#progtober

Well, I almost typoed "Fripp" for "drip," so I guess this one writes itself. Drawing upcoming.

1. How(e) did you first get into prog music? Everybody asks this, so I've gotten very adept at telling the story. It all started when I got the book Ready Player One for Christmas, 2019. That book, full of Rush references, got me into Rush at around the time COVID hit. I stayed obsessed with Rush until early 2021, when I got into Yes, and then it just exploded from there with Tumblr's help.

2. Baby's first prog memories THERE ARE SO MANY so I'm just going to make a list.

Sitting up and squealing the first time I listened to 2112 on headphones (before I started flapping, I used to squeal all the time at prog things).

Reading poignant YouTube comments about Neil Peart's death.

Downloading the rest of the Rush discography (I started with 2112, Moving Pictures, and Signals), then going on an unexpected trip (very long story that I will not tell here) before getting the chance to put it on my music player, then returning home and immediately listening to Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows.

(Writing that out, though, I realized that the way it actually went was I went in order, starting with the self-titled debut, so forget that last part I guess.)

Lying in bed listening to Power Windows.

Listening to half of Hold Your Fire in bed the night before Election Day, then pausing it because I decided to get up, go online, and RSVP for a last-minute campaigning thing an environmentalist group was doing. (I won't say who it was for because then people could figure out where I live, but I will tell you they didn't win.) I then decided I wasn't going to finish listening to the album until after the election.

Which meant I didn't finish it until the following Sunday, when Biden was declared the winner.

Elaine (remember her?) making so much noise I couldn't focus on In The Court.

Being so affected by "Heart of the Sunrise" I couldn't focus on Elaine.

Watching Yessongs videos with the sound off because I didn't have my headphones and didn't want to wake people up but I was still in love with Jon Anderson.

3. Prog band you thought was big but isn't There are probably so many of these too because I generally tend to think prog bands are less obscure than they are, but I do often get surprised when people don't talk about the Strawbs. Someone did think a drawing I did of Robert Fripp was Dave Cousins, though, so maybe they aren't the best example.

4. Prog band you thought was obscure but isn't This is hard! I don't have the opposite problem very much! I do remember thinking Rush was more obscure than they are, though.

5. Your top ten Big™ prog bands Pink Floyd. Uhhhh...Genesis? Does Genesis count? *looks around at posters* I don't know. Unless you want to argue that the Beatles are prog, which I don't really...howe big is Big? Does ELP count? If they count, doesn't Yes count? See, my sense of obscurity is skewed because the bands I grew up on varied in their levels of obscurity so much from Tiger Trap to the Roches to 80s Genesis to the freaking Beatles to local artists I don't want to mention for fear of people figuring out where I live.

Okay, let's say Pink Floyd, Kate Bush, Genesis, and no one else. Top three, in no order.

6. Songs you wish were 20 minute prog ballads I wish Firth of Fifth (by Genesis) was longer. It made me fall in love with Tony Banks. Yes, I know it's something like 11 minutes already, but I do not care! Wonderous Stories (by Yes)! It could have used a nice instrumental interlude or something!

8. Fave five prog albums of all times Making me pick five? You are cruel, Keef, cruel. 😂 ... Okay, okay, okay... Selling England by the Pound - Genesis Lizard - King Crimson Tales From Topographic Oceans - Yes Barrett - Syd Barrett (Okay, this one isn't exactly prog rock, but someone* called it "progressive acid folk," which is close enough for me.) Still - Pete Sinfield (If someone wishes to contest my blorbo-claim to Pete, this someone may unblock me and present his case. No, I'm sorry, that's a joke. The other fervent Sinfield-lover gets Pete, and I will be respecting his unwillingness to interact with me.)

*Wait, that was me.

9. Least favorite prog songs/albums/bands and why Well, Love Beach, to be sure. Except "Canario" and "Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman," the latter of which is a fucking underrated 20-minute prog suite, people. (Also, did anyone notice that Peter Sinfield's actually referencing a line in his earlier song "The Song of the Sea Goat" about officers and gentlemen?) "The Gambler" isn't half bad either, but the first three songs (I can't remember what "For You" is like) are lyrically so distasteful to me that I can't notice anything I might like about the music.

Other than that, I don't know. I like 90125 fine, but I'd probably like it more if it wasn't by the same band that was making prog epics the previous decade. Didn't stop me from flapping like crazy when Owner came on the radio at a restaurant one time, though. (And then "Another Brick In The Wall part 2"! Definitely some of the best prog luck I've ever had.)

I've only listened to Going For The One once in its entirety, but I remember not being so in love with it. (Strangely, I love Tormato.) "Wonderous Stories" is fantastic, though, and I've heard some great things about "Awaken" (from Rick Wakeman, to be fair, but still), so perhaps I'll give it another try.

10. Proggers with uncontainable fashion drip This one deserves a fanart. I will be editing the post with something suitable shortly.