Dire Straits: Prog-Related? YES. - Progressive Rock Music Forum

JediJoker7169 wrote:

Tenuous arguments at best. I think the best argument for inclusion comes from having "proggy moments;" does that alone not qualify for inclusion as Prog-Related? If not, then what does "Prog-Related" really mean? Just watered-down Prog?

Because we can't include every band that had a few prog-esque moments. If we did, we'd already have Boston here for that annoying Long Time song. So where do we draw the line? I have no idea, I don't really pay attention, but it's probably not going to happen because the consensus is that they fall outside of our admittedly nebulous criteria.

And I philosophically think Prog Related does not need to be expanded at all, but that's not really on-topic.

if you own a sodastream i hate you

See older/closed thread here: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=40503&KW=Dire+Straits&PID=2592133#2592133.

How is Dire Straits NOT Prog-Related?

In my iTunes playlist of "Favorite Progressive Rock" (a playlist of studio recordings, which admittedly includes a lot of Prog-Related stuff), out of 639 songs (and growing), 14 are Dire Straits songs. From a band that only made 6 studio albums and a guy who listens to lots of Progressive Rock, that's saying something. Furthermore, I cite the inclusion of Dire Straits in a prominent Progressive Rock radio show: (San Francisco Bay Area's 98.5 KFOX's) Greg Stone's "Stone Trek" (see here: http://www.till.com/BayProg/radio.html). Stone is a true veteran DJ and longtime Prog fan. On his old page on the KFOX site (he was a victim of the recent Clear Channel layoffs), he had a picture of himself and David Gilmour from an interview, just in case you have doubts about his legitimacy.

So why are they not included?

In the previous thread, the naysayers mostly said (and I quote) things such as:

- "... Dire Straits is one [of] those bands who, although not quite prog, definitely ventured into some amazing sonic territory."

- "Dire Straits, while one of the more unique blues bands, does not qualify even for [Prog-Related, in my opinion]. The best argument for inclusion could come from either Love Over Gold or the live album Alchemy."

- "They are a great adventurous rock band with varied influences, but I don't think they should be on the site...."

- "Yes, for 80's standards[, Dire Straits was] Prog... But for Prog standards... Well... Well... Well[, was] only a very good band!!!"

- "They have their proggy moments (Telegraph Road for example) but I don't think they should be included."

Tenuous arguments at best. I think the best argument for inclusion comes from having "proggy moments;" does that alone not qualify for inclusion as Prog-Related? If not, then what does "Prog-Related" really mean? Just watered-down Prog?

Here are the Dire Straits songs in my "Favorite Progressive Rock" playlist:

- "Once Upon A Time in the West"

- "Brothers In Arms"

- "News"

- "You and Your Friend"

- "Love Over Gold"

- "The Man's Too Strong"

- "Ride Across The River"

- "Single Handed Sailor" --> "Follow Me Home"

- "Money For Nothing" (a difficult decision, but I finally decided it was worthy)

- "Planet of New Orleans" (which received frequent airplay on Stone Trek)

- "Private Investigations"

- "Iron Hand"

- "On Every Street"

All of the songs listed above are "proggy" or have their "proggy moments." A quick listen will confirm that. It is also true, of course, that they have their non-Prog moments, and maybe there are more of those than not. But isn't that true for some other Prog-Related bands, such as Styx? On their first album alone, they have one real Prog song ("Movement for the Common Man"), but mostly non-Prog ones (the rest of the album, except for maybe "What Has Come Between Us"). So what makes Dire Straits so different?

I challenge someone to make a cohesive and specific argument against Dire Straits' inclusion as a Prog-Related band.

Edited by JediJoker7169 - May 08 2009 at 00:57

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