Bands that should and shouldn’t be here

I chose a few bands I've been looking into. I have no opinion on any of these personally, as I haven't heard enough music from any of them. And yes, I know Smashing Pumpkins is not even close, but I read somewhere that they were prog-oriented alternative.... Anyway, don't post stuff saying "hey, this should be here" or "that isn't even close" because it's useless. Just focus on what IS in this poll, and tell me why you voted the way you did. That's ALL you should do.

I own Captain beefheart..I forget which one...something mask replica...I don't know. It just seems like silly lyrics with lots of jamming

Radiohead...no. I listened to their so-called Proggy cd and thought maybe 1-2 songs but overall I would say they were alternative

Smashing Pumpkins absolutely not. They can be a little trippy at times but i wouldn't say they were experimental....fairly straight forward alternative.

Depends how we're going to define progressive. Beefheart albums like Trout Mask and the later Ice Cream For Crow were definitely a progression from most of the music his contemporaries were making at the time, so are prog by definition.

 Even the big names like Genesis, Yes, ELP, Floyd weren't always progressive, in that they didn't move on from what  they themselves had done previously. Yes only did so until 90125 - which saw them moving OUT of prog - Genesis' last truly progressive album was Abacab, never to return, the last couple of ELP albums were AOR pap - yes, even Pirates, which sounds like Lloyd Webber - and Floyd's SOUND progressed not at all after Dark Side of the Moon.

 Radiohead and Smashing Pumpkins, while both excellent at times, lack both the spirit of adventure AND the sense of humour essential in prog. OK Computer and The Bends were fantastic, but anyone could listen to a few Boards of Canada/Squarepusher releases on Warp and come up with Kid A. As for the Pumpkins, they always seemed to be playing miserabilist neo-Goth (God, those awful lyrics!) with a bit of Thin Lizzy thrown in.

 And if ELO are prog, so are Oasis. Each took a different aspect of the classic Beatles sound and ran with it. But prog? I think not. Only prog ELO track that springs to mind is 10538 Overture (as "borrowed" by both Paul Weller for Changingman and Ian Brown for My Star).

Nizzy wrote:  Radiohead and Smashing Pumpkins, while both excellent at times, lack both the spirit of adventure AND the sense of humour essential in prog. OK Computer and The Bends were fantastic, but anyone could listen to a few Boards of Canada/Squarepusher releases on Warp and come up with Kid A. As for the Pumpkins, they always seemed to be playing miserabilist neo-Goth (God, those awful lyrics!) with a bit of Thin Lizzy thrown in.

Woooo! That’s some statement, I am a Radiohead, Boards of Canada and Warp Records fan too but surely you are not saying that Radiohead are in some way inferior to them!!?  Radiohead’s diversity into electronica proves that the band is not afraid to evolve and progress and indeed have a spirit of adventure. But I understand what you are saying about Kid A borrowing from those Warp bands for instance ‘idioteque’ would sound like Aphex Twin and ‘ Tree Fingers’ could be BOC if not for one massive big difference and that is Thom Yorkes emotional and heart rendering lyrics and vocals! I think what totally sets Radiohead apart from other electroncia artists is their music so much more passionate, emotive. But they don’t belong in the archives though.

Sense of humour essential in prog?  Try telling Tool that

Radiohead should be here as they are sufficiently experimental and are not easy to slot into any particular genre.They certainly could not be accused of courting radio airplay despite their name.

ELO should not.They are a pop group.Only their very early stuff has any relevance to prog.If they are brought in then I would think that the people who run this site have lost the plot completely.

Tool with no sense of humour, Petra? What about Maynard's wigs? Wait a minute, maybe they ain't meant to be funny...

 Keep spreading the word re Warp though, specially Squarepusher. That boy's got a strange brain but I like what he's thinking

I cannot agree that Radiohead are prog. They are a very good band who do experiment, but do not try to push the boundaries with their musicianship and instrumentation.Nor are they symphonic.

To my mind, if Radiohead are prog then so too are U2, which is patently ridiculous.U2 constantly evolve their sound and experiment with different influences, but this does not make them progressive rock.

They are both blinding rock bands and difficult to pigeonhole.To me Rush (my favourite group) have not really been Prog Rock since Moving Pictures either. I would put them in the same ballpark as U2 and Radiohead.

Although i'd like to have RADIOHEAD in here i know they don't belong... like so many other heavy metal bands that has been added lately. anyway, RADIOHEAD has a lot of good vibes and tunes to be considered "prog", at least they are chainging the way we see at popular and rock music.

peace