Yeah I kinda figured you were.

Animals don't listen to music because they aren't smart enough to know it means something. I know there's snobbery in the Prog community, but I also know that the definition of snob is partly defined by the people who refuse the totally painless challenge of trying something they maybe won't immediately understand. Think of the gift that art represents - to walk blindly into the unknown, and you'll never be hurt. And most people flatly say no to that, choosing to remain more like their pets.

That's exactly my point. I know of a lot of pop fans today who are willing to listen to something strange or out of the ordinary. They love having to spend time with fx Ariel Pink's newest album Pom Pom, because it's so layered and experimental.....and it's a pop album. Hell there's even some avantguarde tendencies thrown in as well as psych and electronics. And there are literally thousands of albums and different artists out there, all making pop music, doing the same thing: experimenting with the music and the format - just like you find in prog.
The fans are not that different from prog fans to tell you the truth - or let me rephrase that: not that different from how prog fans USED to be. That is people who are searching high and low for the next thing that pushes the envelope and questions the way they think about music.
They don't listen to the top 40 either.....and yes they are pop fans.

SteveG wrote: ^I honestly don't know what it takes to put someone "over the edge" in order to listen to something outside of their conceived comfort level. For me, it was always a case of my heroes listening to strange tuff such as East African guitar styling's which put the bug in me many years ago. But I always feel that I'm an extreme case.   In many ways, this has helped my professional career, but it's very frustrating for me to mix with people who only listen to AOR, Pop, Hip Hop or any other genre exclusively, while bashing every other music genre known to man.

I feel the same way Steve, which was why I commented in the first place. I hate when people dismiss an entire style of music based on a limited sample of what it has to offer. I am also far more comfortable with people who have eclectic tastes. Like you I am quite extreme in that aspect as well - as I dig most genres out there as long as it's got some heart and fire - including pop, prog, jazz, punk, metal, electronic, hip hop, funk, soul and the list goes on.
This is also why I tend to snarl a little when folks so easily brush of styles of music they think sound exactly like the one found on the radio and those awful tv shows. Yet in reality they all sport different scenes and different approaches to the music flirting around with some of the same boxes we tick in prog: fusion, avant, electronic, psych and indeed progressive. All of these attributes can be found in both pop and hip hop fx. Hell Faust and Material (yes the mighty jazz legend Bill Laswell's band!) have both made hip hop albums.


Edited by Guldbamsen - April 06 2015 at 16:49

I listen to mainstream radio...when something good is playing. I grew up listening to it, like most people. I don't listen to modern radio music much because too much of it boils down to feeling like a commercial for itself. Just a big, high-gloss exaggeration. It's shallow, the lyrical themes and melodies are tired, and my biggest beef: it's more like a computerized model than music; no personality, no friction, anticipation or mistakes. No heroes in the band. in short, it's an eyes forward bore.

Steve has it right. By saying there is some good mainstream stuff, I'm not really saying that pop radio stations are consistent or even good. But, every once and a while, an artist in the mainstream does something audacious, musically and/or lyrically. Not to say that audacious means good, but often they assemble an all-star team to help get it done.

Edited by Polymorphia - April 06 2015 at 19:34

Why prog is boring to people of a certain ilk is because it doesn't remind them of Steve Perry-era Journey or Starship.

^Maybe their first two albums are "prog related." The rest is Perry and his duplicate-voiced replacement (bottom-of-the-barrel related).

^There is a lot of prog that I find boring, but there is also a lot of prog I find exciting. That's why music is music, and you like what you like. The main reason genres should exist are so you can get a general idea of what you will enjoy. Most of the music I enjoy is metal, but I'm pretty open. There is also a lot of prog, electronic, classic rock, hard rock, punk, classical, and folk that I enjoy so it really all boils down to tastes.

Edited by Pastmaster - April 09 2015 at 00:12

Pastmaster wrote: ^There is a lot of prog that I find boring, but there is also a lot of prog I find exciting. That's why music is music, and you like what you like. The main reason genres should exist are so you can get a general idea of what you will enjoy. Most of the music I enjoy is metal, but I'm pretty open. There is also a lot of prog, electronic, classic rock, hard rock, punk, classical, and folk that I enjoy so it really all boils down to tastes.