Blah Blah Cafe, the Jean-Michel Jarre forum

[shadow]

What at this point is going on anymore in here!?

[dzoolook]

You go too far with your immaturity. You have been reported to Dr Jones.

Do you know what jokes are? DO YOU KNOW WHAT A LAUGHING EMOJI MEANS?

It was a joke about how "sacred" Equinoxe is. A joke. It's like when people "threatened" JMJ that he must play RV4 in Israel. You can't be this oversensitive. People make the joke of saying anything bad about the original Oxygene or Equinoxe being "blasphemy" all the time! If you are this oversensitive then please, delete me from this forum forever, I'm serious.

All fanatics have nastiness evil in them we have seen this time and again. You have shown your nastiness. Your feelings on crucifying is nasty.

Do you think JMJ would ever want as a fan a nasty fanatic as you that writes about crucifying?

JMJ would totally avoid a nasty fanatic as you that writes of crucifying.

**

You are the only nasty fanatic on this Zoolook forum in decades.

Also stop pming me. Your nastiness in your pm is abhorrent. Taken screen shots of your abusive pm.

Could someone please kindly warn this user to stop writing such aggressive and inappropriate messages to other users who don't share their fanatic views? This is not the first time this happen—on the contrary, I’ve noticed this kind of hostility from the same person on many occasions.

I’m asking politely and in the interest of maintaining a friendly and harmonious atmosphere in the forum.

[Jarrepeggiator]

Do you know what jokes are? DO YOU KNOW WHAT A LAUGHING EMOJI MEANS?

It was a joke about how "sacred" Equinoxe is. A joke. It's like when people "threatened" JMJ that he must play RV4 in Israel. You can't be this oversensitive. People make the joke of saying anything bad about the original Oxygene or Equinoxe being "blasphemy" all the time! If you are this oversensitive then please, delete me from this forum forever, I'm serious.

All fanatics have nastiness evil in them we have seen this time and again. You have shown your nastiness. Your feelings on crucifying is nasty.

Do you think JMJ would ever want as a fan a nasty fanatic as you that writes about crucifying?

JMJ would totally avoid a nasty fanatic as you that writes of crucifying.

**

You are the only nasty fanatic on this Zoolook forum in decades.

Also stop pming me. Your nastiness in your pm is abhorrent. Taken screen shots of your abusive pm.

Could someone please kindly warn this user to stop writing such aggressive and inappropriate messages to other users who don't share their fanatic views? This is not the first time this happen—on the contrary, I’ve noticed this kind of hostility from the same person on many occasions.

I’m asking politely and in the interest of maintaining a friendly and harmonious atmosphere in the forum.

You really don't understand that I don't believe in that and it was a joke? Like on the Facebook group, where the admin jokingly threatens to ban people who like Teo & Tea. DO YOU ACTUALLY BELIEVE THAT I WOULD MURDER SOMEONE WHO THINKS EQUINOXE 7 SHOULD HAVE NO BEAT? Have you even read the original context of my joke? It's a witch hunt agaist me. Okay, then cancel me over a joke like we are in Hollywood.

[Jarrepeggiator]

You go too far with your immaturity. You have been reported to Dr Jones.

Do you know what jokes are? DO YOU KNOW WHAT A LAUGHING EMOJI MEANS?

It was a joke about how "sacred" Equinoxe is. A joke. It's like when people "threatened" JMJ that he must play RV4 in Israel. You can't be this oversensitive. People make the joke of saying anything bad about the original Oxygene or Equinoxe being "blasphemy" all the time! If you are this oversensitive then please, delete me from this forum forever, I'm serious.

All fanatics have nastiness evil in them we have seen this time and again. You have shown your nastiness. Your feelings on crucifying is nasty.

Do you think JMJ would ever want as a fan a nasty fanatic as you that writes about crucifying?

JMJ would totally avoid a nasty fanatic as you that writes of crucifying.

**

You are the only nasty fanatic on this Zoolook forum in decades.

Also stop pming me. Your nastiness in your pm is abhorrent. Taken screen shots of your abusive pm.

[mod edit: deleted]

[dzoolook]

I’ve returned to Argentina after my long trip to Seville to attend Jarre’s concert at Plaza de España.
Without meaning to be repetitive, I’d like to share my opinion about the show.

Magnetic Fields 1 I think that is a great addition to the set. I not only like this version, but I also think it was a great choice to open the concert with that piece. I definitely wouldn’t have liked it if he had started with The Opening again.

I’m not a big fan of Epica-Oxygene — as I’ve read in other comments here, it really does sound like a TV jingle to me. What I like even less is that, besides that piece, there was also another version of Oxygene 4 and the track Epica. I would’ve preferred less repetition and instead something like Oxygene 8, Azimuth, or Falling Down.

Oxymore, Sex in the Machine, Brutalism, and Epica sounded great to me and fit very well with the current concept. Personally, I like the album, so I can’t complain.

Oxygene 2 felt like one of the most important tracks in the setlist, especially because of the opening improvisation and the live performance at the end. That direct elements is the reason why we often see Jarre rehearsing this piece before concerts.

Arpegiator was great, although as Jote said, something felt off in terms of timing. Including a track like this, 40 years later, was a brilliant decision.

Zoolookologie, without the keytar and with nothing -direct- going on, bored me a bit — though I could see that the audience really loves that track.

Equinoxe 7 and Equinoxe 4 bored me a little bit. I’m not a fan of this version of Equinoxe 4 - Glory mix. In Bratislava and Versailles, he played the AERO version, and it seem Jarre prefers this one mix.

The Architect, Zero Gravity, Exit, and Oxygene 19 is that combo from Electronica Tour that Jarre refuses to leave behind.

Stardust has become a “must” and I think it will stay in his live performances for the rest of his concerts.

Rendez-Vous 4 and Magnetic Fields 2 were absolute highlights. I’d love to know where Jarre got this version of Magnetic Fields 2 from — it sounds like from China, and I loved it.

At times — at least from my spot just a few meters from the stage — the sound was a bit distorted or overloaded.

Jarre mentioned at the beginning that there would be a surprise during the concert, and it turned out to be three very powerful lasers aimed at the sky. He said there would be some interaction with the lasers based on what he sensed from the audience or something like that, but honestly, it wasn’t a big deal, at least from the audience’s view. Maybe on TV, it’ll come across more impressively.

I was at the Buenos Aires concert in 2018, where the crowd sang, jumped, it was pure madness. This Seville concert surpassed that energy in some ocassions. At the end, Jarre looked truly moved. I hope the TV broadcast manages to capture all those moments.

What was missing for me?
Chronologie 6 and others classics, the laser harp, and much more live music.

[Jote]

I’d love to know where Jarre got this version of Magnetic Fields 2 from — it sounds like from China, and I loved it.

Yes, it's the 1982 version with updated drums, probably a further rework of the Planet Jarre version.

As for E4 I like neither the Aero version nor the Glory mashup version. PLD/Images version is the GOAT and I wish he returned to that one, otherwise it's a chore.

[Robi83]

@Oxygene, I was just wondering that the November concert plan can be the China project?

[Oxygene]

@Oxygene, I was just wondering that the November concert plan can be the China project?

This might be. I'm not quite sure. I have to check this and let you know, if I find something out.

[Xyxophas]

As for E4 I like neither the Aero version nor the Glory mashup version. PLD/Images version is the GOAT and I wish he returned to that one, otherwise it's a chore.

I personally really like Equinoxe/Glory, but of course, that's a matter of taste, and it's hard to discuss.

Equinoxe 4 from Images is also excellent. That album contains my favorite, the best version of MF2. Perhaps it's because it was the first version of that track I ever heard. The original and the live performances in China sound like a demo to me in comparison. MF2 from Images is the ultimate version. I just wish it included the final solo. Unfortunately, the mix from La Defense/Docklands isn't quite the same. Another great interpretation of MF2 is the one from the Oxygene Tour 97, which was the first I heard live in Katowice. I call it the "oxygenized version."

[Jote]

Equinoxe 4 from Images is also excellent. That album contains my favorite, the best version of MF2. Perhaps it's because it was the first version of that track I ever heard. The original and the live performances in China sound like a demo to me in comparison.

I'm not that big of a fan of that version, because it does away with the signature MF2 lead sound, the bass is simplifed (both album version and China version have two bass sequences running at once) and I've always had mixed feelings about the loud SFX it uses.

The mix from Docklands is pretty much a cleaned up China version with new drums. The Images version is heavily based on La Defense (same lead sounds, arps and SFX)

But I'd say the lead sound is the most serious dealbreaker for me, because I really like it. That sound was also used on the original Orient Express (and once again the Images version does NOT have it, but I can forgive it in this case), on Music for Supermarkets Overture, on Fishing Junks at the Sunset and most recently in the Dead Sea/Liebana remix of Ethnicolor as a pad sound (kudos to Stephane for bringing it back from the dead)

[Xyxophas]

I'm not that big of a fan of that version, because it does away with the signature MF2 lead sound, the bass is simplifed (both album version and China version have two bass sequences running at once) and I've always had mixed feelings about the loud SFX it uses.

The mix from Docklands is pretty much a cleaned up China version with new drums. The Images version is heavily based on La Defense (same lead sounds, arps and SFX)

But I'd say the lead sound is the most serious dealbreaker for me, because I really like it. That sound was also used on the original Orient Express (and once again the Images version does NOT have it, but I can forgive it in this case), on Music for Supermarkets Overture, on Fishing Junks at the Sunset and most recently in the Dead Sea/Liebana remix of Ethnicolor as a pad sound (kudos to Stephane for bringing it back from the dead)

Orient Express from Images also sounds better to me.

Yeah, you know, for me, it's a matter of nostalgia. I first heard the interpretation from Images on a TV show about video games called Joystick when I was a kid. You probably know what I'm talking about. I recorded that show on a VHS tape and watched it over and over. I found a clip from that episode on Youtube:



Later, I got a pirated compilation of various random Jarre tracks, and that version was included as well.

The lead sound from the Images version brings back pleasant memories. It's more aggressive, especially with those special effects. I also enjoy the sound at the end of the first verse (1:29).



It's not present in any other version. I only heard the original MF2 a few years later, so it sounded strange to me. However, I understand that for most people, the original or China version is the best one.

Anyway, I'm glad that MF2 made a comeback after so many years, even if it was a shortened version.
Many tracks on this tour were shortened. I might be wrong, but I suspect that Jarre chose to shorten the pieces not only to fit into an hour and a half but also because, in the age of social media, short videos, constant dopamine stimulation, and the ongoing brain rot, it's hard for the audience to maintain their attention on music for long. After 2-3 minutes, we start to get bored. That's why concerts need to be adapted to this trend, just like with bass drops.

Adapt or die.

[Jote]

He's been shortening tracks since Electronica. AFAIK it's just his personal preference. But he insists on keeping "Exit" full length...

[czt]

Another great interpretation of MF2 is the one from the Oxygene Tour 97, which was the first I heard live in Katowice. I call it the "oxygenized version."

My favorite too (from a favorite period and sadly without any original source).

[Dr_Jones]

Well, I got back from holiday and some family business (looking after my girlfriend's nephew) and I get back and look what happened!

I've banned the offensive user (by his request, but in the end it was mutual).

Could someone please kindly warn this user to stop writing such aggressive and inappropriate messages to other users who don't share their fanatic views? This is not the first time this happen—on the contrary, I’ve noticed this kind of hostility from the same person on many occasions.

I’m asking politely and in the interest of maintaining a friendly and harmonious atmosphere in the forum.

He already got a warning for earlier posts, and this one got too far.

[Dr_Jones]

Many tracks on this tour were shortened. I might be wrong, but I suspect that Jarre chose to shorten the pieces not only to fit into an hour and a half but also because, in the age of social media, short videos, constant dopamine stimulation, and the ongoing brain rot, it's hard for the audience to maintain their attention on music for long. After 2-3 minutes, we start to get bored.

Funny, a friend of mine said the exact same thing at the Stuttgart concert. And I've seen several other artists doing the same thing (PSB do some great blocks of 2 or 3 tracks glued together in their past shows). I just hope and expect that the regular JMJ fan is used to the long songs he usually makes. These are the times we live in...