Prog - Still The Fastest Way To Clear A Room

[Staun]

Some of you might get a kick out of this. So, we are on vacation in Florida at my wife’s sister’s place. 2 of her other sisters are also here so it is a whole family thing. In the evening we have been playing cards usually with Pandora radio playing on the computer. To say that their musical tastes are different from mine would be an understatement, so I usually just stay out of the music selection, but……..tonight they say “Steve, how about you pick the Pandora channel tonight?” So, I am thinking what I can put on that I can enjoy, but can still be palatable for this crowd? I end up putting on Marillion…….I am thinking it is pretty tame, middle of the road prog stuff that should not be too hard to handle. We made it exactly 6 songs into it, before they all decided the channel needed to be changed. Oh well……sometimes I forget just how far out of the mainstream most of us prog fans are……..

Let's face it and I hate putting it this way. Most people who listen to commerical pop music are usually content with hearing things they are familiar with. Sort of a comfort zone where you really don't have to listen or think. Like being washed with the same water over and over again. You know what to expect. Comfort in the usual.

[No Pride]

My ex-wife could tolerate some progressive rock(Hatfield/Caravan/Tull) but headed for the hills when anything with a saxophone was played.Needless to say, jazz was not something we could share,musically.

We're still on friendly terms and she recently told me she has come to love music with saxophone, i asked her what music she was speaking of, and she said, "Kenny G, that kind of stuff".

DOH!

My ex's parents were both jazz musicians (and her sister was Dave Liebman's first wife), so she was very accustomed. I remember putting on Chick Corea's "Now He Sings, Now He Sobs" and she said, "my mother used to play this all the time when I was a kid." Turns out Chick used to hang at their home in NYC sometimes.

[Scrotum Scissor]

You must realize that she was a little unusual.

Oh, believe me - I do.

But now that it's been 12 years since we separated I CAN'T SEEM TO FIND ME ANOTHER RADICAL PROG BABE WHO EVEN JUMPS IN A TAXI AND GOES TO WANDSWORTH ROAD TO CHECK OUT THE LONG SINCE ABANDONED RER OFFICES WHILE ON A DRUNKEN BINGE IN LONDON WITH HER FRIENDS AFTER HAVING READ AN ARTICLE I WROTE!

[Facelift]

Let's face it and I hate putting it this way. Most people who listen to commerical pop music are usually content with hearing things they are familiar with. Sort of a comfort zone where you really don't have to listen or think. Like being washed with the same water over and over again. You know what to expect. Comfort in the usual.

This is definitely true, and I think it's true of most people, whether they are into prog or not. But context is also important. When there is a gathering of people, and music is to be on in the background, I don't think it's at all unreasonable for most people to consider already-familiar music to be preferable, regardless of the genre. Unfamiliar music, to music fans especially, would require more of an active participation by the listener to enjoy, but that wasn't the point of the gathering.

Also, if it's a party and the music is more of a primary component of the experience then something appropriate for a party should be played.

Don't we all have music we like that most people know and like as well?

[Prognosticator]

Most guys appreciate music for the GUT....most girls want music for the BUTT....

[jkelman]

Well, I've another one; two, actually. When I was in a singer/songwriter's band in the 1980s and at a party early in our friendship, it was late, he said "time to clear the room" and put on some Uilleann pipes by a guy named Billy Pigg, from the mid-1940s. Within 10 minutes only he...and I were left. Most people hated it; I loved it, as I could hear, instantly, at least one major source for the way Richard Thompson plays pedal tones and bends notes.

It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship...but still, I think even better than prog to clear the room.

When I worked in a record store for 9 months in 1976/77, when we wanted to empty the store at closing we put on the Sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen" at eleven. Cleared the place out in minutes.

[Jerjo]

My high school class is having its fortieth reunion this summer. The DJ will be a guy that sings in barbershop quartets. He told me that he'll play "70s stuff" for the reunion, he's got tons of songs loaded onto his phone. Um, sure. I can guaran-fucking-tee that I will hear each and every goddamn pop hit that I hated back then but not a single good guitar riff, let alone prog. It's going to take a lot of beer to get through this. Too much beer though will result in me destroying the sound system when "Love Will Keep Us Together" or "Feelings" comes on.

[Garden Dreamer]

My mom is well versed in the likes of Pink Floyd, Supertramp, etc... because she took an interest in our music when we were teenagers.

In high school, I was playing bass in a church production of "Godspell". I had "And You and I" on the stereo and my mom asked if that was one of the songs from Godspell. She liked my Peter Frampton albums (studio albums prior to Comes Alive).

[Garden Dreamer]

My high school class is having its fortieth reunion this summer. The DJ will be a guy that sings in barbershop quartets. He told me that he'll play "70s stuff" for the reunion, he's got tons of songs loaded onto his phone. Um, sure. I can guaran-fucking-tee that I will hear each and every goddamn pop hit that I hated back then but not a single good guitar riff, let alone prog. It's going to take a lot of beer to get through this. Too much beer though will result in me destroying the sound system when "Love Will Keep Us Together" or "Feelings" comes on.

Stay strong, brother.

[at least 100 dead]

Too much beer though will result in me destroying the sound system when "Love Will Keep Us Together" or "Feelings" comes on.

Make sure someone films that with one of dem smart phones.

[Splicer]

I've just gotten to the point where I'll refuse to feature any music I like in such settings. When asked why, I just say, "It's pretty high level stuff. You have to get there."

[Staun]

This is definitely true, and I think it's true of most people, whether they are into prog or not. But context is also important. When there is a gathering of people, and music is to be on in the background, I don't think it's at all unreasonable for most people to consider already-familiar music to be preferable, regardless of the genre. Unfamiliar music, to music fans especially, would require more of an active participation by the listener to enjoy, but that wasn't the point of the gathering.

Also, if it's a party and the music is more of a primary component of the experience then something appropriate for a party should be played.

Don't we all have music we like that most people know and like as well?

Ya, context is the thing. Like, what do you wear to a chicken fight? Your best threads or......

[gryphs also]

My mother and father wouldn't come near my room when I was playing my music so I knew I had to keep playing it. Once I was playing Dark Side Of The Moon and my father walked in and said, "These guys are clever". After that I stopped playing it when they were home.

Years later I was back from university and The Wall had just come out. I was playing it and my father came upstairs and said, "I don't know who these guys are, but they are almost as good as Pink Floyd".

The one band I was not allowed to play was Jethro Tull. My father would demand I turned it off as he couldn't stand "The Kiltie".

[yamishogun]

Years later I was back from university and The Wall had just come out. I was playing it and my father came upstairs and said, "I don't know who these guys are, but they are almost as good as Pink Floyd".

You're father knows Pink Floyd??

My dad saw me watching a concert in our basement around 1984. He asked, "Why do you like such repetitive music?"

It was Yes playing Starship Trooper during an encore....

[Reginod]

If I'm in any kind of social setting, I always let the other people choose the music. I'm the one that has to grin and bear it.

As a matter of fact I pretty much avoid even talking about music with most people. I just try to let peoples' tastes be what they will, and block it out as much as I can.

NP Hans Werner Henze (room-clearer extraordinaire) Natascha

[Gerardo]

Some of you might get a kick out of this. So, we are on vacation in Florida at my wife’s sister’s place. 2 of her other sisters are also here so it is a whole family thing. In the evening we have been playing cards usually with Pandora radio playing on the computer. To say that their musical tastes are different from mine would be an understatement, so I usually just stay out of the music selection, but……..tonight they say “Steve, how about you pick the Pandora channel tonight?” So, I am thinking what I can put on that I can enjoy, but can still be palatable for this crowd? I end up putting on Marillion…….I am thinking it is pretty tame, middle of the road prog stuff that should not be too hard to handle. We made it exactly 6 songs into it, before they all decided the channel needed to be changed. Oh well……sometimes I forget just how far out of the mainstream most of us prog fans are……..

The reason why we don't get prog bands to play live here in Florida

Last year in Central Florida, at least, we got the likes of Anathema and John Wesley for more contemporary prog related artists and the classic prog/prog-related artists like Yes, Alan Parsons, Wishbone Ash, Goblin, The Orchestra, and Steve Hackett, (and the latter only because he was playing classic Genesis material, otherwise I would have never seen him around these parts) in an anomaly year. Florida is a deserted wasteland as far as prog goes. This year we have gone back to normal with no prog artist/band in sight. I'm guessing you bored your family to death

[JKL2000]

No....The Celtic Women Channel.......I shit you not......

Damn - you should have just ripped off your ears at that stage to make a point.

[JKL2000]

Im not sure it was a rejection of Marillion so much as a rejection of music they didnt know. One or two songs most people can do. I notice they get antsy around the 3rd. No matter what it is, unless it is their exact favorite type of music or band, too many songs they dont know just wear their patience. I had an interesting experience with this at one of those listening crossroads that took me further into prog rock than I had ever been before. Years ago I drove to New Orleans with some friends, one of whom was the guy who exposed me to the world of bands from all over the world - the Italians and the French and the Scandinavians, etc. Before him I never knew so much progressive music had been recorded. Anyways, he brought along a ton of tapes of all this stuff I hadnt heard. After I started off the proceedings with something we all knew, Genesis or something like that, he took over and...tape after tape of all this stuff I didnt know. It overwhelmed me, then frustrated me. I thought "am I going to do this whole trip with stuff I dont what's coming next, every moment?" Then, after about an hour, I broke thru it. Suddenly I didnt WANT to hear anything I already knew, just strange music: Culpepper's Orchard / Circus / Banco / Atoll / Birth Control / Il Baletto, etc. And for the rest of the trip I was good. But I think I'm an exception. The point is even I, a prog rock fanatic, struggled with hearing so much of what I didnt know. I DO consider this a crossroads moment in my listening life. The vast majority of people I know would have rejected it all and walked away from it (metaphorically and / or physically) but I ended up embracing it and diving in, which led to attending all the festivals and being more committed to the style and scene than ever before.

Incidentally, I just recently played "Misplaced Childhood" and "Clutching at Straws" for the first time in years and rather enjoyed them. Fish's voice retains the ability to drive some from the room, those who cant handle his histrionic style and over-the-top passion

Interesting tale! It would be funny to make someone listen to the Fugazi album followed by Pawn Hearts, then Present or something, some Magma. Just pummel them!

[Rogue Mail]

This is definitely true, and I think it's true of most people, whether they are into prog or not. But context is also important. When there is a gathering of people, and music is to be on in the background, I don't think it's at all unreasonable for most people to consider already-familiar music to be preferable, regardless of the genre. Unfamiliar music, to music fans especially, would require more of an active participation by the listener to enjoy, but that wasn't the point of the gathering.

Also, if it's a party and the music is more of a primary component of the experience then something appropriate for a party should be played.

Don't we all have music we like that most people know and like as well?

It's one of the reasons I stopped listening to radio years ago.

Last experience I had of radio channels was about 15 years ago, working in an office and there was a radio on in the background. But they listened to mainstream channels like Radio 1, Capital etc...and they just played the same songs over and over every couple of hours.

After a while I started to comment on it...they are playing the same songs again etc. The Andre 3000 song Hey Yah was the killer. Damn thing played endlessly.

At first everyone thought it was funny to see my reaction every time the song played. But then it just got really irritating, to the point where I would visibly flinch and clench my knuckles when it came on. I swear the others in the office thought I was going to lose it.

So someone suggested we should maybe change the station now and again, which gave me a chance to find a decent rock channel.

But after comments along the lines of 'What's this then?', 'Ooooohh, this is horrible' et...I gave up.

I find a lot of people who listen to popular chart music on the radio don't actually listen to it at all...it's background noise, it's just there for comfort, a gentle, familiar background noise that is not taxing and they don't have to think about. Passive listening, essentially. The aural equivalent of mogadon.

That's NOT how I listen to music.

And here's another thing to consider...such people who listen to popular radio stations that repeat songs over and over...sorry, but if I heard my all time favourite piece of music 8 times a day, 5 days a week, I would be fit to kill.

[Facelift]

It's one of the reasons I stopped listening to radio years ago.

Last experience I had of radio channels was about 15 years ago, working in an office and there was a radio on in the background...

I find a lot of people who listen to popular chart music on the radio don't actually listen to it at all...it's background noise, it's just there for comfort, a gentle, familiar background noise that is not taxing and they don't have to think about. Passive listening, essentially.

That's NOT how I listen to music.

Me neither, but you did say it was in an office, while you were working. I wouldn't think that a whole lot of active listening could be going on in that environment anyway.

That said, having something you hate being set to repeat for days on end isn't any fun regardless of how passive the listening is.

I always got the idea that the music programming on hit radio wasn't premised on people staying with the channel for hours on end, but to make sure that the big hits were there for whenever people did drop in (which explains the repetition). It would be like having news radio on all day, hearing essentially the same 20-30 minute cycles repeating over and over.

[Bigpicturekeys]

Steve, this leads me to two or three observations.....First I would only host or play prog at a party with my proggy friends. Two, my wife says she doesn't like prog due to the fact I played keys in a Genesis tribute band for 10 years and wore out its welcome with her. Funny thing is her I pod is filled with her favorite music which 90 percent is prog or boarders on prog or art rock. We are going to 4 shows this next 3 months...Mike and the Mechanics, Todd Rundgren, Alan Parsons, and Steven Wilson....so I scratch my head a little bit. She loves our new band which we started recently and have 11 Porcupine Tree tunes down. I forget who stated on the blog earlier about todays tastes in music which basically said people want something familiar. I go one step further to say most don't want to be challenged by music complexity, just put on mundane background music and go about whatever else the mind is focused on.

[Rogue Mail]

Me neither, but you did say it was in an office, while you were working. I wouldn't think that a whole lot of active listening could be going on in that environment anyway.

That said, having something you hate being set to repeat for days on end isn't any fun regardless of how passive the listening is.

I always got the idea that the music programming on hit radio wasn't premised on people staying with the channel for hours on end, but to make sure that the big hits were there for whenever people did drop in (which explains the repetition). It would be like having news radio on all day, hearing essentially the same 20-30 minute cycles repeating over and over.

Hmmm...I have worked in a few environments where a radio has been on in the background throughout the day, and over the years have come to the conclusion that it becomes a form of brainwashing. I have known people comment on how bad a song is...and yet a few days or a week later they are humming/singing along to it.

If you are someone who has no specific musical preferences or tastes and is happy to listen to whatever tunes the radio throws at you, fair enough...enjoy. But I doubt few people on here fall into that category.

[Don Arnold]

Several times a year I'll host a few guy friends for a Risk party, followed usually by a couple rounds of hearts. Always great fun. Well, the guys all know that I control the music so if they want to come play, they've got to put up with my music tastes. Of course, I always have a handful of selected Prog cds awaiting a spin. I try to be somewhat kind and choose stuff that's at the accessible end of the spectrum. However, as has already been pointed out, even the more accessible Prog is still fairly out there compared to mainstream music.

Usually once or twice during the evening one of the guys will pipe up with "boy Don, this one actually has a melody".

[JKL2000]

No....The Celtic Women Channel.......I shit you not......

Wait - Celtic Women CHANNEL? They have a whole channel?

"I seldom listen to anything that isn't Celtic Women. But when I do, it's something else on the Celtic Women Channel."

[ProgMusician]

As a joke on our sound man at a big hair 80s club, I snuck up to the board while he was at the bar getting a beer and slipped in Steve Hackett's "Tigermoth". The energy in the room did a 180 haha, and said sound man was practically leaping over tables to get it off the speakers. There is actually a monthly "Prog Night" at a Cleveland area bar these days. Good bunch of people and it's nothing but the real thing all night!