What is it ?

My experience on metal-archives was quite similar...a loyal following, with more and more new members being added too.   In metal, it is the sense of a metal culture and lifestyle which even, for its diehard followers, transcends music that brings people together. In prog, it's probably the fact that it is hard to find others whom you can talk to about some of your favourite music.  One of the striking features for me on this forum is it is so easy to agree to disagree. I have seen, and participated in, long discussions with the participants not in agreement but still seeing fit to discuss. On most internet forums that I have been on, disagreements threaten to balloon and swing out of control but progheads are like economists in that regard.

ExittheLemming wrote:   the very eclectic nature of the beast we call Prog requires a more diverse exposure to the historical and contemporary elements it assimilates to be appreciated to the full. (Gawd that sound vainglorious) Anyways, this perhaps engenders an enthusiast with a broader knowledge base of different musics, hence the relatively relaxed and friendly nature of the forums?

Yes, without meaning to bring up the old chestnut of pomposity, the difference with prog is it is a very conscious choice for the listener.  So, there seems to be a lot less of prog fanboism - though Toaster Mantis might not agree if he read this? - compared to what I have seen in other genres.  People are more aware of whatever its limitations may be and, yes, because prog by nature is so eclectic with few enjoying ALL its sub genres, disagreement is more easily accommodated here than in many forums I have been on.  Nobody really wears their identity as progheads as a badge of honour; they know it's just the music that matters at the end of the day.

Did you ever experience the sensation of having discovered something incredibly good, able to change your life and your mind, trying to share this experience with somebody else to hear things like "it's already three minutes that it started when does it finish?" Put on Camel and see them replaced by The Wham? 

Maybe some of those albums released in the prime of this weird and wonderful genre - are just now finally unraveling themselves to people. Remember those threads about growers? 

I like progressive music. I don't have any friends close to my actual physical body, so I use this site as a way to talk to people who I have something in common with, whether the topic be the music we like, our status in school, news with families, or whatever.

colorofmoney91 wrote: I like progressive music. I don't have any friends close to my actual physical body, so I use this site as a way to talk to people who I have something in common with, whether the topic be the music we like, our status in school, news with families, or whatever.

Pretty much this right here.

Music has long  been my obsession ;  it is one of the ways I inividualized myself from my family and the less-than-glorious friends of younger days.  This site is a way for me to remain engaged in Prog, which is the core of my listening pleasure.  My tastes in music are eclectic, and much of it is brought together on this site: what we call symphonic prog here, folk, jazz fusion, what we call heavy prog here.  This site also allows me to explore and better appreciate some of my old favorites as well as introduce me to new artists.  By new, I do not mean those that have recently formed, but those new to my experience.  For example, Gryphon folded decades ago, but I just discovered them via the archives a few years prior.

I'm only here for the Shred Room

Here in the west coast of Ireland it seems like no one knows what Prog is so I feel very isolated. This place makes me feel less alone. It's nice to know I'm not the only person in the world listening to Art Zoyd and Henry Cow! 

Edited by Adams Bolero - October 16 2011 at 14:03

thehallway wrote: I might get attacked for this, but I think there is a bit of a correlation between people who enjoy discussing, analysing, over-analysing, tearing apart, making polls about, disagreeing about, arguing over, attaching hugely inflated importance to, citing philosophical, political, or social genius within, boycotting, corruptly rating and reviewing by creating multiple accounts, and least of all, listening to their music....... and people who happen to like prog.

Did you mean that everyone that like prog doesn't listen to their music?... Or that showing your love for prog music is a sign of sickness?...