Why is prog rock always called "snooty"?

Rod Stewart backed by the London philly is de-riguer at the moment it seems....funny old world...

I prophesy disaster wrote: I thought the real reason why punk rockers rejected prog and classic rock in general was because of its irrelevancy to their lives, and this is a valid criticism. After all, if one has lost their job from a factory and struggling to put food on the table, then a song about an armadillo-tank hybrid born from the eruption of a volcano, vanquishing over a variety of fictitious creatures until finally being defeated by a manticore, will seem quite unimportant to them. And when rich rock stars sing about the concerns of ordinary folk, it can seen quite phony, as if they are using the plights of the poor to get richer. In a recent poll, hip-pop was the most disliked music by members of this forum. Why? Could it be that to middle-aged white men living in the suburbs, the stories of black urban youth are irrelevant? It is interesting to note that Van der Graaf Generator managed to avoid the scorn given to other prog rockers. Could that be because Peter Hammill tends to write about the human condition, and thus maintain relevancy to those who reject other prog? And because Van der Graaf Generator were never really big, they also avoided being seen as phony.

Traditionally, people struggling in poverty embrace escapism because listening to angry, depressing music is not going to make them feel better nor make their poverty go away. I know this because where I live, we have endemic and intergenerational poverty of the like the First World has not seen in a long time and the poor prefer glamorous commercial entertainers and it's the educated snobs like me who want more realism in movies.

As discussed a few pages earlier in the thread, punk as a movement would have existed with or without the events of 1976. But Malcolm McLaren made a concerted effort to put together a punk rock band and pivot them into the mainstream. Again, this is not unusual. Guns N Roses was assiduously promoted by Alan Niven, they didn't build up their success brick by brick the way Metallica is. That is why both Sex Pistols and GNR dissipated pretty soon while many classic rock and prog rock bands keep playing as well as many metal or hardcore bands that organically came together and rose through the ranks. Yes, there was a legitimate critique contained within punk (though insisting on realist lyrics seems like a very limiting, if not boring, way to make music to me) but it needed an external push as well to rise to the top. The music press had always hated prog and in punk they saw a vehicle to both bring it down as well as inject their own left wing politics into music. Neither of which is wrong. Just pointing out the help and favour punk did receive at the time. The fact that this critique had limitations when applied to mainstream music was made clear when within less a decade, rock had embraced over the top superficiality and excess via glam metal in a way prog never had. There was, is and always will be a market for excess because excess is entertaining.

Edited by rogerthat - December 09 2019 at 21:51

Because people who call prog rock snooty are pretentious. 

^^ I don't know who or what "Rof" is, but Dean's remark made me laugh too, even though I was the butt of his grumpy Rick Wakeman humour.

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - December 09 2019 at 13:37

Oh, lucky us.

yeah, you're so right. It reminds me of the last album review I wrote too, that was also totally irrelevant to my everyday life and utterly unrelated to this topic.

I prophesy disaster wrote: In a recent poll, hip-pop was the most disliked music by members of this forum. Why? Could it be that to middle-aged white men living in the suburbs, the stories of black urban youth are irrelevant?

Lewian wrote: SteveG wrote: Atavachron wrote: Hip hop is a highly dynamic and creative form of music made by those who often have little means with which to express themselves.   And quite frankly if the women of a certain group are just as big fans of a style as the men are, who cares what a bunch of amaroidal white people think.   'I prophesy disaster' is correct about the cultural mores at work. While I applaud early gangsta as a social commentary for urban blacks, hip hop (like punk) has morphed into a watered down commercially pop friendly medium. I'm not sure what viability it has for American urban blacks now, except as a way to legitimately make money. Unfortunately, hip hop and crime are not mutually exclusive.   Chances are you don't know any European hip hop for example, be it done by black or white or however coloured people, and chances are your knowledge of American hip hop doesn't have much depth either. I don't claim mine has, but it's hard to assess a genre just from its commercially most easily visible surface. It's a bit like taking "We Can't Dance" as representative for what prog bands were up to in 1986.

My knowledge of American hip hop includes Rakim, NWA, Wu Tang Clan, Dre, Eminem, Naughty By Nature, Public Enemy, Ice T, Ice Cube, Puff Daddy, Beastie Boys, Run DMC, Notorious B.I.G, Tupac, Drake, 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, R. Kelly, Nicki Minaj, Kanye..

Edited by SteveG - December 09 2019 at 06:42

Atavachron wrote: Hip hop is a highly dynamic and creative form of music made by those who often have little means with which to express themselves.   And quite frankly if the women of a certain group are just as big fans of a style as the men are, who cares what a bunch of amaroidal white people think.   'I prophesy disaster' is correct about the cultural mores at work.

While I applaud early gangsta as a social commentary for urban blacks, hip hop (like punk) has morphed into a watered down commercially pop friendly medium. I'm not sure what viability it has for American urban blacks now, except as a way to legitimately make money. Unfortunately, hip hop and crime are not mutually exclusive.