jmh123

Ain't it the truth! The contradiction is unbelievable. As for buying out the contract, I've seen it suggested in all seriousness at the OFC. I hated the Kimmel with all the presents all over the stage, was so embarrassed by it, and I remember all kinds of fuss about whether it was OTT, did Clay not show proper appreciation and so forth. Oh well, whatcha gonna do?

Thanks for the report. So to those that travel around, are there any boards that are actually organizing requesting or is the appetite for doing that gone. I saw threads at the CB and the OFC for radio requests. At the OFC a couple of Pod People came along and told them they were all wasting their time. Make them discouraged, made them cry. How can this be a good thing? {{{Muskifest}}} I'd be inclined to not go under the circumstances, being as you're already away from home, especially since your husband said you didn't need to go, but I can understand the pressures and the desire to go too. It's tough, but I know you'll make the right decision.

I was looking at Mediabase after playbiller's post, and while two stations have more overnight spins than any other time, they are also playing ATD at other times. He's getting a decent amount of spins in other time periods across the board. Out of 49 total spins for these stations, 16 are overnight, 6 are in the am, 12 are midday, 6 are pm, and 9 are evening. Format starters and leaders: KKCW - Portland - 23 spins: 5 overnight, 5 am, 5 midday, 3 pm and 5 evening KUDL - Kansas City - 8 spins: 6 overnight, 1 midday, 1 pm WTCB - Columbia, SC - 7 spins: 3 overnight, 1 am, 1 midday, 1 pm and 1 evening WFMK - Lansing - 4 spins: 2 overnight, 2 evening KUMU - Honolulu - 3 spins: 1 am, 1 midday, 1 pm WLHT - Grand Rapids: 2 spins: 2 midday WHLG - Ft. Pierce - 2 spins: 2 midday Clay is #3 on the Taking Off chart with 30 new spins and #12 on the Jump chart with +50 move and 12 stations playing. This is not bad at all, IMO.

Sort of OT, but I just had to research this. The Real Thing was released December 13, 2005 and has sold a total of 633,746 in the US. Clay's album was released September 19, 2006 and has sold nearly 500,000. Bo sold 227,000 copies in his first week, and 163,000 in his second. That would mean he sold 244,000 in 2006. Clay sold 482,964 in 2006. Obviously this doesn't fit with your stats. I think I might vaguely remember that the Billboard year goes from mid-December to mid-December, so the 2006 chart may include all of Bo's sales of his album, versus 12 weeks of Clay's. Nothing to cry about, IMO.

My cell phone won't accept any ringtones (tracfone). I finally did my evaluations of Christmas Waltz--posted in the appropriate thread. That was fun1!

Finally, my recommendations for Christmas Waltz: 1) Merrillville - jojoct: nice balance of voice and orchestra, Clay is in fantastic voice, Jessie sounds great on the piano, the crowd sounds and so forth are the most like being there without detracting from the performance 2) Charlotte - clayheaven: rich sound, good blend of vocal and orchestra, Clay is in great voice 3) RedBank - Solo: there's a lot of talking around her or I would have rated this higher, Clay's voice is terrific for this performance, the performance (by both Clay and the orchestra) is lively and fun 4) Red Bank - clayheaven: starts quiet, rich sound, good blend, Clay's in great voice, pitch perfect, someone is talking at one point 5) Williamsport - guitargirl : rich sound, opening couple of words almost can't be heard, orchestra sounds great, the sound guy may have been playing around with the sound for the first repeat before the interlude, someone lets out a wahoo before the interlude, the sound is better during the interlude and after Honorable mentions - Baltimore - dlh7777: the sound is clear but sounds like it's skipping a bit or Clay and the orchestra are not quite together? loud feedback from the sound system at one point, sounds good from the interlude through to the end - Waukegan - Filomena: nice, rich sound, voice stands out clearly, orchestra's sound is not so clear in interlude. Others in my top 12: Williamsport_jojoct, Wilkes-Barre_jojoct, Grand Rapids_Lacy, Charlotte_ImAllEars, West Point_Scarlett Every performance is virtually the same, note-wise, lyrics and so forth. The challenge with CW is that it's the first song and he comes on stage as the orchestra is playing the introduction. There are cheers and wild applause, as there should be, but it doesn't make for the best start for an audio recording. Every recording begins with the mike volume down for a few notes and then the sound is brought up--it must be deliberate on the part of the audio team. A few great recordings were marred by excessive talking - why folks sitting next to clack gatherers feel the need to chat to them I don't know. On some recordings it sounded like Clay was a bit off on a few notes, but other recordings from the same venue were pitch perfect, so it must have something to do with the equipment. As an amateur sound geek, I just thought that was interesting to know. I'll be glad to participate in creating mp3s for posting on FCA once a final list is decided. We could provide several choices for each song, or just one final, ultimate set. Or we could provide mp3s of all the choices and then let people come vote for their favorite???

Another fan of the brother and sister--they were great, and an interesting family too. Not cookie cutter pop star types at all but extremely talented and musical.

BWAH HA HA HA HA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

Not only that, they wrote them too! :whatacrock: Sometimes I wonder why I even waste my breath in Podland.

Hey, jmh123, could this little green guy be biting his tongue? Cute!! I think he's actually trying not to puke, but same difference - heh. It'll definitely do!!

Oopsie - this was supposed to be an edit.... I just googled the Kipling poem to make sure I had the quote right, and it seems more appropo than I realized, and it reminds me a lot of Clay, who seems to almost always keep his head, so I'll quote the whole thing:

I've been thinking the same thing for awhile now. I can just imagine the piles of nasty letters and e-mails well-meaning people have sent to RCA, Clive, and Roger. How can this possibly be good for Clay? Gotta also agree on the frustration that so many people have joined the Pod that we are seemingly in the minority now. I can't find the post now, but yes to whoever said it first [eta: playbiller, and I messed that quoting mess up]--so many people I've liked and admired over the years have now succumbed. I keep thinking of the poem, "If"--"if you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs...." I know, I know. I must have written and tossed about a million posts lately, which is why I need that biting my tongue emoticon.

We need a "biting my tongue" emoticon. Cause I've been doing that at another board all day. And just for fun: :pod:

One more

Beautifully said!! I just had to quote it again. Pod People come up with the wildest mental contortions to justify their theories, such as if MOAM is seen on Valentine's displays at a couple of Target stores, it's an evil plan to cause people to think that Clay has done nothing since 2003, and simultaneously depress ATDW sales. :whatutterclaptrap: They don't seem to realize how over the top they seem. Instead, they think they are the "true fans" who know what is really going on, and they are watching out for Clay's best interests. And, yes! they end up devaluing Clay as a performer and a man without realizing it. Here, optimism is not regarded as delusional thinking. :pod: I think I coined the term--at least I was using it before I joined up here. (See location <----) I called them Pod People because it was like previously sane people were taken over by aliens in the night, as in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It got really, really bad when I was off the boards for a couple of weeks while I was moving, and when I got back on, it seemed like my whole board had been taken over. So cool to see more folks posting, and yay for my goomba Divayenta's arrival!!! I looooove that picture, bottlecap. It makes me want to misbehave so I can be punished.

Hee. Exactly. It did seem to me like the timeline was off at first - I had to reread it a few times, but the message seemed pretty clear to me too. Ya'll realize that this is one of the only boards left that isn't mired down in misery about Clay's career? You're my safety net. I come here every day to be rejuvenated. It's only a matter of time before you're stuck with me. I tried (I know, I know) to start an ATD Impact thread at the OFC and it just became a magnet for cynicism and mocking. That was my last attempt there... for reals. I'm hardly the "positive police" but for God's sake, people... why be in a fandom if you're pissed off all.the.freaking.time? playbiller, you've been cracking me up with the emoticon unveilings. Here's another version of alien/PP for ya: YouStop - huge hugs and wet kisses!!!!!!!!! So glad to see you here. I'd be pleased and proud to be stuck with you! I was beginning to think nothing could make me smile today, on account of so much whining and proud cynicism on the boards. I've got to echo the sentence I bolded. What happened to the fandom that had some fight to it, the clever kind of fight, like Operation Vanilla?? I guess it's been abducted! Thanks for the emoticons YSRN and playbiller!!

Wow, it's stretching it to call that flirting. I'll be interested to see if any of this gossip is perceived as hurting Cooper's career over time. It hasn't seemed so to me up until now. If anything, he's seemed to me to have received support beyond what he might possibly deserve (although he's certainly good, but I still miss Aaron Brown sometimes). I wonder if the "gay mafia" will take him on and make up stories about him and/or try to out him, or does having the backing of CNN protect him from this?

Maybe he's giving head. Oh wait. It's we who are supposed to.... never mind heh

I like the way you think!! Great post!! :laola0:

This is very astute. Thanks for bringing something that's been in the back of my mind to the front and center. I think you have nailed it. If the album had sold like gangbusters, it would have been the greatest! album! ever! Remember when the first surveys of favorites were done (based on snippets and promosquad), and it was Without You that won? At the time WY was considered a work of art. Now it's that crappy choice for a single made by RCA to ruin Clay's career. Agreed. There was so much growth in his musicality demonstrated, and it totally blew me away. It was a topic on the boards for about a minute, until the sales figures and reviews started coming in. It was, wasn't it? I think one of the things I'm really enjoying about this man at the moment is that he knows when to put some people in their places. It happened a LOT during the comedy routine known as the JNaT. He'd open up the show to the audience, and IMO gently make fun of those with cellphones or binoculars. But, if anyone tried to talk too long, or become an attention hog, he'd shut them down but good with a well-timed piece of snark. I think the opening paragraph of this blog was his version of this, just in writing. Nicely stated!! Course they managed to make what was absolutely clear into something else, but what else would you expect? Now that's what I call reading between the lines!! and Yup. So, luckiest1 posted her dream on CH (and I hope she'll bring hers over). I'll post mine here. I dreamed that newly scheduled TV appearances began to appear on the RCA home page :o. Leno, the Today Show, and more. Then there was a statement about signing some kind of deal with NBC. Don't remember the specifics. I'm not saying that I need this to happen to feel optimistic, or that my good mood is based on the dream. I just think there will be more good news to come, that there will always be more good news to come. I think some fans just won't be satisfied unless he's on television every day, and sells millions and millions of albums--anything less is a failure in their eyes. The truth is that most entertainers are not in the public eye every minute of the day, unless their career is based on being in the public eye (Paris Hilton), and that is not something I ever want for Clay (and obviously he doesn't either). I do admit that I'm jonesing for another SNL appearance, and I think it would be a great time for him to co-host, given the Ripa flap. Lots of great material there to play off of.

Oh yeah - but of course it went right over their heads. Damn--another person I used to admire was taken by the Pod People! Wordy McWord!! Oh yeah--it was an issue on every board I was reading at the time. People saying things like, it wouldn't have been a problem if only his fans were all young and pretty. Or it wouldn't have happened if the people there hadn't done something bad. And so on. Fun times. But phooey on all that. Last night's blog made me very, very happy, and I woke up feeling soooo optimistic about him and his career. Then I read CH, and pfffftttt. I will not let them take away my happiness, and I know he's happy too.

Hooray for this little pocket of sanity. I went to Pod land first tonight (been with my mom all day), and wrote a post, didn't post it, came here, and y'all already said it all. Just for fun, here's what I wrote: Oh, and totally agreed about Hockeygate. I was there. I too stayed away from the boards for months until I could make sense of it all for myself (and because I was so upset at all the blaming of the people there that was going on), but his comments during album promo really solidified my perception of that night. {{{Clay}}}

Holy Cow - that's fantastic!! Can we keep him? Huh, can we? Please? Of course...new year...new hair...new Banner...The problem is...its kinda tough scrolling down...I want to keep looking... Nice - very nice. The one on the far left is my desktop background. Lurve.

Just wanted to say that some of y'all have been absolutely brilliant this morning in Pod People land. You are my heroes!!

I saw that KAndre was nominated for AIW, but not that she accepted. Posting before reading the nominating post, I volunteered, so if she isn't going to do it, I will. I'll do CW first. ETA: Thanks, couchie--missed that entirely!! LOL.