Post #466376 by tiki mick on Thu, Jul 2, 2009 9:29 AM

A mellotron version of quiet village? That actually might not be too bad an idea!
I have a Les Baxter CD taken from some live show he did on tv, and he does a version of quiet village with strings...but the quality is old and faded sounding, which actually already has that creaky old mellotron sound, so it's not such a stretch, I guess.

For me, the distinction between prog/avante garde and exotica is simply one of the musical background (Jazz for the lounge acts, classical and beatles for the prog bands) though I know that classical (ravel and debussy in particular) were a basis for a lot of Martin Denny's stuff....there are exceptions, but I am talking as a rule...also, the distinction between the art and cultural (even drug) movements is strongly there. People listening to Martin Denny in the old days were probably sipping a martini in thier bachelor pad, while someone listening to YES (for example) would have been hitting that 2 footer in a darkened room. It really seems polar opposites.

When King Crimson first came back on the scene in 1980 with Discipline, to me, that music was very, very exotic. It took me mentally to Africa, to the sveltd and the savannah. Dark clouds rolling in while giraffes and elephants scrabled underneath...you get the picture, of course..but again, the music was very serious to me. Not much humor or whimsy about it, and that to me is a hallmark of most exotica music...though it's heavy, it's also lighthearted...

To answer your other question, I really don't listen to a lot of prog rock anymore, but there was a period of time (Late 70's) when I could not get enough of it! I still respect it, of course..and love the players. Several of the bass players are my main influences (Chris Squire, Geddy Lee, John Wetton) but these days I am more into strong melodies, and I really actually don't like much rock music as a whole anymore. Having said that, I have been listening to exotica, lounge and even world music since I was a real small kid, so it actually predates my love of prog rock. Prog rock is definitely not for every one. That mexican band you posted is one of the best I have ever seen, by the way. They should be added to this thread.