Renaissance of Progressive Metal

LibertyBill · February 8th, 2005, 10:11 AM

Please see my column titled "Elixir for Ignorance" in the Florida Tech Crimson. The article titled "The Renaissance of Progressive Metal" is on page 10. In it, I discuss Progged Radio, the explosion of prog bands, and why mainstream radio sucks.

Crimson Issue Feb 3

Feel free to email me: bill_losapio@hotmail.com

Progvan · February 10th, 2005, 11:29 AM

Great article Bill !!!!!!!

beyondnerd · February 11th, 2005, 09:30 AM

Good article. I like how you presented a the ideas of your politics through the example of something that you are passionate about and which is not inherently polemic. I wonder what your thoughts are in regard to the reason behind why certain music fills the bulk of the airwaves and other music (e.g. prog) is marginalized to venues such as "the internet and related technologies". Are you of the opinion that a goverment/megaconglomerate controlled/influenced marketplace shapes the tastes of society or are you of the impression that some of us are born "bees" and while most are born flys.

LibertyBill · February 11th, 2005, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beyondnerd

I wonder what your thoughts are in regard to the reason behind why certain music fills the bulk of the airwaves and other music (e.g. prog) is marginalized to venues such as "the internet and related technologies". Are you of the opinion that a goverment/megaconglomerate controlled/influenced marketplace shapes the tastes of society or are you of the impression that some of us are born "bees" and while most are born flys.

BN: Excellent question. Like Neo realized in the last Matrix movie, the matrix can control virtually our entire lives, but it can't ultimately remove human choice from the equation. Now, if the "powers that be" were unable to influence the listening populace, the art of propoganda would be non-existence. The fact that there is such a thing as propoganda is testament to the influence a broadcaster can have. Given that, are they actively trying to influence our tastes? I believe the answer to that is yes, personally. It makes the market more predictable for them. They don't have to work as hard.

This does not exempt us the consumer from our responsibility. If we choose to be blind sheep, shame on us. Now, if we had a true free market in broadcasting, the medium would be much more likely to meet a diversity of tastes. Though we have not traditionally had anything close to a free market, the listener must ultimately be held responsible for their tastes.

beyondnerd · February 15th, 2005, 08:05 AM

Back to my question LB, why do you think most people are “flys” while a select few are “bees”? Is it a result of "human choice" where most "choose to be blind sheep"? Are the attempts at influencing taste successful? Is it Genetic? What do you and others think determines why some people like the kind of music on progged while others (most) like more “mainstream/commercial/top 40/…” music?

Side question: Who are “powers that be” ?

btw I hope the reason for my choice of fly in the analogy hasn’t been missed

calcsam · February 15th, 2005, 04:04 PM

*shakes head* great article!

is it just me, or do you get the sense that progressive rock and metal has more than a normal amount of libertarians? I'm a Rothbardian libertarian myself, and looking both at bands (Rush stands out) and at the listeners, we seem to be more libertarian than would be expected.

oh and somewhat related, did you read the excellent piece BK Marcus wrote for Mises.org on that very topic of government regulation of the airwaves?

LibertyBill · February 16th, 2005, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beyondnerd

Back to my question LB, why do you think most people are “flys” while a select few are “bees”? Is it a result of "human choice" where most "choose to be blind sheep"? Are the attempts at influencing taste successful? Is it Genetic? What do you and others think determines why some people like the kind of music on progged while others (most) like more “mainstream/commercial/top 40/…” music?

Most people are too shaky on their emotional foundation to buck the trends. Better to go along and get along, than be a "voice from the wilderness". I think this mindset is intentionally fostered, by the way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by beyondnerd

Side question: Who are “powers that be” ?

The corporate~media complex that is in cahoots with quasi-govermental organizations (trilateral commission, council on foreign relations) and the government itself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by beyondnerd

btw I hope the reason for my choice of fly in the analogy hasn’t been missed

Certainly not!

LibertyBill · February 16th, 2005, 09:19 AM

Thanks, Calcsam! Very nice of you to say.

Neil Pert is a libertarian as I understand it. I think Prog and liberty both attract thoughtful people who are comfortable having tastes beyond the corporate-fed claptrap we are fed as "mainstream".

Quote:

Originally Posted by calcsam

*oh and somewhat related, did you read the excellent piece BK Marcus wrote for Mises.org on that very topic of government regulation of the airwaves?

Uh, I don't think I caught this one. I better check it out. I'm a huge mises.org and lewrockwell.com junkie. Suprised I missed it

T_man357 · February 19th, 2005, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LibertyBill

Thanks, Calcsam! Very nice of you to say.

Neil Pert is a libertarian as I understand it. I think Prog and liberty both attract thoughtful people who are comfortable having tastes beyond the corporate-fed claptrap we are fed as "mainstream".

Uh, I don't think I caught this one. I better check it out. I'm a huge mises.org and lewrockwell.com junkie. Suprised I missed it

Pinkeisch · April 9th, 2005, 08:23 AM

beyondnerd · April 15th, 2005, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pinkeisch

bump

Okay Pinkeisch, I liked this thread

Quote:

Originally Posted by LibertyBill

Quote:

Originally Posted by beyondnerd

Back to my question LB, why do you think most people are “flys” while a select few are “bees”? Is it a result of "human choice" where most "choose to be blind sheep"? Are the attempts at influencing taste successful? Is it Genetic? What do you and others think determines why some people like the kind of music on progged while others (most) like more “mainstream/commercial/top 40/…” music?

Most people are too shaky on their emotional foundation to buck the trends. Better to go along and get along, than be a "voice from the wildernes.

This would imply that a major portion of consumers who consume the media for the masses would really prefer to listen to non-mainstream music but choose not to out of fear of rejection or pressure to conform. While I think this may be true in some cases I don't think it's a substantial portion. An argument could also be made that some peolple who listen to prog do so not because they like the music but they feel compelled to be "a voice from the wilderness" and detest the idea of being part of mainstream America. Again this may be true of some, but not a significant portion. The question I'm getting at is what draws people to certain types of music whether or not they follow their inclinations. I believe that there are correlations between the music a person is drawn to and the psychological traits of the individual.
What do the rest of you think?

February 8th, 2005, 10:11 AM	#1 (permalink)
LibertyBill Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 10	Renaissance of Progressive Metal Please see my column titled "Elixir for Ignorance" in the Florida Tech Crimson. The article titled "The Renaissance of Progressive Metal" is on page 10. In it, I discuss Progged Radio, the explosion of prog bands, and why mainstream radio sucks. Crimson Issue Feb 3 Feel free to email me: bill_losapio@hotmail.com

February 10th, 2005, 11:29 AM	#2 (permalink)
Progvan Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Caracas Posts: 14	Cool! Great article Bill !!!!!!!

February 11th, 2005, 09:30 AM	#3 (permalink)
beyondnerd Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Schnecksville, PA Posts: 18	Good article. I like how you presented a the ideas of your politics through the example of something that you are passionate about and which is not inherently polemic. I wonder what your thoughts are in regard to the reason behind why certain music fills the bulk of the airwaves and other music (e.g. prog) is marginalized to venues such as "the internet and related technologies". Are you of the opinion that a goverment/megaconglomerate controlled/influenced marketplace shapes the tastes of society or are you of the impression that some of us are born "bees" and while most are born flys.

February 15th, 2005, 08:05 AM	#5 (permalink)
beyondnerd Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Schnecksville, PA Posts: 18	Back to my question LB, why do you think most people are “flys” while a select few are “bees”? Is it a result of "human choice" where most "choose to be blind sheep"? Are the attempts at influencing taste successful? Is it Genetic? What do you and others think determines why some people like the kind of music on progged while others (most) like more “mainstream/commercial/top 40/…” music? Side question: Who are “powers that be” ? btw I hope the reason for my choice of fly in the analogy hasn’t been missed

February 15th, 2005, 04:04 PM	#6 (permalink)
calcsam Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 9	shakes head great article! is it just me, or do you get the sense that progressive rock and metal has more than a normal amount of libertarians? I'm a Rothbardian libertarian myself, and looking both at bands (Rush stands out) and at the listeners, we seem to be more libertarian than would be expected. oh and somewhat related, did you read the excellent piece BK Marcus wrote for Mises.org on that very topic of government regulation of the airwaves?

April 9th, 2005, 08:23 AM	#10 (permalink)
Pinkeisch Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 93	bump