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On progressive rock music

During the golden age of Progressive Rock, or Art Rock as it was usually referred to back then (mid-1970s), the genre represented new and exciting music, sitting apart from (and somewhat indifferent to) the simple-beat, simply-structured songs of the mainstream. Using modern instruments, but an approach closer to classical and avant-garde, art rock featured:

and was difficult to classify (genres were fewer in those days, but a difference was clear).

However, much of the essence of that genre did not survive across the many sub-genres in later years, and what select seminal bands achieved was not really sustained or developed by followers. While some younger fans of prog-rock prefer not to hark back to bands of the past (even that handful whose work still stands at the pinnacle of the genre), and are excited or satisfied by more recent bands in new sub-genres, this harking can be a reminder that we are still waiting for a full development of rock-tinged/electrified art music.

For prog-rock, despite making a welcomed comeback, is seeing bands pick a single musical element of the genre, whilst maintaining affiliations with other, more accessible genres (such as metal and folk). And differing definitions of prog have allowed these offspring to coexist like siblings, when they are more like half-cousins attending distant kindergartens. How wizards, spaceships and depression came to be usual themes of prog-rock is a mystery.

The fact is that some pieces by early prog-rock bands have entered the mainstream of music, seem less challenging now, or show in raw form those interesting aspects of music with which more recent, popular bands have tinged their music. And other bands have included some of the above-mentioned aspects as a matter of course in their desire for a unique sound, without wanting to be labeled prog. But a full wave or development featuring all the aspects in a confident, exciting manner is as much a challenge now as it was in the golden days. What’s more, the harking back to standards may hinder genuine development, where great examples are seen as goals in music instead of points of (not departure, for that has happened, but rather) encouragement.

On avant-garde and experimental music

Oftentimes, an experienced and/or highly-engaged listener of music will be disappointed with the mainstream. Perhaps finding some of the elements of prog-rock listed above is enough to refresh interest. Or revisiting classical compositions from earlier centuries may be nice change. But sometimes even the most ambitious prog-rock, or the most highly-praised classical music, can seem to fall short of a special listening experience. This is when we seek out something completely new.

Since the music of any given period or genre usually follows a relatively (sometimes imperceptably) slow development, it can sometimes be hard to imagine what would constitute something new, that wasn’t merely a lesser-known period or genre. Exploring a totally unknown genre or an unfamiliar culture’s store of music might be a rewarding possibility. But we can go a bit further than this.

Because luckily, there are plenty of composers, musicians and artists who are prepared to create really new things, either despite, or in faint hope, of audience interest. Some results of this avant-garde or cutting edge music do resemble experiments, in the sense that trials of untested phenomena may fail or succeed, depending on much later appraisal. Those that align more closely with accepted ideals of music may eventually find relatively wide acceptance, while premature release of chaotic or alien outcomes may need to wait much longer for any acceptance at all.

Now to say that experimental music of the non-aligned kind is mostly trivial, or requires no discipline, cannot be entirely true. As in any pressured activity, there may be forced (or even cynical) shortcuts taken; but in the end, dishonesty and lack of integrity may reveal themselves in our subconscious reaction, and subsequent disapproval. Then again, dishonest experiments may have an underlying force even the creator was not aware of; and this may be a delight for us. Sometimes, of course, we just get noise. Consider this though: if you play a noise four times, you get a groove.

The question Can this even be called music? is certainly a valid one. But rather than rejecting the unknown, exposure to musical and unmusical novelties may become a rewarding immersion into very personal questions of what we seek or find in music, and a possible meeting with What music really means.

 

[more short essays to come]



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