duckyvee

:F_05BL17blowkiss:

Thank you to all those who reviewed the audio Clack from the summer tour. Your recommendations helped me put the finishing touches on my SRHP Selected Songs CD (I know y'all call it DCAT, but SRHP is fixed in my brain). I have a 3.5 hour drive tomorrow afternoon, and Clay will keep me company. Again. He's the best, isn't he?

JaMar Phoebe is such a pretty doggie. I had to LMAO at your posting pictures

I was thinking the same thing....

Thanks, Kim! What a wonderful sentiment. Made me misty, too, especially knowing how it must have felt to Clay. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

He cyberkissed you!

:Boss: What a great day to be a Clay fan!

Sir Robin in Spamalot!

Then that chatty blog... with a CD mention, even!

And.... I got my first set of tickets for 3/16! One down, how many to go? I'm thinking it should be a monthly event.

Somehow I managed to work in the midst of it all. Fun times.

I haven't been able to lurk at work for almost 3 years. You get used to it. You learn that it's still all there waiting for you when you get home.

True, but it's easier when you can space it out. Actually, I read so little anymore that it doesn't really take up much of my time.

We have a Network administrator, but our network (multiple hospitals) is huge, so I'm counting on the fact the he/she/they are too busy to care about anything that's not blatantly illegal.

AIR Atlanta auditions! So fun to look back, and still hear Clay of today. Fabulous!

Clay went to see Ruben? Of course he did. If Kim has another show in a location that works for him, I think he'll be there, too. Yay! for new Clack.

:Boss:

I watched the AYSTAFG promo a few times, too. Totally adorable. What a huge personality! I can't wait for the show to air.

Adorable - bad haircut and all! After that one comment from someone who was at the taping that it looked like his hair was styled with snot (which I thought was hysterical), I was expecting worse.

I can't wait to see the show on TV!

ETA: duckyvee, everyone on the road hated me this pm because I was concentrating on the syllables so much that I'd abruptly swerve or slow down or speed up speed up depending on the song. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

(is there a miata smiley?)

Hee. I'd apologize, but Clay syllables are such a worthy subject that I just can't feel too badly. I've been known to pump the gas peddle in time with a song on occasion, so I totally understand. Not a good idea for many reasons, not the least of which is the nausea it induces in passengers.

About MGUCL.... I have to admit that I was bothered by Clay's version in that initial TV performance, although it wasn't long before I came to love it. I think I was reacting to the slow, wistful quality he had been bringing to certain peformances with increasing frequency that made me wonder about his direction (silly me). I love a wistful mood, so typically I would much prefer Clay's version of MCUCL to the more typical ones out there, and I really do now, but it just seemed odd given his propensity for power singing, that he'd go in that direction with a song that lends itself to glory notes. In retrospect, I am so glad he changed it up. The poignancy he brings to it is perfect for the message, IMO.

Please tell me you have "vows" from :23 in I'm Not Supposed To Love You Anymore on your list. If you like that "stars", you MUST love that "vows".

I don't actually, but not because I don't like it, I just don't know it. I'm not a fan of the demos, so I haven't listened to them much and haven't even listened through some of the songs all of the way. (Do I have the correct reference?) But, I do have them, and now I want to hear that syllable! Thanks for the recommendation! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Oh, yay... I hope you like it... but it's ok if you don't.

I finally listened. Yep, 'vows' is a great syllable! One of the best. Thanks again for pointing it out. There are other types of 'Clay syllables' I like, too, with totally different sounds, but those 3 (Toledo 'stars', BSOB 'yon' and now 'vows') share a certain quality. I could go on for pages on this subject....

Please tell me you have "vows" from :23 in I'm Not Supposed To Love You Anymore on your list. If you like that "stars", you MUST love that "vows".

I don't actually, but not because I don't like it, I just don't know it. I'm not a fan of the demos, so I haven't listened to them much and haven't even listened through some of the songs all of the way. (Do I have the correct reference?) But, I do have them, and now I want to hear that syllable! Thanks for the recommendation! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

I miss the growls from the JBT version *sniff* -- do you think KAndre will kill me if I pick Toledo for my DCAT recommendation?

Toledo ATD!

I like to collect favorite Clay syllables, and the firsts 'stars' from Toledo is at the top of my list! (at about :20 in the version I have). It doesn't matter that I'm not a fan of the song - seems it never does with Clay. That syllable is something special, rivaled most closely in my collection by the 'yon' in the 'yonder' from Beautiful Star of Bethlehem.

Thanks for the reminder, Scarlett. I just listened to it.

Not fight, JaMar, discuss, and hopefully gain something from it.

Heheh. I thought for years it was 'revved up like a douche'.

It's not? :o

Gosh, I finally had the time to really look at all of the Clay's in that beautiful banner! That is truly a work of art.

Okay last comment - I promise to save them for chats. If I read 'banal and trite' in a review, by some unknown-to-me critic speaking to a general population - nope, wouldn't take it personally in the slightest. But if I post that I looooooove something, and it's special to me, and then somebody responds by saying they find it banal and trite? I have to admit that I take it differently. Yes I do. Does that mean that they meant it personally? Probably not, but it still feels like an insult just the same.

I really didn't want to get into this, but I like a good discussion, and this one fits the bill. I like it as a chat topic. I totally see your point, cindilu, and I've been there. But I've also been on the other side. It can feel really like a slap when someone (OK, me, but not here, at least not yet) posts that they don't like something for whatever reason, and then there are what feel like a zillion responses about how wonderful that thing is and exactly why. It can make me feel hypercritical, and I'm really not. I just like what I like. I know it's not meant as a slap, but just reflects what people think, which is sometimes very different from what I think. It's almost seems as though people are saying I'm wrong, when I know that's not what they're saying at all. I've had a good friend think that I am commenting on her personal tastes when I say I don't like something she likes for specific reasons. I'm learning to temper my wording because I really never meant anything judgemental at all, just stating my personal opinion. It's just hard to divorce emotion from opinion.

FWIW I don't find the spinning balls and fighting angels of ATD overly trite or banal. I think there is some pretty insipid stuff out there that towers over anything Clay has sung.

I don't know if I'd use those adjectives, either, and I agree that there's worse out there. But, those lyrics just make me giggle. I'm a lyrics processor, I can't help it, it just happens automatically. Different brains do different things without intention. The thing is, when I hear those words, I get mental pictures that just crack me up. Sort of ruins the song for me.

.

Aw, so cute. I love Clay's little head nod toward the end (about 2:06). I really enjoyed the group numbers from Season 2.

I am not a professional singer but I have been involved in lots of groups, etc. and I gotta tell you, there are times when you sing songs just because it's expected. I've had a few instances where I absolutely HATED the song but sang it with all the conviction of someone who adored it. It's a performance.

This is not meant to be personal in any way, jumpingjacks, and I have no doubt that groups do this all of the time, but I have to think there is a perceptible difference between performing a song with conviction of someone who adored it, and preforming it with conviction because you feel it. I don't know. If not, well, I think I'll just hold on to the illusion. As I said, I can be naive about these things. I think of the phrase we hear so often about 'keeping it real.' I think there's a lot of merit to that. I really don't want to hear someone sing something because it sounds good. I want to hear it because it's real. Not literally real, of course, but that it comes from some part of them that they relate to on whatever level. I think that's one of the things I don't like about many, but not all glory notes by power singers. They don't always communicate something real to me. They sometimes seem like musical muscle flexing. Now, of course, there are some that are perfectly placed, and work beautifully to communicate the sentiment (Solitaire and DSIAFCD, for examples of Clay glory notes I enjoy, but there are tons of others from various artists I could probably think of). It just comes down to what listeners want from music, I suppose, and that is not the same for everyone.

Wow, that was a great read. Thanks, Couchie!

I think Clay is a good entertainer. He sells his performance to the audience. That is what he gets paid to do. Does he have to like every song he performs?

This is an interesting subject to me, JaMar. I like to think that a music comes from the performer, in the abstract sense, that it is a form of self-espression. I know it's naive, but I hate to think that someone would choose to sing a song they actually don't like just because it's well received. I know singers probably get really tired of some songs, and sing them because the fans really want them to, but that's different. To start out with a song you don't like.... not a good thing. I can't listen for just the sound. It's not enough for me. There needs to be something to hold it up, and for me, that's the communication behind it. But then, you know the kind of music I lean toward.....

Clay doesn't like it, so I hope he never feels pressure to record or perform it. I like it, so I hope to hear it somehwere - not from Loverboy, though.

ETA: As I think about this more, These Open Arms comes to mind as an example. I don't like that song much, but Clay brings conviction to it, and that's what made it such a great song to hear live IMO. I don't like the song any better now that the tour is over, and I still skip it on the CD, but the way he communicated when he sang it made all the difference. I'd rather hear him sing that than BFM, despite my personal preferences.

Are heads exploding that (1) someone else recorded BFM and (2) that some idiot claimed he wrote it?? Have they managed to drag Clive/RCA into the conspiracy???

But of course! Nevermind what Clay actually told people about not caring for the song.

Well, I'm keeping my head on tight, not prone to explosions, but it did make me a little sad. BFM is one of the only 2 (maybe 3) original Clay songs that I acutally like for itself, and would like even if it weren't a Clay song. I've grown to appreciate a few others, especially after hearing Clay perform them, but that's a different thing all together. Seriously, though, if Clay didn't like it, what's the point? It might as well be passed on, IMO. I'd hate to think Clay would have to sing something that he didn't like.

:nana: My first time ever at the top of the page!

Nice!

Claygasm, for the Phillies tonight: or maybe or perhaps :thdom2:

Topic: Clay needs to do a guest spot on one or all of the Thursday night comedies. He could be a relative of Joy's on "My Name is Earl", himself on "30 Rock", or a salesman from a rival office supply company that best Michael in a kareoke contest at the Scranton Chili's on "The Office."

Great ideas! A relative of Joy's . I love it!

I tried Pushing Up Daisies, but got tired of it part way through. Great concept, so I don't know what it was... maybe my mood. I usually like campy stuff. Maybe I'll give it another try.

Couchie, I'm with you on shopping - not my idea of a fun way to spend a perfectly good afternoon, but after taking shopping lessons from Bookwhore and JaMar, I've learned how to at least be more efficient. There are rules, you know. Rule #1: Never go shopping for Something In Particular. Who knew?