For the prog fan that is not a prog fan - Progressive Rock Music Forum

This is me basically. I enjoy bands that make prog rock, but I dont like prog rock. Now before you all lynch me, let me explain.

There are people on this site (generally speaking) that are into prog rock and cant get enough of it. I am not one of those people. I dont generally 'look' for prog rock. If anything I am, more or less, seeking music that is jazz, funk, jazz-fusion, etc related.

Now I wasnt always like this. Before I got into any of those genres, I got into prog rock first (i was a metal head/hard rock fan before that). And I did "look" for prog rock, because it was new for me. And i checked out all the bands one should, like YES, King Crimson, Genesis, Rush, Pink Floyd, Gentle Giant, ELP, Dream Theater, (was already into them because I was into heavy metal at that point), The Mars Volta, Porcupine Tree, Phish, Opeth, etc, etc, etc,....

I was also vaguely familiar with jazz-rock since I had a Return to Forever album, a Chick Corea Elektric Band album, and a Mahavishnu Orchestra album.

Once I was familiar with those bands and got enough of their discographies, i began to seek more and asked some of you on this forum where the next step would be. Some of you gave me many bands to check out, and I did and found myself very disappointed.

So I thought, "I enjoy some of this jazz-fusion type of music, maybe I'll explore this stuff more."

So I did and found myself loving it even more than prog rock. Now I was listening to both at the same time, mixing it up and such.

Then I discovered the music of Frank Zappa. This was perfect for me, because he made avant-guard prog rock, jazz-rock/fusion, funk, and smart comedy rock. His vast music took up so much of my time that I almost forgot about all the other music I liked.

When the thrill of his music began to wear down (this is months and months later btw...) I decided to explore jazz-fusion even deeper, going beyond what is on this site (but i still discover stuff here to this day!) This eventually led me to Jazz. I mean Jazz. I mean the type that was made before the late 60s. Guys like Mingus, Trane, early Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy, Charlie Parker, etc, etc, etc....

I went a little overboard and forgot how much I need some ROCK in my musical daily diet. So i began exploring funk and jazz-funk, since I believed that to be the natural progression of my musical search. I was already familiar with these 2 genre's, but I wanted to be MORE familiar with them. I even had a breif Blues phase where I wanted to listen to more Blues artists. I also realized i enjoyed music with world music influences in them, although I do not own ONE world music album.

I then didnt know where to go, since I was unsure if I should explore world music deeper. So I "regressed" in my musical search and was listening to some metal, hard rock, and pop that I used to listen to but 'forgot' about, like Stevie Wonder, The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Steely Dan, etc.. etc...

The I got hit with a big jam band crave. I was into jam bands before I got into prog rock, but I got hooked on them again and got more live shows. I then realized something...

It was during this time that I had a thought. "I love funk, and jazz and jazz-rock. But what happened to all the prog rock I was listening to a couple of years ago?" Listening to some of the jam bands like Phish, Umphrey's McGee, String Cheese Incident, or moe. reminded me of my earlier prog rock days, since these bands do play prog rock. I began getting into all the prog bands I got into when I first started listening to prog. I threw Close to the Edge on, a few King Crimson albums, Free Hand, etc... etc... I then thought "wow i love this stuff, how could i have forgotten?"

So my musical daily diet began to be evenly spread out. Throughout the day, I might listen to (for example) Red or The Power to Believe, then throw on some Herbie Hancock "Thrust", then listen to some Rush, maybe Iron Maiden, then listen to some Charles Mingus or Ornette Coleman, then maybe a Zappa album, or a Garaj Mahal album, or maybe I want to listen to a Phish or Umphrey's McGee show, then cap the night off with Miles Davis or John Scofield or Area!

But then I thought, I want to get into more prog rock, since I feel I barely skimmed the surface of the vast genre. I looked into other bands with great reviews and rating on this site. Checked out the most popular and appreciated albums by bands I had no albums by, and was AGAIN disappointed.

Why is this? Am I not checking out the right bands for me? Have I already listened to all the great innovative bands? Not that I look for innovation all the time when getting into music. I dont have any particular sound in mind (not really looking for prog metal, strictly, but I'm open-minded), but even though I've checked out various prog bands, I cant seem to latch on to any of them. Maybe because after listening to Frank Zappa so much, no other prog band could compete Wink

Maybe you guys can try to help me. Does anyone else have this problem? Like I said, I enjoy certain bands that make prog rock, but the genre as a whole I technically dont listen to... Cry

Edited by darkshade - August 17 2008 at 01:46

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russellk Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: February 28 2005 Location: New Zealand Status: Offline Points: 782	Posted: August 17 2008 at 02:36
	Why see it as a problem? Enjoy what you enjoy, keep experimenting and go back occasionally to the albums and bands that disappointed you - you never know, some day you might change your opinion on a few of them.

King Crimson776 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: October 12 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 2779	Posted: August 17 2008 at 02:03
	Dude, I'm a lot like you in music taste. I got into all the classic prog (Yes, Genesis, King Crimson) and some popular modern bands (Porcupine Tree, Dream Theater, Transatlantic), but when I tried to get into more obscure bands... it just didn't appeal. I'm way more into jazz (including fusion) and classical. Honestly, I think that with progressive rock, for the most part, the most popular bands are the best, or maybe a better way of putting it would be, the best bands are the ones who gain the most popularity. There is the occasional rare find that is just awesome, but usually I find that I've already heard the best of it. Which really is a compliment to the genre and it's fans, because most other types of pop music don't reward quality as much as prog does.

darkshade Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: November 19 2005 Location: New Jersey Status: Offline Points: 10964	Posted: August 17 2008 at 01:36
	This is me basically. I enjoy bands that make prog rock, but I dont like prog rock. Now before you all lynch me, let me explain. There are people on this site (generally speaking) that are into prog rock and cant get enough of it. I am not one of those people. I dont generally 'look' for prog rock. If anything I am, more or less, seeking music that is jazz, funk, jazz-fusion, etc related. Now I wasnt always like this. Before I got into any of those genres, I got into prog rock first (i was a metal head/hard rock fan before that). And I did "look" for prog rock, because it was new for me. And i checked out all the bands one should, like YES, King Crimson, Genesis, Rush, Pink Floyd, Gentle Giant, ELP, Dream Theater, (was already into them because I was into heavy metal at that point), The Mars Volta, Porcupine Tree, Phish, Opeth, etc, etc, etc,.... I was also vaguely familiar with jazz-rock since I had a Return to Forever album, a Chick Corea Elektric Band album, and a Mahavishnu Orchestra album. Once I was familiar with those bands and got enough of their discographies, i began to seek more and asked some of you on this forum where the next step would be. Some of you gave me many bands to check out, and I did and found myself very disappointed. So I thought, "I enjoy some of this jazz-fusion type of music, maybe I'll explore this stuff more." So I did and found myself loving it even more than prog rock. Now I was listening to both at the same time, mixing it up and such. Then I discovered the music of Frank Zappa. This was perfect for me, because he made avant-guard prog rock, jazz-rock/fusion, funk, and smart comedy rock. His vast music took up so much of my time that I almost forgot about all the other music I liked. When the thrill of his music began to wear down (this is months and months later btw...) I decided to explore jazz-fusion even deeper, going beyond what is on this site (but i still discover stuff here to this day!) This eventually led me to Jazz. I mean Jazz. I mean the type that was made before the late 60s. Guys like Mingus, Trane, early Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy, Charlie Parker, etc, etc, etc.... I went a little overboard and forgot how much I need some ROCK in my musical daily diet. So i began exploring funk and jazz-funk, since I believed that to be the natural progression of my musical search. I was already familiar with these 2 genre's, but I wanted to be MORE familiar with them. I even had a breif Blues phase where I wanted to listen to more Blues artists. I also realized i enjoyed music with world music influences in them, although I do not own ONE world music album. I then didnt know where to go, since I was unsure if I should explore world music deeper. So I "regressed" in my musical search and was listening to some metal, hard rock, and pop that I used to listen to but 'forgot' about, like Stevie Wonder, The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Steely Dan, etc.. etc... The I got hit with a big jam band crave. I was into jam bands before I got into prog rock, but I got hooked on them again and got more live shows. I then realized something... It was during this time that I had a thought. "I love funk, and jazz and jazz-rock. But what happened to all the prog rock I was listening to a couple of years ago?" Listening to some of the jam bands like Phish, Umphrey's McGee, String Cheese Incident, or moe. reminded me of my earlier prog rock days, since these bands do play prog rock. I began getting into all the prog bands I got into when I first started listening to prog. I threw Close to the Edge on, a few King Crimson albums, Free Hand, etc... etc... I then thought "wow i love this stuff, how could i have forgotten?" So my musical daily diet began to be evenly spread out. Throughout the day, I might listen to (for example) Red or The Power to Believe, then throw on some Herbie Hancock "Thrust", then listen to some Rush, maybe Iron Maiden, then listen to some Charles Mingus or Ornette Coleman, then maybe a Zappa album, or a Garaj Mahal album, or maybe I want to listen to a Phish or Umphrey's McGee show, then cap the night off with Miles Davis or John Scofield or Area! But then I thought, I want to get into more prog rock, since I feel I barely skimmed the surface of the vast genre. I looked into other bands with great reviews and rating on this site. Checked out the most popular and appreciated albums by bands I had no albums by, and was AGAIN disappointed. Why is this? Am I not checking out the right bands for me? Have I already listened to all the great innovative bands? Not that I look for innovation all the time when getting into music. I dont have any particular sound in mind (not really looking for prog metal, strictly, but I'm open-minded), but even though I've checked out various prog bands, I cant seem to latch on to any of them. Maybe because after listening to Frank Zappa so much, no other prog band could compete Maybe you guys can try to help me. Does anyone else have this problem? Like I said, I enjoy certain bands that make prog rock, but the genre as a whole I technically dont listen to... Edited by darkshade - August 17 2008 at 01:46
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