Blog: Prog Rock on The Horizon

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I'm having an IDEA at the moment... i think it's a Good Idea, but then I always do. Anyway, the idea is to write a REALLY long song i.e. at least 20 minutes worth. This was "inspired" by seeing Bloody Focus on the telly the other night doing some Bloody Prog Rock - every time i ever come into contact (accidentally) with Bloody Prog Rock i do at least give it the benefit of the doubt, and think "Yes, perhaps the conventional song structure IS too limiting, perhaps you COULD usefully expand upon an idea for longer than three minutes - let's see how these chaps deal with it!" and all you ever get is some rotten hippies doing EXACTLY a three minute song, but with ten minutes of guitar/drum/other instrument solos (which are NEVER EVER a Good Idea UNLESS they are VERY SHORT, also ROCK) and at least half an hour of Twatting About SHOEHORNED into the gaps between verses.

I find this especially offensive when, as with Bloody Focus, it is the kind of Twatting About that is highly amusing AT THE TIME when you are practicing, but CEASES being amusing immediately afterwards, and certainly should NOT be taken out into the open air - in this case, BAD YODELLING. I mean, goodness me, if we, The Validators, did this all of our songs would last an HOUR, start with Tim telling a ROCK anecdote, feature several RIFFS from Fall Songs in the middle and CLIMAX with "good natured ribbing" about the chord structure for the final 20 minutes .

I should point out that BY Prog Rock i include "post" Rock, as it is EXACTLY the same but with more dreary awful solos, no chorus, and, usually but not as a rule, a bit less yodelling. Anyway, I've often THOUGHT maybe i could have a go at writing a song that's 20 minutes long - and a PROPER song mind you, with verses, and choruses, and all sorts of bits and bobs in it, NOT just the same riff played forever - but so far i've only managed to break the 5 minute barrier, just, with "Born With The Century".

The NICE thing about this would be the chance to really FLEX my MIGHTY BRANE - on many occasions i finish a song, feel all PLEASED about it, then realise later i have MISSED something e.g. the other week i finished "Walkman In My Head", ponced around feeling pleased with myself, and then had it pointed out to me by my Best Beloved that i had completely OMITTED the whole idea of songs getting onto repeat play in your MIND. CURSES!

Sometimes, on stuff like "Hey Hey 16K" and "Everything's Turning Out All Right" i've had Other THORTS and managed to LEVER them into the main song, but I've never really gone WAY OFF on a tangent in the way i am SCHEMING to do...

This is starting to sound a bit wanky now isn't it? Righto then, FAIR DO's - but be WARNED! The EPIC is brewing! So far it consists, as these things do,of Existing Bits (including "If You're That Fcuking Bothered, Don't Eat It" and "Delete Your History") and a ROUGH WORKING of ideas in between. If it ever does get any further than that, thrillseekers, I'll let you know!

posted 18/2/2003 by MJ Hibbett

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