tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8391469675300987902024-02-20T10:12:38.312-08:00ProgRockin'BGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08024085550417622898noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-58635603777234096512013-07-14T08:34:00.002-07:002013-07-15T17:38:22.254-07:00The 200 Best Progressive Rock and Progressive Metal Albums of All TimeOmitting live CDs and compilations, bonus disks, etc.
The scores are based on cumulative user votes on Progulus Radio. Each song is voted on separately, and the average for each album is calculated. A baysian average is then used on the result.
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<tr class="tableizer-firstrow"><th>Rank</th><th>Rating</th><th>Artist</th><th>Album</th><th>Year</th><th>Country</th></tr>
<tr><td>1</td><td>4.77</td><td>Dream Theater</td><td>Images And Words</td><td>1992</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>2</td><td>4.73</td><td>Dream Theater</td><td>Scenes From a Memory</td><td>1999</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>3</td><td>4.69</td><td>Symphony X</td><td>The Odyssey</td><td>2002</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>4</td><td>4.64</td><td>Rush</td><td>Moving Pictures</td><td>1981</td><td>CA</td></tr>
<tr><td>5</td><td>4.64</td><td>Redemption</td><td>The Fullness Of Time</td><td>2005</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>6</td><td>4.64</td><td>Liquid Tension Experiment</td><td>Liquid Tension Experiment 2</td><td>1999</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>7</td><td>4.63</td><td>Symphony X</td><td>Paradise Lost</td><td>2007</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>8</td><td>4.61</td><td>Pink Floyd</td><td>Wish You Were Here</td><td>1975</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>9</td><td>4.61</td><td>Circus Maximus</td><td>The 1st Chapter</td><td>2005</td><td>NO</td></tr>
<tr><td>10</td><td>4.6</td><td>Riverside</td><td>Anno Domini High Definition</td><td>2009</td><td>PL</td></tr>
<tr><td>11</td><td>4.6</td><td>Symphony X</td><td>V: The New Mythology Suite</td><td>2000</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>12</td><td>4.59</td><td>Symphony X</td><td>The Divine Wings Of Tragedy</td><td>1997</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>13</td><td>4.59</td><td>Opeth</td><td>Damnation</td><td>2003</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>14</td><td>4.59</td><td>Ayreon</td><td>Universal Migrator Part II: Flight Of The Migrator</td><td>2000</td><td>NL</td></tr>
<tr><td>15</td><td>4.58</td><td>Dream Theater</td><td>Train of Thought</td><td>2003</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>16</td><td>4.58</td><td>Porcupine Tree</td><td>Fear Of A Blank Planet</td><td>2007</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>17</td><td>4.58</td><td>Vanden Plas</td><td>Christ.0</td><td>2006</td><td>DE</td></tr>
<tr><td>18</td><td>4.58</td><td>Dream Theater</td><td>A Change of Seasons</td><td>1995</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>19</td><td>4.58</td><td>Dream Theater</td><td>Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence</td><td>2002</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>20</td><td>4.56</td><td>Queensryche</td><td>Operation: Mindcrime</td><td>1988</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>21</td><td>4.56</td><td>Riverside</td><td>Second Life Syndrome</td><td>2005</td><td>PL</td></tr>
<tr><td>22</td><td>4.56</td><td>Ayreon</td><td>1011001</td><td>2008</td><td>NL</td></tr>
<tr><td>23</td><td>4.55</td><td>Redemption</td><td>The Origins Of Ruin</td><td>2007</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>24</td><td>4.55</td><td>Symphony X</td><td>Twilight In Olympus</td><td>1998</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>25</td><td>4.55</td><td>Opeth</td><td>Watershed</td><td>2008</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>26</td><td>4.55</td><td>Circus Maximus</td><td>Isolate</td><td>2007</td><td>NO</td></tr>
<tr><td>27</td><td>4.54</td><td>Dream Theater</td><td>Awake</td><td>1994</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>28</td><td>4.54</td><td>Ayreon</td><td>The Human Equation</td><td>2004</td><td>NL</td></tr>
<tr><td>29</td><td>4.54</td><td>Frost*</td><td>Milliontown</td><td>2006</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>30</td><td>4.54</td><td>Liquid Tension Experiment</td><td>Liquid Tension Experiment 1</td><td>1998</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>31</td><td>4.54</td><td>Dreamscape</td><td>End Of Silence</td><td>2004</td><td>DE</td></tr>
<tr><td>32</td><td>4.54</td><td>Riverside</td><td>Out Of Myself</td><td>2004</td><td>PL</td></tr>
<tr><td>33</td><td>4.54</td><td>Pain of Salvation</td><td>Remedy Lane</td><td>2002</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>34</td><td>4.53</td><td>Koyaanisqatsy</td><td>From The Yearning To Burst - The Perpetual Circle</td><td>2000</td><td>DE</td></tr>
<tr><td>35</td><td>4.53</td><td>Queensryche</td><td>Empire</td><td>1990</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>36</td><td>4.52</td><td>Rush</td><td>2112</td><td>1976</td><td>CA</td></tr>
<tr><td>37</td><td>4.52</td><td>Redemption</td><td>Snowfall On Judgment Day</td><td>2009</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>38</td><td>4.52</td><td>Pain of Salvation</td><td>The Perfect Element</td><td>2000</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>39</td><td>4.52</td><td>Pink Floyd</td><td>Animals</td><td>1977</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>40</td><td>4.52</td><td>Riverside</td><td>Rapid Eye Movement</td><td>2007</td><td>PL</td></tr>
<tr><td>41</td><td>4.52</td><td>Yes</td><td>Close To The Edge</td><td>1972</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>42</td><td>4.51</td><td>Kansas</td><td>Leftoverture</td><td>1976</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>43</td><td>4.51</td><td>Rush</td><td>Hemispheres</td><td>1978</td><td>CA</td></tr>
<tr><td>44</td><td>4.51</td><td>Porcupine Tree</td><td>In Absentia</td><td>2002</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>45</td><td>4.5</td><td>Indukti</td><td>S.U.S.A.R</td><td>2005</td><td>PL</td></tr>
<tr><td>46</td><td>4.5</td><td>Threshold</td><td>Hypothetical</td><td>2001</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>47</td><td>4.5</td><td>Ayreon</td><td>Into The Electric Castle</td><td>1998</td><td>NL</td></tr>
<tr><td>48</td><td>4.5</td><td>Vanden Plas</td><td>The Seraphic Clockwork</td><td>2010</td><td>DE</td></tr>
<tr><td>49</td><td>4.49</td><td>Myrath</td><td>Hope</td><td>2007</td><td>TN</td></tr>
<tr><td>50</td><td>4.49</td><td>Spheric Universe Experience</td><td>Anima</td><td>2007</td><td>FR</td></tr>
<tr><td>51</td><td>4.49</td><td>Rush</td><td>Permanent Waves</td><td>1980</td><td>CA</td></tr>
<tr><td>52</td><td>4.48</td><td>Pagan's Mind</td><td>Celestial Entrance</td><td>2002</td><td>NO</td></tr>
<tr><td>53</td><td>4.48</td><td>Porcupine Tree</td><td>Deadwing</td><td>2005</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>54</td><td>4.48</td><td>Sieges Even</td><td>The Art Of Navigating By The Stars</td><td>2005</td><td>DE</td></tr>
<tr><td>55</td><td>4.48</td><td>Threshold</td><td>Subsurface</td><td>2004</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>56</td><td>4.47</td><td>Genesis</td><td>A Trick Of The Tail</td><td>1976</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>57</td><td>4.47</td><td>Star One</td><td>Space Metal</td><td>2002</td><td>NL</td></tr>
<tr><td>58</td><td>4.47</td><td>Pain of Salvation</td><td>BE</td><td>2004</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>59</td><td>4.47</td><td>Dream Theater</td><td>Falling Into Infinity</td><td>1997</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>60</td><td>4.47</td><td>Rush</td><td>A Farewell To Kings</td><td>1977</td><td>CA</td></tr>
<tr><td>61</td><td>4.47</td><td>Genesis</td><td>Selling England by the Pound</td><td>1973</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>62</td><td>4.46</td><td>Threshold</td><td>Critical Mass</td><td>2002</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>63</td><td>4.45</td><td>Guilt Machine</td><td>On This Perfect Day</td><td>2009</td><td>NL</td></tr>
<tr><td>64</td><td>4.45</td><td>Opeth</td><td>Ghost Reveries</td><td>2005</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>65</td><td>4.45</td><td>Spock's Beard</td><td>V</td><td>2000</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>66</td><td>4.45</td><td>John Petrucci</td><td>Suspended Animation</td><td>2005</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>67</td><td>4.45</td><td>Yngwie Malmsteen</td><td>Rising Force</td><td>1984</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>68</td><td>4.45</td><td>Kansas</td><td>Point of Know Return</td><td>1977</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>69</td><td>4.45</td><td>Ayreon</td><td>Universal Migrator (Disc 1)- The Dream Sequencer</td><td>2000</td><td>NL</td></tr>
<tr><td>70</td><td>4.45</td><td>Dream Theater</td><td>Systematic Chaos</td><td>2007</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>71</td><td>4.44</td><td>Yes</td><td>Fragile</td><td>1971</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>72</td><td>4.44</td><td>Haken</td><td>Aquarius</td><td>2010</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>73</td><td>4.44</td><td>Kamelot</td><td>The Black Halo</td><td>2005</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>74</td><td>4.43</td><td>Adagio</td><td>Underworld</td><td>2003</td><td>FR</td></tr>
<tr><td>75</td><td>4.43</td><td>Genesis</td><td>The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway</td><td>1974</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>76</td><td>4.43</td><td>Pink Floyd</td><td>Dark Side Of The Moon</td><td>1973</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>77</td><td>4.43</td><td>Shadow Gallery</td><td>Room V</td><td>2005</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>78</td><td>4.43</td><td>Seventh Wonder</td><td>Mercy Falls</td><td>2008</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>79</td><td>4.43</td><td>Wolverine</td><td>Still</td><td>2006</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>80</td><td>4.43</td><td>Rush</td><td>Grace Under Pressure</td><td>1984</td><td>CA</td></tr>
<tr><td>81</td><td>4.42</td><td>Threshold</td><td>Dead Reckoning</td><td>2007</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>82</td><td>4.42</td><td>Dead Soul Tribe</td><td>A Lullaby For The Devil</td><td>2007</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>83</td><td>4.42</td><td>Sieges Even</td><td>Paramount</td><td>2007</td><td>DE</td></tr>
<tr><td>84</td><td>4.42</td><td>Pagan's Mind</td><td>enigmatic : calling</td><td>2005</td><td>NO</td></tr>
<tr><td>85</td><td>4.42</td><td>Nightwish</td><td>Once</td><td>2004</td><td>FI</td></tr>
<tr><td>86</td><td>4.42</td><td>Pain of Salvation</td><td>Entropia</td><td>1997</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>87</td><td>4.42</td><td>Genesis</td><td>Nursery Cryme</td><td>1971</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>88</td><td>4.41</td><td>Haken</td><td>Visions</td><td>2011</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>89</td><td>4.41</td><td>Karmakanic</td><td>Who's The Boss In The Factory</td><td>2008</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>90</td><td>4.41</td><td>Frost*</td><td>Experiments in Mass Appeal</td><td>2008</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>91</td><td>4.41</td><td>Evergrey</td><td>The Inner Circle</td><td>2004</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>92</td><td>4.41</td><td>Dream Theater</td><td>Octavarium</td><td>2005</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>93</td><td>4.41</td><td>Vanden Plas</td><td>Beyond Daylight</td><td>2002</td><td>DE</td></tr>
<tr><td>94</td><td>4.4</td><td>Tool</td><td>10,000 Days</td><td>2006</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>95</td><td>4.4</td><td>Animations</td><td>Animations</td><td>2007</td><td>PL</td></tr>
<tr><td>96</td><td>4.4</td><td>Lalu</td><td>Oniric Metal</td><td>2005</td><td>FR</td></tr>
<tr><td>97</td><td>4.4</td><td>Dominici</td><td>O3 A Trilogy - Part 2</td><td>2007</td><td>multi</td></tr>
<tr><td>98</td><td>4.4</td><td>Pink Floyd</td><td>The Division Bell</td><td>1994</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>99</td><td>4.4</td><td>Kansas</td><td>Song for America</td><td>1975</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>100</td><td>4.4</td><td>Darkwater</td><td>Calling The Earth To Witness</td><td>2007</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>101</td><td>4.39</td><td>Myrath</td><td>Desert Call</td><td>2010</td><td>TN</td></tr>
<tr><td>102</td><td>4.39</td><td>Pink Floyd</td><td>The Wall</td><td>1979</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>103</td><td>4.39</td><td>Genesis</td><td>Wind & Wuthering</td><td>1976</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>104</td><td>4.38</td><td>Beyond Twilight</td><td>For The Love Of Art And The Making</td><td>2006</td><td>DK</td></tr>
<tr><td>105</td><td>4.38</td><td>Amaseffer</td><td>Exodus - Slaves for Life</td><td>2008</td><td>IL</td></tr>
<tr><td>106</td><td>4.38</td><td>Anubis Gate</td><td>Andromeda Unchained</td><td>2007</td><td>DK</td></tr>
<tr><td>107</td><td>4.38</td><td>Fates Warning</td><td>A Pleasant Shade Of Gray</td><td>1997</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>108</td><td>4.38</td><td>Adagio</td><td>Sanctus Ignis</td><td>2001</td><td>FR</td></tr>
<tr><td>109</td><td>4.38</td><td>Poverty's No Crime</td><td>Save My Soul</td><td>2007</td><td>DE</td></tr>
<tr><td>110</td><td>4.37</td><td>Animals As Leaders</td><td>Animals As Leaders</td><td>2009</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>111</td><td>4.37</td><td>Headspace</td><td>I Am Anonymous</td><td>2012</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>112</td><td>4.37</td><td>Rush</td><td>Signals</td><td>1982</td><td>CA</td></tr>
<tr><td>113</td><td>4.37</td><td>Ark</td><td>Burn The Sun</td><td>2001</td><td>multi</td></tr>
<tr><td>114</td><td>4.37</td><td>Ambeon</td><td>Fate Of A Dreamer</td><td>2001</td><td>NL</td></tr>
<tr><td>115</td><td>4.37</td><td>Queensryche</td><td>Rage For Order</td><td>1986</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>116</td><td>4.37</td><td>Kansas</td><td>Masque</td><td>1975</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>117</td><td>4.37</td><td>Seventh Wonder</td><td>Waiting In The Wings</td><td>2006</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>118</td><td>4.37</td><td>OSI</td><td>Blood.</td><td>2009</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>119</td><td>4.37</td><td>Pyramaze</td><td>Melancholy Beast</td><td>2004</td><td>multi</td></tr>
<tr><td>120</td><td>4.37</td><td>Thought Chamber</td><td>Angular Perceptions</td><td>2007</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>121</td><td>4.37</td><td>Magic Pie</td><td>Motions Of Desire</td><td>2005</td><td>NO</td></tr>
<tr><td>122</td><td>4.36</td><td>Savatage</td><td>Gutter Ballet</td><td>1989</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>123</td><td>4.36</td><td>Overhead</td><td>Metaepitome</td><td>2005</td><td>FI</td></tr>
<tr><td>124</td><td>4.36</td><td>Opeth</td><td>Blackwater Park</td><td>2001</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>125</td><td>4.36</td><td>OSI</td><td>Office of Strategic Influence</td><td>2003</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>126</td><td>4.36</td><td>Queensryche</td><td>The Warning</td><td>1984</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>127</td><td>4.36</td><td>Fates Warning</td><td>Parallels</td><td>1991</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>128</td><td>4.36</td><td>Tool</td><td>Lateralus</td><td>2001</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>129</td><td>4.36</td><td>Genesis</td><td>Foxtrot</td><td>1972</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>130</td><td>4.36</td><td>Fates Warning</td><td>Disconnected</td><td>2000</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>131</td><td>4.35</td><td>Jordan Rudess</td><td>Rhythm of Time</td><td>2004</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>132</td><td>4.35</td><td>IQ</td><td>Dark Matter</td><td>2004</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>133</td><td>4.35</td><td>Queen</td><td>A Night At The Opera.</td><td>1975</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>134</td><td>4.35</td><td>Star One</td><td>Victims of the Modern Age</td><td>2010</td><td>NL</td></tr>
<tr><td>135</td><td>4.35</td><td>Beyond Twilight</td><td>Section X</td><td>2005</td><td>DK</td></tr>
<tr><td>136</td><td>4.35</td><td>Echoes</td><td>Nature | Existence</td><td>2010</td><td>VE</td></tr>
<tr><td>137</td><td>4.35</td><td>Allen/Lande</td><td>The Revenge</td><td>2007</td><td>multi</td></tr>
<tr><td>138</td><td>4.35</td><td>The Gourishankar</td><td>2nd Hands</td><td>2007</td><td>RU</td></tr>
<tr><td>139</td><td>4.35</td><td>Dead Soul Tribe</td><td>The January Tree</td><td>2004</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>140</td><td>4.35</td><td>Symphony X</td><td>The Damnation Game</td><td>1995</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>141</td><td>4.35</td><td>Andromeda</td><td>II = I</td><td>2003</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>142</td><td>4.34</td><td>Subsignal</td><td>Beautiful & Monstrous</td><td>2009</td><td>DE</td></tr>
<tr><td>143</td><td>4.34</td><td>IQ</td><td>Frequency</td><td>2009</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>144</td><td>4.34</td><td>Pendragon</td><td>Pure</td><td>2008</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>145</td><td>4.33</td><td>Atmosfear</td><td>Inside The Atmosphere</td><td>2003</td><td>DE</td></tr>
<tr><td>146</td><td>4.33</td><td>Phideaux</td><td>Doomsday Afternoon</td><td>2007</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>147</td><td>4.33</td><td>Nightwish</td><td>Century Child</td><td>2002</td><td>FI</td></tr>
<tr><td>148</td><td>4.33</td><td>Opeth</td><td>Still Life</td><td>1999</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>149</td><td>4.33</td><td>Karmakanic</td><td>Entering The Spectra</td><td>2002</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>150</td><td>4.33</td><td>Pain of Salvation</td><td>One Hour By The Concrete Lake</td><td>1998</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>151</td><td>4.33</td><td>Sylvan</td><td>Artificial Paradise</td><td>2002</td><td>DE</td></tr>
<tr><td>152</td><td>4.32</td><td>Eric Johnson</td><td>Ah Via Musicom</td><td>1990</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>153</td><td>4.32</td><td>Savatage</td><td>Dead Winter Dead</td><td>1995</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>154</td><td>4.32</td><td>Sylvan</td><td>X-Rayed</td><td>2004</td><td>DE</td></tr>
<tr><td>155</td><td>4.32</td><td>Andromeda</td><td>The Immunity Zone</td><td>2008</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>156</td><td>4.32</td><td>Votum</td><td>Time Must Have A Stop</td><td>2008</td><td>PL</td></tr>
<tr><td>157</td><td>4.32</td><td>Shadrane</td><td>Temporal</td><td>2008</td><td>FR</td></tr>
<tr><td>158</td><td>4.32</td><td>Pagan's Mind</td><td>God's Equation</td><td>2007</td><td>NO</td></tr>
<tr><td>159</td><td>4.32</td><td>Mind's Eye</td><td>Walking on H20</td><td>2006</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>160</td><td>4.32</td><td>Lacuna Coil</td><td>Comalies</td><td>2002</td><td>IT</td></tr>
<tr><td>161</td><td>4.32</td><td>Rush</td><td>Fly By Night</td><td>1975</td><td>CA</td></tr>
<tr><td>162</td><td>4.32</td><td>A.C.T</td><td>Last Epic</td><td>2003</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>163</td><td>4.32</td><td>Threshold</td><td>Clone</td><td>1998</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>164</td><td>4.31</td><td>Genesis</td><td>And Then There Were Three...</td><td>1978</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>165</td><td>4.31</td><td>Leprous</td><td>Tall Poppy Syndrome</td><td>2009</td><td>NO</td></tr>
<tr><td>166</td><td>4.31</td><td>Dead Soul Tribe</td><td>A Murder Of Crows</td><td>2003</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>167</td><td>4.31</td><td>Fair To Midland</td><td>Fables From A Mayfly</td><td>2007</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>168</td><td>4.31</td><td>Savatage</td><td>Hall Of The Mountain King</td><td>1987</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>169</td><td>4.31</td><td>Stride</td><td>Imagine</td><td>2005</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>170</td><td>4.31</td><td>Porcupine Tree</td><td>The Incident</td><td>2009</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>171</td><td>4.31</td><td>Pallas</td><td>The Dreams of Men</td><td>2005</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>172</td><td>4.31</td><td>Kamelot</td><td>Ghost Opera</td><td>2007</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>173</td><td>4.31</td><td>Riverside</td><td>02 Panic Room</td><td>2007</td><td>PL</td></tr>
<tr><td>174</td><td>4.31</td><td>Evergrey</td><td>In Search Of Truth</td><td>2001</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>175</td><td>4.31</td><td>Jordan Rudess</td><td>Feeding The Wheel</td><td>2001</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>176</td><td>4.31</td><td>Porcupine Tree</td><td>Lightbulb Sun</td><td>2000</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>177</td><td>4.31</td><td>Kamelot</td><td>The Fourth Legacy</td><td>1999</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>178</td><td>4.31</td><td>Parallaxe</td><td>Soundtrack</td><td>2007</td><td>FR</td></tr>
<tr><td>179</td><td>4.31</td><td>Green Carnation</td><td>A Blessing In Disguise</td><td>2003</td><td>NO</td></tr>
<tr><td>180</td><td>4.31</td><td>Threshold</td><td>March Of Progress</td><td>2012</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>181</td><td>4.3</td><td>Transatlantic</td><td>Bridge Across Forever</td><td>2001</td><td>multi</td></tr>
<tr><td>182</td><td>4.3</td><td>Galahad</td><td>Empires Never Last</td><td>2006</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>183</td><td>4.3</td><td>Leprous</td><td>Bilateral</td><td>2011</td><td>NO</td></tr>
<tr><td>184</td><td>4.3</td><td>Ayreon</td><td>Actual Fantasy Revisited</td><td>2004</td><td>NL</td></tr>
<tr><td>185</td><td>4.3</td><td>Transmission</td><td>ID, Ego, and Superego</td><td>2007</td><td>DE</td></tr>
<tr><td>186</td><td>4.3</td><td>King Crimson</td><td>In The Court Of The Crimson King</td><td>1969</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>187</td><td>4.3</td><td>Yes</td><td>The Yes Album</td><td>1971</td><td>UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>188</td><td>4.3</td><td>Sun Caged</td><td>Sun Caged</td><td>2003</td><td>multi</td></tr>
<tr><td>189</td><td>4.3</td><td>Riverside</td><td>Voices In My Head (Inside Out Reissue)</td><td>2006</td><td>PL</td></tr>
<tr><td>190</td><td>4.3</td><td>Everon</td><td>North</td><td>2008</td><td>DE</td></tr>
<tr><td>191</td><td>4.3</td><td>Arch/Matheos</td><td>Sympathetic Resonance</td><td>2011</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>192</td><td>4.3</td><td>Opeth</td><td>Heritage</td><td>2011</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>193</td><td>4.3</td><td>Joseph Magazine</td><td>Night of the Red Sky</td><td>2011</td><td>PL</td></tr>
<tr><td>194</td><td>4.3</td><td>Rush</td><td>Power Windows</td><td>1985</td><td>CA</td></tr>
<tr><td>195</td><td>4.3</td><td>Age Of Nemesis</td><td>Terra Incognita</td><td>2007</td><td>HU</td></tr>
<tr><td>196</td><td>4.3</td><td>Pathosray</td><td>Pathosray</td><td>2007</td><td>IT</td></tr>
<tr><td>197</td><td>4.29</td><td>Karmakanic</td><td>Wheel Of Life</td><td>2004</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>198</td><td>4.29</td><td>Maximum Indifference</td><td>The Transmutations of Supposed Angels or Beings that were once Girls</td><td>2000</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr><td>199</td><td>4.29</td><td>Avantasia</td><td>The Scarecrow</td><td>2008</td><td>multi</td></tr>
<tr><td>200</td><td>4.29</td><td>Andromeda</td><td>Chimera</td><td>2006</td><td>SE</td></tr>
<tr><td>201</td><td>4.29</td><td>Demians</td><td>Building an Empire</td><td>2008</td><td>FR</td></tr>
<tr><td>202</td><td>4.29</td><td>Epica</td><td>The Divine Conspiracy (Ltd. Editon)</td><td>2007</td><td>NL</td></tr>
<tr><td>203</td><td>4.29</td><td>IQ</td><td>Subterranea</td><td>1997</td><td>UK</td></tr>
</table>
Lamnethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02576817310804407489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-81198310830187297342013-03-20T06:18:00.000-07:002013-03-20T06:21:46.608-07:00Top 10 albums each year over the past two decades.<span class="postbody">Top 10 studio albums each year, omitting live CDs and
compilations, bonus disks, etc. </span><br />
<span class="postbody"></span><br />
<span class="postbody">The scores are based on cumulative user votes on Progulus Radio. <span class="postbody">A look at the voting pool: Average unique voters in 2012: 62.5, Average votes per month: 2,036. Each song is voted on separately, and the average for each album is calculated. A baysian average is then used on the result. The results of 2012 may change slightly in the future as more and more votes accumulate. The result is based on a small pool of voters compared with the prog scene as a whole.</span><br /><br />The number is the album's overall rank on the station.
</span><br />
<span class="postbody"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2012</span> <br />127 Headspace- I Am
Anonymous, UK <br />301 Threshold- March Of Progress, UK <br />542 Hemina-
Synthetic, AU <br />605 Delain- We Are The Others, NL <br />768 Bad Salad-
Uncivilized, BR <br />781 Circus Maximus- Nine, NO <br />787 Lord Of Mushrooms-
Perspectives, FR <br />794 OSI- Fire Make Thunder, US <br />810 Mystery- The World
Is A Game, CA <br />888 Kaipa- Vittjar, SE <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2011 </span><br />100 Haken- Visions, UK <br />141 Opeth-
Heritage, SE <br />160 Leprous- Bilateral, NO <br />195 Joseph Magazine- Night of
the Red Sky, PL <br />232 Arch/Matheos- Sympathetic Resonance, US <br />286
Subsignal- Touchstones, DE <br />292 Redemption- This Mortal Coil, US <br />302
Karmakanic- In A Perfect World, SE <br />338 Dream Theater- A Dramatic Turn Of
Events, US <br />348 Steven Wilson- Grace For Drowning - Deform to Form a Star, UK
<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2010 </span><br />54 Vanden Plas- The
Seraphic Clockwork, DE <br />83 Haken- Aquarius, UK <br />105 Myrath- Desert Call,
TN <br />143 Echoes- Nature | Existence, VE <br />151 Star One- Victims of the
Modern Age, NL <br />215 Chimp Spanner- At The Dream's Edge, UK <br />264 Darkwater-
Where Stories End, SE <br />273 Day Six- The Grand Design, NL <br />370 Kingcrow-
Phlegethon, IT <br />402 Unitopia- Artificial, AU <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2009 </span><br />12 Riverside- Anno Domini High
Definition, PL <br />40 Redemption- Snowfall On Judgment Day, US <br />69 Guilt
Machine- On This Perfect Day, NL <br />137 OSI- Blood, US <br />138 Animals As
Leaders- Animals As Leaders, US <br />169 Subsignal- Beautiful & Monstrous, DE
<br />176 IQ- Frequency, UK <br />194 Leprous- Tall Poppy Syndrome, NO <br />206
Porcupine Tree- The Incident, UK <br />221 Ozric Tentacles- The Yum Yum Tree, UK
<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2008 </span><br />23 Ayreon- 1011001, NL
<br />28 Opeth- Watershed, SE <br />90 Seventh Wonder- Mercy Falls, SE <br />101
Frost*- Experiments in Mass Appeal, UK <br />115 Karmakanic -Who's The Boss In The
Factory, SE <br />123 Amaseffer- Exodus - Slaves for Life, IL <br />186 Votum- Time
Must Have A Stop, PL <br />188 Andromeda- The Immunity Zone, SE <br />191 Shadrane-
Temporal, FR <br />229 Everon- North, DE <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2007 </span><br />7 Symphony X- Paradise Lost, US <br />20
Porcupine Tree- Fear Of A Blank Planet, UK <br />26 Redemption- The Origins Of
Ruin, US <br />30 Circus Maximus- Isolate, NO <br />44 Riverside- Rapid Eye
Movement, PL <br />55 Myrath- Hope, TN <br />56 Spheric Universe Experience- Anima,
FR <br />79 Dream Theater- Systematic Chaos, US <br />84 Dead Soul Tribe- A Lullaby
For The Devil, US <br />87 Sieges Even- Paramount, DE <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2006 </span><br />17 Vanden Plas- Christ.0, DE <br />31
Frost*- Milliontown, UK <br />82 Wolverine- Still, SE <br />109 Tool- 10,000 Days,
US <br />118 Beyond Twilight- For The Love Of Art And The Making, DK <br />132
Seventh Wonder -Waiting In The Wings ,SE <br />162 Mind's Eye- Walking on H20, SE
<br />183 Venturia- The New Kingdom, FR <br />214 Riverside- Voices In My Head, PL
<br />228 Galahad- Empires Never Last, UK <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2005 </span><br />4 Redemption- The Fullness Of Time, US
<br />9 Circus Maximus- The 1st Chapter, NO <br />22 Riverside- Second Life
Syndrome, PL <br />50 Indukti- S.U.S.A.R, PL <br />57 Porcupine Tree- Deadwing, UK
<br />62 Sieges Even- The Art Of Navigating By The Stars, DE <br />71 John Petrucci-
Suspended Animation, US <br />76 Opeth- Ghost Reveries, SE <br />80 Shadow Gallery-
Room V, US <br />85 Kamelot- The Black Halo, US <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2004 </span><br />25 Ayreon- The Human Equation, NL
<br />32 Dreamscape- End Of Silence, DE <br />36 Riverside- Out Of Myself, PL <br />58
Threshold- Subsurface, UK <br />65 Pain of Salvation- BE, SE <br />95 Nightwish-
Once, FI <br />98 Evergrey- The Inner Circle, SE <br />136 Pyramaze- Melancholy
Beast, multi <br />146 Jordan Rudess- Rhythm of Time, US <br />159 Dead Soul Tribe-
The January Tree, US <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2003 </span><br />14
Opeth- Damnation, SE <br />18 Dream Theater- Train of Thought, US <br />86 Adagio-
Underworld, FR <br />149 OSI- Office of Strategic Influence, US <br />170 Andromeda-
II = I, SE <br />178 Atmosfear- Inside The Atmosphere, DE <br />181 A.C.T- Last
Epic, SE <br />204 Dead Soul Tribe- A Murder Of Crows, US <br />216 Green Carnation-
A Blessing In Disguise, NO <br />223 Sun Caged- Sun Caged, multi <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2002 </span><br />3 Symphony X- The Odyssey, US <br />19
Dream Theater- Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, US <br />34 Pain of Salvation-
Remedy Lane, SE <br />46 Porcupine Tree- In Absentia, UK <br />61 Pagan's Mind-
Celestial Entrance, NO <br />64 Star One- Space Metal, NL <br />73 Threshold-
Critical Mass, UK <br />107 Vanden Plas- Beyond Daylight, DE <br />166 Karmakanic-
Entering The Spectra, SE <br />175 Nightwish- Century Child, FI <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2001 </span><br />52 Threshold- Hypothetical, UK <br />122
Ambeon- Fate Of A Dreamer, NL <br />125 Ark- Burn The Sun, multi <br />126 Adagio-
Sanctus Ignis, FR <br />150 Opeth- Blackwater Park, SE <br />155 Tool- Lateralus, US
<br />179 Jordan Rudess- Feeding The Wheel, US <br />209 Evergrey- In Search Of
Truth, SE <br />219 Transatlantic- Bridge Across Forever, multi <br />238 Stride-
Music Machine, US <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2000 </span><br />10
Symphony X- V: The New Mythology Suite, US <br />15 Ayreon- Universal Migrator
Part II: Flight Of The Migrator, NL <br />33 Koyaanisqatsy- From The Yearning To
Burst - The Perpetual Circle, DE <br />38 Pain of Salvation- The Perfect Element
I, SE <br />74 Spock's Beard- V, US <br />81 Ayreon- Universal Migrator Part I: The
Dream Sequencer, NL <br />131 Fates Warning- Disconnected, US <br />152 Porcupine
Tree- Lightbulb Sun, UK <br />224 Maximum Indifference- The Transmutations of
Supposed Angels or Beings that were once Girls, US <br />356 Planet X- Universe,
multi <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1999 </span><br />2 Dream Theater-
Scenes From a Memory, US <br />6 Liquid Tension Experiment- Liquid Tension
Experiment 2, US <br />184 Opeth- Still Life, SE <br />220 Kamelot- The Fourth
Legacy, US <br />295 Spock's Beard- Day For Night, US <br />300 Balance Of Power-
Ten More Tales Of Grand Illusion, UK <br />309 Porcupine Tree- Stupid Dream, UK
<br />311 Ozric Tentacles- Waterfall Cities, UK <br />314 Dali's Dilemma- Manifesto
For Futurism, US <br />429 Mastermind- Excelsior!, US <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1998 </span><br />27 Symphony X- Twilight In Olympus, US
<br />35 Liquid Tension Experiment- Liquid Tension Experiment 1, US <br />53 Ayreon-
Into The Electric Castle, NL <br />189 Pain of Salvation- One Hour By The Concrete
Lake, SE <br />201 Threshold- Clone, UK <br />282 Shadow Gallery- Tyranny, US
<br />331 Platypus- When Pus Comes To Shove, US <br />387 Savatage- The Wake of
Magellan, US <br />424 Eloy- Ocean 2 ~ The Answer, DE <br />496 Arena- The Visitor,
UK <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1997 </span><br />11 Symphony X- The
Divine Wings Of Tragedy, US <br />13 Dream Theater- Falling Into Infinity, US
<br />114 Pain of Salvation- Entropia, SE <br />120 Fates Warning- A Pleasant Shade
Of Gray, US <br />180 IQ- Subterranea, UK <br />250 Spock's Beard- Beware Of
Darkness, US <br />297 Spock's Beard- The Kindness Of Strangers, US <br />341 The
Flower Kings- Stardust We Are, SE <br />365 Devin Townsend- Ocean Machine Biomech,
CA <br />389 Crucible- Tall Tales, US <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1996
</span><br />320 Rush- Test For Echo, CA <br />403 Eric Johnson- Venus Isle, US
<br />409 Ritual- Ritual, SE <br />436 Tool- AEnima, US <br />448 Pendragon- The
Masquerade Overture, UK <br />449 Lemur Voice- Insights, NL <br />598 Steve Vai-
Fire Garden, US <br />620 Angra- Holy Land, BR <br />658 The Flower Kings-
Retropolis, SE <br />749 Superior- Behind, DE <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1995 </span><br />16 Dream Theater- A Change of Seasons,
US <br />161 Symphony X- The Damnation Game, US <br />182 Savatage- Dead Winter
Dead, US <br />308 Ayreon- The Final Experiment, NL <br />366 Kansas- Freaks Of
Nature, US <br />488 The Gathering- Mandylion, NL <br />490 Shadow Gallery- Carved
In Stone ,US <br />491 King Crimson- Thrak, UK <br />492 The Tea Party- The Edges Of
Twilight, CA <br />521 Enchant- A Blueprint Of The World, US <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1994 </span><br />29 Dream Theater- Awake, US <br />116
Pink Floyd- The Division Bell ,UK <br />323 Roine Stolt- The Flower King, SE
<br />345 Marillion- Brave, UK <br />428 Savatage- Handful Of Rain, US <br />584
Queensryche- Promised Land, US <br />608 Fates Warning- Inside Out, US <br />627
Ozric Tentacles- Arborescence, UK <br />815 Symphony X- Symphony X, US <br />875
Michael Manring- Thonk, US <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1993
</span><br />505 Savatage- Edge of Thorns, US <br />610 Rush- Counterparts, CA
<br />612 Threshold- Wounded Land, UK <br />679 Tool- Undertow, US <br />680 Ozric
Tentacles- Jurassic Shift, UK <br />703 Saga- The Security Of Illusion, CA <br />709
IQ- Ever, UK <br />720 Greg Howe- Introspection, US <br />782 Pendragon- The Window
Of Life, UK <br />863 Porcupine Tree- Up The Downstair, UK </span>Lamnethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02576817310804407489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-39478841690724196002013-03-07T06:17:00.002-08:002013-03-07T06:45:00.663-08:00Progulus Radio Average Ratings by Genre TagWithout further ado, here's a graph of z-scores by genre tag:<br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/93552734@N07/8533279643/" title="ratings by genre z-scores by WMSFLL, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8380/8533279643_1a77e6e2ac_c.jpg" width="800" height="427" alt="ratings by genre z-scores"></a><br><br>
Notes on the graph:<br><br>
Z-scores measure how many standard deviations each item is away from the mean.<br><br>
Genre tags are not usually exclusive genres, but tags used to try and describe the music. One artist may have several genre tags. For example:<br><br>
Arena: Neo-Prog, Progressive Rock, Symphonic<br>
Cosmosquad: Heavy Prog-Fusion, Guitar Oriented Rock, Technical, Instrumental<br>
Epica: Progressive Metal, Symphonic, Goth Doom, Female Fronted <br>
John Petrucci: Guitar Oriented Metal, Shred, Instrumental, LTE/Planet X and Influenced, Technical DTI<br><br>
There are a few catch-all tags that apply to most bands on progulus: Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, Symphonic, and Instrumental. For instance most Neo-Prog bands are also tagged as Progressive Rock. These super-genres shouldn't be compared with other genre tags due to their breadth, but could be compared against eachother.<br><br>
Technical DTI is an abbreviation for "Dream Theater Influenced", and also includes Dream Theater and its side-projects. Some other examples include Andromeda, Dreamscape, Spheric Universe Experience.<br><br>
Fore the tag "LTE/Planet X and Influenced," LTE is an abbreviation of Liquid Tension Experiment.<br><br>
There are many more genre tags than are highlighted here, but I picked out the ones with the largest pool of data. <br><br>
"Mean" is obviously not a genre tag, but a placeholder for the average rating. Lamnethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02576817310804407489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-17532804694233683202013-03-05T07:38:00.000-08:002013-03-05T12:29:18.353-08:00Interesting trends in Progulus Radio ratings dataI've been taking a close look at various aspects of the user ratings data on Progulus recently. Here's the first of a few posts about my findings. What I was interested in finding out was what the best years for prog were. Was there a "golden age" of the 2000's modern prog like there was with the golden era of prog in the 70's?<br><br>
First, a digression into the method that I use to rate albums on the station. What I did first was to take the raw average album scores based on user ratings for each song and obtain the <a href="http://masanjin.net/blog/how-to-rank-products-based-on-user-input">bayesian average</a>. Why baysian averaging? Well using this method allows you to weight ratings based on the number of accumulated votes. For example, an album with only two "5" votes is really not a "5" rated album when compared to another album that has accumulated 100 "5" votes. Only after an album gets sufficient votes will the album's true rating become apparent. The bayesian formula takes this into account and adjusts the rating of albums with fewer votes closer to the mean.<br><br>
After I adjusted the user ratings for each album, what I did next was to rank them all from highest to lowest in sequence from 1 to 4,500+, up to the total number of rated albums. In case you're wondering, the #1 ranked album on the station is Dream Theater - Images and Words. No big surprise there. Next, I took the albums from each year and looked at the top 50 albums of that year individually. One could tally an average rating for each year from those 50 CDs and then plot them on a graph, but what I did was to simply sum up the overall rankings of those 50 albums for each year. I inverted the result so that a higher score is better, as it's what we are used to seeing on graphs. Here's the result:<br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/93552734@N07/8527441823/" title="20130304040904 by WMSFLL, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8520/8527441823_1e54694c37_c.jpg" width="800" height="588" alt="20130304040904"></a><br><br>
A couple of things to note on the result. First, as you go back in years to the early 90's, there are fewer and fewer representative albums. Before 1994 there were fewer than 50 albums for each year so they couldn't be included in the poll. Compare this to the late 2000's where there were upwards of 200 - 250 albums each year. I believe there is a direct correlation between the number of albums in the pool and the number of highly rated albums. Granted, Progulus does not have every possible album for a given year available, but I'd like to think that we have all of the most important albums. So by this reasoning, there are simply more albums available due to the popularity of the genre, and as a result we have a certain percentage of highly rated albums out of that pool to draw from.<br><br>
Second, the graph drops sharply as we get to the present time. Fortunately for us I don't believe that this is wholly the result of a tail off in music quality over the last 3 years. Part of the reason goes back to the bayesian averaging. Newer albums have fewer votes, so it may just take a few years to accumulate enough votes to adjust the rating up away from the mean. I don't think this is the whole picture though. I have a hypothesis that people tend to rate music lower that they are less familiar with. To test this theory I would have to look at the raw user ratings going back a few years. That may be the subject of a future article. <br><br>
The real finding here is that we started to hit our "peak" or golden age somewhere around 2004. This result wasn't surprising to me since I always personally considered 2004 as a banner year for prog, and a year that really opened the flood gates and inspired many new bands who would follow. Where the surprise was for me was that this peak continued well into 2008 - 2009, with 2007 marking the high point in the annual ranking. Lets take a look at the top 10 rated albums for 2007 as an example:<br><br>
7, Symphony X- Paradise Lost, US <br>
20, Porcupine Tree- Fear Of A Blank Planet, UK <br>
26, Redemption- The Origins Of Ruin, US <br>
30, Circus Maximus- Isolate, NO <br>
44, Riverside- Rapid Eye Movement, PL <br>
55, Myrath- Hope, TN <br>
56, Spheric Universe Experience- Anima, FR <br>
79, Dream Theater- Systematic Chaos, US <br>
84, Dead Soul Tribe- A Lullaby For The Devil, US <br>
87, Sieges Even- Paramount, DE <br><br>
The number listed before each album is it's overall rank on the station. The #10 album that year is still in the top 100 of all albums. The only other year that I looked at that came close to this was 2005. In 2008 the #10 album ranked #191 overall, and in 2006 the #10 album ranked #228 overall. We can take a look at this in more depth with the following graph that shows the total number of top 10 albums each year that presently rank in the current overall top 100:<br><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/93552734@N07/8532414836/" title="20130305091143 by WMSFLL, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8391/8532414836_4d97b18246_c.jpg" width="800" height="588" alt="20130305091143"></a><br><br>
To be in the overall top 100 rank an album has to be in the highest tier, or better than about 98% of the other 4500+ albums on the radio station. Looking at the result, 2005 and 2007 both had the highest number of "hit-producing" years with all 10 of the top 10 CDs falling within the overall top 100 ranking. While 2000, 2002, and 2004 did produce a quite a few albums that rank in the top 100, the indication from the first graph is that a lot of other CDs that came out those years ranked quite a bit lower than the top 50 did in 2004 - 2009. It's also interesting to note here that there are a lot of peaks that seem to happen every other year.<br><br>
We may need to wait a few more years to find out if 2009 - 2012 is really marking a downward swing in the quality of music coming out, or if it's simply an error in the way the data was analyzed as I described above. But it's clear from the data that the modern "golden era" of prog began to peak around 2004 and continues at least into 2008-2009, if not further.
Lamnethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02576817310804407489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-23618755376772883462011-10-31T16:21:00.000-07:002011-10-31T16:21:38.952-07:00Some reviews and thingsAs some of you know, I'm also a reviewer at Seaoftranquility.org. I'll try to make a better habit of cross-posting here, but here's what I've done so far:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #d7defa; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><a href="http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=11739" style="background-color: black; color: #caac80; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Consecration: .avi</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #d7defa; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><a href="http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=11738" style="background-color: black; color: #caac80; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Brooks, Chris: The Axis Of All Things</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #d7defa; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><a href="http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=11359" style="background-color: black; color: #caac80; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Ilium: Genetic Memory</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #d7defa; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><a href="http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=11491" style="background-color: black; color: #caac80; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Fantomas: The Director's Cut Live - A New Year's Revolution</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #d7defa; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><a href="http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=11489" style="background-color: black; color: #caac80; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Isis: Live V</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #d7defa; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><a href="http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=11184" style="background-color: black; color: #caac80; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Einvera: In Your Image</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #d7defa; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><a href="http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=11180" style="background-color: black; color: #caac80; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Francesco Atrusato Project, The: Chaos and the Primordial</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #d7defa; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><a href="http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=10861" style="background-color: black; color: #caac80; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">The Book Of Knots: Garden Of Fainting Stars</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #d7defa; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><a href="http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=10983" style="background-color: black; color: #caac80; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Pluto and the Planets: 360º of Wonder</a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #d7defa; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #d7defa; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><a href="http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=10973" style="background-color: black; color: #caac80; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Bohren & der Club of Gore: Beileid</a>Sean Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04076164080096427562noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-12584826298888533822011-09-15T13:19:00.000-07:002011-09-20T10:05:02.643-07:00The DIY of kicking clouds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuwgVYvYFjwHc2jL7gDpaiPgUTlrUa7bdPoB3iaJmEurNzdDj_qdFmkpoiCOoJvYTBt-0LVq8fOsYR5gO3JD0ZHaZBJ9g8f_uXhDA9g8FYoL9kFKJulAb9GnRsFGCzFt8jCjrFyBgPKM0/s1600/1458442241-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuwgVYvYFjwHc2jL7gDpaiPgUTlrUa7bdPoB3iaJmEurNzdDj_qdFmkpoiCOoJvYTBt-0LVq8fOsYR5gO3JD0ZHaZBJ9g8f_uXhDA9g8FYoL9kFKJulAb9GnRsFGCzFt8jCjrFyBgPKM0/s320/1458442241-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'm not sure how many people know about Cloudkicker or it's mastermind Ben Sharp.<b> </b>I think that's mostly because he's avoided the usual routes for releasing music, and in fact avoided many of the reasons people write music and join bands in the first place. He releases music when he feels like he's done with it, sometimes a few songs, sometimes a dozen. He writes, records, plays, and programs everything himself. It's all instrumental, but not anything like Joe Satriani or Planet X. The music gets often lumped in with the Djent music movement, but I think that sells it short. There is a lot more melody and atmosphere here than I think your typical djent band puts out. </div>
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Cloudkicker releases are available for free download via the <a href="http://cloudkicker.bandcamp.com/">Cloudkicker bandcamp site</a>. Yes, everything really is free, but throw the guy a few bucks anyway. We need more music like this. Ben was kind enough to answer a few questions via email. I got some insight into the Cloudkicker process, and found out what airline cockpit voice recordings have to do with metal music. Ben also dispensed with probably the only advice you need to live a good life. Want to know more? Read on…</div>
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<b>1. How long does it take to write and record a typical Cloudkicker song? </b></div>
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It really depends. I've written songs in hours and over the course of weeks. </div>
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<b>2. Do you write one part (like a guitar part) all the way through, or do the different instruments leap frog each other as you go? </b></div>
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I write from the beginning to the end, usually starting with a guitar riff or idea, and then I just doodle around until I find what I think should come next, and so on until I feel like I have something that I can call "finished". </div>
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<b>3. I checked out your equipment blog post. Even though you are working "in the box" you use a Vox Tonelab rather than guitar plug ins. Any particular reason? </b></div>
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No not really. It works, that's about all the reason I have. </div>
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<b>4. Your equipment list doesn't include any synths either. Do you use any, or is everything guitar generated? </b></div>
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I've used a piano synth in maybe one or two songs, but 99% of everything is guitar generated. </div>
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<b>5. The song titles on Beacons seem to tell a story. At least they do to me. Was that intentional? </b></div>
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They're all excerpts from airliner cockpit voice recorder tapes. </div>
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<b>6. Your releases vary in length from just a few song to what most people would call a full album. How do you know when you're done writing and it's time to put it out there? </b></div>
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If I have a handful of songs and I put them in some order and listen to it all the way through and feel like it works, then I'll do it. If not, I'll hold off until I think it does. Not very scientific, I know. With Beacons, I set out to make something more along the lines of a full-length from the start, so I knew that's where I was trying to go with it. </div>
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<b>7. How do you go about making the art for each release? </b></div>
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For everything before Beacons, I tried to make something that I felt represented the music well. I'm not very good at making art like that though, so on Beacons I had a friend of mine do the layout...sort of. He came up with the idea but then didn't do anything and I ended up doing it anyway. </div>
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<b>8. Everything has been instrumental so far, any desire to add vocals in the future? </b></div>
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Meh, not really. </div>
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<b>9. You've always posted your music online for free, basically relying on the kindness of strangers for any monetary support. Was this an easy decision when you started Cloudkicker? </b></div>
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Yeah, that's how Cloudkicker started. I never expected to make any money off this, so it's really surprising that I have. </div>
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<b>10. What do you think about file sharing and the future of music in general? </b></div>
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Don't care. People are going to do it anyway. I personally haven't bought a CD since 2004, and I think it's bogus that somewhere, sometime, someone would say to themselves "I wish I could listen to this music, but I don't have enough money." That's just me though. As for the MUSIC INDUSTRY, well, lots of industries are struggling right now, either they'll figure out how to adapt or they won't, I don't see it as that big of a deal. </div>
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<b>11. What's next for Cloudkicker? </b></div>
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I'm working on an EP at the moment. I'm aiming for somewhere around 25-30 minutes and I'm almost there, so maybe in November or December you'll see something. </div>
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<b>12. Any new music you're listening to these days? </b></div>
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Yeah kind of. I've been rediscovering some older stuff that I had sitting dormant in my itunes library. Like the album El Cielo by Dredg. So, so good, but that's probably almost 10 years old. I've been pretty outspoken about my enjoyment of the newest Sufjan Stevens album The Age of Adz, and I was listening to that exclusively for basically the entire month of April. I've been dabbling in Radiohead, El Ten Eleven, Pinback, The Appleseed Cast, and lots of other random things that pop up on Pandora and shuffle. When I get to the end stages of making an album or EP or whatever, I tend to listen to that a lot, making notes and generally being critical, so I'm not really "into" any one thing right now. </div>
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<b>13. Anything else you want to add? </b></div>
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Don't be a jerk! Not you, just in general. </div>
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<b>Good advice, thanks Ben! </b></div>
Sean Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04076164080096427562noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-2189520572508927632011-01-06T19:48:00.000-08:002011-01-06T19:53:42.994-08:00AT&T stole my tapeHappy new year everybody!<br />
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Just ran across an interesting article and wanted to share, since I think it had an impact on recorded music. Apparently Bell Labs had invented the answering machine, and the magnetic tape to go with it, in 1934. Fearing that it would hurt the telephone(?!) AT&T shelved it for 20 years. Imagine how recording and music might be different if artists hadn't been stuck with the limitations of recording directly to records in the 30s and 40s. More evidence, IMO, that innovation and invention must always be free and open.<br />
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http://io9.com/5699159/how-ma-bell-shelved-the-future-for-60-yearsSean Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04076164080096427562noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-30669539228807615642010-09-27T13:47:00.001-07:002010-11-10T22:39:28.999-08:00An instrument to end the war of strings<b>The fretted harp!</b><br />
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</div><div>12 strings exist since quite some decades. On those every string has a second one, an octave higher, except string 1 and 2 which are simply doubled. They have a very rich sound, but playing them is not different than usual ones.</div><div>Then came 7 strings, 8 string and 9 strings to add more scale. Also 5 string, 6 string and 7 string bass guitars aren't that uncommon anymore.</div><div>In stage 3 the <a href="http://www.stick.com/">chapman stick</a> and <a href="http://www.warrguitars.com/">warr guitar</a> and nowadays the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugx8QKMbwn0&feature=sub">stringstation</a> rule.</div><div><br />
</div><div>So, being Stringray, I gotta find some more strings!</div><div><br />
</div><div>The idea is simple: attach a fretboard to a harp.</div><div><br />
</div><div>1. playability:</div><div>But how can one play that if not standing in fron of it, with your back to the audiene, constantly movin up and down and showing them your fat ass?</div><div>So, you still had to play it like the harpist does, from both sides. For achieving this, a normal fretboard is imposible. But there's still a way. At first, -yes- double the amount of strings. Every string must have its twin, sitting behind it. In between the string layers would be steel bars that carry the steel frets, one on each side of the bar, so each of the twin strings can have frets.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Advantages:</div><div>good playability, a pretty cool looking artist, and --- MORE SRTINGS!</div><div><br />
</div><div>2. Tonal set up:</div><div>The harp is constructed to transport the strings' frequencies to the sound body on both ends, so it's quite tricky.</div><div>Now attaching frets brings of course the 'problem' that it will always produce 2 notes, one on the upper and one on the lower end of the string.</div><div>There's only one way to gain control over this. The fret distances must be set in a way that a harmonic is always given. Both ends of a string must be in harmony in every given scenario.</div><div>That also gives options. Since there are many strings in similar tonal range, you can have different string set ups for different dual harmonic scales.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Advantage: nobody will ever be able to play this.</div><div><br />
</div><div>3. Construction:</div><div>Who?</div><div>I swear, if you ever build that, I will not die until I've learned to play it! </div>stringrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08729065479503588877noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-76345838709263776232010-09-09T16:06:00.000-07:002010-11-10T22:35:57.893-08:00The flagship loses its captain<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e7e7e7; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"></span></span><br />
<h4><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e7e7e7; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">So Portnoy calls his quits?</span></span></span></span></h4><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e7e7e7; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">I'm not shocked. Not this time.</span></span></span></span></div><h4><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e7e7e7; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">I'm saying for a couple of years now that the band needs a break to charge their batteries of creativity. Now Portnoy, the band leader, is the one who does it while the rest doesn't. That's quite a surprise as I always thought it was MP who sailed the band into those commercial sell out shores. So was it the other way round and MP simply saw that they were going the wrong way and tried to get back on the right track? We will see.</span></span></span></span></h4><h4><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e7e7e7; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">It will be interesting who will step into his shoes as there aren't too many out there who could replace him, and I bet quite a number of them won't even try to compare themselves to him.</span></span></span></span></h4><h4><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e7e7e7; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">On the other hand the best times of DT in the past have always been the ones when they had to replace a member and merge new creative aspects to their musical identity, so there's hope that DT now find another spark that brings them back to their old strength.</span></span></span></span></h4><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e7e7e7; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Let's see what the future will bring.</span></span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e7e7e7; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>stringrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08729065479503588877noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-19378628086261505562010-07-19T14:30:00.000-07:002010-11-10T22:37:55.108-08:00The (public) library vs. the (private) RIAAIn another in a seemingly endless series about the present day music industry, I had a new thought cross my mind. Not new information, but maybe a new metaphor to apply to the recording industry situation. I've make reference before to the idea that massive record sales of the 80s and 90s are an anomaly, not the norm, for music as a consumable product. People have moved on the DVDs and Tivo. I've watched in amusement for the last few years as the RIAA tries desperately not to accept this.<br />
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I have visited the Littleton <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_library">public library</a> several times and it's an excellent resource for a smaller library. While browsing the stacks last week I was reminded of how many hundreds of books are released every month. Even if all new book releases were stopped today it would take me decades to read everything in the speculative fiction section alone. It applies to music as well. Online radio like Progulus lets me get a good sample of a lot of music. I enjoy most of it, and I could never afford the money or time to actually buy all of it.<br />
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So why keep writing books? Well, for authors it may be a mix of artistic compulsion and a job. For publishers, they hope for the occasional huge hit, but they can also publish books in moderate quantities and not put a lot of money up front. With new digital options, there's almost no production cost at all beyond paying the people who worked on it. It's similar to something I read about Jazz back in college, that Jazz labels considered a record successful if it sold 20,000 copies. Make your money back, make a small profit, and move on the the next gig. The RIAA can't tell the difference between success and MASSIVE HIT EVERYBODY PARTY! No one should be pressured not to write a book, paint a picture, or record an album because it won't make someone else rich.<br />
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After a book or any creative is done, it enters the culture at large. Whether 10 people or 10,000 people read it, it's there to be used. Libraries now also have a lot of music and movies. Libraries are storehouses of culture. It's a place that holds a record of a people and their creativity. Storytelling is one of the few things left that humans do and animals don't (as far as we know). As an artist, I am more interested in being part of the creative conversation and part of the cultural record than in diluting my intentions to make money.<br />
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Do authors lose money when people borrow a book from the library rather than buying it? Sure, it seems obvious. But, <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100118/0136297786.shtml">as others have ably written, obscurity</a> is far worse an enemy to art than whether or not people get it for free.Sean Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04076164080096427562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-85113686616767565272010-05-05T08:31:00.000-07:002010-11-10T22:38:50.568-08:00For the Ones Who Will SucceedTopic: Methods of success.<br />
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<blockquote>"The night was hot... wait no. The night... the night was humid. The night was humid. No wait, hot... hot. The night was hot. The night was hot and wet, wet and hot. The night was wet and hot, hot and wet, wet and hot... that's humid. The night was humid. The night was dry, yet it was raining."</blockquote><br />
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That's a quote from a funny scene in <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/www.imdb.com/title/tt0094142">Throw Momma From The Train</a> where author Larry (Billy Crystal) has a case of writer's block and spends days trying to come up with the opening line of his new book. It's not too far from the truth though. Staring at a blank canvas and trying to come up with the next work is a bit like the zen student trying to understand zen. One must capture little bits of their fleeting imagination in a real and finite form, and once the first line of music is written or the first brush stroke is applied to the canvas everything else must come from that. Moving toward a finished piece is a series of diminishing possibilities the last few notes are placed which fit only into that one work and no other.<br />
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In my <a href="http://progrockin.blogspot.com/2010/02/to-ones-who-have-failed.html">last blog</a>, I wrote about how and why musicians and bands often fail and quit. In this article I want to discuss the other side of creating music, and that is to discuss some methods and tools for success and staying motivated. <br />
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It's important to know that music is and has always been written by ordinary folk in their own place and time using tools that were readily available at their disposal. Our point of view and the starting materials that we use are a product of the world we live in. For example, the temples of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat">Angkor Wat</a> would not have been created if the 12th century Cambodian's didn't have a knowledge of sculpture and masonry and a strong passion in Hindi Buddhism, and and the <a href="http://wysinger.homestead.com/kingtutankhamun5.html">Death Mask of Tutankahman</a> would have not been made if early Egyptians had no belief that it wouldn't be needed in the afterlife, didn't have a large supply of gold, and hadn't developed the necessary skills to create it. We are not compelled to build similar things today because our set of beliefs and level of technology have changed. What the modern form is to us comes from our own realities and personal frame of reference. Todays 12-bar blues form of music would have made as little sense for <a href="http://www.baroquemusic.org/bqxjsbach.html">Bach</a> to write into his secular music as it would be for us to try and write a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugue">six-part fugue</a> into a blues song today. <br />
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Furthermore, it's quite rare for a musician to invent a new music form right out of thin air. More typically a new or perfected form of music is born out of existing styles from the present day. For example, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Philip_Sousa">John Philip Sousa</a> wrote military marches mostly because he grew up in a military environment and his father played in a military band and he later joined the Marine Corp and conducted his own marching band. His life experience taught him the marching band style and how to write in it, and hence the majority of his musical output was writing in this form and he ended up defining the style for future generations. By the same token Chopin didn't invent the marzurka but he perfected and defined it by <a href="http://www.pianosociety.com/cms/index.php?section=127">writing 58 of them</a>. History is full of cases of people who start out by following an existing style and then later breaking out of that mold to create a new style or form. It's the great ones who make the next set of rules for the generations that follow, and follow they do. There have been countless modern progressive rock and metal bands today who have followed in the footsteps of Dream Theater because they are inventers of the modern form we use today. There are a handful of other bands that are heavily borrowed upon which I won't name here. This strategy helps us gain a foothold on what we want to accomplish and where we take it from there is up to us. One of the problems with this is, as I addressed in my <a href="http://progrockin.blogspot.com/2010/02/to-ones-who-have-failed.html">last blog</a>, is that many bands end up quitting before they find their own voice so we are left with a lot of bands that are unoriginal copies of others. <br />
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Up to this point I've made the case that music is written by ordinary people and have refrained from using the 'T' word... "talent". We've all probably seen the videos of the 5-year old drum prodigy or the 10-year old who can play 64 notes a second on a guitar, but how many times do we hear of them going on to become productive musicians? I want to state right here and now that talent is indistinguishable from hard work. There's always going to be the rare band who can put out an amazing record on their first try or the musician who comes along once a generation who is far away superior to everyone else. But for the rest of us talent only goes so far. Think of the race between the turtle and the hare. The hare got a faster time off the starting blocks but in the end it was the turtle who dedicated himself to task at hand and ended up winning the race. I once read an interview with Al Dimeola where he said that when he wanted to learn how to play the guitar the first thing he did was to memorize every scale at every position on the neck. It's said that the difference between an amatuer and a professional is that the amatuer practices until he gets it right, and the professional practices until he never gets it wrong. <br />
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I've mentioned before that it's very difficult to write music or produce art in a vaccum. For this reason it's a good idea to become involved in peer or critique groups or to make friends with people who share similar interests. These groups not only give you a venue for your work, but also valuable critique on your progress. Fortunately today there are many different groups available widely on the internet via MySpace, MP3.com, forums, and many other places where feedback can be almost instantaneous. Porcupine Tree and Ozric Tentacles both got started by distributing free cassette tapes of their music for people to hear. Of course, having a record deal in hand can be a great motivator. But most prog labels want to hear the finished product before they commit to anything. <br />
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In addition to peer support and critique, all artists need a good and constant dose of self-editing. When Van Halen recorded their first album they recorded something like 20 songs and only used the best 11 for the album. Unfortunately many artists feel that every idea they come up with is a good one and should be slapped on plastic and sold to the fans. But even with critique and self-editing artists might feel misunderstood when there is a lack of interest in their work, and some have even taken on the faulty notion that lack of interest in their work is a necessary form of self-persecution for the sake of their art. But the truth is that artists must produce a large amount of mediocre work that nobody really cares about much in order for them to produce those few works that really soar. <br />
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Another popular technique to get yourself started and maintain momentum is to work within a theme. For example, pianists will sometimes try to write one work in each key. In photography one of the popular trends is to do a "photo a day" project or a Photo365 diary. Another example is photography groups that set up themed contests with a different subject each week. There are many variations to this, but the general strategy is to avoid writer's block and stay motivated by always leaving a little bit of something unfinished to come back to. You can set measurable goals such as writing and recording one complete song each month such as what Mindflow did recently with their "365 project". Also, artists who remain students of their medium are often more motivated because they experiment with the new things that they have learned.<br />
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A musician or other artist must at some point come to terms with making music for themselves as opposed to making music for others. Consider what happens in a "sophmore slump" which is a common occurance for bands. A band might begin their musical career with a sense of self-purpose, taking their time and enjoying what they do for just themselves. After they reach a level of notoriety they might to begin suddenly taking themselves "seriously", or worse yet freezing up because now have a whole new audience of fans that they must write music for. After the success of their first album they are now under pressure from their management or label to produce more of the same work as before, but different. Try making a conscious effort to do that sometime! All of the motivations have changed as a result and it's no longer a matter of creating for the sake of enjoyment. The only way to overcome this is to realize that good music comes out of making your music for yourself and nobody else. <br />
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Musicians are also constantly evolving and changing. There is the notion for them to believe that their past work is not up to par with their current work. This is a good thing and a sign of progression as an artist. An artist is a bit like a boat moving forward through the water and creating a wake in its path. The wake spreads out behind the boat and eventually disappears back into the water. Like the boat, an artist is constantly moving forward, speeding up or slowing down, changing directions, and the displacement of what they do creates a wake that remains and dissipates behind them. Another aspect of growth is that there are usually long periods of stagnation followed by rapid quantum leaps in understanding and inspiration. For example, as a photographer I started out pretty much like everybody else to learn the technical basics such as aperture, depth of field, dynamic ranges, flash techniques, etc. My first attempts would be to try to create photographic records of particular scenes. A short time later I came to realize that my pictures in print were never the same as what I originally saw. So my next leap in understanding came for me to learn how to predict how what I saw would look in print or view things with a "photographic eye," as they say. Later on I began to realize that my pictures weren't so much creating a photographic record of what I saw, but were in fact creating geometric figures out of subjects on a 2-dimensional space. After that I began and learning how to form these shapes in a visually pleasing way. A final moment of understanding for me came when I began to see how the borders of the print were also creating geometries within the image. Once those kinds of revelations have been realized they cannot be "unseen" and I from each point forward I could never look at a photograph in the same way as before. I'm sure there are probably other insights coming down the road too that I have yet to understand. But for each leap there was also a diminished sense of pride in the work I had done before. My point is that growth as an artist is an inevitable and desireable result of totally immersing ourselves in our work. We should take that path wherever it leads us even if it means acknowledging that we have already created our best work, because it may very possibly lead to even more growth and understanding down the road. <br />
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I mentioned communication in my last article. This is perhaps the most difficult thing to get a handle on because an individual artist often has little control over the actions of his peers and is totally dependant on them. Very often the pool of potential bandmates are fairly limited within a region, so people get stuck with one another for lack of any better options. Success in this fashion often comes down to luck of the draw. The one recurring theme to success I've seen over the years is that bands make it clear to eachother that they must have a strong work ethic and must each bear a share of the workload. Set certain times during each practice session to just work on new material, share new song ideas and critique them. Make it a rule that each band member must bring a new song idea to each proactice session, etc. Band members must be able to critique eachother in an open forum without creating conflict. Very often one band member grandstands or tries to control the others. This is not conductive to a good working relationship. Good communication is really the key to success. Band members can be a great internal source of motivation, though it's also still a good idea to seek critique from outside groups as well.<br />
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Creating the few works of ours that really soar are the result of a complete understanding of our medium, hard work, building on and correcting ourselves from our past failures, and most importantly staying motivated to continue in light of all the challenges in which we are confronted with.Lamnethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02576817310804407489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-47755542303516402062010-05-03T13:29:00.001-07:002010-05-03T13:36:51.231-07:00Open letter to Roger Waters concerning ticket pricing<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">saw that screen capture of the ticket pricing for the northamerican "The Wall" tour:<br /><br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Hzr4qzzG-LE1lLqlFIuU72UOJBNDL4JErUA1ohx7gQG61SWRhrcCL2_k4qSsAOKmP0ugu-vdwL6idorseN2CJgKRMbH7lmkcyjZsHjQ2exk-j4I5JtOay5PoFXswEAjdmaJaK2Rsoo0j/?imgmax=800" style="max-width: 800px;" /><br /><br />Sorry Mr Waters, 500 $$?<br /><br />That makes 3 1/3 progpower europe festivals, or, in other words, I could see 51 bands playing live, each of those playing 100 x more notes than you do - for the same amount of money.<br /><br />I've been to the show on PF's Division Bell tour (yes, I know it is another band...) I've payed 69 Deutschmarks back then which would compare to 120 Euro as for today. I've had a surround speaker array in my back that easily blasted my ears, while the music, that came only from the stage PA wasn't nearly at the volume one has in a living room. Every time such a surround ambient came up, the music was unaudible.<br />The upmost lighting happened inside an area that was covered on three sides (obviously to keep the remaining sunlight away) and I was too far on the side to look into. At half of the show we went to the area opposite of the stage because we wanted to see the lighting and it was very many lamps, but nothing impressive one would expect from a "psychedelic band".<br />All I could say about the waste of money: I saw (not) Pink Floyd live (really?).<br /><br />I saw Tool on their 10.000 Days tour for 43 Euro, and probably the only bass player who manges to play a 5 minute song per feedback only (on purpose, of course). The band was overly awesome, the sound was absolutely perfect. The lighting was a multimedia show with 4 video screens on stage, a custom made rig of lighting that appeared like a spaceship, tons of laser cannons and and and.... The band had to have a 15 minutes break, that was needed to load the next pack of lighting data into the RAM. It was a 3 dimensional multi media performance as psychedelic as can be. I was stoned without taking any drug.<br />PL can be proud for the rest of his life for such a giant birthday party!<br /><br />again.... 500$$?<br /><br />...<br /><br /><br /><div class="zemanta-pixie"><img src="http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=40bbd3f1-e640-8172-9c8a-3be883cd43ac" alt="" class="zemanta-pixie-img" /></div></div>stringrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08729065479503588877noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-62091660660824835832010-02-09T06:35:00.000-08:002010-02-18T10:53:23.255-08:00To The Ones Who Have Failed<blockquote><br />Somewhere in the city, somewhere in the room,<br />a silent man, a work undone, a plan that went astray.<br /><br />Somewhere in the limetime of a yearning reverie,<br />Words have lost their meaning on the fragile stage of fame.<br /><br />- Sieges Even</blockquote><br />This is the first in a series of articles I wanted to write about the state of making music today. In this article I want to look at a few of the reasons behind why bands break up and musicians quit. Progessive bands today seem come and go at a steady pace. For every band who releases music I can't begin to estimate how many bands have disappeared before they produce anything tangible. In music it takes a considerable amount of time energy to develop the technical skills required to write and record good music. Those who would care to make music today had better take note of those who came before them because most who have tried, quit. <br /><br />I've been practicing art in one form or another for most of my life and have hit roadblocks and gone through dry spells along the way. We often leave our work unfinished, put things off, and we get frustrated. Bands break up, musicians stop practicing, artists stop producing art, photographers stop making pictures, and the list goes on. To explore why this happens I want to look at some of the obstacles that get in the way as musicians go about accomplishing their work. I think it's important for us to understand why making music today is not easy. <br /><br />Musicians differ from most other artists like painters, sculptors, poets, photographers, and writers in that they typically must form a band in order to practice their art. For them good communication and interpersonal skills are essential in the exchange of ideas between the band members. But sadly it's an area where many musicians are lacking and can be a source of friction. Let's face it, people can be downright nasty with one another. They can be egotistical, selfish, socially withdrawn, narcissistic, stubborn, or have many other negative traits that create barriers to effective communication. In addition to that band members may can have differences in their beliefs or religions, political ideology, level of perfectionism, or on the use of drugs. Human beings are just often times conflicted. But if we were all perfect, there wouldn't be much point in making music in the first place because writing music about our flaws is often what connects listeners with their music. <br /><br />Developing the skills necessecary to play an instrument takes time, and those who take up the challenge must sit and practice alone for countless hours. For this reason it's a task best suited for the introverted. After all, the socialites would rather be out with others than sitting in a room by themselves. It's a sad irony then that lots of these people who have taken the time to get good at playing an instrument have insufficient social skills to work effectively as a part of a team in a band. I'm generalizing here. There are probably lots of cases of introverts being good communicators. But generally speaking it's not the case. According to <a href="http://behavioural-psychology.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_introverts_communicate">Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen</a>, "People with introverted personality traits feel overwhelmed more quickly than extroverts do - especially in group settings." In any case, I'll cast my ballot that human conflict is probably the biggest reason why bands break up. <br /><br />Aside from communication, unrealistic expectations might play a part in why bands break up. Imagine for a moment a young new band who are eager to write and release a record. After a great deal of practice, toil, and expense they finally create a finished product. With great excitement and anticipation they send off their CD to some reviewers, radio stations, music stores, and of course friends and family. Then they wait... and they wait. After some time they may find their original expectations were unrealistic because sales of their work are only coming in at a trickle. They did not gain the notariety they expected, or maybe they received some less than flattering reviews. They may be discouraged at having gained only a small fan base. The harsh reality of the situation is that for a new band with a new album there is no good reason why anyone should deeply care about their music except for the band themselves, their managers, and perhaps their close friends and family. Why should the listeners care when there are hundreds or thousands of others CDs out there just like it that they can choose from? The listeners have not witnessed first hand everything that went into it's creation. But these young bands have a certain degree of naivety and might start to question themselves and whether they made the right choices when they made the album. This scenario is probably an all too common pitfall for a new band and an easy excuse for them to break up.<br /><br />Let's talk for a moment about a much deeper topic. Fear. There are many reasons why fear might have a bearing on why bands quit. Making music or any art is a very self-revealing activity. A musician must bring forth the skills that they've developed over the years and are typically expected to reveal some very personal feelings in their lyrics. This makes them vulnerable. It's natural to be uneasy about how their very personal work will be received by others. They might have an underlying fear that they aren't good enough or as good as others. It might seem to them like making music comes much easier for others so maybe they are just faking it and aren't 'real' musicians. Making music is hard after all, and they're just ordinary people. They might even begin to fantasize that these other bands that they look up to are extraordinary or have some kind of magical gift from which all of their work flows out of them effortlessly. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.parentsofyoungdrivers.com/Statistics.htm">Statistics show</a> that young drivers of motor vehicles are much more apt to get in accidents. These drivers are new to the rules of the road and are a little unsure of themselves and how to control their vehicle in a variety of situations. As a driver matures they learn, hopefully through more trial than error, how the car behaves and how to effectively anticipate and avoid hazards. As musicians writing music we begin the same way. It's only through lots of hard work that people can hone their abilities, omitting what doesn't work and sticking with what does. It's also called style. The only way to make good music is to start making music and lots of it. Ansel Adams once said that no good photographer is worth his salt unless he has 10,000 bad negatives under his belt. The problem is that we often fault ourselves for our mistakes and use it as a reason to give up. <br /><br />But what if, as in the previous analogy, the rules of the road kept changing? We now drive on the other side of the road. Stop now means right turn only, yellow light is go, you must stop for all turning cars, and the rules kept changing all the time. You could try and stick with the basics but each time you drive your car you make mistakes and you begin to doubt your ability or even wonder if you really know how to drive a car at all. It sounds silly but it's an even worse situation when you write music, especially progressive music, because there are no rules. It's a stifling affair and it's easy to see why there are so many 'clone' bands out there who are following the rules of others instead of inventing their own. <br /><br />Another big factor is when musician's lose the venue or audience for their work. For me this was the day I went to college and I moved away from my bandmates and friends. All of the reasons I had for making music were suddenly gone. I did continue studying music in college and eventually received a music degree, but getting a college degree for many art and music students can also become a loss of venue. After carefully cultivating their talents with hard work, peer support, and critique over four years, graduation day comes and they are suddenly left all alone in the world trying to make a living. It's very difficult to write music in a vacuum with little support, encouragement, or feedback from others. <br /><br />Bands might also quit when their vision doesn't meet reality. Artists have vivid pretty imaginations and it can be frustrating to have the perfect idea floating around in their heads that they can't seem to bring to life. Its's a constant chase trying to form reality around the visions from their mind's eye, but the reality is the mind's eye is always faster and better. As a result they might convince themselves they will fail before they can finish so they give up trying. <br /><br />Lastly, people quit because they get bored. Part of the joy of creating something is learning how to do that something well and to explore all of the avenues to achieve technical perfection. It's a sad fact then that once we master the medium and it's time to get busy, we lose our motivation and quit.<br /><br />When people suddenly stop making music or art it's often a subconscious act. That is to say they don't just decide one day "that's it, I'm finished." Instead they lose motivation, postpone, and delay. It may be after some time before they consciously realize what has happened, but by then it may be too late. There may be little motivation left to try and go back to where they were because they might have already move on to something else or grown out of it.<br /><br />With all of this adversity, is quite remarkable that some bands can stay together, or importanly they have learned how not to quit. Many bands can get along together quite well and have learned how to get beyond their past mistakes. They have accepted who they are with all of their flaws and still continue to plod on despite whatever differences they might have with eachother. They realized that their job is to make music and not to care so much about what others might think. Rush is still together after 35 years and 19 studio albums, J. D. Salinger continued to write novels until he died at age 91, Monet was painting water lilies in his 80's, and Ansel Adams pursued photography until his death. Learning how not to quit. That's the key.Lamnethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02576817310804407489noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-90836953860948429432010-02-03T07:26:00.000-08:002010-02-08T11:30:26.525-08:00In Praise of Small Groups Within the Prog CommunityClive Thompson wrote a <a href="http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/01/st_thompson_obscurity/">short article</a> in the Feb 2010 issue of Wired Magazine called "in Praise of Online Obscurity" where he talks about how social circles begin to break down as they increase in size. He says that in small groups people are more intimate as they are part of a community where they can contribute and express their feelings and ideas openly, but in larger groups they become just another member of an anonymous mass. The article got me thinking about just how valid his points related to the various prog circles on the internet.<br /><br />He writes:<br /><br /><blockquote>"After all, the world’s bravest and most important ideas are often forged away<br />from the spotlight — in small, obscure groups of people who are passionately<br />interested in a subject and like arguing about it. They’re willing to experiment<br />with risky or dumb concepts because they’re among intimates. (It was, after all,<br />small groups of marginal weirdos that brought us the computer, democracy, and<br />the novel.)"<br /></blockquote><br />In a related <a href="http://www.thestar.com/living/article/761237--british-researcher-asks-how-many-friends-can-you-have?bn=1">research study</a>, it was determined that 150 friends is upper limit on what the human brain is able to simultaneously keep track of.<br /><br />I frequently visit certain small forums dedicated to prog music where people discuss new and old releases, give short reviews, and alert others to good bands that they have recently found. The interesting aspect of all this is how close-knit the communities are and the wide variety of people within them. Friends in these groups can be musicians, record labels, graphic designers, album reviewers, management agencies, web site representatives, and of course fans. The importance of these communities is that there's a feeling of togetherness where they can speak out with relative impunity and the rest of group will listen to what they have to say. When a hotly anticipated new release comes out everybody weighs in their thoughts on it and the people who made the CD are right there to read the critiques. These groups function as a think tank that can effectively sort out the good and the bad, so they become a self-correcting influence on the people within the group who are making the music.<br /><br />Another interesting aspect of these small groups it that people in the group become advocates of certain bands and act like their personal promotion agency. From what I've observed it's an amazingly effective way at getting the word out about new music, more so even than the various web sites dedicated to reviewing CDs. I think a person is more apt to take the advice of a friend they know and trust over others on other web sites who they don't. I have little doubt that I have increased the visibility of some bands and even helped a few get signed by agencies or labels as a direct result of my own posturing in some of these groups.<br /><br />If there's a downside to all of this it's that within these small groups there's a familiarity between members and they tend to view newcomers as outsiders. Depending on the person's background it usually takes a long while for somebody new to gain enough respect within the group for people to start calling them a friend. Another potential downside is that these groups tend to be somewhat rigid in their ideals, so the focus of one particular group is often for a similar look and sound.<br /><br />It's interesting to think about how these small groups might play a role in how music is written and composed. From my experience some of the most creative and unusual music was created in a relative vacuum of outside influence, while 'popular' music generally must conform to a larger community/industry standard. The prog world is filled with thousands of niche bands with their own unique sound. I think a good deal of the individuality of prog music comes as a direct result of the bands interacting with a very small number of influences and supporters.Lamnethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02576817310804407489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-50441082683764762002010-01-30T16:06:00.000-08:002010-01-31T15:36:02.421-08:00Follow up on the future (I call shenanigans)I'm going to address now the massive logical fallacy put forth by the music (and movie) industry. Illegal downloads are taking money away from them and out of the pockets of the creators. They want the public to think that if everyone who downloaded an album or a movie didn't do that, they would buy it instead. I can only speak for myself, but that's bullshit. I reserve my movie dollars for very few things I really like. I go to the big screen for something like Star Trek. I'll buy something I really love, like The Shawshank Redemption. If I download, the most I'm doing is taking a dollar away from Redbox. And I use Redbox, too (see below to see what the MPAA thinks of Redbox). Or I go to the library. At least half of my cd collection is either copied from friends or bought used. No money to the RIAA there. Of the music I've acquired from friends, the library, or otherwise not paid full price for, I'd say most I would have never purchased at all. These days I'm doing a lot of online radio listening. I hear tons of music I like but I'll never buy. I throw a little money in every now and then to help my favorite independent stations, but that's it. Let me see if I can summarize my point:<br />
<br />
<i>It's not a matter of buying vs stealing. It is a matter of experiencing vs not experiencing. </i><br />
<br />
I'd also like to take a moment to give a shout out the the original, old school, grandaddy of us all "analog" Torrent site, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library">Library</a>. (with special nods to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_library">public</a>, college and high school libraries)<br />
<br />
Just a few more tidbits for thought on my posts about the state of the music industry. The MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) has been raving, like the RIAA, about how illegal movie downloads are killing the movie business. The MPAA has even <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091207/2310207240.shtml">opposed cheap services like Redbox</a> despite the evidence showing just the opposite. So how can the MPAA say downloads are hurting when, yet again, 2009 was a <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091211/0955157308.shtml">record year for box office profits</a>. This during the worst economic climate since the Great Depression.<br />
<br />
If movies and music are analogous, why hasn't the music industry seen increases in the same way? Several likely reasons:<br />
<br />
Many studies <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/apr/21/study-finds-pirates-buy-more-music">including this one</a> have shown that illegal downloaders spend more money on music than those who don't download. Other studies show that digital sales are increasing. So why is the RIAA in a twist? Music is too expensive. $12-15 for a cd and $1 or more per song download are just too much. And studies are <a href="http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/01/labels-lower-music-prices-and-increase-your-profits-study-says">backing this up</a>. For some reason, rather than charging what the market will bear, the music industry has picked artificially high prices. The consumer is finally catching on and deciding they don't want to pay that much for a cd. If you want people to pay that much, you have to give more than a little plastic disk.<br />
<br />
The way we deliver music is outdated and being replaced by a system we don't fully understand yet. Brian Eno made the fine comparison of <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100120/2249557850.shtml">records to whale blubber</a>. Oil replaced whale blubber as fuel. Cars replaced the horse and buggy. Transistors replaced vacuum tubes. We make ice in our own freezers rather than having it delivered. Technology moves on. In some cases the old ways die out, in others they adapt to new niches. My desktop computer would fill the room if it still had tubes, but many a guitar player would be lost without a tube amp. You can still ride a horse and buggy, but you do so for fun, not because it's the best way to get around.<br />
<br />
People just don't like music that much anymore. It's a hard pill to swallow but I think it's true. I'm forgetting where I read or heard this, but it's related to the Brian Eno remarks. In the history of music, the multi-million album sales and heaps of money thrown around in the 80s and 90s are an anomaly, not the norm. Operating an industry on that scale wasn't sustainable. Video game sales have outpaced music for a few years now, and have passed home dvd sales. Internet, cable, satellite. There are so many sources for entertainment and information. Music is going to have to accept that it isn't on top of the heap anymore.<br />
<br />
So, back to the artist. What do I think? I think I make art and that's a lot better than not making it. I'd feel sympathetic towards those who can't make a living anymore in music, but so far I haven't found any examples. I'm not entitled to make a living at music and neither is anyone else. I'm not <i>entitled</i> to anything but the right to make art. Hell, even Ray Alder of Fates Warning had a day job during their heyday. I have a job so I can make art. On one level, only making a small part of my income from my art makes me an amateur and not a professional. On the other hand, being free to make whatever art I want, when I want, to make myself happy, means that I am successful. And being successful in my art makes me happy with what I have to be happy with.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEeFzKG1s-2Sj9OQfHRgbJ0P1KAcQbj-MJ0KzKRh_ahmSTFa48QoxYfoFRARQvbysd2UV2DonQ-A6BOv-c_Lg6hWOr1mxE4s8x8AodH-9GRatz4idpS_qMR4ezL1n2IJFpus8OTzL4GiY/s1600-h/4442-happy-with-what-you-have-to-be-happy-with.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEeFzKG1s-2Sj9OQfHRgbJ0P1KAcQbj-MJ0KzKRh_ahmSTFa48QoxYfoFRARQvbysd2UV2DonQ-A6BOv-c_Lg6hWOr1mxE4s8x8AodH-9GRatz4idpS_qMR4ezL1n2IJFpus8OTzL4GiY/s320/4442-happy-with-what-you-have-to-be-happy-with.jpg" /></a></div><br />
(is it perhaps ironic that these people are watching television and not listening to music?)<br />
(slightly related, I link to <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/index.php">Techdirt</a> a lot. A great read for tech/copyright/what's next/that's a dumb law info)Sean Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04076164080096427562noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-69598046360645537712010-01-24T13:45:00.001-08:002010-01-26T01:59:39.353-08:00About Tastes, Arguments and Judging - grrroOOOOOoowwwwl it OUT!!!<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNNFxW2L09q0YGiUVnDKkow19pKp4EiWDnu7wHElA4f-BtDgOITKQI0tk4oA-Gxt7vCQCvhzpanKc8VMo4e_xaPm3kTAWIN4B_skRV4c7QlovOFgcKJ81n4EXM4SPL92JRHNTdpmpitPj/s1600-h/rabbit_growl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNNFxW2L09q0YGiUVnDKkow19pKp4EiWDnu7wHElA4f-BtDgOITKQI0tk4oA-Gxt7vCQCvhzpanKc8VMo4e_xaPm3kTAWIN4B_skRV4c7QlovOFgcKJ81n4EXM4SPL92JRHNTdpmpitPj/s200/rabbit_growl.jpg" width="200" /></a><small><span style="font-family: arial;"><big>"And you should get more into growlers... just ignore the growling if you want, there's usually lots of dynamics in their music!"<br />
<br />
This is a posting by "Blueprint", and has been agreed by "Ayreonaut" on the <a href="http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/progpower-europe-410/" target="_blank">forum of Progpower Europe</a> as a final comment to my ppe reviews. I want to memorize Lamneth's article <a href="http://progrockin.blogspot.com/2010/01/as-i-experience-certain-sensory-input.html" target="_blank">Tribalism in Progressive Circles</a>.<br />
<br />
What I can say about the growling is that it is not my favorite art of expression. I am listening to growlers since a couple of years, and it will never be my preferred vocal technique. There are some I can enjoy pretty much, and some I cannot stand at all. I divide them in four categories:<br />
<br />
1) The expressive ones - Used to create a sonic vision of something evil in a story to be told, such as Amaseffer use in their outstanding prog metal bible soundtrack epic trilogy. I love them one hundred percent.<br />
<br />
2) The atmospheric ones - used alternatively to clean vocals for creating a dark or evil atmosphere in genres where guitar alone (or even with keyboards) cannot achieve it. Why not? If it turns out any good...<br />
<br />
3) The "for-the-sake-of-it" growlings - In the beginning there was the growling, the came the lyrics. All music gets written around it so the growling has a base to float over. I dont' have any sense for it, there is no beauty in the music for my music analyzing neuronal patterns.<br />
<br />
4) The production enhancing growls - Now we have produced a very strong album, but what can we do to improve sales results? We should bring some growling in, that will attract the other half of the metal fans as well. I call them - like they are meant to be - evil. Evil commerce.<br />
<br />
So, what happens if those cookies come along when I'm tuned in to progulus radio? I get tears in my eyes (1), just let the music play and wonder if and how it will please me (2), press the mute button because the music bothers me (3) or consider the band being lost to the deeps of capitalism (4).<br />
If it fills the air at such a genious festival like Progpower Europe, I have a great option: I walk through the door and do the second thing I came for: talking to some of the great people I have the opportunity to meet.<br />
Concernig to Blueprint's idea of just ignoring the cookies, well, I can't. At least unless one offers a growling filter implant.<br />
But all in all, Blueprint is right, many bands really do great music, and the fact that I can't stand the growling and therefore will not listen to them is a tragedy.<br />
<br />
So much for my statement about cookiemonster vocals. I will not say silly things like "I hate people shouting at me this way" or something like that. There is this one thing in man that has no reason: taste. It is the way it is, and one cannot say why. In this human here, a strong growling intolerance is given. but hey, it is my taste! I don't actually am against it on purpose! I just don't like to hear it. I would never say it is a bad thing because of reason xy. Bad for me in person only because I miss some great instrumental work, but I will never tell anybody to not growl unless he/she were in a band I've founded.<br />
Lamneth complained about one who said that Opeth are killing the death metal genre by bringing in some clean vocals. Well, I bet it was a young one who's overly supportive to that genre so he doesn't want to go beyond it one little step. It was an opinion, nothing more. A person with a rather narrow range of taste. That won't make this person a bad guy at all. I bet if I meet that one, we could have a great time together.<br />
We here are proggers. We love this kind of music and support it in all ways we can. In common we share tastes. Even if we have sort of tribalism, which I tend to call differences in taste. Is that bad?<br />
If I made friendship only with proggers here in Munich, where I live, I would be a rather lonely person.<br />
Imagine a person that is highly intelligent and smart, has a high class job that makes him a 1st class income, but is straight to the ground and simply a great friend. And then you find out he's a country fan. Would you turn your back on him and call him a moron? I don't think so.<br />
In the nineties there was a great guy being sound engineer at the studio where I worked. We were hanging out in bars and street cafes pretty often, simply having a great time. one day we began a discussion about how a good radio show would have to be made, how much variety it should have, and all that kind of ideas. It took some two hours and we agreed in simply every aspect, until we came to the point where we started to name bands to be played. We've found out that I was the metal guy and he was a straight to the heart hip hopper. Man, that was a laugh!! But we've remained good friends and spent plenty of great time together until life tore us apart 10 years ago. I still think of him often. <br />
<br />
All we people on this planet have different tastes and should respect each other's. Some 25 years ago, when I was into jazz (among other genres), I turned and walked away because of the elitism of the jazzers. In the here and now I experience the same elitism in prog fans and gotta shake my head.<br />
Intelligent music - being open minded - convert the sheep to prog - no hope for the morons ... I hear and read terms like these way too often in the progressive corner. Are we really that better than the rest of the world?<br />
The doctor who saves your live loves classical<br />
The bakerman who produces your bread loves marching music<br />
The farmer who grows your vegetables loves country<br />
The constructor who built your house loves trip hop<br />
---> All morons? Not worthy?<br />
<br />
Stop the elitism! Stop evangelizing! Or you are the moron...<br />
Yes, play your preferred music to people you like. But when they ask you to stop, then stop. Respect their tastes.<br />
Taste cannot be controlled, neither can it be manipulated. Gladly! If that were possible all our governments would do it. A horrible scenario.</big><br />
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<div class="zemanta-pixie"><img alt="" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=92baeb55-7154-8d89-a310-3d7e7b0b76f5" /><br />
</div></div>stringrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08729065479503588877noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-26050665233751247362010-01-21T14:24:00.001-08:002010-01-24T03:02:05.935-08:00The 5th Season - a diary, Day 3<span style="color: #0000ee;"><u><br />
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<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><span style="font-family: arial;">My friends must have felt my suffering and saved me some hot water for the shower on this Sunday morning. What a difference, brain starts working, body is ok, the day will be a good one. Except, again I got up too late for breakfast in the progpower breakfast room. Bummer. In the years before I've always been the first one getting up. That role belongs to the Brits this year. But I can rely on Dario. He's still asleep, though he was the first one in bed. Hope he'll be doing better today. Out in the courtyard, the circle's up. Aaah, I'm at home. Jeroen comes along and joins, he's managed to get some food, by simply asking the staff if there's something left. Guess they were unable to leave a young guy hanging out hungry. But there was no coffee left. I offer some espresso and his eyes start glowing. " Isn't it spoiled, having your own espresso maker in a hotel?" he asks. I agree, but it's convenient too. And then he says it's quite strong. Oh my. Would somebody complain about a Porsche being a fast car? Gary says to someone "We're not Brittish! We're English." Oh yes, I've heard Simon talking about having been in Europe last year. Separatists they are.</span> What? someone needs coffee? Ok, I'm back into our room. Too much action for Dario to keep sleeping.<img height="417" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ka9gjp-rz26S1wrcUsYAZHummZHAlf7DH0ikTe86a7GtpwrydaYEOWGKA4qrR0oDe51ojMEU50r_j39gJKD5z8L8_TKUTRorFyLUjFdwGTFeFegnFifm3BHC7oEES6jkVYGKfeLbzWkX/?imgmax=800" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 800px;" width="556" /><br />
I gotta care for the beerbox and the bottles, so I'm heading towards the party room. 2 closed bottles are standing there on the floor, right at the wall. Oh my, those poor devils were unable to open them? I had no idea that is seems almost impossible to the rest of the world to open a German beerbottle.<br />
Whoa, the room still is a total mess! I guess staff really are waiting until we're gone before cleaning up. And quite some Oktoberfest beer left! Are they as picky concerning beer as we Germans are? Or are they kind enough to not drink all my beer? I decide for the second option. Although... really...? Nah, they're a nice bunch of guys.<br />
I placed the beer in the middle of us and hand out some. I say something about being old. "No you're not old, you're retro" says Jeroen. Shall I feel flattered? I guess so. He tells us that his Finnish roommates locked the door last night,<br />
and he had to find a free room for sleeping (without finnish snoring...) Next time I'm gonna put up a big sign: spare beds at room number xxx.<br />
"Who was the headliner today?" "Evergrey". "Evergay" shouts a Swede. "Nevergay" says Dario. Kalle has an Oktoberfeest beer, looks at the label and says "wow, half a liter of beer with 5,9 % alcohol on my way to the venue. This may become a hard day!"<br />
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The little trail starts slowly, and outside the castel Seventh Wonder are standing on the street, waiting for the car. I hear myself saying something like "Hey, last chance to thank you guys for playing for us." "Thank you", "No thank you, you were a great audience", "have a safe trip", "have a great festival finale", etc, etc. Bands are happy being with the fans and - of course - vice versa, and everybody has a smile on his face. This somehow sums up the whole festival.<br />
A couple of bands use the Sunday for their travelling, so they're back to work on Monday. But instead of less people at Sjiwa, there are even more than yesterday. It seems that many Dutch people just come for Sunday, the final day. (Do they all avoid the grunting Saturday?)<br />
"You know, Wojtek does a documentary about progpower" says Gary. "He interviewed the boss of the castle and asked him how much damage progpower would cause every year. That guy said that in all these years there was <i>nothing </i>ever damaged. The big damages always happen at the annual lawyers congress." That reminds me on last year, when Simon said "These are all sissy-boys. So many metal heads and nothing happens. I like to smash somebody just to see what's going to happen." "They all listen to intelligent music, why would they do silly things" was Gary's answer. I once again must grin about 'intelligent music'. Music can think?<br />
The schedudle says that Evergery are gonna do an acoustic set during the big break. Never heard of that band...<br />
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<a href="http://www.myspace.com/knightarea" target="_blank">Knight Area</a> is the band that shall warm us up today. A rig with four keyboards plus a mobile one. Hehe. A real prog band.<img height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDXWL5LVdztf7ngCorpB9Od6myZriboRwgVHVA195df4aVhL1DmHYSiFVQDyJHWP7AAfNiA_ScT4lRWHdvocgFir5uvATajOTo06Fo3wj6OAR1ft3QVZ12P58mz5EDFEhEDgz4ivIt6plS/?imgmax=800" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 800px;" width="192" /> Indeed they are old school proggers and know how to play a powerful gig. The more I listen to their gig, the more I'm surprised. What I've heard on their cds was sounding like the usual prog rock, nothing in special. The way they put power into it on stage now really amazes me. Not only can I start into Sunday afternoon on a lower gear, it really is great to see and hear this music played with so much passion <i>and</i> power even at an intermediate volume an opener is doomed to. Folks, bring that sound to tape on your next recordings and I'm one of the first to buy it!<br />
I look around at all the people in the next break. The usual "Hello Baarlo", so often said to welcome the audience, seems so wrong here. A 'hello Munich' has always been ok at a concert in my hometown. But here and now, counting so many nations, England, France, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Uruguay, Amsterdam, etc. etc. - ah, here's one from Baarlo: Rene! 'Hello Baarlo' somehow excludes way too many people in this case. Last years joke, done by the Atrox dudes, "hello Africa", doesn't seem all that wrong, compared to welcoming Baarlo. Maybe Atrox were welcoming one single person by accident last year.<br />
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<a href="http://www.myspace.com/prospectslovenia" target="_blank">Prospect</a> from Slovenia is next. The ones from Slovenia, don't mess them up with any other band Prospect.<img height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2mEocQHptkIctYc6GqWh4xiA8pXmnS6pmLMIEQbK4Oc5QwWaamxywMP7hxR3XWyHRNVa8OAzxcW53Jg6uKXrSTypGQc0Sp-6Z1x_fDa4UzPKwAprIXLAdSbWZrApKHMamB5MuTfTNskd3/?imgmax=800" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 800px;" width="528" /><br />
And the pace goes faster. A bunch of young power metal guys are heating up the hall. They have pretty much routine for their age, act and play good. The music itself isn't all that spectacular, standard song structures, nothing special in time signature, the songs are all more or less equal, they don't want to step too much out of their band sound, it seems. The vocalist seems to be a Metallica fan after all. At least if you count all the metallica-esque uu-aaaa's he sings at the end of his lines. But the performance is great.<br />
Next break, something happens on the road. Something very big is coming along. Some grab their cameras and are on the road. A tour bus appears. A really big one. All Evergrey, Evergay, Nervergay and Evergery would have enough space in there, even without the need to argue about sexual orientation. They come from Sweden but the licence plate is from Berlin. Strange... Dario tells me why so many bands put out thier thanks to Mattias: he does their cover arts and booklet design. <i>That</i> guy is such a great artist? I gotta visit his <a href="http://www.progart.com/" target="_blank">website</a> whem I'm back home. And Dario's gone... I chat quite some time with Nick and Robbie of Day Six. They take the opportunity to show signals of life. Their new album has been finalized, and they're doing a show to promote it. Still no label, bummer... I advice them to contact Scout, the progulus station master. He seems to have quite some contacts and could be of help. Dario appears and tells me that Evergrey's support band is on the bus either. Well, they're on tour. Though he's right, it must be a strange situation for them to not play at progpower, now that they came along. Davids words from yesterday come to mind. "Support bands have to pay for being part on the tour, and that can cost - depending on the tour - up to 25.000 Euro." What the hell are labels there for, if not for promotion. What do they actually <i>do</i> for all the money they take?<br />
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<a href="http://www.myspace.com/enochiantheoryband" target="_blank">Enochian Theory</a> are some other English ones who are in Europe now. They play at our continent for the first time. They've been <img height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCjFtiLfQU4dJ-FAPgI3OCkjPWhFUQgke1az8rVgxPwlPqFa4RXBXAkEEyUoKhTVbs1jWOfd0FpKhvf-d26t60UGSP9rY0TFV4b9QkUYrszwGWMEoCh1ajaZ47zIp0t8YDOjH8pP60yBOO/?imgmax=800" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 800px;" width="416" />celebrated as the new Tool. I wouldn't say so. Their music has quite some influences from Tool, but, have you ever been to a Tool concert? But they're nice to see. I tend to abbreviate the band with 'E.T.', because the bandleader is the weirdest guy I've ever seen on stage, in a charming way. I'd call him the jester next door who happens to play and grunt some metal. The bands weirdness is that they are a trio of guitar, drums and bass, but have long atmospheric synthesizer passages in their music. That comes from a sampler which they call "The Lost Orchestra" and claim it being a band member, and so it happens that the guys are sometimes standing on stage for several minutes without playing any note, but waiting until the sampler has played its part. Some people might argue that this is no 'power' in performance, but I still like the performed music, and as I told Patrik, I don't need the posing anyway.<br />
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Big break. we're a bit uncertain if we should have dinner or stay at Sjiwa for Evergery's acoustic set. But none of us is actually a fan of fast food, so the decision is easily made: the new pizzeria. It's quite near, and we hope that we actually get some food there. We've seen people at the other pizzeria hanging out there for 1 1/2 hours without getting any food. Let's try it out. We come closer and already see Marcel in there at the window, waving at us. While taking seats, Simon drops a staple of progulus flyers on the table. Marcels friend tries to build a house of cards with them, and... of course.. fails. I told him it would be impossible, that actually made him try it... Marcel is so nice translating the menue, and we have some Dutch pizza. The place is cool, service is rather fast and professional. The pizza is, well some of the better Dutch food... Dario was eating rather fast and manages being back right in time, while we older ones don't wanna eat in a rush. We're back just in time to see the second half of the<br />
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<a href="http://www.myspace.com/evergreyband" target="_blank">Evergery</a> accoustic set. I once experienced Evergrey playing at the venue next door, me doing a nightshift, listening to the sound that came into my suite through the window. That sounded like someone forced Englund watching his children being tortured for 90 minutes. Now here playing this accoustic set, Englund shows all the vocal skills he can offer, and I'm highly impressed! Wow! But the keyboardist playes piano on a keyboard, and in the last song the guitarist even plays a solo on his electric. I want my money back! Hehe...<br />
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After a rather short break it's time for <a href="http://www.myspace.com/neverlandofficial" target="_blank">Neverland</a> to play. They are the turkish band Dreamtone, expanded by Greek lady Iris <img height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1TkZsnHTpPQMKIIkTxjuh7omSM-YNqvBB6uZ0ljapUQocbcofi35osmxwiunp2ENIACoADp2PDnc4fWyNlbBujoBUFd_hjaM7vHbyN-u17wCSB2HFjwGDVvmIkkR5AIBeAmVSY3MdA314/?imgmax=800" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 800px;" width="571" />Mavrakis. Turkish and Greek? That seems impossible, as those nations hardly live in peace due to historical reasons. And that is the reason why they're doing this collaboration. Trying to show their people that music can put people get together and and live with love and harmony instead of hate.<br />
I like the music pretty much, the integration of Turkish folk into prog metal. But the show doesn't do it all that good, somehow it's all a bit too much improvised, the integration of Iris Avrakis and Dreamtone some how doesn't really work out for me, the performance isn't as seamless as it should be. Both do their thing good, it just remains being in pieces somehow.<br />
Back out in front of the venue I hear a lady say "That was a German accent!" She indeed sounded a little offended, so I try breaking the ice by starting a small talk. It seems to be all over the world that people don't quite like the ones beyond the next border, for whatever reason, and it's the same here. It starts good, she tries to escape her prejudice, but after a while we both notice that she doesn't manage to do so. Tom Englund does his own study about Dutch fastfood, and the look in his face tells me that his insight is similar to mine... well, in the end there is something in your stomach and that is the most important point.<br />
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In the meantime the stage looks quite different. Huge backdrops cover the amps, and all you can see is the drums.<img height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1xeNoxaYaIoL9bg9M936PT1Tl_eM2XfiWiIvHzvfSiedUXjC5XHl4-JQS7HyyeZ9JYJ0lh4xBIw7MAoQfEMNxPIWHA4FemwBGcx5bUnJde1JasVEgprTZucfTB4_S9Sj5mVm-nW3iCg3/?imgmax=800" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 800px;" width="582" /><br />
I'm not keen on listening to growlers, but I decided to give every band a chance, and <a href="http://www.myspace.com/hacride" target="_blank">Hacride</a> from France are another bunch of those. It looks like they've overestimated the festival and did a bit too much for their stage appearance with those backdrops, but in the end I like it, is simply looks good. And their performance is stunning! A pretty big surprise. It is an absolute tight thing, just imagine Zero Hour on growls, and you have a close idea of what they sound alike. I'm blown and doomed to stand the cookies. What does Gary do now? He's moving very close to the stage. He never did that before. He's right in front of the PA, wouldn't go just directly in front of the stage, knowing that everybody behind him couldn't see anything.<br />
All of us seem to agree on Hacride being an outstanding band. Nobody has anything bad to say about them, even us cookie-haters. This might be the biggest surprise this year. I bet they've found dozens of new fans.<br />
<a href="http://www.myspace.com/evergreyband" target="_blank"><br />
Evergrey</a> of course have their entire equipment with them, and they of course are going to use it. And it means... the first and <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_RTlSIANRBwNHPghDSCr89YjjhUhEitrmx1VeHV3726m1XgqBVgdGWHeFvQl0fhff4mIp4S-7tmq5_J08-MovaGayUZP8GhSax7R652rd_yFKgN2HhySFV3nXR435X2toceig2f9METv/?imgmax=800" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 800px;" />only delay this year. Not only do they change some symbals, a snare and add a second guitar cabinet, everything does change and has to be mic'ed, checked and adjusted. Some are already angry about it. I am with the band. If I were a drummer and had the entire set with me anyway, I would wanna play it. Perfection where perfection can be achieved. 15 minutes delay isn't all that long for such a big action, and not as annoying as some people seem to find it.<br />
And now: This years headliner begins the show!!!<br />
Compared to all others, rather loud I must say. After the first few songs, he himself starts talking to us. "Hello Progpower!" (good, you know what I mean, man.... hehe) "Thanks for comming, thanks Rene and staff, thanks Mattias!" (THEY too??? I MUST check is website!!!!) And on it goes. A bit louder! Englund's typical melody line, shouted out at highest possible power. Damn about techniques, bringing some soul into words -> crap; shout man, loud! The pain! The torture of your children! "We're a fucking loud shouting metal band!" Yes, the tech rider's right.. "Are you tired on this 3rd day of progpower?" he asks. "Well it's the 18th day of our tour!" My brain streams out thoughts about that now rather quickly, and I find myself thinking that this was quite arrogant.<br />
You hero play one show each night, do a little party afterwards, get into your hotel-bus and sleep until 2 pm, do a sound check at 5 pm and a 90 minutes gig a 8 pm each day, and in the meantime you simply waste time. While we do listen, party and bang to the 15th band, do party with them until 4-6 am, try to be at the breakfast buffet at 10 am at least and sleep only little. Yes, you're my hero!<br />
Man, I really needed to think that.<br />
They again get louder, and I would say we reached the 125 dB right now. My, the headliner can do it I guess. Despite the real great performance, I will never be a fan of them. It's too repetitive, and all the whole music is written around the 'typical' Englund-shout-of-pain. It's all the same, and almost everywhere in their songs. Annoying for me, but absolutely important for their fans. Their trade mark if you want.<br />
90 minutes: end of show. after only a really little break, probably 3 minutes: encore. 105 minutes: end of encores. Precicion landing. 2 hours, 120 minutes to do, 15 minutes delay, 105 played. perfect. If you're the organizer. Their fans should complain about the missing 15 minutes. But they don't. Yes, the accoustic set, but that was seperately announced. Andromeda, the fairly unknown band did fulfill the 2 hours, but none of the more successful bands. That's how the world ticks.<br />
I simply agree that progpower needs these headliners that bring audience. The festival couldn't be without them. My headliners were other bands, but I'd end up with huge debts. Rene does a great great job in finding and booking bands and making the festival a success.<br />
Thank you Mercenary, thank you Evergrey! You don't need progpower to promote yourself, you just came because you wanted to. Thank you so much for supporting us! And: I never would have seen you live otherwise.<br />
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Sunday night, hanging out with the guys outside the venue. Festival is over. I got one coin left in my pocket. Hey it's a five! Another round of beer! The final party in the basement is gonna start now. Hmm... it's the party where all, and I mean all(!) are gonna party. Including the staff. But I'm worn out. I want to go back to the castle. I feel guilty for not wanting to party with them all, they deserve notice.<br />
But I am ...hmm wait... a retro. It was enough music, I don't want to listen to a dj now, indeed quiteness is due. And I lack power. I join the Swede (Krister I think...) on his way back to the castle. No party there, oh wonder... I grab some beer from our room, sit down in the courtyard and enjoy the silence.<br />
What a weekend! I was quarreling quite much, because the band selection wasn't really the best I could imagine. But There were quite some bands who kept me listening to their entire set, bands I've never expected to want to listen more than 2 songs. All the great people I have met or learned to know. Progmetal fans simply are good people! Noone who becomes agressive, overly drunk, pretentious or anything. Whoever you talk to, it is always a great experience.<br />
After 20 minutes I can hear the noise of the main street. Wow, ears didn't suffer that much and are back to normal already. Another beer and I have enough peace and quietness to come to an end. One year ahead until it's gonna happen again. Equal which bands are gonna play. Rene, can't you just organize a spring festival as well?<br />
And while I fall into slumber, Marcel, the pater familia himself, is taking over as there still are stories to tell:<br />
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<i><big><span style="font-family: georgia;">Whereas Ray took the time to rest his head before his journey back to the German lands, some of us stuck around until the early hours of Monday. Here’s my account of what happened after Ray went off, because I feel you guys can’t miss out on that!<br />
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As has been said in Ray’s earlier blog posts, the Progpower Europe after parties are a thing of legend; hardly ever will you find <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNtekPwoM9nj-zp_23X7ZQp7k608bIcAD7OA-BI8SZXlj3YSRiCtX-u26Fuh0wI09C-hejxO0V9jtWnrGEBQa_lLt53dBG5L73K-1TXXtev4iT3N_GSraNqw-CIwbT9gUIF1eOXBiq_OcE/?imgmax=800" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 800px;" />such a blend of (mostly European) metalheads of all shapes and sizes having fun in more ridiculous ways. A prime example was what happened to a visitor, who later got branded as the local nut job. This particular individual managed to waddle in on the festival in previous days, but on this last day he was mostly found in the basement of the venue. The basement is where usually people end up to have a breather, a good cup of coffee and a game of foosball and it seemed that was just what this man had in mind, because shortly after his arrival that day he was rumored to have fallen asleep on one of the comfy couches. Throughout the day people kept talking about the guy that fell asleep in the basement and just wouldn’t wake up. Even during the loud music that started off the after party, after Evergrey finished playing, he wasn’t phased and snored on happily.<br />
A long story short: people ended up jumping off the table and body checking the man and it wouldn’t wake him up. After that people proceeded to decorate him with material from a box that was fetched from backstage somewhere. A marker was fetched to make an artwork out of his face, which was promptly signed by the creator. Perhaps the worst that happened to him was that at one point one of the volunteers of the festival lined up a smoke/dry ice machine with his face and turned the machine on, resulting in hilarity amongst the onlookers and louder snoring from the victim.<br />
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All in all the poor local drunk woke up from his slumber when the basement</span></big></i><br />
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<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><i><big><span style="font-family: georgia;"> exploded to Metallica’s rendition of “Three Little Piggy’s”. René, the main organizer of the festival, and a few others (myself included) managed to convince the guy that he needed to go home and proceeded to escort him up the steep, concrete steps leading up to ground level. All the while making sure that he wouldn’t fall backwards, because that would’ve surely cost him the few brain cells he had left after drenching his brain in alcohol earlier that day. René promptly locked the door behind the guy after he left, making sure he wouldn’t attempt to return and scale the stairs by himself.<br />
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But the ‘human Christmas tree’, as the man would be called by many, wasn’t the only thing that made the Progpower after party a unique, hilarious and enjoyable experience. The reason for this is the fact that even though normally people would be embarrassed to let themselves go as badly as they do, at the after party all inhibitions seem to have been left at the door. As Ricard (Barcelona, Spain) remarked upon his return to his home, “I believe I have left my inhibition genes in Holland”. Metalheads were seen dancing on tables, singing along to Dutch slager music and going all-out during the most ridiculous songs. It’s most definitely something you have to have seen at least once in your life, something you will never forget and an event that will have you return for more the year after.<br />
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The morning after, after everyone has had their breakfast and several pints of coffee, hangovers are nourished in the castle courtyard, where all the regulars and new members of the Progpower Europe family gather together for one final time. New friendships were forged that weekend and sealed with the exchange of contact information, and promises to return and buy each other beers the next time around. Plans are made for next year, a wish list is made and highlights are discussed before one by one everyone turns to their mode of transportation and makes their way to their respective homes.<br />
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I would like to thank Ray for an awesome account of this year’s festival, and I hope that his telling of the story made a lot of you enthusiastic enough to order your weekend package deals for next year’s Progpower Europe. The twelfth edition of the festival looks to be another amazing festival, with current six bands confirmed, nine more to come and, even though some of the announced bands are already amazing, the headliners are still to come!<br />
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I hope to see you all next year at Progpower Europe XII in Baarlo, the Netherlands! I’ll buy you a beer! (or at least give you one from the stash at the castle :P )<br />
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- Marcel/Cello</span></big></i><br />
</div>stringrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08729065479503588877noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-31962553072312041212010-01-12T08:19:00.000-08:002010-01-24T23:13:01.656-08:00Classical Fusion?If you've never heard of him before, I would like to introduce you to the music of Bear McCreary. You might better know him for his writing of the score of four seasons worth of the 2000's remake of <b>Battlestar Galactica</b> and the upcoming 2010 <b>Caprica</b> series. I loved the series and part of what I loved about it was the excellent score.<br />
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According to wiki, Bear McCreary worked under Richard Gibbs to make the score of the original 3-hour Battlestar Galactica mini-series. Gibbs' played keyboards in Oingo Boingo in the 80's along with Danny Elfman. Gibbs opted out of writing music for the regular Battlestar Galactica series, so the duties fell to Bear to write the music who did so all the way though the end of Season 4. He also wrote the score for <b>Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles</b>.<br />
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I'll try and explain what the music sounds like. Imagine tribal drums pounding to a beat along with acoustic guitar and middle-eastern sounding melody, at first with a gritty saxophone and then joined in by a bagpipe. Or imagine a minimalistic Philip Glass sting ensemble meets up with a celtic flute. Or a full orchestra joined by bass guitar and dramatic percussion. Some of the arrangements he uses sounds crazy but it works for me at a very emotional level. Some songs are sad, some dreamy, some are hauntingly beautiful, others dramatic and powerful. The reason one could label this fusion is because of the conglomeration of many different musical styles all colliding together into one body of work, though the technical term music like this is post-modern. One of the tracks that drew me into his music in the first place was a song called "Something Dark Is Coming" which could best be described as Porcupine Tree-ish. Season Three even has a interesting rock track that is a deconstructed version of Hendrix's "All Along The Watchtower." Is it progressive? You bet.<br />
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According to Bear's website: "His Galactica score has been described as "sharp and sensitive" (The Wall Street Journal) , "a key element in establishing the show's dark, complex tone," (The Hollywood Reporter) and "rich, raw, oddly stirring... kick-ass and powerful as hell," (E! Online). It "fits the action so perfectly, it's almost devastating: a sci-fi score like no other," (NPR) . Seasons One, Two, Three and Four of his best-selling Battlestar soundtrack albums have rocketed up the Amazon.com Top Music Sales Charts, reaching the #1 sales spot in both television and movie soundtrack lists, many weeks prior to their releases. The most recent album, Season 4, cracked into Amazon.com's Top 5 Music Sales and charted in the Billboard Top 150."<br />
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I don't know exactly where one should start with all of his CDs because the are all excellent. They are all great but Season Four gives you the most bang for the buck because it contains two full CDs of music.Lamnethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02576817310804407489noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-81051535743859355352010-01-11T21:22:00.000-08:002010-01-12T07:30:01.846-08:00The Future You Were Waiting For (part 2)<blockquote><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><i>"Stable ownership is the gift of social law, and is given late in the progress of society. It would be curious then, if an idea, the fugitive fermentation of an individual brain, could, of natural right, be claimed in exclusive and stable property. If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an idea, which an individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it to himself; but the moment it is divulged, it forces itself into the possession of every one, and the receiver cannot dispossess himself of it. Its peculiar character, too, is that no one possesses the less, because every other possesses the whole of it. He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. That ideas should freely spread from one to another over the globe, for the moral and mutual instruction of man, and improvement of his condition, seems to have been peculiarly and benevolently designed by nature, when she made them, like fire, expansible over all space, without lessening their density in any point, and like the air in which we breathe, move, and have our physical being, incapable of confinement or exclusive appropriation. <b><span style="font-weight: normal;">I</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">nventions then cannot, in nature, be a subject of property</span></b>."</i></span></span><br />
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Thomas Jefferson had a lot to say about copyrights and intellectual property. In fact, Jefferson and James Madison laid the groundwork for our copyright laws. There is a good snapshot of what they did and what the result was <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080220/020252302.shtml">here.</a> They were clearly concerned that the flow of ideas should always remain free. Even the compromise they agreed on to allow exclusive ownership of an idea or invention clearly states that it has to have a benefit to the society. Otherwise it should not be protected. Should an inventor make money from his invention? Sure. Should a giant company take an invention away from an employee and give that person no credit while they make money and keep innovation away from everyone else? Hell no.<br />
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So what does this have to do with music? Music is ideas is the form of audio art. For centuries musicians made a living at it by being orchestra players, teachers, and composers. J.S. Bach, essentially the foundation of western music, would have been unemployed if not for the church and rich patrons. Like today, a lot of performers and composers struggled to make ends meet and had jobs other than music. Technology has changed but it is still a struggle for the people making music. What has changed is technology. With the advent of the piano roll people didn't have to see live music or play it themselves to hear it. And, pretty much from the beginning there were people who took advantage of the artists to make money (not always, some composers like Scott Joplin were very successful). You, the industry, waived just enough money under our noses to make us think we needed you. And not much changed until the internet. The long, tall wall the music industry built had finally been cracked. For real, and they weren't going to be able to hold back the flood this time. We didn't need the gatekeepers anymore. Actually, we never did. We, the musicians, could go right to the fans.<br />
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I go back and forth about how I feel about illegal downloads. I hate the industry, but I still feel it's wrong on some level. Superstars are so big they aren't hurt by downloads. Small guys like me benefit greatly from the exposure. As long as no one takes credit for the writing or the recording, fine. I can see the mid-level getting squeezed hard, as seen by Lion Music's recent <a href="http://www.lionmusic.com/murderofmusic.html">news post</a>. I can see how someone who just barely made a living at it could be hurt. I've never actually made a living at it. But I'm not opposed to new business models, including free. The business model we have now sure isn't working.<br />
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In the argument against illegal downloading the loudest point against it that the industry shouts about is that downloads hurt artists. This may sound bold to some, but I am telling you that is a bald-faced lie. <a href="http://www.donpassman.com/">Don Passman</a> wrote a great book on the music industry. His section on a standard deal (with LA recording studio, well known producer, lots of bells and whistles) can be summarized thusly: Band A sells 500,000 cassettes (my copy of the book is from 1997) at 10.98 retail price. Woohoo, lots o' cash... right? Well, after the bands pays for all the bells and whistles the label insisted on, they go home with $58,000 at the end of the year. That's before taxes and before it's split between all the members of the band. The record industry had NEVER been about the artist. So all the labels and men in suits and all the big stars who toe the company line can go the the kitchen, open the fridge, and grab a bottle of STFU. You never spoke for me.<br />
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Where does this leave me now? Pretty much where I've always been. Relatively unknown, plowing ahead because writing and recording music is like breathing to me. I can't not do it. All of my solo music going forward will be available for free download. My <a href="http://guitarsean.webs.com/recordedmusic.htm">electric instrumental</a> cd already is. Donate if you feel like it, if not, enjoy the music anyway. I'm working on another acoustic cd. It will be free. If I have a physical product to sell in addition to downloads, I will offer you something way cooler than just a shiny plastic disk. You don't owe me anything. I owe you for being open to listening to me.<br />
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I haven't yet spoken to Chad and Brad of Strange Land to see what they think the band's future approach should be, so I can't speak for them. We've always been independent though and will continue to be so. (An important note: distribution is an entirely different animal than a record deal). But for me, sharing my ideas with you is far more important than any monetary gain someone else can make off me. Ars gratia artis.<br />
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</div>Sean Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04076164080096427562noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-61221324897872257162010-01-11T06:11:00.000-08:002010-01-26T01:54:13.054-08:00Tribalism in Progressive Circles<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfKcHH1_7uZLMiA6TIRTmUJZ8mAs2mioL_BSfcigiB9oCwWhcEIsfeYdUZqyT28IR85Z3BjFf42bIFM9blU-VbIgCfynRZbEYs0PlgR1gpnIw97BsRcv6HqZ3fccSeoTNYFYAANJjARUz/s1600-h/tribes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfKcHH1_7uZLMiA6TIRTmUJZ8mAs2mioL_BSfcigiB9oCwWhcEIsfeYdUZqyT28IR85Z3BjFf42bIFM9blU-VbIgCfynRZbEYs0PlgR1gpnIw97BsRcv6HqZ3fccSeoTNYFYAANJjARUz/s320/tribes.jpg" width="320" /></a>"As I experience certain sensory input patterns, my mental pathways become accustomed to them. The inputs eventually are anticipated and even missed when absent." - Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation.<br />
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I've often wondered about why there are subgroups within the prog movement who endlessly complain and berate other people within other prog subgroups. There are some in the progmetal group who don't like classic progrock. There's some in the progrock group who don't like anything classified as metal. There's those from both groups who dislike fusion, and undoubetly fusion lovers who dislike prog, people who don't like instrumental music, neo-classical, female-fronted bands, zeuhl, deathy growls, avant garde prog, shredders, and the list goes on and on. If there's any truth today in prog it's that it's hard for all of these subgoups to get along and accept one another, and I think I know part of the reason why.<br />
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The progressive rock movement was born out of rebellion. In the late 1960's the baby boomer generation rejected the ideals of their parents and formed their own unique 'hippie' culture, set of radical beliefs, mannerisms, way of dressing, and most notably for us their own form of music. We can listen to their music today and is still very much relevant but I don't think we can still share that feeling they had of all belonging together in a way that gave them their sense of purpose. On a related note to my discussion in Colorado and regions of the Soutwest US today there is a subset of the population who live what is called the "Western" lifestyle. They are pretty easy to spot. They predominantly buy their clothes at Western clothing shops, wear cowboy hats, Wrangler jeans, leather boots, listen to country music, drive pickup trucks, eat their own kind of foods, and attend rodeos. I'm generalizing of course. But acceptance to this group of people is fairly straightforward. One simply has to adopt their principles and mannerisms in order to belong.<br />
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For whatever reason these subgroups are formed, whether through a desire to rebel, sharing in a common cause, or a need to fit in there is tribalism at play here. This being the unique set of norms each of carries with us to in order to belong to whatever subgoups we feel connected to. In the past I've included myself in many of these different groups with friends, musicians, photographers, schools, and professional organizations. Today there are endless clicks within the prog genre who have each created their own set of norms, what is acceptable within the group and what isn't. Those who do not adopt the same musical preferences as the group are viewed as outsiders to that group. Undoubetly within these groups there have always been the code-enforcers who are quick to point out others within the group and are all to happy to ridicule or berate them if they violate the accepted norm. <br />
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Let me throw out a few specific examples to drive home my point. My first example is probably one of the most divisive today in prog circles, and it has to do with the use of death metal or "cookie monster"-style vocals. I was reticent the first time I heard them and probably would have rejected them had it not been for the constant prodding of a friend of mine to listen to Opeth and the fact that I had read somewhere that Mike Portnoy loved Opeth's Blackwater Park album. It's ironic that the push that was needed for me to get over accepting the vocals for what they were had practically the opposite reaction among Opeth fans when the Morningrise CD first came out. Fans of the band at the time were upset at the band for "ruining" their death metal by including clean vocals in the music. In both cases the listener was forced to make choices that affected their own set of beliefs on what music should or shouldn't sound like. Some countries like Holland and Sweden seem to more readily accept this vocal style than other countries, so culture may play a role. <br />
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My second example relates to a few years ago when I made the decision to remove 5-10% of the music from the Progulus Radio library. I removed many power metal, classic rock, AOR, and heavy metal albums that I felt did not contribute to my vision of what a progressive radio station should be. After protests from a few of the listeners I did end up adding back some of the music that I had originally taken off. I did this because I realized that I had been following my own set of tribal norms and predjudices. Right or wrong this tribalism is is an unavoidable part of life. Even though I felt it was the right thing to do, I acknowledged the fact that my own views differed from that of other listeners. That is not to say that I'm ready to start adding back non-progressive albums like was done before, because tribalism does have its place and the line has to be drawn in the sand somewhere.<br />
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Progulus Radio today has a very wide range of prog subgenres, perhaps more than many listeners are accustomed to. I think this variety is one of the reasons that Progulus Radio has such a hard time attracting new listeners. The radio station that a listener is seeking must fit within their own predetermined set of ideals or else they are quick to lose interest. The now defunct UK70's radio station is a case in point. As their name implied, they played all old 70's UK progrock bands and they had a huge following. Likewise other internet radio stations today with a more focused playlist have many more listeners than Progulus Radio does. That's not a good thing or bad, but it does show how certain stations resonate to a greater or lesser degree with certain groups of listeners.<br />
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I would like to point out here that even with all the bickering and lack of acceptance within the subgroups in the prog genre, the listeners at Progulus Radio are some of the most open-minded people that I know. There will always be disagreement, but the jovial nature and willingness for people to get past their differences makes the radio station something special. We do get the 'tagboard police' on occasion who are quick to point out what they feel does or doesn't belong on the radio station, and that is fine because now we know the reason for it. Personal taste in music is affected by many factors, and tribalism and acceptance by peers is probably only one facet of it. Just like Data from Star Trek said: "your neural pathways have not yet become accustomed to our sensory input patterns".Lamnethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02576817310804407489noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-22694834703785049002009-12-29T06:48:00.000-08:002009-12-31T09:24:15.377-08:00My album of the yearWell, 2009 has been another interesting year for prog and progmetal. I looked back at my top 10 list of 2008 and there were only 2 or 3 albums that had any lasting appeal for me. So I might even call 2009 a resurgence of sorts for me but it's possibly all relative and at the end of 2010 I'll feel the same way about 2010 that I do right now about 2009. <br /><br />There has been more than a few CDs that could easily be contenders for the top spot on my list, but I'm always keyed to a newcomer that seemingly comes out of nowhere and knocks my socks off. This year I chose the Israeli band <strong>Edgend</strong>'s album, <strong>A New Identity</strong>. Hats off to Lance/Nightmare Records for finding and releasing this album. <br /><br />The scope of this album is what grabbed me from the start. It's epic and magnificent in breadth. References to Symphony X and Adagio are obvious here. The bands treads a delicate balance into the neoclassical genre that is epic without being too cheesy, instrumental without being too much shred, and symphonic while keeping it heavy but while also avoiding the typical galloping drum pitfall of power metal. There are so few bands who can find the right balance, and Edgend does it perfectly. Symphony X raised the bar on the neoclassical genre but it took them 5 albums to do it, and Edgend comes close to matching this mastery right off the bat on their debut!<br /><br />There's great talent at work here on the instruments, most notably in the keyboard and guitar work. The singer sounds to me like a close match for Adagio's old singer Readman. Highlights on the album are Revelation and A Chosen Truth which are both very catchy. Also Voices/Out of The Equation (A New Identity) make an excellent ending to the album and both songs flow together as a single song. My only nit with this album is on the production side. The guitar tone lacks clarity, especially during the guitar solos. The production issues are serious though. I'm just a bit of a stickler when it comes to guitar tone and I thought it could have been done better but it doesn't decrease my enjoyment of the album. The production of the album itself is quite clear with a good balance of keyboards within the music.<br /><br />Considering this is the debut CD from the band, I hope Edgend have many more great albums in their future and will eventually release a masterpiece like Symphony X's 'V'. As a new avid fan of the band, I can't wait to hear what they do next.Lamnethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02576817310804407489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-31859229361574279662009-12-17T06:18:00.001-08:002009-12-17T13:18:22.985-08:00A couple of stocking stuffers for the guitarist on your list.There are a couple of guitar-oriented albums that I come back to time and again which I would consider essential for any guitarist's collection. There are guitarists who are well-rounded with their own unique styles and exhibit total mastery of their instruments. These aren't "shred" albums, but they are the result of people who have studied their craft and practiced endlessly and the results are timeless and always keep my attention:<br /><br /><strong>Joel Hoekstra - Undefined and The Moon Is Falling</strong>: Joel assembled a great cast for these albums, with Virgil Donati on drums and and bass by Ric Fierabracci. Joel covers a wide range of styles throughout both albums with a reserved flair. The songs are well crafted and Joel lets it rip unabashadly at times. Other times he has a sense of humor. I'd have a hard time choosing between these two CDs. Undefined is a little "lighter" and more diverse, while The Moon Is Falling is a bit more thematic and stylized.<br /> <br /><strong>Brett Garsed - Big Sky</strong>: Brett has played with more artists and bands than I care to count, but he has only put out one solo album. It's interesting that this album also has Ric Fierabracci on bass. Every note on the album seems well thought out and perfectly placed. "Brothers" in my opinion is one of the best songs written recently for guitar. There's a emphasis on dissonance and resolution that shows how good songs are crafted. Brett is the guitarist's guitarist.<br /><br /><strong>Cosmosquad-Squadrophenia</strong>: Jeff Kollman plays guitar and he shows on this CD that he's one of the finest guitarists on the planet today. While Brett Garsed and Joel Hoekstra are smooth and refined, Kollman is more gritty and biting and makes me think at times he is some strange homunculus of Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. I love Kollman's guitar tone on this CD. Add Shane Gaalaas on drums and Barry Sparks on bass and you have the perfect power trio.<br /><br /><strong>Tak Matsumoto-Hana</strong>: Most people outside of Japan have never heard of him, but the truth is he has over 10 solo albums and he plays in the band B'z which a very popular band there (according to wiki they have sold over 78 million records in Japan). I have not listened to all of his solo CDs, but I love Hana and heard from a colleague who has heard them all that Hana is his best solo CD. What's great about this album is it's so different. There are lots of Eastern-sounding melidies combined with a more traditional Western-sounding solo album. Tak is not one to play flashy on this CD. What you get is a beautifully written set of songs. There's also a really great rendition of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing" on the album.Lamnethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02576817310804407489noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-20878762075766865282009-12-15T19:08:00.000-08:002009-12-17T07:53:26.820-08:00Interview with JT Bruce<span style="font-size: small;">JT Bruce is a composer and guitarist from southern California who has released 3 albums of instrumental music. His music can best be described as cinematic. Sometimes prog metal with crunching guitars, sometimes symphonic with spaced out synths, always painting an image in sound. These can be downloaded from his site for free, or you can order a cd from him (totally worth it for the artwork). In addition to music, JT is a visual artist, film maker, and animator. You can download music, see some of his art and watch some film clips at his site </span><a href="http://www.subjectruin.net/"><span style="font-size: small;">http://www.subjectruin.net/</span></a><span style="font-size: small;">. Please do donate if you like what you see and hear.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Sometime after Universica, his newest album, was released I asked if he would be interested in doing an interview with me. He was kind enough to say yes and now that the physical cds for Universica are ready to go, I'm ready to post the interview.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">He took the time to expound quite a bit. I think his answers are very insightful and show a great sense of humor. He's part of the young, new generation making prog music for the sake of the art, and one who pretty much entered the business knowing that file sharing and free music would be the new norm. He's got some great thoughts about the plusses and minuses of free music on the internet, getting on with your creativity, and he gives the best advice ever about what to do if someone knocks you down.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">I never really liked popular music growing up. As a kid, I had very confused tastes and bought a couple cassette tapes to be cool, but I never really enjoyed the music for what it was. It took me until 7</span><span style="vertical-align: 4px;"><span style="font-size: small;">th</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> or 8</span><span style="vertical-align: 4px;"><span style="font-size: small;">th</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> grade to find an interest in old heavy metal and punk, which in turn inspired me to learn guitar. After picking up an instrument, it didn't take long for me to realize how formulaic and homogenous most mainstream music is. This really fueled my desire to make something different and new. </span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">My musical horizons exploded in high school. I started listening to prog and got my hands on a lot more obscure music that really resonated with me. I was still very interested in the guitar and I floated around between a lot of different guitar teachers who never did much for me. I wanted to learn about the mechanics and underpinnings of music, why things sounded good or bad, and how I could learn to write my own material. They mostly just taught me how to play Metallica songs, then collected their money as I left. </span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">When I was a sophomore in high school, I met an awesome guitar teacher who took me to the next level when he made me realize that I wasn't a guitar player, I was a composer who happened to play guitar. That was the epiphany I needed to start writing and recording my own music.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">I've been making movies since I could pick up a camcorder, and I've played video games for as long as I can remember. Music is a very large part of both of these. The influence these two storytelling mediums have on my life has a profound effect on my music. I like to combine this cinematic sensibility with the sounds and attitude of progressive music.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">I've played guitar for a long time now, and it's definitely my primary instrument, but as I said before, I consider myself more of a composer than a guitar player. I'm actually not a very good guitarist in terms of shredding solos and nosebleed riffing. Probably a better way of saying things would be that I use the guitar simply to express musical ideas.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">I started writing The Dreamer's Paradox with the intention of singing on it myself. The entire album was very intricately planned before I even started recording. I recorded a lot of preliminary vocals during the initial sessions for that album, but I developed a massive phobia of my own voice almost as soon as I began. Months later, the lyrics and vocals were scrapped, the music was completely different, and my plans evolved so heavily that the final version of The Dreamer's Paradox only vaguely resembled my original plans. Vocals never entered the picture on Universica, but I wouldn't completely rule out vocals on future material.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">5. You give your music away for free under the Creative Commons license, with a gentle request for donations (go donate people!). Why give your music away?</span></b><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="background-color: #ffe599;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm going to combine questions 5 to 11 into a big section on free music, how I got involved with it, and what my thoughts are on the subject. Hopefully your questions will be answered in the process :)</span></span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">6. You were ahead of the curve for free music. Your first album was done in 2005 and Radiohead released In Rainbows in 2007. What gave you the initial idea to go with free distribution?</span></b><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">9. You've released 3 albums now. How do you feel about the online free distribution? Has your view of it changed since your first album? </span></b><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">10. Did you have an idea of what free downloads would be like or certain expectations when you started?</span></b><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">11. How has this business model fulfilled or changed your expectations for the business side of your music?</span></b><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">In 2005, I was an unpopular 18 year old college freshman with a CD full of weird music that nobody listened to. Rowdy teenagers living in the anarchy of college dorms want to listen to 4/4 pop rock and remixed hip-hop songs. I'm not putting this music down, but I'm preaching to the choir when I say that progressive music is pretty far off the radar to most people.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">I decided on the free music route when I realized that I didn't have any other choices. I got a lot of blank stares when I showed people my music. They just didn't know what to think. I didn't (couldn't) play my music live. Nobody wanted to buy CDs. Record labels were almost certainly not interested in this stuff. So I gave it away for free.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">My thoughts at the time were to focus on getting my music into as many ear canals as possible, so I released Anomalous Material under a Creative Commons License and crossed my fingers. The idea was to spread this stuff around like a disease and see who got infected. I took it as a given that I wouldn't be making any money, but by maximizing my exposure, things might develop into something better somewhere down the road.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was shocked to find that people were downloading Anomalous Material, and even more shocked to see that they were liking it. I clicked refresh on my statistic pages like a drug addict taking another hit. Every time I got an email from someone about my music, I was floored. So I decided to write another album with hopes it would be even bigger. And it worked! The Dreamer's Paradox began to log downloads on dozens of sites spread across the internet and the globe. Advertising revenue trickled in at an embarrassing rate, and a handful of generous people donated some money or asked to buy hard copies of the albums. This was very surprising to me. I thought, “Why would people pay for something that they could have for free?” I was still making practically zero money, but at least people were listening, and it was an awesome feeling.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">By the time I released Universica, I had a certain amount of expectations about how it would propagate across the web. I'd release it on my own site and a few others, and I would send out e-mails to people who'd contacted me about the previous albums. It would take a couple weeks for the word to get out, then it would start showing up on torrent sites, reviews would start popping up, and then I could sell CDs and make some money. But this isn't what happened.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">The initial reviews were stronger than the previous albums, but it didn't take off the way they did. Around a year later, Universica was finally getting caught up with the other two, and by the time I printed CDs, they were selling at a very slow rate. During the time between Dreamer's and Universica, I let my footholds slip and a lot of the work I had done to promote my work had eroded out from under me. This was my first big experience with how fickle the internet can be.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">In my experience, the free music scene has been invaluable. Without it, my music would simply not exist. At the same time, I feel like I've reached the limits of what it can do for me. The internet is a sea that must be sailed aggressively and persistently. It's a full-time job and if you let your guard down or stop putting in an effort, it's very easy to fade back into obscurity.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">12. As the web changes the way we interact there is a trend to getting more personal info about everybody. Your website doesn't give out a lot of information about you. Is the mystery intentional? Are you looking to just let your work speak for itself?</span></b><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm definitely not trying to be mysterious in the way that many bands do. I'm usually vague in my personal info just because I hate writing about myself. It isn't about me anyway, it's supposed to be about the music!</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">13. I noticed that a Google search for you doesn't turn up myspace and wikipedia as the top results as it does for most bands. Most of your first three search pages are places to download the music. Any favorite websites among those you've used? </span></b><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">To be honest, I think MySpace has a collection of the ugliest, messiest pages on the entire internet. I haven't used MySpace in a serious way since I was 16. And I'm certainly not notable enough to get an article on Wikipedia!</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">My favorite websites for getting my music out there are Jamendo and Last.fm. Both sites put a lot of emphasis on the artists and are generous in sharing ad revenue and royalties.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGnseh58qBAm7kx9teRh5F5ZzejUOFQjfssY557OctT6DL7utPU_-qpzXHwLoy48wm0oBm_p6eYBR2ClgcHJby_0nl624NWFABxcp0DHimWhF94tmFpZNOcuwohjhXEel5pP93uCXOfY/s1600-h/AltarofDystopia_Big.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGnseh58qBAm7kx9teRh5F5ZzejUOFQjfssY557OctT6DL7utPU_-qpzXHwLoy48wm0oBm_p6eYBR2ClgcHJby_0nl624NWFABxcp0DHimWhF94tmFpZNOcuwohjhXEel5pP93uCXOfY/s200/AltarofDystopia_Big.jpg" /></span></a><br />
</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">14. Aside from the music you're also involved in illustration and film. Do you compartmentalize your work in these areas or is it all part of a continuum for you?</span></b><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">I love combining music and images (images and words?). As I said before, there are a lot of cinematic influences in my music. I write the scores for all my films and frequently use music from my albums on film projects. While I focus on one medium at a time, in the end they are inseparable for me.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">15. When you're working on music, does it come in bursts of inspiration or do you take a steady, constant approach to writing?</span></b><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">When I'm in hardcore music mode, I try to write a minute of music every day. More often than not, it's complete unusable crap. But as we can all relate, there are times when the creative floodgates seem to open and all the good ideas come flowing out.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">For me, creativity is like inertia. It's very difficult to get a heavy object moving, but once it's moving, it's very hard to stop.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">16. As essentially a solo act doing a band project, do you have any urges to form a band or play out?</span></b><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">I played in a band in high school, and while there's nothing like getting up on stage and rocking out, I just don't think I could form a serious band. The way I work is usually too idiosyncratic to involve other people. Music is one of the few things in life I take seriously – it would be far too much fun being in a band for me to take things seriously!</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">17. Being a guitar player myself I have to ask, do you have a favorite guitar? Any essential gear you can't live without?</span></b><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm really not a big guitar geek. I've only used one electric guitar on all three of my albums, my Gibson SG. She's a little banged up, but I love her to death. The rest of my equipment is cheap, but functional. I've always been a firm believer that it's not your software or equipment that make good music, it's the ideas you can bring to life with what you have.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">18. Any advice for other artists and musicians who might want to follow the same business model you have?</span></b><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm hardly qualified to give out advice, but the only reason anyone even knows about my music is because of my persistence. If somebody knocks you down, you stand back up, kick them in the nuts, and keep on going.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">19. Care to share your opinions on the state of music in general? The industry, the way people consume music now, etc...</span></b><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Despite the doom and gloom projected by the record industry and the fuss about how file sharing is stealing music away from artists, I think the global music scene is thriving. Never have we lived in a time where the technology to write and record music has been more advanced, embraced, and accessible. When anyone can write and record a song, creativity explodes. The opportunity to make music is no longer available to only a select few, and as a result, all of the old business models are failing. But while the record labels are crumbling and the music magnates are desperately clinging to their riches, the power and freedom is returning to the artists. I couldn't be happier about the direction music is taking.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">20. Are there any questions I didn't ask that you wish someone would? Now is your chance to take over the soapbox.</span></b><br />
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</div><div style="font: 10.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">I just want to say thanks for the opportunity and the very insightful questions. Support the music you love!</span><br />
</div>Sean Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04076164080096427562noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-66629556253326745542009-12-14T13:36:00.001-08:002009-12-14T13:39:26.861-08:00The future you were waiting for has already happened (Part 1)<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">When I joined Strange Land 11 years ago, the music industry still worked the way it had, at least during the history of rock music. Ever since I had picked up the guitar the dream was to write and record some songs, build a fan base, get discovered, signed, rich, and famous. Pretty early on I figured out the rich and famous part was unlikely, and that is was more important (for me anyway) to be true to my artistic vision. I'm sure I could have done something more commercial with the intent to make money but I never would have been happy.<br />
<br />
In 1999 we released our first 4 song ep. I found this new thing called mp3.com and uploaded music to it. We did pretty well, with our song Foundation reaching number 4 in their prog chart. Now, imagine how long ago that was. I was using dial-up. If you could shell out for it and you didn't live out in the country (like I did) you could get a DSL. I was recording the band on my Powermac G3, recording to a whopping 10 gig external SCSI hard drive (Tech aside: My choice of backup back then was a SCSI DVD-RW drive that used <i>cartidge-loaded</i> dvds. I still have it, and the G3 - with a G4 chip - but I haven't powered them up in years). I didn't even have a real audio interface, I recorded into the computer via the stereo line in. If I remember right we recorded drums and bass at the same time. The drums were mixed at the board and tracked in mono. What was I thinking?! But it worked and it was a good start. Hell, I released my first acoustic album in 1999 on cd and <i>tape</i>.<br />
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Still, the 'make an album-build local fan base-play shows-get signed' model was still the norm. It was pretty much an all-or-nothing idea. You either broke big, even for a short while, or you languished in obscurity and faded away. MP3.com and other early online avenues were just a little extra, a new way for indie bands to reach people but not to break out big. All the mp3s were 128k bitrate, I can't recall if you could do any better. By the time we released Anomaly in 2001, CD Baby had been established and it was a great way for indie bands to sell cds. Napster was around 1999-2001 (before its shut down and subsequent resurrection) but I never saw the point in using my dial-up connection to download crappy sounding mp3s from really popular bands I didn't like. Whatever you think of the fallout from Napster and all the lawsuits, the period of the late 90's and early 00's marked the beginning of the end of the industry as I knew it. Cable internet and faster DSL use spread. Some indie musicians figured out the best ways to capitalize on this but as far as I can tell most of us were still thinking of the internet as an add-on to the old ways of doing business. The internet was like TV. Consumption was passive. There wasn't even much real advertising then. You just put your web site up and hoped people would find you. And they did. But that was about it. I think in 2001 we were only slightly more likely to get an email from a fan than a phone call or a letter.</span><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">The INDUSTRY (worthy of all caps here) was already jumping all over this, like they do with any new technology. (sarcasm) <sarcasm>Like the good gatekeepers they are, they stepped into the hero role once again to defend helpless but creative bands, gullible but well-meaning consumers, and the thousands of people whose jobs were at stake from the record producer to the guy sweeping the studio floor (/sarcasm)</sarcasm>. First recordable cassettes would doom the industry. Then it was recordable cds. Then mp3s and file sharing. It never occurred to them to examine the way they were doing business. Were they releasing good music? No, they stumbled on Nirvana and then signed every other band in Seattle that wore flannel shirts. Somebody manufactured a hit with Brittany Spears so they went out and signed every young woman they could doll up like an All-American Lolita. Did they think that maybe $15 or more wasn't a good price for a cd? No. (Food for thought: a mass produced cd costs $2 or less to make. Most major label deals pay less than $1 to the artist after recouping costs. Where is the rest of this money going?). So they drag their heels, kick up a fuss, and blame everybody else for their perceived woes. The truth is, the music biz was still doing pretty good in the early 2000's. But, the music biz emperor had no clothes. Instead of trying to figure out how to use new technology to their advantage, they tried to kill it. And then came myspace. And iTunes. And Rhapsody. And bit torrents. And Facebook.<br />
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(to be continued)</span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTcfVqcypC1xc2u4R8AuHmtJRhzYIEY90NKsrpJYfB09tpyJtbHCbePzMsvXZEhl3Omsl9AzCPP35ydkz9A1pFMd9uQ_THrMp2x8w9LA3Bh3Dw3PGWlV0RTU5cA5wqNg3lCDJrnyF1HBGq/s1600-h/060419_gort_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTcfVqcypC1xc2u4R8AuHmtJRhzYIEY90NKsrpJYfB09tpyJtbHCbePzMsvXZEhl3Omsl9AzCPP35ydkz9A1pFMd9uQ_THrMp2x8w9LA3Bh3Dw3PGWlV0RTU5cA5wqNg3lCDJrnyF1HBGq/s320/060419_gort_lg.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div>Sean Gillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04076164080096427562noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839146967530098790.post-61640561242388133662009-12-11T23:24:00.000-08:002010-02-01T00:08:37.412-08:00Prog Muggin'<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7QCqcYypzkhEstU-r6POIZCYKRKRqo_OzVeaveg1EK2IUBioOut0ioIDxs-gA0ISleEbsDFPMbD3hIlgBot0MIoaXSILVKiUTve5dcHBFTMnm-5zGUPWNUL5OhtaokJiHGoZm5JOd6WSw/s1600-h/12122009158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img align="Left" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7QCqcYypzkhEstU-r6POIZCYKRKRqo_OzVeaveg1EK2IUBioOut0ioIDxs-gA0ISleEbsDFPMbD3hIlgBot0MIoaXSILVKiUTve5dcHBFTMnm-5zGUPWNUL5OhtaokJiHGoZm5JOd6WSw/s320/12122009158.jpg" style="padding: 5px;" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Just thought I would share this one...<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">A month ago my son asked if I could write a list of some of the bands I like.<br />
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Then yesterday I was presented with the mug shown in the picture. It is not a work of art, but considering who made it, I will definitely be using it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">For your notice, the text has been burned onto the mug, so it is wash resistant.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">If I was drinking coffee, I suppose I would be drinking Progolatte from now on.</div></div><br />
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</div>BGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08024085550417622898noreply@blogger.com3