Forum Home Forum Home > Progressive Music Lounges > Prog Music Lounge
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - Does humor belong in prog?
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Topic ClosedDoes humor belong in prog?

 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <123
Author
Message Reverse Sort Order
Peter View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: January 31 2004
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 9669
Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 23 2006 at 12:47
Originally posted by fuxi fuxi wrote:

Originally posted by Peter Rideout Peter Rideout wrote:

 For" border=0
 


 

 

(For the record, it seems my first ever thread was "Is classic prog timeless?")


I just had a look, and I'd recommend this previous thread to anyone, if only for the wonderful parody of the lyrics of 'And you and I' by Dan Bobrowski!    
 
Big smileYeah, that was a howler all right (though ol' Dan didn't pen that parody).
 
Geez -- we were so few then, and thus we knew each other fairly well. You can see friendships which still endure emerging.
 
 
Excuse me a moment....Cry
"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.
Back to Top
fuxi View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: March 08 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 2459
Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 23 2006 at 12:46
Originally posted by WaywardSon WaywardSon wrote:

Seriously, although a lot of people like Zappa´s humor, it actually puts me off listening to him. A little bit of humor here and there is OK but songs about giant poodle dogs and song titles like "Titties and Beer" just don´t do it for me.


I'll admit the title of 'Titties and Beer' may sound banal, but let's be honest: this is a subject many guys are interested in. Zappa sang about the way people really are. And have you actually heard the tune? It's really funky, and wonderfully played.

But perhaps the most humorous Zappa composition is 'The Illinois Enema Bandit' (on IN NEW YORK). It brings a grin to my face every time I hear it. And it's an outrageous parody of the blues!
Back to Top
el böthy View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: April 27 2005
Location: Argentina
Status: Offline
Points: 6336
Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 23 2006 at 12:38
I remember, before I got into prog I saw some special in TV about 70 music ( I think it was from the BBC) and the only think they said about prog was about The Dark side of the moon, and then the guitarist of Fleedwood Mac said something like "In the early 70 there were some musicians that thought they could so classical music and started to ruin rock..." or something like that, and then they showed a clip of Rick Wakeman in studio playing three keys like if that was a bad thing, and to finish this stupid statement this guitarist (dont know the name, not interested either, but it was not Peter Green) says that this kind of music was murded by their musicians because they had no humour and took themself to seriuosly...ahhhhh how stupid can this people be!!! So my first thought about prog were that its too seriousConfusedConfusedConfusedConfusedConfused
"You want me to play what, Robert?"
Back to Top
Peter View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: January 31 2004
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 9669
Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 23 2006 at 12:37
Originally posted by yarstruly yarstruly wrote:

I apologize for not checking 1st :)
 
Smile Hey, no problem. That really doesn't bother me -- I don't think it's realistic to expect folks to always check, especially when they are inspired, as you were.
 
I just thought that perhaps you and others might find it interesting to check out some earlier thoughts on this matter, and also catch a glimpse of the forum in its infancy. (See how opinions then & now compare, & see who was here then, but gone -- or still here -- now.)
"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.
Back to Top
fuxi View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: March 08 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 2459
Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 23 2006 at 12:37
Originally posted by Peter Rideout Peter Rideout wrote:

 


 

 

(For the record, it seems my first ever thread was "Is classic prog timeless?")


I just had a look, and I'd recommend this previous thread to anyone, if only for the wonderful parody of the lyrics of 'And you and I' by Dan Bobrowski!    
Back to Top
sm sm View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member


Joined: November 02 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 155
Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 23 2006 at 12:34
With Zappa, it was either humorous pop songs or classical/jazz compositions.
 
Personally, I find his humorous stuff becoming dated, like Disco Boy, Valley Girl, but compositions like Peaches in Regala will stand the test of time.
 
It's tough to write a humorous song/compostion and not sound like Weird Al Yankovic.
 
Progressive music, like jazz and classical is very serious in nature and humor is understandably very rare to find it
 
It may be an adventerous avenue more proggers will take, but more in the instrumental area like "flight of the bumblebee", than songs mentioned in above posts
Back to Top
yarstruly View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: September 29 2004
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 1324
Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 23 2006 at 12:27
I apologize for not checking 1st :)
Facebook hashtags:

#100greatestprogrockchallenge
#scottssongbysong
#scottsspotlight
Back to Top
Peter View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: January 31 2004
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 9669
Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 23 2006 at 12:26
Smile For anyone interested, here's version # 1 of this oft-explored topic:
 
 
 
(For the record, it seems my first ever thread was "Is classic prog timeless?")
"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.
Back to Top
Fassbinder View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar
VIP Member

Joined: May 27 2006
Location: My world
Status: Offline
Points: 3497
Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 23 2006 at 12:24
Humour belongs to Prog as an integral part of the life, not much and not less. Also, every listener has a right not to accept any particular attempt to be humorous from the side of an artist.
Back to Top
yarstruly View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: September 29 2004
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 1324
Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 23 2006 at 12:20
Actually...I think that there is a lot of self-perody on Toramto on songs like Arriving UFO & Circus of Heaven, but many Yes fans take Yes music so seriously that they missed it.....
Facebook hashtags:

#100greatestprogrockchallenge
#scottssongbysong
#scottsspotlight
Back to Top
Neil View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: October 04 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 1497
Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 23 2006 at 12:18
Genesis certainly included an English public school humour into their lyrics.  What about Aisle of Plenty at the end of SEBTP?  Word play with supermarket names and discounted products.  It's scrambled eggs!
When people get lost in thought it's often because it's unfamiliar territory.
Back to Top
yarstruly View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: September 29 2004
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 1324
Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 23 2006 at 12:16
Oh yeah...the humor is definitely THERE....but it seems that so many prog fans take the music so seriously that they can't enjoy it...that's what I was trying to get across....
Facebook hashtags:

#100greatestprogrockchallenge
#scottssongbysong
#scottsspotlight
Back to Top
Peter View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: January 31 2004
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 9669
Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 23 2006 at 12:15
Ah -- I think this was the first thread I ever posted here, and it's been done several times since then.Stern Smile
 
 
Expect mixed opinions....
"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.
Back to Top
WaywardSon View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: April 23 2006
Location: Brazil
Status: Offline
Points: 2537
Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 23 2006 at 12:15
Seriously, although a lot of people like Zappa´s humor, it actually puts me off listening to him. A little bit of humor here and there is OK but songs about giant poodle dogs and song titles like "Titties and Beer" just don´t do it for me.

Edited by WaywardSon - October 23 2006 at 12:35
Back to Top
Ricochet View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: February 27 2005
Location: Nauru
Status: Offline
Points: 46301
Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 23 2006 at 12:14
Absolutely. It's practically a taste and a style.
Back to Top
alias10mr View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: July 25 2006
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 218
Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 23 2006 at 12:07
Why should'nt humour be in prog? Harrold the Barrel by Genesis is a song that comes to mind. I think sometimes when an artist takes him(her)self too seriously they become a caricature instead of credible. The opposite can also be true, though. Generally it's always fun to see a group that shares their humour with their audience. The duplicity makes the audience feel involved.
Back to Top
bhikkhu View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: April 06 2006
Location: A² Michigan
Status: Offline
Points: 5109
Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 23 2006 at 12:04
Absolutely. Humor belongs everywhere. Pink Floyd showed humor with "Seamus" and "San Tropez." King Crimson had "Cat Food," "Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream," and "The World's My Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum." Genesis was never afraid to include a laugh or two. Then there is Frank Zappa ...



    

Edited by bhikkhu - October 23 2006 at 12:05
Back to Top
yarstruly View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: September 29 2004
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 1324
Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 23 2006 at 11:58
Inspired by the "Song Ruined by one Bad Moment" thread....
 
It seems to me that some proggers miss the inherant humor put into songs from time to time....The Rap section of RTB for instance....Can proggers be to seroius?
 
To paraphrase FZ:
 
Does humor belong in prog? 
Facebook hashtags:

#100greatestprogrockchallenge
#scottssongbysong
#scottsspotlight
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <123

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down



This page was generated in 0.164 seconds.
Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.