I’m a fan and have actually been listening back to alot of the discography due to the recent reissues. I can see how if you’ve never heard of him before and you clicked on one song above , you could think ā€œsmug twat 1/5ā€, but for those who’ve seen more ,he’s often very self depreciating and alot of the comedy songs are very tounge in cheek.

Talented songwriter for sure , there are not many who could write crafted stories like ā€œLady of a Certain Ageā€ and also comedy pop like ā€œComplete Bankerā€ /ā€œJiggery /Pokeryā€ and nail both.

Okay, this is actually pretty great. Almost like a posh version of Pulp but not nearly as horrendous as that should be. Perhaps I’ve judged harshly. Doesn’t help that I’m in excruciating pain with a throat abscess, so may have been a little moody when I posted upthread. Will probably abstain as I clearly had them pegged for something they (mostly) aren’t.

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Hmm… Can’t change the vote to abstain now. It’s locked. What have I done???

(stares at thumbs in dramatic horror)

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Once you’ve voted, you can’t abstain/unvote, you can just change your score. So I think we’ll have to go with your most recent opinion which is ā€œactually pretty greatā€, which sounds like at least a 4 to me! :slight_smile:

Although now that the original user account with the poll has been anonymised, will the poll ever close?!

Wow - didn’t notice that. Mr Funkhouser will be missed. Shame, there seem to be a few folks looking to vanish at the moment. Hope everyone’s okay.

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We may never find out how good they are really :frowning:

except music does matter to people, doesn’t it? idk, I’m probably being a massive hypocrite here, but I’ve definitely seen threads in here where it’s artists I really love/care about, and when people just say ā€œlol they did that one thing that’s the only thing I’ve heard, music for dickheads 1ā€, then actually it does mean something to me, and I probably do find it a bit upsetting in a way that I can see might seem a bit over-the-top, but this whole forum is populated by people who are probably a bit OTT about music, so I doubt I’m the only one.

THEN FUCKING AGAIN

I’ve almost certainly done that myself, and idunno, I can’t say I’d never do it again.

Think I just want to go outside and play football more than anything else.

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On the Divine Comedy - there a band I’m intending to listen to a bit more. I never liked them much when they were at the most popular, but since then I’ve got into Scott Walker, and his sixties work seems to be a big influence. Neil Hanlon often pops up in articles about him.

I hope Funkhouser is OK and will be back soon (if he wants to be). The vast majority of these threads have been hugely enjoyable, and I always look forward to seeing who’s next on the list. Think it’s quite an altruistic act for him to put so much work into setting them up. I know occasionally they go off the rails a bit, but that’s the internet for you isn’t it. Thanks Funkhouser :clap:

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Been to 3 Divine Comedy gigs and each was in a different configuration - saw him touring Bang Goes the Knighthood where he played solo, mostly on piano and occasionally guitar. Saw him do a slightly shorter but still substantial set a few years later after an awards show where he played acoustic guitar and had a piano player and accordion player with them. And them saw him touring Foreverland which was a big silly full band show where he came out dressed as Napoleon. All quite different but all really good and he can switch between modes quite easily.

:smiley: was 100% talking about me being the child - in that i see people giving at 1’s to stuff i like and so started just dishing out 1s myself as some kind of childish retaliation. Before i started doing that i never gave out 1s.

(to be clear, my 1s are also to stuff i don’t like and are not targeted in any other way :-D)

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exactly, so if you acknowledge that you are also guilty of it, it’s probably just best not to take things personally and just be confident in your own love (or hate) and passion for something. It’s a lot easier if you just disassociate maaaan. And by that I don’t mean don’t engage, just if you’re getting upset by someone’s glib response on a message board that ultimately doesn’t matter, maybe ask yourself why you’re getting upset and taking this personally, I certainly have to catch myself on this from time to time

One very basic great thing about the HGATR threads is that they seem to have greatly increased the actual chat about music in a music forum. Outside the Rolling… threads there often didn’t seem to be that much enthusiasm for actual music chat.

These threads are great for hearing about why people love artists, what they mean to them or how they’ve been a part of their lives. It also brings out the amazing knowledge contained on these boards - not just in a ā€˜where to start with’ way, although can be great too, but in related artists and influences and all sorts of other music that spirals outwards from that initial ranking of an artist who may or may not be important to you.

I know there has been the odd thread that has gone off track but overall I think the chat has been very positive and if this is the end of these I for one will sorely miss them and will miss the way Funkhouser put the time and energy into keeping them active.

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ahah! got ya, apologies :smiley:

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I’d rather abstain than drop a 1 on an artist I simply don’t have an informed opinion of beyond knee-jerk disliking certain songs.

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sometimes I feel like listening to an artist can colour my perception of them and unfairly influence my opinion

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I mean I do this too, but I dont really care one way or another if people decide to drop an arguably uninformed 1

btw I don’t think Funky is quitting as much as creating a new account just for these threads? That’s what I hope at least…

Listening to music is dangerous, Bam. I abstained on the GBV thread and then I listened to some GBV and now I’ve bought a GBV album. What is happening?!

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What?

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If Funky quits I think we should have a moratorium on music and not discuss it for a month or so.

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