In the Court ...
They said the music was for the “head, heart and hips”, I’m not so sure about any of that.
They said (it was Robert of course) the music was for the “head, heart and hips”, I’m not so sure about any of that. I’ve said this before but somehow I can’t get past it, for me King Crimson suck and they always have. I’m just trying to figure out why and what I dislike about them. I probably don’t enjoy the King Crimson experience because I’ve always thought that they demanded a very specific kind of listening posture: upright, attentive, and slightly on edge. Most of my view on this goes back to my high school years (yada yada - very early 70s of course ) when I’d happily listen to Yes, ELP, Gentle Giant, Jethro Tull etc. but the Crimson King’s austere output held no appeal or attraction for me. Meanwhile others oozed superlatives from every pore at the mere utterance of their (stupid) name. “I just can’t get into it”, I may well have said at the time.
The thing is that their music rarely welcomes anyone in; it’s like some fucking posh club, it challenges you at the door, checks your credentials and footwear, and then rearranges the smoking room furniture while you’re still standing in line. For some, perhaps masochistic people, that may feel invigorating. They’re in there for a good aural whipping. For others like me, it feels like Latin homework, tedious. King Crimson often prioritise structure, tension, and intellectual rigor over warmth or emotional release, which can leave the listener admiring the craft while feeling oddly out of it. I never hum King Crimson songs so much as step back from them, and that’s not what I want from music.
There’s also the issue that King Crimson seem constitutionally incapable of sounding relaxed. Even their quieter moments feel tightly controlled, like calm achieved through hypnosis rather than ease. If you’re someone who responds more to music that breathes, swings, or allows for a bit of clutter, Crimson’s precision can feel sterile and quite oppressive. When will the next period of noise come along to jangle my nerves? I’d call it an autistic triggering kind of sound. Two drummers in any modern band is never a good idea either. It’s not that the music lacks feeling, it’s that the feeling is often cerebral, anxious and austere. You may respect them without enjoying them, which is a very particular kind of ongoing disappointment that I’ve lived with.
As for Robert Fripp being “a bit creepy”, maybe that’s a fairly common reaction, and not entirely unreasonable. Those early photos of him sitting on a black Norton motorcycle hugging an ebony three pickup Les Paul did not endear him to me in any way. Naturally I was jealous of the bike but who actually needs three pickups on a black Les Paul? Well there’s Page, Frampton and Fripp and a few others apparently. Fripp projects an intense, ascetic seriousness that can be read as “shifty monk like” which is mildly unsettling, depending on your tolerance for solemnity and pet rabbits.
He seems to have strong opinions, expresses them with absolute certainty, and is deeply uninterested in whether you find him personable. So that puts my back up, I’m not sure why. His longstanding interest in discipline, control, and self improvement (often framed in quasi spiritual terms) gives him the air of someone who thinks he knows the correct way to be, which can feel faintly cult like even when it isn’t. Add to that his deadpan demeanor and unwavering gaze, and you get someone who is working hard to seem fascinating and formidable; not someone you’d necessarily want to sit next to in a pub. Of course it may all be fakery and a carefully developed front. The Robert and Toyah YouTube material suggests that it is/was, up to a point ... so that’s even odder.
All of which is to say; not liking King Crimson doesn’t mean I “don’t get it,” (actually it does, I don’t get it) and finding Robert Fripp creepy probably is normal for the likes of me - I have a list of other creepy types. I can recognise the pseudo brilliance and snobbery, admire the ambition, and still quietly back away, preferring something with a bit more warmth, soul or sympathy for the human condition. Some might say it’s a failure of taste but it’s just knowing what kind of music you really want keeping you company. Life can be tough, why waste time with King Crimson? Protect your mental health. I did quite enjoy aspects of Giles, Giles and Fripp and the old school McDonald and Giles efforts though - and RF did some decent stuff with Eno, Bowie et alia. I’m not a complete bigot on this matter.