How do you feel about DH nowadays?

[BarbT]

Would love to hear you ramble Janie [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Donna_32]

I still adore the music. I love TTATS and most of the songs on it and play it most days and hell yeah I fancy the pants off the man.

However I think it's my views on being a fan that has changed rather than the way I feel about the music. There was a time when I'd sit up untill the small hours browsing the various Darren sites, feeling a real need to catch up on the latest going's on and if I'm being brutally honest, being scared on missing out on something. Now that has changed for me. I'm no longer that bothered what he's doing when, where he's appearing and getting an attack of the sulks if there's some small appearance of him I can't attend.It's intesting to read "Oh Darren's been to so & so, but if I find out that sort of info a month after it happens, so what, where-as before I'd feel like a bad fan if I found out such things way after the event.

I went to 3 shows on the DL tour and for me they were fantastic but not in the same way they were for me when I saw the TCFC tour. This time it was more about the voice and the show rather then just being "there" ( if that makes sense).

I guess I'm happy to be a backseat fan now. I'll always love the music as the songs seem to reach parts of me that no other artist has done and there it something in the songwriting and the lyrics that I identify with hugely, but not in a boppersish way anymore.

Hope that made sense [img]wink.gif[/img]

[Kattitude]

Well the first words out of my mouth when I saw the title of this thread were "dont give a rats arse" lol

But I think really its what Sam and Dyan have summed up so well.

There are moments I connect and feel kind of moved by something about him. I love TTATS as an album. But I dont love it the same way I did with SG .. Its not that its not brilliant, but with SG there was brilliance with magic .. the Daniel and Darren factor. I adored being a fan at that time. It was the whole package.

I too dont actively seek out mesages or media from him anymore. I think its like Dyan said hes like a friend that I drifted apart from. I think back with bitter sweet memories but I get distracted by new friends who are the here and now. All this doesn't mean deep in my heart he holds a special place for being there at a time when I obviousely needed him and his words and songs and the fanbase.

The SG Breakup was the start of the end for me. It just never seemed the same from then on. It was messy and he changed and I changed and it didnt work anymore.

Kat
PS- I hate that uncle Darren stuff too.. I mean hellooo some of us are about his age. Its creepy.

Kat

[sharonlk]

Originally posted by mlue:
Pretty much the same as when I first arrived. I still love his music and I still play all of it often.

He's more distant now because he really never says much of anything to the fans...even when he does a message he doesn't usually say much. He was more interesting when he "talked". But it really doesn't affect how I feel about things...still adore his music.

The DH fan communities aren't as much fun as they use to be. I use to laugh all the time when I read them.

<font size="3" face="Tempus sans ITC, Papyrus,Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Actually I was thinking the very same thing the other day. I can remember back about 2 years or so when I lurked loads, when I would quite literally be laughing out loud at some of the stuff that was going on! I can't remember many things, but one that does spring to mind was AJ's Star Wars version of the whole Spin album lyrics. Maybe that's what is missing from the fanbase at the moment - everything seems so serious and lacking in that sense of fun. Perhaps those that made it so have moved on.

I can't say muc about Darren himself, because I must admit I do try and let 'it' go occasionally but he still draws me back with the lyrics and stuff. But I do agree that, this last year especially, he has withdrawn himself from the fanbase a lot. None of it seems very personal any more - I know we've thrashed out the whole McDarren corp thing already, but that's how I feel about the whole situation. Maybe I hate change...but at the same time I know that personally I've changed a bit, but like others the music was there when I needed it. Sometimes even now it's great to escape reality and come to places where nothing really matters. My New Year's probably been the worst I've ever known, and I have found that sitting in front of my computer has been good therapy.

I sometimes envy all of you who have been fans since the SG days, because the more I look back at the old stuff the more I see the magic which has sadly been lacking these last few years. I can see why Darren got so lost, if that makes any sense at all. You were lucky to be a part of that.

It's weird, but I do think that once we form some attachment to the music or the man himself, it is hard to let it go. I have tried, but failed, and I think that everyone here is still interested in him enough to still have an opinion one way or the other. Are we all hoping for something more, do you think, or is it just that some magic lives on?

Hope you don't mind me adding my opinion. I'm surprised I had more to say than I expected. I also think Donna summed up very well the way that my expectations as a fan have changed in the last year.


Sharon

<font color="#9966FF" size="1">[ January 23, 2005 01:19 PM: Message edited by: sharonlk ]</font>

[Disco Biscuit]

I completely agree about the whole "coming and going of friends" idea.

From the start of me being a Darren fan, it was never about girlyfan worship - it was about him speaking to me on a level. Yes, I found him attractive, but his real-ness as a person was more attractive to someone at my age who doesn't need to lust after celebrities [img]smile.gif[/img]

I feel the distance too. I believe I'm working myself towards cutting loose a little of the "fan" thing when it comes to renewing at the FC in the middle of the year - I'll decide then how much I'm still attached to the magic.

I'm feeling a little strange/dumb because last year I went ahead and did this huge "tribute" to Darren (I spent 8 months cross stitching a picture of his face I made using a piece of picture translation software). Now that piece of craft (beautifully and expensively framed too) is sitting forgotten and slightly embarressed in the back of my closet - I don't know if I'll ever get the chance to give it to him.

In a way I can understand and applaud the "distancing" Darren has created - it'll weed out the girlyfans that piss us all off (you know what I mean, the complete wierdos). There might even be some magic in the mystery.

As others have said, I'm not going away completely. I'm completely capable of waiting around for years for the magic to re-emerge...and it can happen. There have been musicians and wrestlers I've been hooked on who retired/went on hiatus/had a career lull then came back that I picked up with again. So I know from experience that with patience - and that's EXTREME years long even decades long patience, not some of this girlyfan "hang on, he'll release the album soon in Country X" patience - that Darren could come back into my life.

And since I haven't completely rejected him for abondoning me in times of trouble (LOL kidding), I'll be there for him when the time is right.

Amanda

[sunhawk]

Don't feel dumb Amanda, that sounds awesome! I've done some SG/Darren related art myself over the years and i never regret any of it [img]smile.gif[/img] Doing art is supposed to be about passion and the honesty of your passion will make the work shine ^_^

[Zimsky]

I'm indifferent to Darren now. Like has been said some of the songs always will bring back memories of emotional times and there is some of it I still like.. but I always find SG more appealing and listenable.

But the best thing is that I have nothing much to lose.. as I never met the man or even got an autograph so what I lost is what I put into it I guess and that is that.

I've become older and more cynical, critial, pessimistic, cranky, short fused and tired of the daily battle and this is a contradiction when it comes to the fairyland of DarrenHayes happiness and deceit. So after realising that he's not likely to apply music to his lyrics anymore and after watching what was once a haven become a hell I'm content to explore elsewhere.

I will always be grateful to DH for a friend who means a great deal to me even tho we've never met and for a few others that have been inspirational, shown wonderful kindness and shared many a laugh with.

and Barb, can I nick your CF avatar? 65 Roses Day is coming up soon and it is a cause close to our hearts.

[BarbT]

and Barb, can I nick your CF avatar? 65 Roses Day is coming up soon and it is a cause close to our hearts.

You sure can [img]smile.gif[/img]

I will always be grateful to DH for a friend who means a great deal to me even tho we've never met and for a few others that have been inspirational, shown wonderful kindness and shared many a laugh with.

ditto!
because without DH I also wouldn't have found my way here!

[img]graemlins/girl_hug.gif[/img]

[Laurina]

My feelings for Darren have changed over the past few years.. they have grown into something that has more to do with respect for him, for his music, for the person he is and what he shares; and has shifted a bit away from the "oh my godddddddd!" sort of stuff, if you know what I mean.

The shift has alot to do with me changing, as a person, as well as the opportunities that I have had to speak to him. In fact, I think that has done alot to alter just how I see him because I see him as a real person now... not a "celebrity" to go ga ga over. Not to say that I don't think he is worth a good "ga ga". I still think he is incredibly sensual and incredibly beautiful on the outside... but speaking to him has really had an effect on me and how I, for myself, "understand" him.

I also think this new album has effected how I feel for him. It has taken my fan experience to a different level.. one that I really really enjoy as a adult [img]smile.gif[/img]

So.. how do I feel? I respect him even more than I ever have and am very very happy his music is a part of my life.

[sharonlk]

Originally posted by Laurina:
My feelings for Darren have changed over the past few years.. they have grown into something that has more to do with respect for him, for his music, for the person he is and what he shares; and has shifted a bit away from the "oh my godddddddd!" sort of stuff, if you know what I mean.

The shift has alot to do with me changing, as a person, as well as the opportunities that I have had to speak to him. In fact, I think that has done alot to alter just how I see him because I see him as a real person now... not a "celebrity" to go ga ga over. Not to say that I don't think he is worth a good "ga ga". I still think he is incredibly sensual and incredibly beautiful on the outside... but speaking to him has really had an effect on me and how I, for myself, "understand" him.

I also think this new album has effected how I feel for him. It has taken my fan experience to a different level.. one that I really really enjoy as a adult [img]smile.gif[/img]

So.. how do I feel? I respect him even more than I ever have and am very very happy his music is a part of my life.

<font size="3" face="Tempus sans ITC, Papyrus,Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I think you put into words part of what I was feeling but can't seem to say at the moment. I don't think I ever 'worshipped' the guy in the way that I think a lot of people do. I always saw him as a human being - and the LP proved that to me. He was as lovely as I expected (and kind of overwhelming at the same time). He has inspired me no end (I think you know where I'm coming from on that one Laurie and Janie!) and I found a connection with his music that I hadn't expected, and I think that's what we all have in common. For some reasons, at different stages, we have found something special in the music. WYWTB will always have the hugest place in my heart because of the impact it made at the time on me, and I identified way to much with the sentiments in Darkness.

And I too am grateful for the people I have met through the boards and other ways. Lately I'm pleased I came here and found some balance regarding the whole fan thing.

Apologies that my thoughts are disjointed at the moment...I keep reading other peoples' posts and realising there's stuff I didn't say! I blame the cold.

Sharon

By the way - where did the funky font come from?