Faux Prog Fans

I'm one of the few idiots who has given the "pop sell out" years of many prog outfits a chance and quite frankly, some of their efforts make for some minor masterpieces. Take the mighty "Discipline" by King Crimson, for instance, which is highly original and experimental, yet it's still accessible and "pap" so that means these so called "faux prog" fans should hate it like the holocaust.  

My point is, I don't care about the influences or images projected by "selling out" prog bands in their later years. As long as the band sounds inspired, twists the particular genre around and makes something new out of it, or the melodies are simply superb, (A case with many Caravan and Camel "pop" albums) I will give the music a high grade and a positive review on PA.

That is basically the "code" I go by when it come to rating music.

I tend to agree with Textbook, in the UK here its clear that the local fandom is extremely conservative in its tastes. If it sounds like Marillion, IQ or Pendragon then it will do well, if it doesnt then its stuffed. I think the related Prog metal bands To-Mera and Haken make for a good case in point. Hakens debut album aquarius is currently doing very well, but its quite clearly a pretty standard Prog metal affair, dare I say Dream Theater clone, that brings absolutely nothing new to the table whereas To-Mera's two albums and EP offer a pretty unique mix of traditional prog metal and tech metal (ala Cynic) that no other band I've come across offers, yet they are largelly ignored.

Nah, it won't die, just go even further underground. It will never be extinct. But the perception that prog fans are not really progressive in terms of seeking out new and groundbreaking music, but people who are lost in the 70s isn't going to help.

I thought that prog was a genre of music (or at least and umbrella term for a series of closely related genre).  Every genre has its own recognisable conventions and there is usually infinite scope to create and innovate within that genre.  If you love a particular genre (such as Prog), it doesn't mean that you are drowning in a pool of cultural stagnation.

Looking at your initial post, agree totally but it really is their musical opinion.  Technically they wouldn't be prog fans but they'd be Yes or Genesis fans.

Hi,

LionRocker wrote: moshkito wrote:   Sadly, there were bands and others that did this before, but they will never get any credit ... for their work.   Hah. Frank Zappa's vast amount of stage plays and silly theatrics he did with The Mothers comes to my mind.

 

Edited by moshkito - August 09 2010 at 17:38

Textbook wrote: I've heard people say that Zappa, not The Beatles, actually got the ball rolling. I'm pretty sure McCartney went on record saying they heard Freak Out in '66 and consciously decided to try and implement elements of it in their own music.

 

Thanks to Textbook for starting a good discussion. That's one of the many reasons I love this site. And for the record I also love Johnny Cash. And Frank Sinatra. And Dream Theatre and Yes and......

I disagree with Easy Living that it has to SOUND like the prog of the 70s to be called 70s.  No, but it does need to be based in that compositional approach.  It would not sound like Yes, for instance, if there was no Hammond organ.  On the other hand, modern bands that get called Yes-like do try to evoke the sound of Yes, often without the compositional approach.  A lot of highly acclaimed modern prog is abrupt pastiche which seems to be put in there to shock the listener rather than serve a strong purpose in terms of development of the composition.  There are people who like it and it's their choice, but I personally find it hard to get excited about that and would rather look elsewhere for modern treats.  From the 90s onwards, I like Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, Tori Amos, Radiohead, Jamiroquai most in that order.  None of these would be considered prog proper, not even Radiohead which is actually on this site.  So, I disagree heavily with a suggestion that not liking several modern prog acts means the listener is not adventurous.  There is some good modern, as in 90s onwards, prog by the way, I personally like Kevin Gilbert and ACT a lot.  Please spare me later DT...noooo!