#47: That's not just any man... That's OUR man! You're a GOOD MAN, Clay Aiken!

[Couch Tomato]

eta: Where is ansa?????

ooh thanks for reminding me... it's time for her feeding. I keep her chained up in the basement.

Off to download everything, even Mandy!!

[merrieeee]

Last night Clay did indeed sing from the heart. He was thanking the supporters of his foundation. The songs were the right choice for the room and function.

During his singing you could hear a pin drop..we all were just listening to every note. He may have not been as perfect as a CD but he was imperfectly perfect. Just him and a piano, singing for us....what more could you ask for?

I would not have missed that for the world. I felt emotions welling up so many times thinking about how talented he is and how I get to be one of the lucky ones who"gets it".

[tribeca]

Last night Clay did indeed sing from the heart. He was thanking the supporters of his foundation. The songs were the right choice for the room and function.

During his singing you could hear a pin drop..we all were just listening to every note. He may have not been as perfect as a CD but he was imperfectly perfect. Just him and a piano, singing for us....what more could you ask for?

I would not have missed that for the world. I felt emotions welling up so many times thinking about how talented he is and how I get to be one of the lucky ones who"gets it".

you know once I read a CD review of Clay's and it said his singing was too perfect (?)

I listened to most of them except Sorry because it was one of my least favorite Elton John songs.

It's great the foundation had such a great turnout

and the money raised will help so many children.

[claylove]

I felt emotions welling up so many times thinking about how talented he is and how I get to be one of the lucky ones who"gets it".

merrieeee - that was just beautiful!

[Couch Tomato]

I felt emotions welling up so many times thinking about how talented he is and how I get to be one of the lucky ones who"gets it".

merrieeee - that was just beautiful!

yeah it's funny... I'm not the emotional type..but sometimes it hits me out of the blue. Even when I'm telling my sister -- this is all YOUR fault - you made me tune in to some show I had no intention of watching -- but I wouldn't change it for anything.

[jmh123]

Last night Clay did indeed sing from the heart. He was thanking the supporters of his foundation. The songs were the right choice for the room and function.

During his singing you could hear a pin drop..we all were just listening to every note. He may have not been as perfect as a CD but he was imperfectly perfect. Just him and a piano, singing for us....what more could you ask for?

I would not have missed that for the world. I felt emotions welling up so many times thinking about how talented he is and how I get to be one of the lucky ones who"gets it".

[Clayzy]

Out of all the songs he knows he picked a downer that he does not like enough to remember the words to.

Isn't that a bit of a leap, though? Supposedly one of his favorite songs on MCWL was MDYK -- which we all know was a major Aiken Random Lyric Generator moment for him in concert. I don't think I would assume that because he forgets the lyrics, he doesn't like the song.

As for his song choices -- to me, it's almost always "hey! He's singing! Good enough for me!" It may be songs he's sung several times before, but he add subtle (my term, not Clay's *g*) differences to each and every version, and I revel in the voice.

In the meantime -- heh. I watched TITM -- and honestly, will probably never watch it again. Much better than the old high school version, to be sure, but I just don't get that one. IDHTH, though -- OMG. This song has always been one of my favorites since it came out in the early 1990's, and I think Clay did a magical job with it. I'll be watching it over and over and over again.

Strange but true story for me -- this is the second song Clay has covered that has a connection to an old boyfriend. The other one was ICMYLM. I suppose you could see how THAT whole relationship turned out. Heh.

Aiken Random Lyric Generator?

[ncgurrl]

Hey

Claytonic

, I think they gave those flags away with a newspaper. I must say I felt a bit slack since I don't own a flag but I

was

wearing my aus flag thongs (umm flip-flops to the USA peeps!). Also we couldn't remember many words to "We are Australian" I was surprised at that since the kids seem to sing it ( all 150 verses

) at nearly every school concert. When they start singing it in preschool there isn't a dry eye in the house but by grade seven it's strained smiles and polite applause!!

We had a couple friends round for a BBQ and I made a green and gold salad and a pav with peppermint crisp and violet crumble lollies smashed up on top of it for the green and gold. (Yes, health food!)

I too would be happy if they changed the date since it holds a bad vibe for so many. I am also very happy to celebrate, not so much the settlement but the nation we are today. Of course we have our problems and some past wrongs to be acknowledged and redressed but there is much to be proud of. There are many worse places to live and I am thankful to be here.

WOW that is impressive, a green and gold pav! You're very creative to come up with that!

I have a couple of Aboriginal friends who are very sensitive about their situation and I hate seeing them upset about issues that mean so much to them. I also used to be good friends with one of Australia's best-known Aboriginal actresses and she taught me a lot about Australia from their perspective. She gave me her own copy of the book "Black Like Me", which means so much, especially now that cancer has robbed her of her life. There's been much progress since then but we still need to do a LOT more. My biggest problem with Australia is that we still pledge allegiance to the Queen and after what happened with PM Gough Whitlam, the day we cut loose from those apron-strings and have our own unique flag is the day I will wave the Aussie flag and truly celebrate my grown-up country. However, having said that, I agree with you... this is one of the best places in the world to live and I feel very fortunate to be here.

ETA:

Vote on the online poll. Should the date of Australia Day be changed?

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24961907-421,00.html

I forgot to include this link which one of my Aboriginal friends sent me.

Ausdon,

please vote! I am putting this here rather than sending to you privately in case anyone else is interested to read about it. Australian politics isn't important enough for the super-powers but I know there will always be a few humanitarians who care about the plight of our Aborigines. The YES vote is dismal at this stage; it's sad that so few care that we are celebrating a historical date considered to be a day mourning for the Aborigines. They don't get it, they don't understand the power of symbolism. A change of date won't change history, but it will be a powerful symbol for reconciliation. We need a date that is INCLUSIVE of ALL Australians. (Love that word "inclusive", since it means everyone counts....)

aikim/liney

, re our conversation about accountability and personal responsibility. The Aborigines are accused of being lazy, 'bludgers' and drunks and told by white Australia to take personal responsibility and be accountable. The thing is, the ancestors of white Australia invaded their land in 1788 and tried to exterminate them. As recently as the late 1960s, they were considered to be part of flora and fauna, i.e. not counted as human inhabitants in the census. Basically, they've been "chopped off at the knees" and then expected to "pull up their socks" just because they've been handed a few "special privileges". Their life expectancy is drastically lower than the average non-Aboriginal Australian. It's not that simple to recover from generations of abuse and discrimination, particularly when the reminders are always there. This is basically what I mean about situations where the cycle is repeated because they don't know any other way. Education is really the only light at the end of the tunnel.

I have visited Australia five times since 1995. My first trip was to a conference held in Darwin. I visited Bathurst Island (Tiwi Islands north of Darwin) and did the bush tucker tour. Since it was a small group the guide was pretty open about how plopping down some western style homes in the bush for Aboriginal people to live in just did not work. No account was made for the importance of fire in the people's lives. What did work was building basic walled shelters with shuttered windows that could be thrown open with outside cooking campfire areas. It was school break while I was there so no children were around in town. The families all headed for the bush during break and taught the kids their own cultural traditions. Art is a major part of the Tiwi culture and of the economy of community. There are some good photographs of the Tiwi in the book Portrait of a People. If you ever get a chance to visit Darwin, take a day and go out to Bathurst Island. There are travel restrictions as it is isolated and there are no hotels so I believe you still have to go via a tour.

The tour was a good experience and made some of the conference talks more interesting as I could put them in context. Providing library service to an Aboriginal community has some challenges. Those running oral and photo history projects have to be aware of culturally dictated boundaries. One library back in Darwin that we visited had closed stacks because that was the only way people would trust their stories to the library. The purpose of the library was to support the land claims of the Aboriginal people. It was a difficult task when the transactions had no paper trails or the artifacts fell under cultural taboos. Just keeping hold of the evidence was tricky when at the end of the trials/hearings the artifacts disappeared into the homes of the judges and lawyers.

The stolen generation story was just coming out in the public media so that was quite a revelation. Mixed race children had to be saved so they were removed/taken/stolen from their mothers and placed in white homes. Some children had good lives while others were basically servants. All lost a portion of their cultural identity. The results are still a source of pain and controversy.

The history of Australia is unique in that the original white settlers were for the most part not there by their own volition and the country was not familiar to them in climate or in landscape. The people already inhabiting the continent were certainly not familiar either. A culture clash exists to this day with the old and the new. One would think that a people who were thrust upon a new continent might be more accepting of others who came later but that is often not the case. Australia is a wonderful and beautiful place with a fascinating story that is still unfolding.

I made some dear friends in my travels to Australia, one of whom talked to Clay during the IT in Houston. But that is another story, as is how her daughter's ex mother-in-law is a fan of Clay. I wonder if she is on any boards?

[luckiest1]

Out of all the songs he knows he picked a downer that he does not like enough to remember the words to.

Isn't that a bit of a leap, though? Supposedly one of his favorite songs on MCWL was MDYK -- which we all know was a major Aiken Random Lyric Generator moment for him in concert. I don't think I would assume that because he forgets the lyrics, he doesn't like the song.

I'd say it was more of a long jump than a bit of a leap. He obviously likes the song if he chooses to perform it. And the ARLG can kick in at any moment! It CMSU. One of my favourite moments from the October BAF gala was when he sang "just like the thunder needs the rain" in WIDTL, which caused luckiestdaughter to burst out laughing (and also caused a few of the people sitting around us to glare at her). Apparently Clay found it amusing too, because he commented "it's sad that you caught that!" with a grin in her general direction. Hee, yeah, she knows there were probably others who caught it, but can you blame her for wanting to believe he was talking to her? *g*

I always get a kick out of the little things that make live performances special. I was one who loved all the goofing off during the JBT, too.

[annabear]

Out of all the songs he knows he picked a downer that he does not like enough to remember the words to.

Isn't that a bit of a leap, though? Supposedly one of his favorite songs on MCWL was MDYK -- which we all know was a major Aiken Random Lyric Generator moment for him in concert. I don't think I would assume that because he forgets the lyrics, he doesn't like the song.

As for his song choices -- to me, it's almost always "hey! He's singing! Good enough for me!" It may be songs he's sung several times before, but he add subtle (my term, not Clay's *g*) differences to each and every version, and I revel in the voice.

In the meantime -- heh. I watched TITM -- and honestly, will probably never watch it again. Much better than the old high school version, to be sure, but I just don't get that one. IDHTH, though -- OMG. This song has always been one of my favorites since it came out in the early 1990's, and I think Clay did a magical job with it. I'll be watching it over and over and over again.

Strange but true story for me -- this is the second song Clay has covered that has a connection to an old boyfriend. The other one was ICMYLM. I suppose you could see how THAT whole relationship turned out. Heh.

Aiken Random Lyric Generator?

Also known as ARLG - the fandom's affectionate reference to Clay's occasional memory lapses in the middle of songs. *g*

Is that one in the glossary, claytonic?

[Couch Tomato]

I want to go to Australia. Sounds like a fascinating history.

Remember when you say you love me..he used to freak that song up quite a bit.

[annabear]

To me, that's part of the fun of a Clay Aiken concert! You're singing along and suddenly you're like, what is HE singing?

[KAndre]

Aiken Random Lyric Generator?

Our dear Mr. Aiken (bless his little pea-pickin' heart) all the fuckin' time constantly occasionally makes up entire verses hasn't actually learned the words to any songs sings random words/lyric /songs. I love him for it!

We know for a fact he doesn't lip sync.

[luckiest1]

Hee, yep, he used to goof up WYSYLM quite a bit! He also used to do the cutest little dance at times.....

[tribeca]

To me, that's part of the fun of a Clay Aiken concert! You're singing along and suddenly you're like, what is HE singing?

yeah that

remember listening to him singing This is the Night

he was suppose to say the word Right

and

said the word wrong

I need to watch that again it cracks me up

[ncgurrl]

Out of all the songs he knows he picked a downer that he does not like enough to remember the words to.

Isn't that a bit of a leap, though? Supposedly one of his favorite songs on MCWL was MDYK -- which we all know was a major Aiken Random Lyric Generator moment for him in concert. I don't think I would assume that because he forgets the lyrics, he doesn't like the song.

I'd say it was more of a long jump than a bit of a leap.

I call it my personal opinion. A bit of speculative perhaps, but as valid as most opinions about Clay which means not particularly valid at all. Now, comparing Sorry to Mary Did You Know? is a jump over the Grand Canyon on a motocycle for me.

ETA to change 'any' to 'most'

[georgiesmybaby]

I would not have missed that for the world. I felt emotions welling up so many times thinking about how talented he is and how I get to be one of the lucky ones who"gets it".

Merrieeee, just lovely. Thank you for expressing how I feel better than I ever could. And thanks to you...and all of the fans who attended GFI...for being there last night and shining all of our love and affection down on that brave beautiful man.

I hate the fans who whine about covers and complain about what he sings ad infintum. So hope I didn't come across that way regarding Mandy. I think for me, there have been two songs Clay has ever perfomed that I would sometimes skip to get to other songs. I didn't "hate" those songs, I'd just want to get to songs which I loved much more. And it really wasn't his performance, because he always sang them beautifully, so much as my feelings connected to those two songs.

With Mandy, I attended a religious college for a time, full of heavy censorship, and Barry Manilow was literally played non stop at the expense of many other artists. He was one of the few artisits they deemed "suitable" for their radio. He even perfomed live there...and they made him rewrite some of his lyrics. I kid you not. Barry freakin' Manilow. So for me that song carried a lot of memory baggage.

The really funny thing is...Clay has now performed both of those songs live at Galas and I have come to really love them. One of them, I'd even marry, if I could. Yes, there are other "great" voices in our world, but there is no other voice quite like his. Not for me, anyway.

And even before my "epiphany" with those two songs, given a choice...I would have preferred to listen to Clay singing just those two songs over and over again for ages rather than any other song(s) by any other performer out there. I adore him and his voice. So much so that I have a really tough time when people ask "what's your favorite Clay song or songs?" I love them all a thousand different ways and for a thousand different reasons.

Missed the Bill and Lynda show. Must find. :thRoadRunner:

[justclay12]

To me, that's part of the fun of a Clay Aiken concert! You're singing along and suddenly you're like, what is HE singing?

yeah that

remember listening to him singing This is the Night

he was suppose to say the word Right

and

said the word wrong

I need to watch that again it cracks me up

Which one was this? I wanna see too. Unfortunately for me, I have the attention span of a gnat so unless Clay cracks on himself or somebody mentions it, I would have no idea if he was singing the right words or not. He could be singing in latin for all I'd notice. Doesn't matter to me anyway cuz I just love his voice.

I'm also one who enjoys when he goofs up or plays around on stage. One of the many things I love about that Clay Aiken guy is that he is never boring.

And Couchie, I am so glad your sister sucked you in to watching AI cuz otherwise I would never have met you and I also would probably have had to sleep in my car after Clay's closing night.

[tribeca]

JustClay

I don't know if I could find it again. It was in a montage that someone made and some where taken down during the Etrue Hollywood thing. I watched a lot after my car accident

georgie'sbaby

don't hate me too much because I dislike covers. I dislike them from all artist not just Clay. just prefer new music

[merrieeee]

OOh the one thing I forgot to mention, about last night, was that someone thought I was 10 years younger than I am.....Best weekend evah!!!

[liney23]

OOh the one thing I forgot to mention, about last night, was that someone thought I was 10 years younger than I am.....Best weekend evah!!!

merrieeee... Congrats!!! That is the frosting on the cake!

[cindilu2]

Gosh. I think I gots a cry in my eye.

I'd have to say that Proud Of Your Boy alone would be worth the price of admission. THANK YOU SO MUCH goldarngirl & Scarlett for the video. What a treasure. Clay is a good man. ETA: thank you also to deborah760 for the audio, and farouche and the cellcerter(s) for letting 'us' be there with you. We are a lucky fandom!

tribeca, I think the key words of georgiesmybaby's comment about the covers-hating are 'ad nauseum'. Nobody says anybody has to love everything he sings, evah. (Not even me ) And certainly, nobody says you have to love covers. However the fact is that he sings them, he's said he's going to sing them on his next CD, and by all appearances (including his own admission) he loves singing them. So complaining/criticizing ad nauseum about them at this stage of the game just seems... redundant. And yes, I'll say it again, there's a world of difference between repeatedly saying how much you enjoy/admire something and repeatedly saying how much you hate it, at least as it applies to posting on a fan-board. JMO and all the usual disclaimers.

[merrieeee]

Logged out at the OFC. Send email. Get email saying membership extended. Try to log back in. Invalid Account. Send email. New Password. Password Invalid. Send another email. New Password. Password Invalid. Six minutes later. Try log in again. Password expired-it has been over 24 hours!

There definition of 24 hours is a little bit different than mine. I officially give up.

[ncgurrl]

Gosh. I think I gots a cry in my eye.

I'd have to say that Proud Of Your Boy alone would be worth the price of admission. THANK YOU SO MUCH goldarngirl & Scarlett for the video. What a treasure. Clay is a good man. ETA: thank you also to deborah760 for the audio, and farouche and the cellcerter(s) for letting 'us' be there with you. We are a lucky fandom!

tribeca, I think the key words of georgiesmybaby's comment about the covers-hating are 'ad nauseum'. Nobody says anybody has to love everything he sings, evah. (Not even me ) And certainly, nobody says you have to love covers. However the fact is that he sings them, he's said he's going to sing them on his next CD, and by all appearances (including his own admission) he loves singing them. So complaining/criticizing ad nauseum about them at this stage of the game just seems... redundant. And yes, I'll say it again, there's a world of difference between repeatedly saying how much you enjoy/admire something and repeatedly saying how much you hate it, at least as it applies to posting on a fan-board. JMO and all the usual disclaimers.

The last time I got told by another poster that my opinion was not wanted because it was not the majority opinion I disappeared for a year from the board. I do not think I will take that route this time. Since no one has even remotely hinted that their dislike of covers, sad songs, strings, and/or loud out of tune pianos equates with dislike of Clay I will remain of the opinion that it is ok to say any and all of those things on a fan board even if others think it is being done "ad nauseum."

[cindilu2]

Gosh. I think I gots a cry in my eye.

I'd have to say that Proud Of Your Boy alone would be worth the price of admission. THANK YOU SO MUCH goldarngirl & Scarlett for the video. What a treasure. Clay is a good man. ETA: thank you also to deborah760 for the audio, and farouche and the cellcerter(s) for letting 'us' be there with you. We are a lucky fandom!

tribeca, I think the key words of georgiesmybaby's comment about the covers-hating are 'ad nauseum'. Nobody says anybody has to love everything he sings, evah. (Not even me ) And certainly, nobody says you have to love covers. However the fact is that he sings them, he's said he's going to sing them on his next CD, and by all appearances (including his own admission) he loves singing them. So complaining/criticizing ad nauseum about them at this stage of the game just seems... redundant. And yes, I'll say it again, there's a world of difference between repeatedly saying how much you enjoy/admire something and repeatedly saying how much you hate it, at least as it applies to posting on a fan-board. JMO and all the usual disclaimers.

The last time I got told by another poster that my opinion was not wanted because it was not the majority opinion I disappeared for a year from the board. I do not think I will take that route this time. Since no one has even remotely hinted that their dislike of covers, sad songs, strings, and/or loud out of tune pianos equates with dislike of Clay I will remain of the opinion that it is ok to say any and all of those things on a fan board even if others think it is being done "ad nauseum."

That's what you got from my post? Because that's not what I said. *shrug*