Can Pop be Prog?

i would say pop is mainly just writing accesible music with a hook and basic musicianship. So yea certain prog and pop bands i can consider prog pop

Edited by Yontar - March 21 2007 at 16:08

Rust wrote: You should ask Yes.

This is a hard question to grapple with; but i would start by saying that pop, popular and classical are not genres but categories of music that come with political, social and economic values attached. I think that the big thing about prog was the mixing of genres and they were really doing this in a satircal pop context.  By that I mean that they brought this classical element into the commercial "pop" arena, (no pun intended) often as a spoof , much in the way that operetta and Broadway had done in the later nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  In so doing, they were not only playing on the musical meaning of genre, but also the socio-political implications of  the genre. I think Roundabout does that by creating a classical atmosphere around this pop tune with a classical guitar opening and coda. Thus, it uplfts the song and giving it an aire of "authenticity" not associated with pop.  The Beatles had done the same thing with Sgt. Pepper's. But in both contexts it is satirical and not wholly serious. I think that Gabriel is looking for authenticity inside a more traditional popular context an England really has a long and rich tradition of popular music.  This leads to the musical, The Lamb. But so few rock persona actually have success in the musical theater world. Townsend is probably the best exception this side of Disney.


Edited by ken4musiq - March 08 2007 at 10:49

Dick Heath wrote: R_DeNIRO wrote: Bohemian Rhapsody is a very famous song, but not pop music.      Definitely a pop song/music - meaning 'popular song/music'. Sold as a single record for the pop market and appeared in the pop charts, then regular voted into the all time top ten of pop recordings

The best example I can think of is Roundabout, since Yes is a prog band and Queen is debated.  Roundabout is popular but not pop; but dang it is so close.  But it has that whole c section tacked on , and a coda.(BR also has a coda) But they cut most of that in the single version. Does that then make it "pop."

There is also a tradition in a popular song that it can be recreated by other performers; there were at least four versions version of Mack the Knife that become widely popular in the 1950's.   That happened with the Beatles, Stones and Springsteen. In classic rock not only do we not have that but even those who do recreate the music often try to imitate the original, as though it is some sort of a Greek statue, frozen on the vinyl. I think that is slowly changing. that is an interesting change in classic rock from popular music before 1970. and even when a song reentes the top twenty, it is the same version.

Since that question has already be exhausted, of whether pop is a gnere,  I'll just add that the reason why we consider pop a genre is because there is something particular to a pop song that distinguishes it as a pop song whether it is the genre of Motown, Country, New Wave, boy band, hip hop etc. If we are identifying it as a genre because of this, then prog cannot be pop by nature of its definition. I think the problem in American is that we no longer have a mainstram popular culture but a pop culture.  In that sense, things can no longer be deemed popular unless they are pop: hooky, superficial, flighty, commerical.  Popular culture is now underground. As pop was really used first by critics to deride rock and roll; now I think it has come to have the designation in music as  classical v. popular had; good v not as good (bad?) music. Now  that popular culture is being given more intellectual credence we have pop v. popular, which I  use because I think people have an awareness of that distinction now historically.   In America, we also get our sense of pop from Warhol.  Whereas  Brecht had a better understanding of the historical non-aesthetic notions of popular culture and what that means to music. Maybe in the future "pop' will grow to be given more credence as it changes and maybe pop and popular will be interchangable. In addition, I truly believe that in the future the idea of the "modern" will mean the musical era of the 20th century and we no longer have the designation as meaning contemporary.

on topic - few days ago I saw two videos. The first one was DJ/dance remix with all that chicks etc(usual stuff for such videos),but the main theme was SO MUCH familiar...it was a "Owner of a Loneley Heart" remix

Another one was Wycliff Jean's (well-known hip-hop-related artist) song which actually called "WISH YOU WERE HERE" and was based on PINK FLOYD's theme with the same name!

Prog goes Pop?

R_DeNIRO wrote: Bohemian Rhapsody is a very famous song, but not pop music.

Pop isn't a genre. It's not now, and it never has been.

Edited by Certif1ed - March 06 2007 at 03:17

I regard the following "pop" albums contain some "prog" elements and prog music fans should not miss them:

MikeEnRegalia wrote: ^ then it's just a form of "reverse deja-vu" ... happens from time to time. You can't remember all your 3569 posts ...

^ then it's just a form of "reverse deja-vu" ... happens from time to time. You can't remember all your 3569 posts ... 

^ the dreaded quoting bug strikes again!