Cheesy Prog is....??

Smurph wrote:   I love Big Elf haha

cstack3 wrote: Smurph wrote:   I love Big Elf haha Sorry, not to offend!  Cheesy prog does have its adherents....I've seen Big Elf twice now, and give them credit for hard work, but....the top-hat, two Mellotrons etc. are a bit much for my own tastes.  Then, there is cheese in prog instrumentation, such as this "unique" bass thing played by Chris Squire.  When he dragged this onstage during the concert for GFTO, my buddies and I just started to laugh!  It was a real "Spinal Tap" scene!

cstack3 wrote: bass made out of cheddar

cstack3 wrote: Ambient Hurricanes wrote: cstack3 wrote: Smurph wrote:   I love Big Elf haha Sorry, not to offend!  Cheesy prog does have its adherents....I've seen Big Elf twice now, and give them credit for hard work, but....the top-hat, two Mellotrons etc. are a bit much for my own tastes.  Then, there is cheese in prog instrumentation, such as this "unique" bass thing played by Chris Squire.  When he dragged this onstage during the concert for GFTO, my buddies and I just started to laugh!  It was a real "Spinal Tap" scene!    Maybe he acutally needs it to reproduce their studio sound on stage. There's quite a bit about it in this forum:   http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f28/chris-squires-3-neck-bass-guitar-645112/ Someone said he used it only on "Awaken," I don't remember him having it onstage for very long.   The man can play a bass made out of cheddar for all I care, he IS amazing!  However, seeing him haul that thing out was one of those "What the f*** is THAT??" moments in prog history!!

 

Edited by Gerinski - July 14 2012 at 06:54

Slartibartfast wrote: On a related question if prog were a cheese, what cheese would it be?

 

Cheesy prog= The top 10 PA albums? 

Argonaught wrote: Perhaps the word 'cheesy' is used a tad too broadly in this discussion. I always thought that cheesy was near-synonymous with the word 'kitsch' that was popular earlier, maybe 20-30 years ago. Both mean, or so I thought, 'An unrefined, or purposefully dumbed-down imitation that lacks originality and is designed to appeal to less discerning tastes'.  Risking to provoke a firestorm:  Asia?

^ Firestorms are cheesy perhaps...?

Argonaught wrote: Perhaps the word 'cheesy' is used a tad too broadly in this discussion. I always thought that cheesy was near-synonymous with the word 'kitsch' that was popular earlier, maybe 20-30 years ago. Both mean, or so I thought, 'An unrefined, or purposefully dumbed-down imitation that lacks originality and is designed to appeal to less discerning tastes'.  Risking to provoke a firestorm:  Asia?

Thank you for this!  Asia is an interesting case study....I was THRILLED when I first heard about the band, as I am a fan of Wetton and Howe especially, appreciative of Palmer and unfamiliar with Downes.  Their first LP had some strong material, and the first tour included a bit of "ELP Cheese" (Palmer's revolving drum kit, which he rides whilst banging a large bell over his head with a ribbon held in his teeth!).  

I don't consider Asia to be as "cheesy" as they could be, as the artistic integrity was there...they truly did aspire to create a unique, genuine prog sound, and did this very successfully.  I was able to tolerate the cheese & would label them as a "very mild prog cheese," perhaps Munster....

However, I'm unfamiliar with later Asia material, so perhaps the cheese got stronger with age?  

My own definition of "cheesy prog" would include corny stage gimmicks, outlandish stage costumers ("The Lamb" being pardoned of the cheese label of course!), and just "trying too hard to be prog." 

One industry magazine a few years back compared the latest prog to sounding like "music that you would hear when entering the grounds of a Renaissance festival" and I really had to agree with that, at least as far as some of the bands I've heard recently.  

You know prog cheese when you smell it!   The latest incarnations of Yes are starting to have a rather cheesy aroma to them....

Edited by cstack3 - July 14 2012 at 16:57

I thought I knew what cheesy was until I read this thread. I didn't think prog could be cheesy, actually.
To me, that word is best represented by an autrocity named Demis Roussos, who contaminated the sound waves in the early seventies. I hope that most of you here haven't heard of him.   I'm not going to provide a link to YT since I don't approve of torture in any form or shape.