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KingCrimson250 View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Thread Idea: Album Discussions
    Posted: June 11 2009 at 18:03
Ever wonder why people hate an album that you love, or love an album that you hate? Ever wanted to see if you could convince them otherwise?

I thought it would be cool if maybe every couple of weeks or so we were to pick an album that we all wanted to discuss and start a thread on it. I think sometimes it can be cool to dialogue with people who might have differing opinions on albums. You might end up agreeing to disagree, or one of you might end up changing your minds, but at the very least you'll get to understand one another better.

Criteria for Album Selection:
I think this thread would be good for people to suggest albums, and then whichever suggestions get the most interest would be a good choice for the next topic.

When suggesting albums, please make sure that they are at least somewhat well-known. I know that this is pretty subjective, but an album that three other people have heard won't make for very good discussion. The more popular the album is, the more (and arguably better) discussion you can have.

Be careful when choosing "sacred" albums (i.e. anything in the PA Top 10 or so). Nothing wrong with discussing those, but just be aware that there might be tons of fanboys to mindlessly defend it, or sacred cow slaughterers to mindlessly bash it, so intelligent discussion might be difficult. But then again, maybe that won't happen.

As far as the actual discussion goes, if you've done a review for the album then feel free to post the review in the thread. PLEASE do NOT reference any reviews on the site if their authour has not posted them in the thread, unless it's in a very general way (i.e. saying "I disagree with a lot of reviewers who feel that this album is too short" is fine, saying "Review X by user Y is totally bogus" is not). There's nothing cool about trashing someone's opinion when they aren't there to defend it.

Apart from that, the idea of the thread is to see if we can get some good discussions going about some music, so try to make sure your comments are intelligent and helpful. "OMG tis album is suxz!" is not a post destined to go down in PA history as a valuable contribution.

So what do you think? Anyone interested? We've got tons of reviews on the site, but a review page is a collection of monologues (and rightfully so). This is the opportunity to dialogue.

I thought that maybe a good album to kick things off would be King Crimson's Starless and Bible Black, but whatever people would be most interested in talking about.
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A Person View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 11 2009 at 20:04
I was just thinking about something similar a while ago. I thought that it would be cool to listen to an album as a community and then discuss it, but this is pretty much the same thing, I like the idea.

As for the album I was thinking of something that has varied reviews, like Tales From Topographic Oceans.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 11 2009 at 20:56
I like the idea.  Albums that are well known, or by well known artists that have a lot of mixed reviews would be good subjects.  This would mean most albums would be in the overall 2 - 4 star range, and would eliminate the most loved and most derided.  The two suggestions so far, Starless and Bible Black, and Tales From Topographic Oceans fit the criteria well, I think.  I would like to suggest Genesis by Genesis as well, or 80s Tull such as Broadsword and the Beast or Crest of a Knave.  We may just get overwhelmed by suggestions on this!
The world of sound is certainly capable of infinite variety and, were our sense developed, of infinite extensions. -- George Santayana, "The Sense of Beauty"
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 12 2009 at 01:14
Yeah, I think it would be good for discussing albums that are in the back catalogue and aren't discussed anymore because they aren't considered the "masterpiece" of the band or otherwise aren't rated that highly.
 
Ones that I would enjoy participating in:
In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 - Coheed and Cambria
Trespass - Genesis
F#A# ∞ - GYBE!
Powerslave - Iron Maiden
The Power To Believe - King Crimson
Frances the Mute - The Mars Volta
Nothing - Meshuggah
S&M - Metallica
Morningrise - Opeth
 
Also, not prog but I'd like to discuss these eventually. Maybe people wouldn't want to cause my NIN appreciation thread died a horrible death though.
 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 12 2009 at 01:28
I think thats a great Idea, and I would love to take part in some discussions, particularly:

YES - Tormato

YES - Tales From Topographic Oceans

Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos

and some others
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 12 2009 at 02:58
Excellent idea!!! There should be maybe a POLL about the albums due for discussion and we should start with the album that gets the most votes and the proceed with the second etc etc.

Admins, mods and otherwise importand members of PA, what say you? I think you should be the ones to organize this. 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 12 2009 at 03:09
well, yes but the discussions there get buried under tons of other stuff. We should do this like a "featured album discussion of the week" or whatever. Put it on display so to speak...


ooops, this post was a direct reply to the one above which it seems was deleted...


Edited by theBox - June 12 2009 at 03:10
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 12 2009 at 03:40
Originally posted by theBox theBox wrote:

well, yes but the discussions there get buried under tons of other stuff. We should do this like a "featured album discussion of the week" or whatever. Put it on display so to speak...


ooops, this post was a direct reply to the one above which it seems was deleted...
Yes.....I hadn't read the first post properly so decided to delete it.Smile
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 12 2009 at 04:12
Love the idea! I actually live and breathe for discussions like these, so I'd definitely participate. I too think this thing should be made official and put on display to get more people.

tales from topographic oceans
for girls who grow plump in the night
brain salad surgery (dangerous territory maybe?)
10.000 days
heavy weather (Weather Report)

Plus I challenge anyone to talk me into Zeuhl.
"Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent" - Victor Hugo
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 12 2009 at 08:22
It's a good idea.

Definitelt TFTO, maybe an album such as Brave by Marillion. Why don't we do a poll to see which are the top choices?
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 12 2009 at 08:31
I think that this topic should move to prog apreciation bands




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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 12 2009 at 09:45
Hi,
 
I would like to see a thread for reviews only ... not comments ... REVIEWS.
 
The really hard part, is, for example, a couple of things I have posted recently ... which are critical and scholarly essays that do not use "big words" ... to review the works and time. As a quotidian/sociological event, a lot of this music is much more important that its nickname "prog" ... which has nothing to do with the music itself, and is rejected by many of the same artists.
 
And that forum needs to be MODERATED.
 
The really hard part is that there are a lot of people that just post for the sake of being disruptive and not necessarily add to the quality or informative nature of the music or artist ... and that, in the end, only brings the music down ...
 
The important ones I have posted recently ... on the cold war ... on robert fripp ... on genesis' SEBTP ... and sadly a lot of peopleare going to miss that because it is not in a place where the informational side of it is more important than folks saying ... "it's not prog" ...
 
For our purposes and reasons, that is actually really poor ... but then, how can we expect someone having a vision to do something bigger than themselves? .... only artists can do this ... and that includes the folks that run this board!
 
You are asking for a bit much ... but if it were me I probably would take out 2 or 3 forums for it.
 
 


Edited by moshkito - June 12 2009 at 10:05
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 12 2009 at 09:52
I'd be happy to discuss Starless and Bible Black, which I think very good, though I'd rather discuss Larks' Tongues in Aspic.

Other possibility: Soft Machine's Third.

Originally posted by Anderson III Anderson III wrote:

Plus I challenge anyone to talk me into Zeuhl.


I would think that the Zeuhl and Zeuhl-related universe would have many delights for you.  I'm not sure how many bands/albums you know.

Do you know Weidorje?  And, though perhaps rather embryonic Zeuhl in some ways, have you heard Magma's Kobaia?  I adore that album.  What about 1001 Degrees Centrigade?  Retrospective 1 and 2?  I used to be a Zeuhl completist, and huge on Zeuhl generally, but for a long time, the Zeuhl I listen to by far the most is THE Zeuhl band, Magma.  Even if Magma doesn't appeal, others might.  I might have thought you'd appreciate the first two Magma albums.
Watching while most appreciating a sunset in the moment need not diminish all the glorious sunsets I have observed before. It can be much like that with music for me.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 12 2009 at 09:57
Originally posted by moshkito moshkito wrote:

Hi,
 
I would like to see a thread for reviews only ... not comments ... REVIEWS


If i understand you.... But I don't find much interest in only posting reviews in a thread in the discussion forums if we don't comment on them.  There are other threads for posting reviews and we have reviews at the site.  This is is the discussion part of the site.
Watching while most appreciating a sunset in the moment need not diminish all the glorious sunsets I have observed before. It can be much like that with music for me.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 12 2009 at 10:24
Originally posted by Logan Logan wrote:

If i understand you.... But I don't find much interest in only posting reviews in a thread in the discussion forums if we don't comment on them.  There are other threads for posting reviews and we have reviews at the site.  This is is the discussion part of the site.
 
Sorry .,.. not sure what you are referring to ... but these two are hardly "reviews" within the context that is being discussed here.
 
It's hard to be fair about reviews when looking in the front page and some of those words are not even "reviews" ... they are more a form of advertising than they are a review ... and you are saying this to someone who is an accredited reviewer, btw ...
 
 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 12 2009 at 10:26
Great idea for a thread

Originally posted by topofsm topofsm wrote:

S&M - Metallica


Good idea for a start point - one of Metallica's most polarising albums as far as opinions go.

Personally, I love it +++hides+++

Jon Lord 1941 - 2012
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 12 2009 at 10:44
Excellent idea! Clap
 
Now if instead of discussing the idea we start actually applying it... Tongue
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 12 2009 at 10:46
Ah Teo - I love your naivete



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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 12 2009 at 10:47
Well, looks like for the time being Tales From Topographic Oceans has it, might leave this open for a couple more days to see what happens.

moshkito: Not for the first time, I'm not entirely sure what you're getting at. I don't see why we would have a thread for reviews without discussion when we have an entire website devoted to reviews without discussion. That's what the PA is, reviews. Sure, a lot of them aren't necessarily of professional calibre, and some of them might just be fanboys gushing, or some elitist muttering about how it "isn't prog enough," but no one's forcing you to read those reviews.

So if you want a thread for reviews only, without discussion, go ahead. You'll have to explain to the forum at large, though, why this isn't redundant, because I'm a little confused on that point. If you feel that you personally have a lot to contribute then you should consider blogging in the Prog Blogs subforum.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 12 2009 at 10:50
Is there any reason not to start a TFTO discussion now (though I don't know that album enough to participate Cry ) I agree with Teo, everyone like the idea, let's just do it!!! No reason we can't do more than one. I would suggest placing the discussions in the Recommendations / featured albums heading.
 
P.S. I would love to discuss any of the albums below, and I think all of them except maybe the Brand X album (which is great but not as much to debate) could make for good banter.


Edited by Negoba - June 12 2009 at 10:51
You are quite a fine person, and I am very fond of you. But you are only quite a little fellow, in a wide world, after all.
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