Progress...

Progressive -favoring or advocating progress, change, improvement, going forward or onward; passing successively from one member of a series to the next; proceeding step by step.


To preface, this is not meant to degrade or demean what PA is doing with this site. I love this site, it has exposed me to some great new and classic music that I've happily added to my collection . What I'm trying to do is maybe direct the admin's toward an even more progressive stance toward promoting prog music as a whole.

I find myself scratching my head when I see music from the 60's, 70's, 80's, etc. being the most popular music reviewed for the week. How many reviews does it take to figure out "Wish You Were Here", "Selling England By The Pound", "Close To The Edge", etc. are great pieces of work. Don't get me wrong, those are some great bands and albums/cd's, some of which I own. Then I scratch a little more when I see suggested new bands pushed out of the "Prog Lounge" (Home Page, and the most viewed and posted forum on the site) to the "suggest new bands/artists", and/or "unsigned bands" forum(s). Most newbies and even some regulars don't know where these forums are on the site. Hence, some great new music gets even less exposure and less pressure to submit them to the site.

Kind of obvious where I'm going? Anyway, maybe there should be a stronger push to promote the new bands and music suggested. They are, after all, the future torch bearers for Prog Music. Sure, some of them might be trash, but there are some bands who deserve much more credit and exposure for what they're producing. I don't think it's too much to ask for PA to make new band's/music a Front/Home page topic. Word of mouth is a great seller. Maybe PA could help put a dent in the mainstream *hit out there by being a bit more "progressive" with it's focus on Prog Rock.

I'm sure the admin's are saying they do consider new bands/music an important part of the site, which I agree they do. I also agree, for the most part, with their inclusion process for new bands. Quality and appropriateness are a good thing. What this turns out to be is a semi-lengthy request for more focus on new prog music. Your thoughts and consideration are most welcome.

One more request? Please don't move this from the lounge to the "help us improve the site" forum. Maybe give it a week so more people can view and respond.

Regards,

CN

ALthough I find that this site is well run and organized, I advocate in your favour. I support your opinion and I think it should be more easier to get to know the new groups, mainly groups from the last ten years or at least from the last seven years.

Although there's one person thats doing that in a thread, Erik Neuteboom just find the thread saying MY NEW AND LESS KNOW PROG BANDS. And you'll get a list so full you'll spend months in there.

Perhaps there can be an option on the homepage to hide albums with more than, say, 35 reviews?

Easy Money wrote: It would also be nice if the new bands could put out some new music on vinyl occaissonally.

Porcupine Tree have, I think, been putting their albums up for sale on vinyl format.

This is all very well and good, but you can't stop people reviewing what they like.
Also to people new to prog, the fact that the older prog is also readily available is a big advantage.

It gives people a sense of perspective, knowing what came before and what has been done already.
Sure I'm all for new bands and promotion, hell your first post has made me realise I need to start helping to discover new bands also, but the older stuff is still very relevant today, and am glad it has actually remained so popular.

When new bands come close or even surpass what 70's prog have given us, then yes we should focus more on what they have done. Unfortunately that has never happened yet.

sircosick wrote: ^ Sounds as a good idea, although I don't agree completely with Easy Money: finding reviews of WYWH, TAAB and CTTE among others was, actually is and will always be interesting and, overall, it demonstrates that old and true prog keeps remaining at the top of our beloved music. Of course there's a high percentage of people who join this site with the only purpose of discovering new obscure bands, but IMO there's no need to show it at the homepage

On second thought, I think your right so I changed my post.

Shakespeare wrote: Easy Money wrote: It would also be nice if the new bands could put out some new music on vinyl occaissonally. Porcupine Tree have, I think, been putting their albums up for sale on vinyl format.

Many current bands are releasing vinyl records ...

[QUOTE=Easy Livin]

As this thread contains suggestions related to site policy, it belongs in this section (Help us improve).





I must say that your response is utterly disheartening. Hmmm, let's see, the "Prog Music Lounge Forum": 8,741 topics and 251,628 posts (at the time of this reply), where more people can view and opine on the subject versus the "Help Us Improve The Site Forum": 685 topics and 11,421 posts (at the time of this reply). Is that balanced? I don't think so.

It's also odd that the post wasn't left in the lounge a little longer with the "moved" label in front of it, like many other posts I've noticed. Why not leave it there for people to see and give their opinions? Really curious about that. It seems to me that since you think "the balance is about right" that that's the end of the subject and no further opinions are needed.

Please read the definition of "progressive" again. It was in no way meant as a reference to the music or the site name. It was purely meant as a hint to look a little more toward newer bands and music and bring them more to the forefront. I also succinctly stated that the classic/definitive prog should not be pushed out of the way, without it this site wouldn't be here. What's so wrong with a bit more equitable representation of the music?

All in all I'm not feeling much openmindedness from you on this subject, which is really too bad. Shutting the topic down so abruptly shows an unwillingness for change on your part. I hope that you'll reconsider posting it in the Prog Music Loung for further viewing.

Best Regards,

CN

CN,