Chris Squire Footnote

[Oreb]

This might be of interest to some here. Barry Rose is a well-known choral director and played pipe-organ on Fish Out of Water. Apparently his links with Chris Squire go back further.

http://barryrose.co.uk/home.html

[Svetonio]

(...) Chris was one of Barry's first choristers at St.Andrew's Church, Kingsbury, going on from there to fame and fortune as bass guitarist in the pop group YES, which he founded with Jon Anderson - see this article at Wikipedia. (...)

Interesting. Actually, back in the day, a lot of people considered Symphonic rock as "pop" because Symphonic rock songs are not based on a riff.

[Baribrotzer]

Interesting. Actually, back in the day, a lot of people considered Symphonic rock as "pop" because Symphonic rock songs are not based on a riff.

I can see that. Days of Future Passed, for example, is far closer musically to Burt Bacharach than it is to, say, Cream. Also, to some older classical musicians, all popular music other than jazz (which they generally recognize as something distinct) falls into the "pop" bin.

[yoyiceu]

When you do a search in Allmusic.com, almost all rock groups (from Cream or Genesis to the Sex Pistols) are described as pop-rock, while others are country, electronica, blues, jazz, etc. Thus, there's not even a distinction between progressive, hard rock rock or punk rock...

[Oreb]

I think "pop" as distinct from "rock" was and remains a coinage of "rock" fans wanting to affirm a seriousness and credibility within the genre that they believe "pop" excludes.

It's a broader version of prog-snobbery which dates back at least to the cultural shift from the Brill Building to Altamont. It's also silly. To deny seriousness and credibility to Carole King, James Taylor, Bacharach or songs like "Witchita Lineman" or "Galveston" is ignorant, to suggest that the crooners or dance bands weren't as socially dangerous as the Stones or the Clash is ahistorical.

That said, "pop" as an abbreviation of "popular" is, these days, abdolutely inappropriate for prog. It didn't used to be, but it never wil be again.

[Baribrotzer]

Although these days, "pop" means "disco", since most product from The Big Time Music Business - Madonna, Justin B., Justin T., Beyonce, and the like - amounts to what used to be called disco. From what I understand, much of it is written by the same four people. And quite a bit of it comes from Sweden, because the Swedish songwriter/producer Max Martin (and several apprentices of his) managed to crack the hit single formula, so they've dominated The Big Time Music Business for the last twenty years.

[mogrooves]

The term "popular," with regard to music, emerged in the 19th c. as a catchall for virtually any and all music other than so-called "classical" music. It was more a term denoting social distinction than style, music-as-contagion to be quarantined so as not to infect the sonic precincts of the upper classes.

The diminutive "pop" was a music industry marketing term of the late 40s/early 50s that--like "race," "ethnic," and "hillbilly" before it--indicated, not a particular style but a specific, primarily white, consumer demographic, namely the new "teenager" flush with post-war disposable cash.

[iguana]

one year gone today. his passing to me marks a watershed moment in all things prog.

onward.