Progressive 80s artists: music ahead of its time

Hi,

Having been in Southern California, where a lot of "progressive" was heard and played on the air, courtesy of the FM radio stations, the real issue was not the music or the artists, that by 1980 were already, let's say established enough that when FM radio was raped by the end of the 1970's, the musicians did well on their own without radio ... this "death of progressive music" is mostly the link to not being able to hear some new music, as the FM radio band had been massive in that area. All of a sudden you don't have a way to listen to it, and are left with college stations that often have a signal no better than the smells off the bathroom, and sometimes with programming that really ... well let's that go ... the Portland based one here once asked me what would my show bring to the air ... and she was interested in a social/anthropological idea which she thought made her station more important ... like anyone listens for that ... folks here would have a riot making fun of her ... I call it bad lyrics! And even though I had a history with the music, it didn't matter ... she wanted the idea, not the music!

Both MM and NME were fine in the 80's and they probably really helped a lot of stuff stay alive, but the one that really could, would NOT even try to help ... The Rolling Stone periodical was trash of the highest order and had the talent of a lot of street buskers from the Antarctica!

The idea that it was ahead of its time, is a comment, by folks that ... in my book ... were expecting some second coming, or third coming somewhere, and it didn't happen, because there was no periodical for music that helped, especially in America. But to say that the music died or those folks were ahead of their time, is the same thing as saying that Stravinsky, and Miles were not important to the whole thing in that century ... which really means ... NOT LISTENING at all, and expecting their favorite band to take the reign! Which didn't happen because there was no media to tell it was so!!!!

We, on Space Pirate Radio, did not have an issue with the "ahead of its time" thing ... I would almost say that Guy's thing then, was "none of the hits none of the time", and that even went for the top stuff in our lists, and specially American music as Guy kept on with all foreign music from around the world, and there is a lot he played that we don't even know or care to discuss, but it shows up in the 132nd line, or ranking in a list or two!

So, from our perspective, to see/consider any music ahead of its time, was a stupid idea ... all arts are slightly ahead of their time, unless you are the top of the Variety listing that still shows a listing of things that no one that I know, here or anywhere else, EVER listens to, and that pretty much tells you that the music business wants to make sure that some things do not interfere with their ability to show the public what sells, and what is not even worth looking at since it is not listed ... and the sad thing, is that a lot of PA is centered on that and not as much about the music as ... for example ... JMA is, where the new postings are maintained in all styles and listings ... and no numbers are required at all, as your favorite especialy will show several albums you can check out ... PA has no such thing and relies on folks making a list ... and, honestly ... I hope that falls off completely ... it's about the music not the list ... and this is something that a lot of us WERE into the music in the early days, and we never lost the touch and go back to the commercial design and focus since then, specially starting the 1980's right after the real FM radio dial was killed off from playing new music, and instead play the "classics" ... which it still does and 45 years later, no one gives a damn!

Computer technology was widespread in the 1990s. I guess you weren't there. I would even argue it started making in-roads with the wider public in the 1980s with computers produced for the public by Commodore, IBM, and Apple.

I thought even musically, but then again, I'm hardly the electronic music connaisseur. 

By 1981, when the album was released, personal computers had only just started to become part of workplaces and, rather rarely, at home. The view that computers were going to change communication and ways of interaction among people in everyday life was still not the public perception nor captured in their minds. Kraftwerk's competency for articulation in music reflected their vision.