#18: He has always had the VOICE! But, boy has he ever learned to use his instrument!

[atinal]

I'm going to post one more thing about lyrics. Sometimes they catch you by surprise. In this case I'll use the example of Grown Up Christmas List. I had heard Kelly sing the song, I'd loved it by Quiana. When I heard her sing it the first time the hair stood up on my arms. It wasn't until Clay sang it that I really listened to and felt the lyrics. The meaningful lyrics were always there, but they didn't touch me until I heard Clay sing them. It's one of those songs for me, if I'm feeling a little down, I'll click on that GMA clip of him singing that song and it will just wash a peaceful feeling over me. For me, that song, as sung by Clay, is a perfect example of melody. lyrics and singer interpretation.

[Couch Tomato]

KAndre I have no doubt you can get that silly little show moved to Houston.

Atinal for me it's Good News for the hard core occassions. His voice on anythign for just the garden variety stressors.

I've decided that my days of lurking on the board doing the day are over. Lunch only and then in the evening. Let's see how long I last.

[muskifest]

I'm going to post one more thing about lyrics. Sometimes they catch you by surprise. In this case I'll use the example of Grown Up Christmas List. I had heard Kelly sing the song, I'd loved it by Quiana. When I heard her sing it the first time the hair stood up on my arms. It wasn't until Clay sang it that I really listened to and felt the lyrics. The meaningful lyrics were always there, but they didn't touch me until I heard Clay sing them. It's one of those songs for me, if I'm feeling a little down, I'll click on that GMA clip of him singing that song and it will just wash a peaceful feeling over me. For me, that song, as sung by Clay, is a perfect example of melody. lyrics and singer interpretation.

Yes! Yes! Yes! (tmMegRyan) Exactly! That song was "good" for me when Quiana sang it---the way other songs are good when someone with a strong, sweet voice delivers beautiful notes. But I was in tears watching and listening to Clay's version on GMA. I heard and felt the words and meaning. Knowing how Clay himself is so empathetic with the peacemakers and love-givers in the world made the message all the more powerful, and I LOVE that song now.

Ah...another day. Sorta overcast here today with rain likely later, I imagine. I discovered a little coffee shop near my office this morning---just stumbled into it when I for some unknown reason decided to walk down a street I usually don't use. And I spent 30 minutes in a comfy corner chair, reading a novel, sipping my latte and listening to jazz softly playing. Nice way to start the day.

Hey! I just realized that we don't have a coffee drinking emoticon here---an oversight that MUST be remedied! (I hope.)

Have a good one, women! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[cha cha trusty]

claygary - beautiful pictures - but what is a "Studio Tour"?? I must have missed that part.

I am not caught up and I had to skip a few pages, as I have been paying more attention to RL in the past few days!

Some things I've done in the past week or so:

• seen "Across the Universe" - highly recommend it!!

gone to niece's to watch Lost and have wine and snacks

gone the the Green Festival in DC

gone to daughter and SIL's for dinner

gone bowling with sis and bil and nieces and all their kids

had a massage and scheduled a colonoscopy

booked a hotel for NYC NS Tribute - eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

watched all the tivo'd shows I missed while doing all that other stuff!

WOW - that was a lot of stuff!

Tonight I'm going to the SYTYCD show in Baltimore.

So I am glad to see that you're still talking about ATD and here's what I thought about it in the shower this morning....

It's really the pace of the song that always bothered me. I find it plodding, boring and dull. The lyrics are a bit cheesey, but it's hard to find a song with any meaning these days whose lyrics aren't bordering on the cheesey side. I sang it in the shower (and OMG I remembered all the lyrics!) in a much faster pace, and with the tempo stepped up I like it a lot more.

I agree with what someone said about Clay's demo of Wind Beneath My Wings. He has a tendency to slow songs down too much, and I think that's what he did with that and also to his demo of Unchained Melody. UM is a favorite of mine, my fave version being Clay AI version.

I also feel the same about LAA - even tho I FLOVE LAA - I really think it would be a great uptempo song. I can see someone else doing a cover of it sometime in the future, with more guitars and drums and a lot faster. JMHO!!! YMMV!!! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[muskifest]

Let's see how long I last

BWAH! I see you down there, Couchie!

[YSRN]

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.

Wow, I never defined it that way, but ME TOO!! And I know EXACTLY which "stars" you mean. 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". And now I'm going to have to go listen to a bunch of song because I need a time for each moment that Clay holds on to a note tight in his throat and you can hear him release that little catch that opens up his throat and lets the note finish. (muski oughta have a field day with that! Hee!)

I think with Clay's voice, I really don't listen to the whole song like with other songs... cuz it's not the song; it's the voice, and the little vocal tricks that just happen.

Honestly, I've listened (heh) to Listen a bunch of times, and I have no idea what the song means. But I love that part where Clay sings reallllllly low before he belts out his word, not that I know what the word is. LOL!

I think that's also why I can like YWT or More To This Life, because I just like the expression of meaning in the first and the cadence of the second... but if I were going for the "message" of either... they're entirely lost on me.

Hurry, someone else post...don't leave me hangin' here all alone!!!! Weeee...toppers!!

Hey, there's no strikeout on QuickEdit.

[jmh123]

OK, OK. Rescuing YSRN, although I have no content.

[YSRN]

Aww, my hero.

[saltwaterdog]

My first laugh of the morning:

Maybe....but not as improved as if they were "spinning like a lucky beyotch on Clay Aiken's beautiful humongous....

Second laugh of the day:

I might comment to her that I love a certain poster on a board, that I agree with everything they say and it'll turn out that she scrolls past that person becoss she disagrees vehemently with their views.

All RIGHT! Which one of you doesn't like smut. :glare:

I KNOW you're talking about ME! I just KNOW it! I know that people get sick of all my smut. I just KNOW it!

And you know what I say to that? DO YOU?

Yeah! That's what I say to that.

huh? :thsigns053:

You WEREN'T talking about me?

Oh.

Never mind.

Seriously, about the above, I often edit, edit and re-edit posts, only to think 30 minutes later, "why the heck did I say that?". The smilies do help, as a number of people have said. When I find it most difficult to express myself is when I want to bring something up that's important to me, but not do it in a way that comes across either too strident or makes a joke of the subject. I'm not very good at the middle ground, although that is what I might feel. As bookwhore knows, I'm thin-skinned about a number of issues, but I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to point out when something bothers me - I often feel hypocritical if I don't say anything when an issue is quite important to me (in RL or cyberspace).

I think one of the most interesting things about reading others' opinions is that I might think, "hmm, I never thought of it like that." Recently I said that "Iris" was one of two songs that Clay has covered that I reaaally didn't like and quite a few people said they really liked it. I thought I might give it another try. If I still don't like it, well, at least I gave it another thought. An insignificant example, probably, but pretty true for me in RL.

I think with Clay's voice, I really don't listen to the whole song like with other songs... cuz it's not the song; it's the voice, and the little vocal tricks that just happen.

I get caught up in the sighs, growls, puffs of air at the ends of the words, vocal tone, the crispness of consonants at the end of phrases, and I suppose I could say "syllables", like duckyvee.

Claygary, beautiful pictures! I can feel the cold edge to the air and hear the crunch of the leaves underfoot.

[liney23]

Ohhh, oh, can I play?/?

I LOVE the way he sings "back" in Welcome Back, Kotter. Makes me swoon ev.er.y time!

[muskifest]

Ah, the Clay Aiken Enunciator Machinery....

Well, count me among any others who do NOT enjoy the way Clay often pronounces "Yew" for "you"...when he's reaching or trying to hold a high note on that word. Of course, right now I can't think of a damned example, but I know that when I'm bopping around, walking the dog while listening to my iPod, the sound of those 'yuhoh -- ew's" hurts my ears!

However, I FLOVE his last "ease" (as in ease my mind) in the AI finale BOTW...

and the low, rich, smooth "life" somewhere in "I Could Not Ask For More" during AI.

[jamar1700]

I think one of the most interesting things about reading others' opinions is that I might think, "hmm, I never thought of it like that."

I've always said I think the boards are a good study in communication and group dynamics. One of my other real eye opening experiences in that regard was being on a hung jury. Really. You walk into that room knowing what you think is important and find out that others dismissed it out of hand and vice versa. Reasonable doubt sounds like something that everyone would agree on but as we all find out in life what one person thinks is perfectly reasonable another person does not. And believe it or not there is not a legal definition of the word reasonable *g*

I think that many descriptors are just subjective. Words like cheesy, banal, trite and bombastic. I don't care if someone else finds my taste beneath them. So be it. It certainly won't ever affect my enjoyment.

I just finished my Rain playlist (thanks to YSRN!) & finally gave it to E's nowXBF. He looked at it, laughed and said...Oooo from the Sublime (Prince) to the ridiculous (Milli Vanilli) ... I like it! It's so you!

[duckyvee]

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:

[merrieeee]

I was going to do a "couchie" today and try not to keep the board open all day...but no such luck you suckered me back in!

Anyway..

Ah, the Clay Aiken Enunciator Machinery....

Quite frankly, I think there are way too many to mention, that I love but here are a couple.

Merrie Christmas With Love....the vibrato on "Merrie" at about 3:25 (not that I studied it or anything)

Solitaire...there is a point where he really sounds the "K" during it right, before the big note, it gets me every time.

And just to hear him sing the word "baby" and I am a gonner!

I also love how he cannot sing the word "love" in some songs. It comes out sounding like low!

Now I'm going to have to listen to these songs all over again...what a chore*g*

[YSRN]

I think one of the most interesting things about reading others' opinions is that I might think, "hmm, I never thought of it like that." Recently I said that "Iris" was one of two songs that Clay has covered that I reaaally didn't like and quite a few people said they really liked it. I thought I might give it another try. If I still don't like it, well, at least I gave it another thought. An insignificant example, probably, but pretty true for me in RL.

I love Iris. I know a lot of people can't stand it. But it just kills me (in a good way) every single time.

And, shut.up, but I think it's the lyrics. Hee!

Well, count me among any others who do NOT enjoy the way Clay often pronounces "Yew" for "you"...when he's reaching or trying to hold a high note on that word. Of course, right now I can't think of a damned example, but I know that when I'm bopping around, walking the dog while listening to my iPod, the sound of those 'yuhoh -- ew's" hurts my ears!

Totally with you. The yooohuou, whatever it is... it sounds lazy or something to me. It makes me crazy...he does it in IWCY a LOT.

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 was going to do a "couchie" today and try not to keep the board open all day...but no such luck you suckered me back in!

Anyway..

Ah, the Clay Aiken Enunciator Machinery....

Quite frankly, I think there are way too many to mention, that I love but here are a couple.

Merrie Christmas With Love....the vibrato on "Merrie" at about 3:25 (not that I studied it or anything)

Solitaire...there is a point where he really sounds the "K" during it right, before the big note, it gets me every time.

And just to hear him sing the word "baby" and I am a gonner!

I also love how he cannot sing the word "love" in some songs. It comes out sounding like low!

Now I'm going to have to listen to these songs all over again...what a chore*g*

Babyungh in At This Moment. GUH!!

A little hope, goes up in smoKe. Yeah, baby!

...the way I lowww you. Awww. ::LOVE::

Gloorrryus morn from OHH. Swoon.

And of course the last note from All is Well from Merrillville is like watching The Catch.

I have to go find more now, and I'm gonna make a list. See ya in a year.

[saltwaterdog]

I think one of the most interesting things about reading others' opinions is that I might think, "hmm, I never thought of it like that." Recently I said that "Iris" was one of two songs that Clay has covered that I reaaally didn't like and quite a few people said they really liked it. I thought I might give it another try. If I still don't like it, well, at least I gave it another thought. An insignificant example, probably, but pretty true for me in RL.

I love Iris. I know a lot of people can't stand it. But it just kills me (in a good way) every single time.

And, shut.up, but I think it's the lyrics. Hee!

Now you really got me! I love the lyrics to that song, too. Sell me on this here - which is a good version to download? I'll use it as my reward for actually getting some paperwork done today, instead of drooling over those "good and bad bangs" pictures!

[YSRN]

Crap, I have to meet a client for lunch, so it'll have to be later... but try Toronto Canfly... (and ignore the Yohuu in the middle - heh!), but the breath after the first You is realllllly nice.

[Couch Tomato]

Let's see how long I last

BWAH! I see you down there, Couchie!

Oh shut up

I was very good so far. I did pop in to see if KAndre responded to my PM. But then I popped out..and now I'm taking lunch one hour and a half earlier than normal but the spirit of what I was trying to do is intact.

Chacha..just sang LAA fast..heee yep it works.

:PickMe-1: You know in Unchained Melody on Idol when he hits the high note.. NEED.... for me it's the "I" after that that makes me swooon every time. I NEEEEEEEEEEED your love... "I" sigh

[luckiest1]

The note that always gets me is the first "beeee-uhhhhhh" at 1:07 in I Know How The River Feels. It's....pure. Gives me goosebumps.

Back to work.

[muskifest]

And of course the last note from All is Well from Merrillville is like watching The Catch.

BWAH! and

Of course, those not in the Bay Area or familiar with 49er history might not 'get it'...

Wouldn't it be loverly if all I had to do was go through clack to find those syllables or notes or pronunciations of all things Clay? I want that job.... :PickMe-1:

Instead, here I am...planning a conference...

Why me? WHY ME?

Yeah, I know....

:boo-hoo:

(heh...I just had to write something that required that last emoticon....just HAD to :19: )

[saltwaterdog]

Crap, I have to meet a client for lunch, so it'll have to be later... but try Toronto Canfly... (and ignore the Yohuu in the middle - heh!), but the breath after the first You is realllllly nice.

Yep, you're right - that breath is hott! But, sorry, I'm not convinced on the rest of it. But I'm willing to watch more. The best part for me was the next song LLVL, not so much at first, but after he gets into it. I remember how fun it was.

[Kareneh]

Ah......those little breaths at the end......I always called them air humps. No, idea where that came from but I remember that from the beginning.

As weird as this sounds I should have been in bed a couple of hours ago. Tomorrow we're off to the bazaar.....where my pitiful bartering skills will make me the laughing stock of the marketplace. Anyway, I stayed up late to work on some summer tour photos since summer is long over now. Here's one from Houston I called Black & Light.

I sometimes get my "gahs" and my "guhs" mixed up.....perhaps a little dose of linguistics from a well oiled enunciation machine would take care of that.....since sometimes the vowel sounds you make are equal to the love you take.....yeah, I know that's backwards, but it worked better.

Editing in another one....

[Guest Toots]

Karen Eh, how are you finding Baku? Going to the Bazaar sounds so interesting, I'd love to hear about it when you return with the things you acquired using your bartering skills. I used to love to barter at the local auction and actually saved a lot of money in the process. My DLH would get a little embarrassed at my attempts but he was always proud of me when we saved money. That was bartering western style, you face a whole new challenge in Baku but I guess that's the way they do business.

Have you been successful in your house hunting? I've read that Baku is pretty western because of the oil industry, how do you find the culture?

[PuddinsJoy]

Yeah, I know....

:boo-hoo:

BWAH!! CMSU muskifest!!

*right click save*

Good Lord KarenEh! Thank you for the beauty!!

[muskifest]

KarenEh! :F_05BL17blowkiss: I want to barter in Baku, too!

You know, Clay looked sorta 'used'---in a good way----in Houston, didn't he? Sorta rough and scruffy and hot and tousled?

I've hit a block here at work. Overload. Too much to do--too many tasks and details to manage for the upcoming conference, yet still MAJOR, higher level things to put in motion for 2008 conferences---(already WAY behind there) and feeling VERY much like ONE SINGLE HUMAN BEING!

I need....

I need....

yeah, that.