I think that’s because Floyd’s lyrics tended to be much more straightforward than other prog rock groups. Plus they focused much more on issues of social alienation and frustration than on fantasy themes, which made them far more relateable to the non-prog audience.
n/m
ETA: Replied to a post no longer there…
I thought this poll was a whoosh at first, but it seems it isn’t.
Some of the greatest bands not just of the seventies, but of recent history, and the o.p.is, by means of a smear poll trying to suggest that they’re amongst the worst.
And nearlly all funnily enough from Underground/Progressive music.
Perhaps he/she really does love the music of the Osmands, or Kiss, or the Bay City Rollers .
Maybe the o.p. is a big Carpenters fan, or is it White Plains ?
Or maybe the girl/boy that the o.p. fancied way back then ran off with a an underground music fan and they’ve had an undying hatred for the bands and the music ever since.
Who knows ?
But the poll itself is, putting it mildly, a joke.
Who are you trying to kid, yourself perchance ?
Headline six months from now:
Congressman Nunzio Tavulari Arrested
Tried to buy illicit prog from undercover officer in public restroom
I meant to respond to this, but I see I missed it. I think the answer is that Rush is really the only '70s prog band that’s still active. Heck, I think they’re the only one that made it through the 1980s intact. So they’ve kept themselves in the public eye, while most of those other bands haven’t.
Yes released an album last year.
But with a singer that came from a tribute band, and keyboards by Rick Wakeman’s son, and was the first one in something like a decade.
When they tour, Yes is playing the House of Blues and other clubs. Rush’s tour is still playing arenas.
I prefer Yes to Rush for my prog rock listening, and I certainly enjoyed Yes in a club setting (even if it felt a little like I was paying $70 for a tribute band, at times*), but they are only “active” in the sense that continuing to tour until they drop is what musicians at that level tend to do.
*One thing I really dislike about Yes nowadays is all the song exclusions–Jon refused to do anything off of Drama, Howe doesn’t do any songs from the Rabin era except the one he has to, and I’ve never heard Yes do any ABWH stuff, not sure if that’s a label thing or a Squire thing. Machine Messiah was one of the highpoints of Benoit as lead singer, would love to hear a set with that, Order of the Universe, and Shoot High, Aim Low.
The new album was basically a sequel to Drama. Geoff Downes was on keys and Trevor Horn also played additional instruments and provided backing vocals. And of course the album was mostly based on Buggles material.
I saw Yes last month at Sydney’s State Theatre with Jon Davison on vocals. The crowd were absolutely blown away, and apparently the vibe is much different to the shows with Benoit. It seems Yes are back.
(Given that during their first decade, Yes went through two guitarists, two drummers and three keyboardists, I don’t think recent lineup changes should be held against them.)
It’s not exactly a novel stance to claim the progressive rock bands of the 70s are the Worst Thing Ever to happen to rock music. Some people really do think those bands were complete shit.
I am not quite one of those people, but I will say that most prog rock doesn’t speak to me. The prog that I like is Genesis, King Crimson in small doses, and Rush doesn’t bug me. ELP annoys the ever living shit out of me, and Yes just doesn’t resonate emotionally with me. It feels too calculated and mechanical. My main instrument is keyboards, and I never really liked Emerson’s or Wakeman’s approach to the instrument. I always felt Tony Banks was much more tasteful in his parts. There’s that, and also that I don’t like Carl Palmer’s drumming (nor Emerson’s vocals), and I do like Peter Gabriel’s vocals and Phil Collins’s drumming. (ETA: And let’s not forget Steve Hackett’s wonderful guitar.) Genesis to me had a lot more “soul” than the other bands (same with Floyd, whom I actually don’t listen much to), but that’s just a personal feeling. This is just my observation of the music. I don’t think they’re crap musicians or crap bands. Their brand of music just annoys me. Obviously, others love and feel a lot.
I get your point, some of the bands aren’t my favourite stuff, didn’t like Yes, and can’t honestly remember anything about Rush, but honestly we’re talking about the worst bands of the seventies and we don’t have the Osmands included, or White Plains, and all of the other people who quickly knocked out catchy tunes to make a few bucks from people who had special educational needs.
Personally I can’t stand jazz and also some classical music, that doesn’t make it bad, its just not to my taste.
However thats not true of all music, there is a lot of total tripe pumped out on a daily basis, and has been probably since the beginning of time.
Just because its maybe too complicated for the o.p. to understand, or the tracks go on for too long for his/her attention span, or can’t be enjoyed without having to actually listen to it, as opposed to having something on in the background while you’re working, doesn’t mean that progressive etc. is bad music, let alone the worst.
And the “poll” is an unsubtle attempt to validate the o.p.s poor taste in music (Tongue firmly in cheek ) by smearing what is genunly good, and sometimes great, music.
And by the way I’m not a" nowist" in music, ie.if its dated its rubbish, nor a chauvinist about "only music I enjoyed growing up is any good, all this new stuff is crap, get off of my lawn ", either.
I enjoy music from many decades since leaving puberty, plus of course I enjoy some but not all Classical music.
The poll reminds me of, "Obama have you stopped beating your wife, answer yes or no ".
I do agree that poll is being deliberately inflammatory. My WTF is how the Stones are on this list. Not so much because I love the Stones (though I do think they’re great), but why they, who are the down-and-dirty-blues rock antithesis of all the prog bands mentioned, could possibly be so reviled by someone whose idea of terrible music is progressive rock.
Sorry to revive this, but I just came across this article written by Neil Peart, talking about the making of Rush’s upcoming album:
(click on the Biography tab)
Relevant bit:
[QUOTE=Neil Peart]
One more oblique connection: During the filming of my most recent instructional DVD, TAKING CENTER STAGE: A Lifetime of Live Performance, I found myself talking about playing our older songs in concert year after year, and something occurred to me about Rush songs that I had never realized in all our thirty-eight years. See, for the most part, Rush songs weren’t made with the intention of being listened to on the radio, or in the car, or with earbuds. They were made to be played—by us!
[/QUOTE]