Prog Music - the whitest music, ever!

https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/534174/

Edited by cstack3 - August 04 2017 at 14:53

I like prog because I like it, and I don't need any music critic to tell me if it's good or not. That's the bottom line. I'll spend my money in music I'll enjoy, not on a group of artists whose music doesn't mean anything to me. 

Calling it "the whitest music ever" doesn't say anything about the music. Black people were never forbidden to play prog rock. Most of them aren't interested in it because prog is a bit complicated and it doesn't reflect who they are. There aren't that many black people in rock music in general. They identify more with rap and hip-hop, when it comes to music that is critical of the world. I've never met a black person who had parents who listened to prog rock and rarely even rock. But it is pretty common to meet parents who listened to rap, hip-hop, funk, etc.

Junges wrote: Calling it "the whitest music ever" doesn't say anything about the music. Black people were never forbidden to play prog rock. Most of them aren't interested in it because prog is a bit complicated and it doesn't reflect who they are. There aren't that many black people in rock music in general. They identify more with rap and hip-hop, when it comes to music that is critical of the world. I've never met a black person who had parents who listened to prog rock and rarely even rock. But it is pretty common to meet parents who listened to rap, hip-hop, funk, etc. By the way.. where's the article calling rap the "blackest music ever"?

The author is clearly implying that he considers much Progressive Rock played by white musicians to be stiff, lacking in soul or groove, bereft of cojones, too cerebral and constitutes a natural predator to 'funk' and I suspect that you knew that full well.
In most cases I certainly don't share that view but I know many fans of black music who feel similarly to both Parker and Weigel.
We've all been subject to the passive racism of white music journalists for what seems like forever and their dog-eared sermon always boils down to this: You are free to dislike any type of music whatsoever if it just doesn't stir or move you in any shape or form UNLESS that music happens to be soul, funk, reggae, Rap, Hip Hop etc as it must then be routinely inferred that you don't like this music because of a deficiency in your aesthetic lineage a.k.a. you're too white. I'm the first to admit that this is a tricky idea to articulate without running the risk of causing offence, so is that what you mean by a bit complicated?

The sister article you crave for re 'blackest music ever' is unlikely to appear anytime soon. This is because 'white' as a pejorative term enjoys a rarefied status relative to its counterpart: magic, mass, mail, balled, hole, arts, guard, listed, mariah, mark, book, market, sheep, Friday, pot calling the kettle (the list goes on).

if you look at it, it's a little bit of the truth. but if you consider jazz, r&b and funk you will see that so called white folk are minority there. Everybody can do great music, but affection can be different.

Edited by Syrinx09 - August 05 2017 at 03:58

Prog Music - the whitest music, ever!

yeah that's the reason why Pink Floyd is not 'prog' music......... it's the pinkest music, ever! hahaha...lol
haha it's pretty funny how 'prog' has become such a meaningless and useless and vague definition these days...........

He forgot the two main forms of white person type music. Country and Western.

Anyway Puff Daddy and Jimmy Page "doing" Kashmir. Or K. West taking 21st CSM as a sample. Sort of like Run DMC doing Walk This Way.

Black influence in prog is primarily in Jazz fusion. Unless Stanley Clarke and George Duke and FZ's guys are not counting at all...

Obviously the writer was trying to be provocative: trouble is he's 40 years out of date and wrong.

Next.

Hendrix

Obviously the guy has an axe to grind.  His agenda couldn't be more obvious in an age where the majority of people in the world simply ignore the existence of past artistic movements about which they care little.  As opposed to railing against them. Plus, he admits he can't be bothered to listen to a representative sample.

As to the white-or-not, it's maybe less disingenuous than white British lads playing the blues. Not that I have a problem with that, as it's exactly how Jethro Tull first made their name  known.



Edited by CapnBearbossa - August 05 2017 at 11:57

Junges wrote: Calling it "the whitest music ever" doesn't say anything about the music. Black people were never forbidden to play prog rock. Most of them aren't interested in it because prog is a bit complicated and it doesn't reflect who they are. There aren't that many black people in rock music in general. They identify more with rap and hip-hop, when it comes to music that is critical of the world. I've never met a black person who had parents who listened to prog rock and rarely even rock. But it is pretty common to meet parents who listened to rap, hip-hop, funk, etc. By the way.. where's the article calling rap the "blackest music ever"?

Edited by cstack3 - August 05 2017 at 12:16