Personality types and prog

barbs wrote: BaldJean wrote: barbs wrote: cobb wrote: This is pretty heavy stuff here Barbs.... Why do i love bananna flavour in dairy products but detest banannas? These are all questions that I do not need to know the why of- I just know Now that is interesting. I love bananas and banana smoothies and toasted bacon, cheese and banana fingers but banana in dairy products is yuk to me. I'm just naturally curious about these things Cobb. Some people are, some aren't. Barbs, you should read "Gravity's Rainbow" by Thomas Pynchon. At the beginning there is a scene with a banana breakfast, where bananas appear in every imaginable way. I just love the way they are so easy to 'unwrap' Jean. If I was dumped on a desert island with the choice of only one food source, it would probably be bananas but mangoes come a close second.

I agree with you about banana flavor in dairy products you can buy, like yoghurt. the artificial banana arome in them is nowhere near the real taste of bananas. but try making some banana milk yourself. mesh them and mix them with the milk - it tastes fantastic!

but stay away from banana beer! yes, it really exists; there is a pub in Cologne that offers literally over a hundred different types of beer (most of them bottled, of course), among them a banana beer. yikes to the power of 3!

I enjoy thought provoking and quite "deep" music. What other type of music has such great thought provoking lyrics, themes and challenging music?
My first prog band was Pink Floyd, who some say is too pessimistic, but for me they were ideal, and i listened to thier albums many times, thinking about the meaning beyond the notes of the music.

I'm quite sure im not alone at liking prog for the "challenge" that it takes to listen to it. I also love the emotions it gives the listener, only if you listen closely enough.

I can tell you with some certainty that there is almost no correlation between personality types and liking prog music. I have been a musician for a long time and have been to lots of prog festival type things, I've known lots of prog musicians and fans.

I have known prog fans that were the type of loners described here to extreme extroverts. From nerds and geeks to bikers and hippies and everything in between.

From tree-hugging caring pacifists to flag-waving nazis.  In fact I was quite shocked at some of the people on the Yes forums and it took an OT thread for their true colours to show and it was quite an eye-opener in that you think you are dealing with a certain kind of person and find out the contrary.

I'd say if there is a profile of the 'average' prog fan these days they are male, middle-age, probably married with a few kids - other than that they could range from Gandi to Charles Manson and still be just as big a fan of prog.

Firstly, I'll echo all those who have said "Great thread." 

The only definition I can give of why I like it better than other genres is that it paints more exciting images in my head.  This may also define why I like almost all juristictions of prog, from Tux to Trouser.  I love Marillion's Misplaced Childhood because when I'm in the right mindset for it, I can really "live the album".  I cand close my eyes, and suddenly, I'm there, in this meloncholy semi-cartoon world, brought to life by the sonic textures of the music and the drama of the lyrics.  I also love Genesis, my preferred album being the wildest, and that's of course The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.  This album paints deep, dull colours and is generally quite morbid.  This quality juxtaposed with with Gabriel's cleverness in lines such as "The cheerleader waves a cyonide wand, there's a smell of peach blossom and bitter almond..." makes the album an almost horrific experiance.  And I do like Pink Floyd as well!  Albums like DSOTM send shivers up my spine.  My favorite band, though, is Yes, partially because when I listen to them for the "big picture" like I've been describing here for the other albums, I get brighter, more appealing colours.  They could do the dark stuff too, though; Relayer proved that. 

Oh, yes.  And I also consider myself an eccentric.  Not a self-made one either, a real eccentric.  Since I was very young, I liked the wierd, theatrical music, the movies with lots of special effects and spaceships, and the Italian food.  A lot of eccentrics like Italian food, don't you find?  But unlike poor Trouser, I've never been mistreated for it.  In fact, I'm very well liked, and respected.  I've never actually met another prog fan, probably because I live in an artistically deprived place called Western Canada.  Well not artistically deprived, there is a lot of appreciation for jazz and classical, especially in a fairly artsy town like mine.  But for some reason, not prog rock.  Well, at least nobody knows how nerdy it's considered!  That may very well be the only reason I'm respected at all!

Oh, and yes, I do like a challenge.  I play piano and trumpet.  I recently tried to transcribe the solo at the beginning of Firth of Fifth note for note, and it definately was a challenge!

Keep the suggestions coming, by the way!  Let's try and get everyone's take on this topic!  

Well, I used to be a Dick when it came to music.  Then, when I got into prog, I became even MORE of a dick.  It wasn't until reccently that I became a lot more accepting of music as a whole.  As long as you realize that music is music, and realize that it will affect you and others in diferent ways, then You'll be fine

On that note, I suggest evrybody give a try to the album Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest .