Is 70's prog a nostalgia thing?

One thing I dispise is when people throw around the word "dated", it's a stupid word.

Edited by boo boo - April 24 2010 at 05:52

I think the problem is more with the melodic variety of prog...or R&B for that matter, most rock/pop genres, as far as I can tell (except, the alt rock side can be both melodically great and adventurous).   Even considering that Magma looms large in the 70s, I would say I am not really dissatisfied at all with what new or 80s avant prog I have heard (precious little, admittedly), indeed I love it.  The problem is when you stack up Genesis or Yes to bands like Flower Kings.  Or Radiohead to Flower Kings, but that's again more my preference.   I find the melodic side of modern prog really dull, made worse that the songs have to be padded and dragged till they reach a suitably epic length.  Particularly, in the case of Genesis, they weren't just melodic and accessible (they seem to get frequently dubbed as such these days!), their structures were often very interesting and Hackett did a lot of interesting and ahead-of-its-time stuff on guitar...like the tapping on Hogweed. Interesting not because it's seven years before Eruption but because of the musical context he chose.  Today's melodic prog bands are often very technically adept but this doesn't seem to translate into adventurous music. 

So...no, I don't think liking 70s music is a nostalgia thing at all...I would go so far as to suggest that if you are actually persuaded that people rating Genesis or Yes highly is purely a nostalgia thing, then maybe you badly want to like new bands more than old bands. I don't distinguish between them at all in that respect, beyond the context of the period...I mean, there's more alternative rock around these days, in the 70s it used to be blues based, so on and so forth.  I would readily place OK Computer in a list of my favourite rock (including prog) albums but can't think of a single modern melodic prog album that I like anywhere near that much.

rogerthat wrote: So...no, I don't think liking 70s music is a nostalgia thing at all...I would go so far as to suggest that if you are actually persuaded that people rating Genesis or Yes highly is purely a nostalgia thing, then maybe you badly want to like new bands more than old bands.

I didn't say that i like more the new bands than the old bands. I just like both erea and that, its just difficult for me to say that some of the 70's bands are better than some of the best bands of today. It's another time, another experience with my own history and the new music context where we are today, with more music, more styles. It is more difficult for new bands to stand out today compare to the 70's. The 70's experience was for me different, more exciting. I am not sure that the cause was totally link to the superior quality of all those 70's bands, but also to the social and cultural context of that time mixed with my discovery of a new kind of music; the progressive rock.

I'm 45 now, and I am still trying to avoid falling into the easy trap of assuming that all was right in the "old days" and all is crap now. It was never true and I refuse to become a grumpy old man denigrating all that is new.

I started listening to Yes in 1977 - that's what turned me onto prog in the first place. Genesis soon followed, with Floyd, Crimson, VDGG, and the rest of those incredible bands of that era. I still listen to my 70's collection now. I bow to no one in my love of that era.

But, equally, what this site, more than anything else, should teach us is that there is still a wealth of great talent and music out there. In fact, I would argue that modern prog bands have it a little harder these days, what with the predominence of processed music and reality TV & etc.

I really do think that we live in exciting times, what with the opportunities that new technology brings us, and the fact that we still have some great new bands creating exciting and challenging music.

So, yes the love for the 70's can easily be a nostalgic thing. We just need to avoid falling into the trap of believing that it was the be all and end all.

Personally, I believe that, if anything, music is just as good now as it ever was in the 70s---if not more. There are tons of innovative, imaginative, and enjoyable artists that have been releasing modern music, especially in the realms of electronic music.

I'm not sure how much nostalgia has in people's evaluations of music though. I would say, similarly to Dean on the previous page, that there is good and bad music pretty much throughout every decade.

To further the discussion, as I type this, I am now listening to The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, that one with the psychedelic cover, the one with Fire.  Been listening to this one for hmm 40 years.  I have no fond reminiscenses to relate w/r/t this album.  It just is.  Crane's organ.  Why is it so cold out here?  That's what he sez.  There's your difference.

Henry Plainview wrote: kingfriso wrote: Nostalgia is having warmth feelings of a gone time you witnessed. I did not witness a thing of the seventies prog movement (I'm 21) and therefore my focus on '70 prog can't be nostalgia. Having that said, I do think the historical element of the seventies prog gives it some extra magical vibe. It makes it sound more special then the new Porcupine Tree record, who I saw playing a little while ago. You can be nostalgic for a time that you didn't exist. Maybe there's a better word for it than nostalgia, but some people are definitely caught up in the mythos of the '60s and '70s, and that has to color their perceptions about music. I'd basically agree with dean. I think the depth of change in the music industry is overrated as well. Ivan was talking about Charisma taking a chance, but there are more than enough independent labels these days to fill the void left by them, so it's not a fair comparison. Any difference is in how the majors are run, and I'll concede that there are no Ornette Colemans on Atlantic anymore. But there's k-os and Porcupine Tree, which may be close enough. And if it's not, there are so many other outlets for your music these days!

there is still a lot of excellent music out there; I agree to that. but not necessarily in prog. most of the newer albums just bore me, including Porcupine Tree. a band which is excellent but never gets mentioned by anyone are The Red Masque. now that is fresh prog, in my opinion

Tsevir Leirbag wrote: ProgressiveAttic wrote: gottagetintogetout wrote: WalterDigsTunes wrote: The Quiet One wrote: King By-Tor wrote: I'm 22 and I say that music from the 70s is, in large, better than what we get today. So no.   This. (and I'm 16) That (and I'm 21). This (and I'm 14) I am 18 and I agree with the previous post! + you can't compare Genesis to the bunch of Genesis imitators that is the Neo-Prog genre.... On the other hand if Genesis (or Yes, Gentle Giant, etc.) didn't exist I would be a huge Marillion (or Starcastle, Yezda Urfa, etc.) fan...but just because there is nothing better   NOT THIS! By the way I'm fifteen. There were excellent bands, but there still are! Some are even better than those who were in the seventies. As Greg said, just take (for exemple) avant-progressive or musique actuelle.

I was 14 when first heard Meddle and Pawn Hearts, 15 for Close To The Edge and Moving Waves, 16 when Dark Side of the Moon, Selling England By The Pound and Birds Of Fire were released. I listened to Wish You Were Here, Rubicon and The Snow Goose when they came out in 1975. When I was 21 it was Incantations and Touch Me (The Enid) and Please Don't Touch (Steve Hackett). I was 22 when I saw The Wall and bought Robert Fripp's Exposure.

As one who survived the era, there will always be some sense of nostalgia for me when I hear one of my old favorites.  At the same time, I do not wish to relive those years and do not try to do so vicarously through music.  Over the last few years, and largely to do with Prog Archives, I have been rediscovering the 70s by being guided to bands from the time I new little to nothing about.  Some of my new old favorites include Gryphon, Khan, Grobschnitt, none of whom I knew about at the time, and Eloy, Jade Warrior, Osibisa, whom I did.  Ultimately, though, the simple answer is, "No."  I listen to music from that time because I enjoy it, and there is still plenty there for me to explore, along with newer works.

not for me.  I'm 28 and was raised on what my dad listened to, so alot of the newer bands I listen to today are very similar to all of that classic stuff.