Back in September of 2003, Maxim Blender came out with it’s list of The 50 Worst Artists in History. Usually I ignore such obvious ploys to sell magazines, but I decided to take a peek to justify what I thought I might find. As usual, I wasn’t surprised. No less than four bands I’ve enjoyed in the past made the list: Emerson Lake & Palmer (#2), Tin Machine (#12) and, to a lesser extent, Kansas (#6) and Asia (#7).
What’s more, the virtual frat-house of quip-scribblers at that NYC glossy (it took no less than nine Blender-boys to produce the piece) managed to insult other top acts that fit the “progressive rock” label (even those not on their hit-list!) with the same lazy insults that have been regurgitated in the rock press for the last thirty years; Yes and Jethro Tull are described as ‘inexcuseably pompous’ and ‘appealing only to male sci-fi bores’, Kansas as ‘bereft of sex and emotion’, and ELP of ‘(shunning) blues-based rock in favor of bombastically reinterpreting classical works.’
What they didn’t mention is that no band had ever accomplished what these acts had with such brave originality or remarkable technique - two traits conspicuously missing from contemporary rock (in my opinion, rock innovation stalled with the last incarnation of King Crimson ). Instead, MOR rock fans have been fed a revolving mix of blues-based revivalism which, out of pure boredom, has come full circle and returned to its most primitive roots in The White Stripes and the garage movement (for the moment, we’ll set aside the hip-hop/rock amalgamations and concentrate on the pentatonic v.s. diatonic, blues-based v.s. classical-based flavors of rock music - How convenient, eh?).
That’s not to say progressive rock hasn’t produced some of the worst music - it probably has. Truly adventurous music is bound to produce more than it’s share of boners due to it’s unpredictable nature. But It’s free dalliance with synthesizers, theramins, operatic themes, classical movements, Jazz progressions, rhythmic syncopations, odd time signatures, no time signatures, and rock songs of epic proportion and length have produced some truly exceptional works of musical art. To revile it’s worst moments while ignoring or rudely shaming it’s most successful ones is disingenuous and insulting to the millions of fans who sought-out this music and made it successful - in some cases, despite the efforts of the music business (I seem to recall reading that Canadian prog-rockers Rush were ignored by major labels until it’s grass-roots success proved its worth as an an attractive investment ).
Progressive rock most noteably fails when it tries to appease pop audiences in an attempt to achieve record sales commensurate with whatever music fashion currently holds sway (I’d have to agree with Blender’s panning of ELP’s “Love Beach” - an awful fate for rock’s classical re-composeurs [sic]). It best succeeds when it’s allowed to incubate apart from consumer-culture and it’s fashion accessories, which is why, I would guess, the best progressive music seems to have been created by sheltered art students in 1960’s England who were twice-removed from American market forces.
But I suspect the biggest reason progressive rock has been so ignored, abused and altogether abandoned by today’s music industry, press and critics (who are, by the way, collecting their paychecks from the very same mega-media companies) is because advertising firms can’t figure out a way to market beer & tennis shoes (or drugs or cars or nasal spray or tampons). with it. Its potential as a niche market, even when such business practices are prevalent, seems to have been overlooked. I’ll cite as evidence of neglect the fact that every other music form that hit stride in the seventies (i.e. Disco, Punk, Funk, and now New Wave) has already been and/or is currently being re-exploited for 21st Century products.
Yet, you may never see (thankfully), or perhaps can’t imagine, a commercial using “Five-Percent For Nothing” by Yes or “Larks Tongue In Aspic” by King Crimson to hawk blue-jeans (though I do seem to recall one of the networks using part of an ELP ‘s version of “Fanfare for the Common Man” for The Wide World of Sports ). Music for music’s sake will always lose out to music that makes you want to fuck, fight or shop. Pop culture rarely rises above it’s base instincts. The deplorable state of the classical music market and it’s conspicuous disappearance from commercial radio should be cited as further evidence that some forms of art best left to incubate away from market forces.
For too long progressive music fans have taken shit from the glossy fashion/music press. We’re quite aware of our status as a fringe group and we prefer it that way. We actively seek out the extremes in sonic and ryhthmic complexity and deliberately avoid specious trends meant for club-hopping followers of fashion.
So let me take advantage of my independent poverty and relative anonymity and be very clear in my reaction to the Blenders, The Rolling Stones, The Spins, et al of the fashion/music press who repeadtedly insult Prog fans with borrowed quips and hipper-than-thou drolleries: fuck-off you self-important, overbearing, air-sucking, coporate-music prostitutes. I like my music to reflect my life: long, hard & complicated.
- Mitch Phillips
-- Mitch
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