easycure

on the 28th in La Spezia for sure

What I meant to say, and what you did not grasp, is that psychedelia has recycled itself, confirming as an attitude in some of the most innovative and original forms in rock over the past twenty years. Take English Shoegaze, bands like My Bloody Valentine and Jesus and Mary Chain, take the American Pansy Underground, take Sonic Youth and everything that followed... to this day, they are among the most modern references within the Rock sphere. Progressive, as you inadvertently underscored yourself, has survived only in sporadic citationist (or nearly) groups, of which Dream Theater is the most conservative and useless offshoot. Finally, I hope you’re joking! The Ramones, whether super-technical enthusiasts like it or not, were among the most modern bands of the '70s; I challenge anyone to have the intuition (now perhaps obvious, but only because it has been so imitated) to combine the melodies of the Beach Boys with garage distortions, playing it all at hyper-speed (at least by the standards of that time). A career built on three chords stemming from an intuition far more intelligent than the average of the super-technical progressive groups post-'70. ;)

Why do you think the current King Crimson would be progressive? And above all: why do you think the current King Crimson would be a great band? It seems to me that Porcupine Tree hasn’t brought any significant innovations... they sound very '70s, which only confirms what I've said. I don’t think I need to listen to MORE progressive music, which I believe you should do because your ideas seem a bit confused. If I didn’t mention Pink Floyd, it’s because Pink Floyd has been much more than just a progressive band. In their Ummagumma-Meddle period, they leaned towards progressive, but always in a very relative way; before that, they were pure psychedelia, and among the most creative expressions, by the way.

no no, of course not.. in fact, Gahan didn’t even shoot up four heroin doses a day, he was notoriously a moderate character. Indeed, "Never Let Me Down Again" is about a trip in the countryside with a friend, whom he hopes will never leave him alone, so he doesn’t have to come back down to earth... oh yes, it’s not a metaphor about drugs...

Pax 77, I don't agree. Progressive has a TIDAL WAVE of constraints. Beneath the apparent veneer of great technical versatility lies an enormous amount of clichés... in fact, it didn't last long; it turned out to be limited, and not by coincidence, more importantly, it left behind a rather small legacy compared to what other budding genres achieved. It was supposed to be the ultimate expression of rock, but it turned out to be more of a closure than an openness, with few exceptions. Psychedelia, which is often seen by progressive fans as a sort of "incomplete progressive," was actually much more open, versatile, influential, and enduring. Ultimately, because psychedelia is more of an attitude than a genre, which is precisely what progressive is in all respects. From a certain perspective, Dream Theater represents the maximum possible expression of progressive: minimal inventiveness and maximum form, they are its obvious extension. After the first great experiments of King Crimson, Genesis, Soft Machine, Magma (to whom the DT obviously kiss the shoes), progressive took the path of formalism; thank goodness the Ramones arrived!

Three of the best musicians I have ever heard! It's amazing how many ideas they manage to focus on; it's as if each piece is compressed, it could last three times longer with all the themes intertwining. Truly a brilliant record. In fact, I wanted to review it too :(

You've piqued my interest in Alexisonfire. What label are they on?

What disappointment! This album is a blast... 75 minutes of pure sound enjoyment!

Well, the cover looks a bit crappy...

Decadent and ethereal... beautiful!