Friday, November 20, 2009

Found Link: PopMatters wants more Progressive Rock in the Hall of Fame

So I wake up this morning, after a night of bizarre and often intense dreams, to discover that a website is calling on the Rock and Roll hall of fame to include more Progressive Rock bands. This wouldn't be such a strange occurrence if it wasn't for the fact that the website in question is named Pop Matters! (I rub my eyes again, splash cold watter in my face, am I still dreaming?) What's going on lately? After three decades of being ignored, and worse, being mocked ruthlessly, suddenly everyone left-right-and-centre is claiming to appreciate and understand Progressive Rock. It doesn't help that they refer to the Proggers as the "Freaks and Geeks" of Rock and Roll, but we've heard worse. Read and let me know what you make of this strangeness.

Letting the Freaks and Geeks Into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame | Sound Affects | PopMatters
The nomination of Genesis is a decent start for progressive rock, but King Crimson, Yes, and Rush are still patiently waiting for nomination. One problem for progressive rock is that, in general, it’s not a genre adored by rock critics. But regardless of whether you think 2112 or Relayer is a masterpiece, progressive rock’s most notable characteristics (the odd time signature shifts, full albums broken into “acts” or “suites”) are everywhere in rock. If a song by a rock band exceeds eight minutes, chances are high that there’s going to be a Yes comparison. Even a band as critically adored as the Decemberists has garnered plenty of prog rock comparisons.


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