Focus vs. Gryphon

Love both but Red Queen to Gryphon Three is one of my all time top ten albums in all prog genres. One of the better stereo system test albums to boot.

I wouldn't call myself a fan of either but Focus takes it easily.  

I iike dynamics in my music so Focus easily--I get what Gryphon do and sort of heard it all before--Focus is more original.

Focus.

Hercules wrote: If there was a vote for both, I'd have taken it. Both superb bands. But, having to choose, I'll go by a tiny margin for the band that made two of the greatest long tracks of all time - Midnight Mushrumps and Ein Klein Heldenleben - and the incredible Spring Song.

Kewel !!

Lewian wrote: Logan wrote: ^ Thanks for all the responses, I wrote a post addressing each one I hadn't responded to, but then I thought, hmm, that might look over-the-top, and I do over-the-top far too often.  ;) Don't worry about how something "looks". It's easy not to read something if there's too much written for reading it all. I don't read a fair bit of your stuff because it's too much for me, but I'd never say "write less" and I find things in your writing that enrich me, so it's worth it.

Thank you, and thank you for your feedback. I want to be be able to express myself more coherently and succinctly, while maintaining my individual style.

How readable something is, how well it flows, its form and style, the word-choice, as well as the ideas being expressed, is important to me. I would like to be more concise, say much in few words, be better organised, be clearer in intent, manage to keep nuance, and to be relatively comprehensive without being dull. It's hard to get the balance right between being concise and substantial, and that balance differs depending on the individual. I like to read substantive, but not excessive posts commonly. If a really long post is well-structured and well-thought-out, then it can be very readable, I find. A really good post commonly is informative and entertaining, and commonly lends itself to enjoyable discussion. Even I have trouble reading my own posts sometimes, partially because it's so bloody repetitive, rambling, and boring -- not terribly insightful or illuminating. I think what I write is 99 percent crap. It wouldn't be good enough to be printed on toilet paper even if toilet paper (pity the trees that gave their lives for such crap) was in very abundant supply. It's meaningful to me as I write it, but then the process of taking a big crap is meaningful, and the results are rather the same. A crap by any name would smell as fetid. I'm quite good in my work with writing, but I think I'm really bad at it in the forums. I think that I should rein it in.

The way I look at it is that I'm writing for myself, but also for others, especially when I'm responding to others. I often try to create a fairly comprehensive picture in a post, but if it's not readable or understandable, is boring to most, or to the person I'm responding to, or doesn't seem to add value to the discussion, then the time I put into writing it might well have been better used elsewhere (well, that time would almost always be better served in other activities). My intent is too often misinterpreted by some, and the crux of my arguments often are seemingly missed in discussion, and that's my fault for not being clearer. I try to write in a sufficiently nuanced manner, but sometimes I write shorter on purpose, leaving out things that I thought too obvious to state, but then regret that omission in discussion as what may seem obvious to me may not be obvious to others. It's such a tricky balance to get right, saying enough that one's intent is clear and the argument/perspective is sufficiently explained and to add nuance and a variance of perspectives, but not so much that people won't bother reading it or the central points get lost in the mix. I should think when putting forward an argument: Are the premises sufficient, relevant and acceptable, and is it readable to others? I need a lot of work when it comes to sharing my perspectives/ ideas.

I do like to write creatively and especially attempts at humour. I tend to free-associate in forum writing. I originally typed up a much, much longer one that covered far too much ground, then scrapped it before pressing submit. Such stuff would be better suited to a personal blog. I'd call it "The Diarrhoea Diary". This is still turning out longer than I had hoped.

Effective communication can be very difficult, especially when dealing with a disparate audience.

My wife sometimes tells me,"Think things through carefully before you say something, then consider not saying it at all." It's good advice.

Mostly, I think I need to be a better listener and work harder to engage with what others are saying rather than spinning things off as much as I do in different directions, and be more to the point, and lose some of the absurdity. I don't want to write in a way that lends itself to excessive dissonance, I seek consonance with others, and my favourite discussions commonly are those that lead to a synthesis of ideas.

I personally like to read those posts that make me think, give me a new perspective, generate discovery, make me laugh, or give me the warm and fuzzies. I don't care that much about style, length or content with others as long as it seems friendly and accommodating. My favourite posts tend to leave me feeling good, in higher spirits, not exhausted and confused. Mind you, sometimes I like those that confuse me at first since I enjoy deciphering those, and when those click, it's rather like the experience I have with some music or like when a joke clicks. I have penetrated the mystery and had some kind of revelatory experience.:)


Edited by Logan - April 26 2020 at 09:56

I now love Gryphon but had never heard of them till discovering PA. 

I have loved Focus for a while.

Gryphon

Focus is my focus of the two. My hydrogen is a lunar base and my toes are lawn yawns.