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maani View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: "Yes Is The Answer"
    Posted: June 14 2013 at 18:04
The obnoxious review:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/books/review/yes-is-the-answer-and-other-prog-rock-tales.html

My letter in response, to be published in The New York Times Book Review on Sunday, June 16 (mine is the second letter):

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/books/review/prog-rock.html
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 14 2013 at 21:40
Didn't Dean just say recently that this attitude went away after the 70s?
Guess it didn't!
--
Frank Swarbrick
Belief is not Truth.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 14 2013 at 23:42
That's one of the stupidest things I've ever read (the review, not your letter).
I love dogs, I've always loved dogs
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 15 2013 at 00:59
Here is my favorite quote from the piece:

Quote
But that oblivion seems entirely suited to prog, which at its best functioned as a shelter from school, from sex, from the frightful adult world.


In short, he just called guys who like prog man-children.

There's probably a grain of truth to that, but, meh, it could be worse.


Edited by KingCrInuYasha - June 15 2013 at 01:01
He looks at this world and wants it all... so he strikes, like Thunderball!
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 15 2013 at 06:27
That's a mighty mean article, I'd say.  It's like Chris Squire bullied him or something as a kid.  Confused
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 15 2013 at 06:50
It's not even "mean", it's... snotty. 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 15 2013 at 09:34
The review was dumb.  I could easily have overlooked all the snottiness if it had bothered to talk more about the book itself.  Typical self-serving trash journalism.   I shouldn't care (it doesn't affect my own appreciation of the music), but it frustrates me to see such laziness.

I thought your reply was quite good, thanks for taking the time to submit it and share with us.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 15 2013 at 12:19
Can we expect more from a magazine that have more content in publicity than  on real writing...
Music is the refuge of souls ulcerated by happiness.

Emile M. Cioran







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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 15 2013 at 12:54
I couldn't care less, I'm immune to people bashing Prog, but it's a shame that the paper assigns a review to a critic who doesn't have the least appreciation about the subject, it's as if they would ask the review of 2001 A Space Odyssey to someone who hates science-fiction Confused
Good reply letter.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 15 2013 at 14:25


come on guys... it's all true.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 15 2013 at 15:10
It's funny at its best, but I don't think it is true.
That's typically something that is written by people who cannot really appreciate prog.
That's the kind of reviews I wish to ignore (but secretly it makes me angry, while I should just laugh at it).
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 15 2013 at 16:24
Yes the review is barbed and sarky but who's feigning surprise here? It made me laughout loud at least twice (rare) There's a lot of truth in it plus a lot of lazy regurgitated cliches as well. C'mon, do any of us take Prog seriously?

Edited by ExittheLemming - June 15 2013 at 16:25
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 15 2013 at 17:55
Don't be upset, it's just the snooze inducers at Rolling Stone, the last place to turn for meaningful, accurate writing on music (or politics).   Who bothers with RS anymore?

What I read was someone using insults to cover up ignorance of progressive rock *music*, as Iain says...lazy cliches.  If it were clever or witty or truly funny, I could appreciate it....but it was just boring and predictable.   
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 15 2013 at 21:46
Sounds like Ivy League jibberish.....hmmmm I do see he attended Yale (no offense to any Ivy league proggers that are an exception to the rule).
 
I ditched my RS subscription back in the late 70's due to lack of substance and have not picked up one since...still looks like a wise decision.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 16 2013 at 11:28
All:  Thanks for your responses.   Epignosis and Queen By-Tor: LOL!!
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 16 2013 at 13:53
Originally posted by HolyMoly HolyMoly wrote:

The review was dumb.  I could easily have overlooked all the snottiness if it had bothered to talk more about the book itself.  Typical self-serving trash journalism.   I shouldn't care (it doesn't affect my own appreciation of the music), but it frustrates me to see such laziness.

I thought your reply was quite good, thanks for taking the time to submit it and share with us.

I agree, thanks for your reply and for sharing with all of us.  

Those who don't understand progressive rock are just jealous.....they don't get why we worship huge, fiberglass mushrooms onstage, why we sit, transfixed, listening to double-album after double-album, and why we worship musicians who play notes faster than human comprehension.  

Screw 'em.  I started with King Crimson in 1969 and lever looked back. 




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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 17 2013 at 13:10
Quite juvenile article, pure trolling. I wouldn't have bothered with a response.
Pretty funny in places though. Obviously written by someone whose favourite styles are punk, new wave, hip-hop, and classical music (for added credibility).
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 17 2013 at 13:26
Excellent review! LOL

I've just bought book... 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 19 2013 at 05:50
Reminds me of the two part article in The Wire about a decade ago which thought that William Ackerman of Focus had been reduced to recording new age music for the Wndham Hill label. I mean if you're going to bash something at least  know what you're bashing. Why would anyone buy this?
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 19 2013 at 10:12
Quote Indeed, for many fans, the ridiculousness is the whole point.

... Any truly intelligent person would figure that this is just another way of saying "all prog fans are mentally challenged". That's the one that really ticked me off. I'm not a kind of person who would be able to see a reason why reviews like these should be taken lightly, with a laugh. That Betty White bit was funny but only for a second.
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