I hope everyone who took offense to Friday's post understood that I was being at least partially tongue-in--cheek. Obviously, there is no genre of music -- with the possible exception of polka -- that is totally without value. So -- apologies to prog-rock fans.
That said, I would be remiss if I didn't note that the reaction to said post is proof of the late Pete Hamill's famous maxim -- that you should never employ irony in a Third World country.
Also, if you like Rush, have a word with yourself.
I actually love Rush, especially the earlier, funnier ones. Will give myself said talking to, right after I listen to "Hemispheres." Loud.
ReplyDelete;)
So I assume by now you've all heard the differences in the mixes of "Salad Day"?
ReplyDeleteProg Rock or R & B? Discuss.
Captain Al
Funny, I hate prog and seriously agree with everything Steve said about it EXCEPT for Rush. I lost touch about 1992 or so but quite enjoy most of their stuff up til then. Coincidentally, I just listened to Hemispheres for the first time in probably 15 years and it was better than I remember.
ReplyDeleteMy only problem was with the comments about the Band, whom I will defend with my dying breath. BTW, Robbie's dig at Procul Harum came after the liner notes of the second PH album stated unequivocally that Music From Big Pink was "influenced" by their first.
ReplyDeleteOne final comment:
ReplyDeleteTo paraphrase the late critic Gene Lees, who was frequently full of shit --
Prog rock is quack classical. Period.
A music fan whose favorite genre is Prog Rock thinks of themselves as a musical snob and won't admit it!
ReplyDeleteCaptain Al
One of the commenters put down Gamelan and Zydeco (!). And now you're dumping on Polka- if nothing else, an unpretentious source of joy for many. Still, it's true that Prog can be insufferable. But not as much as its older brother, Fusion. People into it probably claim to also like kale. When I was in high school, I out-snobbed the Prog snobs by being into Mahavishnu Orchestra. I can't listen to them now.
ReplyDelete"A music fan whose favorite genre is Prog Rock thinks of themselves as a musical snob and won't admit it!"
ReplyDeleteOy vey.
See, Sal agrees with me.
ReplyDeleteCaptain Al
um, i thought it fairly obvious that Steve was having fun (see title of the week). there's a lot of music in the world. i'll never get, i expect, to the place where i can say it is all just fine, let alone that i will listen to it (Rush is a great example---i hear they are a good band, and i can't listen to Geddy's voice; i also can't listen to most opera, though i love the music). We all like different things. If we really judged people because they liked different music (something a lot of us did when we were young) we'd be wrong. BUT, i think it is okay on one's on blog to have a little fun and dish some. if any of us were young, it could be considered transgressive or at least rejecting a dominant aesthetic. since we're all old it's performative grumpiness, and performed only on old recordings, not much of a sin, if sin at all.
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