Is It Just Me....

[John Etherington]

Athnuachan - I totally agree with you here (and hope I haven't started an ongoing trend with the fake tweets!). It's absolutely true that "tweets" belong on Twitter and nowhere else. I also believe that Facebook messages belong on Facebook and think it's inappropriate when messages, photos, etc. that are shared between Facebook friends are posted elsewhere (including the Forum).

[mutti]

I have been all over the place on this topic. I personally love the concert reports from people who have been to the concert.
So many people do not post that have been to a concert for their own reasons and I respect that. So, then I find myself looking forward to something, anything...videos, photos, newspaper reports, photos of the venue even tweets. So I just say bring it all on and one can skip through what you don't want to read.
Bottom line is...hey isn't it wonderful there are concerts we can report on!
Leslie

[John Etherington]

mutti - Yes it's wonderful that there are concerts we can report on, but I totally agree with the initial premise of this thread. If the Concert Reports section (and other specific sections) are peppered with photos, preambles, pictures of the venue, setlists, videos, and the ultimately superficial "tweets" then there can be no easy continuity of discussion. The LC Forum is one of the few music sites where there is some degree of literacy, so it's a shame that it should be dumbed-down this way. Let's face it, almost anyone can cut and paste ad infinitum. All of these other things are fine as long as they have their own allocated sections, then they can be easily ignored if one chooses to do so.

[Athnuachan]

The LC Forum is one of the few music sites where there is some degree of literacy, so it's a shame that it should be dumbed-down this way. '

Well said, John, especially a site dedicated to that most literate of people, Leonard Cohen, who values language so highly and uses it so carefully.

I tolerate flicking through everything on the thread for a concert I have attended to find the REAL concert reports, (although a reports section and other stuff section would be preferable - long ago suggested and rejected! ) but when it comes to other concerts I would enjoy reading the reports of those who were there, but can't be bothered ploughing through all the "other stuff" to find them.
(Actually I have no problem with those who were there at the concert posting anything they want - reports, videos, photos - those who were NOT at the concert have no business in a concert report thread, I think, unless they are responding to the posts of those who were.)

Anyway, "I guess it doesn't matter anymore" - unlikely to see LC perform in Europe again. Would love to be proved wrong...

[Zimmy66]

mutti The LC Forum is one of the few music sites where there is some degree of literacy, so it's a shame that it should be dumbed-down this way. '

Well said, John, especially a site dedicated to that most literate of people, Leonard Cohen, who values language so highly and uses it so carefully.

(Actually I have no problem with those who were there at the concert posting anything they want - reports, videos, photos - those who were NOT at the concert have no business in a concert report thread, I think, unless they are responding to the posts of those who were.)

Anyway, "I guess it doesn't matter anymore" - unlikely to see LC perform in Europe again. Would love to be proved wrong...

Thank you John & Athnuachan. I now feel less guilty about starting this thread.

I don't think we are being elitist in these views either. How can you express your feelings/beliefs/thoughts in less than 140 characters. And why would you want to? Worse still, what drives people to monitor, then copy and paste this drivel?.

Robert

[Vicomte]

And worse still, those who copy and past line after line from Leonard's songs and try to make it in to a kind of literate meaningful prose in praise of LC, which seems quite ironic to me, after all LC knows these words inside out and hardly needs paragraphs of his own words written back to him. It seems to me as though the people that write them believe it would be the first time he has read them and how jolly clever his fans are to write such things...

[Zimmy66]

I was going to add another comment, but I've just been told off in another thread for being disruptive. In more than 140 characters.

Brilliant.

Silver surfers rool. Ok.

Robert

[HelenOE]

[ How can you express your feelings/beliefs/thoughts in less than 140 characters. And why would you want to? Worse still, what drives people to monitor, then copy and paste this drivel?.

Robert

1) At the moment, I have a lot of time on my hands.

2) I don't equate brevity with dumbness; I daresay Leonard Cohen himself has written more than a few bons mots that are less than 140 characters, e.g., "The old are kind but the young are hot. Love may be blind but Desire is not." (only 76 characters, including the periods) Asking why someone would want to tweet is like asking why would someone want to share a snapshot instead of making a full-length film. Snapshots can be of varying degrees of worth; some of them are a blurry mess, but others say a lot with little. And believe me, I am not reposting the most drivelling tweets.

3) I am not only interested in Leonard Cohen and his work, but also very much interested in the way his work touches the lives of people, including people who are not necessarily dedicated long-time fans-- or who are touched by his work and suddenly find themselves turning into dedicated fans. I have realized, for example, from reading Twitter-searches for "Leonard Cohen" that there is a very considerable number of young people who are living with his songs on a deep level. They're not on this forum for the most part and I suspect they're not at the concerts either (often for economic reasons) but they're out there, and it's wonderful to see. I do really believe that great artists like Leonard Cohen were put on this planet for purposes beyond just being really famous and making money. Sometimes, reading tweets, unguarded and off-the-cuff as they are, I can glimpse something of those purposes being worked out "in the wild" as it were... and I find it fascinating:

Leonard Cohen will be my zen garden today. It is the most effective weapon against the malaise.

You are of course not under any obligation to find it fascinating, and I do mostly try to keep them in two topics which you will never have to read, but you might make a charitable effort of imagination and at least admit the possibility that they're not drivel to everyone, and I'm not doing this just to plague you.

[Zimmy66]

[ How can you express your feelings/beliefs/thoughts in less than 140 characters. And why would you want to? Worse still, what drives people to monitor, then copy and paste this drivel?.

Robert

1) At the moment, I have a lot of time on my hands.

quote]

Obviously.

[Vicomte]

I admit I don't read Comments and Questions much these days due in no small way to the many pages of tweets. When I have ventured in though, some of the tweets are quite good to be honest but should they be in Comments and Questions? Would not a better place be if they were actually moved out of C&Q's in to some other named thread elsewhere called say; "Tweets about LC", or summat along those lines perhaps? Only asking.....

[HelenOE]

I don't care what heading they're put under, as long as it's one that still has to do with LC.

[Zimmy66]

Well, the one thing this thread has done is encourage dialogue between Forum members without resorting to reams of external sources Helen.

If you feel the need to copy tweets to the Forum (and we'll Never agree why that's necessary), they should all be in one place. Those threads have been established. I never visit them, because they hold no interest to me. I've 'dipped my toe' into Twitter, and it wasn't for me.

My frustration lies with the concert report threads.

I passionately believe that they should be for first hand accounts of Forum members. Not Tweets, not 'ghost' copy writers. (who in the main, get it wrong)

I, amongst others, wrote a report on the Leeds gig. It has now been drowned in a sea of 'stuff' that can be found on the Web by anyone with a modicum of common sense. (open source research it's called)

As have other excellent reviews throughout the European concert threads.

We all have an interest in Leonard. Why else would we be here?

Robert

[Carol58]

I have only posted a couple of times but do like to read the concert reports from forum members, I am really looking forward to reading a few good reviews of the Amsterdam concert, from people who were there and enjoyed the atmosphere. I hope it won't go the way of the Rotterdam thread which only has a couple of real reviews.

Unfortunately YouTube and Twitter seem to be the way things are going, much like viewing a concert through your phone lens now seem to be.

Maybe I'm just old.

[John Etherington]

I must be hallucinating! Here's a lady who actually likes authentic concert reports. Steady on Carol...are you really sure that you don't prefer tweets and wobbly videos?

[John Etherington]

Meanwhile, I've just come up with a brain-wave...perhaps the moderaters could start a section titled "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" for tweetie people?