I CAN'T COUNT THIS MADNESS // King Crimson - The ConstruKction Of Light // Composer Reaction

[@dianewilson7415]

Bill Bruford once described King Crimson as the only band that could play in 17/8 and also stay in nice hotels.

[@vow9343]

"How do you keep track of this? How do remember this to perform it?" Trey Gunn, who plays Warr guitar on this song, described his tenure with King Crimson as: “...a little bit like having a low-grade infection. You're not really sick but you don't feel well, either.”

[@bobosbotanicals]

Watching someone get blown away by King Crimson is no surprise to me at all. They’ve blown me away for 50 years and continue to blow me away today! Great reaction!

[@carpetcrawler79]

This is the best later day King Crimson song there is. Just beautiful.

[@alibabaschultz352]

I am consistently fascinated by your perspective on my favorite bands, from The Beatles, to King Crimson, to The Mars Volta, to Sufjan Stevens. You have such a different way of listening to and digesting music. It really is fascinating.

[@progperljungman8218]

Yup. He's the best reactor by so many measures (combining full honesty, insight, nudity... meaning no edits, positive attitude and sincere curiosity)

[@CJRamos-jv3pb]

One of my favorite KC tunes, and I've been following them for many decades.

[@eardrumfilms]

Love this album. The Only time i've seen them live they had just released "The power to believe" and played some of these tunes live as well. Amazing and underrated line up.

[@Heathsmusic1]

The confusion in analyzing is that the time signatures are multi dimensional. Fripp finds straight 4-4 boring so he instituted a concept of mixing multiple odd time signatures simultaneously in each stringed instrument which gives a fluidity of 4-4 with a brain strain. That’s before even talking about the music itself. KC are a unique challenge for the average listener and a classroom for musicians. Love all their projects from the beginning to the present.

[@ottolehto]

90s-00s KC is underrated - truly a magnificent musical lineup. And this song is both technical and beautiful

[@progperljungman8218]

@@ottolehto Yeah! They were always truly progressive.

[@ТанжихоловМуродулло]

Their whole discography is underrated really. The only album that garners at least some deserved attention is their debut but they still deserve more

[@ulfingvar1]

Fripp, Belew, Gunn, Mastelotto was Crimsons best line-up IMO.

[@progperljungman8218]

@@ulfingvar1 To me, they were on par with the greatest "classic" line ups (including Belew, Bruford, Levin). It's simply (once again) "truly progressive" - and great music!

[@Z_E_B_O]

The ConstruKction of Light is the album most of their fans deem to be their worst. Yet still, it does so many things and still is so technical and nice to listen to. Many people had a problem with the electronic drumset at the time, which can sound a bit dull and sparse, but for those people I can highly recommend checking out their redo of this album "ReconstruKction of Light", which because they lost the original masters of the drumtrack Pat Mastelotto rerecorded all of them, this time on an actual drumset and it really does elevate the album from decent to great. ProsaKc Blues has the weird drumpause they only played live back then, FraKcture has a much more brutal breakdown in the middle and man... it does loose a bit of its atmosphere, (but the Reconstruction of Light release also includes the original mix and even the Projekcts album that came out at the time, on BluRay) Anyway, for all King Crimson fans I can only highly suggest their "Live in Mexico" BluRay and to watch live versions of their "ConstruKction of Light" tracks. Have a good day lol

[@progperljungman8218]

Watching this guy with a new, really challenging, puzzle to solve is really amusing 😊 (Especially since he seems to really enjoy the challenge) Cheers Bryan ❤️

[@progperljungman8218]

Really? 😊

[@gillesmurat7362]

Hi from France: Robert Fripp plays on his tuning that he created during the first half of the 80s: the "New Standard Tuning" (NST). He tunes his guitar like this: C-G-D-A-E-G...

[@green6string434]

always a band of amazing, creative players, this line-up is the most technically proficient, in my opinion. incredible composition. watch the live in japan '03 vid of this song. completely remarkable...

[@semchen9]

I too saw this Tour. I thought then and think now, that, The Construction of Light Album, was and is, a vastly underrated King Crimson Endeavor.

[@green6string434]

@@semchen9 i also saw the same tour. i remember laughing out loud a couple times because it was so amazing.

[@semchen9]

@@green6string434 literally the Same. The second Night of our Oakland Fox Theater Concert, also us on Shrooms. My Bestie, after having his Bucket List of hoped King Crimson Songs, played, went missing for the Second Half. I found him at the Mezzanine, drenched with Sweet. He had a Heart Attack, and then another while being revived. Yes, he and I recount that Concert and to its,...In- betweens of Happenings.

[@progperljungman8218]

@@semchen9 😮

[@bengriffin1089]

Trey Gunn once quoted approvingly the comment that this album “is the map, not the treasure”. Personally I think there’s some really great music on this record, but Fripp’s tendency to treat lyrics as an afterthought has never been more obvious.

[@misterguy9051]

Happy with what I have to be happy with King Crimson, since 50 years!!

[@rickintx1125]

This the underappreciated "double-duo" lineup. Belew and Fripp on guitars, Trey Gunn on Warr guitar and Pat Mastelotto on percussion.

[@mansurds]

You should contact Trey Gunn who played the Warr guitar on that track! I reckon he would be happy to help! He worked on the transcription in other KC songs!

[@bodhibick2378]

This is definitely mind music. So relaxing to flow with. 😃❤️

[@markdrechsler5660]

I saw this tour. It was pretty amazing. This is a top tier KC song. One of many.

[@progperljungman8218]

@@markdrechsler5660 Me too. In Copenhagen. Mind blowing!

[@markdrechsler5660]

@@progperljungman8218 I saw them at the old, shabby and seldom used Modjeska theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, formerly a 1920’s movie palace. Twenty years later it is still awaiting restoration.

[@NewBritainStation]

Perhaps the “easiest” way to transcribe the KC pieces like this is to start with the two primary guitar parts. Focus on the phrases; each guitar part tends to be a series of repetitive phrases, and often the same between the two, but starting on a different note in the phrase. Another common feature is one of the guitars periodically drops a note of the phrase, causing the relationship between the two patterns to shift a beat. A third voice is often added by the Warr Guitar/Chapman Stick. That forms a framework, which the drums and bass (in KC) often ignore. That is, they find their own place to live within that tapestry without necessarily playing along with it.

[@Tintop]

Seeing them pulling off that stuff live with 3 drummers was my best concert experience ever in 2015. Sadly Adrian Belew wasn't in that live line-up.

[@semchen9]

I saw all (4) 2015-2021 King Crimson "Three-Headed" Drum Tours. The 2017 and 2021 Tours were of Incendiary Stagecraft. We the Audience, and the Band itself, went through Holy Rites. The Energy; Percussive, Precise, Subtle, Uber-Majestic, and EVERYONE, Teens to those in their 80's, in Movement, Possessed to the Muses then informing the Band.

[@progrockplaylists]

1:40 let me translate what the guitars are saying PROG PROG PROG PROG PROG PROG PROG PROG

[@Consan67]

I never even tried to count all the odd time signatures in this song :). This album has a rather bad reputation, largely due to its "millennium dated" digital, heavily compressed and rather sterile production. However, the title track is absolutely brilliant. There are slightly better live recordings of ConstruKction of Light from the tour between 2014-2022. I saw the last edition of KC live 3 times. They demonstrated astonishing precision and concentration for three hours straight. It was an out-of-this-world experience, I had a hard time processing everything afterwards :). Fripp's brain doesn't work like everyone else's, totally unique.

[@InsaneCarville]

Your first take on this is so on par with my take as well. I wish to comment though, since this has been one of my favourite pieces for about a decade now (since my first listen) In short, there's so much to unpack, but it's all very simple. But it's complex if you want it to be. All the singular words mentioned in the chorus are simple words, and we experience these things everyday, but each one is complex if we take the time to think about any which one of them. The second chorus somewhat seems to challenge both evolution and creationism at the same time which is interesting (if that is the point of the lyrics) but overall, I've personally taken the lyrics as a whole to mean something among the lines of how by just simply existing in our simplest forms or actions, we do bare some sort of significance. (A bit tacky but it's just what makes sense to me) The music pairs well with that take; how the guitars especially play a note each, building on a scale/idea that gets fuller as it goes along, ending with the last instrumental passage which shows that chromatic notation. I strongly feel they named the song and wrote the lyrics in honour of the journey of the notation in those sections.

[@McZorr0101]

Fripp and Belew would play these intricate guitar patterns, starting in unison but then one would drop a note out so that they would go out and back into sync. This is the 2000 original version of the album. There was, however, a dissatisfaction with the mix of the album so in 2019 a remixed version of the album, entitled The ReconstriKction of Light was released. For this new version Pat Mastelotto recorded entirely new drum parts for the whole album.

[@wendelynmusic]

I loved King Crimson from the early days to Discipline but lost touch with them for a long time after that. Then I heard about the new album Construction of Light and decided to check it out and I loved it. I think Thrak was around this time also wasn't it? Can't remember for sure. But I loved this stuff.

[@NewBritainStation]

In terms of your “anti-melody” thoughts, there’s an interesting aspect to this particular type of KC pieces, particularly the instrumental ones. There is no “lead” instrument, all carry equal weight. You can focus on one of them, but no part is more important than the others.

[@frankh9600]

Polyrythmic whole-tone jazz-metal, my favourite music

[@DumblyDorr]

Harmonically, in the Belew era, they often use a whole-tone scale for its floating, ambiguous nature, moving patterns around in whole notes or thirds in that scale (often with hocketing), then "resolve" to some adjacent chord - for a while :)

[@CriticalReactions]

I knew it sounded familiar but I couldn't place it. I actually wrote and sang a whole tone melody for someone else's music just this month. I wouldn't say I hated it but there is nothing about whole tone that feels natural to me 😅 Which makes it perfect for the type of vibe and atmosphere that KC is creating in this song.

[@madmoody100]

I'll comment that Fripp has made significant use of the whole tone scale for his whole career, not just the Belew era onward.

[@NewBritainStation]

Whole tone, yes, but also “Octatonic” in Fripp terms which I think is diminished.

[@DumblyDorr]

Both good points - in this case I think it's diminished / octatonic far more than whole tone actually. It seems clear, however, that while the use of those scales isn't a defining feature for the Belew era, the shifting polymetric ostinatos over these scales are.

[@randyhammill9021]

@@DumblyDorr Absolutely. One Octotonic scale approach that Fripp also uses is some sort of regular scale, but with both the minor and major third. That adds the eighth note to the scale, and also blurs the major/minor tonality. I am not well-enough versed in theory (or able to process it quickly enough) to verify this, though.

[@big_bunga]

this week is gonna be crazy

[@terrat3048]

King Crimson was always something else.

[@ianlejeune6012]

I like the idea that ones innate attempt to grasp the basic rhythmic patterns is forced to be left by the way side, eventually, which leaves you to engage in a sort of no man's land; awash in the harmonic content. This is v interesting. Try Agent Fresco - Mono No Aware [live].

[@jirikrajnak9047]

Here's my review of this reaction: What’s most ironic here is that Brian’s struggle, and subsequent attempt to critique the music, exposes his own limits far more than any shortcomings in the piece itself. It demonstrates that his analytical approach is rigid, prioritizing technicalities over intuition. When someone hyper-focuses on counting beats or parsing structure, it feels like they’re trying to solve a math problem rather than experience the music, but music isn’t meant to be "solved". It’s meant to wash over you, to resonate emotionally, to say something words alone cannot. Overanalyzing strips away that immediacy, reducing music to an intellectual exercise and often missing the point. What’s worse is that this approach can alienate new listeners or those who lack formal training, and instead of being invited to experience art on their own terms, they’re made to feel inadequate, as if their emotional response is somehow less valid because it isn’t grounded in technical knowledge. This undermines the very purpose of art, which is to communicate something that transcends language, education, and expertise.

[@submandave1125]

This is always something that continually renews with Crimson, the way the complexity adds layer and texture but not at the expense of the musical experience on a non-intellectual level. You can be as deep in or casually removed from it as your particular circumstances may dictate.

[@PEGGLORE]

Look forward to this week. Frakctured from this album is the most difficult one to play. You need to watch the live version they did of it. Ridiculous guitar skills by him.

[@chrisb2942]

"nothing has me prepared for this" That's your Crimso expirience there! An acquired taste!

[@ericzeisel3522]

FZ be smiling at this from wherever he is now

[@TheDummbob]

i dunno of you only take recommendations via patreon, but i definately can recommend you to look into the song perichoresis by the secret chiefs 3 it seems to settle into 7/4 sometimes but most of the time its a disorienting layering of different rhythms that results in unpredictable "hickups" where the music kinda stumbles over itself its quite interesting, i have never heard something similar

[@only4crap]

Y E S !!!!!

[@ulfingvar1]

A Crimson video that is not taken down after 10 minutes? Fripp and his lawyers must be getting old

[@gillesmurat7362]

😂

[@Nabekukka]

Hoo boy... This... Is definitely one of the King Crimson songs of all time. Good luck to anyone who just had their KC cherry popped 😂

[@MattNolanCustom]

Pretty sure the bass / Warr guitar player here, Trey Gunn, has produced transcriptions

[@Ramoono]

Gavin Harrison! At some point they had three drummers, but I don’t know if this from that time. Such a weird and interesting song.

[@progperljungman8218]

Pat Mastelotto on (electric) drums, Trey Gunn on bass (+ a special kind of guitar) and then Belew & Fripp

[@Ramoono]

I see, Gavin wasn’t with them back then

[@progperljungman8218]

@@Ramoono No. He was only with them the last years live

[@iangalley3464]

You will find a live version from this 2003 Tokyo show, (I think much of the 'Power To Believe' album is taken from this show?) kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHrPY4Sql5WUpMU

[@Lightmane]

You should watch them perform this live

[@emarsk77]

What do you mean "I can't count"? It's dead easy: it's one two three f… no wait, one tw… one two th…, wait that's the one, two three… Okay it's one one one one one one one…

[@CriticalReactions]

You had me in the beginning but I legit laughed at the "one one one"

[@emarsk77]

@@CriticalReactions Now that I think about it, listen to Liquid Tension Experiment's "Chris And Kevin's Excellent Adventure". There's something funny right around the middle. You can find it on their official channel. That would be a great band for you to analyse, by the way 😉

[@Brucewayne-tj7kj]

Lost in the ozone would say commander Cody Normal you're lost man they're from another galaxy

[@Shroomdiffnuclear]

In Fripps mind this is just an easy reggae tune

[@nicholaswerner8170]

I don't count when I listen to complex music for the first time. Let it envelope you, even if you're confused. Then go back and I transcribe it if I need to!! (to fully understand it) You should listen to System by the band Brotherly. It has a very complex rhythm as well, going between 6/4 and slower triplet-based 4/4. Check it out!

[@garethde-witt6433]

Why try just enjoy😊

[@triumphtinltcomicdg]

fun fuct, "The ConstruKction Of Light" was poorly received by old fans, which was always strange to me...because this album contains all the best of KC

[@egorovvladimir7304]

I always liked this album, don't understand all the hate. Prefer it to Thrak, actually.

[@MattNolanCustom]

Some of Adrian Belew's most emotive guitar solos hiding in there, plus Fripp's apocalyptic break in Fracktured. Trey Gunn and Pat Mastellotto's work is sublime here. I think the E-drums and the overall production are what makes it disappointing - and that's the key word - it feels like the sonic potential of the compositions was not fully realised.

[@BarnyardNewton]

Each instrument is playing different meters at the same time. So….. Counting out the meter of one instrument at a time for each section…. Would be hard. But then you’d be missing the point. What King Crimson is saying here is that all the instruments playing in the same meter, all the time, isn’t necessary for music to be good.

[@henri4843]

🤘💥

[@SpeedOfThought1111]

"the balance between complexity and emotion", yes I feel Tool does that extremely well too

[@rodneygriffin7666]

Homework: Go Listen to King Crimson From 1969 - Now.

[@yessongschile]

... Desert Music, Tehillim ...

[@moon_pan_]

🔥🤟🏻

[@brainrotplague]

I really want to recommend The Locust, which I like to describe as alien prog grind core. It's pretty shot and intense songs, so I don't know if it's right for a full reaction video, but please do check them out in your free time. It's a blast once your ears get used to the abuse. As for an actual recommendation for this channel it's a good idea to revisit Sleepytime Gorilla Musuem with the current theme. Sleep is Wrong is a great choice. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jqSxg6udr9BnqbM