Memorable Prog Experiences

The Marilyn Monroe-Memorial Church

   What specific events, periods, stories or memories do you have that are synonymous with progressive rock? It could be a song, album, whatever. I'll kick the thread off with a little tale of mine.

Just this last December, our entire family was coming over to our house to visit. It was around 7:00 at night, which basically translated to it being pitch black outside. It was the festive season so the entire neighbourhood had their Christmas lights up. Since endless rounds of Minesweeper were doing little to preserve my sanity, I decided to go out for a walk in the new fallen snow. It turned out to be snowing as I stepped out, and there were no noises. I set my iPod to Amon Düül II's The Marilyn Monroe-Memorial Church and began my walk. As anyone who's heard the song knows, it's an 18 minute improvisation, and features little more than droning keyboards and the occasional sound or ring.

Now, my area of the 'burbs has a road running right through it. In the middle is the residential area, and as you go further in either direction it opens up to farmland. There's some stunning views of the mountains on clear days from out there. I walked for a few minutes and came to the farm road. As it was pitch black, the lights and the fuzzy and obscured-by-clouds moon were my only sources of light. As I looked down the road, it seemed to never end, and there were about 3 lamp posts before all form blended into the shadows. Standing at the edge of civilization, I stared off into the abyss.

Now, towards the end of TMMMC, the bass enters with some distant hammer-ons and slow riffing. I've always interpreted as it sounding very warm and comforting, and this was no exception. The snow falling in the streetlights, as well as the way all light seemed to die along this road was a very intriguing sight to see. Something, some voice in my head or presence, told me this:

If you walk down that road, you're not coming back. You're going to die.

This wasn't a scary thought, however. I wasn't alarmed in any way, even though I knew that death would (somehow) inevitably follow further progress along this route. Instead of turning around because I was scared, I turned around because my thoughts were mostly along the lines of "Well, I've still got a lot to live for, so I guess I'll go home." I turned around and walked back through the snow, soft ringing and drones the only sounds I heard. The magnitude of this epiphany has really never hit me, the whole experience seemed incredibly surreal.

And all of you? Care to share your stories?