Farewell to Prog Rock - Progressive Rock Music Forum

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Abstrakt

Forum Senior Member

Joined: August 18 2005
Location: Soundgarden
Status: Offline
Points: 18292

Posted: December 25 2008 at 12:33

I'm also drifting away from prog a bit. Going back to my Hard Rock/Metal roots. I still listen to prog quite often, though. Tongue

stonebeard View Drop Down

Forum Senior Member

Joined: May 27 2005
Location: NE Indiana
Status: Offline
Points: 28057

Posted: December 25 2008 at 12:42

I'm getting into a lot more obscure electronica and metal.

Certain sites have elitists who want nothing more than the most obscure hipster garbage. Perfect for getting to know dead-end genres. Big smile

Henry Plainview View Drop Down

Forum Senior Member

Joined: May 26 2008
Location: Declined
Status: Offline
Points: 16715

Posted: December 30 2008 at 06:11

debrewguy wrote:

The T wrote:

^WHOSE ego Db?

Those who feel the need to announce that they have left and why they went, including why they came back and had to tell us, after they noticed no one noticed.

This is what I was saying. If I misinterpreted the intent of the OP, sorry, and I wasn't trying to imply that I deserved a GOODBYE thread either. After all, I am but a lowly non-collab as well. ;-)

Jake Kobrin wrote:

Who cares? It's stupid to only listen to a genre because you have some image or something to keep up.

Is anyone in this thread doing that? Is that what this thread is about at all?

Angelo wrote:

Mr. Plainview

Yes, other people have started italicizing random parts of my name like Peter! Maybe I can start a trend!

p0mt3 wrote:

Prog is like the fine cuisines that we sometimes only delve into and experience for stints at a time. Everything else is like the poor-man's fine dining such as Mc Donald's and Wendy's.

Sure it's great to eat the junk food sometimes because it;s a quick fix, you don'ty have to wait for it, and it;s cheap so the conveniance is the main appeal. But after awhile of eating Pizza Hut for the upteenth time, you're gonna start craving the truly good meals again. That's when you go back into it and wondery why you could have ever left . . . until the next time, of course.

Psh, who says I'm listening to fast food?

if you own a sodastream i hate you

J-Man

Prog Reviewer

Joined: August 07 2008
Location: Philadelphia,PA
Status: Offline
Points: 7826

Posted: December 30 2008 at 08:56

Henry Plainview wrote:

I hate to be blunt (that is a lie), but you have 25 posts: do you really think your presence on this site warrants a DRAMATIC GOODBYE thread?

Although, I've mostly been listening to jazz these days. And when I do listen to prog, it's almost never "classic prog", most of which I've found very disappointing upon revisiting... :(

Take it easy on the guy. It isn't a goodbye post, it's saying how he's currently feeling about prog.

Check out my YouTube channel! http://www.youtube.com/user/demiseoftime

Henry Plainview View Drop Down

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Joined: May 26 2008
Location: Declined
Status: Offline
Points: 16715

Posted: December 30 2008 at 15:59

progrocker2244 wrote:

Henry Plainview wrote:

I hate to be blunt (that is a lie), but you have 25 posts: do you really think your presence on this site warrants a DRAMATIC GOODBYE thread?

Although, I've mostly been listening to jazz these days. And when I do listen to prog, it's almost never "classic prog", most of which I've found very disappointing upon revisiting... :(

Take it easy on the guy. It isn't a goodbye post, it's saying how he's currently feeling about prog.

I think it's great that you read that post, but not my post directly above you. Nobody reads the whole thread anymore! But maybe I just have no life. :(

if you own a sodastream i hate you

moshkito

Forum Senior Member

Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
Status: Offline
Points: 18121

Posted: December 31 2008 at 15:16

Hi,

I hope that you get a chance to read this KingB ... and any of the other responses.

I, personally, always thought "prog-rock" was another word for ... manure.

I say that intentionally because of the compartmentalization of things ... I once got dumped by a girlfriend because I like prog and she liked country ... it had nothing to do with anything else ... and that is the the attitude that I dislike the most when it came to my involvement with radio and other artistic endeavours.

It didn't help that far too many groups were copies and more tribute bands than real ... well, I can't really fault them ... that's like saying no one else ever played or was inspired by something else in their life!

What was sad to me, happened in 1972 ... and is something that I think really killed prog and it's ability to stretch and bend and become bigger and more important ... in that year there were a couple of things that came out that were major ... in some ways they were a bit "self-indulgent" (as Rolling Stone dubbed many of these) ... and the rock press trashed it to smithereens ... the rock press was not interested in music ... it was interested in "songs" and "radio play".

The sadness of it all is that young composers that wanted to do something more valuable to their musical experience all of a sudden felt hurt and disappointed. And, sadly enough, many of them gave in to the critics knock.

To me, that was the day that the music became "less important" and no longer as valid as a lot of classical music ... but ... but ... by that time I had heard things that were classical ... and not "prog-rock" ... no one will ever tell me that Vangelis, Mike Oldfield, Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze are not the greatest composers of our time ... to me only Stravinsly and Bartok even come close in the 20th century ... it's just a different instrument ...

But I felt sad to see YES, Jethro Tull and so many others crumble to the press and not fight on ... but it you and all others were stuck listening to rock, and rock only, and our measure for exellence is only how much we like it and the other person's opinion is not valid ... then you can see why ... it's so hard for anyone to believe enough in their own music ... and continue.

If I name a top ten rock/prog albums of all time, "Tales of Topographic Oceans" is one of them, as is "A Passion Play" ... but you will probably never find anyone talking about those as warmly as I do ... and I can hear Jon Anderson probably say ... "bless your dear heart" ... but for all intents and purposes any discussions in this area and archive pretty much shows why ... none of these musicians will ever be able to do something as powerful as Mahler, or whomever you wish to name and show as an example. The majority of stuff listed in here is not even 5 minutes long ... and people think that discussing Metallica as prog is more important than anything else.

They have a right to their opinion. but I doubt that even those folks will be listening to Metallica when they are 55! Just so you know, at 58, I still love listening to Hawkwind ... to me still one of the best, and extremely deserving prog band that never gets a mention ... they have the most unbelievable collage and differences from one album to the next ... compare Electric Tepee to Space Ritual ... and they never even get a mention ... and some of that hard rock is not only progressive, it is mind blowing ...

There are not many composers that do "short cuts" and in this day and age of the iTunes and many other "singles" everything is a couple of minutes and just about all the conversations are about a song or two ... not an artist ... and in that vein, we will be killing the art form ...

While I liked ELP (for example) my greatest frustration in the boards in the 90's (including the folks that created this and other boards) was that everything that got reviewed had all the same instruments as ELP and King Crimson ... and that is not fair to music in general ... and there are a lot of other progressive folks out there ... that even this board is not capable of discussing!

Try these on for size:

- Egberto Gismonti - if this is called jazz naming music is really the pits! It's just music! And if you can handle it, check out the original "No Caipira" ... talk about prog afterwords will you?

- Terje Rypdal/Dave Darling - Eos - Chamber music with an electric guitar like you wish Jimi had done!

- Mike Oldfield - Amarok ... and if you can .. try to see the "Exposed" DVD ... and realize that is "classical music" for our time.

- Djam Karet - Any of the first 5 or 6 ablums

But here ... only singles get discussed. And that will not a Mahler make ... EVER!

Edited by moshkito - December 31 2008 at 15:18

debrewguy

Special Collaborator

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Joined: April 30 2007
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 3596

Posted: December 31 2008 at 20:03

You know, you're right ... of to a decent start in the avant-garde / artiste scene.
I am 46, and still listen to Motorhead, and still buy most of their albums. I have listened to Beethoven since I was 15. In my 30s, it was a regular part of my nightly routine to listen to Ross Porter's After Hours (1993-2003). That was jazz radio show on CBC radio Mondays through Thursdays.
Recently, the "kids" (actually 20 -22 yr olds) have been pretty good about some real punk rock that I would enjoy. Their recommendations also include classic period stuff like the Buzzcocks and the Jam.

As far as bands "bending" to radio ... by the 80s, Yes, Tull, and the others major 70s prog giants were rich & successful enough to do as they damn well pleased. And, from all I've read, none of them put out albums that they felt forced into. There may be music or songs they regret, but then , these even have some 70s stuff carries that same opinion from them.

So hopefully, you will learn that age does not matter when listening to music. Your enjoyment of it is the only important thing.
If you no longer listen to a music from your youth, early adulthood, middle age, whatever, well ... that happens. And if you do listen to the same music you have since birth, that's o.k. too.
Musical maturity, in my opinion, is reached when you listen to something because you find something in it. Be it a desire to dance, to relax, to F**K, whatever. Enjoy it for your reasons.

"Here I am talking to some of the smartest people in the world and I didn't even notice,” Lieutenant Columbo, episode The Bye-Bye Sky-High I.Q. Murder Case.

el dingo

Forum Senior Member

Joined: October 08 2008
Location: Norwich UK
Status: Offline
Points: 7053

Posted: January 01 2009 at 12:39

debrewguy wrote:

You know, you're right ... of to a decent start in the avant-garde / artiste scene.
I am 46, and still listen to Motorhead, and still buy most of their albums. I have listened to Beethoven since I was 15. In my 30s, it was a regular part of my nightly routine to listen to Ross Porter's After Hours (1993-2003). That was jazz radio show on CBC radio Mondays through Thursdays.
Recently, the "kids" (actually 20 -22 yr olds) have been pretty good about some real punk rock that I would enjoy. Their recommendations also include classic period stuff like the Buzzcocks and the Jam.

As far as bands "bending" to radio ... by the 80s, Yes, Tull, and the others major 70s prog giants were rich & successful enough to do as they damn well pleased. And, from all I've read, none of them put out albums that they felt forced into. There may be music or songs they regret, but then , these even have some 70s stuff carries that same opinion from them.

So hopefully, you will learn that age does not matter when listening to music. Your enjoyment of it is the only important thing.
If you no longer listen to a music from your youth, early adulthood, middle age, whatever, well ... that happens. And if you do listen to the same music you have since birth, that's o.k. too.
Musical maturity, in my opinion, is reached when you listen to something because you find something in it. Be it a desire to dance, to relax, to F**K, whatever. Enjoy it for your reasons.

I'm 51 and really understand the father/kids thing. Mine are 20 and 17; we trade stuff a lot. Cheers for mentioning The Jam & Buzzcocks. I'd add the Rich Kids to those two, but man cannot (in my opinion) live by prog alone.

It's not that I can't find worth in anything, it's just that I can't find worth in enough.

debrewguy

Special Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator

Joined: April 30 2007
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 3596

Posted: January 01 2009 at 18:59

dig your sig.

"Here I am talking to some of the smartest people in the world and I didn't even notice,” Lieutenant Columbo, episode The Bye-Bye Sky-High I.Q. Murder Case.