Did You Think Prog Was Dead?

Until I poked it with a stick and it flew away.

Edited by Slartibartfast - September 02 2009 at 14:53

I dearly hoped it had died.

Let me explain

At the end of the 80's, beginning of the 90's, my friends and I began discovering "prog".  All of it was from the 70's, with the exception of a couple Rush albums.  When I looked at MTV, listened to radio, it seemed to me that prog had died long ago (even on college stations I didn't hear symphonic prog......though I heard lots of weird and interesting stuff, much of which may well have been music now on this site).

I decided to turn my band into a prog band.  I thought that it was up to me to singlehandedly revive prog music and bring it back to world acclaim and popularity.  In retrospect, this was pretty silly, but I was young and very idealistic (and quite fond of fragrant green flowers that are dried and smoked through various devices purchased in "head" shops ).  And you have to admit, the pretensiousness of it was all so very "prog", don't you think?  It was terribly naive to think that epic length songs with exotic metres and multiple, named sections would somehow take the country (USA, of all places) and the world by storm.  After a few gigs, it became apparent this was not going to be a viable endeavor (though I noticed that half a dozen teenage boys would stare, with mouths agape, at my fretboard as I tore out my often several minute long guitar solos..........though the corresponding females were nowhere to be seen).

But for years, I plugged away, writing longer and more complex pieces, only now with no other musicians willing to undertake the arduous task of learning these monstrosities (let alone getting them to a state of perfection) for absolutely no monetery gain.

I was actually a bit dissapointed, when in the late 90's, I got on the internet and started to discover that there had been bands making prog (and generallly superior prog to what I had been doing, at that) straight through the 80's and 90's.  I was quick to criticize every new band I heard.........not as good as Yes, or too much like Genesis, or a poor rip off of Gentle Giant, etc. 

But as I got over my pride issues, I started to realize that all these band were a good thing (for the most part).  Finding musical compatriots showed me that I wasn't alone in my love of this thing called prog (or in my obsession with writing my own version of it).  I've made great new friends and discovered great new music.  I came across this site back in 2005, when I was firmly entrenched in modern prog and obscure older prog.  Imagine my surprise to find there was EVEN MORE prog than I had thought!  Best prog related discovery I've ever made, no joke.

So now, I'd say no, it's not dead, never was dead and probably never will be dead.  But yes, there was a while (almost 10 years actually) when I thought it really had died at the end of the 70's (with the brief blip of Marillion in the early 80's, and the anamoly of Rush making a few prog albums in the early to mid 80's).

I dearly hoped it had died.

Let me explain

At the end of the 80's, beginning of the 90's, my friends and I began discovering "prog".  All of it was from the 70's, with the exception of a couple Rush albums.  When I looked at MTV, listened to radio, it seemed to me that prog had died long ago (even on college stations I didn't hear symphonic prog......though I heard lots of weird and interesting stuff, much of which may well have been music now on this site).

I decided to turn my band into a prog band.  I thought that it was up to me to single handedly revive prog music and bring it back to world acclaim and popularity.  In retrospect, this was pretty silly, but I was young and very idealistic (and quite fond of fragrant green flowers that are dried and smoked through various devices purchased in "head" shops ).  And you have to admit, the pretentiousness of it was all so very "prog", don't you think?  It was terribly naive to think that epic length songs with exotic metres and multiple, named sections would somehow take the country (USA, of all places) and the world by storm.  After a few gigs, it became apparent this was not going to be a viable endeavor (though I noticed that half a dozen teenage boys would stare, with mouths agape, at my fretboard as I tore out my often several minute long guitar solos..........though the corresponding females were nowhere to be seen).

But for years, I plugged away, writing longer and more complex pieces, only now with no other musicians willing to undertake the arduous task of learning these monstrosities (let alone getting them to a state of perfection) for absolutely no monetary gain.

I was actually a bit disapointed, when in the late 90's, I got on the internet and started to discover that there had been bands making prog (and generally superior prog to what I had been doing, at that) straight through the 80's and 90's.  I was quick to criticize every new band I heard.........not as good as Yes, or too much like Genesis, or a poor rip off of Gentle Giant, etc. 

But as I got over my pride issues, I started to realize that all these band were a good thing (for the most part).  Finding musical compatriots showed me that I wasn't alone in my love of this thing called prog (or in my obsession with writing my own version of it).  I've made great new friends and discovered great new music.  I came across this site back in 2005, when I was firmly entrenched in modern prog and obscure older prog.  Imagine my surprise to find there was EVEN MORE prog than I had thought!  Best prog related discovery I've ever made, no joke.

So now, I'd say no, it's not dead, never was dead and probably never will be dead.  But yes, there was a while (almost 10 years actually) when I thought it really had died at the end of the 70's (with the brief blip of Marillion in the early 80's, and the anomaly of Rush making a few prog albums in the early to mid 80's).

Infandous have you fallen asleep on your keyboard?  INFANDOUS WAKE UP!!!

akamaisondufromage wrote: Infandous have you fallen asleep on your keyboard?  INFANDOUS WAKE UP!!!

Heh, heh. Apparently there was some temporary issue with site/forum.  I first got an error message, then it just hung when I hit post.  I must have hit post more than once

I tried to delete them, but it only let me delete one of them.

What was the middle part? 

I didn't think it was dead, but maybe in an old-age home, and only got out infrequently. However, my view changed by attending the Nearfest last June and being exposed to some great younger bands.

The internet has without a doubt helped keep the

sealchan wrote: I should add...right now I'm sampling albums from 1987 preparing to pick one to purchase from that year...this was precisely when the early 80's commercial re-invigoration of progressive rock bands clearly shows that the progressive was largely removed from those bands. For example, from 1987...   Crest of a Knave, Jethro Tull Clutching At Straws, Marillion Hold Your Fire, Rush Wildest Dreams, Saga Big Generator, Yes   I'm looking at the following albums as the more innovative from that same year...   Within the Realm of a Dying Sun, Dead Can Dance Neo Geo, Ryuichi Sakamoto   Yikes, right now I'm listening to remixes of songs from Big Generator on Amazon.com...lol...yeah, progressive rock died.   But I would say it has been reborn since 1987.

I really want to recommend Hold Your Fire by Rush!!!