The award-winning ProgBlog
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Most people have heard of progressive rock (or prog rock, or simply prog) but the great majority of them treat it with mild disdain (at best) or outright hatred (at worst). Most of the criticism is a mindless rejection based on current trends and a misunderstanding of the genre; “dinosaur” is a common term of abuse, neatly parodied by Adrian Belew on King Crimson’s 1994 album Thrak.
There is an increasing quantity of literature on the subject, ranging from the analytical or academic (Edward Macan, Rocking the Classics; Kevin Holme-Hudson, Progressive Rock Revisited) to the fairly straightforward lists (Charles Snider, The Strawberry Bricks Guide to Progressive Rock.) There are also thousands of fans out there who not only continue to attend concerts, but also contribute to a growing network of fanzines and on-line forums. Fans are even served by Prog, a glossy magazine from Future Publishing entirely devoted to prog in all its forms founded in 2009 and still going strong.
The ProgBlog has been put together to encourage discussion about progressive rock music illustrated by personal observation.
Latest Blog
Prog and TV theme tunes
I’m grateful I grew up at a time when the first wave of progressive rock was a successful musical form and when, even amongst the stale TV fare, there was some thought-provoking programme making suitable for my teenage self.
This blog, which first appeared in July 2016 and became inaccessible in 2021, has been updated and expanded as a nostalgic examination of the use of prog music as TV theme tunes. I’m sure many readers will remember both the music and the TV programmes
Latest album review
Melting Clock - Altrove (2024)
The second album from Genoa's Melting Clock was released five years after their stunning debut Destinazioni, an album highly regarded by music critics. Could Altrove match expectations or did it turn out to be the 'difficult second album'?
Latest posts from the archive
A continuing project to restore lost blogs and gig reviews unavailable since the migration of the site to a new webhost in 2021
Blog: Hype and existential questions
A three-part 2018 BBC music documentary covers reunions, leading ProgBlog to ask 'is it possible for a band without any original members to retain its name?'
Gig review: Banaau - Cinema Teatro Flores, Vanzago (MI)
11th May 2024
One year on from Banaau's return to live performance, this 'total prog experience' was the realisation of a dream for guitarist Andrea Massimo - fusing prog with Shakespearian theatre