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Evolver 
Special Collaborator
Crossover & JR/F/Canterbury Teams
Joined: October 22 2005
Location: The Idiocracy
Status: Offline
Points: 5482
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 Topic: A bozo has left the bus.
Posted: March 12 2012 at 13:44 |
Peter Bergman, of the Firesign Theater has died.
If any comedy act could be called prog, it was the Firesign Theater.
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Trust me. I know what I'm doing.
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HolyMoly
Special Collaborator
Retired Admin
Joined: April 01 2009
Location: Atlanta
Status: Offline
Points: 26138
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Posted: March 12 2012 at 14:13 |
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I was extremely upset to hear this news. I've seen the world through a Firesign Theatre lens for many years now. Though most older fans mainly remember them for their 60s and 70s work, they've remained a vital creative force since then, with several superb albums released during the late 90s and early 00s. Bergman started the group, and for all intents and purposes he was the initial leader of the group, with the most extensive writing and performing background of the four.
To me, they were like Monty Python or the Beatles, a group of wildly varied and ultra-creative talents, all pulling in different directions, but together, with a camaraderie that laughed in the face of convention and warnings of "you can't do that, no one's done that before!"
I feel like I should bring up a cute Firesign quote right now, but none could really do my feelings justice. RIP, Pete.
Edited by HolyMoly - March 12 2012 at 14:14
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My other avatar is a Porsche
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased.
-Kehlog Albran
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Finnforest
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: February 03 2007
Location: The Heartland
Status: Offline
Points: 16913
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Posted: March 12 2012 at 14:31 |
"progressive comedy"
Interesting idea for a new subgenre.  |
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jammun
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 14 2007
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 3449
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Posted: March 12 2012 at 16:53 |
Yeah, one of my friends mentioned this to me the other night. In the bygone days of excessive pot consumption and Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers they were always good for fine entertainment. Dear Friends. Dear Dr. Whiplash. Won't overheat like the tropical fish. Driving in your car at home to work. Porgy Tirebiter. The Giant Rat of Sumatra. The Trail of Tears golf course or something. Plus we lost WWII.
We may have been stoned, but the Firesign Theater lives on in stereo hi-fi.
My friend's cat is named Spud Raleigh. |
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Can you tell me where we're headin'?
Lincoln County Road or Armageddon.
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dwill123
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 19 2006
Status: Offline
Points: 4460
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Posted: March 12 2012 at 20:26 |
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This is terribly sad news to me. Firesign was as important to me as any musical group I listened to in high school. Very, very sad. R.I.P.
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HolyMoly
Special Collaborator
Retired Admin
Joined: April 01 2009
Location: Atlanta
Status: Offline
Points: 26138
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Posted: March 12 2012 at 22:49 |
One of my favorite Bergman moments, a short mock commercial from the "Dear Friends" album, for the....
Giant Toad Supermarket! Attention all money savers in the Richmond-Syracuse tri-city area, and all you wonderful people out on Ed Siegelman's Ground Zero Equal Opportunity Apartments! Yes, our manager Darwin Paul has opened up his pants early this Christmas to let you in for the biggest in UNHEALABLE, DEEP-CUT DISCOUNTS! Now! Aglutenated beans, giant and hypo-sized, two for 47 cents.... Ma Rainey's Moleskin Cookies, buy the tin at $1.87. Save on peach pits, this week only, see our boy at the back! Dull food for the doggie? Well doggone it, we've got all six varieties of Martyrdom Kidney and Beef Waffle! Talk to Charlie Kranepool (Ed's dad) at our liquor department, about choice USDA Bourbon and Rumproast Cocktail Party Mix! Last and least, there's plenty of seasick fresh produce at our vegetable counter. Don't worry about the flies, we won't weigh 'em! So, wary shoppers, take the lift out of life, and drop your load on The Giant Toad! We give double discounted MULTIPLE IDENTITY STAMPS!" |
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My other avatar is a Porsche
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased.
-Kehlog Albran
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Man With Hat
Collaborator
Jazz-Rock/Fusion/Canterbury Team
Joined: March 12 2005
Location: Neurotica
Status: Offline
Points: 166178
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Posted: March 13 2012 at 16:44 |
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RIP
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Dig me...But don't...Bury me
I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive
Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect.
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jammun
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 14 2007
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 3449
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Posted: March 13 2012 at 17:46 |
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How did I forget "drop your load on the Giant Toad! and those great Moleskin Cookies? Well we know how I forgot. The best prog-comedy band of all time!
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Can you tell me where we're headin'?
Lincoln County Road or Armageddon.
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HolyMoly
Special Collaborator
Retired Admin
Joined: April 01 2009
Location: Atlanta
Status: Offline
Points: 26138
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Posted: March 14 2012 at 10:28 |
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Speaking of "prog comedy", I think it wouldn't be too far of a stretch to draw similarities between "Thick as a Brick" (1972) and "Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers" (1970).
- Both are album-length, multi-part compositions that outline a cycle of sorts, ending as they began.
- Both deal loosely with the world viewed through a single person (Gerald Bostock vs George Tirebiter), examining the process of a child growing up and commenting on the world at large in the process
Thoughts?
Edited by HolyMoly - March 14 2012 at 10:31
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My other avatar is a Porsche
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased.
-Kehlog Albran
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A bozo has left the bus.
