Recent Posts

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Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum / Re: BIA anniversary - where do you rank it?

« Last post by Robson on Today at 12:39:06 AM »

I read the meaning of what Rolo wrote differently. In the days of the DS BAND Mark was at the forefront and "in charge" Whereas in his solo career this has changed somewhat.

Yes, that's true, surprisingly! Right from the start of his solo career he has relied much more on the band, and they seem to be a much tighter unit, Richard, Guy, Glenn and Jim as the core band and all the others have just blended in over the years. They obviously all got on pretty well from the start, and they're all awesome players, so he can relax a bit more, give them more room for creativity.
With DS, and a lot of other bands, I've always had the feeling that players were somehow "competing" for solos, but with this band, that's never the case, they just play together. Of course, MK is still in charge, but maybe he doesn't feel that he needs to control things, because they just happen naturally.

Exactly!

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Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum / Re: BIA anniversary - where do you rank it?

« Last post by stratmad on Today at 12:27:23 AM »

I read the meaning of what Rolo wrote differently. In the days of the DS BAND Mark was at the forefront and "in charge" Whereas in his solo career this has changed somewhat.

Yes, that's true, surprisingly! Right from the start of his solo career he has relied much more on the band, and they seem to be a much tighter unit, Richard, Guy, Glenn and Jim as the core band and all the others have just blended in over the years. They obviously all got on pretty well from the start, and they're all awesome players, so he can relax a bit more, give them more room for creativity.
With DS, and a lot of other bands, I've always had the feeling that players were somehow "competing" for solos, but with this band, that's never the case, they just play together. Of course, MK is still in charge, but maybe he doesn't feel that he needs to control things, because they just happen naturally.

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Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum / Re: BIA anniversary - where do you rank it?

« Last post by Robson on May 16, 2024, 10:29:09 PM »

I read the meaning of what Rolo wrote differently. In the days of the DS BAND Mark was at the forefront and "in charge" Whereas in his solo career this has changed somewhat.

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Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum / Re: BIA anniversary - where do you rank it?

« Last post by dmg on May 16, 2024, 10:11:51 PM »

"Mark's solo career has much more a sense of band then the DS days"

Interesting thought.

Can't really argue with that, but does it really matter?  Apart from Mark, John was the only original member come the end during the Straits days.  With the solo career we had  Richard, Guy and Glenn with a lot fewer in/outgoings.

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Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum / Re: BIA anniversary - where do you rank it?

« Last post by privinvest on May 16, 2024, 10:10:10 PM »

It is the album that gave him more fame, fans, money, recognition, critical acclaim than any other DS/solo one. It made DS and him “classic,” “all time great”, “household name” etc.

If the DS had disbanded before BIA,  some, many, (most?) of us could pass hım by. No? Not that the previous albums are not good (they are) but we may not have given them the “chance” they deserve. A small question: Who among us knew the DS/MK before BIA? For whom they were the (most) favorite musicians? For the younger generation, I wonder, which DS album was the entry gate if not BIA?

Yes it sometimes sound a little over-produced maybe, and it lacks the rawness (and spontaneity?) of the first two albums. But so what? ıt's not.artificial, is it? Or done mainly with an eye to make money? I don't know anything about sound technology etc, but i can see it exploited the new tech possibilities, a new medium (CD), so it sounds different but do we prefer he made 5 more MMs?

I rank it a) a top 3 DS album (with DS and LOG, and Alchemy of course), b) among the solo albums only maybe GH and RD can approach it (them), c) in rock history only first 4 LZ albums, and 70s PF can rival it imho, d) fav song BIA, obviously e) least fav song One World, but after some hiatus (?) I’ve listened it recently and think it’s better than almost anything from the recent album, f) most underrated song TMTS/RAR g) what makes it beautiful, important, unique etc? Difficult question. So many moments, passages that correspond to parts of my brain or soul or whatever. Though it may seem to me that way because my mind shaped by it after so much time with it . So maybe it’s the egg chicken thing. h) How to recommend it to a youngster? ”(One of) the most complete/accomplished (?) album(s) from the best rock musician ever! it will open you a lot of doors, follow them and you’ll thank me long after i’m gone”

One last thing: Imagine there was no MK in your life, you’ve never heard him, do not know him. Imagine he’s just a name for you at most. Well perhaps for half of us this may be the case without BIA. So hug it, kiss it, caress it if only for that reason

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Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum / Re: Johnson and Knopfler’s Music Legends - New TV Show - April 25th 2024

« Last post by Peter1981 on May 16, 2024, 10:07:07 PM »

You were right; I've got Nord now and it works. Thanks!

Ok, I'll be honest; I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to VPN's. I'd love to see this show, so I got a membership of NOWTV for a month. Downloaded a few VPN's on Google Chrome, but even when I VPN-switch to the UK on NOWTV's website it says the content can't be seen from this country.
Does anybody know what VPN to use for that, to be able to view it from the Netherlands?
Or did anybody download the episodes already? ;-)

Hi Peter, what device are you using, pc, tablet, or something else? You need a vpn that tunnels all your Internet traffic through it. I don't think a chrome browser extension will do that. Go with one of the big boys and install their app.

Its also worth noting that these subscription services are wise to vpn users, traff8c from suspicious servers will quickly get blacklisted. My experience tells me that the big boys (nord, surfshark, etc) regularly change their servers to get round this.

Hope some of this helps.

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Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum / Re: Johnson and Knopfler’s Music Legends - New TV Show - April 25th 2024

« Last post by Peter1981 on May 16, 2024, 09:49:14 PM »

ah, i figured as much; I tried a few free VPN's, but was guessing NOWTV is probably too smart and will see em through.
I'm trying to watch it on my MacBook Air.

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Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum / Re: Johnson and Knopfler’s Music Legends - New TV Show - April 25th 2024

« Last post by 2manyguitars on May 16, 2024, 09:42:03 PM »

Ok, I'll be honest; I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to VPN's. I'd love to see this show, so I got a membership of NOWTV for a month. Downloaded a few VPN's on Google Chrome, but even when I VPN-switch to the UK on NOWTV's website it says the content can't be seen from this country.
Does anybody know what VPN to use for that, to be able to view it from the Netherlands?
Or did anybody download the episodes already? ;-)

Hi Peter, what device are you using, pc, tablet, or something else? You need a vpn that tunnels all your Internet traffic through it. I don't think a chrome browser extension will do that. Go with one of the big boys and install their app.

Its also worth noting that these subscription services are wise to vpn users, traff8c from suspicious servers will quickly get blacklisted. My experience tells me that the big boys (nord, surfshark, etc) regularly change their servers to get round this.

Hope some of this helps.

9

Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum / Re: Johnson and Knopfler’s Music Legends - New TV Show - April 25th 2024

« Last post by Peter1981 on May 16, 2024, 09:20:11 PM »

Ok, I'll be honest; I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to VPN's. I'd love to see this show, so I got a membership of NOWTV for a month. Downloaded a few VPN's on Google Chrome, but even when I VPN-switch to the UK on NOWTV's website it says the content can't be seen from this country.
Does anybody know what VPN to use for that, to be able to view it from the Netherlands?
Or did anybody download the episodes already? ;-)

10

Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum / Re: BIA anniversary - where do you rank it?

« Last post by Robson on May 16, 2024, 08:04:19 PM »

"Mark's solo career has much more a sense of band then the DS days"

Interesting thought.