Guilie Castillo-Oriard's Blog, page 5

Somebody's Baby (#BoTB)

I'm so sorry, gang... I've been missing too many battles lately. Yes, it's fast times here in Curaçao, but that's really no excuse—I'm sure you all have oodles of stuff to do, too, and yet you manage to post promptly, on time and regularly. So I apologize, and I hope you still love me.

Speaking of fast times, do you remember the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High ?





Admittedly, not all of the fabulous music was included in the 'official' soundtrack, but it's in the movie: take, for instance, the opening theme by The Go-Go's, We Got The Beat. That's about as iconically Fast Times as it gets, right? But... nope, it's not on the soundtrack list.

The Fast Times soundtrack list, courtesy of Wikipedia.
Sadly, Spotify doesn't feature any except "Somebody's Baby", but you can find a compilation playlist on YouTube
—which has the advantage of including the tracks left out of the official soundtrack.
And it wasn't just the quality of the artists featured; whoever compiled this was a genius, because the whole thing embodies the spirit of the 80's. Few movies achieve this capturing of an era as well as this one, in my opinion. (But I'd love it if you shared any you think do, whether it's 80's or anything else.)

So... The Battle. Although several of the film's songs (in the official soundtrack or not) became—or already were—undisputed hits, I think there's no argument that Somebody's Baby was the landmark success. It reached #7 on Billboard singles chart. To me, perhaps more than any other song (even We Got The Beat), this is the one that takes me right back to that era. And that's the one I picked for this battle.

The original, as included in the Fast Times soundtrack, is by Jackson Browne (and you can listen to it here, if you like), but today's battle is between two covers. The first is by Jessica Manning, and it's actually the one that inspired this Battle. I came across it on Spotify a few weeks ago and loved the sound. Take a listen:





Contestant #2 is Phantom Planet, a 90's millennial band from LA (whom I really think need to forget about their hiatus and come back!):




There it is, y'all. And now it's up to you: whose version do you like best? Were Jessica's switched-genre lyrics refreshing or did they put you off? Did Phantom Planet's cover sound like an ode to the original or just an imitation? Which of these would you be most likely to want to hear again? Were you of the Fast Times generation, or did it pass you by? If you are of that generation, what other 80's movies feel like 'home' to you?

And when you're done listening and voting here, click over to the other BoTB players for more awesome music match-ups:

STMcC Presents 'Battle of The Bands'Far Away SeriesDebbie D. ("Doglady")Your Daily DoseTossing It OutMike's RamblingsJingle Jangle JungleCurious as a CathyCherdo on the FlipsideThe Sound of One Hand TypingJanie Junebug Righting & Editing (Back in May)J. A. ScottAngels Barkdcrelief ~ Battle of The BandsReInVintaged GoodsEvil Pop Tart
Thank you so much for coming by. I promise to do better... not just with BoTB posts, but with blogging in general. I miss it. I miss you.

Happy August!

#BoTB — Results (Ojalá Que Llueva Café)

This one was quick and dirty; Café Tacuba took the lead out of the gate, but Señor Guerra didn't let that stand for long.

Café Tacuba: 3BirgitLeeDixie
Juan Luis Guerra: 5CherdoMicheleJeffreyMikeJohn
I love the original, both for its musical integrity and for the lyrics, for Guerra's mastery of both craft and art, and for the subtlety of its lyrics, and it gets me dancing every time. But Café Tacuba's version gives me chills. Yes, of course it's related to my Mexican identity, to how the Son Jarocho speaks to my soul... Perhaps I can't be objective. Perhaps it's a myth to think we can judge any form of art objectively. So, with apologies to Señor Guerra, whom I admire deeply, my vote goes to the Mexican band. (Not that it makes any difference to the result... At least in that regard I can avoid the guilt.)

Loved hearing your take on this one, guys. Until next time! (And I promise I'll be on time... not just for posting my Battle but also for visiting yours. Missed too many this time.)

To close, I leave you with Bachata en Fukuoka, from Mr. Guerra's 2010 album 'A Son de Guerra' ("To The Beat of War", literally, though it's a wordplay on his name).





I'm not sure how popular bachata is in your corner of the woods, so in case you have no idea what it is, let me tell you it's a musical form originally from Dominican Republic (and still mostly popular there), a 4/4 beat that sounds deceptively simple but is incredibly complicated to dance to. Watch these guys:



Now you have something to keep you busy over the weekend :) Have fun!

#BoTB — Raining Coffee

I'm late to the party, I know... I apologize. I was on a deadline to deliver a short story, and I finally managed to send it in just a little while ago—two days late... ooops. So, with the "job" taken care of, let's hear some music!

This is one of those alternative Battles that sometimes find their way in. The song is Ojalá Que Llueva Café, by Juan Luis Guerra (1989), and we're pitting that original against a cover by an off-the-beaten-path band from Mexico called Café Tacuba (officially spelled Tacvba, the old Castilian way).

Juan Luis Guerra is a household name in Latin America, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if some in this blog's mostly non-Latin audience have heard of him, maybe even know a few of his songs. He's an extraordinary musician, both composer and songwriter (many would say poet) who graduated from the Berklee College of Music (Massachusetts), and although he's famous for his merengue and bachata songs, he makes a point of infusing everything he produces with Conservatory-level quality.

Café Tacuba might not be quite as big as Mr. Guerra, and certainly not as prolific (they work for years on any new album), but they've also transcended borders; their latest release, in 2012, topped the Latin charts. They've become known not just for the high quality of their music but for its diversity; no two of their albums ever sound the same—unlike, for instance, Maná, who have preferred to cultivate image rather than artistic quality. (Yeah. Not a fan.)

As for the song, Ojalá Que Llueva Café (literally, 'I wish coffee would rain down') makes a powerful—if subtle (and, some might argue, using an upbeat melody as disguise)—political and social statement on poverty in the third world. This isn't a 'manna from heaven' chant of transferring responsibility to a higher power; it is a cry of desperation, all the more poignant because of the cheery beat, in the face of the impossibility of making a living, not even decent but simply enough, outside the cities of Latin America.

Ojalá que llueva café en el campo(I wish coffee would rain down in the country...)
But why? Why do we hope for coffee from the sky?

Pa' que la realidad no se sufra tanto(So that reality doesn't hurt so much...)

First up: Señor Guerra's original.




The contenders have a completely different take on this. Where Guerra's cumbia is quintessentially Caribbean, Café Tacuba, true to their style, infused it with absolute Mexicanity. Cumbia has become fandango—which you'll probably recognize from that Los Lobos version of La Bamba. (Fandango, sometimes called Son Jarocho, is a musical form—composition, lyrics, dance—typical of the Mexican state of Veracruz.) Unfortunately there's no studio recording of this, so I hope the audio quality won't put you off too much.




There it is, folks. What do you think? Which version had you dancing? Which version felt like something you might want to listen to more than once? What do you think about songs with serious content and 'happy' beats? Is it a detriment to the message, or does it help bring it home?

I'll be back on Friday to tally the votes, add mine (which I often forget to do... sorry about that), and post the results. Looking forward to how this one plays out!

In the meantime, hop on over to the other #BoTB participants when you get a chance; 'tis the week for spectacular music!

STMcC Presents 'Battle of The Bands'Debbie D. ("Doglady")Your Daily DoseTossing It OutMike's RamblingsJingle Jangle JungleCurious as a CathyCherdo on the FlipsideThe Sound of One Hand TypingJanie Junebug Righting & Editing (Back in May)J. A. ScottAngels Barkdcrelief ~ Battle of The BandsReInVintaged GoodsEvil Pop Tart

Gay Degani's 'Rattle of Want' — Lessons on Writing Long vs. Short

I met Gay Degani back in 2013, when we were both part of the Pure Slush project 2014, A Year In Stories—and this is not the first time she graces this blog with her insight. She wrote two pieces for Quiet Laughter during the A2Z challenge in 2014, one on Setting, and one on using Pinterest to increase a book's audience, which has become a top-five in the blog's most viewed posts of all time.

Photo credit: Rachael WareckiHer 'Old Road' series in the 2014 project (now collected as part of her newest release, Rattle of Want ) had me hooked; the characters jumped off the page, the plot—half mystery, half personal drama—kept me riveted, and this cohesiveness to her writing made me certain Gay was a novelist. She had to be. Anyone who masters 'story' at that level must know the longer arcs well.
Imagine my wonder, then, when I found out that—although she does have a published novel— Gay is mostly a writer of incredibly prolific and award-winning flash.

(Pure Slush Books, November 2015)
Rattle of Want  ranges from brilliant brief experiments (such as Abbreviated Glossary and Appendages) to a novella-in-flash (The Old Road) for the canon in that new genre. Together, these stories mine the wants and desires in the breakups of families, rebellions of youth, and occasional ascents of the spirit. 
 ~ * ~ 
Your latest collection, Gay, encompasses fiction of an amazing variety—of themes, of voices, even lengths. How did you go about making the selection? 
Guilie, thanks for reading Rattle of Want and liking it so much, and for giving me this opportunity to talk about it. My decision for what went into this collection was based on a variety of factors. I wanted it to contain as many stories as possible and keep it cohesive. The title was a factor, the idea of desire, need, "wanting." Since all stories—at least those that include some kind of arc—must focus on want, this was a priority to me. The second criteria was that the intention of each story should reflect some human strength or frailty. The third quality was that I had to love the story, that I am proud of what it says or what it does, and that meant I needed to include those that had received recognition.
A couple of the pieces were previously published in a shorter collection, Pomegranate Stories (2009), with the theme "Mothers and Daughters," which makes them the oldest. I included "Spring Melt" in Rattle because it received a Pushcart nomination, "Monsoon" because it was a  Glimmer Train  Finalist, and "Pomegranate" because it hadn't been published elsewhere.
I didn't consider length a factor in the selection of stories. I wanted to put together my best stories—what I considered my best—and I wanted to produce a substantial book. (For a writer of mostly flash, 260+ pages feels substantial to me!) With the addition of the novella, The Old Road, I felt I had enough to do that.


It absolutely is substantial—especially taking into account that most of these stories are under (and often significantly below) 1,000 words. And yet, it reads smooth… Creamy, like chocolate. Which brings me to something remarkable: the order. How did you decide on it? Is it chronological, theme-based, or something completely different?
The order of the stories!! It took me over two years to pull together the submission manuscript. I put them together in all kinds of ways, I included certain stories, I later took them out. In the end, I weighted each one in terms of quality, that quality based on recognition of some kind by others and those of which I was most proud. The final order was decided on by me as to which led best into the next, which would—in my opinion—keep the reader going.
Quality and segue… Well, you nailed it, because it works inordinately well—notably so, given the variations in length. Rattle covers the spectrum all the way from cut-to-the-bone pieces of just a few lines, to the 20,000+ word story arc of a novella. I’m in awe, Gay. It takes different skills to write short than to write long—and many will argue that it’s impossible to do both well. Yet here you stand, with a long list of flash publication credits, two story collections, and a full-length novel under your belt, the perfect refutation to that argument. How do you feel about story length? Do you have a preference? And what have you learned in writing short vs. long—and long vs. short?
Love this question, Guilie. When I started writing stories, the only thing I understood was long, long, long. My first goal was to write one of those longer stories that I'd read in America's Best Short Stories. I studied those stories, wrote several long pieces and sent them off only to have them declined. I stopped writing for a while—REAL LIFE getting in the way—and when I came back to it, I was in love with all those 80's comedy films and wanted to see if I could come up with a good one. I wrote six screenplays, even had one read by an agent—and got a no. This all happened over a long long period of time and I began to feel embarrassed that I had so little to show for my efforts. Then a friend of mine told me she had a story published online and would I read it and comment. I thought, “Online????”
I read her story at Every Day Fiction and thought it was excellent. I realized I might have a new outlet. EDF publishes stories of 1000 words or fewer. I had to give it a try. I did and they accepted my first effort. This was pivotal for me. I realized that by writing flash fiction, I would be able to figure out what worked and what didn't in my own writing. I had always struggled with "story."  By writing these shorter pieces, it forced me to look at story in a more clinical way.


What I learned writing screenplays and novels was to ask questions. What does my character want, what does she do to get it, what stands in her way, how does she react to failure. Still I was prone to getting lost in my own language. With shorter fiction, I could more easily understand my own underlying intention in writing the story, and more important, I could see how to rewrite until I got it right. This was so much easier to grasp in a shorter story than in some unwieldy length of text. In short pieces, though language had to be lyric, it also had to pay off, so sometimes, my pretty words, the ones I clung to and wrote around so I could keep them, had to be jettisoned.  
These lessons have helped me write so much better, and they apply to any length. Every part of a story, a chapter, a paragraph needs to serve the story in some way.
Screenwriting! That’s something I’ve never dared to try… But, after hearing all this, Gay, maybe I should. Not necessarily with the intent of selling anything (though I won’t say No to a salivating studio—ha!) but as training… A sort of workshop, if you will.
Writing screenplays taught me how to structure a story. It was an invaluable lesson. Even a short 50 word piece must hint at some kind of arc, even if the arc is a single moment, a decision, a realization, something. The other thing I learned from writing screenplays is that if I use a mechanical means to look at a story, it will help me to ferret out unnecessary bits. Because screenplays usually span two hours, 120 minutes, and one page = one minute of screen time, most screenplays, especially those written on spec, shoot for that length, 120 pages. With a goal such as this, at some point in the writing (probably after 200 pages of words), the writer has to condense and/or pare the piece down to around 120 pages.
I discovered that strong straightforward sentences force a writer to find the perfect verb, the perfect noun, that if this is done there is less need for adverbs and adjectives. It makes the writer use language that is specific, visual, and precise. This is a discipline, a step needed to make both language and story resonate.
This makes perfect sense, Gay. And it also goes a long way towards explaining why your shorts pack such a powerful punch.
When I discovered flash, it felt like home. 


In one of your interviews you said something about publication being validation… Something about wanting to be published not so the people around you would take you seriously but so that you would take you seriously. I know exactly what you mean, and I bet many other writers do, too. In today’s literary scene, though, with the self-publishing option so readily available (and our Western penchant for immediate gratification), waiting for a publisher may seem like an unnecessary delay to this validation we crave. Since you’ve done both—self-publishing and the traditional route—I’m interested in your perspective.
I'm at an age, Guilie, when I feel whatever gets my work out there works for me. The only book I've self-published is Pomegranate Stories, and while it gave me something to point people to when they asked me what had I published, I have to say that I wanted a publisher after that. Mostly because I wanted that second set of eyes, the advice about what I'd put down on paper (figuratively speaking), and so I was delighted to have Every Day Publishing put out my novel, What Came Before. I found it much easier to see my work through the publishers eyes, and a secondary benefit was that I learned to fight for my own way. It stretched me and made me better. Rattle of Want has also been a terrific experience for the same reasons. The feedback from someone who is going to pay you to publish your work carries so much more weight that that of writing workshop or group. The publisher is invested in quality and making your work shine.  
However, that said, I know several people who've made a lot more money by self-publishing. They turn out a quality product and reap the benefits. Everyone's journey is different. We need to pursue wants and needs in our own way. I don't think there's a right or wrong path, except to cheat and steal someone else's work. Doing your own work, learning about who you are and what's important to you, these are the true payoffs to writing, and if you can make money and become famous as you do it… well, that's all gravy. 


 ~ * ~ 
Gay Degani has had three of her flash pieces nominated for Pushcart consideration and won the 11th Glass Woman Prize. Pure Slush Books released her collection of stories, Rattle of Want, (November 2015). She has a suspense novel, What Came Before, published in 2014 (second edition coming in summer, 2016), and a short collection, Pomegranate, featuring eight stories around the theme of mothers and daughters. Founder and editor emeritus of Flash Fiction Chronicles, she blogs at Words in Place where a list of her published work can be found.
 ~ * ~ 
Gay, this chat was a pleasure—and an illumination. Thank you so much for sharing your insights, and your experiences, and I look forward to having you back sometime soon for more! Thanks, also, to readers of the blog, and I'd love to hear your own experiences in writing long vs. short... Do you feel writing different lengths—or maybe even different genres—has contributed to developing your skills as a writer? Has it modified your perspective on writing itself? And if you haven't tried a different length, I'd love to know why.
Thanks again, everyone! Looking forward to your feedback on this. In the meantime, happy weekend!

The TMI 'Fest — and an Anniversary!

The blog is turning 5! 
Back on June 1st, 2011, when the first post went up on Quiet Laughter, I had no clue what blogging was, or how the blogging world would shape my life. And me. It's been a magical discovery... And to celebrate I'm joining Debbie D. Doglady's bloghop, The TMI 'Fest. Originally started on Facebook (yep, I answered there, too), the TMI—Too Much Information—Questionnaire has now been brought over into the blogosphere. Join the fun—if you dare! Sign up, before July 13th, in the linky at Debbie's blog (or at the end of this post).


This is me, from A to Z

A: Age43 (1973)


B: Biggest fearBeing unable to protect my dogs from harm. (As in someone breaking into the house to rob us and hurting the dogs.)


C: Current time1:27 pm (Took me some time to complete this post, as you can see...)


D: Drink you last hadHazelnut cappuccino, from Barista. (Just like MIRACLE protagonist Luis Villalobos :D )


E: Every day starts with"Today I'm going to write all day. No, seriously."


F: Favourite SongPfffff... Impossible choice. 'Bittersweet Symphony' (The Verve), maybe. 'Wish You Were Here', or pretty much anything by Pink Floyd. 'Solsbury Hill' (Peter Gabriel) is my go-to for feel-good. And lately, because I've been on an R.E.M. kick, there's Leaving New York.



G: Ghosts, are they real?No. (If you mean in the supernatural, scary-apparition sense.)


H: HometownCuernavaca (Mexico)


I: In love withLife


J: Jealous of?Jennifer Egan (writer, A Visit From The Goon Squad )




K: Killed someone?I hope not.


L: Last time you cried?Pfffff... I tear up easily. Animal rescue videos, stories of kindness, father-oriented poetry... All of those (and more) will make me shed a tear or two. But cry-cry, as in heaving-sobs-cry? The last time I was in Cuernavaca, paging through my dad's high school yearbook. My dad died in 1992 and, although the loss never gets easier, in the near-quarter-century since I've learned to live with it. Every now and then, though, it'll sneak in a surprisingly incisive sting. This wasn't the first time I pored over that yearbook, but all of a sudden it hit me: all these stories of his high school days that I'd never hear, all these names and scribbled autographs—he was a popular kid, my dad—that I'd never be able to ask him about, an entire chapter of his life that I'll only know in the sketchiest way.




M: Middle nameNo middle name. Which is fairly uncommon in Mexico, especially since my name, being a product of my dad's creative mind, isn't in the list of "Christian" names. Then again, both my parents were atheists, so having a church-endorsed moniker for their child was probably not high on their list of priorities.


N: Number of siblingsNone. (Also pretty weird for a Mexican family.)


O: One wishTo set up and run an animal sanctuary.


P: Person you last called?Cor, natuurlijk :)


Q: Question you're always asked"How did you end up in Curaçao?"


R: Reason to smileToo many to list. But they usually have something to do with dogs.





S: Sounds that annoy youThe Haitian handyman at the apartment complex next door has this habit of singing while he works. The same song, over and over. Not even the whole song but just a piece of it (or maybe it's a very short song). Over and over. A cheery, sort of childish, kind of tune. It annoys the hell out of me. And yes, I realize how petty this is.


T: Time you woke upEek. Today? Around 10, I think. I stayed up way too late last night watching movies. Black Sea, to be exact. (It was good.)


U: Underwear colourI actually need to check, haha. Okay, black. (I did warn you this was a TMI 'fest, didn't I?)


V: Vacation destinationAs in favorite? Or as in bucket list? Favorite so far I'd say Perú. Most visited would be either Holland or Mexico (for obvious reasons). Highest on the bucket list would be South Asia.


W: Worst habitPeople-pleasing.

X: X-Rays you've hadI don't think I've had any. Maybe teeth, back when I was a kid and orthodontists were all the rage.

Y: Your favourite foodSla-vinken met spinazie—but only if Cor makes it.


Sla-vinken (or blinden vinken) is a typically Dutch sausage-like thing...
Ground meat (we won't ask exactly what meat) wrapped in bacon, and
served with potatoes and spinach (spinazie). Probably doesn't sound too exotic,
but to this Mexican's taste buds it's pure heaven.
Z: Zodiac signAquarius.


');

Drift Away — #BoTB Results

Sorry I'm late with the results, guys. (Not sure what happened to my Tuesday :D ) Because these two songs were so different not just from the original but from the Dobie Gray version we all (I think) know best, I expected the votes to be more evenly distributed. I even dreaded thought maybe we'd end up with a tie, which I'd be forced to break. Or make. Fortunately (for me, not for Ringo and his all-stars), after a rocky start—pardon the pun—the Stones managed to run away with the Battle.

Here's the breakdown:

Ringo & The Gang: 4DebbieCherdoJanieJohn
Rolling Stones: 9DixieLeeMicheleJeffreyStephenRobinBirgitMikeYolanda
Much gratitude to everyone who came by to listen and vote, and share your thoughts on the music. It's always a pleasure to feel a part of this BoTB community.

To close, I leave you with another Stones cover... Well, it's semi-Stones, really. Keith Richards and Norah Jones sing Love Hurts. But, in spite of Norah's presence (and Mick's absence), I think it qualifies as appropriately cringe-worthy :D



Happy Hump Day, all!

#BoTB — Drift Away

Gimme the beat, boys,
and free my soul
I want to get lost in your rock n' roll
and drift away...

All I've got to do is hum that chorus and my feet start tappin' and my soul starts liftin'. But I always wondered about one thing. It's very clearly a country song—maybe that's just the context I heard it in, or the context of the versions I knew: Dobie Gray, Roy Orbison, Ray Charles, Garth Brooks—but the lyrics, also very clearly, say rock n' roll. For years it stayed one of those weird discrepancies people of my generation (i.e., who grew up without YouTube or Wikipedia or any such) learned to live with.

Until today.

Turns out Drift Away (written by Mentor Williams) may have been famous by Dobie Gray—his version stole the show in 1973—but the original was recorded in 1972 by John Henry Kurtz—and that version totally does sound rock n' roll-ish.

This song has been covered a lot (I mean, Michael Bolton? Really?), and most versions have the Dobie Gray country feel, but I managed to find two that (sort of) don't... And I'm not talking light-weights, either. The first is by none other than the Rolling Stones, an unreleased version that does not include Keith Richards in the line-up—which might explain the odd, not-quite-Rolling-Stone sound:





And to challenge that, we have another group of legends: Ringo Starr, Tom Petty, and Alanis Morissette, and Steve Tyler, with an arrangement that, to me at least, sounds straight-up Ringo (not a bad thing):




What do you think? Which version do you like better? Did the gritty uniformity of the Stones win you over, or did you prefer the color lent by the eclectic vocal choices of the Ringo version? Looking forward to your feedback! I'll be back next Wednesday to tally up the votes, cast my own, and tell you how it all went down.

In the meantime, hop on over to these blogs where more epic Battles are being fought. As always, much gratitude to host Stephen T. McCarthy for keeping the Battle hop not just going but roaring. (And yet, yes, we do miss you, FAE.)

STMcC Presents 'Battle of The Bands'Debbie D. ("Doglady")Your Daily DoseTossing It OutMike's RamblingsJingle Jangle JungleCurious as a CathyCherdo on the FlipsideThe Sound of One Hand TypingJanie Junebug Righting & EditingJ. A. ScottAngels Barkdcrelief ~ Battle of The BandsReInVintaged GoodsEvil Pop Tart

#BoTB Results: 'Storms'

Sorry for posting these results so late, guys. (Where did the week go???) Suspense notwithstanding, no surprise ending for this Battle. You all have spoken, loud and clear:

Best Coast: 3LeeMicheleJeffrey

Matt Sweeney & Bonnie 'Prince' Billy: 14CathyDixieCherdoDebbieDonnaSusanHilaryBirgitYolandaJanieStephenFAEMikeRobin
Whoa. 

Well, there you have it. Would it make any sense for me to vote at this point? Probably not, eh? If I vote for Best Coast, it feels like a pity vote. If, on the other hand, I go for Matt & the gang, it feels like playing it safe. I'm not sure which makes me more uncomfortable, this or when it's up to me to break (or make!) a tie. Still, we gotta do what we gotta do...

There was something off about Best Coast, and I felt it from the first time I heard it, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then someone made the comment that Best Coast sounded like they were trying too hard, and that nailed it. The Sweeney duo, on the other hand, sounds like they were born to this song.

So, after much deliberation—seriously, I really do like both versions—goes to Sweeney & 'Prince'.

See you all on the 1st! In the meantime, happy blogging :)


P.S. — FAE, I'm going to miss you. Thank you for almost a year of BoTB fun!

#BoTB (I'm back!): Fleetwood Mac's 'Storms'

A bit late, yes, but back nonetheless—and very, very happy about it. I apologize for abandoning this blog during April; the A2Z really took its toll this year. (Mainly because I, again, did not prewrite my posts. Why do I do that to myself? Why, why, why?) But it was a great month over at the dog blog... I'll get into that in a later post, though. For now, on to the main thing today: The Battle of The Bands!

Fleetwood Mac has been a favorite of mine for... well, pretty much since I began listening to music. Stevie Nicks' voice takes me places I can't even begin to describe. And the song I'm featuring today, Storms , is one of my top ten (in my admittedly not-so-humble opinion). The lyrics speak to me at a depth that bypasses reason. Written by Stevie herself, it appeared in the album Tusk (1979), better known for Sara and the title track—and which, by the way, has just been remastered into a five-CD, two-LP, and one-DV deluxe version!

Having said what I said about Stevie's voice, you can understand I go pale at the thought of pitting her against anyone... So here are two cover versions of Storms for your listening pleasure (well, I hope it's 'pleasure'...), both from 2012.

First up: American rock duet Best Coast.




And now with male vocals, Matt Sweeney & Bonnie 'Prince' Billy.


If the above video doesn't work in your browser, here's another version (thanks, Lee!):



And another one (thanks, Cathy!):



(Funnily enough, neither of these versions are "available" for me... Go figure :D )

There you have it, folks. Which version do you prefer? Are you going with Best Coast because of Bethany Cosentino's vocals? Did the Sweeney & 'Prince' version win you over with its mellowness? Which one do you think does the original most justice? Which one turns an oldie into something new? And, tangentially, do you fall in love with music for the music itself, or for the lyrics? Or is it a combination? Are there any songs you love the lyrics of but hate the music—or vice versa?
Looking forward to your feedback, and thanks for coming by!
If you enjoyed this Battle, you'll love the ones playing out at these blogs today:
STMcC Presents 'Battle of The Bands'Far Away SeriesDebbie D. ("Doglady")Your Daily DoseTossing It OutMike's RamblingsJingle Jangle JungleCurious as a CathyCherdo on the FlipsideThe Sound of One Hand TypingJanie Junebug Righting & EditingJ. A. ScottAngels Barkdcrelief ~ Battle of The BandsReInVintaged Goods
Evil Pop Tart

#BoTB Results: Thunderstruck (guitar vs cellos)

I'm so pleased you liked this one, guys. And I do apologize for not replying to your lovely, lovely comments... The A2Z has taken over my life. I did make it to a few of your blogs before the voting closed, though, which makes me very happy.

Here's how the guitar vs cellos battle played out:

Guitar (Luca Stricagnoli): 9LeeMikeDebbieMicheleDixieRobinCathyJeffreyBirgit

2Cellos: 3CherdoStephenFAE
Yep... The guitar came out on top. Most of you had a hard time choosing (I'll take that as a compliment, thank you), which might mean that, in spite of the disparity in votes, these two version were well-matched after all. And which, really, means little. The point is you enjoyed it, and that's what it's all about.

As for my vote... Like you, I couldn't choose. The cello video really made an impression (those popped bowstrings—brilliant), and Luca's playing is truly virtuoso. How to choose? I'll go with the cellos, but I'm not sure if it's a pity vote :D

Thank you so much for playing, and for putting up with my silence. As a token of my gratitude, I leave you with another jewel of Luca Stricagnoli's guitar...