During this morning's salute, when I greet the day and send out good wishes to my family & friends, an insight flew by into what is possible & available to us. Alternatively put, the "why" of discipline presented itself. And, after all, why acquire a discipline? But it's not like that at all.
We are invited to allow ourselves to be "acquired" by a discipline. Something is on offer, and it is remarkable; more remarkable than I have ever allowed myself to believe.
13.27
Vibrating with Adrian & Martha, catching up on each others' news, and outline plans for the upcoming Crim. And the step beyond that. My two main points: this group will be really good in 2 years' time & established Crimson fans aren't going to like us.
And having said that, doors are open (doors are not closed) to what the future may present.
16.08
A good 2 hours of working out with Ade. A new piece is gently & beginning underway, working title "Crimson Blue". An alternative approach to the blues.
Responses To The Guestbook:
1. Darren ([email protected]) 05-Jun-2000 01:56 GMT
<for the last 30-odd years, the 'fans' have also been archivists. They've been secretly recording concerts and making them available. A nod must be given to those people who were taping the group at the beginning of KC's life otherwise we'd never be able to hear the Marquee performances or the Hyde Park appearance or the transformation of Discipline into KC at Mole's. Without these terrible people, none of us would be in a position to look back and see how one of our favourite bands evolved.>RF: Obviously, a large issue. Briefly:
i) Taping at the Marquee & Hyde Park belonged to an "innocent" time. There was not the same sense of violation, or professionalism, or demand for "rights".
ii) Even at Mole's (April 1981) the developing level of distraction with recording hadn't reached the point where "the right" to record anything, anywhere you liked, whenever you wanted - hey! shuddup dude! you get paid! - was held to be "the right" of any audient who put their hard-earned pay on the table to line Silken Pockets.
iii) There is the possibility that, once upon a time, audient archivists might have been unaware that this was not a welcome course of action at KC/RF performances. That is, this was originally not a major issue, and fan archivist behaviour was not knowingly or deliberately non-consensual.
iv) The existing KC archive (i.e. not accessing the recordings of fan archivists) is more than sufficient from 1971 onwards to present the evolution of the group to anyone other than a completist (whose driving concern is not music, or a band's evolution).
v) KC has recorded all its shows on digital multi-track since 1994. So, whatever justification might once have been presented for audient archivist recording no longer has any relevance.
vi) I would rather that no recording, by anyone, is made of a live performance. The recent KC / BTV initiatives are responses to situations & developments which prejudice & undermine live performance (for me at least). The primary aims in developing our strategies are to reconcile these two polar opposites:
the integrity of the performance is to be honoured; eg let's not disturb, puncture, violate, absent ourself from, the performance.
live performance will be recorded, consensually or non-consensually;
2 Alan Cohen ([email protected]) 03-Jun-2000 00:15 GMT
<Last month, I was telling a friend about the TCoL web ring. He was disappointed that he wouldn't be able to download it and record it to CD-R. I made the rather radical suggestion that he buy the CD and support artists that he enjoys. His rationale was that he didn't want to support a major music company. I recall Robert tearing up the standard artist contract with Virgin a few years back, saying "Consider this my response to your proposal. If you want to give somebody a standard artist contract, find yourself a standard artist." So perhaps Robert would be good enough to tell us a bit about the contract, for instance who has ownership.>RF: Briefly, the KC/RF connection with Virgin is unique: there is none other like it in the industry (of which I am aware). The relationship is the outcome of:
my relationship with Ken Berry (former head of Virgin Records);
my relationship with Declan Colgan (Very Good Guy & A&R);
the collapse of EG which sold the phonographic copyrights to Virgin;
my high court action against Virgin (BMG Publishing & EG).
The phonographic copyright is vested in KC.
King Crimson is not owned by Virgin, nor by DGM. It is as independent in its own world as DGM is in theirs; possibly more so.
Alan's pal deprives Virgin of income. He also deprives KC of income.
<And to people who talk about the price of KC Club releases, nobody seems to realize that the $16 includes postage and handling. So what would that make it then, about $13.50? Not bad for a very limited release.>RF: Too true. I fail to understand bleating about the Club. There is no way at all that anyone gets rich on a pressing run of 3,000 (unless the mastering & artwork is cheap, a low quality presentation, & the artists don't get paid).
3. StU ([email protected]) 19-Aug-2000 08:39 GMT uk
<Talking of friendly greetings, my mother in-law (Joan Steele, later Joan Booth) used to teach one 12 year old Robert Fripp at Sturminster School during the late 50's. To that particular Mr Fripp, whoever he may be, greetings from Joan Booth.>RF: The young Fripp was never at Sturminster School (Sturminster Marshall or Sturminster Newton?). His primary school was Broadstone (5-11 years old), and the awful Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Wimborne (11-16). Which school, & subject, please?
4. Bill Duhigg ([email protected]) 20-Aug-2000 02:20 GMT
<From RF's Responses To The Guestbook, Friday, 18th August, 2000 re: Beaton the Wonder Bun"On her dressing table here at Chateau Luvvie there are 3 pictures of Beaton and one of her husband (where I'm sharing the photo with him)".
It seems Beaton doesn't object to flash photography :>
RF: Beaton signed away all his photographic copyrights & photo approval rights in exchange for an apricot. This was a good deal for him: standard practice in the field.
5. Greg Smith ([email protected]) 07-Jul-2000 01:57 GMT Georgia, USA
<I have a burning question that's been on my mind for some time, but David Durian's post about the future of KC prompts me to finally ask it. Can King Crimson exist without Robert Fripp?>RF: In my view, existentially at the moment, no.
6. Mark J. Moerman ([email protected]) 06-Jul-2000 23:51 GMT Beautiful downtown Silicon Valley, U.S.A.
<Consider that the very philosophical basis of DGM as a company involves a rejection of what is considered customary and commonplace elsewhere in the music industry. Given this as a basis for his current activities, is it so difficult to accept that Mr. Fripp might indeed seek to engage the audience at something above the party level?>RF: But I do wish & hope to engage the audience at a party level - but at a real party.
Basement parties are frightening affairs: no one sees anyone else. Everyone is talking about themselves. No-one sees anyone else. Parties I'd like to go to begin on the garden floor. Parties on the roof garden are out of this world. The opportunity to play one of these gigs keeps musicians going for years longer than intelligence requires.
7a. Robert Engstrom ([email protected]) USA
<I read, with great interest, Mr. Fripps passing comment regarding executing ascending and descending single string lines employing non-conventional fingerings. As a student of the guitar for over 25 years (and an avid consumer of Mr Fripps work), I was wondering if Mr Fripp would divulge this technique.>7b. Jeff Bridge ([email protected]) 05-Jul-2000 00:11 GMT Overland Park U.S.A.
<I have a request for Robert Fripp. I was wondering if you could write out the Tab for Fractured and post it on Elephant Talk's tab page along with excercises that would help us get the parts down correctly.>RF: To play "FraKctured" you need a specific technique. To acquire that specific technique, you need an instructor who is able to introduce you to it. A guitar technique is not merely about how you play your guitar: it's about how you play your life. And, eventually, it moves to how your life plays you.
The exercises that "would help (Jeff) get the parts down correctly", and Robert's change of fingerings, are exercises that would change their relationship with their musical instrument, and therefore their personal instruments - themselves. When these exercises are introduced, they can have powerful effects. For this, better to have qualified people to respond when needed. Guitar Craft is set up to meet this need.
8. Cedric Hendrix ([email protected]) 04-Jul-2000 19:03 GMT USA
<I cannot help but to admire the string work you bring forth in TCoL in general, and on "FraKctured," in particular. It led me to wonder about your practice routine. Would you be willing to shed a little light on how you prepare yourself for the pieces at hand, and those yet to be created?>RF: If this is a practical interest, perhaps Cedric might read the response above. And if it's only curiosity, curiosity isn't enough to power up a response!
9. David Snyder ([email protected]) Central Texas
<The recent flood of GB entries are quite entertaining and humorous. It's interesting to see what motivations people pin upon Fripp. It reminds me of the principle: induction is a dangerous method to reason by, and is a source of a great many delusions. I imagine these inductions-parading-as-deductions provide many entertaining moments to Mr. Fripp.>RF: My main current interest is in learning from the material. I continue to be astonished at how people affirm their right to be dopey, in great detail, in a public forum. But there are some posters whose commentaries and insights do move beyond the purely educational.
And, moving beyond the purely educational
10. mats ([email protected]) 08-Jun-2000 10:24 GMT Sweden
<About stealing intellectual property rights (such as bootlegging at concerts). Hands to your hearts now: How many of you are sitting out there with totally PURCHASED software for ALL of your programs on your HOME computers? Especially on PC's? Internet browsers are free nowadays, of course,(ever wondered why?) but the rest? You cannot all use internet cafes ONLY, all of the time. Make this comparison first, between illegally copying software and illegally copying music, before starting to whine - pro or against - about bootlegging music.>RF: This is one of several classic gems which Mats has generously provided the Guestbook. They are all worthy of analysis & repeated readings, not only if you're on a learning curve. In response to this particular post:
This is the "Impossibly Perfect" excuse which seeks to validate poor conduct. It goes like this:
Perfection is impossible.Another approach is this:
Perfection is impossible.11. robert turner ([email protected]) 08-Jun-2000 16:10 GMT
<gig review: 07.06.2000, stadthalle, offenbach (am main), germanyRF: This is a precise, exact description of my personal experience during nearly all the shows in Europe.
Mr. Turner's review is clean: he presents reportage without "side", without gushing & without negativity. This is his experience, which he reports without seeking to gain advantage from it. This is feedback which I welcome, find useful, and I am grateful to Robert for posting this.
12. Ferran NoguĂs ([email protected]) 04-Jul-2000 21:35 GMT Catalan Lands
<I am surprised reading Fripp's comments on the Barcelona show. I atended that concert. The show started with a 10 minutes delay, and people had been waiting to see Crimson since 1982 (I think), sothre was a lot of euphoria and expectaion in the air>RF: "A lot of euphoria & expectation", slowly building over an 18 year period? Wow.
13. Tim Gainer ([email protected]) 05-Jul-2000 16:49 GMT
<OPEN LETTER TO RF:Dear Robert:
Having been quickly accaimated to the readings of your diary, I have noticed an underlying theme concerning your disdain for what you politely refer to as the 'customary violation' of photographic equipment during a performance.
Whereas I realize and understand your value of space and concentration during such a performance, along with your innovations in sound using the various technoligies of the day, I find this rather perplexing.
Two theories come to mind:>
RF: Dear Tim,
This isn't understanding.
14. Black Napkins ([email protected]) 18-Jun-2000 14:12 GMT Germany
<Does anybody know the music which is played before the King Crimson-Concert starts? Please write to [email protected]. Thanx.>RF: Soundscapes; mostly "A Blessing Of Tears".
15. ric* ([email protected]) 17-Jun-2000 22:12 GMT austria
<dear mr. fripp, just an explanation in case you somehow misunderstood the sign referred to in your entry of june 17: the quotation is part of a performance DENOUNCING the use of said sentence by some right wing politician!!!>RF: Thank you to ric for this: I'm relieved.
<i am certainly not the only one who had been looking forward so much to a crimso concert, though i doubt many people have waited for as long as 20 years - as i did.>RF: Sorry to have missed you too, ric.
16. Filippo Guerini ([email protected]) Italy
<I've been reading Robert's 5th june diary page. As a very beginner GC student (I've only attended the Alfeld Winter Project last January) and an aspiring musician, one question puzzled me: how to tell real insights from bright ideas? What kind of practice can lead one to such an "ability"?>RF: Perhaps Filippo might refer to the Diary for Friday 18th. August, 2000:
"In Guitar Craft this insight would be referred to as a Point Of Seeing. There is a silent click and one finds that one knows. There is a particular kind of resonance involved which is very different to A Bright Idea, which is often accompanied by excitement, or arousal, or an investment in the agreement / acceptance by others of This Lofty Notion Of Mine. The Point Of Seeing, in contrast, is accompanied by a sense of elation".
But words are pretty cheap compared to obtaining authentic experience, and having that experience validated by others with greater experience.
17. Martin Coleman ([email protected]) 09-Jun-2000 05:27 GMT New Zealand
<Just wondering if DGM are going to re-release the rest of the KC back catalogue in the new gate-fold, remastered etc form? I am very keen to get 'Larks Tounge' etc and 'Discipline'.>RF: Once more This is one of the most frequent & common mistaken assumptions - that DGM is responsible for the KC/EG catalogue. The catalogue was sold to Virgin by EG in April 1991, so RYG's comments (masquerading as questions!) are for Virgin.
<Also, is it possible to get a full concert performance of the 70s line-up on VHS?>RF: Not yet.
18. Jonathan badger ([email protected]) 09-Jun-2000 04:52 GMT United States
<If I understand these statements correctly, this is an expression of the old quarrel between poetry and philosophy.>RF: Perhaps, place "sensibilia" between poetry & philosophy?
19. Daniel Santo Orcero (ET) Sun, 16 Jul 2000 11:25:32 -0500
<In the back of "Let the Power Fall" album, there's a quote that begins with "one can work within any structure - once one can work within any structure, some structures are more efficient than others", etc.I'm not into phillosophy, so I don't know where these quotes come from. A friend has told me it's a variation of anarchism's manifesto, but I have my doubts about that. Does someone know it for sure?
[ I think it's from J G Bennett -- Toby ]>
RF: It was written at Fripp World HQ, overlooking Wimborne Minster, in 1980.
20. Timothy W Cox (ET) Fri, 14 Jul 2000 23:17:24 -0400
<So I ask this question: Why does the current Crim feel it would be impossible to capture similar energy if they were to attempt to play older material which was "written, played, and recorded at another time" (this was Mr. Fripps reasoning in his diary) .>RF: What is "similar energy"?
Timothy also fails to take into account audiences, which are very different (while being exactly the same); the state of the music industry, which is less friendly than it used to be; and the condition of popular culture. This isn't only down to Crimson.
Perhaps, also see below.
21. Dave Lassoff ([email protected]) 03-Jul-2000 19:45 GMT USA
<I was reading your diary entry of Monday, June 26, 2000 and came upon the phrase "liggers' area." What is a "liggers' area"?>RF: "Ligger" is rock slang for hanger-on, although I have heard the word used to include "guests".
So, "ligger" may be used pejoratively for those who have blagged their way backstage, unwanted & uninvited, to snaffle group refreshments (particularly alcohol), suck upon pyches, and provide the presence of absence
"Ligger" may also be used to denote an open (rather than private) guest area.
22. Alain Proulx (ET)Wed, 05 Jul 2000 14:55:45 +0604
<Subject: Enough is enoughI read what Fripp said about the fact he doesn't play Frakctured during a photo session and also that he feels the show compromised cause he is sure the concert is recorded. Oh my god, what the hell is that? I am a teacher and I teach despite the fact my students don't listen at all.>
RF: Subject: Not Enough Is Too Much Already.
At least M. Proulx may take comfort in his students' powers of discrimination.
23. mark ensley ([email protected]) 01-Jun-2000 14:30 GMT
<On a few occasions I have been privileged to witness Native American sacred ceremonies. Not being a practitioner myself, before the ceremonies the dancers kindly explained some of their beliefs, intentions, and conditions. One of the conditions of my being a witness to this sacred space was an agreement not to record the event. They believed that the process of recording would disrupt their communication to the higher spirits and would negate the reasons for their efforts-- even if done by a witness -- because my witnessing of the dance was still a participation, and all participants needed to bring to the dance a certain level of respect for it to "work".Regardless, I was visiting the "church" of another religion and a certain level of respect was assumed, if not demanded, of me as a condition to that visit.
While I don't presume to speak for him, on several occasions Mr. Fripp has described his intentions behind live performance in terms strikingly similar to those my Native American friends used. I'm reminded of one of his diary entries from the ProjeKcts box where he refers to photography at shows as pissing in the communion wine. (I don't have the CD handy, this is a paraphrase.) I can only assume that uninvited recording is of a similar nature, if not even more offensive. If a deep level of spiritual intimacy is attempted and assumed at his shows, the nonconsensual violation of that intimacy can be regarded as a type of spiritual rape.
On another level, if indeed these types of acts can interfere with the creation of the best possible performance, then performing acts such as illicit taping is theft. By interfering with the performance, the taper is robbing the performers and the audience of the show and experience that could have been, but is now forever lost.
Sad.>
RF: Heartbreaking.
It may seem absurd to hope that a performance of rock music might be sacred. But for me, it is. The performance of music acts in a number of worlds and the world of the sacred is one of them. This is always potentially available to us, if we are ourselves available in turn. The tragedy from the guitar stool I sit on is to feel the sanctity at the heart of music being ripped out, stupped over, & denied on a daily basis. Sanctity is as available in the basement as anywhere else, but those in the basement are not themselves very available to anything much at all.
If we reject the "religious" approach, perhaps we may call on whatever we feel to be sacred to us in our life - a piece of music, a building, a place, an event in time - knowing for a certainty that, whatever form we call on, grace will find access to us through this personal "sacred form" or "sacred image".
The problem is, we won't notice that grace has found us until we are out of the basement.
24. Alfred Bello (ET) Fri, 14 Jul 2000 18:23:20 -0700 (PDT)
<A simple question pops into my mindWhat is it that bothers you Gentlemen? The fact of knowing you are being photographed or the concentration interruption originated by the flash?
Could either or both of the gentlemen involved answer this simple question? An answer to this could most certainly clarify what the real problem is.>
RF: Alfred's "simple question" has 3 question marks. That makes it not quite as simple as he suggests. I also note that he provides two possible answers to the first question, structured as a polar either-or & setting the question in the form of mechanical logic. So, are these my only two alternatives? And do I have to choose between them? Either-or questions aren't questions. They are answers with which we may agree or not (note the dyad in response).
I would be interested in Alfred's views on what the "real problem" might be. I have my own views on this, and they may be found on both ET & this Diary.
25. Timothy W Cox (ET) 26 Aug 2000 04:11:33 -0400
<Subject: To be Crimson or not to beNow, is TCOL music that only Crim can make? Does it posses crimson qualities? Now, Wetton and Lake naturally fit the position. They perfectly complimented the groups aggressive music style., but I fear we will never experience that power again. Or the power of Wallace or even the Buford Wetton combination. May the American tour prove me otherwise!!!!>
RF: It won't.
And it won't even be trying to.
<Tonight an old friend called me and before I could speak he shouts, "what the hell is this crimson shit. It sounds like a bunch of pop tunes that could be played by anyone, gchnk gchnk">RF: Who is "anyone"?
<(I am sad to say he downloaded it off of nipster).>RF: Right.
"In popular culture, the musician calls on the highest part in all of us.
In mass culture, the musician addresses the lower parts of what we are."
