Has the flame finally gone out?

 This was decades before Progressive Rock was invented and since the term was used by mostly musicians anyway, being relevant in the musician's world, it was found suitable to apply it to the term Progressive Rock. In the end, it was all nailed down to the way in which you were playing.  There was more to the meaning of the term than simply playing in a progressive way. It also opened doors for musicians to arrive with new ideas for composition. However a huge percentage of the Prog community , (over many years), have developed attitudes about something which is actually being played progressive in a "hit single" and refuse to believe that any of the note patterns contained within are the exact same ones used in Progressive Rock. That becomes a little questionable , if you know what I mean..because if you are the musician and have played those notes and know that they are the same pattern used in many styles of music, how will you ever convince fans of Prog? Your conversation or point is completely shut off. To musicians, it's sometimes all the same thing repeated over and over. "Unsettled Scores" on the Cuneiform label contains some very complex arrangements, but on the "Essential Earth, Wind & Fire" I hear many arrangements that are just as complex and difficult to play. I'm not recommending Earth, Wind & Fire or Stevie Wonder, I'm just saying how some people don't believe that any band which has a name tag can play progressive. Not Progressive Rock, but the style of playing progressive...which IS in Progressive Rock. So my point is that this actually being identified for a musician as being "progressive" and not literally Progressive Rock, is often confused by the audience as being or meaning something else.I mean...it's laughable in a way, but almost want to pull my hair out when some people insist on misunderstanding that there are man made invented terms that don't immediately reveal the basis of it's foundation in history when hanging around with a crowd of people who have no reason to care. 

Great points! Also..the first paragraph had me laughing. It's interesting to read your posts.

But there is some truth to the point I was making about fashion opposite music. Just like you see with the current adoration of female Ramones t-shirts. Every girl I've ever met wearing one of those has had absolutely no clue about the actual band. No that's actually a lie. One thought she knew them but had confused them with Kiss

I see a lot of hippies in Aalborg where I live, but the longhaired and altogether 70s looking guys I've been talking to (and their friends from what I could tell) were all into stuff like Kings of Leon, The Strokes, The Libertines and Animal Collective. 

What may look like a 70s progger or hippie devoté in today's world may just as easily be a person who saw a hip add for some colourful clothes, and then just ran with it.

The following may come off as a gross generalisation, but in something like 99% of the time you meet those chicks, they're either on their way to a rave or merely attending some kind of outdoors rock festival. Go back to their place and see what kind of music they really listen to, and you get synth-pop and 80s music galore......maybe a couple of Beatles and Doors records if you're lucky

The style of the 60s and 70s is still hugely 'in', but the kind of spiritual devotion to rock music that went along with the fashion back then is something you have to look long and hard for nowadays. It's still there but in smaller fractions and in most cases it's spread out to other branches of music than rock.