King Crimson: Difference between revisions

 

The only constant member of the band is guitarist and mastermind Robert Fripp, and indeed the band's 1969-1974 period was plagued by unstable lineups. However, things have stabilised somewhat since their 1981 reformation.

Current band members:

* [[I Am the Band|Robert Fripp]] (1969 - present): guitar, guitar synthesizer, etc.

* Pat Mastelotto (1994 - present): drums, percussion

 

Former band members:

* Ian McDonald (1969): saxophone, flute, Mellotron

* Michael Giles (1969 - 1970): drums

* Peter Sinfield (1969 - 1971): VCS 3 synthesizer, lyrics

* Gordon Haskell (1970): bass, vocals

* Andy McCulloch (1970): drums

* Ian Wallace (1971 - 1972): drums

* John Wetton (1972 - 1974): bass, vocals, piano

* Jamie Muir (1972 - 1973): percussion, drums

* David Cross <ref>No, not ''that'' [[David Cross]]</ref> (1972 - 1974): violin, Mellotron, piano

* Richard Palmer-James (1973 - 1974): lyrics

* Peter Giles (1970): bass

* Keith Tippett (1970 - 1971): piano

* Nick Evans (1970): trombone

* Robin Miller (1970 - 1971, 1974): oboe, cor anglais

* Harry Miller (1971): double bass

* Paulina Lucas (1971): vocals

 

Studio album discography:

* (as "Jakko Jakszyk, Robert Fripp, and Mel Collins - A King Crimson ProjeKct") ''A Scarcity of Miracles'' (LP) - 2011

 

* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]: In a live performance of "Thela Hun Ginjeet", Adrian Belew recounts how the gang he encountered wanted to "Kill me! Rip my limbs off! Smash my tape recorder!"

* [[Bald of Awesome]]: Tony Levin.

** The whole Wetton, Cross and Bruford line-up could be considered this. ''Starless and Bible Black'' is probably every bit as edgy as ''Red'' but just not quite as heavy.

* [[Epic Rocking]]: To a T.

** Adrian Belew also qualifies. His ability to make his guitar sound like another instrument or an animal call, combined with the dexterity of the other band members, is probably what Fripp meant on making Crimson a "Small, mobile, intelligent, self sufficient unit".

* [[Five-Man Band]]:

*** [[The Sixth Ranger]]: Trey Gunn

** Since 1997, they have not fit this trope.

* [[Foreign Language Title]]: "Matte Kudasai", "Nuages (That Which Passes, Passes Like Clouds)", "Shoganai"

* [[Gratuitous Panning]]: The studio version of "VROOOM" from the ''THRAK'' album is mixed with with half of the band members (Fripp, Gunn, and Bruford) on the left channel and the other half (Belew, Levin, Mastelotto) on the right channel.

** [[Your Mileage May Vary]] with "Providence". The first minute and a half contains some excellent [[Silence of the Lambs]]-styled violin work from Cross and Wetton provides one of the best bass solos in music history in the last three minutes. The improv section of "Moonchild", on the other hand...

** A curious example: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxEbFxwed3M "The Deception of the Thrush"], an improvisation featured on many King Crimson live albums. Each iteration follows the same basic structure, but with wild variations in actual content. The linked version is arguably the best one.

* [[Japanese Stock Phrases]]: "Matte Kudasai" (lit. "please wait"), "Shoganai" (a variant of "[[It Can't Be Helped|shikata ga nai]]")

* [[Last-Note Nightmare]]: "21st Century Schizoid Man" is probably the best known example, but the band use this trope pretty often. It's especially commonplace during live improvisations.

** "Coda: Marine 475" (from "VROOOM") lists… ''something''… related to "a Lloyd's insurance syndicate which suffered huge financial losses and whose members included [the band's former managers]"

* [[Long Title]]: "The World's My Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum", "Mother Hold the Candle Steady While I Shave the Chicken's Lip"

** Actually, every single album they've made. These guys don't go for [[Design Student's Orgasm]].

*** What about ''Lizard'', ''…Poseidon'', and the ones designed by PJ Crook? Those aren't so minimalistic.

* [[New Sound Album]]: [[Incredibly Lame Pun|One of the kings]] of this trope.

* [[The Not-Remix]]: The "40th Anniversary Series" of album reissues, and two tracks ("Cadence and Cascade" and "Bolero - The Peacock's Tale") on the compilation ''Frame by Frame''.

* [[Real Life Writes the Plot]]: The vocal sections of ''"Thela Hun Ginjeet"'' come straight from Adrian Belew's frazzled story of being confronted by gangsters just minutes earlier. As Belew began his story, Robert Fripp [[Throw It In|signalled to the studio engineer to begin recording.]]

* [[Reclusive Artist]]: Robert Fripp (who combines [[Gentleman Snarker]] with [[Smart People Wear Glasses]] - read his blog). The band as a whole haven't been heard from much in a while, though.

* [[Sampling]]: In a rather unexpected move, "21st Schizoid Man" was sampled for the beat of [[Kanye West]]'s "Power".

* [[Scare Chord]]: Several, but the one in "The Devil's Triangle" is particularly jarring.

** The lyrics of "Happy Family" (from ''Lizard'') are widely believed to be a thinly-veiled reference to [[The Beatles]]' breakup ("Silas" = George, "Rufus" = Ringo, "Jonah" = John, "Jude" = Paul), which would explain the cover illustration.

** Also, the opening lyrics to "Epitaph" reference Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sounds of Silence"

* [[Soundtrack Dissonance]]: A French porn studio in the mid 70s used "Larks Tongues In Aspic, Part II" in one of their films (Emmanuelle). While Fripp was irked that they didn't ask for his permission to use the track, he commented/joked in his online diary that they actually couldn't have picked a better KC song to use (honestly, the song does have certain raunchy, sexy overtones). Nonetheless, the heaviness of the piece might seem a bit off to some.

* [[Spoken Word in Music]]: "Elephant Talk," "Indiscipline," "Thela Hun Ginjeet," "Neurotica," "Dig Me", "Coda: Marine 475"<ref>only in the studio version, and even there it's almost inaudible in the mix</ref>

* [[Studio Chatter]]: Right at the end of the ''Islands'' album, there's a recording of the string and woodwind musicians rehearsing "Prelude: Song of the Gulls".

* [[Textless Album Cover]]: ''In the Court of the Crimson King'', ''In the Wake of Poseidon'', ''Islands'', and ''Larks' Tongues in Aspic''.

** Also, the ProjeKct Two albums ''Space Groove'' and ''Live Groove''.

* [[The Spartan Way]]: Bill Bruford's descriptions of what playing in King Crimson was like almost make the band sound like this.

'''Bruford''' (on joining King Crimson): It was like going over the Berlin Wall... [[Dissimile|into East Germany]]. }}

* [[Too Soon]]: It's not surprising that they began to omit the lyrics of "Coda: I Have a Dream" during concerts.

[[Category:The Sixties]]

[[Category:Trope Makers]]

[[Category:Music]]