Hearing prog in the same year that it's released

Do you generally acquire and listen to a, say, 2008 prog rock album, in the year 2008?

I really fail to do this. I'm always discovering great prog albums about 8 or 9 years after their release.

Buying albums in the year that it's released, Pros:
If the band tour in your city, you'll know the songs and you'll have lots of fun being there seeing them live.
Ablility to make end-of-year lists.
The artists will be rewarded sooner rather than later.

Cons:

  Without the PA charts, hundreds of ratings and dozens of reviews during the first year, you don't really know whether it's good, great, masterpiece, or just good.
New albums are more expensive.
People like me wait for the "Tour Edition", "Anniversary Edition", "CD+DVD Edition". We don't buy new albums. What's the Rush?
Have been a fan of Band A for 10 years and haven't bought any album! Waiting for that Box Set that includes everything. Gonna buy that either way, so why bother buying individual albums?
I need the Internet to tell me just which songs from this album are the must-hears. And then I buy the songs on iTunes, skipping the full album.


My verdict:
No prog band ever plays in my city. I don't make end-of-year lists. I'd like to buy albums as soon as they're out, to support the bands, but my priority is to make sure everything in my collection is top quality. As a result, I almost never buy prog albums in the same year they're released. I usually wait for 5+ years.

And yeah, the most amazing thing about this, is that they don't sound dated or old after all this time. I finally heard The Incident for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and it ROCKS. It's so, so ,so worth the wait.

I rarely keep up with new releases.  I'm generally more interested in discovering obscurities from the past, prog or otherwise.  I think that since I've been a regular here, I've gotten more "hip" to the here and now, but my dominant focus is still on the past.  I think albums need some time to age.  I'm usually not the first guy to grab a new release and review it right away.  I've tried reviewing like that in the past, and those reviews have been mostly unsatisfying and not very good.

there is only a handfull of modern prog bands i actually like, so i rarely buy albums when they first release. 

I remember when Neurosis put out Through Silver in Blood. Every metal head I knew was going apefeces over it - including yours truly. 

Originally posted by HolyMoly   I'm usually not the first guy to grab a new release and review it right away.

How ironic then, that today I did just that.

Originally posted by Guldbamsen Originally posted by HolyMoly Originally posted by HolyMoly   I'm usually not the first guy to grab a new release and review it right away.  How ironic then, that today I did just that. AAAARARARRRRRRGGHHHHH I WANT THIS ALBUM NOW!!!!!!!!!  Fantastic review my friend - you almost had me dancing there  10 euros for an immediate download and a black vinyl sent to your home! It's so cheap, but I still can't buy it ''

What, what, what is this? What did you review?

Anyway, nowadays I buy what I like a short while after it comes out, thanks to Spotify, and to a minor degree to the tube. In the 60s and 70s I didn't have the money to keep up. We tended to buy one album each and then tape record from each other.
Thanks to PA I've discovered so much old and new music it's becoming rather expensive.

Probably about 50:50 as I have a big appetite for new prog although I'm still discovering music now that I ignored or didn't know about from years gone by. 

If it's a band I really like, I'll pre-order it usually.  I'd say I generally listen to other new releases that look good by the next year.

Without the PA charts, hundreds of ratings and dozens of reviews during the first year, you don't really know whether it's good, great, masterpiece, or just good.

Edited by mister nobody - June 20 2013 at 18:10

Unimportant, mostly (except for very fav bands). Often went to gigs without being familiar with the band/artist latest release, always found it interesting to hear music for the first time in concert.