Ian Anderson disses prog

You really need to get over it. ;)

bucka001 wrote: [But, on the flip of that (and this is the vibe from what some are saying on a different forum) it's actually more annoying coming from Ian because - while you expect it from critics, punks, hipper-than-thou music heads - it's different coming from a prog hero (to some). Here's a (pretty f*ck'd up!!!) analogy... It's like being a left-wing liberal, totally tuned in to the show Mystery Science Theater 3000 (believing that it mirrors your sensibilities) and finding out that your hero/host Mike Nelson is a stone cold conservative republican. You expect right wing commentators to criticize your view, but you don't expect it from one of 'your' guys. *whew* where on earth did I come up with that??

I am familiar with that point of view but in this case, it doesn't resonate with me because I am more of a favourite artists guy than favourite genres. I tend to drift towards rock and jazz based music than other styles because I have my tastes and preferences but I am interested in artists who excelled in these styles rather than the style by itself. So, I am quite comfortable with the notion of Ian Anderson bashing prog, especially in a tongue in cheek vein.  I believe progress and creativity in music comes more from musicians who badly wanted change and thought they could do better than whatever was out there rather than those who couldn't find a damn thing wrong about the way things were.  It follows that such people may not always play to the gallery, eh? If at all he is attempting to establish some heightened sense of self worth through this, that too wouldn't surprise me because that's pretty normal for extraordinarily talented, eccentric musicians.

Prog IS funny.  How anyone could not laugh at Gabriel's costumes, Keith's knife throwing and Organ abuse (not to mention Greg's fur coats and Persian rugs), Yes' elaborate Topographic Oceans state sets, is beyond me.  And I love the music of each of those bands unreservedly.  Ian always cracks me up with his prog comments.  Whether he feels that way about the bands in question is irrelevant.  Still, nothing is more funny than people who don't like prog (like the "punks") making fun of it. 

Ian probably took TAAB far more seriously than he admits today

I finally got a chance to watch the video.  To me it seemed obvious that IA was joking when he mentioned other bands.  However, from this, and the spoken portions of the Aqualung live album, it appears that Ian is a bit confused about the definitions of prog rock and concept albums, as he appears to frequently confuse the two.

bucka001 wrote:   cstack3 wrote: The history of The Marquee Club, where all of these bands "cut their teeth," is revealing.  Ian's playing a prank on us, trust me!   They were as thick as thieves, and I'm sure they are sharing his laugh at our expense!    A lot of bands knew each other because they'd play fests together and bump into each other at the Blue Boar Motorway on the way home from gigs. But if you ever interview them or read interviews of a lot of them, the times were very insular. Bands saw each other as rivals even though they'd be cordial and maybe even hang out (like at the drinking establishments La Chasse, The Ship (been there), and The Speakeasy). Doesn't mean they all loved each other's music.   I do get what you've been saying, that Ian's having a laugh and a bit of fun with it... but you can do that and still actually mean what you say. When he says Yes and ELP could take an idea and noodle it into the ground, I believe he's sincere and isn't a fan of those bands (but he could have a pint with them and yuck it up). So, to me, it's no different to when punks or hip critics have a go at prog. I just wonder if the same people who are saying 'lighten up!' (such as yourself, and fair enough!) would say 'lighten up, it's okay' when it's critics/punks knocking their fave prog bands in the same way. In my mind, they're hypocritical if they don't take the same attitude. If they do say 'its okay when punks do it too,' then they're consistent.

bucka001 wrote: That Wakeman bit reminds me of talking to David Jackson (sax man w/VdGG) and him telling me that, when they were recording Godbluff at Rockfield in '75, Motorhead were in the next studio and he ended up recording a jam with them! So, somewhere there's a tape of Lemmy and the boys jamming with Jaxon on sax. Jaxon also remembered playing darts with Andy Fairweather-Low during some downtime in the Godbluff sessions!

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I don't really care, the guy makes good enough music. Why do we have to care about our musicians personalities or what they say? Shouldn't affect the music in the slightest, not like were all gonna be going to a barbecue with him anytime soon.  

The Dark Elf wrote: I suppose if this were 1972, this might have mattered. To someone. I'm not sure who.

Edited by bucka001 - November 10 2011 at 03:03