Greetings from a Belgian in the Netherlands...

[Pablo Belgik]

...to all of you. I'm Paul, "when I'm 64" has become a fact, and I ...returned to hi-fi because, during weeknights, I live alone and have time galore (that's Irish) to listen to music and read (because I don't want a TV).

I have an all Onkyo lineup, all of it (except the CD player) "pre-loved" equipment, most prominently the A-R700 (same as A-8780) integrated amplifier (2 x min. 105W RMS into 8 Ohm) and an original English set of B&W DM2a speakers I particularly sherish because they transmit good sound to my imperfect old ears.

Other than that, well, I like music, whether it be classical (particularly like string quartets, Benjamin Britten chorals and admire Quartetto Italiano's Anton Webern complete quartets, or, pop music in all forms and shapes, not excluding classic arabian music, some jazz... Yesterday, for example, I actually shed tears (!!!) listening to Barbra Streisand's 1994 concert at the Madison Square Garden (a famous garden for squares in New York?), at the ...downright corny... and poignent...ah well, the power of New York City society put to music.

My present plug? Stromae "Racine Carrée". Great stuff, meaningful lyrics ("everyone talks about how to make babies, nobody how to make daddies") and a good beat. Belgian (of all things!).

Cheers.
Paul

[mr sneff]

Hi Paul, welcome to AOS. There has been some good music to come out of Belgium over the years, notably IMO Univers Zero, the greatest rock band in the world! :)

[Pablo Belgik]

Er...I'll have to check that band out! ;-) Many thanks for the welcoming words, mr sneff.

[SLS]

Welcome

Other good things came out of Belgium (besides Hercule Poirot and Jean Claude Van Damme), such as my wife, Lara Fabian, and of course Audrey Hepburn, and the Taschen bookstore in Brussels, which is my idea of heaven on a rainy day. And of course Del Rey chocolate, which is like nothing else on earth (and costs the earth).

My dream for years has been a house on the Zwin in Knokke, stare at the sea, and listen to something loud, for a long time (measured in years).

Enjoy the forum

[MartinT]

Hello Paul and welcome to AoS. I thought Focus from the Netherlands was the greatest rock band in the world? ;)

[Pablo Belgik]

Thanks for the welcome, guys.
SLS, reading you, I got the (wrong, I surmise) impression that Lara Fabian was your wife! Del Rey...that's Antwerp, no? My favorite is Manon, in Brussels, but let's not argue about the many excellent chocolates (and beers, food, books, music...) made in this country. And both Jacques Brel and Adamo, both Belgians, are monuments of French music.
Martin T, yes, Focus was noteworthy, plenty of good Dutch music: Golden Earring, Shocking Blue, Boudewijn de Groot, Gruppo Sportivo, to name but a few.
The more one listens to music, the more one learns about it, the more artists surface, in this respect listening to FM radio is still a part of my evening, it creates contact with the outside world, better even -I believe- than the "discovery qualities" of the streamers like Spotify.

[StanleyB]

Welcome Paul. But let us not forget Herge ;).

[Andrei]

Greets from NZ. My Missus - from Leiden - seems to know more Belgian jokes than I know Aussie jokes. The way it goes I suppose. Britten! Webern! Yikes! (And no AOS members 'Yikes' is not a Belgian composer any more than Dikkens, that's Dikkens with two 'Ks', is not a well known Dutch author.)

[The Grand Wazoo]

Hi Paul & welcome to AoS.
Well! Gruppo Sportivo is a name I haven't seem in a while!

[StanleyB]

Greets from NZ. My Missus - from Leiden - seems to know more Belgian jokes than I know Aussie jokes. Oh not the "Vaste dertig cent" joke again :eek:.

[MikeMusic]

So you moved from a country nuts about cycling to a er... country nuts about cycling !
:)
Welcome