
1. Errata. Bart Nagel kindly points out that in my recent YES post the prof transposed the first & last names of Benoit David.
2. Apologia. This was a mistake & was certainly not intended as a slight upon Mr. Benoit. [The error while requiring a correction/apology is perhaps explained -- in part -- by the fact that Benoit, the frontman & lead singer in the group that night, never introduced himself to the audience.]
3. Argument. Some folks believe that there are 2 senses (or maybe more) to the word argument. a) There is argument as in having a verbal diagreement/fight (with perhaps implications of irrationality). And b) there is argument as in proposing a hypothesis & then attempting to prove its veracity via a series of propositions presumably by means of logic & evidence. The Monty Python argument sketch is based upon this difference -- in fact, apparent contradiction -- between the 2 meanings.
This is surely too simple. Argument (as Roland Barthes once said, when 2 people argue with the intention of winning, they are already married) is really a word that describes a continuum, for the 2 apparently different meanings are really fundamentally the same.
Take some of the Comments posted to my YES review. (And my sincere thanks to everyone, anonymous or not, for taking part. POP's musings are intended to get people thinking -- & no one thinks more about these posts than does the author/narrator/cartoon character of POP himself.)
One Commenter suggests that if you truly do love a band's music as much as the prof loves (1970s) YES, then you should show the musicians in the band respect. (Note shifting of goalposts here, from the music to the musicians. The professor of pop is not interested in whether Beethoven was a nice man or not, he is simply hoping that he will live long enough to fully appreciate the man's music. Got it?) Now then. If you will grant me that not all YES shows are perfect (face facts: they are notorious for their trainwrecks -- the prof once saw them stop in the middle of CTTE and start again -- Bournemouth Winter Gardens, 1973, and some of their performances of The Gates of Derilium have found the odd meter in the middle section too much for them), then we might agree that someone who appreciates the music of YES (as opposed to whatever band members happen to be in YES on any given tour/album) would demonstrate that devotion TO THE MUSIC by noticing things like the fact that at the show we attended on Friday night, Roundabout (misplaced in the set) did not groove one iota; White's solo was musically aimless; and the mix so favoured Chris Squire's bass that large sections of some pieces were virtually inaudible. So, some YES performances are better than others. Last Friday's shows ranked only the third-worst ever, though, that the prof has attended. The Big Generator Money Spinner (AKA The Trevor Rapid Review) was a sickener. But the Open Your Eyes tour was the lowest of the low. (Best YES live shows: 1975 with Patrick Moraz, who brought their music -- kicking & screaming -- into the C20th. You can see that tour on the QPR 1975 2-disk DVD.)
As for Anon#2, who complains that the professor of pop provided an inadequate "review" of the show, let me say this. My advice, sir. First, look up the word 'blog' (that is -- Bee Ell Ooo Gee) at Wiki or Google. (If you cannot use a computer, ask someone at your local library.) Then, take out a subscription to a magazine called Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone -- the mag, not the band! They have bags of ""reviews"" there.
4. Disgresion. Oh & thanks Bernie, but you might also revisit The Yes Album and Relayer (even parts of Time and a Word) -- some of their finest work is there. Sunday in Saratoga the bartender (a muso) put YES on all afternoon and we danced our way through a few sissie g&ts. SO yes, you CAN move to it. All YES fans know that. But still, let's be grown-up about it, some shows groove more than others.
5. Fandom. The fan accuses the critic of having written the review/blog post before bum hit seat. (Otherwise how could s/he not see how brilliant it all was?) But this confuses 2 objects of study: the band, & the music they played that evening. It is the arrogance of the fan -- Simon Frith's term -- that has written the glowing review long before the first strains of the Firebird Suite have begun to drift into the ether.
6. Conclusion. POP is written with tongue firmly in cheek. Andrew Goodwin is not the prof. Although he sometimes does the same things the prof does. And vice versa. If you can't see the humour in that last fictional 'Meet & Greet' section, then why bother reading this blog at all?
Sod off, you ungrateful miserable swine!
But let us end on an affirmative note -- why not start your own blog? It is a great way to test out your ideas, explore your mind, question your assumptions, share thoughts & feelings, & learn from the feedback. Even if you disagree with it. No, especially if you disagree with it.
So here's to YES (1970-1975). And their fans.
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