My OPEN letter to Nick Options

[thefunkyredcaboose]

So I am a fan of Live, but Ed is clearly my favorite member of the band.

You sound like one of those teeny bopper Twilight girls... Team Edward!

Favorite member of a band... sheesh. Talk about missing the point of a BAND.

[SJN1279]

You sound like one of those teeny bopper Twilight girls... Team Edward!

Favorite member of a band... sheesh. Talk about missing the point of a BAND.

I was asked my opinion.

I actually like Ed's solo album a lot.
The rest of Live created The Gracious Few, and I'm not a fan of most of the music that they are turning out. So clearly I would favor ed over the rest.

[icewaterike]

I'd like to come to Nick's (and everyone's, at times) defense here.

I'm not one to get into heated arguments on this board. I've been coming to these forums for a long time, and as you can see from my post-count, I'm still pretty low in numbers compared to a lot of you. I attempt to keep my contributions brief but meaningful, and always focused on the music. I feel that getting too personal here hurts everyone, and that's not why I became a fan of this band. I continue to come back and stay interested because I love the music, and I've met some really cool people on these boards over the years - many of whom continue to post today. Also, I find a lot of you hilarious (in a good way) - you all have great personalities that come through wonderfully in your writing. It really is fun to read, most of the time.

I'll be clear: Nick and I don't often see eye to eye on most things relating to Ed these days. I don't advocate for his point of view or agree with him very often. I also think that Nick should attempt to see both sides of this debate a little more clearly.

However, regardless of whether you agree with what he says or not, he should have the right as a member of this forum and supporter of Live to express himself without fear of personal attacks. He obviously cares passionately about the band, same as we all do, because he has remained committed to this forum for so long. He even went so far as to buy it... for us. He also knew when to step down. Admirable. A little respect there from all of us would go a long way.

Nick is not the only one who has been subjected to these kinds of personal attacks that go beyond good-natured fun and into the realm of hurtful. All it leads to is unconstructive discussions and a lack of respect for each other. How many threads get hijacked these days?

We should all feel safe expressing our points of view here. It shouldn't be like SOY ended up being - where everything is sunshine, rainbows and lolly-pops all the time - because that would be horrible too. We should be allowed to disagree, discuss controversial topics and call the band out artistically... but I think we need to leave the personal attacks at the door.

[thefunkyredcaboose]

I was asked my opinion.

I actually like Ed's solo album a lot.
The rest of Live created The Gracious Few, and I'm not a fan of most of the music that they are turning out. So clearly I would favor ed over the rest.

I made fun of your opinion... so what?

I imagine that he has been your favorite band member for a long, long time.

[+Ed+]

You sound like one of those teeny bopper Twilight girls... Team Edward!

[+Ed+]

Ike, with all due respect, Nick is simply being talked to after his oversimplifying and hillarious posts. Neither more nor less

[OutToDry]

I was a fan of Live since 1995. The first time I saw the "I Alone" video on MTV, I was hooked on the band. I have always been a fan of Live's message in their music. The themes of love and finding a deeper meaning in life were key to me. The second time I saw the band in concert in 2001(Atlantic City-Trump Taj), I became even more of a fanatic.

I can listen to any track off of any of Live's 7 studio albums and enjoy it. I am not able to do that with any other band on the planet. I also like every song on "Alive" and have listened to that CD numerous times since I purchased it earlier this month. I am pretty sure I will not be able to do that with The Gracious Few's upcoming CD.

So I am a fan of Live, but Ed is clearly my favorite member of the band.

You mean your sad ass was in the house for that. I think that concert wasn't top notch as opposed to other shows I've been to. It wasn't bad, just not stellar. Too much Dennis Rodman nonsense going on then. I actually talked to Dennis in the Hard Rock before the show.



And yes, I saw Live play on my birthday.......has anyone else?

[Aitkens]

Ed could record himself taking a shit, and you would tell us how beautiful it smells and how amazing his voice was.

[ItchyTriggerFinger]

I can listen to any track off of any of Live's 7 studio albums and enjoy it. I am not able to do that with any other band on the planet. I also like every song on "Alive" and have listened to that CD numerous times since I purchased it earlier this month. I am pretty sure I will not be able to do that with The Gracious Few's upcoming CD.

I'm calling bullshit. Sorry, if you had said every single album other than Secret Samadhi, I might have given you the benefit of the doubt. But given your previous remarks about what your kind of music is, I have an impossible time believing that you can say that you enjoy every song of SS. Nope, no sale.

[ItchyTriggerFinger]

However, regardless of whether you agree with what he says or not, he should have the right as a member of this forum and supporter of Live to express himself without fear of personal attacks. He obviously cares passionately about the band, same as we all do, because he has remained committed to this forum for so long. He even went so far as to buy it... for us. He also knew when to step down. Admirable. A little respect there from all of us would go a long way.

He has the right to say whatever he wants. I'm reserving the right to call bullshit when he contradicts himself. And boy does he love to contradict himself.

[deepenoughtodive]

And Ed could save a hundred orphans from a burning building and Aitkens would claim he just did it to make himself look good............

[Bremang]

Not that I agree with Nick all the time, but all the Nick haters (and supporters) here sound fanatical and have been making way too big a deal. I haven't noticed anyone crying about him before the breakup. He probably wouldn't have been a blip on a lot of peoples radar if there wasn't a gigantic rash of ridiculous Ed hating assumptions after Chad's first letter. Who cares

This post has been edited by Bremang: Jul 27 2010, 8:00 pm

[Sakhmet2]

Not that I agree with Nick all the time, but all the Nick haters (and supporters) here sound fanatical and have been making way too big a deal. I haven't noticed anyone crying about him before the breakup. He probably wouldn't have been a blip on a lot of peoples radar if there wasn't a gigantic rash of ridiculous Ed hating assumptions after Chad's first letter. Who cares

Nick has fanatical supporters?
A few people step to his defense, but it's nothing compared to the stream of unpleasantness that goes the other way. And I suspect that's just to try and leaven the bile because it's not fun to watch.
If you don't believe that, try actually counting the number of pro-posts vs. against.

[Bremang]

Nick has fanatical supporters?
A few people step to his defense, but it's nothing compared to the stream of unpleasantness that goes the other way. And I suspect that's just to try and leaven the bile because it's not fun to watch.
If you don't believe that, try actually counting the number of pro-posts vs. against.

yea i agree for the most part

[sh4rpz]

Brilliant, sir!