My question is for the people who think the last 2 or 3 albums sucked. If you hate the newer material so much, why do you still buy the albums and post on the message boards on a daily basis? There are plenty of bands that I used to like, but I don't bother posting on their message boards on a regular basis. V came out in 2001. BOP in 2003. Thats a long time to be bitching about a bands direction.

Nostalgia is cool, but music is different now than it was in the mid-90's. Time to deal with it.

Because I'm loyal. Being a fan of a band is very much like being a fan of a sports team. You follow them through the good and the bad.

Overall, I think some Live fans are trying convincing themselves to like the newer stuff, in my opinion...

While I agree some of this newer stuff is not nearly as creative or angst-driven as the older material, I often wonder what people would be saying if LIVE released TDTH or MJ now, after BoP and V. How would the fans respond? While I'm not saying there has been no change in quality, I feel like people are mentally preparing themselves for this album to suck no matter what and are giving it a much harder time than they would if this came out earlier in their career. If LIVE released TDTH or MJ now, do you think people would still be as positive about those two albums?

I myself would never have been a "fan" of the band if those albums came out before. I may have liked a few songs here and there, but definitely would not carry the title of fan around and want to see them everytime they visited my city.

Congratulations!

That's officially the stupidest thing I've ever heard!

Why the fuck are so many people on this board so angry? I have never said anything even slightly unkind about anyone on here. I mean, maybe that's just my personality, but I don't know any of you - and I assume most of you don't know each other. Some of you seriously need to chill out.

This post has been edited by torcatoism: Mar 20 2006, 7:37 pm

I think it's funny when you say anything remotely negative, people get all defensive. It's a matter of opinion and no one is right nor wrong.

Music is debatable. So why not debate without people getting angry?

Well that just doesn't apply to me. I consider myself a hardcore fan, TC and TDTH
is my absolute faves, I don't need to convince myself to like the new album I just do it.
It's way better than BOP, V and even MJ.
It has heart and soul and I love it believe it or not...

For what it's worth, Peter Forsberg is a stud. Now...I want my Cup in Philly since you have your gold in Sweden.

I wish this could happen, but it seems like someone's always going to get angry [about pretty much nothing].

This is kinda amusing.

A couple of points; A few people were commenting that just because this album doesn't 'rock' its no reason to dismiss it. Thats fine- a lot of music I listen to doesn't 'rock'. I like music that is structured well, has emotion, and is techinically decent. (I listen to a lot of prog nowadays- some people consider it overblown and blah blah blah but if anyone wants some beautiful, subtle, intellegent prog rock give Opeth's 'Damnation' a listen). The thing is, I don't dislike this album because it doesn't rock, I dislike it because it's pure POP. NOT what I'd choose to listen to. 3 minute songs which are just verse chorus verse chorus bridge chorus end type structures. Very repetitive, and bland. And, with lyrics that I cannot relate to. This doesn't change what I feel about Lives earlier music, which obviously means something to me.

About the staying on the board even though I no longer love the band- this is one of the 3 message boards I frequent. I have been coming to fansoflive since 2000 or 2001, when I was 12 years old. Live were my favourite band at this time. Apart from the fact that a) I enjoy discussing lives old music and b) I find these discussions very entertaining from time to time, I simply don't want to stop visiting the site. I don't see why this should affect anyone anyway; it's not like I hate the band and I'm here to get off on peoples responses to my posts.

Listening to the sample clips reminds me of the first time I listened to TDTH. The music seems to flow well, great melodies, some dramatic moments and some upbeat pop moments. Of all the previous albums, to me this sounds the most like TDTH. Listening to them loud on great headphones, they sound even better.

But I'm a little worried that these 30 seconds are the highlights of the songs. I'm not a fan of the falsetto, and the only song I hear it on is Mystery. And I bet there's a lot more! The clips all seem to be at the end of the first chorus going into the 2nd verse, which is often the highlight of Live songs. I'm hoping the intros are cool.. and not cringe-worthy like The River's. And I'm hoping not too many awkward moments.

Overall, not a sample I don't like. They're far from bland and boring, i.e. "What are we Fighting For?/Bring the people Together", and the vocals and music definitely have heart and soul!

Least Favorite: Home (keep hearing a phone ringing in there; lift my headphones and realize it's in the song, it drives me crazy ).

Favorites: Get Ready, Show, Wings (vocals @ "sometimes you got to die to be born again" are top-notch), Love Shines (love what they've done w/ the guitars when the chorus kicks in), and Night of Nights (Wow, can't wait to hear this one).

This post has been edited by Soxwsc: Mar 20 2006, 9:53 pm

Great post, but I really love that comment. I always have to check my cellphone. lol.

Aside from the occasional falsetto (Mystery and a few "oooohhhh"'s), I really feel like this is the best Ed's voice has sounded since TDTH. He's not trying as hard to impress people with his vocal range, as I felt he was on BoP. Every song on BoP had a different range, from Run Away to She. Whereas on TDTH, I feel like he stayed consistent throughout and found his comfort space.

Haha.. I'm glad I'm not the only one.
Just listened to it again and heard it at :09 and :19. It's so freakin subtle, it's almost subliminal, like "hey pick up your phone I'm comin home from the field"..