Post by Galactus on Jun 17, 2006 13:25:54 GMT -5
pauledwardwagemann said:
jllm said:
No need to excuse yourself, my dear chap. My comment was about my own apathy, and was not intended as an implied criticism of the thread.
Well then let me try and incite some enthusiasm into your bones by dazzling you with my defence of including Styx in the Prog Rock lexicon. Here goes:
What seperates Prog Rock from any other kind of Rock? Is it simply the keyboard solos? No.
Is it the prerequisite of having a lead singer with a huge nose (or perhaps crossed eyes) and a high pitched voice that, at its best, sounds like Edith Bunker having an orgasm on a roller coaster?
I dont think so.
No, the first rule of Prog Rock is: NO songs About Chicks!!!
But if you do have to put in a song about chicks, it must be very cynical and bitter towards not only one chick, but womanhood in general.
Obviously Styx has broken this rule. 'Lady'? 'Lorelei'? 'Babe'? 'Dont Let it End'? All of these songs are not only celebrating the love of a woman, but doing so in a rather pussified manner. So that's it then, right? End of discussion.
But wait. Wait one cotton-pickin minute.
Before dismissing Styx from the prog Rock lexicon, let's go down the check list of some Prog Rock's tenats.
Point #2: To be Prog Rock you must display outrageously delicious bombast over the seemingly most mundane things.
Does Styx do this?
Check.
Take a look at Lorelei for instance. Have you ever heard of a man being so excited about the prospect of his girlfriend moving in with him than Dennis Deyoung dispays in this tune? It's not even that they are getting married or having a child or even that they are falling in love. Its simply that they are becoming roommates and he's screaming like he just won the lotto! that my friends is Prog Rock.
Point #3: Gentleman's beards with early-mid 70s mullet. Before the mullet really came of age with the mid 70s' NHL 'classical' mullet, there was this transitional period. A period where the long haired hippies decided that instead of pulling their bangs behind their ears or constantly brushing them to the side, they would simply cut their bangs. What harm could that do? They'd still have long hair, right, only now they would actually be able to see. Unfortuneately this then gave the younger gneration the liscence to start feathering the sides of their hair, which eventually lead to chopping the sides off, just like the bang--leaving only the long hair in the back. But before that final step was taken that created the 'classical' mullet you had that early Prog Rock mullet of just the bangs cut.
Do Styx have that?
Check.
Point #4. The Iconagraphy. Prog Rock album cover must have either a~ some sort of optical illusion or provactive thought-provoking image. b~ sort of Ruins, or mystical medievel artifacts OR c~ some kind of futuristic artwork.
Does this apply to Styx?
Check. Styx has all three. Witness the album covers of Crystal Ball, Grand Illusion, and Pieces of Eight. Furthermore Cornerstone and Kilroy was Here.
Point #5. The concept album. Once again Styx comes trough with flying colors. Although they are not mental heavy wieghts that over-intellectualize every aspect of life, they do weigh in with some blue-collar, low-brow concepts that none the less fill the 'concept album' dance card.
Point #6. Songs of Poltical Science 101 influenced Social commentary.
Styx?
Check.
'The Best of Times', 'Fooling Yourself', 'Renegade', 'Blue Collar Man', even 'Too Much Time on My Hands' are just a few that qualify.
Point #7. The lofty, philosophical song, oftentimes intermersed with science-fictional escapism.
How does Styx rate?
'Crystal Ball', 'Mr Roboto' and 'Come Sail Away' 'The Grand Illusion' Need I say more?
Point #8. The actual music--the sonic quality. Is there keyboard solos? Intricate drum fills and chord progressions?
Although Styx were not as over-indulgent as ELP or King Crimson say, they were very sound technically musicians. They have a very clean, presice and structured sound that becomes more appreciated the more you listen to.
Point #9. This last rule, is once again one in which Styx would occasionally break, and that is No matter what the band must appear pretensiously serious at all times. No slapstick, no laughing and funny around on stage. The recording studio and the stage are serious places for serious music by serious people to deal with serious issues at serious venue prices. Styx although able to ride the heavy Bombastic with the best of them, also would joke around in a celebratory way (ala the early Beatles) and therefore break one f the most important of the prog Rock Rules.
In conclusion, does the fact that Styx have a little fun from time to time on stage and in interviews or that they sing about chicks in a celebratory manner from time to really enough to disqualify them from the Prog Rock lexicon?
Some say yes, but I say most of the Prog Rock bands are not going to fully compy with each of the Prog Rock tenats. Then I say give one listen to 'Crystal Ball', 'Mr Roboto', 'Come Sail Away' or 'The Grand Illusion'and there is only once conclusion you can come away with. Styx undenialbly belongs in the prog Rock lexicon.
I didn't read any of this, either.
