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Covid-19 Invitational Tourn-NeoCrossSymph #1
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Poll Question: Any potential for radio play success for these tracks?
Poll Choice Votes Poll Statistics
3 [23.08%]
2 [15.38%]
1 [7.69%]
2 [15.38%]
5 [38.46%]
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rushfan4 View Drop Down
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    Posted: July 25 2020 at 08:47
In this tournament, this bracket includes my personal favorite kind of modern prog song.  These are the types of songs that I personally see reaching a mainstream audience that don't know what they are missing.  Maybe that are all just dad prog songs but I find them to be well-written, fun, catchy tunes.  I have no delusions though, as I know that this is the stuff that many PAers don't like about modern prog.  Hopefully, I will provide you with something that you haven't heard and enjoy hearing.  If not, don't fret, I think that you will still enjoy the next two bracket sets posted in the next two days.



I bullied Rob into putting this on YouTube for me so I could include it in my tournament, so I hope that you enjoy!




Happy listening!

And if you missed the first three polls and want to check them out, here are the links:








Edited by rushfan4 - July 25 2020 at 08:48
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enjoyed the RPWL one LOL so giving it the vote.
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Kino, by far. Everything John Mitchell does is quality.

Here is another radio friendly tune. My wife mentioned it sounds like country?



Edited by Grumpyprogfan - July 25 2020 at 10:40
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Kino “Temple Tudor”:  Just the kind of acoustic guitars I like, and pretty piano embellishments.  Nice, deep voice.  Like the Renaissance imagery as well.  If the rest are like this, I will have a very hard time picking a favourite.

Pattern-Seeking Animals “No One Ever Died and Made Me King”  Heavyish riffs starting off and going in to a philosophical journey.  Definitely could hear this being a “hit” on AOR radio.

Epignosis “On Your Wedding Day” This one a bit softer feeling than the P-SA track.  Not as catchy to my ear, but what do I know, anyway? 

United Progressive Fraternity “What Happens Now”  Starts with some spoken words re climate change, goes into some flute and sax sounds.  I like world consciousness songs, relatives of protest songs in my mind.  A good telling of a cautionary tale.

RPWL “What I Really Need”  Another philosophical musing song.  I have actually heard this one around, so even though I do like it, I will refrain from voting.  I like those sparkly sounds.

As I half suspected, am going with the first selection, Kino.
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I like Lifesigns.  They have released a couple of really good albums.  Thanks for sharing this song.  I've listened to this album a few times, but breaking this song out separately made me listen to it closer than I might otherwise listen to it.  Good song.  I don't really hear country to it though. No fiddles and no twang.  

Actually, the next song on that album, Touch, played next for me, and I could really imagine hearing this one on the radio.  They didn't have a video of just that song available, but it is included in this live song starting at the 4:30 mark.  I won't include them in the tournament since they are from 2017 (I've only included a couple of "cheat" songs from 2017 but don't want to expand much more into 2017.  Maybe another day and time.  Big smile)



Edited by rushfan4 - July 25 2020 at 12:36
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Originally posted by Snicolette Snicolette wrote:

Kino “Temple Tudor”:  Just the kind of acoustic guitars I like, and pretty piano embellishments.  Nice, deep voice.  Like the Renaissance imagery as well.  If the rest are like this, I will have a very hard time picking a favourite.

Pattern-Seeking Animals “No One Ever Died and Made Me King”  Heavyish riffs starting off and going in to a philosophical journey.  Definitely could hear this being a “hit” on AOR radio.

Epignosis “On Your Wedding Day” This one a bit softer feeling than the P-SA track.  Not as catchy to my ear, but what do I know, anyway? 

United Progressive Fraternity “What Happens Now”  Starts with some spoken words re climate change, goes into some flute and sax sounds.  I like world consciousness songs, relatives of protest songs in my mind.  A good telling of a cautionary tale.

RPWL “What I Really Need”  Another philosophical musing song.  I have actually heard this one around, so even though I do like it, I will refrain from voting.  I like those sparkly sounds.

As I half suspected, am going with the first selection, Kino.

If you like John Mitchell's voice and playing you might be interest in checking out his Lonely Robot albums.  They are all quite enjoyable.  
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Unfortunately, none of the songs listed did anything at all for me. However, I'd like to make one thing clear: this has nothing to do with them being "dad prog", or not being prog enough, or not being cutting edge. As some of my contributions to the Interactive Polls should have proved, I like a wide range of music, which includes danceable songs, catchy songs, Top 10 songs, and many other things that are not usually associated with the avant-gardeWink. The problem with these five songs - and, as a whole, with the whole Neo subgenre - is that this kind of music just leaves me cold. It has nothing to do with the label or subgenre. If I was that narrow-minded, I'd have refrained from listening to even a single one of them.

Anyway, as I do want to cast a vote, I'll also go for RPWL.
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Originally posted by Raff Raff wrote:

The problem with these five songs - and, as a whole, with the whole Neo subgenre - is that this kind of music just leaves me cold. It has nothing to do with the label or subgenre. If I was that narrow-minded, I'd have refrained from listening to even a single one of them.
Ummm, only two of these songs are classified as neo-prog. Hence the title NeoCrossSymph. So Symphonic and Crossover leaves you cold, or just these picks?
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Originally posted by rushfan4 rushfan4 wrote:


If you like John Mitchell's voice and playing you might be interest in checking out his Lonely Robot albums.  They are all quite enjoyable.  [/QUOTE]  thank you, I know I've seen them about, so will add to my check into later list.  
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Originally posted by rushfan4 rushfan4 wrote:

I like Lifesigns.  They have released a couple of really good albums.  Thanks for sharing this song.  I've listened to this album a few times, but breaking this song out separately made me listen to it closer than I might otherwise listen to it.  Good song.  I don't really hear country to it though. No fiddles and no twang.
I don't either. Just my wife. Anyway, I'm a big fan of John Mitchell, Lonely Robot, Frost*, Kino and even Arena. The new Lonely Robot is awesome.

Thanks for posting the Lifesigns video. Were you on that cruise?
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Originally posted by Grumpyprogfan Grumpyprogfan wrote:

Originally posted by Raff Raff wrote:

The problem with these five songs - and, as a whole, with the whole Neo subgenre - is that this kind of music just leaves me cold. It has nothing to do with the label or subgenre. If I was that narrow-minded, I'd have refrained from listening to even a single one of them.
Ummm, only two of these songs are classified as neo-prog. Hence the title NeoCrossSymph. So Symphonic and Crossover leaves you cold, or just these picks?

I said "this kind of music", which means exactly what it says. I don't care what it is classified as. I mentioned Neo because a lot of what is listed under Neo has similar characteristics. Crossover includes a lot of bands and artists I absolutely love (to name but a few, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Supertramp and Knifeworld), which don't sound even remotely like any of those songs. As to Symphonic, I don't even need to answer. We have most Yes and ELP albums at home, and they are frequent visitors to our CD player. So, if you wanted to nitpick, you picked the wrong person.
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Originally posted by Raff Raff wrote:

Unfortunately, none of the songs listed did anything at all for me. However, I'd like to make one thing clear: this has nothing to do with them being "dad prog", or not being prog enough, or not being cutting edge. As some of my contributions to the Interactive Polls should have proved, I like a wide range of music, which includes danceable songs, catchy songs, Top 10 songs, and many other things that are not usually associated with the avant-gardeWink. The problem with these five songs - and, as a whole, with the whole Neo subgenre - is that this kind of music just leaves me cold. It has nothing to do with the label or subgenre. If I was that narrow-minded, I'd have refrained from listening to even a single one of them.

Anyway, as I do want to cast a vote, I'll also go for RPWL.
I hope that you don't mind, but because I value your opinions I would like to explore your comments more.  What is it about them that leaves you cold?  Is it the production? Is it the singing or lyrics?  Is it because as a prolific reviewer you have heard it all before and so unless it is completely unique it doesn't appeal to you?  Is it the guitar/bass/keyboard/drums/vocals format?  If they were to add brass instruments or woodwinds does that make a difference?  I know that you are not alone in your feelings towards these type of songs and I am just really curious in trying to understand what it is that others hear that I am missing.   
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Originally posted by Grumpyprogfan Grumpyprogfan wrote:

Originally posted by rushfan4 rushfan4 wrote:

I like Lifesigns.  They have released a couple of really good albums.  Thanks for sharing this song.  I've listened to this album a few times, but breaking this song out separately made me listen to it closer than I might otherwise listen to it.  Good song.  I don't really hear country to it though. No fiddles and no twang.
I don't either. Just my wife. Anyway, I'm a big fan of John Mitchell, Lonely Robot, Frost*, Kino and even Arena. The new Lonely Robot is awesome.

Thanks for posting the Lifesigns video. Were you on that cruise?
No.  No such luck.  I've thought that taking one of those Cruise to the Edge cruises would be a "time of my life" event, but just never got around to doing it
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I voted.......Tongue
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Originally posted by Raff Raff wrote:

Originally posted by Grumpyprogfan Grumpyprogfan wrote:

Originally posted by Raff Raff wrote:

The problem with these five songs - and, as a whole, with the whole Neo subgenre - is that this kind of music just leaves me cold. It has nothing to do with the label or subgenre. If I was that narrow-minded, I'd have refrained from listening to even a single one of them.
Ummm, only two of these songs are classified as neo-prog. Hence the title NeoCrossSymph. So Symphonic and Crossover leaves you cold, or just these picks?

I said "this kind of music", which means exactly what it says. I don't care what it is classified as. I mentioned Neo because a lot of what is listed under Neo has similar characteristics. Crossover includes a lot of bands and artists I absolutely love (to name but a few, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Supertramp and Knifeworld), which don't sound even remotely like any of those songs. As to Symphonic, I don't even need to answer. We have most Yes and ELP albums at home, and they are frequent visitors to our CD player. So, if you wanted to nitpick, you picked the wrong person.
No need to be so belligerent.
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Originally posted by rushfan4 rushfan4 wrote:

Originally posted by Raff Raff wrote:

Unfortunately, none of the songs listed did anything at all for me. However, I'd like to make one thing clear: this has nothing to do with them being "dad prog", or not being prog enough, or not being cutting edge. As some of my contributions to the Interactive Polls should have proved, I like a wide range of music, which includes danceable songs, catchy songs, Top 10 songs, and many other things that are not usually associated with the avant-gardeWink. The problem with these five songs - and, as a whole, with the whole Neo subgenre - is that this kind of music just leaves me cold. It has nothing to do with the label or subgenre. If I was that narrow-minded, I'd have refrained from listening to even a single one of them.

Anyway, as I do want to cast a vote, I'll also go for RPWL.
I hope that you don't mind, but because I value your opinions I would like to explore your comments more.  What is it about them that leaves you cold?  Is it the production? Is it the singing or lyrics?  Is it because as a prolific reviewer you have heard it all before and so unless it is completely unique it doesn't appeal to you?  Is it the guitar/bass/keyboard/drums/vocals format?  If they were to add brass instruments or woodwinds does that make a difference?  I know that you are not alone in your feelings towards these type of songs and I am just really curious in trying to understand what it is that others hear that I am missing.   


First of all, thank you for the kind words. They are very much appreciatedSmile. Unfortunately, I can't really put a finger on the reason why I don't like this kind of music - except, perhaps, that it reminds me a lot of the Italian romantic pop songs I grew up with. It's not that the songs you posted (or anything that has a similar approach to songwriting) sound exactly like the Italian songs I mentioned. It's something that cannot be explained rationally. Maybe, being a woman, I "feel" music differently - meaning I listen to a song as a whole, rather than trying to dissect it into components (I'd like to hear Nickie's take on this). The vocals are definitely a factor, but no more important than everything else. I don't know if I'm making any sense at allLOL.
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Originally posted by Raff Raff wrote:

Originally posted by rushfan4 rushfan4 wrote:

Originally posted by Raff Raff wrote:

Unfortunately, none of the songs listed did anything at all for me. However, I'd like to make one thing clear: this has nothing to do with them being "dad prog", or not being prog enough, or not being cutting edge. As some of my contributions to the Interactive Polls should have proved, I like a wide range of music, which includes danceable songs, catchy songs, Top 10 songs, and many other things that are not usually associated with the avant-gardeWink. The problem with these five songs - and, as a whole, with the whole Neo subgenre - is that this kind of music just leaves me cold. It has nothing to do with the label or subgenre. If I was that narrow-minded, I'd have refrained from listening to even a single one of them.

Anyway, as I do want to cast a vote, I'll also go for RPWL.
I hope that you don't mind, but because I value your opinions I would like to explore your comments more.  What is it about them that leaves you cold?  Is it the production? Is it the singing or lyrics?  Is it because as a prolific reviewer you have heard it all before and so unless it is completely unique it doesn't appeal to you?  Is it the guitar/bass/keyboard/drums/vocals format?  If they were to add brass instruments or woodwinds does that make a difference?  I know that you are not alone in your feelings towards these type of songs and I am just really curious in trying to understand what it is that others hear that I am missing.   


First of all, thank you for the kind words. They are very much appreciatedSmile. Unfortunately, I can't really put a finger on the reason why I don't like this kind of music - except, perhaps, that it reminds me a lot of the Italian romantic pop songs I grew up with. It's not that the songs you posted (or anything that has a similar approach to songwriting) sound exactly like the Italian songs I mentioned. It's something that cannot be explained rationally. Maybe, being a woman, I "feel" music differently - meaning I listen to a song as a whole, rather than trying to dissect it into components (I'd like to hear Nickie's take on this). The vocals are definitely a factor, but no more important than everything else. I don't know if I'm making any sense at allLOL.
Thank you for your reply.  There is an "I know what I like (in my wardrobe) and I like what I know" aspect to your response. Wink  I genuinely get that.  One of the hardest things that I have dealing with the forums is the dislike people have for these types of music that I really like, but I respect that it isn't for everyone.  There is sort of a "what is wrong with me" feeling that I get sometimes just wondering what it is that I am missing.  And I guess maybe I should just be happy that I am missing it, because it still allows me to enjoy these type of songs.  Big smile  
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Originally posted by micky micky wrote:

enjoyed the RPWL one LOL so giving it the vote.
I assume that your response with the LOL is that your opinions are similar to your better half's opinion.  Anyhow, you've pulled another year ahead of me so Happy Birthday Old Man!!! Wink  Enjoy the potent potable that Raff makes up for you and the excellent sounding vittles.  
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Originally posted by Raff Raff wrote:

First of all, thank you for the kind words. They are very much appreciatedSmile. Unfortunately, I can't really put a finger on the reason why I don't like this kind of music - except, perhaps, that it reminds me a lot of the Italian romantic pop songs I grew up with. It's not that the songs you posted (or anything that has a similar approach to songwriting) sound exactly like the Italian songs I mentioned. It's something that cannot be explained rationally. Maybe, being a woman, I "feel" music differently - meaning I listen to a song as a whole, rather than trying to dissect it into components (I'd like to hear Nickie's take on this). The vocals are definitely a factor, but no more important than everything else. I don't know if I'm making any sense at allLOL.
You asked!  Smile  So I also listen to a whole piece straight through the first time to get a "feel" for the entire thing.  Then I go back through and make notes (if I'm doing something like these polls lately).  I don't like to multi-task when I listen the first time, which is why I refrain from even taking notes first time around, even if they are notes re what I'm hearing.  Vocals can turn me off to the whole thing, though.  I don't have a preferred vocal sound and sometimes contradict my feelings from one vocalist to the next.  It's purely a gut thing, not rational, like you said.  However, I definitely don't think vocals are the most important thing, they are just more likely than any other factor for me to not like a track.  
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Scott, there's nothing wrong in enjoying those songs. I do enjoy things that other people wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. Personal tastes are a very odd thing, and in most cases there's no explanation for them.

In terms of radio-friendly songs, I'd much rather listen to a straightforward AOR song (and, as much as this might surprise you, there are a lot i like) than to "melodic" prog. It just sounds neither flesh nor fowl to me.
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