The Creative Outlet of StratPlayer

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

A Blogging Update -- Time for a Change...

Hi, there.

Well, it seems that in my on-again, off-again blogging, I have been very much in the off-again mode this past month.

First, let me apologize for any concern that my unplanned and sudden absence may have caused -- I can assure you that really, all is well. I went through a battle with the flu and some other things, and in spite of my good intentions, my short blogging lull stretched from a few days into several weeks. But on the overall scale of "things-that-could-go-wrong," I'm thankful that my absence was mainly caused by things that are actually pretty low on the list.

However, it's become clear to me that at this stage in my life, blogging has had to take a bit of a back seat. It's not that I don't like it, and -- thankfully -- it's not because I don't have anything to blog about. This is supposed to be an outlet for "the creative output of StratPlayer" and I'm glad that I'm still managing to squeeze in at least a little time to do the creative things that I want to blog about. So that's a plus. It's much better to create and not blog, than to blog about what I'm not creating, right?

But still, I think it's time to make some changes to this blog. I obviously need to step aside from any scheduled blogging activity. I enjoy them, but I can't seem to make them a consistent, long-term commitment that I can honor. So I'm stepping aside from the Battle of the Bands, and also from the Insecure Writers Support Group. I enjoyed both and have nothing but respect for the founders of both, but I think it's wrong to take part in something unless I can consistently do so.

I may still post a "Newsday 200" kind of story from time to time, but the scheduled "Tuesday" part of it will stop.

Moving forward, this blog will become more of an unscheduled, solo journal -- no "gotta post on a given day" kinds of posts. More like just a place to post and share any writing and music that I create. That's really my core intention for this blog, anyway.

But I'm afraid this will not be much of a social blog. No blog-hops, no blogging events, no blogathons, no "sign-up-in-the-linky-list" activities.

I know there are a LOT of wonderful bloggers out there that I've come to know and admire and enjoy over the years, and I do regret that I don't have the time to interact with them much for the foreseeable future. I also know that my blog will likely suffer in terms of readership -- there will unfortunately be very little, "I'll read and comment on yours if you read and comment on mine" exchanges for a while. I don't want this to sound selfish -- as I said, I REALLY do enjoy all the other bloggers I've interacted with, and I will still try to visit their blogs as I can.

But for at least the short-term future, my blog will pretty much shift to being just an journal of my own stuff and not as much of a home base for any interactive, social blogging activity.

Of course, I still welcome you to visit and read and listen and hopefully enjoy what I post here. But that posting may be on an erratic schedule, and I will not be able to do much in the way of return-blogging and commenting reciprocity. Please don't take it personally -- if you have a blog of your own and don't see much from me, it's absolutely NOT that I'm avoiding you or that I don't enjoy your blog.

I'm just that when it comes to blogging, I'm afraid I'm kind of stuck in a "post-and-run" time-crunch these days.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

BOTB 2/1/14: "All Along the Watchtower"

Happy February!

That's probably not a salutation you encounter often. However, if you live in the northern half of the US and you're like me, then you're probably very sick of winter and cold and snow and yearning for warmer weather. Well, I may not be able to take the fact that we're out of January as a sign of imminent spring, but at least it means we're getting closer to it, and I'm finding that cause for joyous salutation!

You know, you might think that having to endure a long winter would inspire me to blog more, but it seems that my blogging activity has been much less over the past few months. The good news is that I have been busy actually doing the things I blog about (making music and actually writing), and if I have to choose, I'd rather be creative and not blog, than blog and not actually create. I just need more hours in the day to be able to do it all, I guess. :)

But I do want to keep this blog at least a little active, and the Battle of the Bands (BOTB) is one way to do that. Committing to posting on the 1st and 15th of each month means that you're guaranteed at least some new content on a semi-regular basis. Just in case you haven't seen my previous BOTB posts, let me explain that the BOTB is a blogging event started by Stephen T. McCarthy and FarAwayEyes back in August of 2013. This event occurs twice every month -- on the 1st and the 15th -- and each of the bloggers taking part offers readers a choice of two (or occasionally more) versions of the same song, performed by different recording artists. And the the readers get to vote for their favorite rendition.

Today, I'm going with a classic song that -- truthfully -- I'm surprised hasn't already been covered by one of the other BOTB bloggers: "All Along the Watchtower".

"All Along the Watchtower" was written by Robert Allen Zimmerman (aka 'Bob Dylan') in 1966 as one of many songs he wrote while recovering from a motorcycle accident. Dylan then recorded it in 1967 as part of his John Wesley Harding album. Here's Dylan's original 1967 version in a video that's sound only:

Jimi Hendrix was so impressed with the song that he recorded a version of it six months after John Wesley Harding was released, including it on the Electric Ladyland album in 1968. Here's that version:

The Hendrix version has a lot more production, definitely has some excellent guitar playing, and is probably the better-known version of the song, but is it really better than Dylan's original? What if there was a version of the song that combined stellar guitar playing with Dylan's original sparse arrangement? How about a solo acoustic rendition of the song? Well, here's a live version by acoustic guitar master Michael Hedges recorded at Wolf Trap in July, 1986:

A side note -- i you enjoy acoustic guitar and are unfamiliar with Michael Hedges, I encourage you to seek out some of his recordings. He was a phenomenal player who specialized in alternate-tunings, and who -- like Hendrix -- died at a much-too-young age. Hedges was 43 when he was killed in a car accident in 1997.

For this BOTB, I could post many, many more versions of "All Along the Watchtower" -- it's been covered in the studio and live by a myriad of musicians and there's even a very cool Indian-influenced version of it on the Battlestar Galactica soundtrack. Also, given it's catchy groove and three-chord simplicity, there are a gazillion self-made cover videos that have been uploaded to YouTube. You could spend days listening to versions of this song.

But what about Michael, Jimi, and the original composer, Bobby Z.? Who did it better? You get to decide in the comments below!

I invite you to listen to each and give them a chance. After listening, please vote in the comments as to which version you think is best, or which speaks to you the deepest. Feel free to also share as much as you would like about how any of the above recordings strike you, even if it's less than positive.

Then -- be sure to check out the other BOTB bloggers to vote on their battles:

Thank you very much for listening and for voting -- come back and visit again the end of next week to find out how the voting has gone. I'll make a post then with my own vote and also announce the winner.

And in the meantime -- keep thinking thoughts of spring!

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Tuesday Newsday Two-Hundred #5 and BOTB Results

It's a Tuesday, so that means it's an opportunity for an entry in my semi-regular, quasi-periodic, almost-feature blogging topic, the Tuesday Newsday Two-Hundred (TN200). This is where I create a snippet of blog-exclusive writing of exactly 200 words, based on a recent story in the news.

So I'd like to offer you a new TN200 post, and also provide my own vote and give the results from my last Battle of the Bands post -- I'll do that at the end of this post.

But first, for this initial 2014 edition of TN200, I thought I'd go in a different direction than using a humorous odd-ball story as inspiration like usual. In this piece, my inspiration is more... Inspirational. I call it "Bridging the Gap" and I hope you enjoy it. As always, the link to the original news story is at the end.

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Bridging the Gap

Jonny felt the swirling winds tousle his hair. He hadn't come here for the view, but the light reflecting off the water far below him was riveting.

The voice came from behind him again. "Please don't do this, mate," it said. A man's voice. Jonny heard anxiety in it. Jonny had to admit he felt nervous himself. Funny -- he'd thought it was going to be easy.

Jonny didn't turn around. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Mike," the man said. Or maybe the man said "Mark?" "Ike?" Jonny wasn't sure. Whatever -- 'Mike' worked.

"Why do you care, Mike?" Jonny said.

"I just do," Mike said. "You can get through it."

Jonny snorted. "You don't even know what's wrong."

"It don't matter, mate. You can get better, whatever it is."

Jonny stopped staring at the flickering water and turned to look at Mike. He was in his early twenties and looked like a typical yuppie, probably on his way to work. Jonny noticed a small crowd gathering behind Mike. He could also hear sirens approaching.

"Let's go for a coffee and talk it over," Mike said.

Jonny sighed. Why the hell not? The moment was past, anyway.

He climbed down.

Original News Story: Trying to Find 'Mike'

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Battle of The Bands 1/15/2014 Results

In my last Battle of the Bands (BOTB) post, I offered up "Take Me to the River" by both Talking Heads and Al Green, who originally wrote the song.

This is a favorite song of mine, and I really like both versions. The Talking Heads can be a bit of an acquired taste -- and there are many of their songs that get not much more than a "meh" response from me. But the funky infectious bass line of "Take Me to the River" and the groove and catchy chorus are awesome. I know that a big reason why I like the Talking Heads version is probably because Al Green wrote the song to begin with. The mix of arty and weird with earthy funk and groove is what I like most about the Talking Heads, and when that earthy foundation isn't there, the band is not nearly as good in my opinion. The pinnacle of the band was their "Remain in Light" album, when that funk and groove were up-front and hitting you hard, and then when coupled with freak-out guitar master Adrian Belew? Incredible.

So, yes --a lot of why I like "Take Me to the River" is because of the funk and groove that Al Green put there (and I especially love his live version of the song in last week's BOTB post), but coupling it with the arty weirdness of the Talking Heads gives it extra impact, I think.

But that really doesn't change the result. Even with my vote, Al wins this one:

-- Al Green 4; Talking Heads 3.

However, as a parting gift, let me leave you with a live version of "The Great Curve" from the Talking Heads album "Remain in Light". This was recorded live in Rome in 1980 and the sound and video quality are shaky, but check out that funk!! Busta Jones as an extra bass player to compliment Tina Weymouth, and Adrian Belew in full psycho screaming guitar mode. Amazing! I defy you to listen and not start bobbin' your head or tappin' your toe. ;)

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

BOTB 1/15/14: "Take Me to the River"

So far, my 2014 blogging is not going as planned -- I've been a little more absent than I'd like, but I do expect that to change soon. And at least I'm staying on top of the Battle of the Bands (BOTB) event -- we're on to the second BOTB of 2014! To refresh your memory, the BOTB is a blogging event started by Stephen T. McCarthy and FarAwayEyes back in August of last year. This event occurs twice every month -- on the 1st and the 15th -- and each of the bloggers taking part offers readers a choice of two (or occasionally more) versions of the same song, performed by different recording artists. And the the readers get to vote for your favorite rendition.

This is the third BOTB I've taken part in, and I let the first two be partially dictated by the calender: Christmas music in the one for 12/15/13 and "Auld Lang Syne" for New Year's Day on 1/1/14. This is the first BOTB where the playing field is wide open, so I'm going to do the song that I first thought of as a BOTB contender when I was considering joining this event: "Take Me to the River."

This song was written in 1974 by Al Green, but I first remember hearing it when I watched Saturday Night Live on February 10, 1979 and saw the band Talking Heads perform the song (you can watch the episode on Hulu if you want). The song was also their first single to break into the top 40 (reaching #26 on the Billboard charts), and it's a song that many people associate with the band. But how does it compare to the original by Al Green? Let's find out in a Battle of the Bands!

Here's the studio version by Talking Heads, from the 1978 album "More Songs About Buildings and Food":

And just to compare live versions, here's a Talking Heads having fun onstage with it, from their 1984 concert film and soundtrack, "Stop Making Sense":

And now, the original by Al Green, from the 1974 album, "Al Green Explores Your Mind":

And finally, a live version by Al Green on Soul Train from 1975, complete with roses:

I think this is one of those songs that's just so good that every version of it is enjoyable -- and it's been performed and recorded a ton of times by many other artists including, Foghat, Annie Lennox, and Tom Jones.

But between Talking Heads and Al Green -- studio and live combined -- who do you think did it better?

I invite you to listen to each and give them a chance (and remember -- the goal is to compare the music, not the videos, so I encourage you to ignore the images, although I admit it is hard to overlook David Byne's big suit and Al Green's roses).

After listening, please vote in the comments as to which version you think is best, or which speaks to you the deepest. Feel free to also share as much as you would like about how any of the above recordings strike you, even if it's less than positive.

Finally -- be sure to check out the other BOTB bloggers to vote on their battles:

Thank you very much for listening and for voting -- come back and visit again the first part of next week to find out how the voting has gone! I'll make a post then with my own vote and also announce the winner!

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Belated Tidings, BOTB Results, IWSG Distractions, and Groove-Floatin'

"I Was Tardy" by Alan Foster -- Saturday Evening Post cover (9/27/1930)

Allow me to wish you a belated "Happy New Year!"

I apologize for the fact that it's belated -- I'd planned on posting the results from my Jan 1st BOTB on Monday, posting the first Tuesday Newsday 200 (TN200) post of 2014 on Tuesday, and then taking part in the January IWSG yesterday, and I ended up being woefully tardy on all of them. You'd think that after having two weeks off for the holiday and then getting an extra two days snowed in would have given me plenty of free time to get those posts written and ready to go, but...

I don't have a good excuse -- I took some time away from the blogosphere, and like my Holiday, it ended up being unexpectedly extended. Maybe I can blame the Polar Vortex.

Well, at least let me try and offer penance:

I was tardy. I was tardy. I was tardy. I was tar--

No, that's no good. Who wants to read that 500 times???

So perhaps I can try to catch up a little -- belated tidings are better than none, right? I'll save the TN200 until next week, but here are abbreviated versions of the other two topics:

1/1/2014 Battle of the Bands Results

I have to tell you that the voting on the three versions of Auld Lang Syne surprised me a little. I thought David Grisman's bluegrass rendition would have received a few more votes. True, the holidays and my own blogging absence probably helped to lower the number of votes, but it still ended up not being much of a contest, and Grisman was left in the dust.

I was familiar with Grisman's version of this tune before posting and discovered the others on YouTube when I was searching for a version to match against Grisman's. I've been a fan of Grisman's since hearing his Mondo Mando album back in the early 1980's -- the tune "Dawg Funk" from it is a particular favorite of mine. And being a Deahhead, the collaborations between Grisman and Jerry Garcia are fun to me, too.

I do think all the BOTB versions are very good, and there wasn't a wrong vote -- it's just interesting to see how the votes turned out. The Viva Girls version is extremely cool. The mix of the beat and the Chinese instruments is great, and the playing is fabulous. Plus, as a guitarist, I can't help but admire the playing on the Hero for the World metal version (and I suspect it would have gotten an extra vote if Ninja Captain Alex had been around). Still, I personally would vote for Grisman, although it doesn't change the results at all -- the Viva Girls won this one going away:

Viva Girls 4.5, Grisman 1.5, Hero for the World 1.0

January 2014 Insecure Writers Support Group -- "Distractions"

This (belated and very shortened) edition of the IWSG blog event relates closely to my IWSG post from last month where I shared my concerns over not writing enough:

"How can I stay focused on writing when there are so many distractions?"

I have a job, a house, a family, and many other things I spend time on -- and right now I have to confess that playing my guitar is a big one. I love writing, although it can be a slow and painful process at times. I have many story ideas I want to get down, and am growing more and more excited about a new novel that has been taking over my thoughts with demands to be written. But how can I stay focused on just writing on a consistent and regular basis when there are so many other things in my life tugging on my sleeve for attention?

How can I shut out the distractions and turn the stories I want to write into stories I've written?

I'm open to any feedback and pointers as to what works for you.

Floatin' in the Groove

Finally, as my final act of contrition for my belatedness, let me try to appease you with music.

HERE's one of the pieces I put together over the Christmas holiday. A bit of a spacey jam with several guitars on top of a wikiloops drum and bass track. I call it "Floatin' in the Groove" and it's on the wikiloops shared jam site.

I found the drum and bass groove (drums by user "Gibson" and bass by user "bendeg") and just kind of started jamming against it -- I ended up actually looping the original bass and drums track twice to make it longer. :)

My playing on this piece is kind of all over the map -- the effect I was going for was kind of trippy and spacey with at least a defined bridge, and I think it succeeded at that, but overall I'm not sure if it is what I would consider a very coherent tune.

Still -- it was fun to do and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for listening!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

BOTB 1/1/14: "Auld Lang Syne"

Happy New Year!!!!!

I hope this is a wonderful year for you -- one filled with joy, love, peace, health, and many fabulous blessings!

I also want to thank you for making my blog a part of your new year. I greatly appreciate each and every reader I get, and I want you to know how grateful I am that you took the time to visit my little out-of-the-way corner of the blogosphere. Thank youvery much!

Well, since today is the first day of the new year, it is also the first day of the month, and that means it is also time for the regular blogging event, "The Battle of The Bands (BOTB)." The BOTB was started by Stephen T. McCarthy and FarAwayEyes back in August of last year. This event occurs twice every month -- on the 1st and the 15th -- and each of the bloggers taking part offers readers a choice of two (or occasionally more) versions of the same song, performed by different recording artists. And the the readers get to vote for your favorite rendition.

Today is January first, so I think an appropriate song to start out my blog's BOTB 2014 edition is Auld Lang Syne. This is the traditional song played at the stroke of midnight as New Year's Eve transitions into New Year's Day, and I wouldn't be the least surprised to discover that some of the other BOTB bloggers are using this song as well. But right now I'm not sure, because this post -- like many of the performances seen on the TV New Year's Eve specials -- is being prepared well in advance (You didn't think I was actually busy blogging live at this moment, did you?).

The English lyrics to Auld Lang Syne are based on an old Scottish poem, and I suspect that most people aren't quite sure what they're actually singing when they chime in -- "Old wang signs? What the heck does THAT mean???"

I could post the various translations of the Scottish poem and take the time to discuss what the lyrics are all about, but I won't. Instead, we'll just go the instrumental route again, like in my last BOTB post.

So below are three instrumental versions of the tune, each of which feature some very solid musical ability, I think. One I was familiar with before this post and wanted to use for this battle, and the other ones I found on You Tube as I was looking for potential contenders to do battle.

First up is renowed mandolin player David Grisman with a version from his 1983 album David Grisman's Acoustic Christmas, featuring a bluegrass quintet with banjo player Bela Fleck and others:

Next is a version done with a mix of traditional Chinese instruments and Western rythms. This is by the group Viva Girls playing from their 2010 album A Viva Girls Christmas. I don't know if this is 100% "live" (where are the bass and drums playing the rythm part?), and there doesn't seem to have been any updates to their website since 2011, but I find the music fascinating and fun to listen to, and the playing is excellent. See what you think:

You know, if you do a You Tube search for "Auld Lang Syne guitar," you'll find a ton of videos uploaded by guitarists. I salute anyone who makes music, and it's not like I think my own playing is so great, but the vast majority of these videos are.. well, not likely to win a BOTB bout against the playing of David Grisman, Bela Fleck, and guitarist Mike Marshall. But here's one that caught my ear where the playing is actually very good -- a version done by a band called A Hero for the World from their 2013 Winter is Coming CD. The guitarist (and bass player) is David Sivelind, half of the Sweidsh duo that founded the band (which is now based in the Phillipines. So now you have an answer if anyone ever asks you to name a Swedish-Fillipino metal band.). For some reason, I couldn't get this video embedded into this post the normal way, so I had to futz with the HTML code, but it should still work. If not -- please use this link HERE to check it out:

So there you are -- three instrumental versions of Auld Lang Syne. Are you surprised that the much-better known Guy Lombardo, Kenny G and Jimi Hendrix live at the Fillmore versions aren't among my contenders? Well, if any of the other BOTB bloggers go for this song, I don't want to post the same covers they do, so Guy and Kenny are pretty much off the table. And while I love Jimi and consider the Machine Gun from the Fillmore one of the greatest guitar pieces ever recorded, Jimi's Auld Lang Syne really isn't that stellar.

But I do think that the three versions I've posted for this BOTB bout all feature some unique interpretations of the song and some great musicianship. I invite you to listen to each and give them a chance (and rmember -- the goal is to compare the music, not the videos, so I encourage you to ignore the images).

After listening, please vote in the comments as to which version you think is best, or which speaks to you the deepest. Feel free to also share as much as you would like about how any of the above recordings strike you, even if it's less than positive.

And finally -- be sure to check out the other BOTB bloggers to vote on their battles:

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Fifty States of Pray -- My Christmas Eve Prayer

Merry Christmas!!!

OK, I guess technically it's Christmas EVE... But this is still a day that has "Christmas" in the title, so I'm going to wish you a merry one!

It's also the day for the Fifty States of Pray blogging event hosted by Mark Koopmans. I'll let Mark share his thoughts behind it:

"About two months ago, I had a random thought. Normally, these get me into trouble, but this one sounded like a great idea:

'Why not set aside a moment to reflect on the year that was and share some hopes for the next year?'

I’m calling it the 50 States of Pray event and I’d love to find at least one person (but the more the merrier) from each U.S. state to participate.

All that’s required is to take a moment and about 100 words. Then, on Dec. 24, 2013, please share a prayer, a thought, a memory, a hope and even a regret about the past and/or a wish for the future.

Here’s my simple goal behind 50 States of Pray:

'Is there not a better time to help make the world a better place than Christmastime?'

Deep down in my heart, I truly believe someone, somewhere will absolutely benefit from your words."

I thought this sounded like a wonderful idea and so I signed up to participate, representing the state I live in -- Indiana.

Yes -- my blog is called The Creative Outlet of StratPlayer and I normally use it to share my writing, my music, other creative pursuits, and my thoughts related to those things. So why am I choosing to take part in an event that doesn't really tie to a creative activity? Is my blog turning religious?

No -- this is and shall remain a blog that focuses on my writing, music, and other creative outlets I have. But I do have these two points about today's prayer posting:

It's Christmas! This is the time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, to share, to give gifts, and to express our love for those we care about. Although I guess you could consider all the creative things I normally share with you on my blog to be a form of a gift, I think this blogging event gives me an opportunity to also share another kind of gift with you.

I think this post IS creative -- I'm going to offer you a prayer that I've written myself. I'm not quoting someone else or just sharing a few bible quotes with you. I've even written each nine-syllable line into an ABAB rhyme scheme -- yes, it's a prayer in poetry! ...and just when you thought it couldn't get any verse... :)

Anyway, I hope that at this special time of the year you will indulge me a little, and allow me to offer you this:

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A Christmas Prayer

Lord, I ask for Your blessing on each,

and every person reading this post.

I pray that Your compassion may reach,

wherever they may need You the most.

Please heal each body and soothe each ache;

restore broken hearts; lighten their loads;

Any heavy burden -- may You take;

turn all their steep paths to gentle roads.

Even if they don't believe Your creed

please share Your blessings -- this I ask still.

Provide relief, whatever their need,

let them see Your light, Your grace, Your will.

Lord, I ask that You may bless them all,

on this joyful, holy Christmas day.

Please show Your love, let Your favor fall

on all who read this -- Lord, this I pray.

(All images from Wikimedia Commons)

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Now and throughout the year -- thank you so much for reading! Simply by stopping by and giving me some of your valuable time, you have offered me the best gift possible, and I want you to know how much I appreciate it!

This will be my last post for 2013. I will be around sporadically but there won't be another new blog post until my next Battle of the Bands entry on January 1st. In the meantime, please take a little time to visit the other bloggers taking part in the Fifty States of Pray blogging event -- you can click on the link HERE.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a New Year filled with love, joy, happiness, and many glorious blessings!

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