NYE Party At Think Loud Entertainment, "mingle with [CCP] and ask them all of these important q..." Options

[Lakini's Juice]

Sweet, it's on Spotify and iTunes when I check there, so I guess it's a Live album.

It's not on Spotify in The Netherlands.

[mattyeagles]

I seriously do not get where most of this Ed-bashing is coming from re: the NYE concert. Ed shattered my wildest expectations for the night and performed the songs with more intensity and seriousness than I've seen in a long time.

This was evident from the first fucking "Aaahhh" from PLOTRS

Don't believe be? Watch this.

This is how Ed has been doing the "Aaaah" at his solo shows and later Live days for years:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMax4xqS0wg
https://youtu.be/00YBaNzTKlI?t=10s

Big fucking hokey smile. A little dance at the waist. It's a joyus "Aaaahh" that welcomes sweet baby Jesus right into his heart.

Now this was the "Aaahhh" on NYE:

https://sendvid.com/l23gc1ze

It is a NIGHT AND DAY difference. This "Aaahhh" was serious. Sure it's no "Aaahhh" from the early 90s, but this "Aaahhh" was a major step in the right direction, and light years ahead of what it's been.

If this was not the first fucking thing that you noticed, then you have not been paying attention to Ed. You aren't analyzing him and looking at him objectively. You simply are pre-determined to hate him. Any objective Ed observer would have seen the difference. That moment alone should have been a huge moment of excitement, or at the minimum, a moment of relief.

I am no Ed apologist. I've been frustrated with him too. I didn't even know Live existed until 2008. In 2008, Live headlined the DC101 Chili Cookoff in Washington, DC, which triggered an uptick in airplay. I heard "All Over You" on the radio and I was hooked. I sought it out online and listened to the studio version over and over again. I then listened to the Paradiso version and my immediate reaction was "Did they replace the singer?" I was that anti-new Ed I didn't even think it was the same guy.

Ed's voice has changed. I don't think it's that bad, but what kills me is the joyous, hokey Ed. Ed kept the hokiness to a minimum the other night. Sure we saw it in bits and pieces, but guys, it's not nearly as bad as it's been. Ed made a very solid effort and took a huge turn in the right direction on NYE. 90s Ed is gone. The most we can hope for is current Ed taking the songs seriously. He did that for the most part. He brought back the crazy eyes. By the time they hit the end of the set list WD brought down the house.

There are still things that bug me about Ed that were prevalent on NYE. I CANNOT STAND the falsetto on "More Wine!" in LJ. The angry growl is what makes that line work and the falsetto kills it. We also heard a few "sweet lords" in there. But seriously, it was so minimized compared to what it has been.

If you want another piece of evidence things are headed in the right direction, get this. They didn't play Heaven. Seriously, that's a HUGE indicator of what's to come. Heaven was their last hit. A song Ed wrote about the birth of his daughter and his faith in God. I'd be hard pressed to find the last Ed solo or original Live show that excluded Heaven. It's been a playlist mainstay, even on 10 song sets, since 2003 and it wasn't there. That is Ed honoring the music that's important to his bandmates.

I really hate to say this, but if you aren't going to give Ed a chance it's time to leave. Take your memories of early Live and cherish them, because I don't know what you have to gain by following the band if you won't give Ed a chance. I would have said the same thing about people who didn't give Shinn a chance. The best analogy I can make is this: My favorite TV show is the Simpsons. By far. But it went downhill after season 10 and is now unwatchable. It pains me to see new Simpsons episodes. I really, really wish they ended it when it was good and allowed for its legacy to be what it was. But they didn't, and I don't watch the show anymore. I don't go to the Simpsons Facebook page and complain about the new eps. I simply keep the memories I have, watch the old eps, and do not interact with the new incarnation. If this is how you feel about Live, you owe it to yourself to do the same.

My overall opinion about the people who stick around to bash Ed is this: You really don't hate new Ed as much as you think you do. I think you're disappointed that he isn't who he was. I sure as fuck am. I'm also disappointed that Rolling Stone's biggest band of 1995 (beating out huge acts) never capitalized on their commercial potential and now are falling into oblivion. It sucks. Our band is great and deserves to be remembered. But if you're still here, accept that a part of you likes him. I don't believe that people are here because they love to hate. Nobody loves to hate. Hating sucks. If you have hated Ed since 1999, then you've had 18 years to find another band to gravitate to. Again, I look at the Simpsons analogy. The Simpsons stopped being good right around the time Live fell out of favor with the haters. I watched the Simpsons after it was bad. I then stopped watching and complained that it was bad. Then I walked away. That was over 10 years ago. The only reason I'd be watching the new Simpsons today would be if a part of me still liked it. It doesn't and I moved on. If you're still here 18 years later, a part of you still likes the current version of Live.

I have evidence for this. And Pokey, I'm sorry but I have to call you out. Before I do, I just want you to know you're one of my favorite contributors to the site and your analysis is very strong. I enjoy reading every one of your posts even if I think you're lying to yourself at times. Here's why I'm calling you out. You once called Purifier a damn good song then called it one of Live's worst. We talked about this on the Purifier thread but your explanation that "You hear something for the first time and then you hear it over and over and your opinion changes" can only go so far. I definitely do not like The River now as much as I did the first time, and Space Jam doesn't hold up like it did when I was a kid, but no fucking way a "damn good song" can then be one of their worst. I've never in my 27 years of life heard someone's opinion on a song change so much as that. This is the epitome of convincing yourself you hate something that you like, or are at the very least, are still warm to. Pokey aside, here's more evidence to my theory. There was SO MUCH praise for Night of Nights when SFBM came out. Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't there a thread called "How Good is Night of Nights"? Now those same people have nothing but shit to say about every track on SFBM (which I agree is their worst album).

So seriously people, to all the people who bashed Ed for NYE, I think you have three options:

1. Give Ed a chance. Watch the show again and compare each track to his solo shows. He brought it in ways he hasn't brought it for years.
2. Admit you like current Live more than you do. Still be critical, we need healthy criticism of the band. But stop acting like they're worse than Nickelback
3. If you really do hate current Live. If you've hated current Live since TDTH or V and think they have absolutely nothing left to contribute, find another band. It's such a better use of time to find new music that you like than to shit on music that you hate. You owe it to yourself. Start by listening to Lewis Del Mar. They're a great new band that would be a better use of time than bashing Live.

awesome post- nailed it! totally agree

[vivapokey]

I seriously do not get where most of this Ed-bashing is coming from re: the NYE concert. Ed shattered my wildest expectations for the night and performed the songs with more intensity and seriousness than I've seen in a long time.

This was evident from the first fucking "Aaahhh" from PLOTRS

Don't believe be? Watch this.

This is how Ed has been doing the "Aaaah" at his solo shows and later Live days for years:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMax4xqS0wg
https://youtu.be/00YBaNzTKlI?t=10s

Big fucking hokey smile. A little dance at the waist. It's a joyus "Aaaahh" that welcomes sweet baby Jesus right into his heart.

Now this was the "Aaahhh" on NYE:

https://sendvid.com/l23gc1ze

It is a NIGHT AND DAY difference. This "Aaahhh" was serious. Sure it's no "Aaahhh" from the early 90s, but this "Aaahhh" was a major step in the right direction, and light years ahead of what it's been.

If this was not the first fucking thing that you noticed, then you have not been paying attention to Ed. You aren't analyzing him and looking at him objectively. You simply are pre-determined to hate him. Any objective Ed observer would have seen the difference. That moment alone should have been a huge moment of excitement, or at the minimum, a moment of relief.

I am no Ed apologist. I've been frustrated with him too. I didn't even know Live existed until 2008. In 2008, Live headlined the DC101 Chili Cookoff in Washington, DC, which triggered an uptick in airplay. I heard "All Over You" on the radio and I was hooked. I sought it out online and listened to the studio version over and over again. I then listened to the Paradiso version and my immediate reaction was "Did they replace the singer?" I was that anti-new Ed I didn't even think it was the same guy.

Ed's voice has changed. I don't think it's that bad, but what kills me is the joyous, hokey Ed. Ed kept the hokiness to a minimum the other night. Sure we saw it in bits and pieces, but guys, it's not nearly as bad as it's been. Ed made a very solid effort and took a huge turn in the right direction on NYE. 90s Ed is gone. The most we can hope for is current Ed taking the songs seriously. He did that for the most part. He brought back the crazy eyes. By the time they hit the end of the set list WD brought down the house.

There are still things that bug me about Ed that were prevalent on NYE. I CANNOT STAND the falsetto on "More Wine!" in LJ. The angry growl is what makes that line work and the falsetto kills it. We also heard a few "sweet lords" in there. But seriously, it was so minimized compared to what it has been.

If you want another piece of evidence things are headed in the right direction, get this. They didn't play Heaven. Seriously, that's a HUGE indicator of what's to come. Heaven was their last hit. A song Ed wrote about the birth of his daughter and his faith in God. I'd be hard pressed to find the last Ed solo or original Live show that excluded Heaven. It's been a playlist mainstay, even on 10 song sets, since 2003 and it wasn't there. That is Ed honoring the music that's important to his bandmates.

I really hate to say this, but if you aren't going to give Ed a chance it's time to leave. Take your memories of early Live and cherish them, because I don't know what you have to gain by following the band if you won't give Ed a chance. I would have said the same thing about people who didn't give Shinn a chance. The best analogy I can make is this: My favorite TV show is the Simpsons. By far. But it went downhill after season 10 and is now unwatchable. It pains me to see new Simpsons episodes. I really, really wish they ended it when it was good and allowed for its legacy to be what it was. But they didn't, and I don't watch the show anymore. I don't go to the Simpsons Facebook page and complain about the new eps. I simply keep the memories I have, watch the old eps, and do not interact with the new incarnation. If this is how you feel about Live, you owe it to yourself to do the same.

My overall opinion about the people who stick around to bash Ed is this: You really don't hate new Ed as much as you think you do. I think you're disappointed that he isn't who he was. I sure as fuck am. I'm also disappointed that Rolling Stone's biggest band of 1995 (beating out huge acts) never capitalized on their commercial potential and now are falling into oblivion. It sucks. Our band is great and deserves to be remembered. But if you're still here, accept that a part of you likes him. I don't believe that people are here because they love to hate. Nobody loves to hate. Hating sucks. If you have hated Ed since 1999, then you've had 18 years to find another band to gravitate to. Again, I look at the Simpsons analogy. The Simpsons stopped being good right around the time Live fell out of favor with the haters. I watched the Simpsons after it was bad. I then stopped watching and complained that it was bad. Then I walked away. That was over 10 years ago. The only reason I'd be watching the new Simpsons today would be if a part of me still liked it. It doesn't and I moved on. If you're still here 18 years later, a part of you still likes the current version of Live.

I have evidence for this. And Pokey, I'm sorry but I have to call you out. Before I do, I just want you to know you're one of my favorite contributors to the site and your analysis is very strong. I enjoy reading every one of your posts even if I think you're lying to yourself at times. Here's why I'm calling you out. You once called Purifier a damn good song then called it one of Live's worst. We talked about this on the Purifier thread but your explanation that "You hear something for the first time and then you hear it over and over and your opinion changes" can only go so far. I definitely do not like The River now as much as I did the first time, and Space Jam doesn't hold up like it did when I was a kid, but no fucking way a "damn good song" can then be one of their worst. I've never in my 27 years of life heard someone's opinion on a song change so much as that. This is the epitome of convincing yourself you hate something that you like, or are at the very least, are still warm to. Pokey aside, here's more evidence to my theory. There was SO MUCH praise for Night of Nights when SFBM came out. Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't there a thread called "How Good is Night of Nights"? Now those same people have nothing but shit to say about every track on SFBM (which I agree is their worst album).

So seriously people, to all the people who bashed Ed for NYE, I think you have three options:

1. Give Ed a chance. Watch the show again and compare each track to his solo shows. He brought it in ways he hasn't brought it for years.
2. Admit you like current Live more than you do. Still be critical, we need healthy criticism of the band. But stop acting like they're worse than Nickelback
3. If you really do hate current Live. If you've hated current Live since TDTH or V and think they have absolutely nothing left to contribute, find another band. It's such a better use of time to find new music that you like than to shit on music that you hate. You owe it to yourself. Start by listening to Lewis Del Mar. They're a great new band that would be a better use of time than bashing Live.

lol

I am giving Ed a chance. First chance was NYE and that was shit. So the other chance is the new music. If that's shit, then I'm out. If its not shit, I'll be surprised and hey, new music to listen to.

This post has been edited by vivapokey: Jan 3 2017, 8:17 am

[World Dreamer]

I am no Ed apologist. I've been frustrated with him too. I didn't even know Live existed until 2008. In 2008, Live headlined the DC101 Chili Cookoff in Washington, DC, which triggered an uptick in airplay. I heard "All Over You" on the radio and I was hooked. I sought it out online and listened to the studio version over and over again. I then listened to the Paradiso version and my immediate reaction was "Did they replace the singer?" I was that anti-new Ed I didn't even think it was the same guy.

Ed's voice has changed. I don't think it's that bad, but what kills me is the joyous, hokey Ed. Ed kept the hokiness to a minimum the other night. Sure we saw it in bits and pieces, but guys, it's not nearly as bad as it's been. Ed made a very solid effort and took a huge turn in the right direction on NYE. 90s Ed is gone. The most we can hope for is current Ed taking the songs seriously. He did that for the most part. He brought back the crazy eyes. By the time they hit the end of the set list WD brought down the house.

Yep, Ed is a chameleon when it comes to getting that almighty dollar.

[vivapokey]

It's not on Spotify in The Netherlands.

And even the fact that its not, it's still a Live album, whether you or anyone else likes it or not. Just like SFBM is a Live album unfortunately.

[World Dreamer]

No plexiglass for CG.

Give it time.

[World Dreamer]

This whole thing is fascinating. Should be a case study.

[vivapokey]

I keep seeing people being "Ed's voice has changed, but thats ok, he doesn't HAVE to sound the way he did back in the 90s!!" ... and thats fair enough, no he doesn't have to sound the same but at the same time, he has to (should) sound good. And I just don't think he does. Yes sounding like he did when he was great in the 90s would be ideal, but I don't think he is physically capable of doing that even if he wanted to (he clearly doesn't because he is making a conscious effort to sing a different way).
So if he sounds different, thats ok .. guess what, Chris sounded different to Ed did and I thought that was great. I would totally be ok with Ed sounding different if what that different was, was good. I just don't think it is.
But right now, it just doesn't fit the music ... it's like getting Taylor Swift to front Live, or Lemmy (RIP) to front ABBA, or Kendrick Lamar to front Jethro Tull. It just sounds like a total mismatch to me. Ed's voice is suitable enough to commercial soft-rock stuff he clearly wanted to do with his solo work.

I just find it funny people saying we should "accept things being different" when many of us were flexible enough to accept Chris who was different when many people who are so inflexible that they could only accept Ed couldn't haha.

[draynoe]

Out of all 17 pages of this thread so far, maybe 1 page of it is actually related to the NYE party.

Can you just go create or use an existing thread if you want to talk about The Turn or why you're pissed or not pissed or want to bash each other?

Isn't this board supposed to support the band? What in the f is wrong with you people. And I don't really care who takes offense to this - if you don't support the band (no matter who is in it), then why the shit are you here?

Anyway, since we still haven't even gotten a real response to this question yet: Did anyone ask any questions/get any good answers at the party?

Can we please dedicate this thread to what the title says from now on? It's frustrating coming to it just to read about why you feel the way you do about how shitty it was for the Turn to disappear or why you think Ed's voice has or has not changed over the years. Seriously, do you think anyone else cares what you think? Can we move on now to the real topic?

There's enough drama - get the f over it.

[World Dreamer]

Out of all 17 pages of this thread so far, maybe 1 page of it is actually related to the NYE party.

Can you just go create or use an existing thread if you want to talk about The Turn or why you're pissed or not pissed or want to bash each other?

Isn't this board supposed to support the band? What in the f is wrong with you people. And I don't really care who takes offense to this - if you don't support the band (no matter who is in it), then why the shit are you here?

Anyway, since we still haven't even gotten a real response to this question yet: Did anyone ask any questions/get any good answers at the party?

Can we please dedicate this thread to what the title says from now on? It's frustrating coming to it just to read about why you feel the way you do about how shitty it was for the Turn to disappear or why you think Ed's voice has or has not changed over the years. Seriously, do you think anyone else cares what you think? Can we move on now to the real topic?

There's enough drama - get the f over it.

Waiting for Bremang's hashtag in 5...4...3...2...

[draynoe]

#zzz

Ed mentioned he had a cold on the radio interview. Not from the NYE party, but hey - maybe it's relevant?

[vivapokey]

Isn't this board supposed to support the band? What in the f is wrong with you people. And I don't really care who takes offense to this - if you don't support the band (no matter who is in it), then why the shit are you here?

It was filled with people who didn't support the band for years so, this is nothing new.

I love how you say how you go through all the pages and then ask "why the shit are you here?" when people have answered that multiple times in this very thread.

[World Dreamer]

Out of all 17 pages of this thread so far, maybe 1 page of it is actually related to the NYE party.

Can you just go create or use an existing thread if you want to talk about The Turn or why you're pissed or not pissed or want to bash each other?

Isn't this board supposed to support the band? What in the f is wrong with you people. And I don't really care who takes offense to this - if you don't support the band (no matter who is in it), then why the shit are you here?

Anyway, since we still haven't even gotten a real response to this question yet: Did anyone ask any questions/get any good answers at the party?

Can we please dedicate this thread to what the title says from now on? It's frustrating coming to it just to read about why you feel the way you do about how shitty it was for the Turn to disappear or why you think Ed's voice has or has not changed over the years. Seriously, do you think anyone else cares what you think? Can we move on now to the real topic?

There's enough drama - get the f over it.

This board was so unsupportive of Live during the Shinn Era (which doesn't exist) that it spawned a new board.

It actually spawned 2, an Ed solo board, but I do not think it made it.

But I am sure you posted a similar post back then as well?

[draynoe]

This board was so unsupportive of Live during the Shinn Era (which doesn't exist) that it spawned a new board.

It actually spawned 2, an Ed solo board, but I do not think it made it.

But I am sure you posted a similar post back then as well?

I supported Live + Shinn too, sure... Let me know when you find a post of mine that is against them with Chris.

I'm well aware of WD etc. too, I'm just trying to see if we can get the topics back on track. If we can't, then again - what's the point of discussing this stuff?

Do we need to spawn another forum to complain about the turn being removed again?

So back on topic - anyone have any questions they asked?

Edit: Fixed it.

This post has been edited by draynoe: Jan 3 2017, 9:51 am

[draynoe]

It was filled with people who didn't support the band for years so, this is nothing new.

I love how you say how you go through all the pages and then ask "why the shit are you here?" when people have answered that multiple times in this very thread.

What's wrong with asking that again? It needs to be asked apparently. Why is anyone here that doesn't support Live? ... Just to complain?

Note that I wasn't complaining about Chris at all during his time with Live. I support the band - that's why I'm here.