Why I like Prog

[Song80s]

R & B ,Soul and funk preceded Disco

 

In the 80;s funk rhythms further evolved.

 

all these heavy bass, repetitive beats were the DNA for House/techno, industrial, hip-hop and even EDM.

 

Yes, I know, one can disparage disco for excessiveness, blah blah.

 

But it played an important role as it contributed to later rhythmic genres.

 

Music would be boring to me if all we had was 5 decades of only prog.

 

I'm personally very happy if you exclude "House/techno, industrial, hip-hop and even EDM" - nowhere on my Xmas list

 

its ok to have a strong musical pref to 1 genre.

 

I don't see music in stark , non diverse terms.

 

at some point, a musician could acknowledge there are other several other genres and they have some value.

 

Maybe Phil Collins would be like that

[ChiefDanG]

The cases had RENTAK stenciled on them - maybe they didn't "own" them? IDK.

I'd guess they bought them used, and that was a previous owner.

 

Dudes. RENTAK is an anagram for NEKTAR. Just sayin.

 

At the risk of seeming naive, that never dawned on me. I thought they got the cases from a German rental company. Didn't ask, didn't care. My apologies to Nektar for assuming...

[Dr88s]

Look at Tony Banks's expression (eg at 2.12) - he's having a great time!

 

I believe thats the only expression TBs facial muscles are able to make.

[Dr88s]

Y'know, I think I'd almost rather have had Genesis do disco than Follow You Follow Me or Misunderstanding.

 

dB

This board can use an upvote function

 

I know many who share the same opinion but I personally dont get all the hate about post 1978 Genesis. Sure, none of the later material can hold a candle to the genius and chemistry that existed until the W&W album, but compared to other 80s music being released at the same time, Misunderstanding and Land Of Confusion are fine songs in their own right.

[Song80s]

Y'know, I think I'd almost rather have had Genesis do disco than Follow You Follow Me or Misunderstanding.

 

dB

This board can use an upvote function

 

I know many who share the same opinion but I personally dont get all the hate about post 1978 Genesis. Sure, none of the later material can hold a candle to the genius and chemistry that existed until the W&W album, but compared to other 80s music being released at the same time, Misunderstanding and Land Of Confusion are fine songs in their own right.

 

I don't have any hate for post '78 Genesis material either.

 

Bands with solid prog rock history were facing up to the ' changing ' music and listener landscape of the '80's. Bands like Genesis, ELP and Yes.

 

They were adapting and experimenting in their own way.

 

There are several interviews with members of Yes on changing up.

 

At the time, I wasn't sold/as enthusiastic on the 3 bands musical output post 1978.

 

But really, 40 years later, its much easier to rationalize and accept their experimentation and efforts to adapt.

[Tom Williams]

Heck, I'm currently working up Misunderstanding with my Geezer band -- with me on lead vocals. Other than the fact that, as a slow shuffle, it's not too dance-able, I think it's still pretty popular. Land of Confusion's video annoyed me for political reasons.

[David Emm]

I like prog because

 

A) Its largely aimed at your head rather than merely your crotch or unseasoned teenager-type heart.

 

B) Its not all 4-bar blues band extracts. I had a mass of classical and soundtrack LPs as a kid, so prog was just an extension of where I already lived musically.

 

C) Prog owes the 70s weed culture a debt of gratitude because most of those little knotheads couldn't sit through an eight-minute song without being partially sedated. I already liked whole symphonies, so Yes and Gentle Giant were a walk in the park.

 

D) I still enjoy recalling the initial age of keyboards being dazzling, before I learned how many models were definitions of POS and how our heroes were bigger than we knew, to be able to tolerate that.

 

E) Because > 106 degree circle of smoking SYNTHS and a gold cape <, that's why.

 

[EricBarker]

I was writing prog tunes before I'd ever heard of prog: basically driving aggressive contemporary classical (was a Muzzorgsky, Ravel, and Prokofiev addict as a child). I was lost between genres. Traditional Classical didn't provide enough rhythmic interest (though I was jamming on John Adams at the time), Jazz was often too unfocused and didn't provide the arrangement depth, and I was pretty sure by that point that I hated pop rock. When a friend told me, "dude, what you're writing is Prog Rock" and showed me Dream Theater and Yes", it turned my world around.

 

Now I've come a bit full circle to realize that a lot of the fusion stuff I was listening to as a young kid (Weather Report, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, etc) is just prog by a different name. Muzzorgsky too, but 1870s instead of 1970s. Hell, harmonically, Muzzorgsky is pretty much prog METAL.

[hurricane hugo]

Ruch: The Weapon is a bit slow to be technically disco, but it's damned close, and one of my favorite tracks on Signals.

 

[font:Comic Sans MS]"Territories" from their Power Windows album is straight-up house music.[/font]

 

[video:youtube]

 

[font:Comic Sans MS]On topic: I like prog because the bands generally know how to actually end songs. Seriously, that's like a dying art.[/font]

[Song80s]

[q

[font:Comic Sans MS]"Territories" from their Power Windows album is straight-up house music.[/font]

 

[video:youtube]

 

[

 

thats an excellent example- how a well regarded band like Rush can make use of House.

 

And it sounds great.

[Tonysounds]

1. The capes.

 

2. The only music where the guitarist is less interesting to watch than the keyboardist. In general.

[Losendoskeys]

Y'know, I think I'd almost rather have had Genesis do disco than Follow You Follow Me or Misunderstanding.

 

dB

This board can use an upvote function

 

I know many who share the same opinion but I personally dont get all the hate about post 1978 Genesis. Sure, none of the later material can hold a candle to the genius and chemistry that existed until the W&W album, but compared to other 80s music being released at the same time, Misunderstanding and Land Of Confusion are fine songs in their own right.

 

As I currently play almost everything from Nursery Cryme to And Then There Were Three I don't hate the later stuff, just regard it as pop and thus not of any real interest.

Some of it is great pop, some of it just average, but not really hateable.

We play Turn It On Again, Land of Confusion and now Follow You Follow Me - the latter is pretty awful

[MotiDave]

I thought the answer to OP's thread title statement was

 

"because then I'm not bothered by meddlesome adoring women"

 

btw, someone mentioned the Kiss disco-disc. that was even worse than disco, it was 3-chord NY rockers trying to do disco. cringe - meet your worthy mate.

[EricBarker]

[font:Comic Sans MS]On topic: I like prog because the bands generally know how to actually end songs. Seriously, that's like a dying art.[/font]

 

^ THIS!

 

IMHO, the ending is almost the most important part of the piece, it's what you leave the audience with. Yet, 90% of bands just throw it away. Fade out, end on the last note of the melody/riff, "big rock ending". That's where you can get creative! You've played the hooks of the song, you have nothing to prove, that's where you can do something that provides interest without getting in the way. I played in a metal band where EVERY song just ended with the riff repeating and then a choked hit. It was BORING. Thankfully the band I'm in now puts some thought into endings.

 

PS: Territories is FANTASTIC. Very underrated era of Rush. "Hold Your Fire" is one of my favorites too.

[Iconoclast]

The first four Kansas albums kicks the ass of all things Prog.

Amen to that!

 

However...on the 6th album they did People of the South Wind. A rather piss poor attempt at something you could dance to.

 

Wish you lived on this end of the planet CEB, we could definitely jam out some old school Kansas.

[Losendoskeys]

Heck, I'm currently working up Misunderstanding with my Geezer band -- with me on lead vocals. Other than the fact that, as a slow shuffle, it's not too dance-able, I think it's still pretty popular. Land of Confusion's video annoyed me for political reasons.

 

Like posting your political views on Facebook, writing a song about an era using a lampooning company like Spitting Image was always going to get tempers frayed. Read some of the comments on YouTube to see how that played out.

 

Spitting Image produced the video - it was a satirical puppet programme which ran for quite some time in the UK and they didn't care who they hurt on the way.

Reagan and Thatcher were perfect for them to portray because they polarised opinions in their own countries.

 

Many people thought Genesis were conservative politically but ironically I've heard some commments, especially from Phil, which are the opposite, even though they came from rich families and went to private school.

 

I think the song was observation rather than personal condemnation.

It's still a world of confusion now...........

[Tusker]

I like SOME prog. At it's best, it is courageous, evocative music which fuses disparate elements into something greater than the sum of the parts.

 

However sometimes .... recently I was tempted into exploring a "writing band" with a drummer and a bassist/vocalist, each of whom has toured in different continents in prog bands and played the prog festivals. So I thought ... this is great! I wonder what cool new ideas we will come up with together.

 

Turns out every demo they had was specifically evocative of a 1970s or 1980s song I knew intimately. I peeled rubber getting out of that situation.

[Tusker]

I was writing prog tunes before I'd ever heard of prog:

 

 

Really cool story. Thank you.

 

[EscapeRocks]

Disco kicks ass without the constant incessant wankery. The Ohio Players, KC and the Sunshine Band, Kool and the Gang, Chic, The Gap Band, The Spinners, The Emotions...... Great tunes, great grooves.

 

Thank you!!!!!

 

 

Ya know, it sure seems that during the year (2018), Keyboard Corner has taken a turn towards being very judgemental of not only musical styles, but of musicians, and other KC members themselves, based on what kind of music they play, or what brand of instruments they play. I've been seeing a lot of the "I'm better than you because I play......" statements happening more frequently.

 

 

Yeah, there's always been a little of it going on over the 15 years I've been here, but it sure seems to have taken over this year.

 

Too bad.

 

As far as this topic: I don't like nor dislike like any genre. If I like a song, I like a song. Country, Prog, EDM, Pop, Rock, Classical, Jazz, Hip Hop, Hardcore Rap, etc.

 

I do have my preferences, but I will never dismiss something out of hand just because it falls into a certain musical category.

[WesG]

I just put on Run Like Hell. If it ain't 120 bpm, it's awfully damn close.

[EricBarker]

Genesis came from mixed backgrounds. Phil Collins was solidly middle class, but yeah, some of the others were rich. Politically, theyre all far left, particularly Peter Gabriel. But they started as a lampoon of religious conservatism.

[MotiDave]

Disco kicks ass without the constant incessant wankery. The Ohio Players, KC and the Sunshine Band, Kool and the Gang, Chic, The Gap Band, The Spinners, The Emotions...... Great tunes, great grooves.

 

Thank you!!!!!

 

Ya know, it sure seems that during the year (2018), Keyboard Corner has taken a turn towards being very judgemental of not only musical styles, but of musicians, and other KC members themselves, based on what kind of music they play, or what brand of instruments they play. I've been seeing a lot of the "I'm better than you because I play......" statements happening more frequently.

 

 

Yeah, there's always been a little of it going on over the 15 years I've been here, but it sure seems to have taken over this year.

 

Too bad.

 

As far as this topic: I don't like nor dislike like any genre. If I like a song, I like a song. Country, Prog, EDM, Pop, Rock, Classical, Jazz, Hip Hop, Hardcore Rap, etc.

 

I do have my preferences, but I will never dismiss something out of hand just because it falls into a certain musical category.

it seems to cycle between judgy and snarky. I can rock the pants off of a boisterous joyful crowd of 1000+, but I'm pretty sure I don't measure up to KC's epic standard.

 

then again ... oh heck ... they're probably right

[WesG]

Don't sweat it, Dave. If I ever post any videos of me playing, they'll probably send me to the drums forum.

[Doerfler]

Don't sweat it, Dave. If I ever post any videos of me playing, they'll probably send me to the drums forum.

 

got me beat, Wes. I'll be banished to the Food Network

[EricBarker]

Yeah, I only found this forum recently, definitely seen quite a bit of contention. Maybe I came in at a bad time?

[Bosendorphen]

While I prefer 70s Genesis, even after 1978 there were some gems.

The "Duke Suite" was some great prog ("Duke's Travels/Duke's End" is NOT pop). "Turn It On Again" maybe is pop, but very sophisticated pop in 13/4 and other time sigs. "Me and Sarah Jane," "Dodo/Lurker" are pretty quirky and not commercial. "Second Home By the Sea." "Tonight Tonight Tonight" (sort of pop but with some dissonance and a fairly developed middle section). "Domino." "Fading Lights." "The Dividing Line." Maybe not up to their 70s output but some worthy stuff.

[David Emm]

Yeah, I only found this forum recently, definitely seen quite a bit of contention. Maybe I came in at a bad time?

 

Oh, its never a bad time in that sense. Its simply that I got to see Larry Fast touring with Nektar (*and* Peter Gabriel, oh what a lucky man I am), so like many here, I'm of a certain age that can fall prey to a brief elder's case of CrankyPants. Actually, that's become the spirit of the age. Younger people get madder faster, just at very different things. The reasons aren't necessarily any dumber than OURS, either.

 

For example, I find it funny when someone claims that analog is better than digital. They're simply different flavors of ice cream and a lot of analog gear has benefited from digital elements, such as effects you can take out of the signal path at will. It reminds me of a New Yorker cartoon where 3 men are looking at a glass on a table. One is thinking "That's only half full." One is thinking "That's half empty." The third is thinking "What on Earth is that doing there without a coaster?"

I advise using this logical patch overlay for any argument herein.

 

[Losendoskeys]

While I prefer 70s Genesis, even after 1978 there were some gems.

The "Duke Suite" was some great prog ("Duke's Travels/Duke's End" is NOT pop). "Turn It On Again" maybe is pop, but very sophisticated pop in 13/4 and other time sigs. "Me and Sarah Jane," "Dodo/Lurker" are pretty quirky and not commercial. "Second Home By the Sea." "Tonight Tonight Tonight" (sort of pop but with some dissonance and a fairly developed middle section). "Domino." "Fading Lights." "The Dividing Line." Maybe not up to their 70s output but some worthy stuff.

I agree there is some stuff after '78 which is prog - you missed Abacab, which is pretty proggy rather than pop really - but the structure is different and I didn't like the lyrics as much as when Gabriel was involved.

Too much "pretty mama" crap which makes my skin crawl.

Some earlier examples were awful too - "look there's a snowman, ooh what a snowman" - really FFS?

[CEB]

Disco kicks ass without the constant incessant wankery. The Ohio Players, KC and the Sunshine Band, Kool and the Gang, Chic, The Gap Band, The Spinners, The Emotions...... Great tunes, great grooves.

 

Thank you!!!!!

 

 

Ya know, it sure seems that during the year (2018), Keyboard Corner has taken a turn towards being very judgemental of not only musical styles, but of musicians, and other KC members themselves, based on what kind of music they play, or what brand of instruments they play. I've been seeing a lot of the "I'm better than you because I play......" statements happening more frequently.

 

 

Yeah, there's always been a little of it going on over the 15 years I've been here, but it sure seems to have taken over this year.

 

Too bad.

 

As far as this topic: I don't like nor dislike like any genre. If I like a song, I like a song. Country, Prog, EDM, Pop, Rock, Classical, Jazz, Hip Hop, Hardcore Rap, etc.

 

I do have my preferences, but I will never dismiss something out of hand just because it falls into a certain musical category.

 

Not absolutely necessary but sure helps a lot to be able to appreciate everything if you want to get paid. Sure makes the job more fun.

[DaveMcM]

It's interesting to me how folks in a keyboard forum talk bad about disco. There was a lot of keyboard-heavy music back then. The guitar was just filler. Drums, bass and tons of keyboard parts to cover. I loved playing some of that stuff.