Burned out. - Alphaville Forum

slothdog · 14 Nov 2002, 19:52

(Warning: negative opinions follow. Those of you who revere Alphaville as gods had best avert your eyes; I'm about to commit blasphemy. >;->= )

You'd think the long-awaited announcement of a new Alphaville release would cause a lot of excitement. For me, it's caused me to reflect a bit and I've actually ended up pretty depressed about the whole thing. Where to begin...

First, there's Crazy Show itself. Over two years in the making, and we're still not entirely sure what it is or when we'll actually be able to hear it. It's expensive, that's for sure. US$80 for 4 CDs, plus US$20 shipping to the US (you *did* read the fine print in the pre-order form, didn't you?), plus who knows how much more you'll owe the postman once it gets there. Alphaville expects us to jump through some pretty crazy hoops to get the thing, too. Sending an international fax? Wiring money to a German bank account? Think about it, we don't even know the full tracklist yet. Why should I pay $25 per CD when I don't even know what I'm getting or when I'll get it? $100 is a lot of money. In my experience, ordering stuff directly from a band is usually *cheaper* because you don't have to go through all the extra middlemen. Send a bunch of copies to Todd@ADD and let the US fans order from him.

Next, there's the mailing list. Back in the early days, there was a lot of great information on the list. People put together what they each knew or thought about the band and we ended up with a really great community. Now the list is moderated and conversation is broken up, delayed, or even non-existant. It's really frustrating to have a sudden insight or opinion to share and knowing that it could be days after sending it that it will actually show up on the list. Conversations are impossible because they get so delayed in transit. I understand the need to spare Marian and Bernhard's inboxes from all our minor bickering and inane commentary, but there's ways to do that without slowing everything else down. I'd encourage everyone that actually likes to *talk* about the band to join the Euphoria list and leave this one for announcements and "formal" conversation.

Also, the band just seems really separated from the fans. I get the idea that Marian really enjoys being up on a pedestal, and it shows. Fans can only contact him through Claudia. Questions go unanswered, or the answers are short and cryptic. Instead of keeping us up to date on the progress of the new album(s), the webpage was only updated with info about Marian's NOTP appearances. The only special privileges or insider info we get as fans is the opportunity to pay a lot of money for whatever Marian felt like pulling out of the archives this year. (Don't tell me Dreamscapes and the DVD and now Crazy Show are perks for being a fan. They're overpriced ways of getting the fans to pay for new (or older) versions of old material.) I ran Ivory Tower for over 3 years, and the only acknowledgement I ever got from the band was a "Thank You" from Marian (relayed through Claudia, of course) after I'd shut it down. Bernhard was extremely kind and showed his appreciation repeatedly, however. In the end it was me being tired of the thankless monotony of playing only one band more than the legalities that caused me to shut down the station and change formats.

Then there's the issue of the "Alphaville" name. To the best of my knowledge, Bernhard has not been involved with Crazy Show at all. So in reality it's just a solo project of Marian's. It's always seemed a bit deceptive to me for one band member to ride on the fame of a name partially created by others. It bugged me when Tears For Fears did it, it bugged me when OMD did it, and it bugs me that Alphaville's doing it now. I know I'll come across as someone who's clinging to the past, but to me, Alphaville hasn't been the same since Ricky left. Salvation (the last really new material we had from the band, remember) had a few great songs, but there were just as many that were completely forgettable. Everything sinc

Jonatan · 14 Nov 2002, 20:05

Very interesting thoughts Chris! I share most of them.
Do not forget the chat sessions with Marian / Claudia. When Marian was supposed to chat here at New Horizons he just answered the same questions over and over again. And last weekend when Claudia was here she wouldn't answer any of the interesting questions, saying she was not at home and had a bad connection, but I'm sure that's not the real explanation. Maybe she din't know anything - but why not just say so? And why not tell us if Bernhard is involved with the new album? Fans will find out sooner or later anyway.

And Sputnik Roadhouse..? I had forgotten about that yes...

Jonatan · 14 Nov 2002, 20:18

Here are some other thoughts.

1) Where is the Little America VHS which they promised? (no I don't care anymore)
2) Why did Tobi leave?
3) Why doesn't Marian have ANY contact with Ricky anymore? After all they had a band together for more than 10 years. You don't just cut off relations like that.
4) Why does Bernhard only seem to care about Atlantic Popes nowadays?
5) Why is every new AV-release either LIMITED, VERY LIMITED or SUPER RARE???
6) Who cares about a small "limited" number on their CD-box or DVD?
7) It was fun with all these mysteries a while but now I'm dead tired of them. Please give us some information.

Thanks for reading.

slothdog · 14 Nov 2002, 20:40

I'll also mention that I don't like having the community split up. I posted this to 3 different places (the official list, Euphoria, and here), so it's going to generate 3 separate lists of replies. Not all of which will be seen by everyone. Yeesh.

rolandk · 14 Nov 2002, 20:51

I agree with you, Chris.
It also seems to me, that Marian is using the name of Alphaville to sell his solo stuff.
I had the same bad feeling, when Andy McCluskey continued as OMD, when it was just his solo thing and the same with Tears for Fears. It was not the same anymore - maybe most people didn´t care, but I did.
And now the same seems to happen with Alphaville.

Alien · 14 Nov 2002, 21:01

these questions rise in my mind sometimes...

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Jonatan

Here are some other thoughts.

1) Where is the Little America VHS which they promised? (no I don't care anymore)
2) Why did Tobi leave?
3) Why doesn't Marian have ANY contact with Ricky anymore? After all they had a band together for more than 10 years. You don't just cut off relations like that.
4) Why does Bernhard only seem to care about Atlantic Popes nowadays?
5) Why is every new AV-release either LIMITED, VERY LIMITED or SUPER RARE???
6) Who cares about a small "limited" number on their CD-box or DVD?
7) It was fun with all these mysteries a while but now I'm dead tired of them. Please give us some information.

Thanks for reading.

wii · 14 Nov 2002, 21:57

Yeah, I agree with many of these points. Seems like Alphaville has lost communication with Earth: Limited editions, only available on the official site, 4CDs at once. Why not just release a brand new CD with brand new songs? All those unreleased songs should have been on Dreamscapes. This is a mess. The way to order and the total price: postage, band and the 80 dollars is too much for many fans living outside Germany...what´s going on?

Alien · 14 Nov 2002, 22:00

and it all is getting more and more annoying...

Adiville · 14 Nov 2002, 22:41

Someone once told me (cant say who) that when Marian creats he doesnt think about the money.....
He can lose it or earn it and he will still keep on creating cause thats what important to him.
Now, im not saying that he is a stupid kid who doesnt understand the value of money but he wants to give us what he created and maybe he didnt plan it to be this way.... so much at once.....
Thats just a speculation. I could be wrong.
I've also been wondering lately why we're not getting answers to questions i think we deserve to know as very loyal friends....
Isnt it obvious that we care about Bernhard and we want to know what is his position in AV's current work ?
and Tobi, he wasnt just a Moonbase man - he was also a friend !
Really, im not complaining but maybe some things have to change because this situation is a little strange.....
and you know that i love AV more than anything.

sap · 14 Nov 2002, 22:58

I seems a lot of us are sharing the same thoughts. Me too, I would love Alphaville to be more communicative and open: we all would like to be informed : they always used their website for this, but lately it's hard to find new info, this is very strange in the knowledge a new 4CD box is on it's way.
If you want your fans to pre-order you could at least give them some decent info instead of teasing them with ****
Is this an Alphaville box or a Marian box : why can't this be cleared out.
The price is something I don't want to comment, it's not cheap but I don't have any idea why, maybe it will be worth it.
Though, Being a fan, I also have to admit I still felt excited reading about Crazy show and it's very near release date: 16th december.
So a bit mixed feelings.

14 Nov 2002, 19:52	#1
slothdog Master Sloth Join Date: 31 Jan 2001 Location: USA Posts: 22	Burned out. (Warning: negative opinions follow. Those of you who revere Alphaville as gods had best avert your eyes; I'm about to commit blasphemy. >;->= ) You'd think the long-awaited announcement of a new Alphaville release would cause a lot of excitement. For me, it's caused me to reflect a bit and I've actually ended up pretty depressed about the whole thing. Where to begin... First, there's Crazy Show itself. Over two years in the making, and we're still not entirely sure what it is or when we'll actually be able to hear it. It's expensive, that's for sure. US$80 for 4 CDs, plus US$20 shipping to the US (you did read the fine print in the pre-order form, didn't you?), plus who knows how much more you'll owe the postman once it gets there. Alphaville expects us to jump through some pretty crazy hoops to get the thing, too. Sending an international fax? Wiring money to a German bank account? Think about it, we don't even know the full tracklist yet. Why should I pay $25 per CD when I don't even know what I'm getting or when I'll get it? $100 is a lot of money. In my experience, ordering stuff directly from a band is usually cheaper because you don't have to go through all the extra middlemen. Send a bunch of copies to Todd@ADD and let the US fans order from him. Next, there's the mailing list. Back in the early days, there was a lot of great information on the list. People put together what they each knew or thought about the band and we ended up with a really great community. Now the list is moderated and conversation is broken up, delayed, or even non-existant. It's really frustrating to have a sudden insight or opinion to share and knowing that it could be days after sending it that it will actually show up on the list. Conversations are impossible because they get so delayed in transit. I understand the need to spare Marian and Bernhard's inboxes from all our minor bickering and inane commentary, but there's ways to do that without slowing everything else down. I'd encourage everyone that actually likes to talk about the band to join the Euphoria list and leave this one for announcements and "formal" conversation. Also, the band just seems really separated from the fans. I get the idea that Marian really enjoys being up on a pedestal, and it shows. Fans can only contact him through Claudia. Questions go unanswered, or the answers are short and cryptic. Instead of keeping us up to date on the progress of the new album(s), the webpage was only updated with info about Marian's NOTP appearances. The only special privileges or insider info we get as fans is the opportunity to pay a lot of money for whatever Marian felt like pulling out of the archives this year. (Don't tell me Dreamscapes and the DVD and now Crazy Show are perks for being a fan. They're overpriced ways of getting the fans to pay for new (or older) versions of old material.) I ran Ivory Tower for over 3 years, and the only acknowledgement I ever got from the band was a "Thank You" from Marian (relayed through Claudia, of course) after I'd shut it down. Bernhard was extremely kind and showed his appreciation repeatedly, however. In the end it was me being tired of the thankless monotony of playing only one band more than the legalities that caused me to shut down the station and change formats. Then there's the issue of the "Alphaville" name. To the best of my knowledge, Bernhard has not been involved with Crazy Show at all. So in reality it's just a solo project of Marian's. It's always seemed a bit deceptive to me for one band member to ride on the fame of a name partially created by others. It bugged me when Tears For Fears did it, it bugged me when OMD did it, and it bugs me that Alphaville's doing it now. I know I'll come across as someone who's clinging to the past, but to me, Alphaville hasn't been the same since Ricky left. Salvation (the last really new material we had from the band, remember) had a few great songs, but there were just as many that were completely forgettable. Everything sinc

14 Nov 2002, 20:05	#2
Jonatan Arranged in White Join Date: 17 Nov 2000 Location: Göteborg, Sweden Posts: 3,521	Very interesting thoughts Chris! I share most of them. Do not forget the chat sessions with Marian / Claudia. When Marian was supposed to chat here at New Horizons he just answered the same questions over and over again. And last weekend when Claudia was here she wouldn't answer any of the interesting questions, saying she was not at home and had a bad connection, but I'm sure that's not the real explanation. Maybe she din't know anything - but why not just say so? And why not tell us if Bernhard is involved with the new album? Fans will find out sooner or later anyway. And Sputnik Roadhouse..? I had forgotten about that yes... Take care

14 Nov 2002, 20:18	#3
Jonatan Arranged in White Join Date: 17 Nov 2000 Location: Göteborg, Sweden Posts: 3,521	Here are some other thoughts. 1) Where is the Little America VHS which they promised? (no I don't care anymore) 2) Why did Tobi leave? 3) Why doesn't Marian have ANY contact with Ricky anymore? After all they had a band together for more than 10 years. You don't just cut off relations like that. 4) Why does Bernhard only seem to care about Atlantic Popes nowadays? 5) Why is every new AV-release either LIMITED, VERY LIMITED or SUPER RARE??? 6) Who cares about a small "limited" number on their CD-box or DVD? 7) It was fun with all these mysteries a while but now I'm dead tired of them. Please give us some information. Thanks for reading. Take care

14 Nov 2002, 20:40	#4
slothdog Master Sloth Join Date: 31 Jan 2001 Location: USA Posts: 22	I'll also mention that I don't like having the community split up. I posted this to 3 different places (the official list, Euphoria, and here), so it's going to generate 3 separate lists of replies. Not all of which will be seen by everyone. Yeesh. ---

14 Nov 2002, 22:00	#8
Alien Trapped in Dreams Join Date: 10 May 2001 Location: CHG MO RUS Posts: 17,200	and it all is getting more and more annoying... *MADE IN USSR*

14 Nov 2002, 20:51	#5
rolandk Exclusive Fanclub Member Join Date: 11 Dec 2000 Location: Münster, Germany Posts: 195	I agree with you, Chris. It also seems to me, that Marian is using the name of Alphaville to sell his solo stuff. I had the same bad feeling, when Andy McCluskey continued as OMD, when it was just his solo thing and the same with Tears for Fears. It was not the same anymore - maybe most people didn´t care, but I did. And now the same seems to happen with Alphaville.

14 Nov 2002, 21:57	#7
wii Dream Master Join Date: 07 Nov 2000 Location: Denmark Posts: 13,703	Yeah, I agree with many of these points. Seems like Alphaville has lost communication with Earth: Limited editions, only available on the official site, 4CDs at once. Why not just release a brand new CD with brand new songs? All those unreleased songs should have been on Dreamscapes. This is a mess. The way to order and the total price: postage, band and the 80 dollars is too much for many fans living outside Germany...what´s going on?

14 Nov 2002, 22:41	#9
Adiville big in japan Join Date: 08 Nov 2000 Location: Israel Posts: 7,449	Someone once told me (cant say who) that when Marian creats he doesnt think about the money..... He can lose it or earn it and he will still keep on creating cause thats what important to him. Now, im not saying that he is a stupid kid who doesnt understand the value of money but he wants to give us what he created and maybe he didnt plan it to be this way.... so much at once..... Thats just a speculation. I could be wrong. I've also been wondering lately why we're not getting answers to questions i think we deserve to know as very loyal friends.... Isnt it obvious that we care about Bernhard and we want to know what is his position in AV's current work ? and Tobi, he wasnt just a Moonbase man - he was also a friend ! Really, im not complaining but maybe some things have to change because this situation is a little strange..... and you know that i love AV more than anything. "Ok Adi, this song is for you..." Freiberg 13.8.2005

14 Nov 2002, 22:58	#10
sap Dreamer Join Date: 04 Dec 2000 Location: Edegem, Belgium Posts: 80	I seems a lot of us are sharing the same thoughts. Me too, I would love Alphaville to be more communicative and open: we all would like to be informed : they always used their website for this, but lately it's hard to find new info, this is very strange in the knowledge a new 4CD box is on it's way. If you want your fans to pre-order you could at least give them some decent info instead of teasing them with **** Is this an Alphaville box or a Marian box : why can't this be cleared out. The price is something I don't want to comment, it's not cheap but I don't have any idea why, maybe it will be worth it. Though, Being a fan, I also have to admit I still felt excited reading about Crazy show and it's very near release date: 16th december. So a bit mixed feelings. WS