Why Is Prog So Hated?

Progressive rock is seen by experienced music critics as tasteless, self-indulgent and excessive, in much the same way that Wagner is seen in classical circles. Music for teenagers, the aural equivalent of childhood foods, all brightly coloured but without lasting nutritional value.

The irony is this is almost exactly how followers of prog rock describe the pop scene.

NotSoKoolAid wrote: Perhaps there's an element of fooling here on the part of the rich thieves, but on the other hand trash does sell MILLIONS. That means millions of people willfully go out and purchase the junk we all find so repugnant here, like Beyonce or Brittany Spears for example. People convince themselves they are attracted to this, and that is a bigger factor than if they truly are attracted to this or not, in my opinion.

richardh wrote: It was a 'stupid' ridiculous over the top movement played by musicians with egos the size of skscrapers and with keyboard stacks that could have been a menace to low flying aircraft.But it was also darn good fun.Like a big kiddies playground for talented musicians with an over bloated sense of self importance.

- Most people who listen to rock music prefer simple, traditional tunes. As the British author Jonathan Coe recently said (in an excellent article on the Canterbury scene) their brains aren't 'wired' to enjoy prog.

- The above comes with inverse snobbery, especially in the U.K. Rock musicians aren't SUPPOSED to play their instruments well, to play intricate songs, rip off Stravinsky or sing about 'musical boxes' and 'minstrels in the gallery' because such things just have no street cred. Simple and honest emotion, preferably expressed in two chord songs, is considered more 'real'.

- Prog musicians haven't helped. Let me give a few examples. (a) I haven't read many defenses of Jon Anderson's lyrics on this website! (b) Singing about hunting girls and heavy horses, while growing beards and smoking pipes AT THE HEIGHT OF PUNK inevitably makes musicians look silly. (c) Using a church organ in an album ONCE may seem impressive, but if you include heavy church organ chords on every possible occasion, it inevitably sounds pompous. (d) The fairy-tale themes of some prog albums, or of their original covers (e.g. Camel's MOONMADNESS, Steve Howe's BEGINNINGS), make a lot of people shudder (me included).

Blacksword wrote: You cant dance to it, and dancing is part of the human mating ritual.

I don't hate prog, in fact I quite like some of it.

Heavyfreight wrote: Blacksword wrote: You cant dance to it, and dancing is part of the human mating ritual.   I disagree.  You can dance to some of it, but not in a particularly tribal way; more of a hippy style[IMG]height=17 alt=LOL src="http://www.progarchives.com/forum/smileys/smiley36.gif" width=17 align=absMiddle>

Be honest, can you imagine a prog version of Saturday Night Fever, or Dirty Dancing??

er, no!
     

Prog is not hated simply because most people don't know about it.

...because the average person has a rather short attention spam 

Also, because it's dissonant, it has annoying vocals, rhytms that are at times impossible to dance or even headbang to, lyrics that make no sense and compositions that never fit in less than 5 minutes

why do people dislike jazz, classical or opera? why do I dislike hip-hop, rap or death metal? It's fascinating to think about why some things appeal to some people and not to others, but a buddy in college used to say "one should not dispute matters of taste." For me, I enjoy the intricacies, complexities and beauty of prog, as I do classical and jazz. I think these same things are put-offs to some people. It takes a bit more mental energy to get your head around more complex forms of music which some are not willing to expend. Ah, but there I go sounding like a prog snob...