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Old 14 May 2017, 13:37   #1321
Kaz
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Wouldn't it be great to have synths all the way and be stuck in the 80s? I would be 35 years younger, slimmer and have less grey hair. Times change, people change, ideas change. That's life.


Before you judge me, make sure you're perfect.
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Old 14 May 2017, 20:34   #1322
humanracer
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SA has tons of synths, it's just the style isn't synthpop. Most music nowadays use synths. Some said CROG was too pop. It's just different tastes but I can find something like in every album.
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Old 16 May 2017, 14:37   #1323
Streetside Romeo
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Itīs really funny to say Alphaville "makes it right" or "gets it wrong"...who is to judge? And if there are so many seasoned musicians around here, why donīt every "judge" just record their own music and try to make it big? Alphaville are artists, not our pets. I bet Marian would not have had to make music anymore to make a living since the mid-80s (and even less so now after the relative success of CROG). And the other guys and gals have had their own musical lives before and could have them again. The reason Alphaville is still around is that they live for making the music they want, and that has always meant catchy pop tunes, but it has also always meant experimental songs that are pushing the envelope. Hey - if they wanna play the banjo to a ragga beat and sing through a megaphone to it...you know what? They can do it, and they will. And if we are open enough and donīt try to hold on to the exact shape we fell in love with decades ago (and seriously...who of us looks, sounds or feels exactely like we used to back then?), we might actually enjoy it and let this ship of fools take us to shores never seen before. This is part of the thrill! If, however, we don`t enjoy it, thereīs no reason to rant or hate - we havenīt paid our ticket anyway, we can always unboard and turn our backs on it, or watch it from a distance and maybe jump aboard again later. Alphaville is alive and that means the ship is moving, the journey continues. Thatīs what counts, from an artistic point of view (imho). Anyone who prefers fossils in a museum is welcome to unearth the artifacts from the past.

This being said, I am still absolutely enthusiastic about Strange Attractor. I still think Mafia Island is among the best AV recordings ever, I still feel that Heartbreak City and Nevermore represent exciting, fresh new incarnations of this band, and continue to be happy about the classic Alphaville ballad vibe in House of Ghosts and A Handful of Darkness and the grand Giants that reminds me of the more sombre songs from Prostitute. By now I have even fallen in love with Marionettes with Halos and Enigma, and sometimes I enjoy Beyond the Laughing Sky for its definitive brilliance without getting distracted by the somewhat pathos-heavy finale. My passion for Rendezvoyeur has waned and I donīt think I will ever really warm to Around the Universe and Fever, but hey - even on Prostitute, my all-time AV favorite, I didnīt love all the songs.

Something I definitely cannot understand is how some people can accuse Alphaville of breaking with their tradition and losing their identity on Strange Attractor. It is a bold and fresh new album, not a reminiscence for sure - but take the time and listen closely to a) the 80s B-sides (for the glam-ish and the ethereal, meandering facets), b) Prostitute (the sombre rock, and the R&B), c) Salvation (the floating synths and the industrial/EDM vibe) and d) CrazyShow (the calmer ballads, the Bowie-esque moods, the epic experimentation). Thereīs a very clear golden thread here.


I prefer to walk with my own feet
I prefer to dance to my own beat
I prefer to sing my own song
I prefer to live - do you wanna come along?
(Ephemere - Eternal Travelers pt. III)

NEW ALBUM RELEASED:
Check out my synth-rock band EPHEMERE's latest, the wonderfully synth-heavy LP "Hobos & Architects": www.ephemere.de
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Old 17 May 2017, 12:46   #1324
poul e
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I totally agree with you hajak. Without "Around the universe" and "Handfull of darkness" this would (for me) surely be the weakest AV album ever. With them its a tie with TBB at the bottom spot and perhaps in time it will go past TBB. I'm not a fan of funk, rock guitar and distorting Marians beautiful voice
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Old 17 May 2017, 19:38   #1325
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Streetside Romeo, good speech man, thank you, I’m ready to sign every single word of it. Wish I could write so exact and complete.
Poul Erik, other guys, who feel disappointed a bit with new album. I share my vision just trying to switch your point of view to more positive if possible. “I don’t like” to “I don’t understand”. Adding “yet” then. And “but I keep trying”.
Generally, I understand the difference in positions that comes from each’s personal AV story. My one began in 1992 when I was a 1st-year student and lucky heard my first two tracks by AV on my mate’s tape. It was BIJ Freedom Mix and SLAM from HF 1984-92. I liked the vocal and was inspired with the passion that was coming from the sounds. I ran to recording studio and got my “first” AV album – The Breathtaking Blue. I was surprised and my mate said “it’s not AV”, but much more than to be surprised I was completely gone with new found ability and flexibility to understand new music. Then AIU and FY appeared in my live of course, so I was ready to meet Prostitute’s release understanding already at that time, Alphaville can be quite different from album to album. Since that, TBB and Prostitute are the reference level and the essence of Alphaville for me. May be that is why I accept SA so easy and naturally.
Anyway, can I hope that everyone here who disappointed with SA is still far from rolling out a banner “Go away, you’re not Alphaville” in front of stage on upcoming live show? Good. Cheers!
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Old 17 May 2017, 21:20   #1326
hajak
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Its funny,for 6,5 years I have seen many posts in this forum saying CROG is to poppy,to much retro and its a bad album,for me CROG is a very good album,It seems like its OK in this forum to complain about CROG and
other poppy stuff AV made but when I posted that I thought Strange attrctor is a weak album that seems like its not OK at all,what is the difference
I probably played SA 100 times and it doesnt get better it got old fast and I dont play it anymore apart from the highlights I mentioned above,I agree with Poul E that SA is together with TBB the weakest AV albums.

I am glad that Alphaville made great albums in the past(FY,Salvation and Crog) I will stick to them and leave
SA to whose who wants it.

Kaz: I agree that it would be great with less grey hairsotherwise I am good in 2017

S.R:You are right that the ship is still sailing but its very close to the"rocks" with this sound.

Thanks Arjan and Poul nice to hear that I wasnt the only one who felt like this about SA.
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Old 18 May 2017, 11:24   #1327
Halfnelson
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According to a new fcbk-cover-photo, Strange Attractor is the 11th AV album.
Besides the 7 obvious ones, what do you think are the others to make it 7 + 4 ?

For me So Long Celeste, United, The Terrible Truth About Paradise, Last Summer On Earth qualify but probably Marian has a different list in mind?
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Last edited by Halfnelson; 18 May 2017 at 15:23.
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Old 18 May 2017, 13:40   #1328
Streetside Romeo
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Hajak - I am not saying anything at all against not liking, or complaining about, SA. What I spoke out against was pretending to judge the quality of an Alphaville album not based on any at-least-somewhat-"objective"-or-interpersonally-reliable criteria but solely on whether or not one likes the sound.

For my part, I was quite disappointed by CROG and I voiced that opinion here several times - but I donīt think I ever wrote that CROG is "bad" therefore...it is, actually, a really efficient pop album and while I didnīt understand (nor endorse) why Alphaville would board the 80s/90s retro train after they had spent the bigger part of the 90s and 00s breaking out of those niches, the album seems to perform its intended function very well - probably the reason why it was rather successful. And I really like some songs on it. What I did point out back then was that the complexity of the songwriting and production (arrangements, dynamics after mastering) had decreased in comparison with its predecessors, and that I thought this was a real loss. This is not just "I donīt like it" reasoning, but something factual to start a debate...and I remember several people back then arguing that they thought I was right but that they liked CROG precisely because of this simplicity and straightforwardness.

And this is just what I would like to propose: Letīs discuss and debate SA, but please letīs not overgeneralize our own tastes. "I don`t like it" is perfectly ok..."I donīt like it so it`s a weak album" is somewhat presumptuous. "I think it`s a weak album" certainly is a legitimate proposition to start a debate, but then it should be followed by an argumentation to explicate and substantiate this verdict, not just with "because it doesn`t sound like the 80s" or "because I hate guitars".


I prefer to walk with my own feet
I prefer to dance to my own beat
I prefer to sing my own song
I prefer to live - do you wanna come along?
(Ephemere - Eternal Travelers pt. III)

NEW ALBUM RELEASED:
Check out my synth-rock band EPHEMERE's latest, the wonderfully synth-heavy LP "Hobos & Architects": www.ephemere.de
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Old 18 May 2017, 18:00   #1329
Kaz
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Halfnelson View Post
According to a new fcbk-cover-photo, Strange Attractor is the 11th AV album.
Besides the 7 obvious ones, what do you think are the others to make it 7 + 4 ?

For me So Long Celeste, United, The Terrible Truth About Paradise, Last Summer On Earth qualify but probably Marian has a different list in mind?
I reckoned on SNAAL, Forever Pop, DS and CS.

For the record, I feel TBB is not a bad album. It's just different. It has many redeeming features. For me, at least.


Before you judge me, make sure you're perfect.
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Old 19 May 2017, 08:04   #1330
humanracer
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kaz View Post
I reckoned on SNAAL, Forever Pop, DS and CS.

For the record, I feel TBB is not a bad album. It's just different. It has many redeeming features. For me, at least.
You were right. SR asked the question on the mailing list and Marian answered.
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