Freak-When-See 101: Part 2 - Discipline (1981)

Good things take time, hence when part 2 of my Freak-When-See 101 series took more than a month to create. For this installment we fast-forward to the early 1980s when pioneering prog rockers King Crimson released the strangest album in their canon to date: Discipline. Release the freaks!

I do remember one thing. It took hours and hours but.. by the time I was done with it I was so involved I didn't know what to think. I carried it around with me for days and days.. playing little games like not looking at it for a whole day and then.. looking at it. to see if I still liked it. I did. I repeat myself when under stress. I repeat myself when under stress. I repeat myself when under stress. I repeat myself when under stress. I repeat.. The more I look at it the more I like it. I do think it's good. The fact is.. no matter how closely I study it no matter how I take it apart no matter how I break it down It remains consistent. I wish you were here to see it. I like it.

King Crimson – Indiscipline (1981)

The year was 1981. King Crimson, the founders of the progressive rock movement had been in limbo since they broke up in 1974. Never to be counted out they propelled themselves back into the spotlight with their strangest, most challenging album yet. The mighty King Crimson can claim this as a serious notch in their bedpost: they went from inventing prog rock to spearheading a bizarre breed of new wave in just over decade. These two styles made for unusual bed fellows but they actually had more in common than one might think. Both are made by 'outsiders' – the cool kids made Led Zeppelin, the reclusive intellectuals made Gentle Giant – the tough guys made Motley Crue, the dorks made Talking Heads. If that is all that King Crimson had accomplished in their career it would be enough to cement their reputation as legends. Fortunately for everybody they went on to do much more than just that (let alone what they had already done by 1981), but that is another story.

A reborn King Crimson meant a new line-up. Other than Robert Fripp (the only original member in the band since 1971) and drummer Bill Bruford (ex- Yes / Genesis, joined in 1972) who both carried over from the previous incarnation, the new quartet was rounded out with virtuoso bass player Tony Levin (having previously worked as a studio musician for Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, and Lou Reed) and vocalist Adrian Belew (ex-Talking Heads). It was the inclusion of Belew that had the greatest effect on KCrimson's new sound: awkward, angular, and sharp.

  

So what of the actual songs on Discipline? If you didn't believe that this was a brand new band with a brand new way of doing things all you would have to do is listen to the very first track, 'Elephant Talk'. Belew sets about listing a series of synonyms for speech in alphabetical order, starting at 'A' (Arguments) and reaching 'E' (Enfadulations, which I'm pretty sure he made up) before the songs ends. And that's it. From there it is a roller coaster through tense funk ('Thela Hun Ginjeet', an anagram or 'Heat in the jungle', AKA inner-city violence) to woozy ballads ('Matte Kudasai') to alien instrumentals ('The Sheltering Sky'). In amongst all of that is the album's centrepiece: 'Indiscipline'. I think that most people's initial reaction to the song is “What the fuck is this about?”. Read the lyrics at the beginning of this article and try to figure it out. Off you go, I'll wait for you …

… Done? Well, what do you think? It could be about pretty much anything. I have always found it to be a great metaphor for addiction, especially the part about “not looking at it for a whole day and then looking at it to see if I still liked it”. Apparently the lyrics are taken from a letter written to Belew by his wife about a sculpture she had made. Strange but true.

I believe that the legacy of King Crimson can be best measured by the fans. Members of Tool, Mars Volta, Melvins, Dream Theater, Mastodon, Muse, Nine Inch Nails, Opeth, Porcupine Tree, Rush, Primus, and Neurosis are admitted acolytes. Kurt Cobain kept his love of King Crimson's prog a secret from his punk friends for many years before coming out of the musical closet. Hell, even The Clash' Joe Strummer professed his admiration of their 1974 album Red in an interview in the 80s. In my opinion Discipline is so vital because it was a prog rock album from the 80s that was a product of its time without succumbing to the cringe-worthy tropes of the day. Just in case you should doubt my love of this album here is a picture of a tattoo I got a few years back.

I LIKE IT!