Romantic symphony

[Dave Connor]

A little (hopefully helpful) context for all of us who suffer the slings and arrows of criticism of our music:

Stravinsky, widely considered the greatest composer of the last century, suffered withering criticism of his music. Here he was reviving Mozart in the era of Schoenberg, Webern, Ives and even worse - himself - and his own radical departure from German-dominated Classicism/Romanticism. Now of course, that period of his work (most of his total output) is recognized as the towering work of genius that it is.

What was the key to his endurance of that criticism? He was simply writing what he wanted to. It was mainly the style that bothered people (along with the outright theft of Mozart’s tunes and textures) since his compositional technique was beyond reproach. Here we have the essence of music criticism: skill vrs content.

When it comes to the content of our music, it is very much an aesthetic choice. This is where the subjective consideration of taste rules, which cannot really be argued. If you don’t like Beethoven’s 9th, well - that’s that. However, the objective issues of: writing technique, harmonic invention, form, orchestration, and the new consideration of mock-up etc., are far more easily or objectively evaluated (though taste enters in here as well.)

The point being that, a composer should write whatever he wants and fully expect the love to hate responses that are sure to come. He/She has no control over that and should be realistic about the inevitable. What the composer can control is the presentation of the music: the application of informed compositional attributes that show skill, logic, and invention, the way a skilled carpenter’s work would. Of course there is always the departure from those norms which are anti-establishment such as Debussy’s radical departure but once again - the skill and logic are undeniable - while the traditional elements such as orchestration are flawless and indeed highly inventive.

The best any of us can hope for is to present our own aesthetic (if it’s not your own than that alone will invite criticism) and do so as skillfully as possible. In the end we should be able to say what a famous composer did about a rather severe piece of music he wrote, I don’t know if it’s any good but it’s exactly what I meant to say. [Vaughn Williams on his 4th Symphony.]

 

[mediumaevum]

Very inspiring! Thanks for sharing

Now it's time for critique: I can't critique your composition, because it is beyond my own skills (I should be learning from you).

But I do miss some more dynamics on the instruments. I think should work on the Dynamics settings for each instrument, though you've already put quite alot of work into this.

But the instruments still sound very "midi". The trick is to draw (manually) curves for the Dynamics and Expression settings, especially on the string instruments. You have to put a human touch to each and every note, and I know, it's a pain.

EDIT: I listened carefully to the strings (violins, legato). It needs more vibrato.

But overall, this is a good piece.

 

[José Herring]

Take every overly harsh critique and replace it with "needs more cowbell" and move on. Seriously you are going to write what you're going to write. I don't think that personal opinions have anything to do with your music.

There are some good criticisms where people voiced their views and backed them with some legitimate technical suggestion for improvement. Those are valid.

I will say this though, in trying to capture a piece in the "romantic" style that one could consider not falling into the same orchestration traps that the romantics fell into. Namely overly combining instruments of the orchestra to create a bigger sound but losing the distinctness and orchestral color and resonance of the orchestra. More modern composers refined the technique of orchestration to a really high zenith starting with Berlioz then Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky. The French and French inspired Russian schools of orchestration.

The Germans unfortunately tended towards a more muddled wash of instruments that really should stay in 19th century Germany in spite of the fact that in typical German stubbornness they continued to this day with the same sloppy muddled orchestration. I find that you're piece suffers from this and it is at those points that I lost interest.

You will get more expression, emotion and clarity of voicing by writing in a Romantic Style but keep to some more modern orchestration practices.

Also, and I will admit that this is a personal taste, there is the tendency in your piece to write long lines with no clear motif for the ear to hold on to so then what happens is that the ear loses the cohesiveness of the line after a couple of bars as too much new material is introduced in a short period of time.

But in general I applaud anybody for putting together a symphony in this day and age. I'm thinking about do it. But, the idea and time involved seems daunting to me. Perhaps when my son moves out of the house and I don't have to worry about raising a kid anymore I'll lock myself in a room for a month and bang out some longer concert works.

I shutter a little at the thought of bringing him into my post but several years ago Piet (Re-Peat) posted his piano concerto. Good piece, vastly different style. Way too complicated to pull off, but I applaud him for trying to. Same as I applaud you for sharing your piece.

In this day and age when music has been over commercialized and pressed into use for other art forms, the race to the bottom and composers going for the most simplest base music to create an effect, those that take the time to treat music as an art form and not purely as a commodity should be encouraged to do so no matter who they are or really what they write, because it will be up to us to venture pass the current day and create a better future for music. Because right now, it is nearly dead as a fine art.

I'm inspired to get back to my concert works now. Even my commercial work is leading in that direction now. I can't help it.



Lastly, to illustrate my point, I will post an excerpt from Howard Hanson's symphony number 2. He does fall into the trap of muddied orchestration in much of his symphony but the section they used in Alien end titles ironically enough is actually very well orchestrated and he is able to achieve a romantic style with full expression using distinct and clear orchestration by separation of lines, tone color and registers.



Good luck with your piece my man. Keep writing. Take what you can to improve. Throw out all the rest of the "advice" even anything that I mentioned. It's your journey. It's your voice. It's your decision. Nobody is paying you to do it their way. Run with what you got and with every new piece try and figure out how to do your thing even better.

ml,


José

 

[BlackDorito]

From the first page of Member's Compositions, no other thread has received such in depth analysis. 7 of these threads have 0 replies. That's nothing...

Hmmm ... this new and very shrewd gambit of generating lots of controversy seems just the ticket to get your music reviewed around here ("Here's my latest piece, you morons!"). But seriously, submitting your music is an act of faith and getting no replies is deflating and humiliating. But I liken it to the situation where you've just finished your presentation and you're thinking "They're diverting their eyes, shit, I must've bombed!" In reality, one person is thinking "I guess it's leftovers for dinner tonight", and another is thinking about her boyfriend, etc. So, forum members may not be delivering an intentional message about you and your music. The style might not move them, the instrumentation may not be their particular interest at this time, your opening may be a little slow and then <click> they're onto the next thing, the members you respect the most might not log on that day ... and before you know it, your post is on page 2 and you are a washed-up mess. So you contemplate the craven "Bump" message .. but wait (in the mirror) "Am I that needy?" I don't have any solid answer except to say that it happens to many people, all artists will be happier as their skin gets thicker, chalk it off to serendipity, and ... repost a week later, saying "BTW - the alto flute is Spitfire." That usually works.

 

[ka00]

"Here's my latest piece, you morons!"

Oh man, someone (not me) needs to do this.

 

[I like music]

Take every overly harsh critique and replace it with "needs more cowbell" and move on. Seriously you are going to write what you're going to write. I don't think that personal opinions have anything to do with your music.

There are some good criticisms where people voiced their views and backed them with some legitimate technical suggestion for improvement. Those are valid.

I will say this though, in trying to capture a piece in the "romantic" style that one could consider not falling into the same orchestration traps that the romantics fell into. Namely overly combining instruments of the orchestra to create a bigger sound but losing the distinctness and orchestral color and resonance of the orchestra. More modern composers refined the technique of orchestration to a really high zenith starting with Berlioz then Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky. The French and French inspired Russian schools of orchestration.

The Germans unfortunately tended towards a more muddled wash of instruments that really should stay in 19th century Germany in spite of the fact that in typical German stubbornness they continued to this day with the same sloppy muddled orchestration. I find that you're piece suffers from this and it is at those points that I lost interest.

You will get more expression, emotion and clarity of voicing by writing in a Romantic Style but keep to some more modern orchestration practices.

Also, and I will admit that this is a personal taste, there is the tendency in your piece to write long lines with no clear motif for the ear to hold on to so then what happens is that the ear loses the cohesiveness of the line after a couple of bars as too much new material is introduced in a short period of time.

But in general I applaud anybody for putting together a symphony in this day and age. I'm thinking about do it. But, the idea and time involved seems daunting to me. Perhaps when my son moves out of the house and I don't have to worry about raising a kid anymore I'll lock myself in a room for a month and bang out some longer concert works.

I shutter a little at the thought of bringing him into my post but several years ago Piet (Re-Peat) posted his piano concerto. Good piece, vastly different style. Way too complicated to pull off, but I applaud him for trying to. Same as I applaud you for sharing your piece.

In this day and age when music has been over commercialized and pressed into use for other art forms, the race to the bottom and composers going for the most simplest base music to create an effect, those that take the time to treat music as an art form and not purely as a commodity should be encouraged to do so no matter who they are or really what they write, because it will be up to us to venture pass the current day and create a better future for music. Because right now, it is nearly dead as a fine art.

I'm inspired to get back to my concert works now. Even my commercial work is leading in that direction now. I can't help it.



Lastly, to illustrate my point, I will post an excerpt from Howard Hanson's symphony number 2. He does fall into the trap of muddied orchestration in much of his symphony but the section they used in Alien end titles ironically enough is actually very well orchestrated and he is able to achieve a romantic style with full expression using distinct and clear orchestration by separation of lines, tone color and registers.



Good luck with your piece my man. Keep writing. Take what you can to improve. Throw out all the rest of the "advice" even anything that I mentioned. It's your journey. It's your voice. It's your decision. Nobody is paying you to do it their way. Run with what you got and with every new piece try and figure out how to do your thing even better.

ml,


José

Nicely put! And with that, we should move on.

 

[re-peat]

..and interestingly I still see Hans Zimmer disproportionately mentioned. Not sure what's driving that.

There's a lot in this thread, including several of my paragraphs, that only makes complete sense if you can recall the original content of the third post (entirely re-written a few days later), in which Mr. Kersten bitterly lamented the fact that his symphony didn't receive any attention. (The first few days, this thread did indeed not receive any written-out attention.) And according to him, this was because the V.I. community consists mostly of uncultured, narrow-minded "Zimmer fans" who are incapable of recognizing and appreciating the musical qualities in his symphony. Can't remember the exact words, but that — including the Zimmer-reference — was certainly the gist of that original third post, which also ended with Mr. Kersten announcing his departure, feeling, as he did, that this place is crowded with inferiors.

And that's how the name Zimmer found its way into this thread.

_

 

[markleake]

This thread kept appearing at the top of the list, so a few days ago I thought what the heck, it's hugely long, but I'll delve in and start listening. I've only now come back and finished reading all the posts and commentary, and I'm finishing my first listen as I type. (I know, how dare I listen just once ).

Some of the reactions here remind me of when that Gumby TV program orchestrator guy first came here with his "newfangled electronic music symphony" stuff (hint: it was distinctly "oldfangled") and proceeded to react all over the place to people giving him feedback on what were clearly some pretty, let's say, "ordinary" renderings. [Incidentally, what is it with VSL and old codgers who are so keen to yell "get off my lawn- erm... symphony"?] Not to lump this track in with those horrors, but man I do love reading the drama!!

I know the OP isn't looking for feedback, but who cares, I have two main (very uneducated/amateur, because that is very much what I am) observations anyway:

First, there seems to be a mixing issue with the stereo field that really throws me. Why do the strings and brass often sound like they are sitting in each of my speakers? How do you even manage to mix them like that? Strangely it doesn't sound so bad on my monitors when listening close, but listening on my big lounge stereo where I am further away, the effect is very pronounced and horribly distracting. Maybe just a VSL thing? I don't know, I don't have any VSL products, but surely not. My conclusion... folks, please don't pan orchestral instruments too hard left and right, it doesn't sound anything like a real orchestra recording.

And second (dare I say it! ), the feedback from re-peat, muk, rowy, etc. is totally on point!
Maybe not delivered in a very easy to swallow way, but they make a good case.

I usually love the long form stuff people post here. Often those pieces will have their own issues, but mostly they are fun to listen to, have some nice themes, ideas are re-used and vary over time, there's soft and louder passages that make sense, there's variations of the same themes using other instruments, there's colours and musical interest where I'm like "oh, I'll have to remember that", etc.

Unfortunately, this track is lacking exactly these qualities. Maybe this is not helped by the flatness I find with listening to VSL stuff? [That low brass is very "retro" sounding for a VI, ugh.] But I think it's more than that. Edit: On second listen, at 23:00 there is a developed theme that starts to work for me, and at 23:20 it starts to come alive. Finishes at 23:50 though.

I listened very carefully to the chords used in the piece. They really are not so interesting in many places... where are the discordant notes, sweet to salty harmonies, pedal notes that follow an interesting line of it's own, horns playing a counter melody to the strings, woodwinds that get to have some fun for once, the novel interesting patterns of notes?

And in what world are we limited to using resolutions from a sus chord to a major/minor, or going from the 3rd or 6th to the tonic only? (Well, maybe I exaggerate, but I'm pretty sure I've now had my yearly dose of these now). Maybe there's some parts that have potential and don't suffer from this, but yet there is this same unmistakable predictable nature evident in most of the track. I suspect Mike Verta would have a field day with this. I think Rowy is being very nice here and is holding back.

The rhythms are a similar deal... there, but they don't seem to mean anything. There's nothing specifically wrong with any of it, and some parts I do like, like the brass "ta ta da daaa" parts which repeat sometimes (this is unfortunately the only part I remember). I would have liked something to happen with them more than just "ta ta da daaa". Edit: On second listen, at 13:44, do I perhaps hear a modulation of this rhythm?

Anyway, all this makes me want to go listen to some jazz or Williams so I can get the "playing it too straight" vibe out of my ear.

A good symphony is far more adventurous than this, surely?

Does your music have to actually mean something to pass muster? Yeap, this track demonstrates it.

Do I mind listening to it after all my guff above? Sure, it's fine as some good background fluff.

I'm being harsh in my feedback? Yes, I think I am. Can I do better? Nope. I'm very much an amateur, but if I can hear these issues in the track, then maybe that means something? Clearly a lot of time and effort went into this. This is all just my personal opinion, yada, yada...

 

[BlackDorito]

where are the discordant notes, sweet to salty harmonies, pedal notes that follow an interesting line of it's own, horns playing a counter melody to the strings, woodwinds that get to have some fun for once, the novel interesting patterns of notes?

Beautifully put @markleake and useful. I've printed these words and pasted them to my workstation. Good review. I too have noticed a little bit more thematic material peeking out at me (not exactly hitting me over the head) on repeated listenings, as I always predict. On first listening, the mind looks for familiar stylistic signposts to help anticipate what's coming next and if they are hard to find, it can be boring. On repeated listening, we can rely on familiarity of the piece itself for prediction and enjoyment. The criticisms that endure are the ones most useful for the composers.

 

[Guy Bacos]

I was just listening to the 1st mov. again. The theme you brought in at 34s after the strong beginning is really beautiful, a bit evocative of the Warsaw Concerto, very tasteful, I love how you shaped that melody and how it recurs. I was moved several times listening to this work, and bottom line, you can’t please everyone.

 

[I like music]

I was just listening to the 1st mov. again. The theme you brought in at 34s after the strong beginning is really beautiful, a bit evocative of the Warsaw Concerto, very tasteful, I love how you shaped that melody and how it recurs. I was moved several times listening to this work, and bottom line, you can’t please everyone.

I always hope that people are happy and proud of their own work, or at least enjoyed doing it. The rest is just a bonus!

 

[Michael Antrum]

I was just listening to the 1st mov. again. The theme you brought in at 34s after the strong beginning is really beautiful, a bit evocative of the Warsaw Concerto, very tasteful, I love how you shaped that melody and how it recurs. I was moved several times listening to this work, and bottom line, you can’t please everyone.

The Warsaw Concerto is one of my favourite piano pieces. (Apparently Rachmaninov's work was a little too pricey to licence for the producers, so Addinsell 'got the gig'.

The hours I have spent trying (and failing) to master some of those keyboard runs, which are fortunately, and often helpfully, obliterated by the orchestra.

The problem with music as a hobby is that there is never enough time to practice as much as one wants....

 

[mediumaevum]

In addition to my other comment, I thought I'll comment on the critique as well:

I read re-peat's comment just now (well, at least some of it). Seems like a bit of harsh critique, though I'll tell you my own experience on another forum and what I've learned:

Almost - but not quite as long comment/critique - has been given to my compositions as well (on the other forum, not VI).

Like you, I turned into defensive-mode and tried to defend my composition. That was a BIG mistake, because I learned - through the hard way - that if you do so, people will withdraw from your threads, then you won't learn anymore, because you risk getting no critique.

You do not learn from "nice work"-comments only. You only learn from (serious) critique.

The trick is, don't defend your compositions. Try and learn from it to improve on your skills.

Don't defend, learn instead.
Ie. ask re-peat for elaborating on the critique and quote some of it and ask in-depth questions about it.

Classical compositions are hard to learn, let alone to write a symphony. Maybe you shouldn't write a symphony just yet, but try and develop some "Fantasies" or "symphonic poems" - that'll leave you with more freedom of expression. Symphonies have some strict rules to adhere to, where Fantasies has... "none" (caution here, there may be some rules though).

I suggest you go check out Ralph Vaughan William's works, I myself find a lot of inspiration in his way of doing stuff.

I wish I could get as much feedback and critique on my compositions as you've got here.

 

[Guy Bacos]

You do not learn from "nice work"-comments only. You only learn from (serious) critique.

That is very true, but while I give my constructive criticism I also like to put myself in the place of the person I'm making these comments to and balance the positive and negative and there IS a lot of positive to talk about. But I'm sure the counterargument will be that if you become too sensitive, you can't be honest about your criticism, there's always the right balance. This isn't a court, it's a friendly forum. But that's me, we all don't have the same approach. I also had some constructive criticism I wanted to talk about, but after all this talk about: "This is for you own good, deal with it", it seems not the time to keep going in that direction.

 

[Maxtrixbass]

Many years ago when I was a music theory/composition undergrad I took a tune I had worked on into my "composition workshop" class for feedback. Suffice to say I had a lot invested into the thing, not only hours, but it was also a "requiem" piece for my dad who had passed away not long before.

The opening feedback was "burn it" and it degraded from there. It went on so long and was so bad the prof apologized to me the next day. Totally demoralizing.

Through sheer stubbornness I did get the thing performed. One of the professors afterward said he'd sponsor me if I wanted to enter it into a national composition competition. I thought it a vindication...and a great honor to be honest, although it didn't have a prayer of winning.

Well, it did. I got a full ride scholarship. Easy to say "I showed them", but really the lesson was they were both right. Welcome to the arts. People pay millions for a Van Gogh. His stuff kind of gives me the creeps. Yes, there is the craft and mechanics, but some people simply like the Rolling Stones. There's the mechanics and then there is what connects to the listener. The former serves the latter.

Since then I have realized, if I'm lucky, maybe 1 in ten people will like my tunes, maybe 1 in 10 won't, and the rest, well, it will go into the black hole of indifference. I bet Beethoven himself could anonymously post a tune and it wouldn't be that different (not that I presume). Think Joshua Bell in that subway station.. So to the original post, ya just can't worry that much about the 80%, enjoy the one, and see if you can learn something from the other.

The other thing I learned is how demoralizing scathing feedback can be. Critique yes, ideas for improvement by all means, but painfully harsh..I remember reading a magazine critique of Richard Strauss that the only problem was that he didn't die in 1900. He was still alive at the time.

It takes so much work to do any of these things really, more so because today its almost a given that we do it all: write, perform, record, mix..That's a lot of hats. Sometimes a simple "nice job" is a salute to all the work.

As to the rest, to quote a line from the movie 2010, "just because our governments are behaving like asses doesn't mean we have to". There is so much that's taken on a harder edge these days that it might be good, myself included, to take a deep breath and realize we're all in this monkey house together.

 

[re-peat]

(...) The other thing I learned is how demoralizing scathing feedback can be. Critique yes, ideas for improvement by all means, but painfully harsh ... (...) (...) Sometimes a simple "nice job" is a salute to all the work. (...) As to the rest, to quote a line from the movie 2010, "just because our governments are behaving like asses doesn't mean we have to". There is so much that's taken on a harder edge these days that it might be good, myself included, to take a deep breath and realize we're all in this monkey house together.

That's all very well, Maxtrix, and I don't disagree with any of it, but it is somewhat besides the point in that it, just like the previous appeals for nicety and respect, keeps ignoring what actually happened in this thread and why it turned out the way it did. If Mr. Kersten had simply posted this symphony and patiently waited for it to receive whatever response this forum was willing to give it, this thread would have been long over by now. Without causing any upset whatsoever, except in the bosom of the OP. And I certainly wouldn't have contributed a single syllable to it. As I said a few posts ago: I listened to the work on the day it got posted, and quickly arrived at the decision not to comment on it.

However, the moment when Mr. Kersten's gluttonous desire for applause and acclaim got the better of him and found expression in comments (since deleted) which insulted the entire community, things changed. The implication in what he said — that his symphony was a string of musical pearls and we a troupe of musical swine — was of such unpleasant arrogance that it needed responding to, I felt. At that moment, the music itself and any serious, respectful criticism it might invite, stopped being the focus of this thread. It was the blasé and haughty stance of its author, placing himself well above of what he considered to be our capabilities of musical judgement and appreciaton, which suddenly took centre stage and polluted everything that followed.

Moreover, there was never any ground for healthy criticism in this thread to begin with anyway. Mr. Kersten made that quite impossible very early on: as he said so himself, he didn't post the work to trigger an honest and possibly interesting discussion about the music's merits and flaws. No, sir. He posted the symphony only expecting it to be praised and its composer celebrated. "Thank you"-notes, and nothing but that, was all he had in readiness to flesh out the remainder of his contributions with. Just read how violently he responds to Muk's words. Surely, this is a man who simply isn't prepared to accept even the gentlest of criticisms?

So, wise, nice and friendly though all these invitations — from you, Guy, Dave and several others — to treat one another here with kindness, positivity, understanding and respect may be, and they definitely are, it doesn't really apply to this particular thread, I believe, as any such goodwill on our part was pretty much killed off the moment the thread started.

_

 

[Maxtrixbass]

That's all very well, Maxtrix, and I don't disagree with any of it, but it is somewhat besides the point in that it, just like the previous appeals for nicety and respect, keeps ignoring what actually happened in this thread and why it turned out the way it did. If Mr. Kersten had simply posted this symphony and patiently waited for it to receive whatever response this forum was willing to give it, this thread would have been long over by now.

_

Understood. I also addressed this side of the equation, though, in that it seems the "black hole of indifference" is the norm in at least 80% of the audience and at least another 10% won't like it regardless. Its a fact of the arts that is best understood and accepted. I agree with you that the reaction by Mr Kersten may have been rather, umm, extreme, but I believe he apologized for that and to that I give him credit.

I really do get all sides here as I have been guilty of all of it. For me, what I have realized over the years is to accept the indifference, to try to listen to critiques without becoming defensive, and to realize that accolades are also just another side of this three sided coin. Blowouts, and blowhards, do happen, but I do try to at least not feed the cycle.

Sometimes this is a challenge, but not "taking the bait" and letting whatever the reaction flow past is key to not loosing the joy of why we do this in the first place.

Something to keep in mind too is that learning is inherently challenging to the perception of our own successes. For example, I took some post grad composition lessons from a guy who didn't even like my "genre" of composition, yet he was better at it than I was! I felt like Salieri in the Amadeus movie. That was a real soul searching moment since I had already been at it for decades, but in the end I saw it as an opportunity, one which gave a huge expansion to my approach. I think because of that I give some room to those who also struggle with feedback, especially when it is true.

 

[Guy Bacos]

If Mr. Kersten had simply posted this symphony and patiently waited for it to receive whatever response this forum was willing to give it, this thread would have been long over by now. Without causing any upset whatsoever, except in the bosom of the OP. And I certainly wouldn't have contributed a single syllable to it. As I said a few posts ago: I listened to the work on the day it got posted, and quickly arrived at the decision not to comment on it.

If, if, if, if.... He said it, it's done, you can't rewind the past, but seems his ship has sunk, and you will make sure it stays at the bottom of the ocean if anybody dares see this differently.

However, the moment when Mr. Kersten's gluttonous desire for applause and acclaim got the better of him and found expression in comments (since deleted)

Haven't you ever regretted something you've said? Are you that perfect? Stop reminding the thread every few posts of that infamous post, and despite he apologized. Jeeze, give it a rest!

which insulted the entire community, things changed.

You are part of this community and one of the fine musicians and posters here, however, you do not represent the entire community, not sure what's this need to take a stand on behalf of VI Control community like head of a union. The more this thread goes, and sorry to say, the more it looks like you took this way too personally, especially the way you look so unforgiving about it.

 

[WilliamKersten]

Thanks so much Guy.


Anyway, I appreciate so much the kind comments on this piece. They give me great encouragement.

 

[bbunker]

Bill. Again with the typing in vitriol, then coming back and editing it to be less petulant, less arrogant, dialing the bile down a bit. Which - I suppose is good? That you do come back and edit it?

You are indeed your own worst enemy. You might edit away the more horrid comments, but people see them in the interim, and it does you no favors. Maybe just put your thoughts away in a drawer for a while, and then post? So that you only post the edited version?

Guy has a great deal of currency, here and everywhere, really. But posting right after his post with a missive against all who've wronged you, against "academics" - whatever you're defining that as - generally and specifically? IN THE VERY NEXT POST after Guy's rather touching comments to put aside past mistakes? Not cool. And then flyposting more links in the same post? I know the internet operates differently from people all sitting in a room, but - I don't know, man. It just feels more than a bit shameless.

I mean: either you shout at people, and post links to your pieces everywhere, or you resign? Maybe consider just being a part of the forum for a bit? Scoping out the conversation? Seeing what's going on? Getting relationships with others going before you'd ask them to listen to your stuff? So it doesn't feel like you're only here to get something transactionally?

Anyway - thanks for editing your last post, I guess?