Why isn't prog popular?

ExittheLemming wrote: The Self Flagellation of the Minority Interest Enthusiast: If Prog were popular mainstream music a significant number of you wouldn't listen to it any longer. The smart money would be on you defecting to the outer reaches of the avant garde (or whatever other genre you deem esoteric enough)

Edited by JS19 - January 22 2011 at 06:35

TODDLER wrote: I am printing out a copy of your post reply. I know I will forget these interesting points you have made due to my busy home life and I want to bring these points out to a couple of old friends. I am very impressed with your truthful statements.

Flattered!

I think converting people to prog is not a matter of wanting to spread prog among the world, it's more of wanting to make people like music in wich real musicians plays original compositions rather than pop sh*t. Don't you aggree. And we also need to respect other styles that has the same criterias.

I find the main difference is that most people don't really "listen" to music, but follow the beat and dance to it instead. Prog, and progressive music in general, is intended to be listened to. The vast majority of people just like a catchy tune and a good dance beat, which is OK by me, but in the case of prog, the intent is to write music you will enjoy by carefully listening to it, analyzing the melodies, progressions, dynamics, etc. Once people understand this, is easier to explain what progressive music is all about, to people who are not into it or don't understand what it is.

Slartibartfast wrote: You can't convert people to prog.  You can only expose them to it and hope they might appreciate it.  If someone doesn't, don't waste your time.  Trying to force someone to like something is pointless.

Edited by The Quiet One - January 22 2011 at 21:11

The Quiet One wrote: Slartibartfast wrote: You can't convert people to prog.  You can only expose them to it and hope they might appreciate it.  If someone doesn't, don't waste your time.  Trying to force someone to like something is pointless.   I agree. You can't convince me that what you said is right, it's pointless to force me.

OK I will have to shoot you now.

To quote Devin Townsend:

JS19 wrote: To quote Devin Townsend: 'and music? Well it's just entertainment folks!'

I disagree, and that's probably why I don't like Townsend much.

I try to look for music that wants to be more then just entertainment.


Edited by Bonnek - January 23 2011 at 04:52

I have a feeling that one of the explanations for the huge success of the seventies prog bands is that they created very good melodies. Amid the interesting arrangements, creative playing and fun time signatures there was almost always a hummable tune.
Very few of todays prog bands seem to put much emphasis on this aspect. Porcupine Tree and Tool do, but I have yet to hear a good song from Dream Theater (don't shoot me, I haven't heard everything, I might find something eventually).  The playing is often great but good song writing is lacking.

silverpot wrote: I have a feeling that one of the explanations for the huge success of the seventies prog bands is that they created very good melodies. Amid the interesting arrangements, creative playing and fun time signatures there was almost always a hummable tune. Very few of todays prog bands seem to put much emphasis on this aspect. Porcupine Tree and Tool do, but I have yet to hear a good song from Dream Theater (don't shoot me, I haven't heard everything, I might find something eventually).  The playing is often great but good song writing is lacking.

I have often played classic prog to listeners who are not into prog, it's very hit or miss and more often miss and hit with them.  The musical climate must have been very different then from now to account for prog's popularity.  That said, it is true that immediacy is not the greatest strength of modern prog, at least not among the more well known bands.  If there are bands today that make very accessible prog but are not particularly popular even in prog circles, it is even less likely general listeners would hear of them.  There are many factors that go into this but most importantly, modern prog, again I refer to the relatively well known bands, is less influenced by classic rock which definitely rubbed off on the 70s scene and much more by AOR/arena rock and this perhaps rob the music of a sense of adventure and, combined with the increased emphasis on technicality, gives the music a rather clinical and cold feel.  Weirdness also seems to be a much more important consideration today and I have my doubts on just how much highly memorable (hummable as you said) prog songs would be appreciated in the current climate. It is certainly not reasonable to expect weirdness to be popular, is it, I mean, even I like it only when it is backed by serious compositional brilliance.