Careful What You Wish For...

The T wrote: That will never happen, because human and economic laws state the complete opposite to the principles of prog.... and of all demanding music in general.... music made for music's sake is, at end, made because the artist wants to express something... mainstream music (and I'm talking really MAINSTREAM music, as in MTV as you named that atrocity of a network) is made because some corporate loons want to get richer and they pay their new money-making-machines a small fare of the profits that he expects to make....   But somehow dreaming that prog was popular.... I may speak only for myself, I may sound kind of a weirdo, but I like being "special" and I like knowing that I listen to more "exclusive" music than what most of the people are listening to.... 6000 millions people, most of them average-minded.... The music you listen to doesn't tell how intelligent you are.... but it does tell how SELECTIVE you are, for if you listen to something that demands you to research, buy online or in alternative places, study at least something of music, then you really care for MUSIC more than the rest...   For the rest music is entertainment... for most of us is an ART (an example: ask a regular person what cinema is for them: most of them will say it entertains them.... true cinema students, those that can bear a Fellini movie, those know cinema is an ART).... I insist: it depends how people perceive music... for some of us is more important than just something you put on when you're driving or, nowadays, when you go everywhere.... we usually (I speak for myself but think most will agree) LISTEN to music, PAY ATTENTION to music.... others have it AS BACKGROUND....   ... so in the end, NO, I prefer my prog to remain exclusive...   If it became mainstream, I'd kind of lose respect for it... This may sound stupid and irrational, but I know that would happen....   Points of view are different from person to person.... disagree? Off course, but please with respect.

Firepuck wrote: The first three LP's I bought (which I still have) were; Nursery Cryme, Machine Head and Houses of the Holy.

Excellent, symbolic, choices!

Prog was mainstream in the late 60's and early 70's as the music industry tended to be run by muisc fans. That changed in the late 70's and big business took over. Luckily for us the the internet happened and it is much easier to get information about non mainstream musical styles. The beauty is the corporates have a hard controling what happens on the net. The 80's were pretty dire as far as trying get information on new bands etc. but somehow I discovered some new stuff at the time through friends and mainly through magazines like Guitar Player as they are less driven by commercial tastes and focus on performance and creative ability. It's not just prog that is locked out of commercial radio/tv these days. Steve Lukather of Toto (and they were huge) said that record companies wont sign a rock band over 30 years old and the radio wont play them. I recently missed their tour of Australia because there was no press at all. Same almost happened when Yes came out, I only caught them because their tour was postponed.