Since I listened to a few covers, YouTube has been serving me up a steady diet. It seems I could spend the rest of my life listening to covers of King Crimson tracks alone. The number of covers of
Starless is extraordinary. One group of what looked like college kids had even roped in the late John Wetton to sing the lyrics. There is everything from full-on prog-rock versions (although perhaps
Starless is so prog it's not rock anymore), a zany avant garde version, a folk version played in the woods and a solo acoustic guitar version played in a cathedral.
It's extraordinary that young people are playing this music. How do they even know about this material? By the early 1990's I was ridiculed for still listening to 1970's prog rock. Perhaps it's ultimately the quality and originality of the music that has helped it survive. It shows that that with music perhaps you can't tell what will endure the test of time. I must admit I feel somewhat vindicated.
I always felt the 1980s were mostly style over substance and I never really understood the point of the music video. If the music is good enough, what is the need for a video? The best videos, for me, are just the band playing the music. I saw an interview with Keith Richards where he said something like this - that the eyes eventually dominate the ears.
Anyway, here's the latest cover of Starless.
@pinball1970 I particularly like the percussion on this one (and the two guitars):
