That's all pretty true, carluk. No argument from me, for the most part. Dreamsville has its faults, as do any website/forum. And people do have the tendency to defend Bill and his work...which I think is OK as long as we always allow people to disagree, which hasn't always been true. (Although the HP folks would have you believe it happens daily.) If it is done in a civil tone and with a measure of respect for other's opinions, expressing any opinion should be just fine. (By the way...the nastiest exchanges I have ever had have ALL been with people who are regulars at HP.)
The only thing I would disagree with is the idea that people on Dreamsville don't have "the balls" to say so when they don't like something Bill produces. It always strikes me as odd when people say that? How do you know, carluk, that we think any of Bill's work is crap just because YOU might? Isn't it possible that we say we like it because we actually do? Can you read our minds somehow and know when we are cowering in fear because Bill has made a bad album and we're afraid to say so? Should I pretend I don't like something just to be cool?
I recently posted that I didn't care for a particular song on a recent album. No one disagreed with me accept Bill, who is certainly free to -- his song, after all. He pleasantly tried to explain the message of the song, thinking that I might change my opinion if I understood what he was trying to say (I had taken issue with the lyrics). In response, I said that I understood the message just fine, but still don't like the lyrics or the song. End of story...no attacks, nothing. Whop-tee-doo.
And since we are apparently reviewing web sites here, and free to characterize forum members into lumps, don't post at Hotel Phoenix if you are enthusiastic about Bill's music -- you must make sarcastic remarks about Bill, Dreamsville and the Dreamsville community in EVERY thread, the more bitterness and phony anti-pretension (while insisting on your own superiority) the better, and be sure to include ridicule of individual Dreamsville posters if possible. And for god's sake -- say something positive about Dreamsville at your peril.
Bottom line: These are two different web sites, with different atmospheres and purposes, and tones. I invite anyone who might still be interested after read this nonsense to simply explore both sites and decide for yourself if you like either one. Carluk is quite correct that HP has the content -- Dreamsville is not much more than the forums.
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