields Vs. Sobriety, Harold Gimpy, Jr. Vs. Sheldon J. Pismire, Rock Vs. Paper Vs. Scissors, Islam Vs. Everything, Singer Vs. Singer, Band Vs. Band...
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THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  BANDS!
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EUGENE MARTONE VS. JACK BUTLER
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Yes, it’s time once again for the first installment of ‘Battle Of The Bands’ (BOTB).

Back on Wednesday, July 10, 2013, my friend FarAwayEyes (FAE) posted her first BOTB blog bit – click HERE (Nina Simone won). 
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I so squirrel-flipped over FAE’s idea that I threatened to (and then asked to) steal her concept for my own blog. I essentially told her I was going to run with the BOTB thang whether she wanted me to or not, and if she objected to my plagiarism she could just sue me (good luck getting ‘Cruzan’ Rum from a stone!)

But always the good sport, FAE welcomed my theft. I then suggested the idea that we BOTH do BOTB simultaneously – on the 1st and 15th of every month - and that we link to each other’s blogs. She agreed and proposed the idea that we post our own votes in each BOTB blog bit one week later (i.e., on the 7th and 21st of each month). So, there’s the background story.

In the future, I will be matching up original song recordings against cover versions, and sometimes it will be a cover version against another cover version. Most of my selections will be Rock and Pop Standards, although I will also dip into Jazz, and occasionally even Blues and Country-Western.
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GODZILLA VS. KING KONG
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But I definitely wanted to begin this series with Bebel Gilberto Vs. Bebel Gilberto for a very specific reason:

A number of years ago, I sent something to my blogging buddy A-DogG. Wanting to reciprocate, and knowing I loved Bossa Nova music, A-DogG copied a CD for me from his own music collection. It was a 13-track album by Joao Gilberto’s daughter, Bebel Gilberto, and it was titled ‘Remixed’ – apparently a collection of older Bebel Gilberto songs remixed by various newer artists, but each track retaining Bebel’s vocals. That album taught me the importance of a song’s or an instrumental’s musical “arrangement”.

If you listen to a lot of high-quality music (e.g., Benny Goodman’s ‘Stompin’ At The Savoy’ as opposed to the Sex Pistols' ‘God Save The Queen’) then you know that an arranger - generally working with a lot of instruments - determines which musicians will play when, how the instruments will interact, who will solo, when the strings will get punched up and/or faded out in the musical piece, etc. We tend to focus on the singers and the musicians, without giving much thought to whose name followed the words “arrangement by” in the credit listing.

But a lot of brilliant musical minds have become well known for their special arranging talent. Billy May, Quincy Jones, Booker T. Jones, Henry Mancini, and Nelson Riddle all became famous for their creative musical arrangements. A lot of people don’t know this, but amongst the serious musical minds, Richard Carpenter – not his sister, Karen – was considered the mastermind behind the success of ‘The Carpenters’. Richard’s music teacher in college recognized Richard’s genius for musical arrangements early on, and Pat Metheny – an A-list Jazz musician and musical genius himself – has publicly stated that he was always extremely impressed with Richard Carpenter’s talent as an arranger. That’s high praise!

Big Band great Glenn Miller first made a name for himself as an arranger with Ben Pollack’s band. Later, Miller started his own band and struggled for a time until, in the process of arranging his band’s musical charts, he finally hit upon that unique “signature sound” that made his band immediately identifiable.

As an arranger, what Glenn Miller had done was to use the “clarinet in tandem with the other four saxes, often doubling an octave above the lead. In so doing he walked directly into the ‘sound’ he’d been seeking.” Or as Glenn himself put it: “The fifth sax, playing clarinet most of the time, let’s you know whose band you’re listening to. And that’s about all there is to it.”

Oh, is that all there is to it? Hmmm... I guess I’m ready to start my career as a music arranger then. Never mind that I don’t know a C-sharp from a Fart-flat.

Although I did have that basic understanding of what musical arrangers do, it wasn’t until I heard Bebel Gilberto’s ‘Remixed’ album that I fully understood just HOW IMPORTANT a musical arrangement really is; it wasn’t until I had repeatedly listened to tracks 4 and 10 on that compact disc that I came to understand that a musical arrangement can literally make or break a song!

Bebel Gilberto’s ‘Remixed’ album contains 13 tracks, but #4 and #10 are the same song – same song, same singer, but with different backing groups and arranged in a vastly different way. To my amazement, I found that I most definitely liked one of the tracks and yet I strongly disliked the other one. Same song, different arrangement.

Never again would I take for granted the “arranged by” credit on an album cover.

I promise that my future BOTB blog bits will not be as technical (nor as “Techno”) as this one has been, but I wanted my debut installment to be an object lesson; I wanted to share with you some of what the song ‘AGANJU’ taught me some years ago about the value of an arrangement. See which version you prefer, and pay attention to how much the arrangement alters the overall presentation of the same song:
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As The Photo Sez... BEBEL GILBERTO
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Bebel Gilberto (with ‘Latin Project’) – ‘AGANJU’ 
[Track #4]


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BEBEL GILBERTO
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Bebel Gilberto (with ‘Spiritual South’) – ‘AGANJU’ 
[Track #10]


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I welcome EVERYONE – whether I know you or not -  to vote for your favorite of these two songs in the comment section below. And feel free to tell us WHY you chose one song over the other. (NOTE: Comment Moderation is activated. All submitted comments that do not transgress "Ye Olde Comment Policy" will be posted as soon as possible. Thanks for taking the time to comment. And I will weigh in with my own vote on August 7th.)
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After voting here, I suggest - actually I insist - you pop over to FAE’s ‘Far Away Series’ blog and see which songs she has chosen and vote there also. (If her BOTB blog bit isn’t posted yet, pour yourself two shots of ‘Grand Marnier’ over ice – do it twice – and then return to ‘Far Away Series’ to vice your voice ...vote your vice ...voice your vote.)

Voice Your Vote @ ‘FAR AWAY SERIES’ by clicking HERE.
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Until August 15th ...ROCK ON!
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RIDDLER VS. BATMAN
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy

POSTSCRIPT: If you feel like joining us in this endeavor by creating a ‘BATTLE OF THE BANDS’ series on your own blog, by all means, please do! FarAwayEyes and I will love it if the number of participants “GOES UP TO ELEVEN”.

YE OLDE COMMENT POLICY: All comments, pro and con, are welcome. However, ad hominem attacks and disrespectful epithets will not be tolerated (read: "posted"). After all, this isn’t Amazon.com, so I don’t have to put up with that kind of bovine excrement.
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40 comments:

  1. I vote for the first version (Track 4).

    Track 10 sounds too much like it's trying to be a hip dance mix.

    I like the picture preceding track 10, though.

    My 0.02....

    LC

    ReplyDelete
  2. #1 a clear winner for me. It had a real Brasil '66 vibe to me... the other was just too, um, "non- smooth" for me. I'd have to say I could see me keeping it on a randomly hit radio station playing #1. I doubt #two would get the same courtesy for long.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love these BotB posts! I get to unleash my inner music nerd. I also love when I get to post before you've responded, so I don't look like I've "cheated" or anything on which one you liked/didn't like.

    So, I might be wrong in assuming, since you said future posts will be less "techno," but I'm assuming it's the second one you can't stand. In all honesty, I hate the second one, and I actually like electronic music. It's just done completely wrong.

    See, the electronic melody sounds like a very flat, farty WUB WUB WUB, like when you do poorly in a video game and it wants to let you know that you've failed. WUB WUB, GAME OVER. This doesn't complement her voice or the style of the song at all. In fact, the WUB WUB is going at the same time as the drum beat, which is awkward. So I definitely pick the first one, which is a lot more fluid and complementary to her voice while still being 'dancy.'

    Not the same style of music, but in the defense of electronic music, compare that techno one to a song like this one, one of my personal favorite electronic songs ever: Neon Indian's "POLISH GIRL." It may not be your cup of tea (and on the exterior it may sound a little repetitive because of the simple melody that carries it), but this works a lot better than the electronic "AGANJU" because the electronic sounds are not only layered, and build up gracefully throughout the song, but they complement each other. And Alan Palomo keeps his vocals a bit subdued, so as not to clash with the music itself. Everything is in perfect balance, whereas the electronic "AGANJU" is just a clashing of hard sounds. The hard electrics. The hard drum beats. And then her voice is so strong. It's like 3 cars racing side by side to the finish line and they just all end up crashing into one another. I actually don't think this song would sound bad in an electronic format, but I think the way it was handled was just awful.

    Meanwhile, the instruments in the first one are more subtle and even a bit more seductive, which really allow her voice to shine. But really, what song doesn't sound better when not droned out with electronic farts?

    Of course, this is just the humble opinion of a guy who has a fondness for (and a pretty moderate understanding of) electronic music, so I'm curious to see which one you prefer...

    ReplyDelete
  4. I haven't even made it all the way through Track #10 and I know that I prefer Track #4. I strongly dislike Track #10. It is far too percussive for my taste. I feel like I am in the jungle. Too much grunting vocally in the background and the music is all syncopation. There is no flow at all. It doesn't match Bebel's lovely voice IMO at all. So, there is my vote (#4).

    ReplyDelete
  5. Well Mr. McCarthy, as expected you really went in depth on this one. I knew I was going to learn something, and I did. I really never gave the arrangement to a song that much thought, but in this case it made all the difference.

    My vote goes to the first one or Track 4 of ‘Aganju’. I must admit the beautiful Portuguese language lends itself wonderfully to this great rhythm,(like that should be a surprise, eh?) and Miss Gilberto’s voice is beautiful. That second track with the overriding percussion just about gave me a headache. I decided to be fair I should listen to the end, but I literally could not wait for it to be over.

    Great first run with this (like I had any doubt). Can’t wait to see what the rest of the readers think.

    BTW, I couldn’t help myself and looked up the translation, it’s quite interesting, but I bet you already know that.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Eu gosto de #4. Muito sensual voz apareceu muito bem. A outra canção é muito demasiado techo.

    EdSig Arantes do Nascimento

    ReplyDelete
  7. DiscDude --- Agree... on the music AND the picture.

    Brother Martin --- Interesting that you mentioned Brasil '66. It won't be for awhile, but I do have Brasil '66 already slotted for a future BOTB competition here. One of FAE's competitors today will be going up against B-66.

    4-B Old Soul --- I loved your very analytical explanation for why you voted as you did. And I definitely agree with your assessment, even though I didn't originally think it out so deeply. I just kinda went: Eew! Ick! I guess it's obvious I won't be playing the part of Mr. Contrarian on Aug. 7th. Your assumption based on my "less techno" remark was astute. (I was actually aware beforehand that the remark in question was a giveaway. My future BOTB blog bits won't make my preference so obvious.)

    I listened to the entire song you linked to. Although 'Electronic Music' is not at all my glass o' beer, I was surprised to find I did not really dislike the song. I wouldn't go out and buy it, and although the "Tink-Tinky-Tink Tink! Tink!" did start to wear on me at times, I did find it listenable. And I thought all the positive points you made about it were accurate.

    "It's like 3 cars racing side by side to the finish line and they just all end up crashing into one another." ...Very well put, Brother Bryan!

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your reaction was about what I expected, and again, I'm kinda sad the second one WASN'T arranged properly, because I think this song could actually sound pretty good with the right electronic arrangement.

      I'm looking forward to future BotB posts, and I also look forward to not knowing which one you prefer.

      And as for the response to my previous questions, it's no rush. Besides, until you answer, I've got this great Sam Adams Summer Ale to quench my thirst. I'm buying this stuff by the 24-pack!

      (I'm kidding, I'm kidding)

      Delete
    2. OLD SOUL ~

      >>... Your reaction was about what I expected

      Brother Beer Boy Bryan, my taste in music changed DRASTICALLY as I got older; it changed more than did anyone else's musical tastes whom I have personally known.

      Although I was aware of and really enjoyed some Pop/Rock songs of the mid and late 1960s, and even had an occasionally-changing "favorite song" as early as 1969 and 1970 (e.g., 'Spill The Wine' by War, and 'War' by Edwin Starr - the word "war" being just a coincidence, I'm sure), it wasn't until 1974 that I REALLY started getting seriously interested in music (and took guitar lessons for awhile).

      Although I owned some Rock albums earlier (i.e., 'The Monkees', 'Get Ready' by Rare Earth, 'Strawberry Alarm Clock', and 'Led Zeppelin II' by Led Zepp), it wasn't until 1975 that I began purchasing music albums with MY OWN MONEY. (I still remember that the first four were by The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Chicago. No, the math ain't wrong - I bought 2 by The Beatles.)

      Years later, I got into what was considered "Electronic Music" in MY day. Not the same as today, but it mostly meant music that had a heavy emphasis on synthesizers. 'Dreamweaver' by Gary Wright was entirely made by synthesizers, plus a drummer. I was into The Cars when they first came on the scene, and I bought and frequently played their debut album (I still like the song 'Just What I Needed'). And there were other synthesizer-dominated albums that I loved back "in the day".

      One day I discovered that by slapping the metal railing that runs down along the entrance to the (famous) Santa Monica Pier, I could nearly duplicate a synthesizer sound that occurs in the song 'Frankenstein' by The Edgar Winter Group. For probably two decades, I irritated everyone who went to the Pier with me, by slapping the railing all the way down and back up again!

      But my interest in Blues-Rock bands led me to investigate the authentic Bluesmen who inspired them. And by the time Gary Numan scored a Top Ten "techno" hit with the song 'Cars' in 1980, I had moved into new musical territory and... hated the song 'Cars'.

      Over time, my interest in The Blues (very late 1970s/very early '80s) naturally led to an interest in Jazz (around 1983 - the album 'Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart' was a musical turning point for me).

      Although I still enjoy a minority percent of the Rock I grew up on, I'm now primarily a Jazz fan (who still digs the genuine Blues pioneers).

      For the most part, the Rock artists I still particularly enjoy also exude a strong Blues and/or Jazz influence. In other words, whereas for years Styx was my favorite band (before most of my peers knew who they were), and later Thin Lizzy became my favorite, today I cannot stand either band, but I still dig the Blues and Jazz-influenced Rock artists (such as Van Morrison, Steely Dan, and Chicago).

      >>... I'm looking forward to future BotB posts, and I also look forward to not knowing which one you prefer.

      My future posts will NOT include hints about which track I prefer. And I have already conceived of enough Song Vs. Song match-ups to keep me blogging for 4 more years (which means I have more than enough tunes already).

      I know your blog is not themed for BOTB match-ups, but I imagine you could come up with some A-list battles if you wanted to.

      >>... And as for the response to my previous questions, it's no rush. Besides, until you answer, I've got this great Sam Adams Summer Ale to quench my thirst. I'm buying this stuff by the 24-pack!

      Oh, you Godless Communist you!

      ~ D-FensDogg
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete
    3. Just had to jump in here after the first paragraph or so of that response.
      -Monkees- probably Laurie's favorite.
      -Strawberry Alarm Clock- Incense and Peppermint is one of that small handful of songs I'd want on the mythical desert island.
      -Cars first album,. Dad got that and a rocking chair at a garage sale for five bucks. Chair outlived him. All Mixed Up was my favorite.
      -Gary Numan: Someone got me the 45 for a birthday. Never much cared for it. I think the same person got me Jay Ferguson's Shakedown Cruise, which didn't get much play either.
      -Styx: Crystal Ball, yes! Paradise Theater, not so much.
      -"Godless communist" should try Leinenkugel's Canoe Paddler.

      Delete
    4. BROTHER MARTIN ~
      Drop in anytime; always glad to hear from ya.

      For me personally, The Monkees and Strawberry Alarm Clock are strangely linked: In 1967, during "The “Summer Of Love”, my Ma gave me The Monkees' debut album as a birthday gift. I loved The Monkess, and that was the first music album I ever owned.

      In either late 1969 or in 1970, I traded that Monkees album to my friend Greg, who lived up the street from me, for his copy of the album 'Incense And Peppermints'. When my Ma found out about it, I think her feelings were hurt.

      But everything was healed again when, at my request, my Ma gave me that same Monkees album (this time in the compact disc format) for my birthday in 2003. I've played it on my birthday just about every year since then.

      I thought the name of the album that the hit song appeared on was also 'Incense And Peppermints' but I wasn't totally sure. So I just now did a Google search. I found I was right, but I also found some new and surprising information...

      One of the contributing writers of the hit, and a member of Strawberry Alarm Clock was Ed King. ...The same Ed King who later became one of the founding members of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Who-da thunk it? He went from a Los Angeles psychedelic Rock band to a Deep South Country-Rock group. (Dropping acid while wearing a cowboy hat.)

      I loved 'Crystal Ball' when it first came out. I liked the follow-up 'The Grand Illusion' pretty well too. But when 'Pieces Of Eight' came out, I bought it immediately and found that my love affair with Styx was definitely over. Today I'm sure I wouldn't like ANYTHING from any of those records. I still hear 'Come Sail Away' on 'Classic Rock' radio from time to time and I think it's just ridiculously silly, and I hate Dennis DeYoung's "girlie-voice".

      Looking back on it all these years later, it's hard to believe I'm the same person who once thought Styx was a band of gods.

      Gary Numan... The Cars, etc.... I just found that I preferred more "human" musical sounds as I got more into the Blues. Whereas I once loved the synthesizer, now I only wanted to hear it if it was used very sparingly, only to add a subtle sonic texture to a song.

      I still haven't gotten my sorry ass over to respond to Bryan's other comment yet. But later today, when I do, I'll mention your beer recommendation.

      ~ D-FensDogg
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete
  8. ROBIN ---
    >>... I haven't even made it all the way through Track #10 and I know that I prefer Track #4.

    Well, of course. You're an intelligent woman. If you had to wait until the end of Track #10 to make that decision... I would have had to block you from commenting on my blog in the future.

    FAE --- Thanks! ...for your comment and for your willingness to do this BOTB series with me (which YOU conceived of). After reading your comment section and mine, I think enough people like it to justify our continuation of it for awhile. (Although it seems more of my readers voted on YOUR blog than your readers voted on mine. What's wrong with yer peeps? They skeered o' me?)

    >>... as expected you really went in depth on this one.

    This debut installment was definitely WAY WORDIER than my future installments will be. I really wanted to explore the importance of music arrangements in this one, and that required some explanation, I believed.

    But going forward, my BOTB blog bits will feature TWO DIFFERENT bands/singers opposing each other, and FAR LESS commentary on my part.

    >>... I couldn’t help myself and looked up the translation, it’s quite interesting, but I bet you already know that.

    How MUCH do you wanna bet? I'm in for $400. (I'd bet more but my checking account doesn't have more.) Truthfully, I have NEVER attempted to translate the lyrics into English. I just naturally assumed that they were all about how much Bebel Gilberto is in love with me. Why "Google" what your heart already KNOWS?!

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "If you had to wait until the end of Track #10 to make that decision... I would have had to block you from commenting on my blog in the future."

      Well, thank Bob for that! I would have hated to have been the uncultured slob on this boat!

      Delete
  9. Hey there Buckaroo, not so fast; I wouldn't change a thing about this post and certainly hope you don't give up on your insightful commentary. I liked it and so do your readers. Look at the type of comments you get in return.

    Apparently, a lot of those folks who follow me around, don't know how to follow directions. Not surprised are you? Give them time, they may still come around.

    Since your checking account has about $398.01 more than mine, I ain't betting much, and I should have known what you thought.

    Favorite line - translated to English; 'I will pray for never losing this structure you are.' I suppose you could take that several different ways.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BUCKAROOETTE ~

      >>... I should have known what you thought.

      Of course you SHOULD HAVE! Seeing as how I am a "CONFIDENT Heterosexual"! [Click that link. It's one of the funniest scenes in Hollyweird history. Although I can't believe where the poster ended it - MUST be an Airheadzonan! But maybe it's even better that way, because the end of the scene is funnier still! Classic Stuffs! And you being a former cowgirl, I know it's right up yer corral... uh... alley? Uh... never mind, I've been wined.]

      >>... "...this structure you are". I suppose you could take that several different ways.

      I suppose you're right. Although I've been told that I'm more like a "nail" than a "structure". Nevertheless... I'm a... "CONFIDENT heterosexual"!

      ~ D-FensDogg
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete
    2. I knew that CONFIDENT HETEROSEXUAL stuff sounded familiar, but for the life if me I couldn't place it. Course I've only been minimally exposed!

      Delete
  10. EdSig Arantes do Nascimento --- "Mucho mas cerveza, por favor!" Eleventy years of Spanish classes and that's ALL I learned. (Which of course has nothing to do with the language you posted in but... what the hell? A beautiful, brown-eyed, dark-skinned lady is a beautiful, brown-eyed, dark-skinned lady! What's in a... language?)

    Gotcher E, Bro. Haven't read the 4 pages yet because, what with applying for a new job, writing new blog bits, and replying to comments, who has time to read about 'Medigolftion'? (But, seriously, THANKS! I will read it this weekend, after the daily grind has ground me down to 48 hours of frickin' freedom! ...Uh... not that I'm bitter or anything.)

    Hey... no foreign words about how hot that Bossa Nova wench is? You ain't turnin' 'Boy George' on me, are ya, Sigcardo II?

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SIGGY DOS ~
      After sleeping on it, I awoke to realize that I should have called it "mediTEEtion". (Hmmm... I wonder if it's called that somewhere within the 4 pages. This weekend will tell.)

      ~ D-FensDogg
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete
  11. Hmmm, I'm a little late to this party, and a consensus of opinion is already obvious. To tell the truth, I'm not over-the-top crazy about either version, but of the two, I'd have to pick the first one. I guess.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SUSAN ~
      Maybe you would have liked it more if a more feminine person had sung it. David Bowie, perhaps?

      ~ D-FensDogg
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete
    2. HA! I DO like his voice on the soundtrack from "Cat People."

      Delete
    3. I saw where you mentioned him on FAE's blog and figured I could make use of that here.
      :-)

      Last night, right after I replied to your comment, the family watched the 1960 musical comedy 'BELLS ARE RINGING'. (I've seen it several times.) As soon as I was reminded of the name of the telephone answering service in that movie - SUSANSWERPHONE - I thought to myself: Doh! I could have used that to address you in my comment.

      ~ D-FensDogg
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete
  12. Ohhhhh..... I didn't know you are back to blogging!!!

    How have you been? :-D I guess I need to catch up with your posts!

    Lady Doris :-D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LADY DORIS ~
      Hey, what a pleasant surprise to find you here!

      Yes, I closed down my 'STUFFS' blog quite some time ago, but I have been blogging at this site continuously.

      I haven't been too good ...but no one wants to hear that.

      I haven't seen you appear on my Dashboard in ages, so I assumed it was YOU who had stopped blogging permanently.

      Hey... no vote on the two songs here? What up with that? C'mon, you must like one of 'em better'n the other.

      ~ D-FensDogg
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete
  13. They were both catchy and got my feet moving. Very upbeat.

    I liked the second one better though. Excellent for keeping awake but doesn't keep my attention focused on it. I'd like it for background noise.

    I know noting about musical arrangements; just what I like to hear at any moment. Next week I may be in a different mood and vote the other way, but today, #2 satisfied my musical needs.

    ......dhole

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DONNA ~
      Thanks for participating.

      I gotta give you a lotta credit for being such a Maverickette, seeing as how you're willing to stand alone in voting for the second track.

      What a display of individualism. ('Spiritual South', I'm sure, thanks you for preventing the shutout.)

      ~ D-FensDogg
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete
  14. With all due respect to Donna, the second track is poo-poo, the first is quite nice. I wonder what possessed them to arrange the second one that way? Did they lose a bet or something?

    "Spiritual South" seems a completely misnamed band to me. They seem neither spiritual, nor particularly southern. Really, it sounds like Gary Numan is backing her up.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Far Away Eyes - (c/o StMcC) -

    I tried to vote on your site, but it requires that I either have a Google account or some "open i.d." thang... neither of which I have. It seems you have to be somebody to comment! And I'm a nobody.

    I cannot stand Leonard Cohen, so the vote goes to #1. But I'm afraid I don't like either version. Maybe if was played at 1.5x the tempo by Alabama Shakes it would have more appeal.

    Stephen - my apologies for "voting" here on FAE's stuffs. I think next time I should just listen and keep it to myself!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SHEBOYGANBOY 6 ~
      I was starting to wonder where the hell you were.

      "Did they lose a bet or something?"
      Ha!

      I agree with you about the name. Maybe they're from the SOUTH ...of France?

      No problem posting your vote for FAE's BOTB installment here, but... I don't understand why you were unable to post there. Both our blogs are hosted by Blogspot.dumb, and so I'd think you should find posting at 'Far Away Series' as easy as posting at 'F-FFF'.

      Maybe she unknowingly has her blog set to accept comments only from certain sources. I marked my blog to accept anything from anywhere, but with Comment Moderation enabled.

      When you get a chance, you should check out FAE's 3-part comment to Beer Boy Bryan on my previous post about Michael Card and "The Summer Of Love".

      ~ D-FensDogg
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete
    2. Sheboyganboy 6

      A thousand thanks yous (meaning a lot of thanks; not the normal Chicago vernacular, as in 'yous guys) kind sir, for stopping over at my place. I'm glad you posted it here. I will look into the problem immediately, but this woman of limited intelligence (especially where technology is concerned) with light colored hair (I could say that more simply but I've been banned from calling myself a 'dumb blonde' on Stephen's site)might only mess it up further. Also, it's a well known fact that Blogger hates me (I think they are jealous) and does whatever they can to keep me from receiving comments and followers.

      Please know that you are always welcome, and I do hope you'll stop by and try again on the 15th. (There will be prized - right Mr. McCarthy?) BUT, what ever you do, DO NOT remain silent. Vote for both of our selections here, if you must.

      Delete
  16. Far Away Eyes -

    I'll stop by for the next battle, but I may be a late arrival again. I am traveling a lot this month (and next, and NEXT). I may be in the mountains on the 15th.

    I suspect that McCarthyboy is right: you may have inadvertently set your account with stricter rules. When I tried, as I mentioned, it only would let me leave a comment if I had a Google account or "Open I.D.". I looked it up, and it is apparently a scheme (in the nicest sense of the term) to allow people to create their own "open i.d." that can be used as sort of a generic login to ANY website that says "heck, yes! We'll accept Open ID people!"

    I don't have one of those or a Google ID. Given that the NSA already has all my passwords, knows my searches, reads my emails, and the FBI turns on my cell phone remotely and listens to me... I MIGHT AS WELL sign up. I have no privacy anyway! As Spock says in "Mirror, Mirror": "Captain Kirk, I SHALL consider it."

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  17. I popped over from FAE's blog. First, I'm totally unfamiliar with the song so both were new to my ears. The first version gets my vote hand's down. The second one kind of grated on my nerves.

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  18. SixBoy ~
    Ha! Ya know, it's twue, it's twue!
    I don't think "they'll" learn any more about you
    Whether or not you drop the other shoe
    I say, "Sign up and do what ya gotta do."

    BISH ~
    Thanks for stopping by. Your vote has been recorded. And I hope you'll come by again on the 15th for Battle #2.

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

    ReplyDelete
  19. The first one by far has my vote. I did not like the second one, It felt disjointed and left me agitated.

    The first one was beautiful, and made me think of the culture in the islands. It flowed and was sensual....probably didn't help I came from FarAway's first...will try to visit here first next week :)

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    Replies
    1. LuMa13 ~
      Thanks for voting!

      Yeah, you should stop by here FIRST on the 15th. (This blog is better'n that other one anyway.)

      ~ D-FensDogg
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete
  20. Part 1:

    ALL Y'ALL ~
    Well, the votes are in - all 12 of them - and the outcome is obvious (and was so right from the start).

    'AGANJU' by Bebel Gilberto and Latin Project [Track #4] ...The votes went "Up To Eleven".

    'AGANJU' by Bebel Gilberto and Spiritual South [Track #10] received 1 (Count 'em: One) vote.

    Track #4 wins BOTB #1 in a landslide.

    I, of course, voted for Track #4 as well. I like that recording pretty well. I dig the electric piano intro (or the synthesizer replicating the sound of an electric piano?), and although I'm not really a fan of the drum machine sound normally, I think it works surprisingly well on this tune. The vocals are really nice and put across an innocently romantic mood (one of the things I like so much about Bossa Nova in general!) And the melody is pretty.

    I also agree with FAE's remark that the "Portuguese language lends itself wonderfully to this great rhythm". Although I am most definitely a 'Lyric Guy', I am just as much a 'Music Guy'. Some of my favorite pieces of music are actually instrumentals, even though no one digs some of the lyrics of Bob Dylan and Tom Waits more'n I do.

    I have heard, loved, and owned a number of songs in which the words were sung in a language I could not understand. It makes no difference. If the melody and/or rhythm and the instrumentation appeals to me, I can enjoy the song just as well, whether I know what is being sung or not.

    'Aganju' (#4) is a good example of that. Other than the one line FAE quoted the English translation to, I still have no idea what Bebel is singing. Doesn't matter because the song is musically interesting to me, and the melody is pretty.

    Continued Below...

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  21. Part 2:

    I did not bother to analyze Track #10 like Brother Beer Boy Bryan did, but I think his analysis was very good. All I really needed to know was: "That sounds like NOISE to me." The discordant sounds in that track start making me feel agitated fairly quickly. That wasn't music to soothe the savage beast in me; that was racket to awaken the savage beast in me!

    But all in all, I'm glad I decided to post these two different versions of the same song by the same artist as my first BOTB contest. I feel it illustrated what I meant to illustrate: the importance of an "arrangement" in a musical piece. We often take the arrangements for granted, but a good or bad arrangement can make all the difference in whether we like a song or hate it. That's quite a bit of power that an arrangement holds over the success of a song.

    And bear in mind that the "arrangement" can pertain to the instruments used, the order of the music, tempo changes in the music, as well as the way background vocals are utilized in a song. In short, "arrangement" pertains to just about everything in a musical piece except for the quality of the singer's voice and the skill of the musicians.

    Once in awhile, focus strictly on the background vocals in a song and think about which words the background vocalists are singing, and try to imagine the song in some other way. What if the background singers weren't added? What if they were singing different words? Or what if they were singing more or less words? All those things can drastically change a song's presentation and appeal.

    Have you noticed how differently female background vocalists were used through the decades? A song from the 1950s often sounds very different from a song from the mid-'60s and late-'60s due in large part to the way arrangers started using the background vocalists. And in the 1970s, it largely changed again. (Listen for the difference in how background singers are used in Pop/Rock songs as opposed to Gospel songs.)

    I will focus on the whole "arrangement" aspect of a song again in a future BOTB contest that will feature a well known Beatles song.

    But be here again on Aug. 15th, when we're gonna hear two hard-Rocking electric guitar-driven bands square off against each other. I guarantee you will recognize the name of the first band, if not the second. But the band you know may sound totally unlike you've ever heard them before.

    SPECIAL NOTE TO SHEBOYGANBOY SIX:
    Brother, it's going to be very interesting to see how many of these BOTB contests we agree on... you know, what with the Music Gap we have. (I've forgotten what name you gave to that Gap, but I remember it was pretty clever.) The good news is that so far... we're One for One!

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

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  22. Excellent first run at the BOTB. Not only was this fun, but I for one, learned something about 'arrangements'. Perhaps your correct.

    Did you notice that one of my followers mentioned that they were unable to access the videos on your blog and therefore didn't vote? Thought you would want to know.

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  23. Thanks, FAE. And you too! Knowing you were going to use Botti's 'A Thousand Kisses Deep', I figured your BOTB contest would be an easy selection for me. Not so easy after all.

    I'll E-Yak with ya this weekend and we can agree on some sort of "prize" thing for 'The Most Frequent Voter' award, and some sort of timeline which we can both announce in our BOTB 2 posts.

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

    ReplyDelete
  24. Since I have my wife and son sleeping next to me I can't listen. So essentially I got nothin.

    ReplyDelete

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