Most Pretentious Moments In Prog

Ivan_Melgar_M wrote: This is pretentious, silly and unnecessary.

I totally agree. I mean, does he really need to chew that chewing gum while performing?

rod65 wrote: Show me a spectacle, or any work of art that does not utterly conform to mainstream expectations, that can't be labeled pretentious from a certain point of view, paticularly as time passes and tastes change. I think that if an artist does not have the courage to risk being called pretentious he/she is not much of an artist. Also, especially where live performances are concerned, we need to remember that big stadium rock, prog or otherwise (ex. the flying piano), is largely about spectacle--the shared experience of spectacle. Of course it's pretentious. It's supposed to be. That's part of the fun.

Show me a spectacle, or any work of art that does not utterly conform to mainstream expectations, that can't be labeled pretentious from a certain point of view, paticularly as time passes and tastes change. I think that if an artist does not have the courage to risk being called pretentious he/she is not much of an artist. Also, especially where live performances are concerned, we need to remember that big stadium rock, prog or otherwise (ex. the flying piano), is largely about spectacle--the shared experience of spectacle. Of course it's pretentious. It's supposed to be. That's part of the fun.

Tarquin Underspoon wrote: The real answer here is Thick as a Brick.   I find it completely hilarious that, after 40-odd years, we are STILL being had by Ian Anderson's overtly pretentious send-up of a genre. It's in our top 10, for crying out loud. Then again, it really is awfully good...   ....And this, my friends, is what we call "irony".

Edited by Ronnie Pilgrim - June 06 2010 at 18:07

How about Pink Floyd touring in 1977 with those huge inflatable animals and only playing outdoor stadiums?

Edited by Ronnie Pilgrim - June 06 2010 at 17:28

lazland wrote: KingCrimson250 wrote: I do have to agree with TFTO. I enjoy the album but it definitely seems to be the point when prog became too much for the mainstream to handle. Interestingly enough, I've never really seen the charge of "pretentious" levelled at King Crimson. Is that because the critics were more accepting of them, or just because Yes and ELP were easier targets? Simple answer to that question - it's because Fripp had a hissyfit after Red in 1974, and did no more KC until the early 80's. All of the snot nosed, gobby punks had thrown their vitriol at the prevalent bands in 76 or 77 like Floyd, Yes, et al.

Certainly some truth in that although if ELP had not made Works Volume One and stopped at Brain Salad Surgery then I reckon they still would have been a target. I expect Red was an album that found favour with some punks because of the grungy feel while ELP's heavy use of electronics and more meandering style probably didn't!

There's nothing from '70's prog that I would categorize as pretentious.   All of the critics that pooped out that word with regard to prog are another matter.

ProgressiveAttic wrote: DT-PT wrote: rogerthat wrote: I really really dislike the part where a voice introduces all the instruments in Mike Olfield's Tubular Bells. Big deal!   Felt it was very condescending and self-important. I like that part. Me too!

It was meant to be funny in a kind of schoolboy way - that's why Stanshall was asked to do it (after, apparently, Cleese refused).

DT-PT wrote: rogerthat wrote: I really really dislike the part where a voice introduces all the instruments in Mike Olfield's Tubular Bells. Big deal!   Felt it was very condescending and self-important. I like that part.

Me too!

lazland wrote: None - If people just looked at ridiculous "celebrities" such as the Big Brother mob, Cheryl Cole, bloody Jordan, "Madge" Madonna running around in catsuits when she's old enough to be most of the audiences mother, they would realise that is true pretension.

I kind of agree with this too but in a different way.  I find stuff like Nightwish or Metallica's S&M (not to mention Scorpions's own symphony  + rock effort) more pretentious because it, at least to me, feels like an attempt to pass off the music as something more sophisticated than it really is.  I don't know why people would call the old prog bands' attempts to bring jazz and classical influences to rock pretentious because, if anything, they were trying to give a different and possibly more resonant context for such music so that rock fans could relate to it.  It seems like adventure is equated to pretension when it comes to prog.