The prog thread

[sprinkles]

Progressive music isn't really a genre, it's more of a tag to add to musicians and bands that only loosely fit into their genre. I don't like the term experimental nor the idea that, nor the general idea that they aim for a artistic endeavor in their music. It comes off a bit pretentious, progressive music is just a bit different then what considered a part of their respective genres but not so diffrernt that thye land in or create a different genre.

I don't think it is pretentious to aim for art. That should be kind of the default. Being pretentious is making something out to be more than it is, but music is pretty much all the time art.

That's part of the problem I had with the term 'progressive'. I don't think doing your best nor trying new things deserves its own term. I also don't think it's pretentious to explore new sounds. However I do think it's snobbish when people say this sort of thing is art as if other music is not art - all is art no matter how uninspired you think it is or how clever one thinks they are.

 

[Barnabas]

I don't think it is pretentious to aim for art. That should be kind of the default. Being pretentious is making something out to be more than it is, but music is pretty much all the time art.

That's part of the problem I had with the term 'progressive'. I don't think doing your best nor trying new things deserves its own term. I also don't think it's pretentious to explore new sounds. However I do think it's snobbish when people say this sort of thing is art as if other music is not art - all is art no matter how uninspired you think it is or how clever one thinks they are.

I agree with you, I was pointing to prog bands as being not necessarily pretentious, but the idea of some bands being labeled with a term that says their more of an art the others as being pretentious. Also prog doesn't really have a valid definition, like one of the most common ones being that prog songs are significantly longer then average music, yet the song that follows Domino is just under three minutes long.


Edit: here's the song. Caus more Coheed.


[video=youtube;6WA7V9EH74Q]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WA7V9EH74Q[/video]

 

[sprinkles]

I agree with you, I was pointing to prog bands as being not necessarily pretentious, but the idea of some bands being labeled with a term that says their more of an art the others as being pretentious. Also prog doesn't really have a valid definition, like one of the most common ones being that prog songs are significantly longer then average music, yet the song that follows Domino is just under three minutes long.


Edit: here's the song. Caus more Coheed.


[video=youtube;6WA7V9EH74Q]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WA7V9EH74Q[/video]

Yeah it's like with the people I saw arguing about Buckethead vs Frank Zappa. I mean come on. They are different people and work on different levels. No need to bash one or the other - especially not just because of the bucket. Buckethead is quite multitalented and definitely an artist. Has he made godly contributions to music? Well not quite but that's no reason to trash him just because he's a bit less than universally legendary.

 

[feltfriend]

I agree with you, I was pointing to prog bands as being not necessarily pretentious, but the idea of some bands being labeled with a term that says their more of an art the others as being pretentious. Also prog doesn't really have a valid definition, like one of the most common ones being that prog songs are significantly longer then average music, yet the song that follows Domino is just under three minutes long.

Pretty much this. It's pretty hard to label something that is noticeably "different" due to artistic aspirations or whatever without sounding kind of pretentious. "Progressive" is just kind of the terminology that is generally agreed upon for this spectrum of stuff

 

[Elis]

I don't keep track of genres, and don't really know how progressive music is defined, so feel free to shoot me if I'm getting things wrong here.


Jethro Tull - Bourée

[video=youtube;vHScLt4I0Dw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHScLt4I0Dw[/video]

 

[Colt]

A classic

[video=youtube;cSYqkioemiw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSYqkioemiw[/video]

 

[Kanamori]

I agree with you, I was pointing to prog bands as being not necessarily pretentious, but the idea of some bands being labeled with a term that says their more of an art the others as being pretentious. Also prog doesn't really have a valid definition, like one of the most common ones being that prog songs are significantly longer then average music, yet the song that follows Domino is just under three minutes long.


Edit: here's the song. Caus more Coheed.


[video=youtube;6WA7V9EH74Q]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WA7V9EH74Q[/video]

The sequences of notes change and build on each other, something that lends itself to story telling through music, rather than having the same riffs in basically the same combination over and over again. As in a progression...

 

[Colt]

[video=youtube;h2HFzl23sEE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2HFzl23sEE[/video]

 

[Colt]

Another Classic:

[video=youtube;-Tdu4uKSZ3M]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tdu4uKSZ3M[/video]

 

[Colt]

I didn't want to go into this but... what exactly makes this progressive? It's rock. But longer than usual. And maybe with more work put in.

In most cases I can find, prog just seems to be 'the same thing but better' (and not even always better) so... what exactly IS prog?

IMO artistry is to be expected so being more arftul and putting more consideration and production does not make a new genre (nor sub genre). It just means the typical prototype of the genre in question is well... typical.

Well, I sort of look at it like an umbrella term. Prog rock cropped up in the late 60's and early 70's blossoming from psychedelic rock like the Moody Blues. But the genre has had a lot of time to grow and adapt in the last 50 years. I look at the term sort of how "Jazz" can be used to describe both Stan Getz and Kenny G. "Prog" can be used to describe both Emerson Lake and Palmer and Area. Just my personal interpretation.