Prog Definition |
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BassoonAng
Forum Senior Member Joined: July 22 2012 Location: MD Status: Offline Points: 112 |
Topic: Prog Definition Posted: July 24 2012 at 00:53 |
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A band that strives for originality in tonal tendency, character of sound, rhythm, time, and blend.
Can't put a finger on it, but that's what I look for. |
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rogerthat
Prog Reviewer Joined: September 03 2006 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 9869 |
Posted: July 11 2012 at 20:16 | |||
^^^ Good point. I wouldn't say combining jazz with thrash (T-H-R-A-S-H ) is not innovative at all but it is not as innovative as combing rock with jazz was in the 60s.
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HackettFan
Forum Senior Member Joined: June 20 2012 Location: Oklahoma Status: Offline Points: 7946 |
Posted: July 11 2012 at 12:27 | |||
The issue is whether the differences are innovative. When I used the word 'different' I meant that it's a different situation categorically. If you are conflating Trash Metal and Rock, why are you bothering to identify a batch of music under the heading of Trash Metal? I presumed you were using it to create a distinction and justify how a new category within rock could be used to create an innovative new fusion type. True, Trash Metal has its roots in Rock, but Rock and Jazz both have common roots in the Blues. The categories of music adjust over time, and what counts as an innovation is historically grounded. I continue you to see no problem with my claim here. Soft Machine did not combine Jazz and Trash Metal, because there was no Trash Metal back then. I think we can agree on that for sure. Even if we talk about innovations of technique, Steve Hackett was incredibly innovative at the time when he came up with two handed tapping. Everyone does it now, so it is difficult to call it innovative any longer. |
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Stool Man
Forum Senior Member Joined: January 30 2007 Location: Anti-Cool (anag Status: Offline Points: 2689 |
Posted: July 11 2012 at 10:37 | |||
whenever I write a list of things - which is often - I usually end it with 'other', 'other', and 'other'.
And that also applies to my definition of Prog. |
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rotten hound of the burnie crew
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tamijo
Forum Senior Member Joined: January 06 2009 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 4287 |
Posted: July 11 2012 at 06:07 | |||
Offcourse its diffrent, every time you listen to new music, its diffrent. But Metal is Rock, mixed with Jazz, chances are, it would be possible to put in JRF. Would depend a lot on the mix of things. |
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Prog is whatevey you want it to be. So dont diss other peoples prog, and they wont diss yours
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Formentera Lady
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 20 2010 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 1768 |
Posted: July 11 2012 at 05:51 | |||
Ok, so no meta thread... Throughout the various threads covering this topic, I have read some good definitions/comments from people, but the thing is that I can't find them any more because they are so spread. So I would like it, if you repost (rewrite, re-invent or whatever), what you regard as your best answer to this question, what you think is prog rock for you.
My 5 pence to it was an answer to the post from maani in another thread:
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Easy Livin
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin Joined: February 21 2004 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 15585 |
Posted: July 10 2012 at 14:22 | |||
Just to clarify, the post above by Formentera lady and npjnpj were originally in a separate thread, bu they have been merged into this existing discussion on the same topic. |
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npjnpj
Forum Senior Member Joined: December 05 2007 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 2720 |
Posted: July 10 2012 at 12:52 | |||
This meta-thread is treading a dangerous line. The people who have been here a while have seen this discussion numerous times, but it will always be an interesting topic to (relative) newcomers, and rightly so. And probably this revived topic will see some new thoughts too.
This is a prog site, and the discussion about the definition should be an ongoing one, especially as it hasn't been universally resolved yet. What's the point in pointing any interested members to old links, thereby reducing a forum discussion to an uncommunicative reading excercise? You just turn interested new members away with that attitude. I dislike forums that do that and hope this one doesn't turn into that |
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rogerthat
Prog Reviewer Joined: September 03 2006 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 9869 |
Posted: July 10 2012 at 10:45 | |||
I was addressing prog categories specifically and not categories generally. Even generally speaking, it is an open minded artist who does not think two pieces of a puzzle cannot fit just because they are categorized as different styles. They see possibilities in achieving a blend of both styles but it is not always a conscious exercise and I would have to disagree to that extent. Musicians absorb diverse influences and express those intuitively in the compositional process. Whereas the purpose of categories seems to militate against blending and endorse distinction and discrimination and the delineating of boundaries. Derek Trucks is considered creative for his fresh approach to blues but this is also a function of blues drawing very tight stylistic boxes for itself, which forces many other artists to sound too much like each other. Coming back to prog, my point was that a Miles Davis may have simply set out to explore his insights and expound them in music. It was not as if he set out to make what would be called progressive jazz and such was his command to innovate. It is a post-facto term. Applying your thesis that categories are raw material for musicians to the extant prog categories...I am not quite sure how it would work. I have difficulties with the two most commonly used terms - symphonic prog and eclectic prog. Um, does this mean to say symphonic prog rock bands are not eclectic? That would (a) go against a very basic feature of prog, which is to demonstrate different styles in the same work and (b) not be supported by historical precedents. What is the basis, ultimately, for classifying Yes as symphonic prog rock band and Gentle Giant as eclectic? The only difference is that Yes use that wall-of-sound effect for which they get called symphonic, but they certainly are eclectic themselves. And so are Genesis or ELP for that matter. What again is the difference between heavy prog and prog metal? Metal by definition is heavy music. I do understand exactly what listeners mean when they peruse of these above classifications, but they only highlight simplistic and superficial differences, which I frankly cannot see as being particularly useful for artists. Prog rock by its nature is more an approach than a rigid, frozen style and by consciously choosing such an approach to make his music, the artist has already classified himself. Further subdivision may at the most help listeners seek more of the same of what they already like, which all listeners, including progressive ones, like to do and that's as far as it goes. |
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Formentera Lady
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 20 2010 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 1768 |
Posted: July 10 2012 at 06:41 | |||
The topic, what is prog rock and what it is not, is so often discussed to death, and still there are people, who rise the same question over and over again.
So my idea is to make this meta thread, in which you do NOT post your opinion to this topic directly, but instead you post a link only (from this forum), where you think you had your best definition/comment on this topic, like this: My best comment/definition on this topic is in: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=72827&PN=7 (And, of course, the PA definition of prog rock is here.) Now your turn. |
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HackettFan
Forum Senior Member Joined: June 20 2012 Location: Oklahoma Status: Offline Points: 7946 |
Posted: July 09 2012 at 11:21 | |||
I completely agree, but you've redefined the rock category to be trash metal, so it's different. |
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HackettFan
Forum Senior Member Joined: June 20 2012 Location: Oklahoma Status: Offline Points: 7946 |
Posted: July 08 2012 at 21:20 | |||
I don't think there "true" definitions of anything that includes every member of a category without incorrectly eliminating others. Progressive Rock is a prototype. Symphonic Prog is a prototype. Some bands are central to the prototype others are more marginal. I see no reason to define a category around more marginal members of any such category. |
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HackettFan
Forum Senior Member Joined: June 20 2012 Location: Oklahoma Status: Offline Points: 7946 |
Posted: July 08 2012 at 21:01 | |||
Thanks for the post, but I'm afraid I can't agree. It's very important to the musicians themselves. Frank Zappa has always intentionally juxtaposes different styles. These are not just random notes he felt like playing that by some coincidence might start out like rock and then morph into perhaps a Broadway show tune. Peter Gabriel has worked with World Music and in fact uses the term. Now what is World Music? Steve Hackett spent time in South America learning about their style of acoustic guitar. Geographic region is just another parameter with which to categorize something. I have to stand by my comment that categories are a raw material that musicians/artists work with. Musical categories don't exist prior to us creating them, and they can be re-analyzed in any number of ways, but that just means that we can't look at things in unsophisticated ways. |
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The_Jester
Forum Senior Member Joined: September 29 2010 Status: Offline Points: 741 |
Posted: July 08 2012 at 09:47 | |||
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I'd say that progressive rock is a style of rock with no boundaries and that is thought of (real arrangements, think about the notes you play, real themes, etc.). This definition is large so I guess it is good. I don't care if you don't personally agree as, like Dean said, when you want to make people adhere to your own personal views it becomes a problem but I think that if we want to have a true prog definition it needs to include every progressive artists (wich, as a matter of fact, is another problem because one may find an artist proggy and another not) and sub-genres.
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La victoire est éphémère mais la gloire est éternelle!
- Napoléon Bonaparte |
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dtguitarfan
Forum Senior Member Joined: June 24 2011 Location: Chattanooga, TN Status: Offline Points: 1708 |
Posted: July 08 2012 at 09:27 | |||
Dean, for once: you are my hero. |
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Dean
Special Collaborator Retired Admin and Amateur Layabout Joined: May 13 2007 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 37575 |
Posted: July 08 2012 at 05:29 | |||
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What?
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smartpatrol
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 15 2012 Location: My Bedroom Status: Offline Points: 14169 |
Posted: July 07 2012 at 03:18 | |||
I agree with Iazland that we all have our own definitions of progressive rock/music. My personal definition is anything that makes strides in musical innovation and experimentation
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frippism
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 27 2010 Location: Tel Aviv Status: Offline Points: 4160 |
Posted: July 07 2012 at 02:20 | |||
live damn it liveeeee
like all art. It is everything and nothing. looll woot YOLO rarrhhrhrhrh
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There be dragons
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tamijo
Forum Senior Member Joined: January 06 2009 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 4287 |
Posted: July 07 2012 at 02:08 | |||
Ya, lets keep this one alive to avoid another one
Edited by tamijo - July 07 2012 at 02:09 |
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Prog is whatevey you want it to be. So dont diss other peoples prog, and they wont diss yours
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topographicbroadways
Forum Senior Member Joined: May 20 2010 Location: Australia Status: Offline Points: 5575 |
Posted: July 06 2012 at 22:02 | |||
9 pages on this again?
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