Popular Prog Bands that you just can't get into

BaldFriede wrote: Rush. I never understood all the fuss about them. Good musicians, though not as exceptional as their fans try to make them, but the music is nothing special at all.

Most Prog-Metal.

I guess there's a few, but one in particular (for me) has always been a Prog band I've tried but struggled to appreciate: Dream Theater.  They've come up so many times over the years with friends and whatnot.  The whole "ohmigod-Dread-Theater--Prog Gods!" and everything, but I just couldn't get into 'em.

Coincidentally enough, just the other day a buddy at work dropped Dream Theater's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings" on my desk, and I'm giving them yet another try.

The Block wrote: Henry Plainview wrote: The Block wrote: Spocks Beard is good if you have never listened to them. I'm giggling at the other possible way to interpret this (Spock's Beard is only good if you don't listen to them).   PT isn't like Pawn Hearts though, people have so much trouble with Pawn Hearts because it's one of the most avant-garde albums in the Top 50 and most people here aren't already into avant-garde music. I assume Block here doesn't like PT because it's boring pop-rock. ;-) I meant that if you have never listened to Spocks Beard you might want to try them out.

Spock's Beard would have been better for me had I never listened to them in a way.  Spock's Beard was highly recommended to me by some joker about five years ago, and what a major disappointment.  I actually bought Snow based on various glowing comments without hearing a note -- huge mistake.  I got rid of the album fairly quickly.  I had only got back into Prog not that long before and this was one of my first forays into modern Prog.  It's  a good thing I quite quickly discovered Miriodor and Volapuk thanks to my own research and finding music samples -- that revivified my interest in recent  progressive music. I found SB insipid, and I thought it would be a lot funnier with a name like that, but to each is or her own.  But talk about a snow-job.

I can't say I ever really tried to get into SB, though.  It really did not seem worth getting into.  I've been told that V is considerably better.  Morse has an irritating voice to these ears, though, and I don't like AORish music generally so I probably won't try to get into the music.  There's more than enough music out there I've never heard to experience that I will like to bother trying to get into one that might never appeal.  EDIT: Actually, I did listen much later to samples of other music by SB, but also found it very poor. While tastes develop and change over time, SB is not a band that I want to develop a  taste for (I feel the same way about other projects in PA).

I actually, personally, don't like to "try" to get into music.  I know when I hear it the first time if I've been, at the least, intrigued enough that I'll want to hear it again.  I may grow to like and album more or less over time (commonly less), but on fist spin I pretty much know if this is one where my appreciation will deepen with subsequent spins.  Who knows, given more of a chance, maybe I would have liked Snow more, though I thought it really poor, but I was discovering so much new-to-me music back then that I didn't have time for one that seemed to me to be a sub-standard project.  For me, it's about the worst album I've ever bought, but it was much acclaimed by many. Maybe it was the wrong SB album for me to start with, but it  can be hard to change a really bad first impression.  It's matter of taste and experience... Little reason why others should like what I like and why I should like what others like.  Good, bad, it's so subjective.


Edited by Logan - November 04 2009 at 16:14

Logan wrote: SonicDeath10 wrote: I could never really get into Premiata Marconi or whatever (sorry, I know there's another word can't think of it) though I do like the track el Fiesta or whatever (again, never got into them). Funnily enough, "E' festa" is about my least liked PFM (Premiata Forneria Marconi) track off the band's first three albums (I don't count the English language versions or that pre-PFm album).  Give me "Dove... Quando... (Parte II)" off Storia di un Minuto.   I'm not nearly as keen on PFM as I once was, however.  The sound is often... sludgy.

Is it that difficult to type PFM?  It stands for Premavera Fettuccine Macaroni, by the way.

SonicDeath10 wrote: Snow Dog wrote: BaldFriede wrote: Snow Dog wrote: BaldFriede wrote: Rush. I never understood all the fuss about them. Good musicians, though not as exceptional as their fans try to make them, but the music is nothing special at all. I notice you added this as an edit. Not only is it churlish.....after all, did I or anyone criticize Magmas musicianship? Not only that, but what makes YOU...........a better judge than Rush fans? Excuse me? I fully stated they are good musicians. I just don't buy that Neil Peart is the überdrummer who is miles ahead of any others. He is a very good drummer, but there are several other drummers who are equally good. This is what I want to put into perspective, and nothing else. Many bands have great musicians, not just Rush; that is all I wanted to state. Got it now? Many bands have great musicians? Wow ain't that controversial! Do I get it? Sorry...I'm too feeble to undrrstand your big words.... I couldn't really give a damn about your opinion., GOT IT? Whoa dude...an opinion is an opinion. Just relax. Not everybody loves Rush as much as you. It's not a crime.

I could never really get into Premiata Marconi or whatever (sorry, I know there's another word can't think of it) though I do like the track el Fiesta or whatever (again, never got into them).

Gillywibble wrote: I've never got into Zappa. Admittedly, I only have Strictly Commercial and although I can appreciate the quality of his musicianship, his lyrics I just find juvenile and irritating.

Not all of his music has lyrics, Hot Rats has only one song with lyrics, Jazz From Hell has no lyrics, etc.

Textbook wrote: What is a real example of fake prog? I know bands have pretended to belong to certain movements for credibility and sales but I'm not really aware of people doing this with prog.

By fake prog i mean bands that does music that isn't what prog is all about, like ordinary radiomusic, that for some reason some suddenly think is prog. Like We can't dance by Genesis, some cheezy 80's neo-prog, non-hybrid music (the whole idea about prog is to mix different genres into a new artform, not just to make pop a bit less radiofriendly), etc.

Snow Dog wrote: BaldFriede wrote: Snow Dog wrote: BaldFriede wrote: Rush. I never understood all the fuss about them. Good musicians, though not as exceptional as their fans try to make them, but the music is nothing special at all. I notice you added this as an edit. Not only is it churlish.....after all, did I or anyone criticize Magmas musicianship? Not only that, but what makes YOU...........a better judge than Rush fans? Excuse me? I fully stated they are good musicians. I just don't buy that Neil Peart is the überdrummer who is miles ahead of any others. He is a very good drummer, but there are several other drummers who are equally good. This is what I want to put into perspective, and nothing else. Many bands have great musicians, not just Rush; that is all I wanted to state. Got it now? Many bands have great musicians? Wow ain't that controversial! Do I get it? Sorry...I'm too feeble to undrrstand your big words.... I couldn't really give a damn about your opinion., GOT IT?

Whoa dude...an opinion is an opinion. Just relax. Not everybody loves Rush as much as you. It's not a crime.