THINFS - Video Reactions

I don't care who Jon co-writes with tbh.

Just correcting your statement that no one talks about any of the songs David co-wrote.

I know I wasn't aiming that explanation at you. Just the idea of people mad that Jon didn't turn to Dave as the new cowriter of the band.

Exactly this for me Dave!! Been saying that to my friends struggling with the Richieless Bon Jovi.

All I am going to say is band members leave and even die, even the most important ones. Some bands manage to move on and some others don't even try. Apparently Bon Jovi are trying and I am afraid I cannot find logic in thinking that it is a slap in the face of anyone if Jon points at Phil during his solo.

The world would not be a better place if Back in Black and everything after that didn't come to be, and it takes nothing away from Scott or - anyone. Richie doesn't want to be here. Fine let's respect that, and let's respect the rest of the band too, for wanting to be here.

You can also tell them to just get over it, because it's all about Jon. ;P

Man, I love this video. I like to visualise/internalise songs in my head and although I liked the song I couldn't do that with this track. This video was a perfect representation of the song and has helped me enjoy the song even more in subsequent listens.

I love HAND and its video too.

Um… was there a point you were trying to make there?

Rosa3. Honey. I really need to talk to you about that ocean front property in Omaha that just keeps coming up.

Jon’s middle name is “image” and I’m not saying that to imply that he’s not also very sincere about a lot that he says or does. But if you think that he’s not just as likely to be fake or phony or not real and doing it for other reasons, when he sees a need for it, then I’d suggest that you wake up and smell the coffee. I believe Jon’s a good man. I don’t doubt it for a minute. But he’s also a spin doctor. The man spins like a top on speed. It’s part of his job. Sometimes the sincerity and spin coincide, obviously; but sometimes they don’t.

And for the record, I never said Jon was a sham. I didn’t say anything was a sham for that matter. I said that one of my concerns about watching the video was that I possibly could become convinced that the “band of brothers” has been a sham; a prop, if you will to sell the brand. And I don't want that to happen. That’s all.

Gotcha, but why does it become a sham that they're still a band of brothers because Richie's not there? If one of the brothers wants to do his own thing why shouldn't the remainder still be a band of brothers? What would you have done in the bands case at this point for this?

Thank you for understanding; but I still owe you an apology. I shouldn't have came down on you like a ton of bricks. I won’t deny that I meant what I said; but the way I said it was f’d up beyond all recognition. I’m sorry, RDK.

Tell that to the rest of the people who have chosen sides. I haven’t chosen sides and I’m not placing blame. People think I’ve chosen Richie’s side simply because I keep trying to get them to see that he may, in fact, HAVE one. But I don’t know any more than anyone else does about what happened. In the 3+ years that I’ve been posting here, I have never blamed Jon or anyone else for the split; and I dare anyone to show where I have. The only thing I’ve done since day one is to point out some things that suggest that Jon may share in the responsibility for the split, and even the way it happened; but I don’t pretend to know that any those things caused it. I don’t blame anyone, precisely BECAUSE we don’t know the whole story. All I’ve ever asked is that people consider that fact when it comes to their assumptions about Richie as well.

The only thing I, personally, hold Jon solely responsible for (and even this is just my opinion) is the way he chose to make the announcement in Calgary. He could have phrased that announcement similar to the way he did when Richie went into rehab in April, 2011 and I honestly believe that the fans would have been much more open to hearing Richie’s side when he got ready to share it. But because of the way Jon presented it, the fans were loaded for bear before Richie said the first word. By the time he did start talking, the damage was done and everything he said was heard or read through that filter. One word from Jon to indicate that the band supported Richie’s absence until he worked through whatever “personal reasons” Jon referred to could have kept that from happening. Granted, he said “we love him” but then he totally ripped away any support that might have engendered by following it immediately with “we’re sorry he’s not here for you…” It’s my opinion that Jon did that deliberately because he wanted to keep the fans on the band’s side, which is perfectly understandable, but he’s been doing this for too long to think the way it was worded wouldn’t turn the fans against Richie. He’s also been doing this too long to have stepped one foot on that stage without having planned every word he was going to say about it and considered the impact they would have.

So if I “blame” Jon for anything, if you want to call it that, that’s it; but as far as what led to the split, or the sudden walk-off, or anything that’s happened since then, I have no clue and can’t say who’s responsible for what. But I think there’s a better than average chance that it’s not as one-sided as people have been led to believe.

That said, again in response to your post, it was never my intention to turn any of this into a Richie discussion. That’s why in my original post I deliberately tried to stay away from him altogether except in reference to the song and the threads it led back to for me. I only mentioned the idea that the video could possibly be a way of “getting back” at him as one of the concerns I have about watching it. I really can’t help the fact that it was that part of my post that people picked up on and ran with.


Even though you said we don’t know the full story, every word you wrote here assumes things we don’t know; so I’m going to skip it. You’re right, we don’t know; and blaming is a waste of time, anyway, IMO.

Since I haven’t watched the video, I don’t know that I would do anything differently. That was my whole point in saying that I hadn’t watched it. It wasn’t a critique of the video; I was simply stating some concerns I had based on what I’d read.

And given the fuss it caused, you were probably right that I shouldn’t even have done that until after I’d seen it. But what’s done is done.

But hey! Thanks for the vote of confidence. You’re in good company. A LOT of people dismiss my ideas. I just share them. If it makes people think, great. If they dismiss them, no skin off my nose.

Again, I’m truly sorry for jumping down your throat. Have a good one!

That part was one of the things that made me think it might difficult to watch, of course; and Rosa3 saying, “I have to confess when I saw Jon pointing to Phil during his guitar solo, I don’t want to say it was a dig at Richie at all, but it was also saying…” didn’t help that feeling. In fact, it just added to the alarm bells going off in my head, as did Alphavictim’s comment: “This is pretty heavy on the band vibe, with everybody walking around. Well, I guess with Richie gone, they gotta showcase everybody.” My immediate response was: “Why? Why change things now?” Best I can remember, Jon’s been the primary, if not the sole, focus in nearly every video since what? WSYCGH?



But whether I would see the video as disrespectful, or simply as a reminder that Richie’s not a part of it, or if I'd remind myself that it’s Jon shtick to point to the guitarist (which I agree with, btw) when I actually got around to watching it, I couldn’t say. I wasn’t offering an opinion on the video itself without seeing it; I was merely expressing concerns I had after reading some of the comments.