#13 The Aiken Experience. There's nothing else like it.

[jamar1700]

Let me just say to all involved in the convo this morning & last night...

Bravo! Bravisimo even!

It's why I love it here! I chose just yesterday to give out the link to FCA to a few (two! I swear...just two *g*) of my frustrated fan friends. I said....just read for a bit. Give it a try. Give yourself a feel for the place. And right on cue, you guys pulled out some of the best stuff I've read all summer. I wish I had the time to go and quote everything I wanted to word but it would be truly just about (*g*) every post on the last two pages. In fact, if I could, I'd love to use jmh's whole rant as my siggie. Hee.

----

The only thing I'd add is this...if you know someone who works in the industry and would like to site that as a reason for your opinion being something more than an opinion, I need a bit more. I need some context to that relationship today, a title, a company and fer gawd's sake a decade.

I mean I could push myself off as an expert too, you know.

My son has a good friend that works at a record company...and my daughter's XBF is actively recording, right now!

Translated ...

My son's friend is a gopher at the local Indie and DD's XBF's parents built him a recording studio in their basement.

---

In the meantime ... I just put on ATDW for the first time since the tour began...and yeah...I still love it!

Edited August 22, 2007 by jamar1700

[cindilu2]

Ahhh, the Voice. It is golden, is it not? And that on his fifth concert in a row. Magic!!!

The duet-that-is-really-a-threesome (takes a moment) was fantastic. I can't stop watching. His face as he goes back and forth deciding which one will sing, then his satisfaction in getting it 'right', then his reaction when Quiana started to sing. And his true comic timing with 'Heartache & Pain' - brilliant!!! Freaking brilliant!!!!

And Measure of a Man. Oh, my measure of a man. Gah.

And the nuances added to Sorry.

GAH!!!!!!!!

[Ansamcw]

Like it or not, some people DO have information. Sometimes, that information is accurate for only a short time, while other times, it's just plain accurate.

It only stands to reason that among the thousands of Clay fans, there might be people who work in show biz or related fields... or that they might know someone who does. Or that there might be people who know Clay or one of his family members or close friends. These things happen.

I believe huskerfalcon pretty much every time I read her stuff. Plus I like her too, so that helps. :F_05BL17blowkiss: Here I think she's completely reasonable: some people know some stuff, though I'll bet that the people who know the most don't post. It seems unreasonable to believe that no post on any board anywhere has ever been made by someone who had insider information. That's just silly. The trick is trying to figure out what's real and what's not. Makes my brain hurt.

Did I read the Couch Tomato is coming to L.A. for Fifth Grader? Yay! *Artquest does happy Snoopy dance.* See you in line, chickie.

with all due respect artquest...liking someone is not enough for me to believe everything they tell me. I can accept that some people are being honest in what they are posting or spreading in the background...i.e. they completely believe they are telling the truth as they know it. But I still have to question their sources and where their source got the info in the first place. Info is like currency in this fandom. There are people that have spread info because they want the status, they are power tripping or are simply famehos. I know as a fact that a lot of these so called info are coming from a source that is pretty dishonest...so NOW...I just choose NOT to take any info at face value. As we saw during the concert...even M&G info can be twisted in different ways depending on how the report is worded or the filter of the reporter.

[KAndre]

I do think some people have some, real, accurate, up-to-the-minute information. But in this fandom, I think that percentage is infinitesimal, and of that percentage, I think an even smaller percent share anything worth passing on. 99.9% isn't worth listening to, much less getting upset over, therefore I play the percentages and don't listen to any of it.

Mainly, I don't care. Those who are better at picking the wheat from the chaff, enjoy yourselves. But there really too many who will grind up cardboard, make bread out of it, and expect me to eat it. (I'm being creative just for Muski. I think that was an analogy or something. Anyway, I'm really proud of it.)

Y'all know what I want? I want us to do for the Soft Rock, Hard Place tour what we did for the last Xmas tour, divide up the songs amongst ourselves (and also split between audio and video since there are a lot more of us and tons more clack) and rank those puppies! Honestly I got one of my best CD compilations from our recommendations! Of course, somebody needs to finish rendering all their freakin' stuff, Scarlett who had the nerve to complain that we left out Waukegan...hmph.

[Ansamcw]

I do think some people have some, real, accurate, up-to-the-minute information. But in this fandom, I think that percentage is infinitesimal, and of that percentage, I think an even smaller percent share anything worth passing on. 99.9% isn't worth listening to, much less getting upset over, therefore I play the percentages and don't listen to any of it.

Mainly, I don't care.

Y'all know what I want? I want us to do for the Soft Rock, Hard Place tour what we did for the last Xmas tour, divide up the songs amongst ourselves (and also split between audio and video since there are a lot more of us and tons more clack) and rank those puppies! Honestly I got one of my best CD compilations from our recommendations! Of course, somebody needs to finish rendering all their freakin' stuff, Scarlett who had the nerve to complain that we left out Waukegan...hmph.

OH yeah...I totally agree...although the orlando Clack is going to be high up in my reco...but thats because I haven;t really lsitend to a lot of he clack.

I don;t know what it was about the Orlando clack that made the vocals so fantastic...I think part of it is the acoustic and the other part...just adrenaline and emotion...

[luckiest1]

Ahhh, the Voice. It is golden, is it not? And that on his fifth concert in a row. Magic!!!

The duet-that-is-really-a-threesome (takes a moment) was fantastic. I can't stop watching. His face as he goes back and forth deciding which one will sing, then his satisfaction in getting it 'right', then his reaction when Quiana started to sing. And his true comic timing with 'Heartache & Pain' - brilliant!!! Freaking brilliant!!!!

And Measure of a Man. Oh, my measure of a man. Gah.

And the nuances added to Sorry.

GAH!!!!!!!!

Can I add A Thousand Days for a different reason? His reaction when he can't seem to sing (choking/coughing), and then switching mics with Quiana and her just tearing it up Clay Aiken style, complete with growly notes, and him laughing his ass off while singing back up is not to be missed. Really, none of this concert is to be missed. It's a schmoopie, hysterical mess of sh...stuff. :medium-smiley-070:

I think I've watched all of Orlando now. I'm more than happy to participate in a clack ranking exercise again this tour.....should we split it by venue or by song?

ETA that I've got Scarlett's Knoxville audio queued up right now, and it's awesome.

Edited August 22, 2007 by lickiest1

[KAndre]

See, I was at Orlando, and except for IWTKWLI and MOAM, I really can't say it was even close to being the best of the concerts that I attended, much less all of them. Knoxville really sounded incredible to me...more than Asheville...and LA had some serious moments....

Make one of the mods set up a thread!

I want a head to head comparisons of songs, me. Considering how much stuff we've gathered, we might have to assign teams...

HEY! Ansa skipped my analogy-thingie!

[artquest]

With all due respect artquest...liking someone is not enough for me to believe everything they tell me. I can accept that some people are being honest in what they are posting or spreading in the background...i.e. they completely believe they are telling the truth as they know it. But I still have to question their sources and where their source got the info in the first place. Info is like currency in this fandom. There are people that have spread info because they want the status, they are power tripping or are simply famehos. I know as a fact that a lot of these so called info are coming from a source that is pretty dishonest...so NOW...I just choose NOT to take any info at face value. As we saw during the concert...even M&G info can be twisted in different ways depending on how the report is worded or the filter of the reporter.

Respect noted and returned. My problem here, of course, is that I like almost everyone! Beyond affection, the statement huskerfalcon made this morning is not a claim of insider information; it's just good sense. Somewhere along the line, people with insider information HAVE posted what was, at least for a time, accurate stuff. For my own part, I've given up trying to figure out which anonymous poster is presenting accurate information and which isn't. It's just not possible to tell.

Now to make this really interesting, Clay himself can be an unreliable informant. He's a real person, so he is sometimes inconsistent, his mouth sometimes kicks into gear before his brain gets working, and sometimes things change. He tells us what he can when he can (I love the new Meet & Greet formats), but even he isn't always right. Plus as you've noted, the reports from the M&Gs also get passed through cognitive filters. It's become a family tradition in the Artquest household to take a tape recorder to important doctor visits because memory can be misleading. I remember Mr. Artquest's dad and mom arguing over what the doctor had said and then having to play the tape to hear it accurately. One of them had it completely wrong!

Clay is just so fascinating to watch. Considering the amazing level of scrutiny, I think he almost never makes a wrong step. Plus he's so cute! Ah, well, I'm about to slide into total fangirlyness when I need to get to work. I have a longish post somewhere in me on how people try to figure out what's going on under conditions of uncertainty, but that'll have to wait for another day.

And I can see that while I was composing this endless post, we've moved on to audio picks of each of the songs. Can I play? I'd love to do one, as long as it's not Everything I Have.

Edited August 22, 2007 by artquest

[Ansamcw]

See, I was at Orlando, and except for IWTKWLI and MOAM, I really can't say it was even close to being the best of the concerts that I attended, much less all of them. Knoxville really sounded incredible to me...more than Asheville...and LA had some serious moments....

Make one of the mods set up a thread!

I want a head to head comparisons of songs, me. Considering how much stuff we've gathered, we might have to assign teams...

HEY! Ansa skipped my analogy-thingie!

OMG...then I can;t wait to get to those concerts...I just think the CA concerts to me I have lumped into...dry air vocals so as much as I love them cos they are the ones I saw...I can't see them being in contention for best audio..

OK...I will make the thread...oh wait...you're a mod...hee

oh now I see the analogy...hey that editing thing can be tricky.

[Couch Tomato]

Like it or not, some people DO have information. Sometimes, that information is accurate for only a short time, while other times, it's just plain accurate.

It only stands to reason that among the thousands of Clay fans, there might be people who work in show biz or related fields... or that they might know someone who does. Or that there might be people who know Clay or one of his family members or close friends. These things happen.

I believe huskerfalcon pretty much every time I read her stuff. Plus I like her too, so that helps. :F_05BL17blowkiss: Here I think she's completely reasonable: some people know some stuff, though I'll bet that the people who know the most don't post. It seems unreasonable to believe that no post on any board anywhere has ever been made by someone who had insider information. That's just silly. The trick is trying to figure out what's real and what's not. Makes my brain hurt.

Did I read the Couch Tomato is coming to L.A. for Fifth Grader? Yay! *Artquest does happy Snoopy dance.* See you in line, chickie.

I'm going to say this..it's good sense (responding to your second note) if you don't know what she believes. If you took just her note at face value.

I totallay agree with what you said. There are people in who know and I'm quite sure they don't post about it or say shhhh don't tell anybody. I love husk too but everything she has told me in the past six months - has not been true. Example - I just saw Clay in concert 4 times and yep, he sang songs from ATDW, did not sing songs from his old completed album, nor is one scheduled to come out in 2007, for starters. I'm sorry if Huskerfalcon feels attacked but so many times I wanted to say those exact words that lightmyfire spoke to folks spreading bullshit but you can't because you have to pay more respect to individual posters than you do Clay. And to be honest Artquest, I was not in the trenches during 2006. I fled. Yet I felt more burned by fans that the other fans trust that pretty much rubber stamped everything than I do the inisders. It's really hard to explain it now. I'm not angry. I'm not bitter. I will just be honest about how I feel from now on.

See you at Fifth Grader.

Yes Ansa the meet and greets should have proven so much to people. I know I can't wait to hear Clay new uptempo jazz number unless it's a gritty ballad that is. Also, scraemng ULTIMATUM to me was like screaming fire in a crowded theater. Yep it's an interpretation but certainly not one the reporter meant to convey. Unfortunately that interpreation is now gospel in Clay land.

OK if we do the audio recommendations for the past tour...Can I have "I Want to Know What Love Is? And is there any doubt New Jersey was the perfect Lover All ALone? heee.

[luckiest1]

I think, just as much as how good Clay's vocals were on any given song in any given venue, we have to take things like quality of recording and audience noise into consideration when we are trying to rank audio. So are we just going to do audio, or video as well? I call Right Here Waiting and Without You. :medium-smiley-070:

[KAndre]

No, you may not have "I Want to Know What Love Is"! No, no, no, no! I want that one. And "Yeah". And we have to split the Classics and TV medleys into individual songs. So there.

Yeah, we took audio quality and audience noise into consideration last time and I think it really helped...OK.

So we are looking for:

Vocal (just great, change ups, moments of perfections, funnies?)

Audio quality (wavs vs. mp3 vs mp4, cleanliness, background noise, completeness?)

Audience noise (constant shriking, muttering in the background, loud comments?)

What else? Amount of banter on clip (though honestly for my CDs of song, I clip off the banter)

[ldyjocelyn]

I'm calling BYLM. Why yes, I like crying, and do own stock in Kleenex.

I think jamar should take the TV medley.

Aw, artquest, if no one else steps up for EIH *nudges KAndre*, I'll take it too. LURVELY song.

[cindilu2]

I can't wait for the recommendations, but I know that I am not up to that task. I know me, and I just can't be objective while listening to him. It's allllllllll wonderful to me.

But yeah, NJ Lover All Alone - sublime!

And that said - I could do Listen or WTLGD quite easily (and happily)

Edited August 22, 2007 by cindilu2

[Couch Tomato]

No, you may not have "I Want to Know What Love Is"! No, no, no, no! I want that one. And "Yeah". And we have to split the Classics and TV medleys into individual songs. So there.

excuse me..but did youcall dibs? and if so....please please please..ya'll can have the classics and tv themes... I'd take These Open Arms..my other favorite but I'm quite sure if CG is up for the task this is what she'll want. heee.

[Ansamcw]

yup...artquest you are right. One cannot completely dismiss every info we get. That is why my attitude is taking things with salt...which means...i keep all possibilities open. For example...I can admit that the latest inside info about the Tampa venue getting a fax can very well be true...but I truly doubt it. So the way I deal with it...I take note then move on. I think I would've reacted just like CG when presented with this info...go find another round of drinks...hee

I think the problem is...some people take these insider's info as gospel and they let their fandom get affected in a very negative way. Now usually I would say to each his own...but then...these people want to spread all these negativity around and they don;t seem to be satisfied until others are as stressed and worried and unhappy as they are. That is when I start taking exception to it.

ITA...Clay's info is not always accurate and may not always be true. But if he says he is happy right now...if he wants to stay with RCA now...that is all I need to know. Will that change in the future? Did he always feel like this...I don't know...but this is what he wants me to know I am happy with that.

[playbiller]

Huskerfalcon as a person is a topic? I like her, I have posted with her for years, I have looked forward to her posts for years. I have met her and she is a wonderful person. She has been a supportive fan for years. Am I questioning her? No! Am I questioning her state of mind? No! I am seriously questioning her opinion on this one topic though. We have a major disagreement on this one topic and have had it for a year. This does not mean I think any less of her as a person, I just disagree and think she is wrong on this topic.

Here is the thing. On a a few boards you are supposed to respect all opinions, but not (seems to me) respect the poster or Clay or Clay's family. Correct me if I am wrong, but here I feel like I can show disrespect for an opinion, but not the person or Clay or Clay's family. I can show my disagreement without couching it in terms that indicates that I believe in any way it is reasonable. Heck, I disagree with people here all the time on what we like or dislike or what we believe in what we want to talk about - i.e. the discussion on talking about discussing the music business shows how different the opinions here can be, we are all over the place.

Inside information

1) I do believe some people do have some inside information

2) I believe some people exaggerate the information they have (famewhore)

3) I beleive some people outright lie about the information they have or 'filter" it to fit their ends or have it third hand

4) I believe some people have very good inside information but it neccessarily believed because they don't post much (hint, not me looks embarrassed about post count at way too many boards)

5) I believe the people with the best information don't post about it

7) Even first hand conversations have been reported through filters, or out right misrepresented by a non-participant in the conversation, It was reported as Roger saying something insulting (not that he is mr tactful and not that he hasn't said dumb things) when it actually someone else who was in the conversation! I believe it is probably still being pointed to as a conversation with Roger in certain sites. Posters, like media, somtimes do not get it right and don't bother to research their sources and repeat the error over and over and over.

8) there is a board with inside information and none of us have access to it or know what is posted on it, I know about it, I met some members of it, it is way small and they don't let in others who are not in the same position to know. How do I know? After years of hearing the rumors about this board and who belonged on it, I asked a rumored member and they agreed it existed. Don't know the name, but do believe it exists. Believe that some of their information is filtered as well! Wouldn't trust stuff from there either, if it is about business dealings, not that they would share it with me. Would believe their information about Clay's personal life, but feel it is waaaaay intrusive, said the person looking from the outside in. To the best of my knowledge, rarely do the members ever let the information they have out, I say rarely because if it was never, we would never hear about them.

I believe the people with the best information are Clay's team and they should be the people to act on it, not fans. I believe in personal responsibility. I have years of upper management corporate experience, as do many of the adult members of the boards, and I understand how external things can affect delicate business negotiations, such as, say fan tirades and hate mail. The politics of a large corporation is not the same as the politics of small business or of government work (schools, etc.) or of non-profit work and cross business experience is not comparable.

OK, that pretty muck explains my position. Have I said anything new? probably not. sigh

6 degrees of separation - we all probably know something. Heck, even I know stuff that has not been posted, but I won't post it because it is filtered though my six degrees connection, not good enough, too vague, not interesting. I could make it interesting if I make up some of the missing detail though.

I call "Sorry"!

Edited August 22, 2007 by playbiller

[KAndre]

What can I say? I occasionally give in to my minions! BWAH HA HA HA! Couchie can temporarily have IWTKWLI. Very temporarily.

OK, I'll do "Yeah" and "Everything I Have". And "Opposites Attract". I'll give up some if more people participate. Maybe.

[artquest]

Can I have A Thousand Days? I love this song with the passion of a thousand spinning mirror balls!

[jmh123]

Got to consider the quality of the orchestra too. I'd like to do ETYGA and/or LAA. I'm willing to do MOAM, EIH, or HYCA, if others want to fight me for either one of those.

[Couch Tomato]

What can I say? I occasionally give in to my minions! BWAH HA HA HA!

OK, I'll do "Yeah" and "Everything I Have". And "Opposites Attract". I'll give up some if more people participate. Maybe.

Yay I can go to work now. I'm already late. I will take more if there's something left when I get home. But i have I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS and I'll go clay aiken fan on anybody else who tries to steal it. heee

Of course now..do i Have to recommend a quiana version or an Ang version. Me and CG discussed this a lot. I preferred the QUiana version..she preferred the ang version. heee I'll recommend one of each. LOL.

We had 10 people waiting for validation this morning. Welcome. I hope some decide to stay although we do NOT have super sekrit info about a Clay engagement. That post has been deleted. We apologize for not deleting it earlier. I did read that Jamar invited some folks and we welcome all of you ..just jump right in.

Ah Clay's voice..my favorite topic!!

[luckiest1]

Is anyone keeping a master list of these "I call <insert song name here>"? I'm no mod, but I can do the master list if you want.

I am not so sure it's a good idea to split up the medleys, though.

[Ansamcw]

OK...I better make that thread...

I will take note what people requested...if there are more people interested we can have more than one person doin a song..take half the venues...

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

this is fun!!!

so audio for now???

[rcknrllmom]

popular place today!!!!!!! lol

[muskifest]

Well, since IWTKWLI has already created a crack in the FCA-dom, I won't say, "PULLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZE, MAY I DO THAT ONE?!?!?!" ...

But since KAndre grabbed my other faves---Opposites Attract and Yeah , May I PLEASE have MOAM? I've grown to absolutely TREASURE that song.

So with all the mods around here , we'll have a thread with specific criteria and stuff, right?

ETA: playbiller, Much of your post had me nodding my head as I read, and this part is what I FIRMLY believe--

I believe the people with the best information don't post about it

....so that frees me to just do what I want with whatever stuff gets bandied about, you know?

Edited August 22, 2007 by muskifest