Blake Morgan’s Response to blog #4:

How has prog-folk, prog-metal/rock helped keep “progressiveness” alive in the past half-century?

Progressiveness spreads its wings to shelter various subgenres or Rock. Symphonic Rock, Theatrical and Psychedelic Rock, and Rave Rock are amongst a few that we have studied in the class so far. So it comes as no surprise that progressive folk, and metal would be included under the title of “Progressive.”

Starting with folk music, such as that created Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell of the 60’s/70’s era, folk has progressed out f a form of country western music that preceded the 60’s era. It is clear that there is a distinct difference between country music and folk, but it is also clear that there are distinct similarities. These similarities stem from the use of particular instruments, the acoustic guitar and harmonica and even the slide technique. And they also stem from the style of song writing. Progressive Rock of the late 60’s and 70’s talks about making love, getting away, and withdrawing from conformity. Progressive folk music, like country music, tells stories. Stories that people can listen and relate to. Joni Mitchell’s famous song, ‘Woodstock,’ talks about walking the land in search of peace and freedom and the ability to express one’s self. It tells a story, “I came upon a child god, he was walking down the road, I asked him, ‘where are you going?’ this he told me....”

What is so progressive about this style of song writing? It’s a call to change. Songs like this and various others written by Bob Dylan, CSN and Richie Havens are asking society to evolve. They point out injustices in the world and demand that people bring consciousness to these aspects of life. Bob Dylan wrote, “The times they are a changing.’” What separate this folk music from the country music it evolved from are its impact on society, and its ability to make people contemplate.

Progressive metal, on the other hand, is quite different. The countercultural metal bands of the late 60’s and 70’s influence bands like Opeth and Dream Theater and even Metallica. Progressive metal bands like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin all had their influence on society that etched them into metal history. They call out to concepts of chaos and disorder, and a withdrawal from mainstream of ‘strait’ culture.

Well, Metallica and Dream Theater do the same, but the lyrical content of Metallica’s songs, and the tight an complex instrumentation of Dream Theater’s compositions do it in a newer way. Metallica uses aspects of surrealism to relate back to conceptual reality. Enter Sandman, and Master of Puppets refer to the corruption and ill moral values held with contemporary politics or really any form of authority. Dream theater approaches metal in a new way. Stemming from what seems to be classical influences, giving them a sort of medieval or dark ages sort of sound. This points to the despairing and seemingly laborious aspects of living life under the rule of a higher, more authoritative person, who anatomically is no different than you or me. Dream Theater offers an escape from the concept of a boring, and pointless work filled life.

Blake Morgan’s Third Blog Post

The sounds of Post-Syd Floyd and the Krautrockers:

            To begin this blog, I will start out by providing a sense of context with a quote by Emanuel Kant, “Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the more often and steadily they are reflected upon-the starry heavens above and the moral law within me.”

This speaks with great relevance in association with the cosmic sounds of Pink Floyd and the conceptual intentions behind the evolving Krautrock of Germany in the 1970’s. Pink Floyd’s album Dark Side of the Moon is more directly associated with the concept of traveling through space-time and a call for introspection, a close investigation of one’s mind and inner self.

            Consider a voyage through deep space, traveling at millions of miles per hour through the unknown depths of the cosmos. You’re completely isolated from life and the comfort of home; in other words, you are out of your element – alone in the vastness of space. This could and would probably lead to an overwhelming sense of anxiety and paranoia. This is the sense one may gather while experiencing Dark Side of the Moon.

            With the assistance of technology in the recording studio and genius musical abilities of the band members, The Floyd managed to produce what is widely regarded as the worlds best concept album. The opening track, “Breath,” consists of spacey, reverberated vocals and arpeggiated chord progressions, giving the sense that the listener is echoing through the cosmos. “On the Run” uses a synthesizer that imitates the stereotypical sounds of a modulating computer inside of a futuristic spacecraft. It also produces a sort of Doppler effect in that gives the listeners the sense that they are either passing by or being passed by heavy moving bodies in space. The dissonant screeches of a slide effect on the guitar combined with the modulating synthesizer presents a sense of paranoia of being lost in space, a “where are we going” kind of emotion.

            By the time “Great Gig in the Sky” come flowing out of the speakers, I get the sort of cosmic image of floating into the light from behind a large body and seeing the beauty of a nebula or colorful atmospheric reflection of a sight never seen before.

Pink Floyd is credited as being the first band to make this sort of music of the future. But how is this related to Krautrock? Good question. When it comes to the progressive rock movement in Germany, one band seems to resurface over and over, Kraftwerk. This band had only one hit in the United States, “Autoban,” but still, the band credited to have begun a revolutionary change in musical style of the place and time. Kraftwerk could initially be seen as hippyish with lengthy improvised flute solos as influenced by US musical trends like jazz, blues and early rock n’ roll; however, like many bands following Kraftwerk, they restricted themselves to electronic instruments and posited a relationship with technology in the studio, like Pink Floyd. But unlike The Floyd, the Krautrockers did not escape to the cosmos. Instead they enabled their pretty melodies and girder-like rhythms to suit practical resolutions here on Earth. But it still this concept of futurism that allows the Krautrockers of the 1970’s to stand under the same umbrella as the might Pink Floyd.

Blake Morgan’s Personal Blog Post #2.n

My Personal Reactions to the bands King Crimson, ELP, Yes, and Genesis:

            First I will describe what I find interesting about the group of bands I have been assigned to evaluate as a whole. These four historical groups are tied together by common themes presented in their music. They represent a time of change within the musical culture of the early to mid 1970’s. This change is of the band to audience relationship and song writing style. The bands after 1969 became removed from the audience and put up on a pedestal for audience admiration. The concert experience was transformed from a social loving and bonding experience to a theatrical show. Genesis and Emerson, Lake and Palmer are good examples of this. During live performances the group members of Genesis especially original singer, Peter Gabrial, would dress up in costume and prance around the stage as if performing in a broadway musical. Keith Emerson and Rick Wakemen of ELP and Yes would dress in medieval styled costumes, and Rick Wakemen would sometimes dress like a wizard. As the 1970’s progressed, the production value of rock concerts blew up. Meaning, there were no longer just psychedelic oil light projections hiding the band, but spotlights and stage decorations to emphasize the band.

            Perhaps the most identifiable difference these bands share is the change in sound. These bands fused the sounds of rhythm and blues, jazz, rock, classical music, Indian music, and medieval sounds (in the case of Black Sabbath). According to musicologist and scholar, Edward L. Macan, the difference in sound between these bands and the countercultural Rock bands is the instrumentation and tone color. For example, the groups all echoe the sounds of symphonic music using modal baroque and renaissance style scales and chord progressions, classical guitar literature, and renaissance vocal styles. The song “Jerusalem” by ELP is a great example of classical vocals and instrumentation. The melody of the song is not the typical sound groovy rock melody, but of a major, happier sounding scale.

            The group Yes is very similar in the sense of classical sounding keyboards and vocals. However, they seem, to me, a bit more rock oriented. I know that Steve Howe (guitar), and Chris Squire (Bass) are more jazz musicians, while Rick Wakeman (keyboardist on most popular albums) was classically trained. So you hear this sort of virtuosity between classical-jazz and influences of rock and blues resulting in the composition of songs like “Roundabout” and “Long Distance Runaround”.

            King Crimson on the other hand seems, to me, to be even more rock oriented than the aforementioned groups. There definitely seems to be this chaotic, disorderly sense about them, bringing them close to the countercultural rock groups such as Jefferson Airplane and The Jimi Hendrix Experience, but KC incorporates elements of symphonic classical styles into the music. This is demonstrated in songs such as “I Talk To the Wind,” and “Epitaph.” In my opinion, Greg Lake provides this subtle classical influence, because the sound is something that carries over into ELP.

            The band Genesis is maybe the most progressive, in my opinion, of all the bands mentioned so far. The reason I grant them this title, is not only because of their song compositions, but also their stage presence. The dressing up, and sitting down and prancing around is something that most bands up until this point had not done. Genesis took live performances and made them into shows, rather than just jamming in front of the audience.

My overall reaction to these bands is as follows, King Crimson kicks some serious ass, especially the albums, “In Court Of The Crimson King,” and “Disapline.” I think that they are not just rock, but dance upon the line of jazz-rock fusion and that’s just really groovy.

Yes also, in my opinion is an awesome band! Steve Howe has been a major influence on me as a musician, and Rick Wakeman just blows my mind with his technical skills.

As for ELP and Genesis, ELP are great musicians, I think that Keith Emerson is one of the greatest keyboardists of all time. However, the classical vibe is not really my bag so I have to say that I am not too found of ELP. Although when performing live, I think it is beyond cool when Emerson is lifted up and spun in a summersault motion while playing his solos.

I strait up hate Genesis. I think that Peter Gabrial was better for the band as a singer than Phil Collins, but I still just dislike all of their songs. I feel like they are not necessarily a rock and roll band, but more of a weaker, softer, more pansy-like, watered down version of a rock band. I respect the song writing in regards to songs like “Supper’s Ready,” but I just really don’t like the band.

Blake Morgan’s Personal Blog Post, Entry #1:

Hi my name is Blake Morgan, I am a Senior at the University of Denver. My majors include Jazz Composition and Philosophy. My blog posts are in response to an assignment given by a Progressive Music course offered by the University of Denver.

Concerning Acid Rock regarding the counterculture specifically in the contexts of The Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd:

Drugs are often associated with the topic of Rock music. It can also be argued that Rock music is often associated with drugs. What is it that makes these two so compatible with one another? In this blog post, I will be examining the motivation and intentions of rebellion in countercultural Rock music, also known as Psychedelic or Acid Rock.

It seems that San Francisco was a very special place to be during the late 50’s and 60’s. The Beat generation called upon the youth of the United States and showed that life is a subjective matter and things should be done in a way that satisfies the individual. It was a call to question conformity, and the social logic of the preceding generation. The Beats condoned the concept of authentic expression and living authentic lives that were based off of living their real feelings, not their conditioned feelings. They accepted the notion of drugs as a tool used to expand one’s mind and see the world through new and innovative perceptions. And of course that acted as a major influence on the hippie counterculture.

The hippies enjoyed the idea of a like, free and loving community powered by the common experiences of love and consideration. They liked to stand out, and to show people that they wanted to be simply the way they wanted to be, rather than living up to an overwhelming social expectation persuades their vibes. It was a call to rebel against the morbid and boring generation of lifestyle of the 50’s.

And of course drugs and Rock N’ Roll played an exponential roll in this rebellious period. Ken Keasey was responsible for uniting the drug culture in the greater San Francisco area. He discovered that while on acid, one can transcend the norms of reality and think outside of the common perception. He held gatherings for people who were interested in experimenting with this new concept of transcendental perception and meditation. These were the Acid Tests. He would draw people together into some type of auditorium or large room, fill up Kool-Aid bowls with acid and encourage people to be free and express themselves. But he needed a force that would keep people entertained and present, so The Warlocks (later known as The Grateful Dead) would play long improvised jams for hours at a time. The music combined forms of Jazz, Blues, Country and Rock, but played out for extended periods of time and with a sort of wavy flange texture that suits the psychedelic experience. Their long guitar solos resembled and acid trip in and of themselves. They were long and combined modal with pentatonic scales giving them an unusual and unexpected trip-like Rock quality. The music was highly improvised, and, like an acid trip, was unaware of its intended destination. It was about the ride.  This was the first time young people could come together in a consequence free environment, be who they are, and not be judged. They were free, and young hippies began to recognize the impacts of music combined with mind expanding substances.

The Grateful Dead was for the Acid Tests in the United States, what Pink Floyd was for the UFO sessions in England. These bands were the uniting voices of an anxious and disturbed up-and-coming generation. The Victorian Era of England was comparable to the boring lifestyle of conformed America in the 50’s. Young adults in England were ready for a change and adopted a very similar mode of expression as that of the United States. Pink Floyd was the band that really provided leverage for this society -changing revolution. In the early days of Pink Floyd, they would play at the underground UFO gatherings which lasted all night and accepted the use of drugs and freedom of expression, be it emotional, sexual, or any other way. Their music was interesting to the public because they would play bluesy chord progressions under extended free form Rock. Inspired by acid, their sound, like The Grateful Dead, carried a sort of trip-like quality, and consisted of ambient sounds of voices in rhythm and long improvisations that were not typical of popular music at the time. It was a sort of call to change and free the creative musical mind, and it showed that the authenticity of creativity inspired and moved people in positive ways. This period in time was the opening of the gates to the famous sixties countercultural movement in both the U.S. and Great Britain.