Secret_Song

They both work for me Paul - well done I love the first one - Darius looks lovely in that blue bobby and what a nice message he was doing for someone on video :) Were you drunk doing the second one ;) :lol: - Don't you want comments on Youtube?

It's a bit iffy this, have given a ? to those I'm not familiar with, but even with some of the ones I know, I've probably not listened to their whole catalogue and sometimes very little at all - so might be judging them unfairly - but anyway here are the results from the secret_song jury :P Top place with 11 pts - Darius Danesh :D + Geoff Byrd 10 :D + Anthony & The Johnsons 7 :D Aimee Mann ? Alanis Morissette 2 Alison Moyet 2 Amy Winehouse Beth Orton ? Billy Joel 6 Bob Dylan Bright Eyes ? Carole King 6 Cat Stevens 4 Corinne Bailey Rae 4 David Gray 5 Diana Krall ? Dido 4 Divine Comedy ? Elton John 10 Elvis Costello 3 Enya 5 Eva Cassidy 5 Fiona Apple ? Ian Brown ? James Blunt 6 James Taylor 6 Jeff Buckley ? Jewel ? Kate Bush 3 KD Lang 3 Kirsty MacColl 3 KT Tunstall 5 Lou Reed 5 Marisa Monte ? Morrissey 2 Natalie Merchant ? Neil Diamond 2 Neil Finn 10 Nerina Pallot ? Nick Drake ? Norah Jones 4 Patti Smith ? Paul Simon 7 Paulo Nutini 10 PJ Harvey ? Richard Ashcroft 10 Rufus & Martha Wainwright - I've heard of Rufus - but not really familiar with their stuff so ? Sheryl Crow 4 Stephen Fretwell - rings a bell but ? Suzanne Vega ? Tori Amos 3 Tracy Chapman 3 Van Morrison - again feel I should know some of this - but can't think ?

:cheer: It's going to be tough - there are some good songs on that list :unsure: :D

I dropped by today earlier on ... or yesterday as it's now just after midnight ;) Dariusworld does seem to have been very quiet today though.

I've just watched the Live Twice one - awe it's lovely :wub: It's brought back all my anger as well though, when I watch that performance and listen to the song, I felt all the sheer frustration of not being able to get it played on the radio come rushing back :angry: :cry: But it's so lovely to watch though here's the direct link Live Twice - Thank you LuckyStar for uploading that one If you register you can rate and add comments B) Direct Link for Kinda Love :dance:

B) Thank you

Saw it was back last night :cheer: Hope Baytree is ok then :(

I can't really figure out why gay men or girls, would see that differently to hetro men though - or why I find myself in your hetro male group either really :D Is that what Darius said he was doing then -'concentrating'? :) - I think I just looked at it as more of a 'worry/troubled' type of frown. I'm attracted to his hands in it though :)

Ok - thanks for the expansion, remember this is all news to me, the more you've said the more I understand it better. I think before all this, I'd just assumed you'd given him a batch of photo's and he'd chosen which ones to use and which not to, without so much discussion taking place. Yeah, but he'd have made a different decision without the advice though :P - But, I agree with you that no one exists in a vacuum and that no decisions or even thoughts come without influence from something or other. I know it won't and now you've made me laugh too :lol: Most of what I said, doesn't relate to directly to the calendar - it was more an analogy in trying to explain how I felt learning something new and so to asking questions - at least in this case the questions don't remain unanswered :) - It was all this other talk about Darius listening, taking onboard other peoples' advice versus following his own instincts, having creative freedom etc... that just nudged my already rattled cage about that kind of thing - that could easily evolve into a separate discussion altogether though ... I'd like to discuss this further - but maybe it would be better to start a separate topic for it? I don't want to take your Calendar topic - even further off topic. Back on the Calendar topic - did the gay men that you asked, say why they liked the May photo Meg? http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/Maria194/cal05mar.jpg Where did this one come from Maria? I do like this one ;)

I'm still doing these polls :D I've taken a bit of time away to listen to/do Baytree's covers polls and come back to this now :) For the Dive In era, I suppose it was always going to be between Tear Run Dry and Fragile for me, I love Don't forget to breathe too - but those two just really capture my attention and imagination when I hear them - but how to choose just one when I feel each song is really good for different reasons. With Fragile, I love the atmospheric music - it has a sinister quality which captures and adds to the essense of the lyrics, I love the creativity of the lyrics too; but I equally love the simplicity, sense intimacy and emotion conveyed in Tear Run Dry - it makes me feel like I just want to jump into the CD and hug him :wub: - I love them both! ... I've decided to vote for Fragile, purely because more people have mentioned Tear Run Dry already and I don't want to leave Fragile out :P :D Not done the Live Twice ones yet :rolleyes: edit: It won't let me vote for just Fragile - I need to vote in both at the same time I think ... now I'll have to decide on the Live Twice one as well then :P Just remembered that when BJ disappeared - this is what I was in the middle of doing - done it now - after much deliberation I've chosen Big Feather Bed and now I can see what other people have voted for too :)

Thank you :D I like them both - the Atlantic one is pretty deep, makes it more interesting to watch - intringuing - good job done there on me I think ;)

I think Colourblind was a really good song - so game or whatever - I'm voting, just as I have for all the other polls :)

Thanks Pip - those are great to watch I've done a search on youtube previously for Darius - and never found anything on there, I've noticed that other artists sections seem to put up links to videos and had been wondering if it would be a good idea to have Darius's video's on there too. The footage taken in Manchester (or some of it anyway) was used for TV programmes Pat (I can't just recall which TVs it was shown on at the moment - but when I saw whatever it was (there was concert, background and other behind the scenes sorts of footage), I recognised it as being from Manchester. I do think though there probably is footage of the whole thing overall - maybe taken at various places. I think I remember Jonny saying something about it wasn't felt to be good enough quality for release though, but was going to try and get at least some it put on the official site - of course that never happened, perhaps as much to do with the parting of ways of Darius and Mercury, as anything else. So, I still sort of hold on to a hope that at least some official Dive In tour footage might pop up somewhere one day. Even if, it wasn't good enough for a commercial release (I think they should have made sure it was though from the outset) - I, like probably most of us, just want it for the memories :wub:

Ok, I've been able to think a bit about this now. So, I think, the reason why I found your comment strange Meg, was because at the time that you were organising the calendar, it seemed to me from the things said then, that it was important to you that Darius was happy with and approved of the photos that were chosen for it. The fact that you disagreed with him over one that he wasn't keen on and are now saying that you really like the fact that he listens - seems a bit of a contradiction to me. I do have an understanding of the general concept of 'yes people' - but perhaps not how it fitted into a response to my question - unless you were perhaps thinking that I only said that I don't like that particular photo, because Darius initially said he wasn't keen on it himself? ... if that's what you thought, then that's not the case - I didn't know Darius wasn't keen on it, I was surprised to learn that, as I was under the impression that he liked all the ones that were chosen, because I thought that was part of your objective with this particular calendar. So, as things stand, I'm under the impression at the moment, that Darius liked all the photos apart from this one now then lol! - There are 3 others that I'm not especially keen on myself - just saying that quick now, so you'll know that I'm not just being a 'yes person' - either towards you or towards Darius, Meg ;) I'm not sure whether I would apply what I think of as being a 'yes person to Darius' to this calendar scenareo anyway though. To me a 'yes person' to Darius, would be someone who seemingly approves of everything Darius does, or every picture of him whether they really liked them or not, but Darius didn't put forward the photo's for approval or disapproval himself - it was the other way around - so, that was confusing to my brain a bit too. Generally speaking though, I see a 'yes person' as being someone who says they like/approve of everything, when actually they don't - i.e. that what they say is not sincere, but said perhaps to try and please the person that the approval is given to. In the case of photo's of Darius that he put forward for critique, then, a 'yes person' would say to him, they liked them all, whether they did or not - and I agree that generally speaking whether about photos/artwork/merchandise/music/whatever - it's not good for anyone to be given postive feedback if it's insincere. I suppose now, I feel just a little disappointed Meg, to learn that a photo was included in the Calendar that Darius wasn't keen on himself - which is why I asked whether you had a special reason for having done that with this particular photo. I agree with you that it's nice to have shots that are natural - rather than just posed for photo-shoot type shots, but I think all the photo's you included were of that type weren't they? I just wondered what made you argue the case for this one particularly, as opposed to the others that Darius rejected, if there was some reason why this one, was particularly special to you. Again, in a general sense, whether we are talking about his music or merchandise, Darius being represented in the way he wants to be, is important to me - because I want authenticity from an artist that I'm interested in, I want to feel that Darius is the artist behind the creation, so that I can give my honest feedback on his work. I suppose it's a bit like always having believed that Darius was in the driving seat of his career and in control regarding his music releases, only later to learn that he didn't want to release Kinda Love as a lead off for Live Twice - that made me feel disappointed and confused too - because I felt I couldn't be sure whether it's actually Darius I'm judging or not. How can you truely judge and give honest feedback about an artist and what they've done or produced, if what you get to judge, is actually someone else's idea of what they should do, or how they should be portrayed? I know that Darius listens to people and that he likes to receive genuine feedback on his music and creations etc... but that doesn't mean I would want Darius to change what he does in order to try and please me as a 'fan' either though - on the contrary, it's much more important to me, to feel that Darius follows his own gut instincts and does what comes from his own heart or sense of creativity, rather than follow other peoples' advice - irrespective of whether I like the end product or not - I don't want Darius to have to be a 'yes person' either. Having said all that, this was your project Meg, not Darius's - and I do respect that and think that you were entitled to do it however you wished to as well - I think the Calendar turned out great and still think you did a fine job overall and I also believe that Darius was happy overall with the final product too; and the most important part of it for me was the money raised for The Royal Marsden

I've found this pretty tough Baytree - because I don't really like that many of them - there's only 4 that I've enjoyed listening to. I think there should be a huge points gap between my no. 4 and those below it really with some even on Nil punts lol! ... but here is the vote from the secret_song jury :P 14pts - Sandy 13pts - Pretty Flamingo 12pts - Time of Your Life 11pts - I've got you under my skin Big Gap here 10pts - Kiss (Dive in tour medley version) 9 pts - Faith (potentially - but not the version I've got though ) 8pts - All the small things (I think? ... not heard it apart from on the tour) Another Gap 7 pts - Winter Wonderland 6 pts - White Christmas another gap 5 pts - Teddy Bear another gap 4 pts - Bootylicious (with the visual performance it's better, but I don't like just listening to it) 3 pts - Let It Snow 2 pts - Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Excluded - Merry Chrismas Everybody - because I have no-eyed-deer :lol:

yeah it is a bit of an insult to the people who bought/liked it isn't it :P I've got one song of hers which I really like - I wanna be with you - but I have no idea which album it came from or about anything else she has done - just came to me via a friend. I really like her voice and that song, but I've just never got around to seeing if I like anything else she's done.

NO it's not - it's great! and very true too! :lol: - though I guess if you're not from Manchester, it might not be quite so relateable. I quite enjoy the 'life-observational/humourous style' of the Beautiful South anyway, but being from Manchester - it just makes for that extra smile from me anyway :P It was a beautiful sunny day here yesterday, this morning too - but the clouds they are back already :rolleyes: :lol: I've heard the song on the radio - but hadn't seen the video - thanks e-motion

I don't see it as a kids thing either, I thought it was a fairly good line up last year - diverse anyway, so I was looking forward to watching it. It has the potential to be a great multi-genre annual event, but if this report is true, then it's a pity that as usual - these things are ruined because of industry controls :(

20pts - Verve - The Drugs Don't Work :wub: :cry: :hug: 19 - Aerosmith - I Don't Want To Miss A Thing 18 - Darius – Colourblind 17 - Robbie Williams - Feel 16 - Black Eyed Peas & Justin Timberlake – Where Is The Love? 15 - Outkast - Hey Ya 14 - Sugababes – Freak Like Me 13 - Scissor Sisters - Laura 12 - Dandy Warhols - Bohemian Like You 11 - Christina Aguilera - Genie In A Bottle 10 - Beyonce ft Jay-Z – Crazy In Love 9 - Britney Spears - Everytime 8 - Coldplay - Yellow 7 - Deep Blue Something - Breakfast At Tiffany's 6 - Evanescence – Bring Me To Life 5 - Killers - Somebody Told Me 4 - Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out 3 - Toni Braxton - Unbreak My Heart 2 - Cher - Believe 1 - Spiller ft. Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)

The voting has commenced :D HERE edit: That one has closed - Colourblind has made it through to the Record of the Decade final 50 - voting HERE

Incredible for me just now - but maybe it should be Colourblind - thanks tip :D

That one is just ok-ish I suppose for me Baytree - it has the raised eyebrow which I quite like :) Was there some reason that you particularly liked this May one then Meg, that made you want it to be in even though Darius wasn't keen on it himself? I think that's a strange comment - Maybe I'm too tired to understand what you mean properly at the moment though.

I know and same here - I just can't remember what it was like - I can't remember being blown away by it though :P I didn't find it on .net - but it could be, I'm tired and not got my best finding brain at the moment - I'll just have to go with it as best I can from what I know/can remember. Okey-dokey ... first my waffle :P The song that will get my top marks is actually a song that I don't usually like very much at all - I find the song itself cheesy/corny - but I just have to give it the highest score because Darius completely re-arranged it musically and put his own spin on it, I loved the fact that he rocked it up and had fun with it - so it gets extra points for originality/creativity. I'm not generally a 'covers fan' unless it's an improvement over the original - and for me, Darius's version of this song definitely was - added to that I think Darius sings it really well - so, daft song, but loved the verison and Darius sounds great - It just makes me beam from ear to ear whenever I hear it :D - So, 14pts goes to (if you've not already guessed) ... SANDY!!!! :lol: 13pts to Pretty Flamingo - I think this is the best cover on this list - I recall the Manfred Mann version from the 60's and I like this song anyway. There's nothing especially original about it - hense second place for me - but again Darius sings this well - in an acoustic-hippy style that appeals to me - it feels really natural and I like that :) 12pts - Tough tussle for 3rd place between I've got you under my skin and Time of Your life here - again, I feel Time of Your life was a very natural sounding Darius - it was also a great relief to me, to hear him sing this way again (after I'd endured weeks of torment at the mercy of the vocal coaches on PopIdol lol!) - so I think I love it partly for that and the fact that it reflected his feelings at the time. Listening to it now - I think it really suits Darius's voice and he sings it well for me. Though I haven't listened to it recently, I do love I've got you under my skin ... I can remember how I felt when he sang it on the tour - I thought it was pretty special; and on the recorded version on the tape - I just love it when he changes the lyric to dedicate it to Glasgow - can I give these both 12pts and miss out 11pts please? .... if not, I'll have to find my tape or something to split these two. I think the above 4 songs are the only ones from this group, that I really like/think Darius sings well. Next probably comes Kiss - I particularly enjoyed the medley version on the tour, but I don't know whether I would enjoy it the same just listening to a recording of it? - it sounds ok on the Oran Mor recording (can't find the Fauldhouse one) - but it's just alright for me - I don't think Kiss alone by Darius is as good Kiss by Prince. Next comes Faith - I don't think it sounds that great on the live recording I have (GITM b-side) - but it did immediately follow Bootylicious and I think by then Darius was probably out of breath from his energetic performance of that! ... Bootylicious doesn't sound vocally great to me either - it was more about the energy of the 'performance' live than the singing with those songs for me. But I've chosen Faith, because I do think it's a song that Darius can sing fairly well normally and lyrically suited/meant something to him. Of that Christmas medley group - not really keen on these myself - I've listened to both the recording from This Morning and also X-Change now as well. I remember not particularly enjoying the This Morning performance on TV at the time. Having listened again, I think it's because I feel that Darius seems to adopt another persona for this type of song and sing with a sort of pseudo-American sounding accent - it just doesn't come across as seeming like a very natural performance or sound to me and I tend not to like this style of performance/singing from Darius very much. I think Winter Wonderland is the best of the group vocally for me. Next probably White Christmas - that's really good in parts, but sounds a bit dodgy in some places to me. Then I think I'll stick Teddy Bear in between - he puts on a daft sounding voice for me in this too - but it's meant to be fun - so I enjoy it in the sense of it being just for fun - and I like it towards the end. Then Rudolf the Red nosed Reindeer. I don't know where to put Merry Christmas Everybody at all - 'cos I really can't remember what it sounded like now?

Ok thanks - I've not found Merry Christmas Everybody anywhere yet ... I don't think it will be my favourite anyway though :P Can't find my I've Got You Under My Skin tape at the moment - put it in a 'safe' place :unsure: :P - I'm very reluctant to play it anyway, - has anyone got a copy of this transferred to PC please? Any copies of All The Small Things floating about? ... I've not come across that one and don't think I've heard it anywhere since the tour - I wouldn't mind listening to that one again, not sure otherwise what I think of it really.

He looks worried in a troubled way to me - think that's why I'm not liking it - it worries me :P :) - I thought you'd excluded ones Darius didn't like and swapped them for different ones that he liked anyway though Meg?