#22: Which brings us to Clay Aiken, as most good conversations should

[lightmyfire]

cindilu2 In response to your question to me, I have followed Clay since

Always and Forever. I have viewed a total of 5 pieces of clack.<snip>

Does this mean the you did not watch the interview from 11/02 pre-idol?

No, who interviewed him? I perhaps have read commentary regarding it, but

I have never viewed it. What is the subject of the interview?

I wish I had your resolve when it came to snack food.

ETA: Your five or so peices of clack are like my "he's only had 3 bad hair days hee" Do you remember which clack you watched?

TITN - Raleigh AI2

TFN - NYC

GBOF medley and ICMYLM - of the JBT

Kimmel episode on the horse the night after it broadcasted

[playbiller]

BWAH Moanica has surfaced at the Clayboard!

[cindilu2]

cindilu2 In response to your question to me, I have followed Clay since

Always and Forever. I have viewed a total of 5 pieces of clack. I understand

that this board will always support the clack gatherers with great passion and I

respect that stance. I just had the desire to express my feelings on the issue

at the present time as Clay's Broadway debut is fast approaching and it is an

interesting topic of discussion.

Thank you, lightmyfire. It was an honest question, and I appreciate the answer. I applaud anyone who supports their stance with actions. There have been a few things over the years that I have had strong objections to being 'Clacked', and I haven't ever downloaded them or watched them. Even the skating event stuff - I have seen some, but not by my hand. I confess to having downloaded them for the future. *blush*

ETA: In my defense, I never objected to (and greatly appreciate the fact that they did it) Clay's part being captured. Thank goodness! since it'll probably not be on the air. I only questioned the wisdom of making it so widely available before the show ever aired.

[playbiller]

As to what the link was that I posted here - it was an interview of Clay run by WRAl once before Clay went off to the Hollywood week trials. I find it interesting in a past history perspective, l;ike this is what he was like before he knew what he was in for in Hollywood. I like the cute picture of Brett standing in the doorway watching his brother in a what the? sort of way. How their lives did change.

Mostly I watch the news clack from local stations that I would not have access to, such as WRAL. While I should write to WRAl and ask them if they would re post it at their sites, I doubt they keep such things so I have what I have.

Ithink there are several levels of clack

There is news clack - blink and you mmiss it, or it is not available

There is News TV show clack - some of which is never rerun

There is live TV clack which does not get rerun, like the two endings to the wild card

There is TV rerunable stuff, like scrubs and Nick

There is behind the scenes TV clack - like the skating clack and the Disney parade clack - which caused a real problem for the girl who took it, since she negotiated with Disney not to release it until after the show

There is early clack - hometown connection, or Raleigh boys choir, etc

There is concert clack

I thinkit is valid to have different responses to each variation.Personally, I am hooked on news clack. Must.see.it.all

Entertainment TV clack is good, but I also have it on tape

Early clack is interesting in a look he is doing it still way, but I am only mildly entertained by it.

Concert clack is way available now, I used to download it all when it was hard to get, but now, I download very little, maybe one piece per show. I guess becaue I know it is there most of the time. I appreciate it, but I am lazy about it.

[keepingfaith]

There is live TV clack which does not get rerun, like the two endings to the wild card

What are the two endings to the wild card?

After I got into the online fandom in Summer 2006, I spent untold hours reliving AI2 for the first time since the live shows, interspersed with downloaded JBT clack, and the AI5 finale Xvid clack from Scarlett (about 25 times a day on a slow day). It changed my life.

I love the news stuff, too. I was ecstatic last year when Clay was on the morning TV show in LA between Kimmel and LKL. All the things we'd never ever see without a capture and release.

[Clayzorback]

I used to get up in the middle of the night to see if clack of concerts had been posted...now...I don't even listen to the cellstream. I've downloaded a couple of clips from Wichita this time around, watched them and then tossed them. I never did watch the downloads of the ice skating show...

I haven't watched any of Clay's new songs this time. I dunno...it's very strange for me....I still love the guy to death but I don't have the need to watch the same song from different venues, or even from one venue.

Is there something wrong with me?

If there is something wrong with you, then I have it too. LOL In fact I don't even collect all the pictures of Clay anymore and I have, *gasp*, even deleted a ton of old clack and photos. Love Clay but I have never had the desire to go to 20 venues of the same concert. I guess I'm a weird duck of a fan. I don't watch half of the clack available anymore. The only thing I have downloaded from this tour is two videos from Wichita and the jazz medley of Scarlett's from Kalamazoo. I haven't watched any of the stories or listened to either of the girls solos. Just Clay and his beautiful voice. It was awesome to hear him not be overpowered by other vocals or the orchestra, in the clack I watched. However unless someone really touts the praises of something spectacular, I probably won't download any more. Ducking from the bad fan label............*g* I get off more on great reviews of his concerts than watching the same clack over and over. He is getting his fair share of good reviews for this tour, isn't he?

:F_05BL17blowkiss: Hey lightmyfire. Good to see you out posting. Too bad work is kicking your butt and my hubby is kicking mine. This is a good topic of conversation, isn't it? To clack or not to clack. I have met Scarlett and she is just the most petite sweetest person there is. She has shared generously with fans. I don't know other clack gatherers personaly but I don't want to see Scarlett get arrested, but I hope she will make the decision to not make anything public from Spamalot, if she decides to gather clack. I do agree with you that perhaps Clack unlimited should close the doors for public consumption. It just seems to me that Clack should only be made available on Clay's OFC, with his permission, and the permission of the clack gatherers. AAAND, that it not be made available on his OFC until the event or tour is over.That is if clack is going to continue to be taken, and he continues to allow it. Ideally he should be giving his fans clack instead of the fans having to take it. But that ain't gonna happen is it?

I totally agree that the Christmas concerts have a tremendous ability to bring in new fans for Clay. He has the potential to draw from the Orchestra's fan base. However, isn't that demographic, usually a little more reserved and upper crust, for lack of a better description? That is why I am so happy to see Clay giving a more professional serious concert this year. That goes over better with an orchestra's fanbase, IMHO. That demographic is more classier, say than I might be..............

I am not saying that Clay has to be the superstar that we all thought he would be. He can have a small career and still make lots of money. However, he can't have a career, big or small, if he can't tour and fill the venues. So he has to try to appeal to people outside of just his internet fandom. Of course he is multifaceted and talented in other areas. It is possible he could have a TV career and give up the singing, but boy, I would sure hate to see that happen.

I don't have time now, but I think another great topic for discussion would be CONTINUITY IN CONCERTS. Good or bad?

Going to the school's Christmas party tonight. Can't wait to eat my weight in food. Hubby's soft diet is killing me. I need substance, people. Enough with jello and yogurt and green veggies.

[lightmyfire]

With my luck, I'll not only miss 1st page, I'll also wind up at the top of 2nd. *Aaaaargh, I knew it!*

Clack is like that piece of 500-calories-a-nibble Food for the Gods confection that you know you shouldn't have but do anyway because it's a taste of of all that is good and yummy, a gentle reminder of joyful summers gone by. But AFAIK we haven't had another constitutional amendment for clack despite how "entitled" some people (not here) have started to speak about it. It's fun, it's like a game we play with the venue folks (and 7-yr old killjoys, "if-i-can't-have-any-you-can't-either") but too much can get you a tummy-ache, and it's no substitute for real joy (eg. eHP roadtrip).

Thank you so much to cindilu2 for some awesome work in the snail-mail clack area -- if you bought the TBAF CD holder, please PM your addy if you haven't already.

Many thanks too to spikesmom for a giant package of knitted items for the Striped Sock Sirens sale!!!

The venue folk are not present to play games with concert attendees, but as employees hired to perform security. I don't believe that they find the game fun. JMO.

cindilu2 You are welcome.

Ciao Clayzor Hope you enjoy tonight's festivities..heart you.

[jumpingjacks]

I can one up you, clayzor, I can't remember the last time I saved a picture of Clay to my computer. I just don't do it....never really did. Same with having an extra hard drive and such....I admire the diligence of the people who save everything but I've never felt the need.

It certainly doesn't diminish my enjoyment of all things Clay and I do like looking at the pictures...

[Couch Tomato]

Clayzor, Clay openly condoning clack on his official site will never happen. He has to guard his copyrights/trademarks whatever. He is not about to go into the business of clack.

Live Clay is something I'll never tire of. One concert is never enough for me. And it's not just economics -- you know flying 3000 miles for 1 show just makes no sense to me. Still, Every tour I study that damn schedule and I make a point to see him as many times as I can. It's a joy. And yeah I like seeing Clay friends but I wouldn't travel to see ya'll

ETA: Yay I'm getting a Xmas bonus and I was told I would have it before my vacation. And :F_05BL17blowkiss: to LdyJ who helped me pick a coat and boots today. I'm all set. Where Clay at! heee ..oh wait..still need my cuddle duds. This folks is a guarantee that the weather in Minneapolis will be 50 degrees!!

[KAndre]

KAndre, having seen American Gangster this week, is very impressed with play's detailed knowledge of the various grades of our opiate of choice...

I watch what I like repeatedly, skip what I don't and download almost everything.

Can't really stand to listen to the cellcerts because I find the sound quality on even the best really poor.

[aikim]

The only picture of Clay I have saved is my avatar (and my signed picture from the fanclub).

Kim

[ivy]

I enjoy watching clack but I don't have the time to download much of it so I pick and choose. I probably watched more at the start. I'm as much of a fan as I ever was if not more. Real life has that little habit of interfering. lol. Seriously, my life has always been my family and my job takes a lot of time. Clay's appearances are entertaining and I enjoy his concerts. The clack provides good memories. It is not a right to have clack so I value what we have. I believe those who take clack should be respectful of Clay (or any entertainer) and consider how what we consider cute or fun might be viewed by others before posting it. Probably 99.9999%+ of what is posted is fine. There are a few exceptions. But that is for each person/board to decide. If we had real DVDs from the concerts, I would buy them. Since we don't, I watch the clack and love it.

Oh and I have never saved any picture of Clay but I do download videos/audios of performances.

The cellcerts generally drive me crazy because of the noise though I've heard a few good ones. And I don't care much for chat but I think that depends on who is in chat because as I said the other day, I'm probably more of a pollyanna when it comes to Clay & Co.

[luckiest1]

Ithink there are several levels of clack

There is news clack - blink and you mmiss it, or it is not available

There is News TV show clack - some of which is never rerun

There is live TV clack which does not get rerun, like the two endings to the wild card

There is TV rerunable stuff, like scrubs and Nick

There is behind the scenes TV clack - like the skating clack and the Disney parade clack - which caused a real problem for the girl who took it, since she negotiated with Disney not to release it until after the show

There is early clack - hometown connection, or Raleigh boys choir, etc

There is concert clack

I thinkit is valid to have different responses to each variation.Personally, I am hooked on news clack. Must.see.it.all

Entertainment TV clack is good, but I also have it on tape

Early clack is interesting in a look he is doing it still way, but I am only mildly entertained by it.

Concert clack is way available now, I used to download it all when it was hard to get, but now, I download very little, maybe one piece per show. I guess becaue I know it is there most of the time. I appreciate it, but I am lazy about it.

I like this breakdown, play. I do feel differently about different types of clack. News clack, where it is just about Clay but he is not appearing live on the station, I will watch once and either file or delete. TV clack (Clay appearances that are capped) is invaluable, because it means 1) if I am not able to be home to watch it I won't miss it and 2) I can rewatch it to my heart's content later. Behind the scenes clack is wonderful and fascinating and a must download, too, even though it presents some problems, as we've been discussing today. Early clack (pre-AI) is just such a priceless gift, to me. I can't get enough of it, and I am always so thrilled when another bit shows up, whether it be audio or video or even still pictures. And then of course there is concert clack, which is my bread and butter. I'll never in my life have enough time to watch/listen to every.single.clip that I've downloaded through the years, but I just love keeping it filed so that I can pull out any performance from any city on any tour and watch/listen to it if I want to. Yeah, I guess that is my OCD side coming out. But I can never thank the clackgatherers enough for sacrificing their concert experience for the greater good.

ETA: Oooh, I forgot capped radio interviews! Luuuuurve them. It's so cool to go back and listen to them months and even years later. I could listen to him talk all day.

[Couch Tomato]

I'm so not a chat person. It has nothing to do wth Clay or whose in chat but more that it bothers my eyes. Everything moves too fast and nobody is talking in complete sentences and too much entering and exiting. It's just not my thing. I don't find it exhilarating or fun. I love our chats that take place in the normal forum..like real time talk... and full sentences.

[liney23]

Many thanks too to spikesmom for a giant package of knitted items for the Striped Sock Sirens sale!!!

Scarlett... do you take orders? I would LOVE a pair of black mittens (not gloves) and would LOVE to pay BAF for them. Can wait till after Christmas. Let me know if that if possible, cause I would love it, truly!

I LOVE clack and respect tremendously those who take it, especially that of great quality. I download lots and finally figure out my favorites and delete the rest. I had to watch every "I'm not cool" medley from last summer. I just had to.

I was not able to get to NAT or the last two JNT's, so I really appreciate it.

Live is 1000 times better than clack, but clack is a fantastic second place!

I hope no clack gatherers do anything that is uncomfortable for them with Spamalot. If we don't get it we don't. Not worth them getting in trouble. That said, we have some of the best stealth clack gathers in the world, so if anyone can do it, they can. I do, however, think it should NOT be put up on YouTube at all.

[ausdon]

Interesting discussion about clack and so many valid points made both for and against.

My 2c worth?

If it were not for clack I most likely would not be here. When I first caught Clay on Martha Stewart and then on Larry King I thought " Great Voice, cute accent, think I'll get the CD" Of course it wasn't in the shops. I don't know if any of his cds have been released in Australia. That then sent me to the internet and so I discovered message boards and clack. The clack is what made me stay. His personality as an entertainer is not apparent on a cd and it is this that the clack conveys so well. The clack does not dissuade me from seeing a concert, it does exactly the opposite,and I am sure I'm not alone in this . I would imagine that many of his foreign fans feel the same. I have zero opportunity of seeing a concert normally and very little chance of seeing any of his TV appearances so the clack is what keeps me a fan and hoping to buy cds.

When we decided to go to the USA next year I crossed my fingers that there would be a concert I could attend but I didn't hold much hope because the Christmas concerts would not be long finished and he would likely be working on the cd . I posted here my excitment about Spamalot!! (saw the travel agent yesterday,we're looking at first half of April, 6 nights in NY!!!!)

If it were not for the clack I would not know about this since I would have drifted away when I did not know what you all were excited about. I like to see and decide for myself and make up my own mind.Yes ,I agree its hard to tell from clack ( and thats why I don't often post opinions about concerts etc) but it entertains me enough that I still wanna hang around and see what happens next!!

What I really want to say with this long winded post is

:F_05BL17blowkiss: to the clack gatherers!

:F_05BL17blowkiss: to Clack Unlimited!

[cindilu2]

I just feel the need to say this. If I gave the impression that in any way, shape or form I'm not eternally grateful to the ladies who sacrifice their concert experience to capture these moments for posterity, then please let me say: nothing could be further from the truth. I love you guys. Thanks to you, we have a video-journal of the last four years of Clay's career. God knows Team Clay certainly hasn't provided us with any opportunity to have that. Believe me, if I could pay him for quality dvd's - I'd do it so fast my credit card would melt. In fact, I'd wager that Clay himself probably has some of your work tucked away on HIS hard-drive. :-)

Yes, I definitely have some issues with how some Clack is used. But that's a separate issue.

To date I have an 80gb, a 250gb, a 300gb, and an external 500gb hard drive. The last one still has a little space - it might see me through Merrillville *g*

[JennaZ]

Thanks for sharing your perspective, ausdon. I do think Clack has helped enlarge and sustain Clay's fandom. There is much in the concert videos that we don't get from CD's or sporadic television appearances. I am grateful to the many talented Clack Godesses, like Scarlett, who do what they do with courage, artistry, and discretion.

[jumpingjacks]

To date I have an 80gb, a 250gb, a 300gb, and an external 500gb hard drive. The last one still has a little space - it might see me through Merrillville *g*

:o That's a LOT of clack. What will you do with it all? I'm being serious...do you burn it to dvd or is it just there, in case you need to go back and look up something?

[cindilu2]

To date I have an 80gb, a 250gb, a 300gb, and an external 500gb hard drive. The last one still has a little space - it might see me through Merrillville *g*

:o That's a LOT of clack. What will you do with it all? I'm being serious...do you burn it to dvd or is it just there, in case you need to go back and look up something?

Hee! You think? You ought to talk to luckiest1 or goldarngirl.

I do burn some things to disc and delete (the Rewind Shows for example) and I don't have much AI2 tour or IT on my hard drives any more. I guess at least part of it is the sheer size of the clack files we get now. And I have this fear that one day the vaults will go byebye, and I just can't bear the thought of all that good stuff being lost to me.

And speaking of Clack - just watched some from DC. Lordy. I want to marry that Jazzy Medley. Then have a torrid affair with MGUCL. This boy can sang.

[Ansamcw]

I used to put clack on DVD's then one day I had to look for something specific and spent hours looking for it. Thats when I realized...I got too much.

At this point buying external hard drive for this is not an option. So now I just depend on the vaults if I need some past specific clack.

[keepingfaith]

After OOlsee posted about Target selling MCWL in the Christmas department, I had to check it out when I was in a Target yesterday. There it was on an aisle display with other Christmas albums set up to play samples. So I sampled some of the Christmas albums I had not heard, like Buble and Yamin and a couple of others. Nothing satisfied. But when I pushed the Clay button, his voice pushed all of mine. Oh my, hearing OHN and MDYK after the others ..... was a bona fide No Contest. And, yeah, I bought another copy of MCWL.

Did I dream that Clay said at M&G that he's thinking about reworking MCWL?

[luckiest1]

Hee! You think? You ought to talk to luckiest1 or goldarngirl.

Who me? My externals don't total as much as your externals!

I just d/l some NB clack, and I use GetRight as a download manager. I've reset it more than a few times, but currently it's telling me I've downloaded approx 14,500 files.

[goldarngirl]

Hee! You think? You ought to talk to luckiest1 or goldarngirl.

Who me? My externals don't total as much as your externals!

I just d/l some NB clack, and I use GetRight as a download manager. I've reset it more than a few times, but currently it's telling me I've downloaded approx 14,500 files.

Shhhhh you guys.

[jumpingjacks]

Well....goodNESS....you guys are amazing. I feel all humble and shit.....my one and only harddrive has zero Clay saved to it. *hangsheadinshame*

Yes, I did read that he talked about reworking MCWL at a M and G.