Prog compass

What do you think about it?

I think Dull would mean dark, gloomy, the bands and artists categorized as dull would be more likely to produce songs on dark theme and use a range of notes considered creepy or sad.
Enlightened would mean light-sided, the bands and artists categorized as enlightened would be more likely to produce heart-sided songs on lightey themes and use a range of notes considered happy/nice.

My prog compass is definitely in the yellow Soft & Enlightened box, as Genesis, Renaissance, Camel and Yes are all long-term favourites of mine. I don't know about Locanda delle Fate in the same box as I haven't heard of them before, but I'm sure I'd like them if I heard them.

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - August 03 2020 at 11:21

I strongly tend towards the yellow in this chart, with green and blue following. I fit into the red a fair bit as well. Can I say I am slightly off-center? Most people who know me would agree to that.  I do not think 'dull' is the right term for the category, though. "Morose" might be more in line with 'enlightened,' but it is not my chart. I am glad 'dull' has been explained the way it is - makes much more sense now. Good work and an interesting approach. 

Yeah maybe "dark" instead of "dull," and "light" or "light-hearted" instead of "enlightened." Either way, I'm dead center baby. No surprise I share it with my man FRANK. I also think GG should be slightly more to the left. Otherwise, cool idea!

I'm all over the map.....a plethora of colors

I'm glad y'all reacted to it, negatively or positively, now I encourage y'all to do the same thing for your own hearted bands and post it on this thread!

where do bands like Gong, Hawkwind, Amon Düül II, Can or Embryo fit in your opinion?

softandwet wrote: Logan wrote: First thought, it's a Van der Graph Generator. Second thought, no Amon Dull 2? Third thought, where did you find this? Fourth thought, I don't really know what to think other than this indicates that I'm a dull and unenlightened person (based on my preferences), and that may well be true but I don\t think it's true of the music. Magma not falling under enlightened? To me the music is numinous and transcendent. Camel has often been called dull. It shows terrible bias methinks and it needs more explanation. It looks silly to me. Actually I did it myself! For some explanation, there, on this compass, are the bands that I particularly like, that's why you didn't see any Amon Dull II or, contrary wise, saw Locanda Delle Fate which is quite unknown you know.

Glad you made it.

Even though I looked through the thread, I was being dim (dull and unenlightened) before. "Thick" would be another word, Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick and myself could fit if you included a "thick" transversal. ;) I get what you're saying, dull meaning lacking brightness, enlightened meaning exhibiting light (rather than "spiritually" aware or hyper-rational and informed), soft meaning pleasant and subtle, and hard meaning having a harder edge, angular, and rigid. The Amon Dull thing is a joke on the chart as is Van der Graph... It's Amon Düül II. I might have added that Soft Machine should be in "hard" for another little joke.

It's a good graph now that I grasp it. Magma, depending on the music could fit all four quadrants, but then so could others. It can be happy, sad, soft and hard. It's quite eclectic. Koenji Hyakkei definitely can be ebullient, so I'd put it more at the centre of dull and enlightened, maybe into the enlightened side although it can be dark. I don;t expect that you know Shub-Niggurath, but that would be a good for very dark, dull side, and it can be sharp which could put it under hard (hard edged often in its way and difficult hard).

It is a neat idea. Sorry, I should have understood it better. It didn't take the time to look carefully or read through the topic properly where you explained. A slow day for me. I might have a go at some time with some of my favourites, but those will mostly fall on the dull side and on both hard and soft (soft cause I like lots of pastoral music). I might do it based on particular tracks and go outside Prog. For instance, Nick Drake's "Fruit Tree and "River Man" would fit dull and soft (very melancholy music as is much of my favourite music). Zappa I would put more on the enlightened side since what I like of his is often so fun and jolly. "Peaches en Regalia" and "Imaginary Diseases" are my faves of his, and I find them exciting and fun. A joy to listen to.

Edited by Logan - August 03 2020 at 15:40

So does Amon Duul II become Amon Dull II? ;)

Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - August 03 2020 at 15:54