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ex member 419 Group: Members Posts: 1177 Joined: April 2008 Posted: April 24 2009, 07:39 We would welcome comments from existing and new members about topics of interest re changeling, deb Back to top

The Caveman Group: Members Posts: 2178 Joined: Jan. 2008 Posted: April 29 2009, 09:46 What i really would have liked to have seen was more details of the recordings.Ok TB and Ommadawn were covered in some detail but none of the others really were. We've discussed Mike's reluctance to discuss or appraise his past work beyond "i thought it was good"but i would have liked to have had a little more tech talk and some about his guitar collection.Of course this would have then moved it into a more muso type book rather than his life story.  Also a great deal of the book was concerned with 1953-1973.This was the most important time i guess but then the 80's and 90's were rather rushed through.  In the end it was what Mike wanted to talk about and it can't be all things to all people.On the whole i loved it and still dip in from time to time.Better to hear it from the horses mouth than from someone who was peicing it all together from second hand sources and (inevitably)getting it wrong in places.Maybe we should ask the guy who did the essays in the 2001 re-issue series to write a book on Mike! -------------- THE COMING OF THE GREAT WHITE HANDKERCHEIF IS NIGH. Back to top

Scatterplot Group: Members Posts: 1981 Joined: Dec. 2007 Posted: April 29 2009, 16:00 When this book was a hot topic(as in new), there were so many sections of it on the net.....it was like a movie with so many trailers and clips, I already saw it. But I'm sure I missed some of it. One member, me, found nude pics of MO, later elaborated on by other members. Another member referred to MO dressing in drag. I'm sure lots of the best composers of the the last few centuries have "ghosts in the closet" they would like to hide. ME? I can still be there in my head in 1978 in the place I first heard Incantations. I don't want to read it for fear it will taint what little music I have left....that I like. The more I learn about my fav. artist's lives, the less likely I am to enjoy the music. Famous Mo-Fo's are usually kinky Mo-Fo's. Fame does that. Keep me in ignorance and I can still enjoy HR. Take Tony Banks or David Gilmour. If you told me they were fruitcakes or enjoyed killing animals, my library of music would be cut in half. MO? Who knows? I don't know. So I won't buy the book. Suppose the guy did un-moral things, I would have to trash my HR Porky Cut. Suppose Chris Squier was a warlock and sacrificed baby sheep......there goes YES.....down the sink. Keep me in ignorance.....for it is bliss. I'm off to bed now. Remember, only Jim Dunlop nylon picks and don't tell me who is a complete deviant, OK? My records are all I got, except Eddy. -------------- We raise our voices in the night Crying to heaven And will our voices be heard Or will they break Like the wind Back to top

ex member 419 Group: Members Posts: 1177 Joined: April 2008 Posted: April 29 2009, 22:26 Despite the many negative aspects of mikes youth, he turned it around in true mo style and used his axe and talent to carve out his career path, fame was an unexpected side effect for the young, shy mike! it also swamped him,yet he overcame this! deb Back to top

tubular_trekkie Group: Members Posts: 366 Joined: Sep. 2005 Posted: May 02 2009, 12:05 Quote (Scatterplot @ April 29 2009, 21:00) When this book was a hot topic(as in new), there were so many sections of it on the net.....it was like a movie with so many trailers and clips, I already saw it. But I'm sure I missed some of it. One member, me, found nude pics of MO, later elaborated on by other members. Another member referred to MO dressing in drag. I'm sure lots of the best composers of the the last few centuries have "ghosts in the closet" they would like to hide. ME? I can still be there in my head in 1978 in the place I first heard Incantations. I don't want to read it for fear it will taint what little music I have left....that I like. The more I learn about my fav. artist's lives, the less likely I am to enjoy the music. Famous Mo-Fo's are usually kinky Mo-Fo's. Fame does that. Keep me in ignorance and I can still enjoy HR. Take Tony Banks or David Gilmour. If you told me they were fruitcakes or enjoyed killing animals, my library of music would be cut in half. MO? Who knows? I don't know. So I won't buy the book. Suppose the guy did un-moral things, I would have to trash my HR Porky Cut. Suppose Chris Squier was a warlock and sacrificed baby sheep......there goes YES.....down the sink. Keep me in ignorance.....for it is bliss. I'm off to bed now. Remember, only Jim Dunlop nylon picks and don't tell me who is a complete deviant, OK? My records are all I got, except Eddy. I do think it's perfectly possible to separate the personal foibles of any artist from the actual appreciation of the work they've produced. For instance, I very much enjoy a lot of Michael Jackson's music, but I don't particularly like or approve of his very strange lifestyle   Not that I wish to compare MO with MJ, you understand... (Ugh! - the very thought.) As for the nude photos - I thought they were publicity shots, no? And as nude shots go I thought they were quite tasteful and rather striking!     And the drag business? Well, that was rather unfortunate, I suppose. Still, even if MO likes to paint himself green and pretend to be an Orion Slave girl in his spare time I'd say good luck to him - I just don't think we need to hear all about it in the tabloids. People's private lives should remain just that - private   But having said all of that, as far as I'm aware none of these bits of private minutiae are in Changeling at all. It's more about his early struggles to overcome depression and coping with the pressures of his success isn't it? I've been (very vaguely) toying with the idea of getting this book, but I don't usually read celebrity biographies, so I'm not sure how I'd fare with it. Can anyone recommend it? Or provide a bit more insight as to its good points? -------------- "The concept of progress acts as a protective mechanism to shield us from the terrors of the future." - from 'Collected Sayings of Muad'Dib' by the Princess Irulan Back to top

wiga Group: Members Posts: 2113 Joined: Sep. 2008 Posted: May 02 2009, 14:04 Quote (tubular_trekkie @ May 02 2009, 12:05) But having said all of that, as far as I'm aware none of these bits of private minutiae are in Changeling at all. It's more about his early struggles to overcome depression and coping with the pressures of his success isn't it? I've been (very vaguely) toying with the idea of getting this book, but I don't usually read celebrity biographies, so I'm not sure how I'd fare with it. Can anyone recommend it? Or provide a bit more insight as to its good points? Yes that's true - he describes his early struggles in great detail, and I was particularly impressed with his honesty. He bares his truths and does not seem concerned with projecting a positive image - he just tells it as he experienced it.  His relationship with his mother does seem to preoccupy and haunt him, and he goes into candid detail about the panic attacks, anxiety and obsessive compulsive traits . I think it is also a great self-help book for anyone who has suffered similar anxiety and social phobia. -------------- Barn's burnt down - now I can see the moon. Back to top

Tati The Sentinel Group: Members Posts: 3360 Joined: Feb. 2002 Posted: May 02 2009, 17:00 Quote (wiga @ May 02 2009, 15:04) ...and he goes into candid detail about the panic attacks, anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive traits . I think it is also a great self-help book for anyone who has suffered similar anxiety and social phobia. Where exactly have you found obsessive compulsive traits on Mike's personality? -------------- "But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014 "I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011 Back to top

wiga Group: Members Posts: 2113 Joined: Sep. 2008 Posted: May 02 2009, 17:47 An "obsession" is a recuriing thought and "compulsion" is something you do over and over to feel less anxious. Around about the time he felt lost at school, lost at home, and with his mother sick, he talks about needing to do something. He said he played the guitar and would often stay up until 2-3 o'clock in the morning just practising. ..."music gave me direction. Perhaps that's why I was so obsessive about it - I certainly don't know what I would have done if music had not come along." -------------- Barn's burnt down - now I can see the moon. Back to top

Tati The Sentinel Group: Members Posts: 3360 Joined: Feb. 2002 Posted: May 02 2009, 18:39 Quote (wiga @ May 02 2009, 18:47) An "obsession" is a recuriing thought and "compulsion" is something you do over and over to feel less anxious. Around about the time he felt lost at school, lost at home, and with his mother sick, he talks about needing to do something. He said he played the guitar and would often stay up until 2-3 o'clock in the morning just practising. ..."music gave me direction. Perhaps that's why I was so obsessive about it - I certainly don't know what I would have done if music had not come along." At least it's not OCD.Phew! We can be obssessive and have compulsions regarding something,but when those things don't let us live a normal life,so you've got OCD. -------------- "But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014 "I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011 Back to top

ex member 419 Group: Members Posts: 1177 Joined: April 2008 Posted: May 03 2009, 02:28 Mike may have struggled with anxiety and depression most of his life but the point..he controls his life and can never be called a victim! and he has a wicked sense of humour, deb Back to top

wiga Group: Members Posts: 2113 Joined: Sep. 2008 Posted: May 03 2009, 09:12 He seemed very single minded and determined, and used the energy from the anxiety to fuel him I guess. He wouldn't let it hold him back - and didn't worry what other people thought. To me that seemed to be the key to his success (apart from the musical talent and his humour). I like this quote: "...I always wanted to do things not just my way, but in a different way. Call it my Irish side: I can be extremely stupid about the simplest thing and not see something that is obvious to others, but at other times when there is a problem I can find a most ingenious way of solving it, which will not be obvious to anyone but me. This might explain how, when I started to write and compose music, I wanted to do it in a way it hadn't been done before." -------------- Barn's burnt down - now I can see the moon. Back to top

smillsoid Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: Dec. 2008 Posted: May 03 2009, 16:15 Obsessively playing the guitar every day does not equate with OCD.  I suffered from it for years, and it tells you what you can and cannot do - Mike was clearly finding solace in guitar-playing. -------------- http://www.reverbnation.com/simonjmills Back to top

wiga Group: Members Posts: 2113 Joined: Sep. 2008 Posted: May 03 2009, 17:04 Quote (smillsoid @ May 03 2009, 16:15) Obsessively playing the guitar every day does not equate with OCD.  I suffered from it for years, and it tells you what you can and cannot do - Mike was clearly finding solace in guitar-playing. I would agree Smillsoid - obsessively playing the guitar everyday does not mean you have the disorder. Infact, I would say a degree of obsession and compulsive traits can be a good thing - whatever it takes to motivate and get things done. In the book he describes very extreme anxiety and fear whereby he didn't know what to do with himself to manage it. It sounded pretty excruciating. How did you cope with OCD? -------------- Barn's burnt down - now I can see the moon. Back to top

Tati The Sentinel Group: Members Posts: 3360 Joined: Feb. 2002 Posted: May 03 2009, 17:42 Quote (smillsoid @ May 03 2009, 17:15) Obsessively playing the guitar every day does not equate with OCD.  I suffered from it for years, and it tells you what you can and cannot do - Mike was clearly finding solace in guitar-playing. My current boyfriend has OCD and sometimes it's so hard to deal with.Of course it's another anxiety-related disease,and like panic attacks,if you're into,it's hard to get out of it. I'd say anxiety-related diseases are one of the biggest problems to deal in this 21st century,and Mike's book helps people who suffer from anxiety how to cope with it and be positive about it,IMHO. -------------- "But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014 "I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011 Back to top

ex member 419 Group: Members Posts: 1177 Joined: April 2008 Posted: May 03 2009, 20:58 Anxiety and related disorders can be debilitating, sufferers often have to take time off work or avoid places or situations, medication helps, but cbt is proving to be useful, with personal and family help,mike has learned to live with the symptoms,  deb Back to top

smillsoid Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: Dec. 2008 Posted: May 04 2009, 00:45 Absolutely.  If anything, Mike's book was one of the main things to get me over my OCD (along with counselling and medication).  I too find comfort in writing and playing music at times of stress.  Being creative in any way combats the symptoms of depression, anxiety and low self-esteem.  Mike is a testament to that philosophy. -------------- http://www.reverbnation.com/simonjmills Back to top

ex member 419 Group: Members Posts: 1177 Joined: April 2008 Posted: May 04 2009, 04:58 onya sm you are in esteemed company, most great composers, even einstein had ocd, and you have many achievements i bet! keep on keeping on sm, deb Back to top

smillsoid Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: Dec. 2008 Posted: May 05 2009, 21:19 Everyone has a creative force inside them.  It's up to each individual to harness that force, and use it for the good of oneself and others. -------------- http://www.reverbnation.com/simonjmills Back to top

ex member 419 Group: Members Posts: 1177 Joined: April 2008 Posted: May 05 2009, 23:18 Hey sm that would be a great pearl of wisdom anecdote and personal quote! deb Back to top

smillsoid Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: Dec. 2008 Posted: May 06 2009, 14:47 Feel free to quote me - they're all my own words! -------------- http://www.reverbnation.com/simonjmills Back to top

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