Do you try to hide the fact that you like prog?

Absolutely no!
I like to talk about it, if asked, but I do not try to 'teach' or 'convince' people.
In my job interview I was asked what hobbies I have and I said: 'progressive rock'.
I got the job!

ForestFriend wrote: I think it's also that prog's sort of the awkward middle child of music... it's too highbrow for the sex, drugs and rock and roll purist, and too lowbrow to fit in with nice, academic classical or jazz music. It's very easy to pick an extreme and attack it from either side.

This is a perfect explanation. Most of the people criticizing prog are the "lower" levels of musicdom, the mainstream pop and rock fans, who don't listen enough to prog to understand it's not just about being weird and technical! I am 17 and I didn't know about prog enough at one point, thinking it was just a weirder version of classic rock, my first love, but I grew to love the genre after many, repeated listens of a song - it was then that I finally "got" that prog is not trying to be as complex as possible, it's trying to be beautiful and immersing. Part of the problem of prog acceptance is not having pre-conceived notions of prog's weirdness (I had little knowledge of prog before I got into it, so I had an advantage), and the other major part of it is the lack of patience of mainstream pop/rock fans to listen to 10+ minute songs, plus the fact that it (usually) takes more than one, two, or three listens to get into a "non-catchy" prog song.

I have a secret pocket in the lining of my jacket with a list of my favorite bands.

No. I try to promote prog to some degree. Most people I come across don't know what it is when I bring it up in conversation. 

Frenetic Zetetic wrote: This alway baffled me: average people with no musical taste, sense, or skill insisting stuff like Yes, Genesis, etc is "gay music" (I've actually had people tell me this). Meanwhile they don't bother to digest anything outside of pop/country/top 40 stuff. Take it with a grain of salt. I blast people over how sh*t bands are today compared to the amazing 1970's lol.

. Really funny. Well maybe they´ve seen Gabriel performing in the seventies and think "he must be gay". Never anybody said to me why you listened that gay music. Also, today´s Finland no problem to say to be a proglistener, it´s just that most don´t understand what it is.

hellogoodbye wrote: I tried to hide the fact that I loved Saturday Night Fever... but I can't anymore.

It is a masterpiece isn't it

I almost never mention the word 'prog' irl. People who know me well would just think, "oh here he goes again with one of his silly obsessions to get attention" if I start going around using that word, I know it. A lot of them know I like Yes, and Genesis, and Kiss, and Wishbone Ash, and T Rex, and Steely Dan, and Humble Pie, but I don't label it as anything. Those are just artists that people know I like to listen to. 

Mortte wrote: Mascodagama wrote: Mortte wrote: But I think the most popular times of prog here in Finland was in the end of nineties and begin of 2000. You know prog really wasn´t that big thing in Finland at seventies as it was in UK. That's interesting to learn! I had figured that with all the great seventies bands from Finland the progressive thing must have been pretty big there. Maybe more of a big cult? Well, I think Wigwam and Tasavallan Presidentti have a little, but very excited fanbase. Others really haven´t got fans and also gigs, so that´s was the reason, why many bands just made one album. I think for example Haikara´s Vesa Lattunen would have creativity a lot more than just those five albums they made, but here just wasn´t a big interest to Haikara. The main reason why Iso Lintu is so different than those two first albums is that they try to make it more commercial (but failed). Lattunen just had to do something else that compose great music for his living. Also, I think that will give you picture how famous prog was seventies here, that only Wigwam got one gold album, from "Nuclear Nightclub". Also I think Wigwam would have ended earlier if they hadn´t got that Virgin deal and gigs from UK and other European countries.

Such a shame, there were so many great talents and it seems they got little appreciation in their home country. Still I am thankful for the records we got - but it's tantalising to think there may have been many more if the artists had a little more commercial success .  

Catcher10 wrote: What's prog?

Once upon a time, you’d get bashed if you said you like Devo or Kajagoogoo.
If you mentioned Van der Graaf Generator or Hawkwind, you’d just get weird looks.