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KingCrimson posted:That saxophone solo makes up for the embarrassingly terrible lyrics. Who listens to prog for the insightful lyrics, anyway? Granted, there are plenty of artists who can get away with bad lyrics because you can't hear them (metal bands), you can't understand what they're saying (death growls), or they never made any sense in the first place (the Mars Volta), but those you can manage to ignore.
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Nov 22, 2011 00:33
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I don't think I'm saying it because I'm a hugely biased PT fanboy, but I think almost all of their lyrics are pretty well done. Steve has done a few clunkers, and that line in Don't Hate Me always comes to mind when thinking of that. But I still think that song works, despite the corniness of it. The rest of the song actually has some rather good lyrics. And that chorus to me works because it just helps me visualize someone that's so broken that's all he can think of to say is a line like that. Other than that, though, PT has some really great lyrics: "I've been - in limousines I've seen - inside your dreams It's raining there Try not to stare" "If I could find you And tell you about my life Or maybe just write And remind you of when we would dream... Of where we would be when the future comes And how you would paint while I wrote my songs Strange how you never become The person you see when you're young" "I still wave at the dots on the shore And I still beat my head against the door I still rage and wage my little war I'm a shade and easy to ignore" "Up there a mountain rises Down here an ocean dives A stranger with a head full of lead Photographs me Steel bars and a doctor's note Don't give up They can plead and beg but don't let them fix your head Outside a path to knowledge Inside a waste of cells A serpent with a mobile phone Sweet talks me" "A choir boy is buried on the moors Where we used to go dreaming when we were bored Some kids are best left to fend for themselves And others were born to stack shelves" "Inside the vehicle the cold is extreme Smoke in my throat kicks me out of my dream I try to relax but its warmer outside I fail to connect, it's a tragic divide This has become a full time career To die young would take only 21 years Gun down a school or blow up a car The media circus will make you a star Dark matter flowing out on to a tape Is only as loud as the silence it breaks Most things decay in a matter of days The product is sold the memory fades Crushed like a rose In the river flow I am I know" "Mother lost her looks for you Father never wanted you I trust to love and then I find you never really felt the same There's something in your heart so cruel" "And pride is just another way of trying to live with my mistakes Denial is a better way of getting through another day And silence is another way of saying what I wanna say And lying is another way of hoping it will go away And you were always my mistake" "I won't heal given time I won't try to change your mind I won't feel better in the cold light of day But I wouldn't stop you if you wanted to stay" "I tried to find myself a better way I got religion but I went astray They took my money and I lost my faith"
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Nov 22, 2011 01:09
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God I fucking love Diablo 3 gold, it even paid for this shitty title
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Not to move away from Porcupine Tree (I've never listened to them  ), but I just came home from Zappa Plays Zappa and God drat was it fun as hell. Would Zappa be considered suitable for this thread? I can't really think of any other kind of thread to discuss him in, but at the same time he seems so far removed from so much of what is considered "Progressive" in its typical sense and yeah I don't know. It was a really great gig though.
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Nov 22, 2011 01:29
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God drat you guys like Porcupine Tree. Pretty sure Zappa fits in fine here. So I've been listening to Harmonium's "Si on avait besoin d'une cinquième saison" a bunch lately and it's loving brilliant. Listen to this. I know a few of you guys like them too, are there any other similar artists with this kind of laid back prog kinda stuff? Massive bonus points if it's in French. Or any foreign language for that matter. For some reason I appreciate music so much more when I don't have (usually awful) English lyrics getting in the way, rather I just kind of imagine something extremely profound is being said that couldn't be communicated through English. Ha. It's stupid I know, but it adds a whole new element that I love.
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Dec 1, 2011 02:50
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Orbital Sapling posted:God drat you guys like Porcupine Tree. Pretty sure Zappa fits in fine here. PFM are kind of an obvious recommendation, but their softer stuff reminds me quite a bit of Harmonium. Also Le Orme, maybe even moreso. Also I redact some of my prior praise for Porcupine Tree as I listened to In Absentia for the first time the past week and it's loving boring. I'm not sure I really even like them much at all before Deadwing. Or after Deadwing. And I only really love like 1/3 of Deadwing.
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Dec 1, 2011 05:29
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I love the poo poo out of Porcupine Tree. I just wish some of their stuff wasn't so rare. I would love a physical copy of the Futile EP, but I guess I just have to settle that they sell it as FLAC files.
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Dec 1, 2011 05:45
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Count me in with the guys who consider Stupid Dream to be the best Porcupine Tree album. There's just something quite special about that one. It just seems to elicit this weird sense of nostalgia, even when I heard it for the first time. On a side note, I love Wesley's vocals on the XM2 version of Fadeaway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJAUiHgrus4
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Dec 1, 2011 10:22
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Foiltha posted:Count me in with the guys who consider Stupid Dream to be the best Porcupine Tree album. There's just something quite special about that one. It just seems to elicit this weird sense of nostalgia, even when I heard it for the first time. See, this is what makes me think we need a PT thread. I'd love to discuss the albums in more depth but don't want to clog stuff up. I'm really not sure why Stupid Dream is so popular. Granted you have songs like Even Less, A Smart Kid, Stop Swimming, and Don't Hate Me, but I think Stupid Dream has the most songs on it that I just can't engage with. This Is No Rehearsal, Tinto Brass, Baby Dream in Cellophane. I can't really summon much enthusiasm for them which is very unusual for me. Wes' voice is so rock and roll, it's great. I know Wilson said he wanted to hear Fadeaway sung higher like that, but I think I prefer the original. I mean, vocally, it's a great performance, but I think the subject matter/vibe of the song lends itself better to Wilson's more subdued style.
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Dec 2, 2011 02:48
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeXSQl56no8 I gotta show some love for this classic prog supergroup. tehpango fucked around with this message at 19:30 on Dec 15, 2011 |
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Dec 15, 2011 19:25
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Yes are touring Australia, and tickets are on sale today. Are they worth seeing live?
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Dec 15, 2011 20:40
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I'd say yes. They've recently added Machine Messiah, Life on a Film Set, and the complete Fly from Here suite to their set, and those alone would make it worthwhile for me. I saw them in St. Louis this summer, and while there were some problems (tempo too slow on Tempus Fugit, the band briefly falling out of synch with each other during Fly from Here), it was overall a pretty strong performance and I'm glad I went. Recent posts on Progressive Ears have suggested Benoit David has been sick and having some voice problems lately, but like half those people categorically hate him for not being Jon Anderson, so I'd take most of the negativity with a grain of salt. Rollersnake fucked around with this message at 22:16 on Dec 15, 2011 |
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Dec 15, 2011 22:08
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Apparently Mikal Akerfeldt and Steven Wilson are going to have a side project album.quote:Mikael Akerfeldt has given out some more information regarding his highly anticipated collaboration record with Steven Wilson, titled ‘Storm Corrosion’. I’ve collated his main points into bullet points below, so read on to find out what he had to say! Most of the new information is taken from a recent interview with Linea Rock, which you can watch below. http://starsdie.com/wp/mikael-akerfeldt-talks-about-storm-corrosion/ Seriously all sorts of excited for this. Especially curious to hear how it will be without drums.
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Dec 19, 2011 05:52
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Myrmidongs posted:Apparently Mikal Akerfeldt and Steven Wilson are going to have a side project album. Same here. Steven and Mikael are probably my two favorite musicians on the planet right now. I'm kind of hoping Mikael can use this as his avenue for all his weird, experimental ideas so the next Opeth album isn't as far out there as Heritage was  It also strikes me as odd that there will be no drums. Wasn't Mike Portnoy originally going to be a part of this project?And speaking of Mikael Akerfeldt, I did an interview with him a few months back when Opeth played in Detroit. It focuses a bit more on his personality and on the metal side of his music, but there are some fun questions about prog, too. I figured y'all might like it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Rqh7l4BKaI
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Dec 19, 2011 18:27
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You guys want to hear a funny prog record, check out Starcastle's debut (1976). This band went full out to imitate Yes, and I mean that in every sense of the word. Basically they sound like The Yes Album but with Rick Wakeman. I know that is a very specific sound but that's exactly what they went for. And some of it is pretty good! This is no classic by any means but it's drat entertaining to pick out all the Yes references (some very specific).
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Dec 20, 2011 17:25
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Glad to hear more detail on Storm Corrosion. Opeth's got a few songs with no drums, albeit on the light/folk side with Patterns in the Ivy I and II and Still Day Beneath the Sun. Sounds like something unique and different, which is what excites me, coming from 2 of my 5 most favorite musicians.
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Dec 20, 2011 21:57
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BSchlang posted:Same here. Steven and Mikael are probably my two favorite musicians on the planet right now. I'm kind of hoping Mikael can use this as his avenue for all his weird, experimental ideas so the next Opeth album isn't as far out there as Heritage was
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Dec 20, 2011 22:43
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JAMOOOL posted:You guys want to hear a funny prog record, check out Starcastle's debut (1976). This band went full out to imitate Yes, and I mean that in every sense of the word. Basically they sound like The Yes Album but with Rick Wakeman. I know that is a very specific sound but that's exactly what they went for. And some of it is pretty good! This is no classic by any means but it's drat entertaining to pick out all the Yes references (some very specific). Been meaning to check this for a long time, sounds great. There's elements of their own (USA rock and roll) sound in some of the riffing though right?
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Dec 21, 2011 11:35
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Kind of, it's all very "rock 'n roll", which means it drops a lot of the pretentions. IMO it's still second rate but it's very easy to like. You just have to admire the effort.
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Dec 21, 2011 22:42
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(Didn't get to post this, since I was on holiday with no internet access) So, apparently someone with a proggy record collection worked on the last Monday Night Football---coming into the second half, they used two Floyd cues (Gilmour soloing from Shine On... under the first half stats and the main riff of Learning To Fly into a commercial) and a Yes cue (Seen All Good People, also into a commercial). I was officially a bit weirded out by this.
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Dec 30, 2011 03:55
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Allen Wren posted:(Didn't get to post this, since I was on holiday with no internet access)
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Dec 30, 2011 06:08
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I heard "Hocus Pocus" by Focus in a seafood restaurant once. I literally couldn't believe my ears.
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Dec 30, 2011 08:19
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Iucounu posted:I heard "Hocus Pocus" by Focus in a seafood restaurant once. I literally couldn't believe my ears. Well, really, who can believe their ears when they hear Hocus Pocus at all? poo poo is Lovecraftian. EDIT Earwicker posted:Maybe it's a regional thing but when I was growing up that song was on classic rock radio stations constantly, I wouldn't be surprised to hear it in a restaurant, bar, gas station, etc. Could be. I never heard it until the age of the internet, I was at a party and the host had burned a DVD of music videos to play on the TV while people hung out---that was one of them. hexwren fucked around with this message at 17:20 on Dec 30, 2011 |
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Dec 30, 2011 17:02
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Iucounu posted:I heard "Hocus Pocus" by Focus in a seafood restaurant once. I literally couldn't believe my ears.  Maybe it's a regional thing but when I was growing up that song was on classic rock radio stations constantly, I wouldn't be surprised to hear it in a restaurant, bar, gas station, etc.
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Dec 30, 2011 17:07
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keratas posted:Yes are touring Australia, and tickets are on sale today. Are they worth seeing live? Depends on your pain tolerance. Naturally, the elderly gentlemen have slowed down a bit, but they seem happy to be performing, are still pulling their weight, and are still worth experiencing. If you're a big fan, at least. But 2011 has not been kind to young Mr. David. Some claim he was suffering from illness earlier in the year--and he probably was; otherwise this is pretty much inexcusable--but he also wasn't holding up his end up of the bargain when Yes came by here a couple of weeks ago. I'm genuinely surprised he hasn't gotten the boot. It sucks, because when I saw Yes on their 2009 tour, I was more than happy with his singing. Fly From Here's one of my favourite albums of the year, too, so I was really looking forward to hearing the new material in a live setting. I still enjoyed it, honestly, but I don't think anyone was entirely satisfied with the vocals.
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Dec 30, 2011 20:09
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Skjorte posted:Depends on your pain tolerance. Naturally, the elderly gentlemen have slowed down a bit, but they seem happy to be performing, are still pulling their weight, and are still worth experiencing. If you're a big fan, at least. But 2011 has not been kind to young Mr. David. Some claim he was suffering from illness earlier in the year--and he probably was; otherwise this is pretty much inexcusable--but he also wasn't holding up his end up of the bargain when Yes came by here a couple of weeks ago. I'm genuinely surprised he hasn't gotten the boot.
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Dec 30, 2011 20:55
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Earwicker posted:
I had never heard it in public before or since. I grew up in the southwest, pretty much the only prog we hear on the radio here (besides Rush of course) is the Yes radio trinity of Roundabout, I've Seen All Good People, and Owner of a lonely heart, and once in a blue moon maybe ELP's Karn Evil 9.
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Dec 30, 2011 22:18
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This live clip with Benoit David is very cringe worthy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=_Bp7uUFSTus#t=126s Not sure Jon Anderson could pull it off these days either to be honest, the stuff from him I've heard post-illness has been way off from his former glory. I guess you simply can't sing in that range forever, I'm actually pretty surprised he sounded as good as he did for so long. e: I have to take that last comment back. I've been checking out some videos of his solo tour this year, and he's actually in pretty good form. Iucounu fucked around with this message at 22:39 on Dec 30, 2011 |
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Dec 30, 2011 22:27
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Iucounu posted:This live clip with Benoit David is very cringe worthy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=_Bp7uUFSTus#t=126s That's pretty much is what I sound like when I sing along with Yes. That's not good.
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Dec 31, 2011 01:29
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Iucounu posted:This live clip with Benoit David is very cringe worthy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=_Bp7uUFSTus#t=126s I stopped paying attention to Yes years ago so I had no idea who Benoit David was until I watched this video. Then I looked him up. They replaced Jon Anderson with a guy from a cover band that they found out about on Youtube.  I feel bad for the guy, being the actual lead singer of Yes must have been a lifelong impossible dream and now he's actually on stage with them... singing like that. Earwicker fucked around with this message at 21:19 on Jan 1, 2012 |
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Jan 1, 2012 21:16
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Cool, a prog thread. Have you guys heard of Sky Architect? I went through 10 pages of this thread and didn't find a mention of them: A Dutch prog band. They have two albums out as far as I know. The first album is very classic rocky prog with jazzy interludes, though it still sounds modern. Their 2011 album takes a more avant-gardey Sleepytime Gorilla approach, but is a lot more melodic instrumentally than what you usually expect from Sleepytime. I'm bad at descriptions: check out the youtubes. E: Sorry, I just read the rules AFTER posting the youtube links. Is posting embedded videos of entire songs OK? It doesn't seem to be! E2: glancing at the thread, it does seem to be. Are there special rules for posting videos of songs? I'm stupid. SSJ2 Goku Wilders fucked around with this message at 21:24 on Jan 1, 2012 |
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Jan 1, 2012 21:19
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Allen Wren posted:Well, really, who can believe their ears when they hear Hocus Pocus at all? poo poo is Lovecraftian. Hocus Pocus was actually my gateway drug into prog. I remember it clearly, I was 6 years old napping in my room when my aunt put on the "Moving Waves" record in the living room and blasted it. I was blown away and woke up asking "what the hell am I hearing?" I loved it, and it was the first CD I ever owned. Still a favorite of mine.
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Jan 1, 2012 21:43
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Skjorte posted:Depends on your pain tolerance. Naturally, the elderly gentlemen have slowed down a bit, but they seem happy to be performing, are still pulling their weight, and are still worth experiencing. If you're a big fan, at least. But 2011 has not been kind to young Mr. David. Some claim he was suffering from illness earlier in the year--and he probably was; otherwise this is pretty much inexcusable--but he also wasn't holding up his end up of the bargain when Yes came by here a couple of weeks ago. I'm genuinely surprised he hasn't gotten the boot. drat, just saw that video, that was depressing. Yes's last great tour was the 2001 Symphonic one. Even though they were already slowing down at that point, the slower pace worked well with the orchestral arrangements. They still sounded amazing and it was great hearing those classic prog epics like Close to the Edge and The Gates of Delerium with an orchestra. It really did sound grand. I saw them one more time after that ... with Wakeman in 2004. It was good, but even then I knew that they had lost a lot of their energy and power, and they no longer had the orchestra to help beef them up so there was definitely a drop off. When you compare their 70s live albums, like Yessongs or Yesshows with their more recent tours, it's like a completely different band. Yes was a ferocious beast in the 70s, now they just sound old and feeble. It really is sad. I guess this happens with a lot of bands as they get older, but I've never seen a drop off as big as this. Genesis had to drop key for their last tour, and had slowed down a bit, but they still sounded great. Ian Anderson can barely sing anymore but his flute and guitar playing is better than ever and Jethro Tull still sounds tight as gently caress. ELP have slowed down, and Greg's voice has deepened, but they still sound great live. Pink Floyd/Waters/Gilmour still sounds amazing, though not as ballsy as they did in their younger years. Renaissance and Rush both sound as good as ever, and King Crimson has gotten even more aggressive as they aged. I still hold out hope that Yes can pull it together at least one more time. quote:I feel bad for the guy, being the actual lead singer of Yes must have been a lifelong impossible dream and now he's actually on stage with them... singing like that. I remember when I first heard him, probably 2009 or so like the other poster said. He sounded a lot better. He actually did sound a lot like Jon in his younger years, though you could tell his voice wasn't as natural. It's not his natural singing voice, it's his impression of Jon Anderson. I think this is what happens when you try to impersonate someone else's voice for an entire tour. It must be quite a strain after awhile. Eventually the voice just won't cooperate anymore. Gianthogweed fucked around with this message at 22:37 on Jan 1, 2012 |
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Jan 1, 2012 22:06
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I dunno if the St. Louis was an unusually good day or if that Canadaigua, NY show is unusually bad, but I definitely came away from that show rather impressed with Benoit David. He hit all the high notes in Heart of the Sunrise, etc. I'm just hoping we get another good album out of this lineup—they have said they want to make another album—but I'm anticipating this collapsing into endless nostalgia tours and inter-band drama.
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Jan 1, 2012 22:31
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Earwicker posted:I stopped paying attention to Yes years ago so I had no idea who Benoit David was until I watched this video. Then I looked him up. This just didn't end up working out for reasons that other posters here have already hit upon. Vulture Culture fucked around with this message at 17:01 on Jan 2, 2012 |
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Jan 2, 2012 16:59
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The thing about Jon Anderson, is that he sings high because he has a high speaking voice. It's less of a strain for him. Your average Joe trying to consistently sing like Jon Anderson can't last forever.
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Jan 2, 2012 17:14
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Gianthogweed posted:ELP have slowed down, and Greg's voice has deepened, but they still sound great live. Pink Floyd/Waters/Gilmour still sounds amazing, though not as ballsy as they did in their younger years. Renaissance and Rush both sound as good as ever, and King Crimson has gotten even more aggressive as they aged. I still hold out hope that Yes can pull it together at least one more time. While I agree that some of these bands can still sound awesome live (Van der Graaf Generator and the Moody Blues come to mind), ELP is not one of them. Here's something I wrote in my review of their latest live disc: quote:Grab a piano right now and try to bang out something like "Sunshine of Your Love" or "Smoke on the Water" in real-time without rehearsing. Congrats - you now sound exactly like Keith Emerson.
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Jan 5, 2012 17:49
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JAMOOOL posted:While I agree that some of these bands can still sound awesome live (Van der Graaf Generator and the Moody Blues come to mind), ELP is not one of them. Here's something I wrote in my review of their latest live disc: I wasn't at those shows, so I don't know. I guess it's not really fair of me to compare them since the last time I saw ELP was 1998, and I thought it was a great show. I didn't see any of their more recent tour. Haven't see The Moody Blues since Ray Thomas left, but thought they sounded great back then. And yes, VDGG is still great to see live. I saw them with The Strawbs a couple years ago, and was pleasantly surprised at how good The Strawbs sounded, even if it was just their acoustic lineup.
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Jan 5, 2012 20:21
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Been listening to Gentle Giant a lot lately. It took a while to get into. I had Octopus in my car USB stick for a while (6 months) and was initially amused in a condescending kind of way whenever I came to that particular album, and thought it had a few semi-decent parts among all the multi instrumental wanker gimmicky parts: "Is there an instrument they won't play?" But somehow I put it on a couple more times on my way to work, and realized that there was some pretty awesome and unique tracks on Octopus and that Gentle Giant pretty much rocks! So I got "The Power And The Glory" and have been digging it as well. As in all of prog rock you never know what you're going to get in a particular track: "poo poo, this song sucks! -> wait a moment -> thats a pretty nice melody -> HOLY gently caress! that's great!" So where should I go next in the Gentle Giant discography?
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Jan 6, 2012 18:51
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something_clever posted:Been listening to Gentle Giant a lot lately. Their self titled debut album, Aquiring the Taste, and Three Friends are all solid choices. Their first album is significantly less "out there" than the other ones, but probably the most accessible and has great tunes on it.
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Jan 6, 2012 21:33
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I think Power and the Glory through Interview is the strongest period of their career. Before Power and the Glory there tends to be an impersonal, academic quality to their music that while not exactly bad often makes the concept bigger than the music and leaves me a bit cold. Three Friends I think is the worst offender in this respect—not a bad album, but I've always thought it falls sort of flat, and is their weakest work pre-Missing Piece. On Reflection is pretty much the quintessential Gentle Giant song in my mind, but Interview feels like their most personal album, and it's probably their most challenging, at times being as dissonant as what you'd expect from an avant-prog band (and I wish they went that way instead of making a failed attempt at selling out). I'm generally not a fan of the last three Gentle Giant albums (especially Giant for a Day, ugh), but feel they still deserve a listen. Shadows on the Street is a beautiful little ballad, and if they'd done more like that, maybe they could have had some mainstream success. For Nobody is one of their best rockers and kind of reminds me a little bit of The Police (Synchronicity I has always struck me as a very Gentle Giant sort of song for that matter). Rollersnake fucked around with this message at 06:47 on Jan 7, 2012 |
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Jan 7, 2012 06:40
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