BYAMPOD - EP 79: MARBLES POSTBG
Added 2022-05-02 13:25:49 +0000 UTCSorry this is late. Bonus ep should go some way to making up for it, I hope.
This episode we delve into our postbag to talk about everything from Marbles, to former Marillion manager John Arnison, to Steve Hogarth's lyrics compared to Fish's lyrics, to John Cooper-Clarke, and that hoary old favourite... the things that are considered cool. It's a ramshackle ramble of a episode, with a massive rant at the end!
Comments
I enjoy prog because of the complexity and bombast of it. Talented people pushing boundaries inspires me. Anything that's simplistic or has a low bar of entry, or relies on a bit of the emperor's New clothes, I can not abide. Each to their own though. If I can cobble together a passable pisstake of a genre with little to no effort then I don't respect the medium. But could I make the 20 minute long Atom Heart Mother? Nope.
Dave Graves
2022-05-03 16:36:09 +0000 UTCOh, Cooper Clark's a talented guy. I just have a chip on my shoulder when it comes to anybody who the wider world has broadly consider acceptable, when so much of what I love is dismissed as a bit of a joke. Didn't help to read him slagging Marillion off!
Paul Rose (Mr Biffo)
2022-05-02 20:42:24 +0000 UTCWoohoo, my letter prompted a Rose Rant! I had a feeling Cooper Clarke's comments might spark a strong response. Now I feel guilty for raising your blood pressure on a Bank Holiday Monday! I have to say, though I do love Cooper Clarke's work and have always had a soft spot for him, I totally agree that his comments about Genesis and Marillion are rather cruel and unwarranted. As you say, he's adopted the same narrow minded view of Prog that has made the genre a running joke since the 70s. OK, some of the criticism of the genre is valid, but judging all Prog bands by the indulgent excesses of a few is unfair. As you've discussed a few times on BYAMPOD, Prog is such a hard genre to pin down, yet so many people will dismiss it without even having heard a note. I think a fair chunk of Marillion's oeuvre (that word again!) is pretty genre spanning - progressive music in the purest sense. I'm sure many must think they sound like Yes or ELP at their most bombastically indulgent. The often snobbish music press are invariably to blame for labels and pigeonholing. They see themselves somehow as the gatekeepers of what's considered "cool" at any given time. And as we all know, that's a very fickle thing. I've always been of the opinion that you give everything a chance, irrespective of style, genre or whether it's considered cool or not. I've discovered some great music that way.
Simon Lee Tranter
2022-05-02 17:39:18 +0000 UTC
