Minimum Length For An Epic |
Post Reply | Page <123> |
Author | |
headboy
Forum Groupie Joined: April 08 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 67 |
Posted: December 22 2004 at 05:37 |
BebieM
Forum Senior Member Joined: November 01 2004 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 854 |
Posted: December 22 2004 at 04:02 |
so? >15 min? btw, i like psychedelic breakfasts ... |
|
headboy
Forum Groupie Joined: April 08 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 67 |
Posted: December 22 2004 at 03:56 |
getting up in the morning is quite epic........
----------------------- marmamlade, i like marmalade. |
|
Peter
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: January 31 2004 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 9669 |
Posted: December 22 2004 at 02:27 |
All:
Edited by Peter |
|
"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy. |
|
Arioch
Forum Senior Member Joined: November 21 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 169 |
Posted: December 21 2004 at 22:18 |
I say 79 minutes and 3 seconds....everything else is too short. The Sacrilege of Fatal Arm.....Devil Doll..79.03 Edited by Arioch |
|
Knight of the Swords
Lord of Entropy Duke of Chaos |
|
Eddy
Forum Senior Member Joined: September 22 2004 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 637 |
Posted: December 21 2004 at 22:11 |
i think this is a silly post.
|
|
Sound Chaser
Forum Groupie Joined: December 12 2004 Status: Offline Points: 41 |
Posted: December 21 2004 at 21:34 |
I would say 9 or 10 minutes as a minimum.
|
|
Fitzcarraldo
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: April 30 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1835 |
Posted: December 21 2004 at 19:20 |
Reed Lover wrote: ".......doing an improbable trick with the Tv off-switch eh Cert?" It's called "historical present tense" or "dramatic present tense" and, whilst it bothers Certif1ed, is quite commonly used in literature and there is nothing wrong with it, grammatically speaking.
|
|
tuxon
Forum Senior Member Joined: September 21 2004 Location: plugged-in Status: Offline Points: 5502 |
Posted: December 21 2004 at 19:09 |
|
|
I'm always almost unlucky _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Id5ZcnjXSZaSMFMC Id5LM2q2jfqz3YxT
|
|
Reed Lover
Forum Senior Member Joined: July 16 2004 Location: Sao Tome and Pr Status: Offline Points: 5187 |
Posted: December 21 2004 at 18:56 |
Conventionally "epic" refers to being "grand in scale" not just "length". By-tor and the Snow Dog has an "epic" feel to it but it is only 8 minutes long. One wouldnt want to start using "Progressive Rock Opera" for a composition such as "Supper's Ready" because that would sound silly, but it is not far from the truth. Magnum Opus? |
|
|
|
Reed Lover
Forum Senior Member Joined: July 16 2004 Location: Sao Tome and Pr Status: Offline Points: 5187 |
Posted: December 21 2004 at 18:47 |
.......doing an improbable trick with the Tv off-switch eh Cert? |
|
|
|
maani
Special Collaborator Founding Moderator Joined: January 30 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 2632 |
Posted: December 21 2004 at 18:43 |
All: Swinton seems to be going in the right direction by suggesting that the word "epic" needs definition (sort of like "prog"...). However, it can also be looked at from the opposite direction. If 9 minutes - or even 15 minutes - is "epic," then what word (other than "masterpiece"...) do we use to describe compositions like "Supper's Ready," "Thick as a Brick," "Zarathustra," or any other 20-minute+ composition? Conversely, if we describe those (properly, in my opinion) as "epics," then we need another word to describe the compositions offered thus far. Peace. Edited by maani |
|
richardh
Prog Reviewer Joined: February 18 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 28300 |
Posted: December 21 2004 at 16:23 |
22 minutes and 54 seconds is the perfect length for an epic
Walking across the sitting room..... |
|
Vegetableman
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 27 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 242 |
Posted: December 21 2004 at 16:19 |
I think it all depends. "Epic" is a term that can be used pretty loosely. But I think to be qualified as an epic, the song must tell a story. All four of the long songs on Selling England by the Pound could be considered epics with that criteria. But these songs would be just as epic as they would be with the extended instrumental sections, especially in Firth of Fifth and The Cinema Show. The problem is, take those sections out and they lose part of their dynamic structure, and would not be a prog as they were without it. But a song doesn't have to be long to be prog, YYZ is undoubtedly a progressive piece, and only clocks in at 4:24. An epic song can just as easily be summed up in 5 minutes. A Day in the Life is certainly an epic, but of course, it isn't really prog. You see, in order for a song to have epic and progressive qualities, it must be long for the story and music to both play their part. Xanadu is both, but would it still be both without the five minute instrumental intro? I don't really think you can put a label like "all songs over 15 minutes" are epics, since A Day in the Life and Xanadu are epic and under 15 minutes. It really depends on the song, just as there are songs over 15 minutes that are certainly not epics. |
|
"Mister Fripp, your music is quite different than everything else out there. In one word, how would you describe it?"
"Progressive.... yeah, that's it..." |
|
Swinton MCR
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 19 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 848 |
Posted: December 21 2004 at 15:51 |
Epic - First definition is "A LONG narrative poem". Thus a prog epic must have length as a pre-requisite, the average prog track is approximately 7.5 mins in Length...thus an epic must be twice as long at least - thus the 15 mins plus...... Q.E.D |
|
Wizard/TRueStar
Forum Senior Member Joined: October 04 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 675 |
Posted: December 21 2004 at 15:14 |
I'm gonna say 6 minutes because that time is roughly in the middle of the range of song length's on Genesis's "Trespass". Once I understood the album I noted that all the songs have 20 minute epic feel. the somgs are just as rewarding as well. Don't forget Peter Gabriel's "Family Snapshot", it's definately a 20 minute - 4 minute song
|
|
gdub411
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 24 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 3484 |
Posted: December 21 2004 at 14:32 |
I would say 15 minutes!!...maybe longer!
|
|
Easy Livin
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin Joined: February 21 2004 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 15585 |
Posted: December 21 2004 at 14:26 |
Very difficult to put a figure on it, as an epic is not really defined by its length. For example, "Can utility and the coast liners" by Genesis is for me, everything an epic should be, yet it's about 5 minutes. On the other hand, "Facelift" by Soft machine is about 20 minutes, but I see it as a jazz fusion improvisation, and by no means epic. |
|
Syzygy
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: December 16 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 7003 |
Posted: December 21 2004 at 14:18 |
I'd say under 5 minutes. To take some very different examples, only one track on "A Wizard, A True Star" is over 5 minutes long, and most of them are truly epic. Ruins also play mostly short pieces which contain more ideas then many side long concept pieces. "Immigrant Song" takes you to Valhalla and back in less time than it takes to boil an egg. Don't get me wrong, I love long pieces, but there's more to an epic than just duration. |
|
Jim Garten
Special Collaborator Retired Admin & Razor Guru Joined: February 02 2004 Location: South England Status: Offline Points: 14693 |
Posted: December 21 2004 at 07:45 |
Bit harsh there, J..... There are over 2550 topics on the forums so far, not all of them worthy, by any means. You been taking subtelty lessons from a certain reincarnated circus performer?? |
|
Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
|
Post Reply | Page <123> |
Forum Jump | Forum Permissions You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum |