Prog fans hyping prog bands

[Digital_Man]

If there's one thing that rubs me the wrong way it's when prog fans hype up certain bands. A little praise or a recommendation is ok but to me hype is something different. It is excessive praise and accolades that most bands can't live up to. Even the truly great albums or bands that are hyped can't live up to it. I can be more understanding and forgiving if you are somehow affiliated with the band like if you work for them, are related or a promoter or even a band member but for the most part I just don't get it.

Over the past ten years or so I haven't seen a whole lot of it on here because most fans seem to be aware of the possibility of hype. However it has happened and without naming specific bands here is what their names sound like:

Goth Mellum
Tragic Eye
Bars Bollow

To a lesser extent:

Goon Atari
Gobbler

At least two of these bands are no longer with us so in the long run the hype didn't help. Lol.

I'm sure other bands have been hyped in prog circles but those are the ones who stand out for me(well, the bands who sound like them. ).

[Firth]

I'm not sure which is worse the drama from hypers or haters.

[Joe F.]

Figital Dan

[Progbear]

Figital Dan

[Digital_Man]

I'm not sure which is worse the drama from hypers or haters.

There's no hate here. I just don't want something forced down my throat. Hey you like album x I get it. It doesn't mean everyone else will.

Here's an example from personal experience. At the very first Nearfest I was looking at some cds from the guy who was promoting the band Solaris. Apparently he was also involved with the band After Crying. I was just looking not interested in buying anything. This guy was trying really, really hard to get me to buy an After Crying cd. The dude was just relentless and wouldn't stop yammering on(before anyone says it this is my thread and I might be yammering on here but at least I'm not trying to force you to read this thread or buy something). So I don't know what this guy's game was other than to try to close a sale on a cd but he went about it the wrong way. His pushing the cd on me actually made me want to NOT buy the cd. Needless to say I never bought the cd and it almost turned me off completely from the band After Crying. This maybe wasn't a clear cut case of too much hype but the effect is the same. Often times hype has the opposite effect than what was intended and the potential buyer is turned off. Does anyone else feel this way about products(especially cds)that are over hyped?

[Poisoned Youth]

Needless to say I never bought the cd and it almost turned me off completely from the band After Crying. This maybe wasn't a clear cut case of too much hype but the effect is the same. Often times hype has the opposite effect than what was intended and the potential buyer is turned off.

When you put it this way, I agree with you. But it has to do less about how good the music is/isn't and more about the personalities behind those promoting it. I do not like the hard sell at all, and will often react in an opposite manner.

However, I feel you may not be talking about hype as much as enthusiasm. I define hype as something you can't get away from. Everyone is talking about it. Maybe it's a new movie and it's being discussed on most news and variety programs, talk shows with actors appearing, etc. Maybe I'm being pedantic about the phrase.

Some of the bands you mention in the first post are "victims" of what I would call a certain level of over-enthusiasm from fans. Even though I like the group, I've often felt that Feckel Inn falls into this category, along with Fig Fig Tree.

With as much music as I like, even a lot of my most favorite bands I don't tend to gush over. But that's a personality thing. And I think that's what is at the heart of the matter.

[Gerardo]

If there's one thing that rubs me the wrong way it's when prog fans hype up certain bands. A little praise or a recommendation is ok but to me hype is something different. It is excessive praise and accolades that most bands can't live up to. Even the truly great albums or bands that are hyped can't live up to it. I can be more understanding and forgiving if you are somehow affiliated with the band like if you work for them, are related or a promoter or even a band member but for the most part I just don't get it.

Over the past ten years or so I haven't seen a whole lot of it on here because most fans seem to be aware of the possibility of hype. However it has happened and without naming specific bands here is what their names sound like:

Goth Mellum
Tragic Eye
Bars Bollow

To a lesser extent:

Goon Atari
Gobbler

At least two of these bands are no longer with us so in the long run the hype didn't help. Lol.

I'm sure other bands have been hyped in prog circles but those are the ones who stand out for me(well, the bands who sound like them. ).

I get where you are coming from. It has happened to me in the past and with one of the bands you mention. I had a friend who was praising this band so much and telling me to buy their debut because they were the 8th wonder of prog (such was the hyperbole). So I bought it and listened to it 5 or 6 times and realized it was, how do I put it, er not good. Then I would come here to PE and everyone in PE was praising the album so much that, when one member stated that he bought it and didn't know what was the fuss about, he was pummeled and berated by almost everyone here. I happened to agree with his assessment of the music and, like him, didn't understand what was the fuss about. I decided to keep my opinion to myself and not express it here after seeing the reaction against that member and just decided to refrain as much as I can to state an opinion on a thread by an artist and/or album as not to offend those who might like them, but if/when I do, I'll always state the reasons *why* I don't like it instead of giving blanket statements like "it's crap" or "it sucks" even when I think they are sometimes deserved.

[Yves]

I'm not getting the "forced down your throat" part. Are the people involved with these bands sending you spam to your personal e-mail? How are you being "forced" to hear about them? Are there guns involved? handcuffs? Clockwork Orange??

[markwoll]

After being 'burned' ( which is entirely subjective and narrow minded I am sure ) I try and research bands before spending money.
There are so many sources of info about bands and music it is easy to overlook a good band in all of the noise.
I have missed out on earlier adoption of some bands because I was wary of the hype, and have bought into a couple of artists based on Fabulous Reviews which were crap to my ears.
Some of my favorite sources of music info have steered Me wrong. Was that my fault or theirs?
Who am I to question their taste.
It is up to me to dig a little and see if there is a match in taste.

Like it or not, PE serves as a major watering hole for all of the beasts of the Prog Veldt. Hyenas, baboons, lions....what have you.

[Gerardo]

After being 'burned' ( which is entirely subjective and narrow minded I am sure ) I try and research bands before spending money.
There are so many sources of info about bands and music it is easy to overlook a good band in all of the noise.
I have missed out on earlier adoption of some bands because I was wary of the hype, and have bought into a couple of artists based on Fabulous Reviews which were crap to my ears.
Some of my favorite sources of music info have steered Me wrong. Was that my fault or theirs?
Who am I to question their taste.
It is up to me to dig a little and see if there is a match in taste.

Like it or not, PE serves as a major watering hole for all of the beasts of the Prog Veldt. Hyenas, baboons, lions....what have you.

You are right and I forgot to add to my post the fact that now, what I do is I listen to samples on Amazon or go to internet prog radio and request a song of an artist I've read and I'm curious about and then decide if I like it or not instead of going by reviews or recommendations alone.

[Scrotum Scissor]

Are there guns involved?

Hm. I'd seriously consider taking a bullet instead of having to sit through Meal Norse and the guys whipping at "In Held 'Twas In I" again. There are reoccuring nightmares.

[Yves]

Or the endless crescendoes of yet another epic by TransPacific!

[JKL2000]

I'm still trying to figure out Tragic Eye and Feckel Inn.

I think what most of this is about is just people having different tastes. I think the people who say they really like Goon Atari *DO* like Goon Atari. They aren't really for me, though.
I think Fig Fig Tree is a great band. I don't think anyone's over hyping them - there are a just a lot of people who like their music, but of course not EVERYONE does.

Obviously someone who sells CDs is going to want you to buy their wares - I've once or twice bought a CD at a fest because I felt sort of pressured. But I think it had more to do with me than the seller. I no longer have much of a problem saying "No, thanks." I don't really see why someone would just lie about an album being good, or want someone else to "like" an album, unless it was their spouse or something, and you had a vested interest in whether or not they liked the album.

This is sort of a silly thread, though it's interesting to see what bands people feel are very popular but not to their taste. And I like the altered band name game.

Oh - I just figured out Tragic Eye!

[JKL2000]

Or the endless crescendoes of yet another epic by TransPacific!

Do you like their new single, "Whine?"

[strawberrybrick]

I personally love it when people are passionate about music/bands etc, whether they love them or hate them. It's why I'm here on PE. Fortunately, I am programmed with a fairly reliable bullshit detector so I can take things at arms length, and with a grain of salt. Most of the time...

[Poisoned Youth]

I think Fig Fig Tree is a great band. I don't think anyone's over hyping them - there are a just a lot of people who like their music, but of course not EVERYONE does.

To be clear, I did not say anyone was over-hyping them. I was using them as an example of a band that has some rather enthusiastic fans. And for the record, I like the band.

[Poisoned Youth]

I am programmed with a fairly reliable bullshit detector so I can take things at arms length, and with a grain of salt. Most of the time...

Bullshit!

[Brian Griffin]

I personally love it when people are passionate about music/bands etc, whether they love them or hate them. It's why I'm here on PE.

This^

Anyone who gets "burned", hasn't done the requisite homework, and I LIKE it when fans are passionate enough to "over-hype" given their entusiasim is sincere, of course

As to forced sales at festivals, Paul Whitehead was pretty pushy with hawking his prints at one of the NEARfests, but being in sales I was able to actually have fun with it

BG

[strawberrybrick]

As my father always said, "you can't bullshit a bullshitter"!

[JKL2000]

To be clear, I did not say anyone was over-hyping them. I was using them as an example of a band that has some rather enthusiastic fans. And for the record, I like the band.

Well, I don't quite get what "over enthusiasm" is. To me it seems like if someone is REALLY enthusiastic about a band or album, it's because they just REALLY like the music.

So what is Feckel Inn?

[Scrotum Scissor]

I could never really get the enthusiasm towards Cock's Ears, Da Flour Thongs or Large Large Dick, but I kinda like Ass Slammer and cultivate a fondness for Sack'o'Rim.

[battema]

Well, I don't quite get what "over enthusiasm" is. To me it seems like if someone is REALLY enthusiastic about a band or album, it's because they just REALLY like the music.

So what is Feckel Inn?

Almost always hard to say....in some ways the funniest gauge of these things.

[JKL2000]

I could never really get the enthusiasm towards Cock's Ears, Da Flour Thongs or Large Large Dick, but I kinda like Ass Slammer and cultivate a fondness for Sack'o'Rim.

LOL. Ok, I got all those except Sack'o'Rim. I need a clue.

Ooh! I just got Feckel Inn!! Some of the love for Feckel Inn might be because they're American and had a shot at the big time.

[PotatoSolution]

You make it sound like promoting a prog band, which about 0.00000004% of the world population will ever hear of, is equivalent to tattooing the band's name on Bruno Mars' forehead during the Super Bowl halftime show.

Trying to get people to know of your existence so you can sell a few copies of your album in a futile attempt to break even in an environment where prog is an obscure sub-genre of an obscure sub-genre barely qualifies as "hype".

Also, if you want to rag on bands, be a man and say their name.

[Enid]

There's no hate here. I just don't want something forced down my throat. Hey you like album x I get it. It doesn't mean everyone else will.

Here's an example from personal experience. At the very first Nearfest I was looking at some cds from the guy who was promoting the band Solaris. Apparently he was also involved with the band After Crying. I was just looking not interested in buying anything. This guy was trying really, really hard to get me to buy an After Crying cd. The dude was just relentless and wouldn't stop yammering on(before anyone says it this is my thread and I might be yammering on here but at least I'm not trying to force you to read this thread or buy something). So I don't know what this guy's game was other than to try to close a sale on a cd but he went about it the wrong way. His pushing the cd on me actually made me want to NOT buy the cd. Needless to say I never bought the cd and it almost turned me off completely from the band After Crying. This maybe wasn't a clear cut case of too much hype but the effect is the same. Often times hype has the opposite effect than what was intended and the potential buyer is turned off. Does anyone else feel this way about products(especially cds)that are over hyped?

It's all part of business and it's very embarrasing. It's one of the reasons why musicians run and hide in the dressing room or drink and take drugs. Musicians are mostly sensitive and have trouble laughing this stuff off. Vendors, managers, agents, and fans that worship them create a uncomfortable situation. Syd Barrett and Brian Jones had hate for this environment. Brian Jones once said....that he made it as a Pop star, but was artistically unhappy. And that's within Rock music....so imagine how some of the more schooled but humble Prog musicians feel? All that pushy attitude of sell, sell, sell......makes musicians feel unworthy because they know the truth.