Why Do Critics Hate Prog?

In this video, we're taking a look at some of the most common critiques of progressive rock from major music critics over the years. Progressive rock has been treated pretty harshly by critics over the years, so this video is dedicated to thinking about why that might be the case, and what problems the big critics had with the genre.



Because of their prominence as tastemakers and critics, a lot of this video focuses on Lester Bangs and Robert Christgau, and what they thought of the genre compared to others, such as punk music. Many of their critiques are the same ones that we still hear today, from internet commentators and modern critics. Often, Prog is considered by critics to be pretentious and somewhat "tasteless", sacrificing feeling and emotion for show off-y composition and instrumental acrobatics. We'll try to make a case for this not entirely being the case.


We'll also put a lens to the Prog community, and see whether or not the fans (snobs) contribute to some of the negative stereotypes around progressive rock, and how this feeds into the critical response to the genre.


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Special Thanks to my Patrons on Patreon:


Darren Baker
Ben Guevara
Eric and Sheri Carbenia
Evan Satinsky


  / isitprog  


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Citations and More:


Blenders 50 Worst bands (list only)
https://www.morrissey-solo.com/thread...


Lester bangs, The Clash essay
https://books.google.com/books?id=riL...




Suppers ready fan
   • prog fans  


Robert Plant and Brian Johnson
   • Robert Plant greets Brian Johnson in ...  




I've had it with Prog fans! (Video)
   • Ep #507: I’ve HAD IT With Prog Rock S...  


Lester Bangs
   • Lester Bangs about music  


articles
  / lets_talk_was_rock_critic_lester_bangs_on_to  


http://www.jimdero.com/OtherWritings/...


https://www.klcc.org/post/cant-prog-r...


https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...


https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2017...


https://www.odt.co.nz/entertainment/m...


commentary
  / this_music_is_pretentious  


  / under-cooked-raw-music  




Horror Sound Effect by F1Fan0001


   • Horror Movie Violin Sound Effect