A Smashing Video Game Crossover
Who could resist this pinnacle achievement of one of the leaders of video gaming?
A Friendly Encounter With PFM's "Per Un Amico": Prog Review #19
Per Un Amico has moments that would sound right at home on albums by Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, ELP, Gentle Giant, and probably a bunch of others. At times, the sounds are even suspiciously similar to specific tunes from those bands.
Getting Comfortable With Frank Zappa's "One Size Fits All": Prog Review #18
Zappa's actual music was a total blank to me, however, and after listening to One Size Fits All, I'd say my nearly baseless assessment of Zappa was 75% correct.
An Exorcism for Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells": Prog Review #17
Many people are perhaps familiar with the opening 4 minutes or so, a section best known as the theme from The Exorcist (1973)
Flailing About With Gentle Giant's "Octopus": Prog Review #16
If you want to justify someone's fear or distaste for the overly complex, intellectual, and alienating qualities of progressive music, look no further than Gentle Giant's Octopus; but if they can get some joy out of it, the battle is forever won.
Stop for King Crimson's "Red": Prog Review #15
The story goes that Kurt Cobain said without Red there would be no Nirvana. But I don’t hold that against this album.
Dancing in Time to Genesis's "Foxtrot": Prog Review #14
I don’t just love Foxtrot; I feel a special attachment to it. And, yet, it is still only my third-favourite Genesis album.
Pink Floyd's "Animals" Tamed: Prog Review #13
In simplicity, Floyd finds their most power and charm.
Dressing for ELP's "Brain Salad Surgery": Prog Review #12
The band’s try-anything approach and rapidly shifting soundscapes can be alienating, making it music you have to work hard to appreciate. Yet forcing myself to listen to this album has been a real treat
Rush’s “Hemispheres” Subdivided: Prog Review #11
Tl;dr: I should be listening to A Farewell to Kings instead.
Savouring Genesis's "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway": Prog Review #9
This album is all about growth, identity, change. It makes sense as a quest narrative, because so many heroes go through these sorts of dilemmas. They are on a set course for life, but something monumental happens, and suddenly they have to question and change, and fight.
"The Little Grumpy Cat That Wouldn't" is a Grumpy Cat You Won't Want to Put Down.
Joy, fun, and participation can sometimes become oppressive responsibilities, and therefore obstacles to happiness and identity formation.
No Future in Can’s “Future Days”: Prog Review #8
A link between Progressive music and Video Game Music (VGM) is obvious to those of us who enjoy both genres
#TOS Too: Star Trek S1E13, “The Conscience of the King”
At a time when we are facing up to the idea that many of the artists responsible for entertaining us on a daily basis may have dark secrets, this is a curious episode to be reviewing.
One Beep for a Dying Colonialism: Star Trek TOS, S1Ep11 and 12, "The Menagerie"
The ideal of an harmonious human race necessitates external threats, but the fantasy of the show is pernicious by making the threatening aliens so frequently absent. This works as a variation of Edward Said’s concept of Orientalism in that discourse about the other (aliens) is controlled by European (Federation) writers, so that the subjects of inquiry are given no voice in creating a knowledge base about them. The result is a total demonization of the other that justifies continued cultural and political domination via colonization.
"Thick as a Brick" Through Glass: Prog Review #7
But my dread of writing this album review played a small part as well. I listened to Thick as a Brick many times over a period of weeks at the beginning of my hiatus, hoping I would be inspired to find some point of focus. But the meandering, sprawling, impenetrable world of this album offered me little to latch onto because its vastness leaves me lost.