Has PE shaped your tastes any?

[moecurlythanu]

I can't say PE has broadened my tastes at all, and I came here very wary of online recommendations, having been burned by that several times pre-PE.

Having said that, the youtube embedding has really made a positive difference in the previewing of recommendations. I'm thankful for PE members turning me on to Musica Ficta (Udi) and especially the one who was pushing La Desooorden. Sorry I don't recall who that was, but those discs have been a great addition.

Misses have been Magic Pie & Moon Safari, and, to be honest, Yugen has yet to be something I can enthuse about, but I do respect them musically.

[Vic2012]

So you're the guy whose ass LP wants to kick...I always wondered who he was referring to.

Yeah, Traveler is a guy I admire for promoting the "world music" influences in progressive rock and broadening our horizons on what is "prog." It's not a crusade I completely support, but I dig a lot of the same music he does. But to me, "prog/rock" will always be the "Big 5, symphonic" stuff and the 3rd wave acts like the Flower/Beards.

[gryphs also]

I was intomost of the big bands and some of the lesser ones in the 70s but was more into heavy metal. The 80s were a dire period for me. Reading a guitar magazine in the 90s introduced me to a new, young, impressive guitarist and his band. The more I read, the more interested I became. I finally found one of their CDs and was hooked. The band was Dream Theater. That eventually lead me here. I was more into the prog metal, but soon symph became my favourite. Nine years later, I still don't get most RIO, advant guard, or Zuehl, find Canterbury either love or hate, and the rest of whatever you want to categorize "what is prog" I enjoy greatly. Has PE influenced my musical taste? Well, it's increased my CD collection, taken me to many concerts and festivals, introduced me to some of the nicest and most "interesting" people I know, and reignited my love of music. My wife says I became much happier when I discovered the site but she's married to me so how much can her opinion be worth?

[progeezer]

My wife says I became much happier when I discovered the site but she's married to me so how much can her opinion be worth?

So she's made one bad decision then?

[No Pride]

I can't say that PE has "broadened" my taste, but I certainly have discovered a lot of artists because of it. It also helped me realize that there was a lot of prog out there that I absolutely do not like, and will never like.

It's pretty much the same for me. Every once in a while I'll discover a modern prog band that I like a lot, thanks to PE. But I still feel that most of the best prog comes from the '70s... and one thing that the modern prog bands I do like have in common is that there's some elements that you would've never heard in the '70s; they've made some effort to push the genre forward. And I don't mean prog/metal, although I do like some of that stuff. I'm talking about bands like Thinking Plague, Advent, The Underground Railroad, Kimara Sajn, etc.

But for practically any musical genre you can think of, there's somebody here who's into it... and I love that about PE (because prog makes up only a portion of the kind of music I listen to)! Also there's a lot of nice, smart, funny, wise and otherwise interesting people that are fun to hang with. Music is my passion and I love discussing it with like-minded folks, so thanks for the opportunity to do so, PE!

[yogibear]

symph prog was prog to me.

if we are talking ancient history then "symph" was the major definition of prog to me. i was not aware of all the other styles of prog within that musical genre. this would be circa 1975 or 76.

[Trane]

Do you feel I was on the right track? Have your tastes widened thanks to PE?

What else do you think PE has done in since it's inception?

This may sound pretty self-sufficient, but my tastes were already formed well beore I started being a PE member in 2004.....

So I wouldn't say that PE made me discover loads of new music (it has on occasions of course), but where PE did come in, is in my reassessment of what I already knew, but hadn't appreciated to its just value (whatever that means)

For ex, while I had been a Soft Machine and Nucleus fan since the early 80's, I started discoveing 60's & 70's british jazz around the time I used the web almost daily (change of job helping)... For years, I still discovered on my own... I've only seen (or noticed) in the last two years PE threads on the subject.... So while these threads have helped me somewhat in finding my way in the quagmire, but it hasn't played an essential role in my searches.

What PE has brought to me, is a calmer place of refuge from the other site I posted on. I fid the level of conversation more adult, more informed (though that has gotten better on the other side)...

I can't say that PE has "broadened" my taste, but I certainly have discovered a lot of artists because of it. It also helped me realize that there was a lot of prog out there that I absolutely do not like, and will never like.

Actually, while I had never warmed to the whinny-vocalled "prog" (read a form of neo), I had started growing bored or weary of a lot of new bands (in most prog subgenres) by the time I became a regular web prowler (PA & PE)...

But yeah, a lot of prog doesn't (and never has) touched me... some of it is quite annoying

[NorthNY Mark]

Has what you listen to expanded since you got here? The scope of your tastes?

I wonder how many of you were strictly symph before PE.

In some ways, my tastes had broadened beyond "symph" when I was about 14 and discovered (ironically, via Asia) the mid-'70s version of King Crimson. I quickly became comfortable with material like "Providence," which in turn led me to avant jazz and 20th century classical a few years later. I only discovered the RIO scene in grad school, when I chanced upon a Cuneiform sampler CD in an issue of Progression magazine, and discovered the different ProgArchive categorizations around the same time. I think I found ProgressiveEars a few years after that. So, it continues to keep me informed about what is out there, but probably hasn't expanded my tastes in any obvious way.

In spite of the above narrative, I have to admit to taking a bit of exception to both the term "symph" and (especially) the assumption that "broadening of tastes" is likely to refer to people "broadening" their tastes from that to other subgenres. Could a fusion fan not expand his or her tastes to include "symph?" The term itself even sounds kind of belittling, which I think does the style (if it is one) some injustice (not to mention the whole "symph weenie" thing, which I think has really poisoned perceptions). I'm for a "big tent" approach to prog, and wish people wouldn't patronize any particular style or subgenre, even in very subtle ways (such as implying that one ought to broaden one's tastes from "symph" but not from RIO, Canterbury, or fusion).

This isn't mainly in response to your post, Sean, but to an overall attitude that I sometimes perceive as being being prevalent in discussions here--your posts I quoted would be extremely subtle examples of what I'm describing.

[Sean]

Could a fusion fan not expand his or her tastes to include "symph?" The term itself even sounds kind of belittling, which I think does the style (if it is one) some injustice (not to mention the whole "symph weenie" thing, which I think has really poisoned perceptions). .

This isn't mainly in response to your post, Sean, but to an overall attitude that I sometimes perceive as being being prevalent in discussions here--your posts I quoted would be extremely subtle examples of what I'm describing.

Absolutely. It works from all directions, though depending on how fancy your tastes get sometimes once you have moved on to more pungent strains of prog the symph seems sort of quaint and overly familiar so that's a harder sell going that direction. Correct me if I am wrong.

[NorthNY Mark]

Absolutely. It works from all directions, though depending on how fancy your tastes get sometimes once you have moved on to more pungent strains of prog the symph seems sort of quaint so that's a harder sell going that direction. Correct me if I am wrong.

I do know what you mean, but I guess I resist the "quaint" assumption in that, in my case, I was discovering symph and avant styles at more-or-less the same time. Something like PFM's first two albums (which I take to be good examples of "symph") do not seem any more "quaint" to me than Univers Zero, though they may be a bit (and I do mean just a bit) more accessible. I feel like there can be a patronizing attitude toward "symph" in particular: notice your use of the term "moved on." Can one "move on" from the "more pungent strains" to the less pungent? I suspect you would use some other term than "move on" in that case, which implies a hierarchy of taste.

[Sean]

I am just reacting to what I have seen here over the years, not advocating. Sometimes it seems there's these different camps of listeners that seem to prefer certain strains of prog to others. How many of us here regularly listen to both ends of the spectrum? Probably less than you might think, though I hope we have helped shorten the divide somehow. I just don't see that many of us partaking in the whole menu, nor are they expected to. I just hope we at least made them aware of what else is out there and maybe encourage folks to sample a bit more outside their usual choices. There's no snobbery on my part, I like a bit of everything.

[East New York]

Well, along with the help of a very dear friend, PE helped me get more into VDGG/Hammill/Canterbury.

[zombywoof]

I know that I listen to more modern prog now and have gotten away from the classics in favor of more obscure gems. So, I think you've been successful. I like to think of PA as being for beginners and PE for intermediate and up, as this is certainly the more progressive of the two. Keep it up Sean, maybe that mag should interview us about you. :-)

[mnprogger]

have my taste "widened" since joining this place around 2000? yes. The specific credit for it changing, I'm not sure how much PE did. I suppose between the festivals and connecting with some local fans did a lot with finding both the larger name progressive rock stuff, and some of the obscure stuff. But the music I am driven to discover, namely the last 8 years or so (right around the time that the whole college-prog thing started getting bigger..The Mars Volta, dredg, Muse and Coheed became visible commercially), PE only had so much to do with.

[Vic2012]

It's possible that PE has also influenced me in getting into some bands that I never thought I'd like, mostly because they're talked about regularly. Two bands I've really gotten into in the last 5 years are Iron Maiden and Metallica. Both these bands are progressive. They're as "prog/metal" as any other prog/metal band (imo), and I don't specifically go looking for prog/metal bands (like Dream Theater). Another band I got into recently, thanks to Andun (I think it was Andun) is Accept. He started a thread, I explored a little, I bought some CDs, and now I'm nuts about Accept. So more than anything, hanging out at PE has gotten me more into Heavy Metal than prog. I think the only recent (in the last 4-6 years) prog I've discovered here are Beardfish and Black Bonzo.

[Yves]

Before PE I never could stand Brussel Sprouts. Since PE, I can't get enough of them!

[sonic]

Another band I got into recently, thanks to Andun (I think it was Andun) is Accept. He started a thread, I explored a little, I bought some CDs, and now I'm nuts about Accept.

You're welcome. Great metal band!

Andun, now sonic.

[Sean]

So more than anything, hanging out at PE has gotten me more into Heavy Metal than prog.

You may be the only one. LOL, well at least we turned you on to something!

[Vic2012]

You may be the only one. LOL

Yeah probably. I came to PE with all the prog I needed already, but I needed a place to yack about it with other prog and rock fans. Really, my first love is classic rock. That includes prog, metal, southern/rock, maybe some funk and soul, and even fusion. I tried to get into Zappa because of PE. Maybe I didn't try hard enough, but Zappa just never appealed to me.

[NorthNY Mark]

I am just reacting to what I have seen here over the years, not advocating. Sometimes it seems there's these different camps of listeners that seem to prefer certain strains of prog to others. How many of us here regularly listen to both ends of the spectrum? Probably less than you might think, though I hope we have helped shorten the divide somehow. I just don't see that many of us partaking in the whole menu, nor are they expected to. I just hope we at least made them aware of what else is out there and maybe encourage folks to sample a bit more outside their usual choices. There's no snobbery on my part, I like a bit of everything.

Fair enough. I definitely think you have every reason to feel proud of creating a forum where people can discuss a wide variety of progressive music, which in itself encourages people to sample different styles and possibly expand their tastes. This is truly a wonderful resource for any prog fan. I just hope that people will think twice about using such phrases as "moving on from" particular types of music, or trying to claim that certain types of progressive music are more truly progressive than others, etc. I see those attitudes expressed frequently in threads about Farfest, and in the tiresome complaints about Yes threads (where people don't have to open the threads, but people interested in the threads have to read the trolling complaints), etc. There seems to be a kind of missionary fervor among some who wish to see others "move on." Now, I have admittedly started to become a bit overly sensitive to it, and for that I apologize. I just hope we can all discuss music we like without worrying about what "camp" it does or should appeal to (and, frankly, stop talking about the "camps" in general, which is usually pointless and divisive, IMHO). As for this thread, I wonder whether the idea of shaping (or expanding) people's tastes is considered more important than providing a great source of information and discussion?

[Vic2012]

This is truly a wonderful resource for any prog fan. I just hope that people will think twice about using such phrases as "moving on from" particular types of music,

There seems to be a kind of missionary fervor among some who wish to see others "move on."

I sensed that a lot when I was new to prog and I was visiting different prog discussion forums (not just PE). I did go through a couple years where I was starting to swim in the deep end of prog. For whatever reason, Italian prog just never took for me. Like I mentioned earlier Zappa never took either. I then just accepted that I was okay with the prog groups I liked. After 12-13 years of listening to prog/rock my favorite bands are still the same ones I started with, Kansas, Yes, Rush, Jethro Tull, etc. The strange thing is that while I was buying all those albums by those bands I just mentioned, I was also buying albums by Spocks Beard, The Flower Kings, and Transatlantic. I still enjoy albums by thos groups too but they haven't stood the test of time for me. I hardly ever play FKs or SB today.

[Sean]

As for this thread, I wonder whether the idea of shaping (or expanding) people's tastes is considered more important than providing a great source of information and discussion?

Considering I often say our goal here was mainly to provide a place where fans can share info about bands and artists with other fans I'd say the latter. I don't think anyone here have the energy to actively try and change what people listen to. I doubt they could any more than people on facebook posting political stuff as if their words will somehow make someone drop everything and take on a new point of view. Not likely. That said, I am curious if and how personal tastes have changed since signing up here. Consider that a by product of hanging around a place that is a "great source of information and discussion". Your comments have validated my original thoughts about how this isn't one group that all is into the same thing. You dislike the word camps and I can see why and agree these sorts of invisible barriers need to come down, they obviously are there to some degree, though I don't particularly think they pose an much impediment to anyone looking to branch out, or stay with what they already know and not go beyond it.

[NorthNY Mark]

That said, I am curious if and how personal tastes have changed since signing up here. Consider that a by product of hanging around a place that is a "great source of information and discussion".

While not exactly changing my tastes, I've certainly become aware of a number of wonderful newer bands that I would not otherwise have discovered, like Areknames, MoeTar, Dissonati, MirthKon, and Cirrus Bay, among others. I've also got to sample music from bands that don't do much for me, but by doing so I get a sense of what people are talking about when they make comparisons. Just curious, Sean--how have your tastes developed over the years you've been involved with PE?

[Sean]

Greatly. I was on a course for exploring more when PE came about and was looking for more exciting stuff to get into. I was a pretty sheltered symph fan initially. I didn't know about much beyond that, so a whole world of music opened up to me. I can't help but think there's others here with a similar story. Keep in mind I was just a kid in the 70s and wasn't paying attention to any of this music when it was fresh. What I have learned from this thread (and really knew anyway) is that it's an injustice to try and sum up what PE has done for our readers in a few sentences. It's not easy. I guess I'd say PE has provided an avenue to discover more music, but I can't easily say it's "changed" us. Just added more options to explore. That's fine. PE's job isn't to change people, it's to gather them in one spot so they can share what they know. Beyond that, your mileage may vary.

[Hunnibee]

I guess I'd say PE has provided an avenue to discover more music, but I can't easily say it's "changed" us. Just added more options to explore. That's fine. PE's job isn't to change people, it's to gather them in one spot so they can share what they know. Beyond that, your mileage may vary.

I guess I'm the exception, because it HAS changed me... at least, it has influenced me to put music to the very forefront of my life (aside from family, of course.) I was just having fun rediscovering the Prog of my youth when I happened to stumble onto Prog Ears. Now I get excited to discuss Canterbury bands or plan to attend fests or seriously consider moving to the East Coast where Prog is more prevalent, etc. I think the timing was just right ten years ago for something meaningful in my life.