post punk ?

Hi all,

Edited by lucas - February 17 2010 at 13:48

Vompatti wrote: I agree that most if not all post-punk bands were experimental, but I still think that they had more in common with punk than with prog. Besides, if there are post-punk bands that should be here, they could probably be put under crossover prog.

Talk Talk, presumably the pioneers of post-rock, had NOTHING in common with prog. And yes, the only link with punk that post-punk had is that they played previously punk (John Lydon of PIL was involved with Sex Pistols, Howard Devoto of Magazine sang with Buzzcocks, Björk from K.U.K.L. was with Tappi Tikarrass...). if you read the notes in the booklet of Magazine's 'real life' it says : 'Magazine's debut album 'Real life', was progressive'

I downloaded a track by a band called the Headboys 'Shape Of Things To Come' recently.I think this was released in 1979 and is just a perfect example of post punk meeting prog in some weird way.Direct and to the point but with a keyboard player laying it on thick a la Emerson/Wakeman. As a Swindon lad I should also point out  that XTC would be perfect for this sub genre.

Why was this thread moved to general music discussion ???????????????????????????????

I have argued along similar lines in some of my reviews (Japan, Talk Talk...).

While the musical form of post-punk is entirely different from what is commonly regarded as prog, both movements are just two different expressions of the same urge to bring innovative and meaningful music for me. They both have progressed and broadened the musical spectre.

I think the adversity between both is largely overstated. Even some goth bands quickly learned to play adequately enough to build highly Floyd influenced soundscapes (The Cure on Disintegration, Fields of the Nephilim,...)
The more artsy /avant bands amongst them (Magazine, PIL, Ultravox, Tuxedo Moon) all bear huge influences from diverse bands such as Roxy Music, Can, Neu! and so on.

Well I'm very inclusive so I'd welcome a lot more genres into my prog realm as others, but apart from personal preferences I think many of these bands could build a strong progressive case.
No, Prog is not an island.


Edited by Bonnek - February 17 2010 at 14:59

Bonnek wrote: I have argued along similar lines in some of my reviews (Japan, Talk Talk...). While the musical form of post-punk is entirely different from what is commonly regarded as prog, both movements are just two different expressions of the same urge to bring innovative and meaningful music for me. They both have progressed and broadened the musical spectre. I think the adversity between both is largely overstated. Even some goth bands quickly learned to play adequately enough to build highly Floyd influenced soundscapes (The Cure on Disintegration, Fields of the Nephilim,...) The more artsy /avant bands amongst them (Magazine, PIL, Ultravox, Tuxedo Moon) all bear huge influences from diverse bands such as Roxy Music, Can, Neu! and so on. Well I'm very inclusive so I'd welcome a lot more genres into my prog realm as others, but apart from personal preferences I think many of these bands could build a strong progressive case. No, Prog is not an island.

I endorse every single letter of this post. The opposition between the two genres was in fact fabricated by the press, and had very little root in reality. Unfortunately, the 'punk' tag can be very dangerous for any band as regards some prog fans, and it has barred the likes of The Stranglers from being added to the DB.

Anyway, in the liner notes of Siouxsie and the Banshees' Voices in the Air - The Peel Sessions album, you can read something like that: " The group adored the free-floating apprehension of Can, the glossy spookiness of The Doors, the wholesome sleaziness of Sparks, the haunted mechanical emptiness of Neu, and the perverse grace of The Velvet Underground". Two Krautrock bands, one Prog-Related one, and two that have often been suggested for addition here. And the two founders of the band met at a Roxy Music concert - another PR band.

Edit: Obviously, my answer to Vompatti's question is a resounding YES.


Edited by Raff - February 17 2010 at 15:28

Are there two threads on this topic...

Yep I'm getting kind of dizzy trying to work out what is what here! 

NecronCommander wrote: I'm not really sure what this genre entails. Would The Melvins be considered a post-punk revival band?  Some of their newer stuff seems to fit the experimental, punk-inspired genre.

No way. The post-punk revival hit in 05 or so, while the Melvins seem to have been churning out sludgy rock since the late 80s.

What he said above, this genre deserves no spot on this site.