Storytelling or illustrative component of Prog

This is a thread I wanted to post for a long time.
Some music is more than intriguing music from a musical perspective. It tells a story. It might narrate a story with lyrics, but most importantly it illustrates a story with the meandering instrumentation and composition. What Peter Gabriel called "journey songs". Note that I'm talking about stories driven by the whole composition, not just any run of the mill ballad, although lyrics can be a part of it. With purely instrumental pieces one may not be able to identify and report on specific story events, but there's an impression of events transpiring. Jade Warrior-Floating World is an example; entirely instrumental, but if you squint just right and allow yourself to daydream... Gong had a strong storytelling capacity, especially on You. Most of old Genesis would do it as a matter of course, and I think that's a big part of why people, including me, disdain later Genesis so vehemently. It wasn't just the change in the music but the loss of the stories, the folklore. I think that's why some old Genesis fans are more gracious toward Duke, because it had Duke's Travels on it, which is a perfect example of a piece with a story being told. We don't know what the story is, but there's a story nonetheless.

Storytelling is not a part of the PA definition of Prog. Some bands are great musically, but show no interest in storytelling. I'm thinking of ELP or Soft Machine, for example. Should the illustrative capacity of music be thought of as at least an optional component of Prog? What is its general significance to Classic Prog and how does it fare in Modern Prog?

Don't negelect instrumentals that tell a story.  Case in point are a lot of the songs (I know I know some people are going to say how instrumentals can't be songs ) on this:

What got into prog in the first place was what you refer to as the storytelling component.  Of course just my luck I got heavily into prog just when that was being abandoned in favor of commercial appeal.


Edited by Slartibartfast - December 24 2012 at 13:07

Most prog is heavily influenced by the Romantic composers whose music strongly communicated a passing of time. Many prog artists combine actual storytelling with this aesthetic effect, which may cause one to associate the psychological time aspect with the folklore or image of an artist.

Take Yes as an example. "Close to the Edge" conveys a passage of time and change of setting, yet the lyrics are abstract and introspective leading the listener to conclude the song is about a big personal change. "Close to the Edge" refers to being close to a huge "self-discovery," as Jon Anderson puts it.

Or take an example of the opposite. Classical composer Olivier Messiaen wrote music that "suspended" psychological time, so to speak. His works were mainly religious and the suspension of psychological time was used to communicate eternity. Almost all of his music was this way.

Wafflesyrup wrote: I suppose my own perspective would be that all music inherently tells a story.

I think that all music tells at least part of a story, not necessarily an entire narrative.  Of course, some composers bring this element of music out more than others.  One of my favorite examples has always been 2112 by Rush; the lyrics tell a story, obviously, but the instrumental sections, especially Lifeson's guitar solos, are just as integral an aspect of the narrative as are the lyrics.  Alex plays five solos on the song.  The first one, along with the rest of the Overture, sets the stage for the story by instrumentally conveying the back history of the war in which the Solar Federation took control of the galaxy.  The second solo chronicles the protagonist's discovery of the guitar and process of learning to play it.  The third solo depicts the Priests' destruction of the guitar, while the fourth primarily functions to express the emotion of the protagonist afterwards.  The fifth solo, and the entire grand finale, depict another battle for control of the galaxy; Lifeson's solo sounds exactly like a dogfight.  Alex's ability to tell stories with his guitar is astounding.

Slartibartfast wrote: What got into prog in the first place was what you refer to as the storytelling component.  Of course just my luck I got heavily into prog just when that was being abandoned in favor of commercial appeal.

@Everyone, I'd especially love to hear how storytelling is faring in contemporary Prog, and how much you think this matters to you or to Prog. Do you think it was abandoned during the 80s decline? Do you think there has been on a comeback, or is it still lacking?

moshkito wrote: Hi,   The only thing I would suggest, and some folks have already mentioned it, is that music, in many ways, creates its own "landscape" ... and its history is always about the story of something or other in its notes, for a lot of symphonies and concerti. Rock music, is really no different in this respect, with the exception that in the 20th century, we have now decided that "lyrics" are more important than the music, to the point that we think that the lyrics "take us there", but the music does not ... or we "suppose" that it does.   There are, over the years, a lot of things that are too beautiful to even mention here, and many years later, folks are starting to appreciate the beauty for things like "The Snow Goose" that got awfully pasted by rock critics in those days, to the point of really hurting the band's feelings and work. You have an inspiration, and someone just told you that your vision is "fudged up" ... and the next time you pick up that instrument, you will want to cry and break it apart ... how can you be given a vision, and an inspiration, and it is worthless?   That defines the depth and strength of an artist, instead of anything else!   In more recent times, like the last 10 years, I have not seen or found, too many of these ... there are plenty of imaginary titles about this or that ... but the music is ... not as defining as the event itself was, and I will not name the 2 I'm thinking of, lest people think I am trashing them. They are not bad ... they are quite idealistic, from my point of view of having studied and known the arts ... however imperfect that knowledge and ability is. My one question would be ... do you really think you can see "that story" when you take out the lyrics? ... hint: the really good music and writer, will take you there with or WITHOUT the extras ... now decide! Now, tell me, do you really need words, or music to tell you what went on in Guernica when Picasso was a kid? ... that is the idea I'm trying to get across ... the whole work speaks for itself, and does not need a "representative" or to "tell you" something, or anything ... but we are in an age of folks that lack a direction and they have to be told to listen to the top ten ... so you have to make a decision!

I don't want to go as broad as Wafflesyrup suggested and say that all music inherently tells a story. This dilutes the point of the thread. I share your disdain for the contemporary notion that the lyrics can "take us there" while the music supposedly cannot. I definitely think there are some works that allow you to see a story in your mind's eye. (I'm talking about impressions not hallucinations here, just to head off any confusion).

HackettFan wrote: Polymorphia wrote: Most prog is heavily influenced by the Romantic composers whose music strongly communicated a passing of time. Many prog artists combine actual storytelling with this aesthetic effect, which may cause one to associate the psychological time aspect with the folklore or image of an artist. Take Yes as an example. "Close to the Edge" conveys a passage of time and change of setting, yet the lyrics are abstract and introspective leading the listener to conclude the song is about a big personal change. "Close to the Edge" refers to being close to a huge "self-discovery," as Jon Anderson puts it.Or take an example of the opposite. Classical composer Olivier Messiaen wrote music that "suspended" psychological time, so to speak. His works were mainly religious and the suspension of psychological time was used to communicate eternity. Almost all of his music was this way. This is really a good point. Some of the classical influences that some classical Prog musicians had could be at the heart of their interest in storytelling. It's nice to be able to connect the dots like this. For myself, I'm a very casual listener of classical music. I don't know much about one period versus another. Maybe I'll pay better attention now. Is modern Prog influenced in the same way by Romantic composers? Or are they influenced just by earlier classic Prog itself? Have they brought any storytelling sensibility into the fray, or has that fallen by the wayside?

Not sure about much modern symph or neo. Haven't listened enough to either to make a conclusion. Most of the artists in modern prog I have listened to extensively don't usually contain those aspects. Radiohead, who are avid fans of Messiaen, notably tend to follow his tendencies with the suspension of psychological time, particularly with Kid A and King of Limbs. The Mars Volta have a slight story telling element, but its not as present as in Yes' or Genesis' music. Usually, the "jammier" bands like TMV, Pink Floyd, and Can, are this way.

[/QUOTE]
I don't want to go as broad as Wafflesyrup suggested and say that all music inherently tells a story. This dilutes the point of the thread. I share your disdain for the contemporary notion that the lyrics can "take us there" while the music supposedly cannot. I definitely think there are some works that allow you to see a story in your mind's eye. (I'm talking about impressions not hallucinations here, just to head off any confusion).[/QUOTE]

Edited by Wafflesyrup - December 26 2012 at 22:54

I think it is not mutually exclusive - rather, it can be a both/and situation.  For example, Gates of Delirium (Yes-Relayer) tells the story both by the lyrics AND the long(er) instrumental passages.  For me, this is unique in Prog, and one of the main reasons why I am drawn to Prog pieces in the first place...

Edited by prog4evr - December 27 2012 at 00:56

I find that for some artists the only thing my enters my mind's eye when they're playing are mental images of them playing. This is not a bad thing necessarily. One of my all time favorite albums is Shut Up N' Play Yer Guitar, but all I think about is Zappa and his unceasing concentration on the fretboard. I don't think there're meant to be any stories there. I get something similar with Keith Emerson. Wizards at work expressing themselves, but no storyworld. I think of this as musical expressionism. Then there are musicians like Steve Hackett. You're not even sure when they're playing, if you're hearing a guitar or a keyboard. Rather than their playing being the focus of attention they add coloring to the content, which is in some cases a full blown storyworld. I think of this as a sort of musical Impressionism.