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paganinio 
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 Topic: Could prog rock have been called "indie"?
Posted: January 14 2018 at 01:21 |
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Could prog rock have been called "indie"?
Historically, the term "indie rock" was used to refer to a particular sound (Pixies, grunge and others). The term itself has the literal meaning "rock that is not mainstream" but we don't use this meaning.
Now, obviously progressive rock is a very non-mainstream genre of rock. It may have been mainstream many years ago, but certainly not now. So, do you think the term "indie" could be an accurate word to describe prog rock? Consider Indie films, Indie video games -- they seem to have a "progressive" spirit.
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siLLy puPPy
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Posted: January 14 2018 at 02:25 |
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Actually "indie" was originally intended to be assigned to artists who weren't signed to major labels but the term became corrupted. Nowadays it has more of a connotation of a certain garage band type sound with experimental touches. Anything self-released album could be called indie no what the genre but it doesn't really describe the genre itself with modern "indie rock" the exception.
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Sean Trane
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Posted: January 14 2018 at 02:59 |
Well before prog became art rock , it was first called underground rock And
Charisma, Islands, Virgin and a few other labels (Neon, maybe) were
indeed independant labels way back when... But this was not for Deram
(Decca), Vertigo (Phillips), Harvest (EMI), Dawn (RCA) BTW: indie is a dirty five letter word 
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hellogoodbye
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Posted: January 14 2018 at 03:30 |
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Very often, Pixies sound prog to me.
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Frenetic Zetetic
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Posted: January 14 2018 at 03:31 |
I'll be brutally honest here: progressive rock is the only label that I don't find unnecessary or superfluous. Death metal or extreme metal is another one. Once you start trying to sub-type those things it gets so pretentious and subjective, anyone can call any style anything and rationalize it...because after a certain point it IS all subjective.
With that said, I'd never call it anything other than prog. See all those subtypes at the top of this website? Unless you're a proggie like us, they're useless to 99% of people. I'd never use Indie as a label for anything. Post-rock seems to make more sense but I despise that term because it's so generalized.
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"I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021
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Tom Ozric
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Posted: January 14 2018 at 03:50 |
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What are Devo then ???
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Frenetic Zetetic
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Posted: January 14 2018 at 03:56 |
 Tom Ozric wrote:
What are Devo then ??? |
Music! 
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"I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021
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Tom Ozric
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Posted: January 14 2018 at 04:41 |
Frenetic Zetetic wrote:
Tom Ozric wrote:
What are Devo then ??? |
Music! |
Quirky, unique, unclassifiable music !! One needs to just look beyond the surface.......
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Frenetic Zetetic
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Posted: January 14 2018 at 05:15 |
I'm of course being a smart ass this morning  Coffee is just kicking in!
It's hard not getting lost in labels, though!
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"I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021
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siLLy puPPy
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Posted: January 14 2018 at 07:35 |
Tom Ozric wrote:
What are Devo then ??? |
They are men. They are Devo!
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twosteves
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Posted: January 14 2018 at 07:47 |
I used to think that an album like The Yes Album---seemed indie to me
I think there are lots of indie bands that seem related to prog or arty rock
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Blacksword
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Posted: January 14 2018 at 08:58 |
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Anything on an independent label is indie. Kylie Minogue topped the indie charts in the UK in her early days.
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Cosmiclawnmower
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Posted: January 14 2018 at 11:16 |
Sean Trane wrote:
Well before prog became art rock , it was first called underground rock
And
Charisma, Islands, Virgin and a few other labels (Neon, maybe) were
indeed independant labels way back when... But this was not for Deram
(Decca), Vertigo (Phillips), Harvest (EMI), Dawn (RCA)
BTW: indie is a dirty five letter word |
Ooo so so sorry, i'm going to be really pedantic (and 'the pedants are revolting') please forgive me its my OCD tendencies..
'Neon' was RCA's 'Art rock' imprint and 'Dawn' was the Pye label's version of the same.
'Charisma' was a truly independent label and Tony Stratton-Smith was a total innovator and patron of the fledgling movement; so many great bands and artists just would not have ever been heard without his support. It really is time a decent book on TSS and Charisma was written!
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Neu!mann
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Posted: January 14 2018 at 11:44 |
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Back in the '70s Progressive Rock was the mainstream, though...wasn't it? ELP was one of the biggest acts on the planet; Yes was enjoying huge popular success; Pink Floyd released the biggest-selling album of all time...even cult acts like King Crimson and Genesis were often front page news in the music press.
Pretty amazing if you think about it, with all the challenging music being made at the time. It's a different story today, of course...
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dr wu23
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Posted: January 14 2018 at 15:50 |
Did you mean to say 'undie' rather than indie...?
;)
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin
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Manuel
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Posted: January 14 2018 at 20:02 |
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Maybe it could, maybe not. In reality, labels are just that, labels. If the music is good, it does not matter what is called, I will listen to it.
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M27Barney
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Posted: January 15 2018 at 04:39 |
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In the late seventies - I distinctly remember genesis/Yes being labelled as 'Contemporary Rock' - anybody else remember that?
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Manuel
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Posted: January 15 2018 at 06:00 |
M27Barney wrote:
In the late seventies - I distinctly remember genesis/Yes being labelled as 'Contemporary Rock' - anybody else remember that? |
I do. Even nowadays, the prog heroes of the classic period, and as a matter of fact the whole progressive movement, are considered and clasified as "Classic Rock" by some music pundits.
Edited by Manuel - January 15 2018 at 06:02
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Jeffro
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Posted: January 15 2018 at 06:13 |
Manuel wrote:
Maybe it could, maybe not. In reality, labels are just that, labels. If the music is good, it does not matter what is called, I will listen to it. |
Agreed. However, calling prog "indie" conjures up images (for me) of the music being listened to by hipster doofuses wearing fedoras. 
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Guldbamsen
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Posted: January 15 2018 at 06:28 |
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Shall I remind thee of the great Shakespear who once spoketh about the humble rose?
Prog rock could've been named Bouncy Bouncy and still sound exactly the same...nothing's changed.
Anyway ouside of recommendations and such labels are extremely frustrating. Prog rock was pop at one time if we're going by the pop=popular moniker. If progressive rock was to be taken seriously as a serious moniker, then we would have called a lot of the new wave and post-punk acts the new prog rock bands around 1978. Why? Because they were progressing the rock format ie playing rock that is progressive (here I am obviously not talking about The Clash or The Sex Pistols but Wire, Pere Ubu, The Fall, Talking Heads and so forth). But prog rock had by that point already been redusced to a box with a specific sound and the accompanying antics.
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Could prog rock have been called "indie"?
