Why are we debating an arguing in the "genre of the week" thread"? I don't know if it's a rule or not, but I find it very rude to the spirit of the thread. It's like calling somebody you hate a "****ing retard" on his or her birthday. Completely uncalled for. There are other threads to bitch about things in.
Now, As for the concept of technical skill. Prog is NOT about technical skill, but requires you to use your technical skill to the fullest. Many people are kind of ignorant on how little technical skill you are required to have in mainstream rock in comparison to genres like classical, or jazz. Prog however throws that concept out the window, and forces an instrumentalist to showcase the really sort of suppressed skill that most rock doesn't allow to develop.
The reason for this however is NOT to show off. Prog is about challenging oneself. It's about making the most difficult music possible so that next time you make music, you have something to push yourself to top. Inherited strongly from Jazz, prog forces an instrumentalist to develop a relationship with his, or her, instrument. Also, though, prog enforces the unit to work together, each of which contributing the fullest of a member's skill to the greater good of the sound as whole.
As for length, **** it, I love lengthy songs. Too many people are pacified with the 3-4 minute radio formula of instant gratification, and mindless hooks on loop. Prog forces the listener to think. Is it more difficult to get through a prog epic? Yes, it is. But saying that's a dent on quality is like saying that The Bearenstein Bears books are superior to Moby **** because they are easier to get through. It's missing out on the real point of what prog is about.
Prog is a genre that typifies man's will to discover himself, and his fullest potential. It's not dead, it can never really be dead. Whether it be in the mainstream or not, it's the spirit of prog that counts, really, and for that reason, this is a week well deserved.
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