Is prog still an underground genre?

I got into prog in the eighties when it was very much in hibernation at least as far as commercial visibility is concerned. Towards the end of that decade I gradually discovered more and more lesser known bands culminating in my discovery of the prog underground via newsletters and prog cd catalogs(most notably the fledgling laser's edge which is now one of the most respected online prog vendors). Even before the internet it was evident to me this genre wasn't going anywhere and was still very much alive. Then when the world wide web made prog more visible to maybe those who weren't on newsletter or prog catalog mailing lists it was clear that there was no turning back. I actually took a break from prog in the mid nineties when in college. However, it was there I first heard about newsgroups. This was around 1996. A few years later I joined the most well known for prog which was called r.m.p(recordings music progressive). This soon gave way to the website progressive ears(a sort of sister site to prog archives) which started around 2001 or so(PE actually started out as a yahoo group if I'm not mistaken). 

Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - June 02 2018 at 17:58

Prog was "underground" for perhaps the first couple of years after the release of In the Court of the Crimson King, but from 1971-1979 you had multi-platinum albums from Yes, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Rush, ELO, Kansas and Supertramp, and gold albums from ELP, Mike Oldfield, Frank Zappa and The Moody Blues. 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Rate your music is a pretty small niche within the music community(if there is such a thing). There's a lot of prog fans on the Hoffman forums too but it doesn't mean either of them represent the larger music listening audience. I don't believe either of those sites has any more members than are on here and not even all RYM members are even prog fans.

AFlowerKingCrimson wrote: The Dark Elf wrote: mbzr48 wrote: Even second-tier bands like Camel, Caravan, PFM, Renaissance, Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso, Strawbs, Nektar, Amon Duul II, Van der Graaf Generator and a long list of Canterbury collectives had decent careers during that era. Not to mention Can, Tangerine Dream, Gong, Faust, Kraftwerk and the Krautrock crowd". WHAT??? you call those bands "second-tier" even if we would argue about it, Camel, Banco, VDGG & Tangerine can't be in this list IMHO The original poster was referring to "prog" as an underground genre. I was pointing out that, at least in the 1970s, prog was not an underground style of music; on the contrary, many bands were major arena/stadium draws and sold gold and platinum albums on both sides of the pond. The "second tier" designation refers to the simple fact that the bands referenced sold more albums to relatives (likely out of parental or filial guilt) than to the record-buying public. Even so, the bands had nice careers in that time period, even if they often appeared as second on the bill. I should also note that I referred to the krautrock scene in a separate sentence, noting the popularity of different styles of alleged prog. I would argue that it was even mostly underground in the seventies aside from a few bands(Yes, ELP, JT, Pink Floyd and possibly Genesis(who really weren't that big until the eighties). So even if prog was mainstream from say 71-77, it seems to me that after 78 or so prog became underground and it stayed there for a while. THe million dollar question is is it still underground?

Edited by The Dark Elf - June 02 2018 at 21:56

AFlowerKingCrimson wrote: Rate your music is a pretty small niche within the music community(if there is such a thing). There's a lot of prog fans on the Hoffman forums too but it doesn't mean either of them represent the larger music listening audience. I don't believe either of those sites has any more members than are on here and not even all RYM members are even prog fans.

Hmmm. I can only talk about my experience. Since prog started out in England perhaps the genre is much more popular in English speaking countries. I have heard people say they love bands like Tull and Yes but didn't even know what the term progressive rock meant. I would still say it's become much more popular due to the internet exposure of bands once forgotten. But i could also apply that statement to all forms of underground music as well :)

[Have you ever met one person who hasn't heard of Crimson, Floyd, Tull, Yes, etc? I haven't.]

^Not a good argument. Suburban teens are often the first to buy underground or cult albums. A better argument for those two not being cult is that they both made the top fifty in billboard charts. Even so I would argue they are cult albums but so are relayer, larks tongues in aspic and 2112. However, if Genesis weren't a cult band at that time then neither were Gentle Giant because GG were playing the same sized venues. 

Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - June 03 2018 at 21:17

[From my experience, Pink Floyd is a household name, as is Genesis. KC, Yes, ELP and Tull are known by people who are properly interested in music, which is a minority. Probably not even by all those. ]