The Arrogant Proggie

I used to have a serious superiority complex regarding the superiority of MY music (mostly prog) to other more popular pop and rock music.  Since that time I have learned much about the subjectivity of my perspective and I now only joke about MY musical tastes being superior.  My understanding of the subjectivity of my perspective is, in fact, partially theoretical and comes about through Jungian personality type theory and the popular book Please Understand Me.  To some extent I like the kind of music I like because of my personality.

If there's anything I've learned from the Internet, it's that proggers are comparatively humble to most music a****les.

stonebeard wrote: If there's anything I've learned from the Internet, it's that proggers are comparatively humble to most music a****les.

Edited by King Crimson776 - April 28 2009 at 18:54

I just never saw musical taste as way to judge people.  It totally depends on how important music is to a person and what they're looking for in it.  Some people just care about the lyrics.  Others just want something to dance to, etc...

That being said, I find it hard to relate to a person that listens to Britney Spears...but I wouldn't look down on them for it....that's like a gourmet chef looking down on me for enjoying hamburgers, hehe.

sealchan wrote: 2.  Catchier melodies in pop, especially if producers and other non-musical professionals get involved

Though this is only a "quality" attribute to a person who finds catchiness especially substantial. When i think of the kind of catchiness of pop music, (surely this will make me come off as an "arrogant proggie ) it's like an annoyance that i can't get out of my head, similar to some Christmas songs or  children's jingles. I don't really understand the term "challenging music", because i don't see how it's an exertion to actually pay attention for a long period of time to an interesting arrangement of sounds.

Anyways, i think we shouldn't feel guilty for enjoying prog. music over pop music; it's not as if everyone is naturally inclined towards more simplistic music and prog. enthusiasts are all just pretentious b*****ds trying to be different.

DatM wrote: It totally depends on how important music is to a person and what they're looking for in it.  Some people just care about the lyrics.  Others just want something to dance to, etc... That being said, I find it hard to relate to a person that listens to Britney Spears...but I wouldn't look down on them for it....that's like a gourmet chef looking down on me for enjoying hamburgers, hehe.

That's pretty much how i feel

King Crimson776 wrote: Yeah I've noticed that... some would say that it's a backlash against the perception of prog fans but I dunno, I think we're just chill and don't take sh*t seriously.  I find that prog fan much more often than the arrogant type.

I remember a line from a character out of one of my fav. books: "It seems that the less a person is really interested in art, the stronger their opinions are of it"

That's how i feel sometimes when i notice some of my friends arguing about music.

Edited by Henry Plainview - April 28 2009 at 21:24

Depends on what you mean by superior. I for one distinguish between music that I LIKE and music I RESPECT, and a lot of times one type of music falls in one category without falling into the other. I recognize when music takes talent to put together and perform and when it does. I once hated hearing opera even though I repected it (now i love it though!). Even some pop I hold in high regard but simply dislike (if not loath) the style. Punk I neither hold in high regard nor enjoy hearing. On the other hand, I love a little Motley Crue and Def Leppart every so often, even though I recognize the music is really quite mediocre. Most prog, especially the really experimental stuff, I hold in high regard AND love listening to. Overall I strive to enjoy the music I respect and feel IS superior.

Oh, and the thing I hate about most pop IS the catchy melodies. If they're too catchy, they're just plain annoying, they get stuck in your head and never leave...

Arrogant,superior - yeh that sounds like me.Just ask my wife.

My experience is that prog spoils you. If I listen to pop music (just a few times last 20 years !) I get bored to death. And realize what pop music lovers are missing if they never heard of prog. So I only partly agree that it's subjective. Prog IS superior to (almost all) pop music. But I do agree with the singer aspect. Pop groups have usually far better vocalists than progbands. So be it.

sealchan wrote: 1.  Quality of vocals: better singers in pop

I  don't think that prog singers usually suck. But I do think that on some classic 70s prog albums the vocals have an amateurish ring to them ... exemplified by Gabriel-era Genesis most of all. Interestingly, on his later pop albums in the 80s/90s the vocals were much, much better ... I suppose that for some reason on their 70s albums getting the vocals right was not a priority, or - again for reasons that I don't understand - they *wanted* it to sound amateurish.

It's similar for VdGG albums ... Peter Hammill is a fantastic singer an musician IMO (I'm a huge fan), but if you play some of their masterpieces to someone who only knows pop/mainstream rock/metal my guess is that they would intuitively say "the vocals suck".