Unlikely Listeners

I am curious about those who don't fit the stereotype or typical listener of prog music.

For example, I am female, and I am 18 years old, so most people are confused when I tell them about my interests musically.

I am curious about anyone else who doesn't fit the usual listener, not that I personally feel there are specifics, because I think we are a diverse group of people, but most regular people seem to.

Edited by Xiadz - September 14 2016 at 13:41

I would not worry about it, music is art, not everyone will like/understand what you like. For example I have no clue why people like country music  but it is one of the most popular music genres today and still growing... 

Magnum Vaeltaja wrote: Well, that would depend on what you classify the stereotypical prog listener to be. I take it the demographic you're probably thinking of is generally nerdy, introverted 50+ year old white men?

I'm a young white male which itself isn't too remarkable. I am American, and live on the West Coast even, which might be itself vaguely unique. I'm not sure if prog itself ever fully emigrated to the States, or if its fanbase is heavily European, with a dose of Canadian. A suburb near Seattle isn't exactly out of the way though, a prog listener from a small town in Alabama would likely be a lot more remarkable 

Prog does seem to appeal to the quiet and introverted type (I am too) and it does have a diverse audience, but of course you are likely to find more Prog fans in certain demographics than others.

Sorry for rambling, it can come with age, but in my case it was always true:

I can only think of one non-my family person who I brought at least somewhat over to the Prog side (I avoided the P word), and that was a 30-something mother. She liked classic hard rock (but not Rush) and I got her interested in King Crimson. When making recommendations or exposing people to forms of Prog, I do think it important to focus on music that has some suitability to their existing musical interests. For instance, my mum likes classical so I played U Totem and Aranis for her or if someone likes hip-hop, maybe play hip-hop that samples Prog, then play the actual Prog if they like the sampled versions.

As for me, I'm in the pretty stereotypical Prog demographic -- white male over 40 -- but I don't think my tastes in Prog are stereotypical (they are not mainstream in a Prog context). If I were to say to people my age and older that I like Prog, they'd likely assume that I listen to bands such as Yes, Genesis and ELP, or I'd get a blank stare. I used to listen to those, but that's not where my progressive interests lie now.

Progressive rock as we've come to know it is so diverse that there's room for a wide variety of tastes, a wide variety of ages, and diverse ethnicity, nationality and gender (with gender expansiveness it doesn't just cover male and female). Lots of people listen to music we consider Prog at sites such as this that probably wouldn't consider themselves fans of Prog -- often, though, that is older males who listen to classic rock.

Edited by Logan - September 14 2016 at 13:37

I think prog is a music scene that can be enjoyed by anyone. I for one don't believe there's any specific quotas that need to be filled to be a prog enthusiast, nor is there any overt discrimination to any different group. That's one of the wonderful things about prog. 

Oh and I don't see myself as a full-on progger.

DDPascalDD wrote: Does a 16 year old fit the image of a non stereotypical proghead? ;D I wouldn't call myself as an extremely introverted type though, but rather introverted than extroverted. I just listen to prog because I like more complex music (love to analyse) and prefer it to classical because classical just gets a little boring after a while and I adore the progressive nature of prog. Having a different taste than most others/against the mainstream suits the image of an introvert well, however, artists on stage don't seem like introverts at all. And the showing off part resonates more with an extrovert rather than an introverted type.

Quite a few performers are introverts who overcame shyness -- quiet, reserved people normally who go wild on stage. Its like acting, many actors get into it overcome social anxieties, and many are naturally outgoing too. When I taught kindergarten I liked to entertain the kids with all sorts of zaniness, but normally I'm extremely reserved and uncomfortable being around people. I guess I'm a bit of a sad clown figure.

I don't like rock concerts generally because of the showing off and the noisy audience. That is part of my quiet introverted nature -- boisterous yahoo type of people have always made me uncomfortable.   I much prefer going to classical music concerts, because to me the performers are more dignified and the audience is not rowdy. When I'm enjoying music I don't want people cheering, clapping, and screaming around me. I do like to go to smaller venues for jazz though. Like the progressive rock umbrella, the classical music umbrella (more appropriately called art and academic music) is very diverse (and covers various periods) and there is a lot of it that falls under the umbrella category that is very progressive and experimental.

Edited by Logan - September 14 2016 at 14:51

Logan wrote: DDPascalDD wrote: Does a 16 year old fit the image of a non stereotypical proghead? ;D I wouldn't call myself as an extremely introverted type though, but rather introverted than extroverted. I just listen to prog because I like more complex music (love to analyse) and prefer it to classical because classical just gets a little boring after a while and I adore the progressive nature of prog. Having a different taste than most others/against the mainstream suits the image of an introvert well, however, artists on stage don't seem like introverts at all. And the showing off part resonates more with an extrovert rather than an introverted type. Quite a few performers are introverts who overcame shyness -- quiet, reserved people normally who go wild on stage. Its like acting, many actors get into it overcome social anxieties, and many are naturally outgoing too. When I taught kindergarten I liked to entertain the kids with all sorts of zaniness, but normally I'm extremely reserved and uncomfortable being around people. I guess I'm a bit of a sad clown figure. I don't like rock concerts generally because of the showing off and the noisy audience. That is part of my quiet introverted nature -- boisterous yahoo type of people have always made me uncomfortable.   I much prefer going to classical music concerts, because to me the performers are more dignified and the audience is not rowdy. When I'm enjoying music I don't want people cheering, clapping, and screaming around me. I do like to go to smaller venues for jazz though. Like the progressive rock umbrella, the classical music umbrella (more appropriately called art and academic music) is very diverse (and covers various periods) and there is a lot of it that falls under the umbrella category that is very progressive and experimental.

DDPascalDD wrote: Logan wrote: DDPascalDD wrote: Does a 16 year old fit the image of a non stereotypical proghead? ;D I wouldn't call myself as an extremely introverted type though, but rather introverted than extroverted. I just listen to prog because I like more complex music (love to analyse) and prefer it to classical because classical just gets a little boring after a while and I adore the progressive nature of prog. Having a different taste than most others/against the mainstream suits the image of an introvert well, however, artists on stage don't seem like introverts at all. And the showing off part resonates more with an extrovert rather than an introverted type. Quite a few performers are introverts who overcame shyness -- quiet, reserved people normally who go wild on stage. Its like acting, many actors get into it overcome social anxieties, and many are naturally outgoing too. When I taught kindergarten I liked to entertain the kids with all sorts of zaniness, but normally I'm extremely reserved and uncomfortable being around people. I guess I'm a bit of a sad clown figure. I don't like rock concerts generally because of the showing off and the noisy audience. That is part of my quiet introverted nature -- boisterous yahoo type of people have always made me uncomfortable.   I much prefer going to classical music concerts, because to me the performers are more dignified and the audience is not rowdy. When I'm enjoying music I don't want people cheering, clapping, and screaming around me. I do like to go to smaller venues for jazz though. Like the progressive rock umbrella, the classical music umbrella (more appropriately called art and academic music) is very diverse (and covers various periods) and there is a lot of it that falls under the umbrella category that is very progressive and experimental. I didn't mean that showing off is a good thing, hope you don't misunderstand me. But I completely understand your preferences of audience. I'd be very uncomfortable at a disco/dance party and agree that people at certain concerts can be quite "distracting" as well.

Nope didn't misunderstand you at all. I commonly just use other people's thoughts as a springboard for my rambling thoughts and personal reflections. And sometimes when people think I'm disagreeing with them I'm just expanding on things or looking at things from a different perspective. I'm uncomfortable at disco/ dance parties not only because I feel uncomfortable in crowded places, but because I felt uncomfortable asking girls to dance, as well as being asked to dance by girls. It's not really because I'm nervous around girls, but because I'm such a bad dancer that my moves have proved injurious -- punch, punch kick, Staying Alive was an effort with me as a disco dance partner. I have a terrible sense of rhythm and sometimes would try to make up for it, or cover it up, with over-exuberance, at other times I'd be standing there doing next to nothing, either way, it was embarrassing.