Okay, I fully admit that as a guy who loves progressive rock, I’m setting myself up for ridicule and taunts from the peanut gallery. I hear you derisively yelling, “Math rock geek,” or “Lover of unicorns, ferries, and 7/8 time.”
Whatever.
Progressive rock is a genre of music that has an odd cross-section appeal. On the one hand, there are geeks who are lured by the complexity of the music. On the other, there are stoners who just love a good trip — and need an appropriate soundtrack. Sometimes you get a combination of stoner/geek in one person — and they end up creating things like Second Life or Boohbah. Me? I love melody more than complexity, so my tastes in progressive rock lean more toward what’s presented here.
“Total Mass Retain,” Yes (download)
The first time I heard Yes was in my junior year of high school. I had just moved to a new school, and I met a guy who turned out to be a huge lover of what we now call classic rock. Led Zep, the Doors, Hendrix, and Yes. One day, he lent me an old 8 track tape he had of Close to the Edge. I had an old stereo that had an 8 track player, and I must have listened to that tape for three days straight. I wasn’t too taken by the songs at first, but by day two, something clicked and I was hooked. (more…)
For five years now, the Mars Volta has colored the alternative rock scene with their hardcore-prog-jazz hybrid. They’ve represented the point where hippies, metalheads and avant-garde fans could meet in the middle. Even if none of that was your thing — and for many it isn’t — at the very least, they proved interesting to listen to, which was enough to justify their existence in the sonic landscape. However, with the Bedlam in Goliath, their fourth full length, the Mars Volta has done the unthinkable: they’ve made a boring album.