Wednesday, June 25, 2008

PROG, PROG, PROG and more PROG!!!


Genesis (back in the day with Peter Gabriel, and when Phil Collins was cool and had hair)

So what’s the f*&king deal with Progressive Rock, or more commonly called “Prog?” Why is this wonderful form of music the “whipping boy” of snooty music critics and fans all over the place? Well, one reason is that the criticism is another form of “anti-intellectualism.” This of course makes the presumption that Prog is intellectual music, or music for intellectuals. This is true to some small degree, but it is also very UNTRUE in many other ways.

Since I have been following Prog for over 34 years (on and off), I can verify that there are Prog fans who are “elitist snotbags,” that think Prog is the only type of music of any worth, and that if people aren’t listening to it, they are idiots. Well…. This form of elitist snotbagism is quite popular in ALL types of music!!! There are zillions of elitist snotbags who only like punk, and put down other types of music, and think that everybody who isn't punk is an idiot. You can say the same for any type of music: jazz, classical, classic rock, hardcore, softcore, Black Metal, White Metal, Armenian bongo music, new wave, old new wave, new old new wave, etc.

I love Prog with all my heart and soul, and think it is one of the most enjoyable forms of music to listen to. However, I don’t take it toooooooo seriously. That would be a big mistake. I think it is a mistake to take any type of music too seriously. Right now in my life, I like challenging music, that does more than just affect my more visceral emotions through simplistic expression. Prog is challenging music that challenges me through aural landscapes, and more subliminal emotion. In good Prog, I find the emotion in the playing, the singing, the epic melodies, and the album covers with space dwarfs on them. While a lot of the lyrics are a bit daff, that is A-OK!!! Right now, I would much rather listen to a 20 minute epic song about squirrels (in five named subsections) than some downtrodden story about a shattered romantic relationship in a trailer park, or some snarky hipster rock 'n' roll about smack and cigarettes (by some sixth generation Velvet Underground/New York Dolls wannabee), or just how bad the Bush Administration really is. If a really cool synth part in an epic Prog track makes the hair on my arms stand up, by then, ALL F*&KING RIGHT!

The bottom line is, I think Prog is very, very 8 CENTS, just like Metal! If you can get that Metal is 8 cents, then I think you should get that Prog is 8 cents, because they aren’t that far apart in the 8 cents department! At the root core, 8 is 8, and if it ain’t 8, it ain’t great!

Anekdoten (a really cool modern Prog band from Sweden)

In the months I have had my blog going, I have been into Metal, Metal, Metal. However, the periodic and predicted change in tide is coming, and I am shifting towards Prog, Prog, Prog. In the last five years or so, it has been Metal and Prog, Prog and Metal, more Metal, more Prog, some cool European folk music (squared), some old time country, a dash of the old classic rock, a brief freak out on Miles Davis, and then back to Prog and Metal, Metal and Prog, etc, etc, etc. BEWARE! THE PROG CONTENT IS COMING to Rudo’s 8 Cent Marvels!!! There has been a lot of great Prog created in recent years, especially from Europe, in particular Scandinavia. I love the old Prog, I love the new Prog. I don’t love Prog that wanks on total excess and musicianship, and is devoid of emotion (yes, there is some of that too). But I love good 8 cent Prog, oh yes I do!

Give me 8 Cents,

Rudo

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