Prog Rock: A Noble, But Failed, Experiment

Oh dear, or rather, so what? A right-wing rag lampooning a creative music that expresses progressive ideas. Whom does that surprise? What is there to talk about? Sure, some things went wrong in mid-70s prog, in Rush's words, "So much style without substance, so much stuff without style". The thing had become overblown and pretentious, with white elephants such as ELP's Works; and it is part of the nature of popular culture that once the mainstream goes too far in one direction, opposition movements form. Like how grunge and britpop kicked the butt of hairspray metal in the early 90s (only that hairspray metal was really as corny as it seemed and was alleged to be).

As for the question whether the prog "experiment" failed or succeeded, IMHO it succeeded, even if it seemed like a failure back in '77. It returned in a renewed form, and is alive today - alive not in the sense of retromania digging out old stuff, but in the sense of actually continuing putting out good new stuff. Of course, not the old fogeys who merely repeat themselves, but fresh new bands, often consisting of people who hadn't even been born when classic prog went out of fashion.

cstack3 wrote: WeepingElf wrote: Oh dear, or rather, so what? A right-wing rag lampooning a creative music that expresses progressive ideas. Whom does that surprise? What is there to talk about? Sure, some things went wrong in mid-70s prog, in Rush's words, "So much style without substance, so much stuff without style". The thing had become overblown and pretentious, with white elephants such as ELP's Works; and it is part of the nature of popular culture that once the mainstream goes too far in one direction, opposition movements form. Like how grunge and britpop kicked the butt of hairspray metal in the early 90s (only that hairspray metal was really as corny as it seemed and was alleged to be). As for the question whether the prog "experiment" failed or succeeded, IMHO it succeeded, even if it seemed like a failure back in '77. It returned in a renewed form, and is alive today - alive not in the sense of retromania digging out old stuff, but in the sense of actually continuing putting out good new stuff. Of course, not the old fogeys who merely repeat themselves, but fresh new bands, often consisting of people who hadn't even been born when classic prog went out of fashion. Nice post, thanks!  p.s. I AM NOT A ROBOT!!  I'M A FREE MAN!!

Prog did not (yet) become the "classical music of the future" as which it was sometimes hailed in its heyday. But it definitely fared better than serialism, which was considered the "classical music of the future" in its time to the point that one of its most influential composers, Anton Webern, said in 1945, "fifty years from now, children will sing 12-tone series". Nothing like that ever happened - serialism can indeed be considered a failed experiment, and was superseded by minimalism in the 1960s. Today, we have serialism performed by specialized ensembles to specialized audiences at specialized festivals, while minimalism, modern jazz and prog are quite popular, even if not mainstream. (Well, most people do not really care for sophisticated music at all!) The race for the "classical music of the future" is not run yet, but I feel as if of the three mentioned above, prog appears to be the most healthy, but I am certainly biased.

^This is true. If prog wasn't trashed, the outside world wouldn't talk about it at all.

Mass appeal never attained, except, to a limited degree, notable bands like Yes, Rush and of course Pink Floyd.  I cancelled Sirus XM because the don't play any prog rock or jazz fusion.  I got tired of the commercial crap they constantly spew out of their "so called" classic vinyl.

The hell it is!

MaxnEmmy wrote: Mass appeal never attained, except, to a limited degree, notable bands like Yes, Rush and of course Pink Floyd.  I cancelled Sirus XM because the don't play any prog rock or jazz fusion.  I got tired of the commercial crap they constantly spew out of their "so called" classic vinyl.

It was because of Sirius XM Deep Tracks that I discovered Gypsy's album In The Garden, as they played the full As Far As You Can See, but besides that monument, it's pretty standard radio. No reason to pay a premium for it.

Hardly.  Still going on strong.