easycure

Well, what does it matter: Atom Heart Mother drives me crazy, and it’s 25 minutes long; the same goes for Echoes or the incredible Supper's Ready. But 1) they are all pieces that, in their elongation, never lose sight of a fundamental concept: the THEME. That’s why they don’t come off as pretentious at all. Moreover, and also for this reason, the changes in time and dynamics are all motivated by the precise expression of a state of mind, not the other way around: it’s not the time change that IMPOSSES the feeling, but rather the feeling that demands a formal device to represent it. THIS is the only huge, substantial difference between Prog bands (not all of them; ELP after a while becomes hot air, the same goes for certain Colosseum or for A LOT of PFM) and DT. In fact, progressive was anything but cerebral music. It was, in fact, very physical and earthy in its evocation of atmospheres, not as experimental as much of psychedelia (which was often more cerebral). DT, on the other hand, are TERRIBLY cerebral (and sometimes just banal, as in the ballads); they go in circles, demanding a vision from the listener without inspiring one... and why is that? Well, because at an interpretive level, in addition to being terribly arrogant in their attempt to step outside the logic of "theme" (perhaps except for the last two albums, which, according to DT fans, are certainly not their best), they are nothing more than a corollary of various techniques, styles, and genres without ever giving a personal impulse.

My Bloody Valentine, using the distorted guitars of punk and noise, weaving them into an ethereal and dreamy pop fabric, create one of the most ingenious and unique fusions in the history of music. THIS is an organic fusion. These examples illustrate my point, as none of this is apparent in the DT. The tempos, structures, and dynamics of progressive + the sounds, rhythms, and solos of metal and hard rock + the inevitable pop for heart-wrenching ballads + a good dash of glam sensitivity for the more grandiose parts... it’s all far too simplistic, despite the continuous lavish flourishes for an exercise notebook.

Tom Morello creates an organic fusion of funk, metal, and hardcore. The Red Hot Chili Peppers create an organic fusion of funk, rock, and rap: in fact, they subject a hip-hop phrasing to a constantly repeated riff, like in hip-hop itself, but octave-shifted and distorted like in rock, while also being syncopated and intrinsically rhythmic like in funk. THIS is an organic fusion, as all the starting elements are filtered and no longer exist in their original form. Nine Inch Nails blend industrial, rock, and hardcore: translating the most acidic and atypical sounds from electronics, they maintain the rhythmic physicality of rock while pushing tempos and interpretations into noise and hardcore. THIS is an organic fusion. Korn create a fusion of funk metal hardcore, hip-hop, and noise (up to and including Life is Peachy, before becoming a farce): their clumsy and dissonant guitar riffs, pure noise (the one in "Chi" is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard produced by a guitar), are supported by an intrinsically "black," tribal, and funky rhythm section, also noting the slap bass (one of the most lethal and creative rhythm sections in history) and above it all, the mutant and schizophrenic growl of Davis. THIS is an organic fusion.

Yes, but there are quite a few "only" big groups ;-) Besides that, LaBrie is rather varied in his interpretations, as the theatricality of DT requires, but he fails in his heterogeneity... he’s not camalentico; he standardizes everything to his pretty boy voice without ever really expanding... in the fiery tracks, it feels like a child is singing... as for DT in general, I've never heard "lights and colors" :-) ..I've certainly heard it in Floyd's "careful with that axe eugene" or "astronomy domine" or in King Crimson's "21st century schizoid man," but the only effect they had on me was that of a pop group from the charts, like Ramazzotti or Pausini in terms of emotional impact (by the way, they say she’s not a bad singer either...), stuffed with as many theatrical embellishments as possible... I don't know how they can evoke lights and colors in the three hundred time changes of Metropolis part 1... for me, it takes a bit more awareness of one's own nightmares (or dreams) and a bit less illustration of school catalogues (or a bit more conciseness, if you prefer).

better progressive rock is already better... in any case, the discussion about the validity of your statistic remains: I don't think it's very significant.

mmm you say, huh? Well, I don't know, I already find Moon's style very evolved and personal; in fact, I prefer him over Bonham ;-) ...anyway, yes, these were the personal viewpoints I would have liked from the start (on all topics). It seems much nicer to discuss this way. P.S. "the who sings my generation" is from 1965 ;-)

Ah, minute 4:11 of "spirit.." is the same as minute 9:57 of "shine.." anyway... heehee :-)

oh no no, if you’re worried about this, rest assured, I'm still having a lot of fun :-D ..of course, I find it debatable, as I’ve said about ten times already, that I still don’t understand what’s so great about this group for you; I don’t get the importance, the expressiveness, the modernity of the DT for you. I don’t understand it because you’ve never tried to explain it. You’ve only, I repeat, tried to make a public accusation; with that, far from being even slightly tired or embarrassed, it seems obvious to me.. :-)

Moreover (maybe you’re not very familiar with drummers), if this magazine has elected Portnoy as the best drummer in the world for ten consecutive years, it's OBVIOUS that it’s a magazine read by an audience that is at least very close to metal. Because, excuse me for ruining your idol, but in the last ten years there have been plenty of drummers better than Portnoy, just focusing on purely technical factors: not even Portnoy can compare to someone like Vinnie Colaiuta, who has such independence that he could easily play two different rhythms at the same time... yeah, right, wait and see, poor Portnoy :-)

oh dear, Orion, phew, what a struggle.. so let me explain myself better (and yet in this case I thought I had been sufficiently clear): I’m not opining your blessed ranking per se. I couldn’t care less if Modern Drummer is the best magazine for drummers, I couldn’t care less about the esteemed readers from all over the world who for ten years have officially declared Portnoy the best drummer on earth. What I was evidently trying, without success, to explain to you is that: precisely because it's a specialized magazine, precisely because it specializes in presumably technical drummers who do ads for Tama or Yamaha with their fancy sponsored sticks in hand, it is OBVIOUS that someone like Portnoy has a great chance of being elected as the best drummer on earth. But this same magazine and this same ranking, as such, presumably exclude a large segment of the audience who, equally presumably, besides not being interested in any kind of ranking for muscle-bound players, certainly don’t put a drummer like Portnoy on a pedestal.. I don’t know, maybe they really like emo, punk, grind, noise, wave, funk, jazz music, or because perhaps when judging a musician they tend to view him in the context of what they listen to. Got it? So (what a struggle!) we have once again reached the conclusion: if you claim to state, based on that ranking, that my position is extreme, you yourself are taking a biased and fundamentally invalid position, because it is just ONE of the possible statistics that could be drawn from the vast and multifaceted audience/professionals of rock.