Plans on PA for becoming an all-music site?

Running out of labels is such a tragedy.....

Edited by suitkees - August 08 2022 at 04:56

earlyprog wrote: David_D, time to say 'pyt' and move on. Seems that you should resort to 'pyt' more often.

^thanks, that's pretty accurate

Saperlipopette! wrote: earlyprog wrote: David_D, time to say 'pyt' and move on. Seems that you should resort to 'pyt' more often. pretty young thing? pull yourself together? Perth youth theatre? preliminary yield trial?

Edited by David_D - August 08 2022 at 11:59

earlyprog wrote: ^David, what kind of dialogue did you have in mind?

Was writing this hours earlier, but I got interrupted by things that need to be done. And distracted again so it lacks good flow and cohesiveness.

For what it's worth, I do wish people were more careful when it comes to bringing up non-Prog music and music that is not in PA in the Prog fora. I have moved so, so very many topics (i.e. a lot) to other fora in my time here. Officially the policy is that if it isn't included in a Prog category of PA (that excludes Proto-Prog and Prog Related) then it isn't considered Prog here, even if it may be included at some time in the future and may actually be considered Prog generally. It just makes regulating the Prog lounges easier. This, however, is not ideal as we don't label by the album at PA but instead put whole discographies under one genre with the act (a site limitation) and so we have decidedly non-Prog albums residing in Prog categories. Additionally, because what is Prog can be so subjective and I believe that Prog is an amorphous, nebulous and shifting label. I don't think the label should be static, that is not progressive, and terminology does evolve and this site can be expected to embrace more diverse music over time.

While I would put a lot of music under the Prog umbrella, I find that genres overlap, and will mention music that others might not think of as Prog, or I might not think of as Prog-proper (given a narrower definition) and is not officially Prog by this site's standards, when mentioning such music in the Prog lounges I generally do try to bring up if it isn't in PA and what I think of as its progressive credentials/merits.

For a number of bands that I would often bring up, say, Stereolab, Portishead, Pram, Broadcast and Air, I think they all have progressive merits if not necessarily Prog. Of course moreso depending on the track and album, and it is more progressive than a lot of music being put out by classic Prog bands during the same years, and more progressive than ones who emulate those. But that takes us to the Prog vs. progressive debate. Note: Pram was added to PA not long ago, and there have been calls for Stereolab to be added.

I commonly find it less interesting limiting in forum to ones considered Prog here, and particular music in PA will often relate much more closely to music outside of PA than to other styles of music in PA. Prog is so diverse. I don't think it makes sense to only talk about one's considered Prog by official PA standards in many Prog fora topics, such as recommendations threads as those acts outside of PA may be the best recommendations for someone looking for music like, say, Pink Floyd. This is less likely with looking for recommendations for a band that sounds like The Flower Kings I would say. I would hope that people at least try to focus most on music they consider progressive or properly Prog at least in the the Prog lounges. Some people don't use General Music Discussions enough and go straight for the Prog lounges.

I will mention albums and music not deemed Prog by the site's old standards in topics here, but I do try to indicate that and often will try to explain why I think they are relevant even if that does not mean that I think it SHOULD be added to PA or would support the addition. And as a side-note, I have various working definitions of Prog as well as progressive rock and progressive music generally.

On another note: it has been a common conception that the forum itself is more of a site accessory, and what really matters is the archive of bands/artists and their albums listed in PA, the bios and album info, and the reviews. When I saw this topic my mind thought about that part of the site, not such things that go on in the forum. The forum was set up as a place for people to socialise, recommend, discuss and have fun and for people to suggest acts for inclusion and a s means to discuss that. When people have complained about this site losing focus on Prog, and turning into anon-Prog site, it has almost always had to do with controversial additions, or earlier new categories. For instance, there were arguments over whether much metal and metal categories should be included in a Progressive Rock site, and people were worrying about the direction of the database due to additions and new categories. I think your concerns have been rather unique as it seems to focus on certain forum behaviour by collabs rather than collabs adding questionable bands to the database.

By the way, I am very interested in the relationships between things (including albums and styles of music and music can often be of many styles) and take a holistic approach and this a reason why I find imposing limits and tidy Prog boxes just don't work. A lot of my favourite albums considered Prog by this site have far more in common with music that may not be considered prog than with most of what is considered Prog at this site. That said, I am not as into traditional Prog as great many here and tend to prefer outlier related styles that say someone who is mostly into classic symphonic Prog may not consider to be truly Prog. A big part of prog to me is that it is a hybridization of styles, any style can be adopted into a Prog package, and I think it should also be adpating and changing to be progressive, so it can be very inclusive.