Discord & Rhyme: An Album Podcast

Discord and Rhyme is a podcast where we discuss the albums we love, song by song.

122: King Crimson - Discipline (1981)

July 18, 2023  /  Amanda Rodgers

“Discipline is a vehicle for joy.”

—Robert Fripp

It's only talk! This week, Mike rounds out our fifth-anniversary triad of King Crimson discussions with some dialogue, duologue, diatribe, dissension, and declamation about the band's 1981 album Discipline. On this album, bassist Tony Levin and guitarist and vocalist Adrian Belew joined Crimson veterans Robert Fripp and Bill Bruford to produce some of the most complicated music in the Crimson oeuvre, with every musician devoted to making their instrument produce sounds you’ve never heard. But paradoxically, it's also one of their catchiest albums, dabbling in new wave and world beat in the same musical sphere as Talking Heads, who were part of the same New York scene as Fripp in the late ‘70s. Discipline may sound like a sharp, disorienting left turn for King Crimson on first listen, but the album did a lot to cement the band’s music as a living document to be iterated upon. Join us as we break it down, frame by frame!

Miscellany

  • The 1984 concert film Three of a Perfect Pair is available on YouTube. It has nearly the same setlist as Absent Lovers, and watching the band live is a handy way to work out which sounds come from which instruments. Plus, you get to see Robert Fripp geek out over Japanese food. 

  • Attentive listeners to “Thela Hun Ginjeet” will notice that at one point during Belew’s scary story, he says, “Anyway, I finally unbuttoned my shirt and said, ‘Look, look, I’m in this band here.’” Which suggests that he was wearing the shirt for his own band.

  • The inspiration behind “Thela Hun Ginjeet” being written in the first place was Belew hearing about the murder of John Lennon while on tour with Talking Heads.

  • John realized after recording that the first word in the first song after "Elephant Talk" ends with “E” words is "Frame," which begins with “F.” This probably means nothing, but John thought it was neat.

  • Our prog correspondent Dave Weigel was too busy preparing for his wedding to join us for this King Crimson series, but Rich can confirm that “Matte Kudasai” played at the reception. 

Other links 

Discord & Rhyme Roll Call 

  • Mike DeFabio (host)

  • Rich Bunnell (moderator)

  • Phil Maddox

  • John McFerrin 

Discipline tracklist

  1. Elephant Talk

  2. Frame by Frame

  3. Matte Kudasai

  4. Indiscipline

  5. Thela Hun Ginjeet

  6. The Sheltering Sky

  7. Discipline 

Other clips used 

King Crimson:

  • THRaKaTTaK Part 1

  • Starless

  • Indoor Games

  • Elephant Talk (Philadelphia 1996)

  • Indiscipline (Absent Lovers: Montreal 1984)

  • Indiscipline (Meltdown: Mexico City 2017)

  • Thela Hun Ginjeet (Bath 1981, as Discipline)

  • Thela Hun Ginjeet (Absent Lovers: Montreal 1984)

  • Discipline (Bath 1981, as Discipline)

  • Discipline (Absent Lovers: Montreal 1984)

  • Thela Hun Ginjeet (Philadelphia 1982)

  • Dinosaur

  • Mother Hold the Candle Steady While I Shave the Chicken’s Lip

  • Thela Hun Ginjeet (Berkeley 1982) 

Others:

  • Peter Gabriel - On the Air

  • The Roches - Hammond Song

  • Daryl Hall - Something in 4/4 Time

  • Robert Fripp - I May Not Have Had Enough of Me But I’ve Had Enough of You

  • Robert Fripp - 1984

  • Frank Zappa - Flakes

  • Primus - Jerry Was a Race Car Driver

  • Talking Heads - I Zimbra

  • Steve Reich - Piano Phase

  • The League of Gentlemen - Ooh! Mr. Fripp

  • Rush - Natural Science

  • Lionel Richie and Diana Ross - Endless Love

  • Robert Fripp - North Star

  • Adrian Belew - Oh Daddy

  • David Byrne - Miss America

  • Metallica - Battery

  • Metallica - Dirty Window

  • Robert Fripp - NY3

  • Talking Heads - The Great Curve

  • Petra Haden - The Sheltering Sky

  • Gamelan Gong of Peliatan Village - Hudjan Mas (Golden Rain)

  • Igor Stravinsky - The RIte of Spring: The Augurs of Spring (Bernstein 1958)

  • The Police - The Other Way of Stopping

  • Asia - The Heat of the Moment

Band/album personnel 

  • Adrian Belew - electric guitar, guitar synthesizer, lead vocals

  • Robert Fripp - electric guitar, guitar synthesizer, devices

  • Tony Levin - Chapman Stick, bass guitar, backing vocals

  • Bill Bruford - drums, slit drum, percussion

Credits 

“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of: 

  • Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf

  • Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste

  • The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...

  • Faith No More - Midlife Crisis

  • Herbie Hancock - Hornets

  • Kraftwerk - Autobahn

  • Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen

  • King Crimson - Elephant Talk (this episode only) 

You can buy or stream Discipline and other albums by King Crimson at dgmlive.com, your local record store, or the usual suspects such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Amazon. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Twitter @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Editing is by Rich Bunnell, and special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for production and original music. See you next album, and keep as cool as you can.

tags / Mike DeFabio

This website and all episodes' discussion/commentary © 2018—2024 Discord & Rhyme. Excerpts from recordings appearing in episodes are included for purposes of review only, and all rights to such material remain property of their copyright holders. Please note that we make a good-faith effort to ensure all information included in these episodes is accurate, but if we get something wrong, let us know at discordpod@gmail.com and we will print a correction in the show notes. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Website design by Amanda Rodgers. Thank you for visiting, and keep as cool as you can.

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