h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Sounds painful.

Gif

I'll admit, under duress, that Fish is a special case. A working class Scot who shouldn't have been aspiring to public school Proggery. ("I say! Let's prog Cholmondley minor in the quad!"). But he still can't be forgiven for the number of Children's Panel cases named 'Kayleigh'.

Pedro:

"rhythm is king for pop music (...)Who gives a damn what Jumping Jack Flash is about?"

the evidence that a lot of people don't give a damn is that they DO NOT understand English, and still like the music, the bands, the RHYTHM.
My elders brothers had no idea if the lyrics of King Krimson or Pink Floyd were intrincated or if they were arrogant " white public schools boys"

Prejudices, good or bad, act on your perception.

HOWEVER

without that kind of prejudices, some prog rock bands or songs result boring or make me feel down. And that's a shared feeling.

BUT

Can we say that prog rock is ALL RUBBISH? It would not be fair at all.

Fish is excellent live. Ilast saw him on the Back to Childhood tour a couple of years ago - t'was superb. He performed the whole Misplaced Childhood album *after* doing an hour+ set of other material. And he's a *big* man*

And there's nowt wrong with King Crimson...'Elephant talk', The Court of the Crimson King'...etc...sublime.



*I'm only 4'11" but hubby is 6'2" and we stood within feet of the stage

<>

Nope. But I've never heard *any* King Crimson, Genesis (that I can remember), Yes and the like. And I Pink Floyd bore me silly (even after a smoke. Well, except for Echoes..)

pedro's at least picked out the only listenable Floyd album. OK - so I generalise. But would you have me any other way? King Crimson I'll allow. My wrath goes back to embarassing childhood incidents. My youth...what should have been a culturally formative part of my life...was wasted listening to Elf Rock* of the likes of Genesis and Yes. Youth is wasted on the young. Just think what else I could have been listening to!

Jesus wept. Whenever they have a TV programme about 70's music, when they say 'And then there was Yes...', I want to put my foot through the TV screen. Surely any reasonable person must feel the same?

Must dash. Supper's Ready...


* That term courtesy of Psychocandy.

King Crimson are great. The interesting time signatures get a bit old though.

Yeah...and 'In The Court of the Crimson King' doesn't count as Elf Rock because it's title is a pisstake. The only thing I have against them is sharing a drummer with Yes.

Just time to thank Mar for the Viajazz link and to ask Ed a question: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyaYXwoXpeM

" study art in depth"

I would be interested in studying art, if the piece of art has got me from the beginning or after not much effort. This applied to painting,literature, etc.

I've tried several times to read a book, whose equivalent would be Ulisses, by Joyce, but I've quit. I've studied all the literary criticism about it ( it was compulsory) It has convinced me of its wonders, but... I can't go on with it.

I've read One Hundred Years of Solitude, I love it, but I can understand that many don't. May be they don't like the Magic Realism, or the exhuberance of adjetives... It is excellent literature but, at the end it is a matter of likes.

I love when my sister explains me about painting, but it's because I've felt moved before and ask her. However, there are some people that I dont like at all, even I feel . I think they are kidding people.

This may be silly but, it serves as example:

You enter an art gallery, in one corner there is a pile of debris.
you think: they must be refurbishing the venue...
YOu get closer, and see a notice which may reads: I am falling down; The world withou you; The decostruction of European values, etc.

THen you think:
-what a metaphor!
- What a jerk!
-This guy has a good friend in the council
-....

I don't like 'A Hundred Years Of Solitude' myself, or Magic Realism in general. But I did once (ahem) form a relationship with a woman who I saw reading it in German on a train across Canada.

We clubbed together for a sleeping compartment.

btw - looking at the backlog again...

pedro:
'The Master and Margarita' (Of 'Sympathy...' fame) isn't heavy at all. It's hilarious! Check it out. In the Grauniad's question and answers thingy I saw that it's Regina Spektor's favourite book, which made me adore her even more. (If that were possible).

mar:

Isn't Piet Mondriaan's work just some colourful squares that even a child could have done, until you discover how he's referencing Renaissance composition?

the only thing I know about that guy is that he was seeking something like the "cosmic colours of universe" and that some people give a lot of trascendence to his art.

For me, he is those paintings of colour squares, actually I don't know anymore about him.
But I would surprise myself if I could appreciate his work much more on knowing that reference to the Reinassance composition, I have little knowledge of painting but...I can't see the relationship easily. I'm serious, just out of curiosity, WHere is it?

link me something, dear.

I don't like Magic Realism. But in this case is different.

Imposible question to answer.

Best?

Most popular?

What appeals to individual taste?

Was Cliff Richard "better" than Elvis Presley? The answer to that depends on whether you are my mum or not.

PP

mar...

You need to look into 'Golden Section' Renaissance artists would divide their canvasses up into secvtions so that the ratio of one line to another was 1.6123...:1. (This is 'Fibonacci's Number' and can be derived mathematically through Antonini's Serises. The artists did it geometrically). See here:
http://www.bonsai4me.com/Images/ATGoldenSection/golden_section_image_2_rectangular_division_and_spiral.jpg

They would position important elements at the most important junctions between sections. Christ's head in a crucifixion would typically be arranged on the top-left primary junction. You can see the obvious place here:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Golden-Section.png/371px-Golden-Section.png

Then there's Caravaggio. One of the Medicis commissioned him to paint some kiddie porn. Look at what's at the bottom-right primary junction :
http://www.abcgallery.com/C/caravaggio/caravaggio29.html

(Mondriaan was referencing this type of composition, which was also used in Flemish art.)

Thanks Ed

But

Although interesting, the two first links only show that Modriaan knew well his art. That not a child could have done it. I don't like that silly comment,usually heard about many non-figurative artists.
Probably, because of many pseudo artists who wanted to be iconoclast before learning first what to break. That happens also in music. Some want to do something absolutely new without first learning from the beginning all the rudiments. I think that humility is needed in any artistic expression.

Which changes have affected my brain after your links?

-I'll look more carefully at his paintings next time ( but not hurry

-I'll be wide open ears about that Golden section thingy, as it is the umpteenth time I read/see/heard about that golden number.

- my naughty brain is still cold about Mondriaan.

the last link...

naughty Cupid!

I bloody love the Floyd and don't mind Fish (he's from just up the road and now lives just down the road - and I've also met him; nice bloke! ) but on the whole I can take or leave prog. Early prog (see Syd Barrett) is just amazing, but I do agree that some people started to take themselves a tad too seriously and spoiled the good stuff Personally I don't care how posh you are; if you're making good music, who gives a damn about your background?

Unless you're that waster Docherty...