johnashfieldmusic wrote:

>>Yes/Rush/ELP/King Crimson? in fact, what about prog
rock in general? A whole movement of music ignored
because it's not hip?<<

Not only is prog-rock not hip, it's not easily grasped
by those who are only capable of hearing the almighty
hook. My girlfriend goes "wheedly-wheedly-whee" when
she describes prog-rock; my ex-girlfriend listened to
Mike Keneally and said "I don't hear a hook." Well,
she might not have heard a hook but I can hear
countless musical motifs that qualify as "hooks" in my
book. Hooks are where you find 'em.

Prog-rock is one of the few genres that truly pushed
the songwriting envelope within the confines of rock
and roll; I've always maintained that the punks hated
prog not because prog bands were hugely successful,
but rather because the punks were incapable of
mentally processing that much music in one sitting.
Plus, they knew they'd never have the discipline to
play, let alone compose, within that style.

I swear, the whole basis of my songwriting existence
has been the concept that, had the Beatles never
broken up, they would've begun incorporating long-form
songwriting (aka prog) into their style (hell, side
two of Abbey Road is practically prog).

My favorite prog music always bookends hooky vocal
melodies with jazz/fusion instrumental segments into
one glorious musical trip. I miss the days when songs
took listeners on a journey (like Edgar Winter's
"Frankenstein" or Golden Earring's "Radar Love" or Led
Zep's "The Rain Song") rather than simply smashing the
listener in the face with an endlessly repeating hook.

YYMV. And, of course, I agree that the RRHOF is a
joke, but even so, Yes, KC, ELP and Rush definitely
belong there. Rush, especially, if only for their song
"Limelight", which takes a weird time signature and
makes it seem totally natural and unforced -- no small
achievement, that.

kErrY
www.myspace.com/kompost

NP: Led Zepplin -- Houses of the Holy (been on a LZ
trip lately; seems like every 15 years or so I
re-discover LZ and find something new to steal LOL)


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