Prog comeback - Progressive Rock Music Forum

Author

Message

Topic Search

Topic Options

VanVanVan

Prog Reviewer

Joined: October 08 2009
Status: Offline
Points: 756

Posted: July 13 2010 at 13:01

RoyFairbank wrote:

Prog is dead. Dead.

All those fancy bands after 1990 are not prog.

Prog is dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.

Only if you define prog as "what they did back then." It's true, there's a lot of really mediocre, cheeseball prog out there that's just trying to be Genesis. But I don't know how you can say prog is dead when there are musicians like Toby Driver or John Zorn out there making incredibly legitimate progressive music. No, we may not have the symphonic glory of the 70s, but isn't that what prog is all about? LOL

"The meaning of life is to give life meaning."-Arjen Lucassen

The Truth

Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator

Joined: April 19 2009
Location: Kansas
Status: Offline
Points: 21795

Posted: July 13 2010 at 13:59

I'm surprised Walter has only commented once, this seems like the kind of thing he would eat up... Apparently he's saving it for other threads which don't have the same topic as this one but still get the same replies from him

odinalcatraz View Drop Down

Forum Senior Member

Joined: July 12 2010
Location: London
Status: Offline
Points: 347

Posted: July 13 2010 at 14:12

Yep!
Prog WAS dead for many years. But it wasn't dead in musicians, only in the public domain.
Prog is VERY much alive and back out there being listened to! Every form of inventive writing and playing is there now. From Riverside, Ayreon & Porkypines to Dream Theater, Pain of Salvation & The Flower Kings. we got it all. Heavy to symphonic to quirky to outright virtuosos. They are not replacing, surpassing or even to be compared with Genesis, yes, Focus, Beatles etc. They are an addition. Were Yes better than or more prog than Pink Floyd? Damn silly question eh? I want both. I want all the new ones too. In fact, I want to be Roine Stolt!
Happy times
http://www.reverbnation.com/bunchakeze

http://www.corvusstone.com

rogerthat

Prog Reviewer

Joined: September 03 2006
Location: .
Status: Offline
Points: 9869

Posted: July 18 2010 at 12:27

odinalcatraz wrote:

Big smile

Who are the biggest names, even now, in modern music? The same ones we always had.. Beatles, Hendrix, Floyd, Zep, Queen etc etc. All the other stuff comes and goes but those names and their music remain the biggest sellers. Even though they are 70 years old now.

This is not strictly true, those bands are both popular and got a lot of critical acclaim, relatively speaking. They were all very influential too. But Michael Jackson's Thriller is by a huge margin the best selling album of all time. I think some Jamiroquai album was the biggest selling funk album, yeah? Back in Black has outsold any Beatles album, unless I am very much mistaken and that is from 1981. 70 years ago? Hardly.

odinalcatraz wrote:

Prog isn't a fashion. It's music that needs listening to then it gets buried deep inside people. Pop can be good but usually, 1 or 2 songs per artist. With progressive music (orchestral OR rock), each artist produces hours of entertainment and escape. It's all the stuff you miss on the first listen that's important I guess.

I am sorry that I have to lodge my protest every time this is said, but it's fairly often in prog circles, from what I have seen. 1 or 2 songs? How about bagfuls of albums for artists like Stevie Wonder or Tori Amos? Their music is more intricate and compositionally more interesting than many boring by-the-numbers prog metal or neo prog bands. Sure, they are not usual pop, but then usually, modern prog is also not as intricate, subtle and, quite simply, brilliant as OK Computer and is generally by the numbers and generic. Whose (Radiohead) progginess, ironically, is frequently questioned by progheads. Wink

Edited by rogerthat - July 18 2010 at 12:29