I admit that this probably wasn't my most exciting BOTB. At least if you consider exciting to be one where everyone is holding their breath down to the wire hoping their choice will win. BUT, to all those 'Cassandras' out there; at least it was not a shut-out. HA! I also admit that at first, I was a little put out over all the predictions about the outcome of my BATTLE, but I did get over that pretty quickly. After all, I do ask for your opinions, and three of you seemed to agree that Satchmo would literally run away with this one. Well, you did call it pretty close. Edith Piaf did get one vote, and for that I'm glad. although she was not my choice, it is her song. I enjoy some of Edith's compositions but I'm not too crazy about delivery. It's my opinion that she belts everything out as though she's singing a national anthem. Grace Jones did win one of you over, and got one vote also. Personally not my favorite. Actually, I had no idea that she thought she could sing until I found this video and did a little research on her career. I found it interesting that several of you thought she was pretty good, just not good enough to bet Satchmo. YIKES! I am amused that so many of you referred to Grace's performance as 'cheesy'. That brings us to Satchmo. He received 13 votes (INCLUDING MINE) and is the clear winner here. He did run away with this Battle, even if he didn't fair so well in other Battles here at my site. Personally, I love the slower arrangement, and that mix of piano and Louis horn is superb. Add in his marvelous voice and you have perfection. I'm pleased that Louis won, but also glad that it was not a shut out. I brought you three very different versions of the same song and that's my goal. I guess I need to work a little harder to post a really good BATTLE, which in my opinion is, one that is a close race and has us all holding our breath down to the last minute wondering just who will walk away the winner. Come back on the 1st of March and see if I'm able to thrill you! Aren't you glad I don't have to move to China or Russia or someplace like that? HA!
In the comment box of my last BATTLE OF THE BANDS post
I got to talking with someone, in truth I was talking at them, because they
never commented back, so I really don’t know if they even read my comment. No
matter, it was somewhat off topic, but on a topic that is interesting and
important to me. That’s why I decided to share it with everyone, and make it
the topic of this blog post.
You might not exactly agree, if you judge by some of my
BATTLE OF THE BANDS posts, but I love music, mainly because it speaks TO my
soul. I also love prayer, probably because it speaks FOR my soul. Often I feel
that certain music IS a prayer. That said; I really like to ‘feel’ both as much
as ‘hear’ them.
I have been fortunate enough that during the course of
my life, I have been exposed to many and various different languages, we all probably
have. I can speak several, even if I’m the only one who knows what I’m saying.
In my extended family alone, several different languages are the native tongue
of some wonderful people. I’ve also been fortunate to live in many places both
inside the United States of America and out, exposing me further to different languages.
I really enjoy listening to music in another language,
not all of the time, of course, but on occasion. I REALLY am intrigued by
listening to people pray in another language. It is so powerful to not fully
understand the words and open yourself up to feeling the Spirit and allowing it
to convey purpose and meaning of what is being said or sung.
While my family and I lived in Florida we became friends
with a family from Laos. I actually learned to speak a little Laotian, so as to
help the mother in this family with a doctor’s appointment for herself and her
children. It is a difficult language with absolutely no relationship to
English. We made it through doctor’s appointments, school enrollments, and
opening a bank account, but I would never say that I was able to ‘speak Laotian’.
But, listening to these people pray in Laotian was an experience to behold and
more than once I found myself with tears streaming down my face from the
overpowering Spirit that was present.
Recently someone sent me this YouTube clip in an email.
Check it out and see if the sheer power of it doesn’t move you. It sure did me,
although I have absolutely no idea what these men are saying.
What you just witnessed is Maori Haka Kapa. At the
website ‘100% Pure New Zealand they state:
Kapa haka - traditional Māori performances
Violent foot-stamping, lizard-like tongue protrusions and
rhythmic body slapping - so heavy it induces a bright red skin glow - are
just one side of kapa haka performances.
While those actions might appear aggressive, kapa haka - the traditional
performance art of New Zealand's Māori people - is equally about grace,
elegance and stylistic movement.
Powerful art form
It is the ability to convey a vast range of feelings and emotions that make
kapa haka such a powerful art form.
At one moment a softly sung choral arrangement enhanced by the
synchronised dance of the women's poi, a kapa haka performance can suddenly
break into a ferocious war chant, growls and blood curdling screams.
This haka or war dance is an unrestrained display of anger and
aggression used in ancestral times to mentally prepare war parties readying
themselves for battle
The above video clip seems aggressive and war like, yet
I instinctively seem to feel the emotions of grief, respect, as sense of loss,
as well as well wishes in the next life, for their friend.
So many things in almost every culture are
conveyed by the Spirit, regardless of whether or not we understand the words. For me
at least, in music and prayer that is often the only interpreter I need.
Today’s post is dedicated to someone very special to me
who should be turning 41 years old today. I dedicate this Haka Kapa to him as
he continues on his next adventure. I will never forget you. My love as well as that of your family is eternal.
In keeping with the Valentine (February is the month of LOVE)
theme; my selection for this BATTLE OF THE BANDS XIV is ‘Life in Pink’ (the
literal translation) or ‘Life through Rose Colored Glasses’ (the general
translation) of ‘La Vie En Rose’.
Before we get too far along here’s another little tidbit of FAE
trivia (remember there might be a test at any time) I can understand, read and
speak French. Unfortunately, you have to be pretty good to understand me. That
little cow town in the Midwest where I was born and grew up, has left an
indelible mark on my accent that makes it difficult to make those very French
sounds. I think I sound great, but the snobs are constantly correcting me.
Also, I used to own a pair of rose colored glasses (true story),
but that is a tale for another time, like NEVER. Anyway…let’s get back to BOTB,
shall we?
Here’s what Wikipedia has
to say about “La Vie En Rose’:
The song's title can be translated as "Life in Rosy Hues" or
"Life Through Rose-Colored Glasses"; its literal meaning is
"Life in Pink".[3]
The lyrics of the song were written by Édith Piaf herself, and the melody
was composed by Marguerite Monnot[1]
and Louis Guglielmi, known as Louiguy. Originally, the
song was registered as being written by Louiguy only, since at the time Piaf
did not have necessary qualifications to be able to copyright her work with SACEM.[4]
Words "Quand il me prend dans ses bras..." ("When he takes me in
his arms...") came to her mind one evening in 1944, when she was standing
in front of an American man.[5]
That gave the base for the rest of lyrics. Piaf offered the song to Marianne
Michel, who slightly modified the lyrics, changing "les choses"
("things") for "la vie" ("life"). English lyrics
for the song were later written by Mack David.[6]
Initially, Piaf's peers and songwriting team did not think the song would be
successful, finding it weaker than the rest of her repertoire. Having listened
to their advice, the singer put the song aside, only to change her mind the
next year. The song was performed live in concert for the first time in 1946.
It became a favorite with audiences.[4]
"La Vie en rose" was the song that made Piaf internationally famous,
with its lyrics telling about retaken love and appealing to those who had
survived the difficult wartime.[7]
"La Vie en rose" was released on a 10" single in 1947 by Columbia
Records, a division of EMI, with "Un refrain courait dans la rue" making the
B-side. It met with a warm reception and sold a million copies in the USA.[8]
It was the biggest-selling single of 1948 in Italy, and the ninth
biggest-selling single in Brazil in 1949.[9]
Piaf performed the song in the 1948 French movie Neuf garçons, un coeur.
The first of Piaf's albums to include "La Vie en rose" was the 10"
Chansons parisiennes, released in 1950. The song appeared on most of
Piaf's subsequent albums, and on numerous greatest hits compilations. The song
went on to become Piaf's signature song and her trademark hit, sitting with
"Milord" and "Non, je ne regrette rien" among her
best-known and most recognizable tunes. Encouraged by its success, Piaf wrote
80 more songs in her career.[4]
Unfortunately, Edith’s life was a real
train wreck, IMO. If you want to learn more about it, google her and see for
yourself. I’m not too interested in getting into it here.
Next up
something really different. Grace Jones and her version of “La Vie En Rose’.
I’m gonna tell you, I didn’t really know Grace Jones as a singer. As a matter
of fact all I knew about her came from her performance in a ‘Conan’ movie I was
once forced to sit through, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. IMO, Grace was
pretty scary in that film. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about her career;
Beverly Grace Jones[1]
(born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, actress and model.[2]
In America she appeared in some low-budget films in the 1970s and early
1980s. Her work as an actress in mainstream film began in the 1984
fantasy-action film Conan the Destroyer alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the 1985 James Bond
movie A View to a Kill. In 1986 she played a
vampire in Vamp, and acted in and contributed a song to the
1992 film Boomerang with Eddie Murphy.
She appeared alongside Tim Curry in the 2001 film, Wolf Girl.
OK, now you got the Wikipedia skinny on Grace (as well as
Edith), pick and choose what you want to believe – Wikipedia isn’t always that
reliable. Let’s hear her sing. BUT, before we do that I want to dedicate this
version to one of the other BOTB participants, Mr. Arlee Bird. I think he may have called me ‘stogy’ in the
comment section of Mr. McCarthy’s blog. This version of “La Vie En Rose” would
definitely be the UNSTOGY somewhat ‘adult’ view. Please try not to be too
distracted by the wardrobe function (no I did not misspell that, I’m pretty
sure this is exactly how Grace expected this outfit to appear).
FINALLY, the last version (in the BATTLE) of “La Vie En Rose’ by
none other than Mr. Louis Armstrong ‘Satchmo’. I think we can forego the
Wikipedia life sketch here. After all, this is the third time I’ve featured him
in one of my BOTBs and if you don’t know who he is, well you just might be the
‘stogy’ one.
In the last BOTB Mr. McCarthy shocked some of you by suggesting
a particular album as music to ‘do it’ to. Well this song would be my personal
pick for ‘lovemaking’ song of all time, but you’re gonna have to wait until the
21st until I tell you which version I prefer.
Now, after you have listened to all three versions leave me a
comment with your vote and your reasons for that vote. You can also leave other
thoughts about the song, performances, and just about anything else to do with
this little BATTLE.
When you’ve finished up here, head on over to Ferret Faced Fascist Friends the home of
the totally unstogy, and resident expect on what to do with, or to various
musical compositions Mr. Stephen T. McCarthy. Participate in his BATTLE. I also
know I can trust him to provide you with a list and links to the other regular
participants.
If you want to post your own BATTLE (and you want myself and
others to visit your site) please leave a comment to that effect with a link to
your home.
I hope you enjoy this BATTLE OF THE BANDS. I’ll be back on the
21st with the result and my vote. See ya then!
This has been my all-time favorite BATTLE OF THE BANDS post. I
love this song and as far as I’m concerned there was no wrong choice. All four
of the versions posted here are great. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve
ever heard a bad one.
So, let me give you my impressions about each version.
Hoagy Carmichael – I love this type of piano playing. My daddy
played in this style. He used to call it a ‘honky-tonk' piano. Hoagy’s version-
the original here – is a little more upbeat, mid-tempo, than what we’ve become
used to, but that's how he wrote it.
If you didn’t catch it the comment section – I read somewhere
that Hoagy initially wasn’t too fond of the slowed down version or the lyrics,
but eventually they grew on him and he later re-recorded it.
Nat King Cole – Wikipedia calls this the most popular version of
Stardust. A quick glance at the voting here and it appears that you guys agree.
Nat voice is so deep and smooth, he lends a dreamy quality to these beautiful
lyrics. You really can’t rely on Wikipedia for much, but this is one of the
times when they may have gotten is right
Willie Nelson – Need I say more, it's Willie. His album ‘Stardust’ is one of
my favorites. I’m not sure I can put my finger on it but with this and all of the
old standards included, he quite simply ‘nails it’. I love Willie’s version of
Stardust and I may as well tell you right now, he gets my vote.
Satchmo – Another great version that this ‘jazz man’ has made
his own. That horn, that voice laced with just the right amount of gravel, it’s
perfect. His version reminds me more of the original, a little bit faster, more
jazzy. Superb!
This song is so great that Woody Allen devoted a whole movie to
it. If you’ve never seen “Stardust Memories’, rent it immediately. (Thank you
STMc)
OK, now here is how the voting went:
Hoagy Carmichael 1
vote
Nat King Cole9
votes
Willie Nelson4
votes (including mine)
Louis Armstrong1
vote
It was nice to see that nobody was shut out in this BATTLE. The
majority of you agree with Wikipedia, and Nat King Cole is the undisputed
winner. Even though he didn’t receive my personal vote, I’m not disappointed. His is a beautiful version.
A few notes: One of the commenters included two votes in their
one comment (actually two of you did, if I count the vote phoned in to STMc by
Woody Allen, but since Mr. Allen didn’t listen in person, I didn’t count
his vote). Because I have no precedent for this, I counted both votes this
time. In the future, I will only count one vote per comment. If your
significant other, cat, or neighbor want to cast a vote, let them come back with
a comment of their own.
Finally, I’m gonna leave you with one more version of ‘Stardust’.
Here’s Spanky and Our Gang with an entertaining video and their wonderful rendition of this great song.
It's February 1st and you know what that means, don't ya? Well, yeah, it means it's time for another BOTB, but it's also the month of love. Now, I suppose some of you will post 'silly love songs'. Maybe something even dedicated to your sweetheart. I'm going to post a love letter of sorts, but it's to my parents. The song I've choosen for February 1st was 'THEIR SONG'. Every time I hear it, I can clearly see that wacky duo gliding and swaying across the dance floor, whether it was in our living room, with the furniture pushed back and the rug rolled up, or at some fancy wedding or other family event.
I had originally written this post back in August. That was when we posted on August 30th for September 1st. August 30th (not this year) is the day my mother left this world and there hasn't been a day go by that I haven't missed her. For some silly girl reasons (sometimes, I'm a silly girl) I didn't use the post for my BOTB III, back in August.
Anyway, I haven't changed much to this post, so some of it may seem a little strange and dated, but since I'm still haveing trouble typing, I thought it was time to dig it out. Also, I would have been real disappointment in myself, if someone else used this song, before I got to it. (Over the course of the last few BATTLES, one of 'my' songs got used by someone else. Of course I would have used finer versions, but no matter, it still kind of ticked me off. I need to do my best to not let that happen again.)
It’s time for ‘BATTLE OF THE BANDS III’ (er...XIII actually). I know it’s
not the first of September yet, but due to the Labor Day Holiday and the three
day weekend, Mr. McCarthy and I decided to post a little early.
Apparently, ‘BOTB’ is a big hit because Stephen T. and
I are now being joined by Mr. Arlee Bird of TOSSING IT OUT.
So…here we go. Ya’all know how this works. Listen to me
yak for a few minutes, then listen to both versions of the ‘tune’. Leave your vote in the comment section and tell me why you voted. NEXT, get yourself on
over to Ferret-Faced Fascist Freinds the home of Stephen T. McCarthy and see what he has served up for
us. Listen, vote and comment there also. Then check out Arlee’s selections at TOSSING IT OUT
Originally, I had planned something different for this
‘Battle’ but due to the date change I just couldn’t help myself. I posted
another version of this song back on July 5th, with some stories
about my family, if you’re interested click HERE and read that post and have a
listen to Willie (BUT, he’s not a part of this contest).
For this tune I want to take you back, way back to the
composer.
"Hoagy"Carmichael(bornHoward Hoagland Carmichael;
November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an Americancomposer,pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known
for composing the music for "Stardust", "Georgia on My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs
of all time.[2]
‘Hoagy’ first recorded the song as Star Dust in 1927
(long before my time). It was then a ‘peppy (but mid tempo) jazz instrumental.
The lyrics weren’t added until 1929, written by Mitchell Parish. In 1930,
bandleader Isham Jones recorded a slower version, a sentimental ballad. This is
the more popular one played more often.
So…First up Mr. Hoagy Carmichael and his original Star
Dust
Next let’s hear what some people (at least those at
Wikipedia, Ha, ha, ha) think is the best. This one with lyrics.
Here’s Nat King Cole
Well, there you have it my selections for BOTB III, (XIII)
probably not what you expected from me. I’ll refrain from becoming all maudlin about
this choice. If you skipped back (or remembered) my post from July 5th,
you have some idea why. Today I’m reminded of my mother again. ‘I miss you
momma and I will every day of my life.’
Just to make life a little more interesting I'm gonna include two more versions of this song that I also really like. Listen to all four or just make a choice between the first two, if you like (I understand how time consuming it can be to have to listen to multiple videos.)
Number three, is my ole buddy Willy:
And Number fouir that ever popular jazz man, Satchmo:
NOW, if you haven’t already, get yourself
on over to
Stephen T. Mccarthy - Ferret-Faced Fascist Freinds and vote there also. I'm sure Mr.McCarthy will also post a list of and links to the other regular participants. If you're new and want to participate, please leave a comment and a link to your site so that I and my visitors can visit you also,.
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