Kosmische Musik III

Yep, thats my kinda UFO Cheers from a card-carrying member of the Gerry and Sylvia Anderson fan club!

Hi,

The right place to start, is ... college/university and the fact that these folks were not exactly unaware of music and the teaching around it. It was Holger (possibly someone else) that coined the phrase "anti-western musical concepts" and in CAN's first albums they followed that well, but later it changed. By FUTURE DAYS and SOON OVER BABALOOMA, it had changed to extend improvisations that were really pretty with some far-out transitions, specially the one in the two long cuts in SOON OVER BABALOOMA where the transition is the simplest and timeliest of touches on a cymbal. Not even a beat to speak of, something that an American band, or drummer could never do, since American drummers don't know what to do when things are quiet ... except maintain the same beat! How childish and uneducated that is, is all we can think!

The fascination starts and "ends" with Damo, although I would never not include SOON OVER BABALOOMA, since what he did was the thing that really made the band famous, and it shows in the various concert videos left over from the time. But what we fail to see, is that this was the continuation of the newest expression in theater at the time ... total free form improvisation, which sadly enough ran out of moments for Damo 3 or 4 years later. But guess what we remember? And it was at that time that the band had its best improvisational moments, although as a student of acting/directing in film and theater, I would say that in those, it all comes down to what is known as a "guided improvisation", meaning that some parts and moments of it were kept from the original. It still sounded fine, but it was not the original by any means.

As a band that started out by breaking the rules of western music, it was a concentrated and dedicated effort by folks that were studying music in what we should consider, one of the best of all schools of music EVER ... something that we don't credit much since so much of the "progressive music" is of the street variety with the simplest and easiest stuff done, only louder and with one more effect on it!

It fits a lot, and deserves credit, when you look at it as "anti-composition" in the first albums, and this is visible even in their early days, so they were already thinking of mere experiments and improvisation, regardless of how they came about. Compare this to film in the late 60's where some big-name directors were turning over the concept of film! Rock music was behind almost 10 years!

However, if you only look at this as just another rock song from the top bs lists ... then forget it ... Can, Amon Duul 2, TD, KS, are nothing but poop since none of them sold millions for a society that thinks that success is the result, not the process! The beauty gets lost when the process is now visible. And it takes the subtlety out of the work altogether.

I think it all depends on how you look at music. I came from classical music and the variety and differences were the only thing that kept me happy ... sounding the same and staying the same (JT is my favorite spaghetti to throw!) is not my idea of great works of art! With a huge PERIOD.