WINTER MADNESS!! PA's Battle of the Bands.

In the spirit of the upcoming football tournament and of course of the ever popular March Madness basketball tournament we are going to reprise the incedibly fun PA's battle of the Bands we had a number of years ago here on the site.

Unlike the NCAA the band selections will not be done in some smoky backroom, nor done by famous heads of state.  It will be done by US!.

The format will be a 32 band showdown. Seeded 1-32 (thought 64 was simply too many and tedious through the early stages). The winner shall be crowned the ultimate progressive rock band.  Voters are encouraged to vote on overall impact, influence and popularity.  Of course people will vote on simple personal preference and there is nothing that can be done about that However if one tries to take  the larger view it can lead to some fun discussions.

In that spirit. Here are the 32 bands Raff and I came up with morning we thought truly were the most impactful, influential, and popular. 

Seeding will done and the brackets posted a week from now.  For the next week, we want to hear from you all. What bands are missing from this list?  I'll judge any bands and makes changes accordingly (bonus points to well thought out reasoning and explanations!) and adjust the list based on feedback.

Here is a morning coffee and heavily discussed (between Raff and I haha) list of the top 32 progressive rock bands of all time.

                               

Yes
King Crimson
ELP
Genesis
Floyd
Rush
Jethro Tull
Dream Theater
Soft Machine
Magma
Zappa/M.O.I
Can
VDGG
Mahavishnu Orchestra
Gentle Giant
Caravan
Kraftwerk
Porcupine Tree
Kansas
Traffic
Tangerine Dream
PFM
Amon Duul  II
Gong
Henry Cow
Univers Zero
Anglagard
Camel
Radiohead
Mars Volta
Colosseum
Supertramp

+1 on Opeth. Excellent suggestion! I'll be looking hard at them. The trick is, as Raff as I already ran into as I didn't include a band she thought could be on there, who to remove?

edit.  Thanks!  Great to be back, the forum really is different animal these days. Nowadays you can leave the sidearms and bodyarmor at the door when you log in. I miss the wild west days of the old forum to some extent, but with enough drama in real life, it is nice to have a chill atmosphere here.


Edited by micky - November 16 2014 at 08:12

What upcoming football competition?

Anyway, yes, I echo Sleeper's thoughts that it is nice to have you both back around the place. .  The only, person who appreciates the Throwing Muses as much as I do. 

Not sure anyone is missing I will have a think.  I am, quite partial to the FA cup and would suggest NO SEEDING and a draw from a large psychadelic Prog type cat in a HAT?




Edited by akamaisondufromage - November 16 2014 at 08:17

akamaisondufromage wrote: What upcoming football competition? Anyway, yes, I echo Sleeper's thoughts that it is nice to have you both back around the place. .  The only, person who appreciates the Throwing Muses as much as I do.  Not sure anyone is missing I will have a think.  I am, quite partial to the FA cup and would suggest NO SEEDING and a draw from a large psychadelic Prog type cat in a HAT?

I had an old girlfriend that was bonkers for them, especially Kristen Hersh, and I immediately fell in love the group, and her.

Part of the fun will be seeding, and having some interesting matchups, and who I am kidding.  You all know I have a score to settle.  You can bet 2 bands will be meeting....

Ahhh... neo. 

It is up for discussion, but let me explain the thoughts behind the (intended) omission from the first list.  I think it is clear it is, as it should be, a relatively 70's heavy list.  The modern bands I did include were not simply 'reactionary' bands but bands that either brought something completely new and/or were in themselves extremely influential in the continuation of the current prog scene.

This is why I started the thread Ian.  I do love a good discussion.  Anyone can (can anyone?) make a case for one of the neo bands really having something other than being a function of some bands VERY high degree of influence (ahem.. Genesis) and they can be included.

yes. They were on the orignal list but got bumped. I thought I was playing personal fav.

sitting at 33 was Uriah Heep.  I wonder if anyone thinks they should be on, one of the seminal early heavy prog bands.

who to remove.

I think Colosseum is gone, and Opeth was most certainly a glaring omission.  For any others strong cases can be made.  I might fiddle with the intended brackets. Perhaps 1st round byes for #1 seeds and pick 4 more for a wildcard 8-9 matchup. 

the fun will be now deciding who to remove,  so not only suggest omissions but balance that versus the omissions having more merit than bands already picked.

Colosseum is dead man walking from the list. Opeth was a no brainer that takes their spot. One we simply forgot. 

We did discuss Marillion briefly. I think both Raff and I take too hard a view of Neo. I see your points and judge them worthy





Edited by micky - November 16 2014 at 09:37

Nogbad_The_Bad wrote: When Marillion are suggested by an Avant head who only owns one neo CD you know they may be a miss

Raff and I just shared a big full belly laugh over the end result of you all's great suggestions.

There is ONE band that sticks out like a sore thumb on that list that doesn't belong. Yet in their funny way, they are the real reason for the whole premise of doing this. REVENGE!!!

hahha. Hiding behind housework. OK. You didn't suggest it, we saw them on DDD list and we both went... ehhh.

I see how it is... hanging me out to dry you are

This is tough Micky......mostly because of the always interesting (NOT) definition of prog. What constitutes a prog band? ......and no please let us not go down that road - I still have soar elbows from the last time.