New here but not to posting...
 

Hey there, just thought I'd say hi and introduce myself - I have been looking around for forums for some time, and I am hoping this one satisfies my needs...

I have been posting on message boards for some time - I used to be one of the ten most active posters on Rollingstone.com's boards back in the day before they suspended their service. That community tried to stay together, but found too many differences and not enough cohesion to stay together and splintered into a range of different boards...

I still frequent one of the splinter groups, but recently have found it pretty unsatisfying, with a fairly stagnant posting group and a lack of differing opinions and a "clque" mentality that is direct oppostion to good, challenging discussion...

So i am kinda hoping to guage what people are like here, hopefully get involved in some good discussions and learn sokmething new, or get a new perspecitve... should be fun!

Basically, to fill in my personal details, i am an ex - pat Australian living in the US - I married the love of my life who has lived here in Wisconsin all her life - she'd dearly love to move to Australia to live but she has a 9 year old son who wants to see his Dad, so you just can't stand in the way of that. I also have two daughters, whom I love dearly.

Musically I love my prog rock - early Genesis, Pink Floyd in particular. I lean towards the independent / indie side of things in terms of newer bands, and I have an avid interest in the Australian music scene still...

I absolutely adore anything by the Church, R.E.M, Peter Gabriel and David Bridie, an Australian singer songwriter / amazing individual...

I hope to get to know people here and enjoy some good dialogue!

Welcome here scottsy.
Stick around mate.

Thanks, right track! Already finding some interesting discussions around the place, and it looks like this site has a much bigger flow of traffic and opinions / ideas than the other one I have been gravitating to...

There are alot of great people on the old boards who I love dearly, but its kinda like family ya know? Eventually without any flow of new people and ideas you just all learn to live with your differences - which makes for great, harmonious families - but not particularly interesting or informative posting...

Welcome aboard. We need some new blood here.

Just as badly as I needed to search out new blood, so its a mutually beneficial thing - I like just running off posts about any and everything, particularly music, and its good escapism from the daily realities of working two jobs and having three kids... ;-)

Welcome! Huge Church fan here. :)

Ahhh, excellent! I love the Church to death, from the moment I heard "Under the Milky Way" as a 12 year old kid... I made it my business to gather as many of their albums as possible... I've seen them twice in recent years before here to the US, once at a full electric gig, and then again at a half electric half accoustic show.... both were outstanding... this band brought me through some of the toughest, most indecisive times of my life... not because their music is about such times in life, but their amazing imagery and melodicism pulled me through with the greatest sense of escapism, wonder and deeper thought...

and they don't have a dud CD in their entire catalogue... sure the band will tell you that Magician Among the Spirits was a bit of a low point for them, but man, their low points sounds like quite a few other bands low points.... Magician is an altogether fine piece of work. As is Sometime / Anywhere, when the band was pretty much reduced to Kilbey and Wilson - Piper.

But after all that turmoil in the early nineties - they come storming back with the amazing, shimmering Hologram of Baal, follow it up with the lush atmospherics of "After Everything, Now This" and then go on to produce music at a rate that would put shame to alot of younger, more contemporary bands - with astute musicianship, excellent production and lyrics that take you to another world...

This isn't to discredit their earlier body of work... all the albums from "Of Skins and Hearts" through to Priest = Aura represent a steady progression of melodic, spacey, thought provoking pyschedelically tinged rock - whether it be embellished by production on "Heyday", washed in Synths like on Seance, or whether it be stripped back and raw like their first two albums... it's all pretty hard to find fault in, and impossible to be bored with. Then there's starfish which chimes its way into your memory like no other album from that era is able to. Truly one of the greatest albums made by an "Australian" (despite the fact the band at the time had a much more international flavour and residency) band.

So uh, yeah, I think I like 'em or something...hahahahaha....haven't ranted like that on a board for a while... :-)

Welcome to the forum, and I hope you stay more than a few posts like most :(

I was just listening to REM earlier today and I think there acoustic sets are there best. Great band, but just seems to fit much better acoustically, especially with his voice. (Just came to that worthless conclusion an hour or so ago)

I aim to stick around! I am going online alot more than I have been in the last few years - my youngest daughter is getting older (she's two) and she pretty much puts herself to bed now - well after some comings and goings... hahahaha...

This time of night used to be TV watching time, but TV sucks these days and all I ever do is fall asleep on the chair...

I used to post like crazy - all day sessions weren't uncommon! So i really wanna make a good ham fisted go of this forum!

RezZ - You're right about REM making a great accoustic performance band - for some reason Peter Buck's chiming guitar along with Michael Stipes reedy tones work very well in an accoustic setting.

You seem like a pretty good poster. Welcome! :)