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prog4evr View Drop Down
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Points: 1455 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Your own essential attributes of great prog
    Posted: December 13 2008 at 04:10
Originally posted by TGM: Orb TGM: Orb wrote:

1. Emotion... music needs a feeling, an underlying emotional idea, something there. That's beyond essential
2. Expression... the album needs to express that emotion, and if it does so in more ways than one, that can make it great.
3. Dynamic... dynamic matters, changes of pace, of force and volume are what makes music truly hit for me

Preferably, throw in quality lyrics, a spontaneous feel and diversity, but those don't matter too much.


Excellent response.  Ditto, ditto, ditto on all three counts (and the bit about the lyrics, as well...)
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Points: 5851 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 02 2008 at 08:47
Feelig and emotions and for me a song is a masterpiece!
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Points: 4335 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 30 2008 at 01:07
- I want old instrumentals, the crisp pure sound modern sound doesn't impress me, it bores me
- Have an original voice, if your lead singer has what's considered a "radio friendly" voice I'm not interested (check top artists below in my signature)
- don't be metal
 
other than that I'm open to what your throwin at me
 


Time always wins.
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Points: 6 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 29 2008 at 13:05
Originally posted by Epignosis Epignosis wrote:


All right, so Yes is a major exception here


Originally posted by anglagardist anglagardist wrote:


Albums by Yes are the only one exception in  the rule.


This struck me, because obviously we have some sort of trend going on here. Tongue To me, this shows that there in fact no rules at all and we shouldn't even look for them. I don't understand it either, but you can [think you] have your musical taste down to a science, and then something (in this case, YES!) will come along and be an exception to (ruin?) everything. For example, I happen to enjoy several Michael Jackson songs. Quite a few, actually. Now, I could try to rationalize (I like it, so Michael Jackson MUST be prog!) or I could just accept the fact that there is no accounting for taste. Here's to musical anarchy!  Clap
...and if I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know.
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Points: 101 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 28 2008 at 15:49
I think for me, the main thing that interests me in prog is that it is so varied. My favorite progressive bands are all pretty different, and even each band's music seems varied to me. This helps me continue to listen progressive rock. I like to change what I listen to frequently, so for me, the variety is progressive rock's defining characteristic.
Take King Crimson's Islands. It opens with a Mediterranean sounding piece in Formentera Lady, it continues with some heavier songs, and towards the end, there is the Prelude: Song of the Gulls, which is a classical piece.
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Points: 5898 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 28 2008 at 03:46
Originally posted by St.Cleve Chronicle St.Cleve Chronicle wrote:


4. A little bit of humour


Only a little bit of humour? That makes Frank Zappa a sad panda! LOL
"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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Points: 1818 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 27 2008 at 20:13
to me a prog band has to be
 
EXTREMELY TALENTED
LOUD
POMPOUS
 
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Points: 1131 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 25 2008 at 07:16
1. Variation. The musical pieces in a prog album shouldn't all sound the same
2. Unpredictability (not sure if I spelled that right). An occasional recorder interlude or a flexatone solo
    improves the music considerably.
3. Not forgetting to write great, groovy tunes.
4. A little bit of humour

In other words, things that remind me of GENTLE GIANT
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Padraic View Drop Down
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Points: 31169 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 24 2008 at 14:54
There's also a blog on this topic written by my friend song_of_copper:

http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=49509
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Points: 7559 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 24 2008 at 14:43
Originally posted by Epignosis Epignosis wrote:

Originally posted by Certif1ed Certif1ed wrote:

Originally posted by Epignosis Epignosis wrote:

(...)sorry "Moonchild" fans- it's noodling.  I stand by that belief(...)
 
The fact is that it's NOT noodling, and there is evidence that is about as close to empirical as you can get in music in my review.
 
Your belief and reality need re-alignment - but I'm not saying you have to like it Wink


So long as you don't force me to listen to it.
 
Sadly, that is the only way to appreciate its full beauty - and the worse news is that you should also be quite familiar with Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, which makes MoonChild sound like the height of rigid composition and mellifluousness.
 
Surprisingly, Pierrot Lunaire is the epitome of rigid composition... although you'd never think it. Bored me rigid when I first heard it, that's for sure...
The important thing is not to stop questioning.
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Points: 238 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 23 2008 at 17:44
I just listen to lots of songs and find ones that I like, then if they happen to be prog, so be it.
What makes a good song is probably some unquantifiable 'x-factor,' that my lousy mind can't interperate, but I don't think you could sit down and design a formula that would result in great prog, I think its all coincidence and fluke whether something is good or not.
Talentless idiots can make brilliant music, virtuoso geniuses can make terrible music, and it doesn't really seem to be mathematical, I think its just something that can't be explained.
I of course could be wrong, but hey.
Let the maps of war be drawn !

http://kingcrimsonprog.wordpress.com/
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Points: 9226 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 23 2008 at 15:56
Emotion - senseless virtuosity irritates me the most

Unexpected changes (adventurous) - parts of the song/album that escape the norm, introduce different ideas and make you fall off the chair...

Structured - I often find that albums with no structure fail to impress me. Good ideas thrown one after another with no clear 'destination' don't work for me (there are always exceptions: see The Art of Love and the Making)

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Points: 32581 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 23 2008 at 15:11
Originally posted by Certif1ed Certif1ed wrote:

Originally posted by Epignosis Epignosis wrote:

(...)sorry "Moonchild" fans- it's noodling.  I stand by that belief(...)
 
The fact is that it's NOT noodling, and there is evidence that is about as close to empirical as you can get in music in my review.
 
Your belief and reality need re-alignment - but I'm not saying you have to like it Wink


So long as you don't force me to listen to it.
https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays
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Bern View Drop Down
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Points: 11746 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 23 2008 at 14:06
What I enjoy the most :

1) Dynamism : Music must be driven by a force. Changes of pace, ups and down, sudden intensity...

2) Spontaneous feel : I like music when it sounds like it was only half written before the recording process. I also like when someone obviously tried something out during the song and it's been kept on the final recording. Gives out much more expression to the music.

3) Trance inducing music : I like when the music grabs your mind and doesn't want to let it go. May it be extended psychedelic jams, insane repetitive rythmns, musical intensity, cosmic grooves or anything else.

4) Atmosphere : I like when music has the potential to totally change your current state of mind to a specific atmosphere.

5) Chaos : This may be redundant but I like when music just sounds chaotic in parts.

6) Guys having fun : Something that may sound strange but that thoroughly affects me is when music sounds like it was just made by a bunch of guys wanting to have fun on random night out. Overwritten or really dark music kinda turn me off. For some reason, I also like when the sound quality is kinda bad on an album. It reinforces the "guys just having fun" part. Like it was recorded in a living room or something not caring about the final results.

Obviously, I like a lot of bands not fitting these criterias but they're mostly bands that I discovered while exploring prog. Now that I've listened to most sub-genres a lot, I can definitely say those are my favorite musical attributes. I'm focusing on this kind of music now.


Edited by Bern - November 23 2008 at 14:07

RIP in bossa nova heaven.
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Points: 1317 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 23 2008 at 13:24
I also like darkness very much(Magma,Present or King Crimson's Red........for example)but for I'm a 21st Century Schizoid Man I also dig overtly drugged hippie jam sessions(I feel myself like being a hippie)that can be found in marvellous Amon Duul 2 (Yeti),Man..... or positive epics such as Yes classics(Jon Anderson sings so well).Musicianship is also necessary and I don't care about noodling as long as the vibe is good for me.But I also enjoy bands who manage to send you far with repetitive patterns and few notes(Can,Circle or Pharaoh Overlord)
I was born in the land of Mahavishnu,not so far from Kobaia.I'm looking for the world

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Points: 5898 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 23 2008 at 12:02
Being obviously written and performed by people who consider mescaline part of the food pyramid. Cool
"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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Points: 7559 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 23 2008 at 10:23
Originally posted by Epignosis Epignosis wrote:

(...)sorry "Moonchild" fans- it's noodling.  I stand by that belief(...)
 
The fact is that it's NOT noodling, and there is evidence that is about as close to empirical as you can get in music in my review.
 
Your belief and reality need re-alignment - but I'm not saying you have to like it Wink
The important thing is not to stop questioning.
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Jake Kobrin View Drop Down
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Points: 1303 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 22 2008 at 22:36
For me:

Creative and artistic. That's the whole point of prog isn't it?
Variation, a band should be able to be both crushing and beautiful.
Unique, they shouldn't sound like every other band in the world.
Layered, a prog band should be very multilayered and should always have new things to discover in the music.
Progressive, I don't mean as in Prog, I mean that the band should always be changing and progressing from album to album.
Dynamic, their songs shouldn't just follow a formula, they should change and spiral and spread and flow...
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sean View Drop Down
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Points: 1155 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 22 2008 at 21:24
There's really nothing that defines what makes me like or dislike something. If anything, I tend to like to hear honesty in the music, I can't stand music that sounds contrived or sounds like it was made purely to sell records.
I don't care too much about level of complexity, I would rather listen to the Ramones doing what they want than someone making something complex just because they feel it has to be complex.
As for moods, I like all sorts of moods in my music, it just depends on what mood I'm in at the time. When I want something dark, I go for something like VdGG, when I want something more upbeat I'll go with Zappa.
I also like the use of the word "adventurous". I like it when bands aren't afraid to try something new and when they essentially just write what sounds good to them.
I tend to appreciate as well a sense of unpredictability. I like it when a band takes me by surprise, and that applies more to live shows. I love seeing bands improv live. Hence why I consider The Mars Volta to be the best show I've seen. As enjoyable as seeing Porcupine Tree was, it was essentially seeing the record, which I'd already heard before.
 
So I guess what I go for is honest, sincere music  made by people who want to make that music because that is the music which resonates with them.
 
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Points: 2755 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 22 2008 at 20:51
Just about the only thing that I consider to be truly essential is a full and complicated sound.  Mellotrons have a huge part in the history of prog for a reason.
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