Abolish Neo Prog as a genre? - Progressive Rock Music Forum

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Atavachron View Drop Down

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Posted: March 03 2008 at 17:36

micky wrote:

fledgling finders of faintly familar, foward-thinking, fabulous fraternities of musical firnament.

fantastic

micky

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Posted: March 03 2008 at 17:26

you raise a great point Morph... will discuss in private first.. then maybe a poll....

as far a Neo... no way in hell we should abolish it. Simply as that.. We can sashay our way through creating new subs to help draw differences for the fledgling finders of faintly familar, foward-thinking, fabulous fraternities of musical firnament. Removing established sub's.. not just here... but outside of the hallowed hall of Prog-Archives is a bad move.

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ghost_of_morphy View Drop Down

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Posted: March 03 2008 at 16:50

I can see both sides of the argument here. Abolishing neo prog does make sense from a strictly logical criteria based upon sound, but historically there have been other reasons for grouping these bands. It'd be like getting rid of RIO, which I would personally support but which would face much opposition. (I think the perfect solution there would be to retain an Avant-garde category and use RIO as a tag.) And I still miss us ditching the historically loaded Art Rock designation.

So I guess I'm sitting firmly on the fence on this one.

Edited by ghost_of_morphy - March 03 2008 at 16:52

chopper

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Posted: March 03 2008 at 15:14

Avantgardehead wrote:

My solution is (and always has been) to abolish the whole concrete genres things and implement the tag system. That way, everybody is happy and no one has an excuse to argue about anything.

stonebeard View Drop Down

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Posted: March 03 2008 at 14:00

I think this is probably not the best forum for this topic, though I easily see why it was moved. This is not a serious suggestion, because I'd be disillusional to think it would actually happen. It's more of something to get people thinking

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Easy Livin View Drop Down

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Posted: March 03 2008 at 13:53

Carry on E-dub!!

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Posted: March 03 2008 at 09:22

Well, let me know before HT, Ivan and myself go any further in cleaning it up.

E

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Posted: March 03 2008 at 08:55

stonebeard wrote:

^ I wrote most of the definition we have for Neo Prog, and I'm mulling whether or not it was just a bunch of bullsh*t.

t'was certainly appreciated as a new definition, no? Clap

stonebeard View Drop Down

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Posted: March 03 2008 at 08:06

^ I wrote most of the definition we have for Neo Prog, and I'm mulling whether or not it was just a bunch of bullsh*t.

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Dean

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Posted: March 03 2008 at 07:20

One small observation that should not be over looked is that Neo Prog appears to be undergoing a minor revival at the moment with several of last years highly-rated albums coming from this sub, which suggests to me that the bands are not defined by an era or even simply stuck in the 80s.

Eric, Iván and HT's recent (and praiseworthy) clean-up of the sub has resulted in a more coherent grouping of bands that goes beyond being neo-symphonic, since the remaining bands draw influence from modern sounds and styles and clearly show that modern Neo Prog is not forever harking back to earlier periods and is forward looking, current and vibrant. As moreitsythanyou stated, Neo is (related) to Symphonic, but that does not necessarily make it Symphonic.

It would be impossible to pick any single band that typifies Neo Prog and place them into a parallel subgenre, be that Symphonic, Eclectic or Crossover, since they contain musical traits that would probably preclude them from those subs (ie the very traits that put them in Neo in the first place). It is not just the purity of Neo or Symphonic that must be regarded, but of all subs, each of which have their own definitions and clear delineations. Admittedly there are some crossovers into those subs, but most of those have already been adressed and moved.

And sorry, Prog Related is not a viable option for bands that "survived" the clean-up unless it can be clearly demonstrated that their inclusion as a 100% Prog Rock band was a mistake that was overlooked during the clean-up. Which is not to say it cannot happen, just not for 50% of the bands as has been suggested

What?

Atavachron View Drop Down

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Posted: March 03 2008 at 04:12

^ what he said

Ricochet

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Posted: March 03 2008 at 03:45

Prog Archives didn't invent Neo Prog like it came up with Crossover Prog (and, might I say, in a way and regarding the name, even Eclectic). Neo-Progressive music is referenced "overall" as both a period and a very distinct style of progressive rock music. So I'd let it stay.

As a reviewer and progger, I do have my mind set on finding a band/a music neo-prog (as T tried to mention), which means I recognize some stylistic and properly "genuine" qualities in that music.

The thing of considering Neo-Prog second class is either a prejudice (out of a "shallow" dislike, I mean), either a comparative attitude, in regards to the "classic' period of prog-rock, which mainly explored symphonic prog, art rock, psychedelic and finally some RIO stuff, down the late years. The definition of neo-prog here itself describes how the orientation opened to lush keyboards, more melodic or dynamic inspirations and such, which can only mean we're talking about a style that, even if descended from another one, still bares a good health of a style.

Edited by Ricochet - March 03 2008 at 03:46

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Posted: March 03 2008 at 03:37

I have never considered Neo-Prog as simply defining a time period. For me, it has its own distinctive sound and style which, while having similarities with Symphonic, is significantly different.

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Posted: March 03 2008 at 02:47

The phrase "Neo Prog" has been used for about two decades ... Marillion are a Neo Prog band, why try to undo history? Smile

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moreitsythanyou View Drop Down

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Posted: March 03 2008 at 02:21

I think Neo is to Symphonic as Zeuhl is to Avant.
It's a distinct style that could fit in the larger genre but is distinct enough to stand on its own.

<font color=white>butts, lol[/COLOR]

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Posted: March 03 2008 at 02:15

^ Though I'm not sure what the real movers and shakers are planning, I speculate that since so much work has gone into the creating and reorganizing of the genres here, they will never be abolished.

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Avantgardehead View Drop Down

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Posted: March 03 2008 at 02:13

My solution is (and always has been) to abolish the whole concrete genres things and implement the tag system. That way, everybody is happy and no one has an excuse to argue about anything.

http://www.last.fm/user/Avantgardian

Raff

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Posted: March 03 2008 at 02:11

I have to agree with David here. This would stir up the proverbial hornet's nest.... Not that what you say is wrong, but I'm afraid it could cause a sort of domino effect. Anyway, everyone has the right to offer suggestions.... Let's see what others have to say, hoping we can keep it civil.

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Posted: March 03 2008 at 02:08

I think no change should be made. I would say the "neo prog" name really defines a style, doesn't it? I mean, i have like 30 neo-prog cds (as categorized by PA), and I can easily tell them apart from the more than 50 I have from symphonic prog... Maybe it's because of the genre-names that my brains is influenced and makes the connection, but I honestly think differences can bemade.

Word by teh experts?

Wilcey

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Posted: March 03 2008 at 02:05

Atavachron wrote:

ouch.. I wouldn't touch this with a ten foot pole