Why old prog - for me - is better than new prog

Tame Impala doesn't sound like the 70's for sh*t.

"Older Prog", "Classic Prog"...is more important to me because of it's history and my personal experiences on the road with Prog in the 70's. The Prog scene attracted some very sinister crowds. There was a following in the U.S. for underground European Prog bands which extended all through the 70's. The "drug scene" on the East coast of the U.S. throughout the entire decade of the 70's, was still very much based on experimentation ...as it were in the 60's. The Prog community experimented taking drugs while listening to YES and I mention Yes ..in particular..because of the deep connection between themselves and the band's music. It was a bit "over the top" when the majority of the people in the audience were telling you that they were there to see God. Once the band entered the stage, I began to forget all about my social surroundings and watch a great band perform "Close To The Edge". In any event, many people were tripping on acid ..in the hopes of seeing God when YES played and further setting half of JFK STADIUM on fire during a wild and dynamic performance by YES on the piece "Ritual". This felt like a more bizarre take on the violence that went down at "Altamont".

 

I liked the way the underground Progressive Rock scene was promoted in the 70's. Recently...a radio program for Progressive Rock was put together by a Electronic artist and a DJ in Philadelphia, P.A. I listened to 2 hours of the show..waiting to hear Art Zoyd, Univers Zero, and The Enid...and instead I got "Mountain" and plenty of it. I sitting ...thinking.."You morons! "You're doing an hour on "Mountain" for a show based on the history of Progressive Rock? I wanted to call the station and voice my opinion very badly, but I held back when I realized they were probably friends with Leslie West. "Over the top" experiences occurred in 70's Prog scenes and they do now. I still go for the early Prog music quite more than the modern regarding the music itself, but the social environment of the Prog community in the 70's...I do not.  

 

My point was directed toward manufactured Pop output from the likes of Beyoncé et al.

I completely understand you, Iván.
I knew people - older than me - who loved to listen to prog, but only prog that did not contain synthesizers (or with very little synth) i.e. early prog. They were telling me that the synths "do not sound human". Today the young prog bands using analog synthesizers because they sound "more human".
So that crossbow with a laser stuff will also one day be in a museum and probably will be used only as an enthusiasts' toy.

Yes, but a steady beat is not what you always want, the musician(s) need to know what they want and make it happen, with real instrumentalists or with rendered playing. 'Steady beat' is one of the things which often cause complaints from some listeners.