A Curious Phenomenon

I have not noticed many prog nazis here, but maybe that's because I wasn't browsing the forum in 2006...but I haven't noticed many prog nazis anywhere on the net...especially compared to say metal nazis.  I think this has been addressed before in discussions...that prog is just a music form and one whose definition is amorphous and boundaries practically non existent, while something like metal is a cult which people identify with and therefore may get more possessive about, natural tendency.  Likewise, I have not seen much exhorting to listen to other genres of music here..maybe you peeps should seriously spend time in metal forums to get a different perspective.  I have, yes, seen a bit of this "X artist is better than prog" business which seems like a natural reaction to the sometimes dismissive reaction to bands/artists who may have made good music but are not prog.  I remember the guffaws when ABBA was suggested by someone...yes, they should not be suggested for a prog database, no question, but...have you, like, REALLY heard Intermezzo No.1? One is not more justifiable than the other...besides, it's the internet, it's par for the course, this forum is by and large disciplined and civil, so I don't see the problem. I have noticed that most people tend to pay attention only to topics on prog music/artists which is natural and fair enough because it IS a prog forum...though it looks a bit weird when say the Stevie Wonder thread that Pessimist started struggles to get many posts...really, only so few people here are interested in the work of a very celebrated artist? I am not finding fault, please, just expressing surprise, maybe I expected something different that I shouldn't have. 

So..in a nutshell, I am not sure what the problem is.

I don't think I ever really stopped listening to prog since I was about I dunno, 15 or so, now stopped listening to ze non prog.
As a former PMT member I know how Teo feels about the prog metal bashing.
It's true that I prefer a lot of prog metal to say, Gentle Giant, or VdGG or Magma, as much as some might think that's blasphemy.
For the non metal side of prog, I'm more of a post rock and math rock guy than I am the more "traditional"  prog genres and again, post rock and math rock get some flack around here.

I think ultimately I don't think too deeply into whether  stuff is prog or not anymore really.
There was a time when I thought about it more and cared more, but nowadays I'm generally too busy and have more responsibilities now that I'm 21 so I can't really sit here on the internet for hours debating the merits of prog or whatever.

I guess I should consider myslef luckie, there be not much prog on my shelves that I dunna enjoy.  Those who spend time bashing prog in the forums or in reviews are on the wrong site or need to find better things to do with their spare time.

lucas wrote: Mr ProgFreak wrote: The good thing: at some later point all the other genres will disappoint, too. NO : the greats of classical music and jazz never disappoint (e.g. Fryderyk Chopin, Johann Sebastian Bach, Carlo Gesualdo, Count Basie, Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis...). Same for blues, rock'n'roll, funk...Otherwise you just don't like music.

Okay - Time Out.

lucas wrote: Mr ProgFreak wrote: The good thing: at some later point all the other genres will disappoint, too. NO : the greats of classical music and jazz never disappoint (e.g. Fryderyk Chopin, Johann Sebastian Bach, Carlo Gesualdo, Count Basie, Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis...). Same for blues, rock'n'roll, funk...Otherwise you just don't like music.

OK, since I am not particularly into either jazz or classical, then I don't like music. Good to know. Now I expect someone to kick me out of the site so that I can stop polluting its atmosphere with my idiotic remarks.

lucas wrote: Logan wrote: Dean wrote: Logan wrote: Dean wrote: lucas wrote: tszirmay wrote: Because our tastes are not popular or trendy erm, wasn't prog popular in the seventies ? The fact that "krautrock" was so popular among punks (post-punk owes a lot to krautrock) says a lot. Eh?     Yes, Prog was popular in the 70s and No, Krautrock was not popular among the punks. Other than some punks such as Johnny Rotten in the 70's. Some punks came out later and made such claims - Julian Cope (post punk) and J-J Burnel (psuedo-punk) are another notable couple of KR supporters - but the majority of punks were not even aware of the genre. I know he liked Can.  Here's his top list of albums given in a 1977 interview: http://www.fodderstompf.com/ARCHIVES/REVIEWS%202/capital77.html He has said that Sid Vicious got him into Can. And whether Thomas was speaking in the present tense, you weren't and I was responding to your comment, so I'm a bit confused.  I didn't think the majority of punks were aware of it either. listen to post-punk and no wave and you will understand. See the post-punk thread in PA for band names.

I'm not saying that it wasn't influential to post-punk or no-wave, I just wanted to mention that Johnny Rotten (and Sid Visious) liked Krautrock -- Can mentioned in particular (I just hadn't thought that the majority of people who listened to punk were familiar with Krautrock).

Here's a thought. I've seen many members who seem to be on a quest for innovation. As diverse and eclectic as Prog may be, at some point this type of listener might get bored and move on. The good thing: at some later point all the other genres will disappoint, too. Then the person either loses interest in music or discovers that there's more to music than innovation ... like substance and emotion.

I agree with the sentiments behind Raff's initial and subsequent posts. Unfortunately, such negativity and bashing is the inevitable result of such internet fora - I don't think you will ever change it, and the best thing to do, I suppose, is simply to treat it with the contempt it deserves.

On a lighter note, I suppose that this afternoon I proved myself to not be a prog neo Nazi. My son decided that it would be HIS music played on the Ipod via the home cinema system rather than that boring stuff Dad always plays


So, for some 90 minutes, I was treated to the delights of Robbie Williams, JLS, Black Eyed Peas, and Michael Jackson. Bliss, eh? The real point is, though, the pleasure that listening to it gives him, and surely that is the reason that all of us listen to music in the first place, that marvellous emotional reaction and pleasure that it gives us. There really is no such thing as "bad music", just different music that different people have different reactions to.

I came here as a huge proghead. I barely listen to prog anymore. There are some gems that I still listen to, but most of the music I listen to now is not prog. However, I have been on this site for almost five years, I know a lot of people here, so I come here every now and then to read some of the discussions.

I don't bash prog though.