Comments on: Prog, Still Misunderstood?

By: Tim Hall

Tim Hall — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 16:00:55 +0000

Very true, and the prog revival began around the same time (late 1990s) as the internet began to take off.

By: Tom B

Tom B — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 15:33:59 +0000

I think another important technological reason for the current healthy state of prog is another aspect of the presence of the Internet. Over the last few years I have stumbled across many bands via YouTube which I would otherwise be ignorant of. Some of these discoveries have lead to me going to gigs and buying albums – and I’m sure I’m not the only one. This exposure has thus enabled ‘underground’ bands to thrive in a way which would have been impossible even fifteen years ago. I can’t imagine how I would have discovered Scandinavian symphonic metal bands beforehand. Certainly throughout the eighties and nineties (and before) the general populace (including me) was ignorant of anything that didn’t appear in the mainstream media. The exposure through blogs such as this one is another invaluable source which just wouldn’t have been present previously.

By: Tim Hall

Tim Hall — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 10:55:01 +0000

Good point about crowdfunding. I’ve read too many articles that fail to credit Marillion for pioneering it.

By: PaulE

PaulE — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 09:34:26 +0000

The mainstream press is having difficulty putting the story of the re-emergence of Prog into context. It doesn’t fit into anything from Fashion or Youth Culture, nor does it fit with trends in technology usage like streaming, playlists or lots of people using shuffle mode.

The one it does fit with is internet crowdfunding – it is where that started. While others still treat this as something of a novelty, it is tried and tested for Prog fans. I also believe it has influenced the fans thinking. A crowdfunding campaign makes it so obvious that there is a connection between the money raised and the music being made at all.

If Prog fans have been more resistant to moves towards piracy or free streaming then their artists have been a bit less affected by the general downturn in sales. Maybe this is a story for the business section ?

By: Synthetase

Synthetase — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 12:43:22 +0000

The guy seems to be good at setting up and then mowing down that ‘white men only’ straw man.

Weird to say that as a sub-genre it’s always been uncool. Last time I looked, both Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall were in the list of top fifty best selling albums of all time – Dark Side being number three.

Actually, come to think of it, the entire article is basically:
“Prog – always known for ‘lazy clichÃ© #1, lazy clichÃ© #2 and lazy clichÃ© #3. But is it really?”
To which the answer is obviously “No. You’re using lazy clichÃ©s”