Music Banter - View Single Post - Should rock be considered prog just because it's technical?

jackhammer · 10-25-2011, 04:53 PM

One of the problems is that in order to convey what a particular band's style of music is then it is only natural to narrow the genre parameters and use 'Progressive' as a catch all.

I do this myself when I am trying to describe a band that plays Metal or Rock but doesn't follow a set pattern of verse/chorus or just rely on straight riffs. Clearly a band like Porcupine Tree doesn't sound anything like Feeder for example even though they use the same basic instruments so using 'Prog' as a term suggests that the band (Porcupine Tree) are approaching their music in a completely different way but they are not always 'progressive' regarding the stereotypical sound associated with experimental bands of the 70's, yet they are certainly different enough to not be just another formulaic rock band.

This is a big problem and gets many genre fans knickers in a twist because if you describe a band as progressive even if they stick to a relatively rigid formula then they are NOT progressive but I think it is important to emphasise that many bands do sound different and use many moods and textures in their music and may well appeal to a wider base of music fans and usually you have to use the word Progressive in order to convey that.

I do think that purely technical rock/metal music is another form altogether from progressive music but in the cold light of day 'progressive music' surely means progression of a particular state and if time signatures and musical scales are stretched then it is deserving of the term but I cannot acquiesce to this line of thought either.

Critics and fans alike need labels to describe the music that they are listening to but one persons interpretation of music is not always what someone else agrees upon.

10-25-2011, 04:53 PM	#10 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	One of the problems is that in order to convey what a particular band's style of music is then it is only natural to narrow the genre parameters and use 'Progressive' as a catch all. I do this myself when I am trying to describe a band that plays Metal or Rock but doesn't follow a set pattern of verse/chorus or just rely on straight riffs. Clearly a band like Porcupine Tree doesn't sound anything like Feeder for example even though they use the same basic instruments so using 'Prog' as a term suggests that the band (Porcupine Tree) are approaching their music in a completely different way but they are not always 'progressive' regarding the stereotypical sound associated with experimental bands of the 70's, yet they are certainly different enough to not be just another formulaic rock band. This is a big problem and gets many genre fans knickers in a twist because if you describe a band as progressive even if they stick to a relatively rigid formula then they are NOT progressive but I think it is important to emphasise that many bands do sound different and use many moods and textures in their music and may well appeal to a wider base of music fans and usually you have to use the word Progressive in order to convey that. I do think that purely technical rock/metal music is another form altogether from progressive music but in the cold light of day 'progressive music' surely means progression of a particular state and if time signatures and musical scales are stretched then it is deserving of the term but I cannot acquiesce to this line of thought either. Critics and fans alike need labels to describe the music that they are listening to but one persons interpretation of music is not always what someone else agrees upon. __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”