Podcast
An Embarrassment of Prog
Hosted by William Tipper, Henry Tenney, Charlie Nieland · EN
Sailing the Topographic Oceans of a musical obsession that never became cool, three friends revisit the Genesis of their Yesterdays, from the Court of the Crimson King to the Thickest of all Bricks, from Peter Gabriel dressed as a sunflower to a flautist who proved that "Dickensian rat-catcher as rock god" was a viable career option. Henry Tenney, Charlie Nieland and Bill Tipper invite you to join them on a triple-disc, extended-Mellotron-solo journey through the astounding, perplexing, (sometimes) agonizing Embarrassment of Prog.
13episodes
Episodes
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Episode 6: Into the Future with ELP's Tarkus & Trilogy
Mar 9, 202301:17:44Tap to summarize"Have you walked on the stones of years? When you speak, is it you that hears?" If these lyrical questions are familiar, you're one of thousands of prog fans who looked at the crudely rendered, mechanical tank-armadillo creature on the cover of Emerson, Lake and Palmer's TARKUS and said "I want to know more." Did you ask yourself "What is the 'Endless Enigma', anyway" as you gazed at their fused heads on the cover of their follow-up, TRILOGY? This week, Charlie, Henry, and Bill get an organ transplant (sorry) from prog rock's keyboard-centric power trio to take you on a trip into a futuristic dystopia of heavy rhythms, jazz riffs and sci-fi themes. Plus: we dare to ask—is there such a thing as "dirtbag prog"? Discussed in this episode The Nice's "America" on YouTube Emerson, Lake and Palmer's "Tarkus" full album on YouTube E. Power Biggs "Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor" by J. S. Bach on YouTube Emerson, Lake and Palmer's "Trilogy" full album on YouTube
Transcribe →Episode 5: Kate Bush! Incredible String Band! Ambrosia!
Mar 6, 202301:17:11Tap to summarizeIn a voyage to the borderlands of this podcast's announced subject, this week we listen to three records that might not be your (or anyone's) idea of prog rock, but which all share something elusive with the music that more comfortably flies the Mellotron Flag. We start with the Incredible String Band's 1968 psych-folk opus "The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter," cross an ocean and a continent to the sunny L.A.-based sound of Ambrosia's 1975 self-titled debut, and wind up in the studio with Kate Bush and her arrival as a sonic auteur, 1982's "The Dreaming." We finish by facing the question that haunts a project such as this: just what counts as "prog rock" anyway, and why? Join us in perplexity. Discussed in this episode Incredible String Band's "The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter" on YouTube Ambrosia's debut album on YouTube Kate Bush "The Dreaming" video on YouTube Kate Bush "Sat in Your Lap' video on YouTube
Transcribe →Episode 4: We Get Disciplined
Mar 6, 202301:12:17Tap to summarizeKing Crimson's 1969 "In the Court of the Crimson King" stands for everything familiar about prog rock—the fantastical lyrics, the eerie ghost-choir Mellotron atmospherics, a brooding atmosphere of Heavy Tunes for Bookish People. But when guitarist Robert Fripp re-formed the band in 1981, after a long personal quest for spiritual and artistic renewal, the sounds that came out were from another universe, a tightly-woven, world-music-and-found-audio informed sound that was...danceable? Can we even call records like "Discipline" and "Three of a Perfect Pair" prog rock? Charlie, Henry and Bill talk about the unpredictable road that led to these surprising, thrilling records, the new King Crimson documentary, and why Robert Fripp's NYC album "Exposure" is the secret art-rock gem we want to make one of your new favorites. 3/06/23: UPDATED WITH SOUND CLIPS! Discussed in this episode King Crimson's "Discipline" full album on YouTube King Crimson's "Beat" full album on YouTube King Crimson's "Three Of A Perfect Pair" full album on YouTube Robert Fripp's "Exposure" full album on YouTube The League Of Gentleman's "Dislocated" Live Video 1980 on YouTube King Crimson's "Elephant Talk" Live Video on Fridays 1981 on YouTube
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