Are proghead nerds?

Sean Trane wrote: I never considered myself a nerd or a geek in whatever I forayed in (music or others), even when I spent many hours in the early times for this site.

It's just a word, and I think there's been too much criticism of being "nerd", as the way I see it, there're both some pluses and minuses in it.

richardh wrote: Anyone that starts a sentence ''dude'' is probably a nerd. I kinda consider myself a nerd. I'm single and intend on remaining that way. I don't like socialising. I enjoyed being a chess player as I didn't have to speak to people and I like prog because it's something I can obsess over endlessly. I wear my prog nerd badge with total pride although I think I'm a lightweight as I'm too lazy to check out everything and tend to stick what I think is 'prog' (Yes being the centre of that universe).

I am single and intend on remaining that way. My family members are obsessed with pickelball, and to be nice, I play it a bit with them. My fixation is with prog and older classical music recordings, which my friends and family don't really get, but I guess that is ok.....Bruckner and Mahler and Triumvirat are my musical "triade", even though most don't "get it"...

Atavachron wrote: "Progheads" are almost entirely nerds.   But in its day, liking Tull and Yes and Floyd and ELP was entirely acceptable and even cool. Which is to say proggies are nerds now, but not so much then.

Same goes for jazz. Used to be cool, now it's seen as a bunch of snobby intellectuals or music nerds.

Edited by Gnik Nosmirc - May 27 2025 at 16:29

Gnik Nosmirc wrote: Atavachron wrote: "Progheads" are almost entirely nerds.   But in its day, liking Tull and Yes and Floyd and ELP was entirely acceptable and even cool. Which is to say proggies are nerds now, but not so much then. Same goes for jazz. Used to be cool, now it's seen as a bunch of snobby intellectuals or music nerds.

I call the process "dynastic metabolism"... something innovative and exciting comes along... it could be a type of music, literature or even government, Eventually a certain professionalism sets in and starts to drain the life out of things because its about control and gatekeeping. A thousand midlevel managers serving a few major gatekeepers as consolidation happens.   Then there's epistimology etc etc.   Honestly when talking music most effective musicians dont draw lots of lines. Thats the sort of things priests do... interceeding between the gods and the people. Meh. We have the technology to do and end run around that now. So let's...

Sean Trane wrote: Gnik Nosmirc wrote: Same goes for jazz. Used to be cool, now it's seen as a bunch of snobby intellectuals or music nerds. Mmmhhh!!! about jazz, since Kamasi and Shabaka, jazz crowds are absolutely not nerd-crowds anymore.   15 years ago, I was one of the tougest in the crowd, nowadays, I'm one of the oldest (notwithstanding the 15 years ellapsed since).

I agree. Jazz isn't considered uncool. I do however think people can get a little intimidated by a Jazz-connoisseur, in similar ways as they might get around someone with expert knowledge about classical music. In a respectful way. While a progger isn't intimidating at all, just an awkward nerd who listen to nerd-music.

David_D wrote: Sean Trane wrote: David: if the only bands you were into back in the 70's were "prog", than you were probably a weirdo for the cute and sexually-active chicks, and a case to be avoided for body-fluid exchanges with them. I've always been into much more than just Progressive Rock (strictly defined), and that certainly includes the '70s too - which btw has probably been the main reason for my previous fondness of a very broad definition of Prog. When talking about my female acquaintances in the '70s, I had my fair share. Edit: If you by "prog" meant what I now call "progressive music", that doesn't make much difference.

This. Expand your knowledge. Also, that is a very sad comment. Maybe it was only a joke. But your musical tastes should not prevent you from speaking to other people. Or perhaps the 70's were very tough times, I don't know.

Edited by Gnik Nosmirc - 10 hours 26 minutes ago at 14:33

I agree with Greg that this is more of a spectrum thing. I'm an introvert and hate crowds. Always had a small number of friends, but could socialize if needed. I can pull off giving a presentation to 100-200 people. But this "extrovert" activity just drains me. I usually needed one day a week by myself to "re-center myself" and recover from a week of dealing with people (at work, while shopping, wherever...).

I guess the stereotypes fit me: prog rock, science fiction, have degrees in astronomy and computer science, all my friends are and were "nerdy" or quirky in their own ways. But on the flip side, I was good at baseball in my teen years, used to run five miles twice a week (now I walk about four miles a day on average), and used to be able to bench press my own weight (not sure if I can still do this or not since I don't have that kind of equipment in my home). But even my athletic side has a "nerdy" feel to it. I still collect baseball cards and have a keen interest in baseball statistics. When I was younger I combined the nerdy and athletic sides of me by listening to prog rock on an exercise bike for 3-4 hours, often on the day I lived inside my little bubble away from the rest of the world.

We are what we are and giving ourselves a label is about as useless as trying to pigeonhole a prog band into a subgenre.

The only people Nerdier are Birdwatchers and KC completists. Oh, and Bikers... Gay Bikers... On Acid.

Saperlipopette! wrote: Sean Trane wrote: Gnik Nosmirc wrote: Same goes for jazz. Used to be cool, now it's seen as a bunch of snobby intellectuals or music nerds. Mmmhhh!!! about jazz, since Kamasi and Shabaka, jazz crowds are absolutely not nerd-crowds anymore.   15 years ago, I was one of the tougest in the crowd, nowadays, I'm one of the oldest (notwithstanding the 15 years ellapsed since). I agree. Jazz isn't considered uncool. I do however think people can get a little intimidated by a Jazz-connoisseur, in similar ways as they might get around someone with expert knowledge about classical music. In a respectful way. While a progger isn't intimidating at all, just an awkward nerd who listen to nerd-music.

You're completely wrong. I'm speaking as someone who has been a jazz enthusiast since I was 12. In the 21st century—during my childhood and teenage years—jazz was never considered cool, unless you wanted to hang out with people over 40. Back in high school, it was actually much cooler to talk about bands like Pink Floyd, Yes, or Jimi Hendrix. Mentioning Miles Davis or John Coltrane, on the other hand, would get you labeled as someone who listened to music for old people.

Also, is this really what you think of progheads, or are you just joking? You guys should stand up for yourselves and drop this whole “proud dork” mentality. Don’t let yourselves be boxed in. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but it honestly frustrates me when people with eclectic tastes are reduced to a stereotype.

Edited by Gnik Nosmirc - 3 hours 12 minutes ago at 21:47