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Joined: January 20 2008
Location: Seattle, WA
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Points: 887
Posted: October 10 2011 at 16:45
I think sometimes the context of this kind of question has to be what is progressive in the medium of rock. I think Stereolab was one of the most progressive bands of the 90's. Belle and Sebastion's early stuff while kind of a throw-back, in a modern rock context, was also very "progressive." The introduction of "noise" elements and dissonance to me isn't progressive, it's almost always unlistenable, because few can do it melodically and pleasantly, like Sonic Youth can.
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Joined: April 29 2006
Location: Atlantais
Status: Offline
Points: 29630
Posted: October 10 2011 at 17:58
harmonium.ro wrote:
I'll dig up some recommendations for you Brian.
After all the money I spent on new September releases, I'm not looking for new stuff at the moment. But recommendations are always appreciated one way or the other. I have yet to get a bad personal recommendation on this site. I hate to say it, but they did start to taper off from making stuff I really liked after Sound-Dust and of course the loss of Mary Hansen may have played a part. I actually got to meet and hang out with the groop backstage (actually a basement room) at The Center Stage Theater on their Cobra tour. As usual I was speechless.
Edited by Slartibartfast - October 15 2011 at 10:20
Joined: September 03 2006
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Posted: October 10 2011 at 20:30
harmonium.ro wrote:
You nailed it there, that's more or less the framework I was thinking of. I agree Radiohead went further than any of the mentioned bands, but I see them as the end of an evolutionary process. They didn't come up themselves with revolutionary innovations, which is the kind of progress we've been discussing here*. Nothing like what Dylan going electric was for 1965, King Crimson for 1969 or punk for 1976. I just think OK Computer was better, more refined and more accomplished. Another thing to measure innovation with is what paths does it open; or in this respect the innovative bands of the mid to late 90s were Neutral Milk Hotel, Modest Mouse, Yo La Tengo, Wilco, Belle And Sebastian, Trans Am, GYBE, etc., because they were the ones to break the new grounds for '00s indie rock. OK C was an end of the road IMO, that album coudn't be bettered, outdone, continued. Even Radiohead, when they changed direction with the more experimental Kid A and the albums that followed, they were recycling things already done in the early to mid '90s by Pram, Trans Am, Seefeel, Tortoise, Disco Inferno, Stereolab, etc.
* i.e. the groundbreaking revolution implied by the OP
I agreed earlier too that they were not groundbreaking and certainly not as much as Dylan or KC. I don't agree with the use of the word recycled here because a new approach to existing concepts is originality, other than that, we are in agreement here.
Joined: August 18 2008
Location: Anna Calvi
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Points: 22989
Posted: October 11 2011 at 08:38
^ Cool. I realized after posting that "recycling" might be perceived as a
derogatory remark, which it wasn't. Whatever they touch, it turns to
gold, and more importantly, it sounds 100% Radiohead. I value this more
than originality in itself, and I hold Radiohead as the greatest band of
our time.
Joined: January 20 2008
Location: Seattle, WA
Status: Offline
Points: 887
Posted: October 11 2011 at 17:14
After trying to find some instances, I really couldn't find any of the Belle and Sebastion stuff that would really be progressive. In the 90's, they had a few songs with brass. Mostly I think when there is a very interesting rock song, it sometimes seems like it could be called progressive in a very loose sense, but not really in terms of this form. The word is vague but not meaningless. Good arrangements for a 9 piece band (which I think Belle and Sebastion is) are at least usually interesting.
Joined: September 20 2008
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Posted: October 11 2011 at 20:17
harmonium.ro wrote:
Even Radiohead, when they changed direction with the more experimental Kid A and the albums that followed, they were recycling things already done in the early to mid '90s by Pram, Trans Am, Seefeel, Tortoise, Disco Inferno, Stereolab, etc.
This is interesting. I was already rather familiar with Tortoise and Trans Am but I decided to investigate the others and not only did I already hear very little in the two aforementioned, but I also heard exceptionally little to none of Radiohead in the other bands you mentioned. I think out of all of them I heard the most in Pram. Their sounded reminded me a bit of the layered delay loops on The King of Limbs. I think that Radiohead are more of a result of studio experimentation, a great producer, and a whole lot creativity.
Joined: August 18 2008
Location: Anna Calvi
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Points: 22989
Posted: October 11 2011 at 21:35
I didn't say you would find anyone similar with Radiohead in the
end product; like I said above, everything they use they make it sound
like Radiohead and Radiohead only. But the elements were there: emphasis
on rhythm, usually with lots of percussives, electronica, bits of jazz,
a certain kind of loose songwriting and playing with the themes, a certain kind of sound textures, peculiar singing... That's
what I meant by "recycling".
Here's some stuff:
^ typical Radiohead instrumental sound in both, they could have been on most Radiohead albums since Kid A
^ tone down the bass, change the singer with Thom Yorke and this almost could have been on King Of Limbs
^ in this case even the singing fits with the Radiohead style (despite the voice not being perfectly similar)
^ this one screams of Kid A
^ add a steady rhythm guitar to this and you got yourself a bonus track for In Rainbows
I would say that at least Kid A and King Of Limbs were heavily influenced by this scene, to which King Of Limbs is almost a tribute (and a great one at it).
Joined: January 25 2008
Location: Wisconsin
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Points: 8189
Posted: October 12 2011 at 17:44
So, it's settled then: The most progressive music of the 90s was coming from Cynic, Radiohead, Sterolab, Tortoise, Neurosis, Prodigy, with honorable mentions to Dream Theater, Sigur Ros, and the Cardiacs. Right?
Joined: April 29 2006
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Points: 29630
Posted: October 12 2011 at 18:54
BrufordFreak wrote:
So, it's settled then: The most progressive music of the 90s was coming from Cynic, Radiohead, Sterolab, Tortoise, Neurosis, Prodigy, with honorable mentions to Dream Theater, Sigur Ros, and the Cardiacs. Right?
Wrong! Djam Karet.
Edited by Slartibartfast - October 15 2011 at 10:20
Joined: July 17 2010
Location: Connecticut, US
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Points: 111
Posted: October 12 2011 at 20:56
Wow! I just spent quite a while reading through all the replys to my post. So much info! So much stuff to try! HAHA. There is some really great stuff in here. I knew I came to the right place to get my answer! Thank you so much all. I was happy to see I owned a few of the albums on that list that was 2 pages back (Top 100 Progressive Albums of the 90's), I'm on the right track.
Joined: July 20 2009
Location: Tucson, AZ USA
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Points: 7264
Posted: October 14 2011 at 08:49
BrufordFreak wrote:
So, it's settled then: The most progressive music of the 90s was coming from Cynic, Radiohead, Sterolab, Tortoise, Neurosis, Prodigy, with honorable mentions to Dream Theater, Sigur Ros, and the Cardiacs. Right?
^ I sorta know what you mean as I love this song too. For me People represents a Progressive Rock band adapting to and assimilating (rather than reacting to) contemporary popular music developments with their integrity intact.
Joined: July 20 2009
Location: Tucson, AZ USA
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Points: 7264
Posted: October 15 2011 at 13:56
ExittheLemming wrote:
^ I sorta know what you mean as I love this song too. For me People represents a Progressive Rock band adapting to and assimilating (rather than reacting to) contemporary popular music developments with their integrity intact.
or summat....
Thanks, you nailed it for me! Sort of a "progressive-regressive" thing.....how does a hyper-progressive format (Fripp's double-trio, synth guitars, world-class prog musicians) create a...hit single??
I thought it was brilliant!
That was an amazing show/tour (I saw it twice).....Fripp using his synth guitar to trigger Mellotron samples was a hoot! Who needs racks of tapes?
I have a feeling that Fripp has long wanted a "hit single" and tried very hard to achieve this, going back to Giles, Giles & Fripp.
His contemporaries in Yes, ELP etc. all managed to pull it off, but Crimson never quite got there.
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Most progressive of the 90's?
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harmonium.ro wrote:
