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floyd4 View Drop Down
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Points: 57 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: "Prog is for nerds"
    Posted: February 09 2017 at 13:35
I am still at an age where I go to school (13) and sometimes I mention Dragonforce (which is prog metal), Yes, King Crimson, etc. I only have 1 friend with the same music taste and most other people will call that music "nerd music". Now the term "nerd" has a bad stigma and I'm not going to be pretentious and start saying I'm proud to be a geek, but I want your opinion. Is prog for nerds and is that a bad thing?
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Points: 24621 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 09 2017 at 14:22
You're facing the same problem as I did when I was your age. I am 4 * 13 + 5 now, so I was 13 when prog was in its heyday. I was one of the few who fell in love with the music of Pink Floyd and Yes in the days when CttE and DSotM were released. I am a nerd myself and, regardless of any stigma, I don't see this as something negative - it's just me. Sometime during my mid-teens, my girlfriend back then said I did not know the difference between a circus performance and music. Within a few weeks, another classmate said something similar.

Funny how we share more or less the same fate, though we belong to different generations .
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Points: 1409 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 09 2017 at 14:34
No, not for "nerds"

Edited by Thatfabulousalien - February 09 2017 at 14:45
Classical music isn't dead, it's more alive than it's ever been. It's just not on MTV.

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Points: 8608 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 09 2017 at 14:42
It's all true. People called me nerd as I was growing up because they were better than me. Why the hell else would they do it? The uniforms of their style were so much more expensive than mine. All I have is the life long friendships of the small group of people that I used to sit up all night exploring interesting music from around the world during my teens and early 20's. Who the hell wants that? Get out while you can.

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Points: 15139 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 09 2017 at 18:00
Being passionate about something is always a good thing. It's not always a good feeling to be different from the others but you know then that it's your own taste, your own character, there's so much more in it than in liking something because the others like it and doing something because the others do it.
If being passionate about what's close to your heart means being a nerd, I'm all for it.
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Points: 6779 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 09 2017 at 18:53
Not just for Nerds. 

2/3's of the jocks at my school (75-79) were into prog.   Pink Floyd, ELP, YES, Queen, King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Jethro Tull and Rush were popular.    On the other hand,  the jocks weren't into Genesis, Gentle Giant, VDGG, or Camel.  
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Points: 6673 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 09 2017 at 18:57
According to Wiki: Nerd (adjective: nerdy) is a descriptive term, often used pejoratively, indicating a person that is overly intellectual, obsessive, or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly technical, abstract, or relating to topics of fiction or fantasy, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Additionally, many so-called nerds are described as being shy, quirky, pedantic, and unattractive and may have difficulty participating in, or even following, sports. Though originally derogatory, Nerd is a stereotypical term, but as with other pejoratives, it has been reclaimed and redefined by some as a term of pride and group identity.

Well, I may be intellectual, rebellious, non-conformist and occasionally obsessive BUT I am certainly not shy, do not lack any social skills, athletic, supposedly attractive, absolutely not pedantic and not ostentatious or arrogant about whatever knowledge I have acquired. I prefer this to being a brain dead caveman listening to pop/pap, uninformed about the world around, never having read 1 book and doing the same nihilism as everyone else.....Wink  So prog on, mofos! 
I never post anything anywhere without doing more than basic research, often in depth.
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Points: 30855 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 09 2017 at 19:04
Stand straight and don't be a sheep.
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Points: 6777 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 09 2017 at 22:13
You're taking me right back to when I was in your shoes! 13... Good times. 

No, there's absolutely nothing wrong with liking prog, or being a nerd for that matter. But here's the takeaway: just because you don't listen to hip hop or bubble gum pop doesn't mean that you're allowed to be condescending about it. Some people just aren't super into music, especially not around that age. You aren't "enlightened" or an esteemed intellectual just because you're a fan of a particular genre of music, whether it's prog, classic rock, jazz, metal, classical, or avant-post-Zeuhl or whatever, all it means is that you're a fan of a particular genre of music. Nothing more, nothing less. If only someone had to me that when I was 13. Maybe I actually could have gotten dates that way! LOL

Having said that, some prog just is for nerds, plain and simple. And it's glorious. D&D prog... Uriah Heep, Rush's The Necromancer, anything and everything directly inspired by Lord of The Rings... good times, good times. 

So don't worry about what everyone else thinks about your tastes in music. Nobody understands you when you're 13, just live it up and rock on. Thumbs Up
when i was a kid a doller was worth ten dollers - now a doller couldnt even buy you fifty cents
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Points: 665 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2017 at 06:27
Originally posted by floyd4 floyd4 wrote:

I am still at an age where I go to school (13) and sometimes I mention Dragonforce (which is prog metal), Yes, King Crimson, etc. I only have 1 friend with the same music taste and most other people will call that music "nerd music". Now the term "nerd" has a bad stigma and I'm not going to be pretentious and start saying I'm proud to be a geek, but I want your opinion. Is prog for nerds and is that a bad thing?

It isn't a bad thing in the slightest. :)

I happen to be 13 as well, and I also have just one friend who's into prog - though on a way smaller scale than I am. Being a "nerd" isn't a bad thing. Rather, be social and outgoing.

A note of advice: No point in talking about prog when people don't know about it. If you want to talk abut some gig, go ahead. But, don't creep your friends out with stories of "progsters" in the 70s.

Note: If you are into prog, have you experimented with GarageBand, guitar, synthesizer...? Friends will be impressed if you play them something cool, catchy, and/or complicated. 

Music is very rewarding in many ways.
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Points: 2822 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2017 at 14:29
Prog is for anyone who likes it.  It's not a social (or antisocial) club.
"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." -- H.L. Mencken
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SteveG View Drop Down
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Points: 20617 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2017 at 14:34
Dance to the beat of a different drum.

Your own.
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Points: 414 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2017 at 15:08
Originally posted by Barbu Barbu wrote:

Stand straight and don't be a sheep.
couldn't have said it better myself.
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Points: 318 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2017 at 17:05
I don't think prog is all that nerdy. It's about bands being unique and prog encompasses all styles of music and, therefore, all different kinds of people.
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Points: 1940 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2017 at 19:58
Originally posted by zappaholic zappaholic wrote:

Prog is for anyone who likes it.  It's not a social (or antisocial) club.

This!

Back in the early 80's I never did get that nerd tag when I was young because I was too shaggy (borderline "Shaggy" actually) and along with being a big ELP nut I was also a serious Motorhead fan. Trying to bash my prog loves as snobby and boring usually backfired since I'd just diss their AC/DC and Billy Squier collections as "too wussy and weak" (even though I did actually enjoy it) and toss on some "Bomber" or "Ace of Spades". Worked wonders in the US since hardly anyone knew them.

Funny, I'm not sure if that sort of thing would even work anymore since metal has become increasingly embraced by the so-called nerd culture since the internet came about.
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Points: 37107 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2017 at 20:01
Prog itself is a mixed bag and so are its listeners.
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Points: 264 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2017 at 23:20
Why should you care about what others think about your musical tastes? I never share the music I like with others except when they ask me. I even turn my car stereo off when I have someone beside me.
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Points: 8608 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 11 2017 at 01:20
^But then how do I keep people out of my car?

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Points: 10970 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 11 2017 at 01:25
Originally posted by floyd4 floyd4 wrote:

I am still at an age where I go to school (13) and sometimes I mention Dragonforce (which is prog metal), Yes, King Crimson, etc. I only have 1 friend with the same music taste and most other people will call that music "nerd music". Now the term "nerd" has a bad stigma ...
Horses$%t on a stick. Who is this president of the world who decided that being a geek is a bad thing? It clearly lacks logic. We all like our iPhones and social media, right? 

Originally posted by floyd4 floyd4 wrote:

Is prog for nerds?
I really don't care who the aforementioned president thinks prog is for. Prog is for people who like prog. End of story. 

Originally posted by floyd4 floyd4 wrote:

Is that a bad thing?
As a 25-year-old to a 13-year-old I say this: these are silly questions. I'm not a closet  prog fan. I'd certainly wear a prog T-shirt in public, but I don't want people to think that I like advertising my music. (Can't help my cynicism, but that's a story for another day.)
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Points: 37575 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 11 2017 at 01:25
DragonForce are not Prog Metal. Geek

Sorry, what was the question? Will there be cake?


Edited by Dean - February 11 2017 at 01:26
What?
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