What makes this Rock so Progressive?

It is hard to say what exactly makes this type of music progressive. It doesn’t sound much different than the other rock music going on at the time, other than that it is longer. The average rock song is anywhere from 3 to 4 minutes whereas the average prog rock song can go from between 8 to 12 minutes, and in some cases much longer. Some artists have been known to release albums that have one song taking up the entirety of a 60 minute album, though those are obviously in the minority. Extended solos, and what has sometimes been colloquially dubbed as “guitar wanking” are the chief elements that make up the genre.

Songs can go on and on forever having huge dips and amazingly extended crescendos. What really sets this genre apart from rock that just happens to be long though, is the fact that the musicians are usually more technically gifted. A typical prog rock show is just as much an entertaining musical event as it is a showcase of the skill of a musician. Though the musical quality is important in prog as it is with every other genre, prog is specifically well known for artists being more concerned with showing off their virtuosity at their instrument than they are at making a concise song, which is what can often lead to the extended song length in most cases.

The importance of Weser Label

This label is moderately well known throughout Germany, and though the artists that they sign are not the most well known ones available, Weser Label is known for their relentless promotion of these artists, continually announcing different festivals and events, and all kinds of other goodies that fans can partake in.

In addition to all of this, Weser Label is one of the most well maintained labels in Germany that still regularly puts out punk music. There are many German punk and hardcore bands, but none put out as much music and still advertise as relentlessly as Weser Label. This could be because of their punk ethos, or it could be because of a desire to make money, but regardless of their motivation, the point still stands that Weser Label is moderately successful in what they do, and that is in comparison to a major label. For a small company, Weser Label is run remarkably well, and their site is updated regularly. Though they do not service many areas outside Germany, they are extremely dedicated to those areas that they do serve, continually organizing event after event to keep people interested in the music they put out.

Artists of Universal Motown

Despite the term Motown being used right in the name of the label, it has little to do with the genre of music popularized in the late 50’s and early 60’s known as Motown. The artists that they sign such as Nelly, Kid Cudi, Nicki Minaj, and Forever the Sickest Kids represent the style of the label as a whole.

The reason that the genre doesn’t match the name is because Universal Motown was no the original name. Originally it was two separate record labels, Universal, and Motown, which decided to merge and form Universal Motown, Though Motown records had been operating since 1959, since Motown music for the most part was no longer being made, they were signing artists closely affiliated with the genre such as R&B artists as well as hip hop and funk musicians.

The universal merger saw Universal importing most of their major artists as the major exports of the label. Kid Cudi and Nicki Minaj and Forever the Sickest Kids are now the new face of Motown Records as it once was. Currently the former CEO of Elektra Records is the head of Universal Motown, and is making sure that the original point of the Motown label is not forgotten. As recently as 2008, the record label has been celebrating the 50th anniversary of the original incarnation of the record label by releasing the original #1’s box set, a collection of albums released in the late 50’s and early 60’s that appeared as #1 on the billboards music chart of their respective eras.

The Mars Volta Legacy

The Mars Volta is a band that has not been around that long relatively speaking. Formed in 2001, in only 10 short years they have become an international phenomenon. Their music is more remarkable for its influences than the actual content. The band is more applauded for their virtuosity than the songs or albums themselves. Though critics sometimes remark favorably on their work, they are not well known for any singles or for any albums. Whenever they are referred to in the media, references are made to the collective as a whole rather than to any specific work that the collective has churned out. This is important in understanding the Mars Volta because they are a band that does not receive that much media coverage.

Their songs also get little radio play, as they are of a progressive and experimental nature most of the time, but still the band’s dedicated fan base has helped them to rise above adversity and make their mark on the world of music regardless of whatever negative coverage they may receive. For a band that has not been around that long, they have a remarkably loyal following. From the level of support they receive, it is also appropriate to refer to them as having a cult following. They have the type of fans that listen to nearly every record they put out, and this has largely helped them gain popularity.

Radiohead and the King of Limbs

In the current age of music run by dubstep, Rebecca Black, and Lil B, Thom Yorke and the Radiohead gang come together to write a concept album about a tree’s life, The King of Limbs, to prove that they are still relevant. Not unlike a couple years ago when the band put out “In Rainbows,” the entire internet was buzzing with hype about the new album (although fans had to pay for this one, wasn’t “name-your-own-price” like the last one). Many fans felt this would be the album of the decade, and other fans thought it would be the biggest disappointment in music history, and some just weren’t sure what it would sound like, as every Radiohead release is unique in its own way. All of these predictions were made without hearing a single second of their music.

On Friday February 18th, the internet came together to listen to the album. The verdict? No one knew what to make of it. It certainly was a Radiohead album, but it wasn’t as groundbreaking as their previous albums, and didn’t do anything new. It does give off its own unique creepy vibe, but it is essentially just a darker version of In Rainbows. Confused, many fans decided to not rate the album, but to let it sink in before judging it. Eventually Pitchfork stepped in, gave the album a 7.9, and the world stopped caring about Radiohead again, just as it had the week before. However they were received with this latest offering, Radiohead has already long ago cemented their place in history among the greats. Fans will continue to look forward to later releases.

Influence in the UK

Mercury records is a stand-alone company operating out of the UK, the artists signed to Mercury don’t really carry over into the same genre as any of the ones signed to Island or Def Jam, erring far more on the side of mainstream radio acceptable music. The music from this label is made to sound like music that is regularly played on the radio, though at least in the US, little actual radio play is received for these tracks or artists.

The Noisettes and Portishead are among the most well known artists that are or were signed to Mercury, and aside from being backed by Island and Def Jam, the actual music has little to do with the music of any artists signed to either of the other record labels. They have the ethos of an independent network though, and despite the radio quality of the artists they sign, they attest that they have little intervention in the final sound of an artist’s album. Despite being backed by a large company, they are not trying to overpower or over market any of the artists that they sign. They want to keep the public happy and their artists happy as well.

Where did the term Krautrock come from?

Krautrock bears the same complications as the term indie because the set of terms that define the actual music are so vague in both cases, that once a list is created of all of the artists belonging to the genre, the artists in this list share very little in common with one another musically. This makes the existence of the term at all fairly pointless.

It was originally coined by magazines as a humorous aside, taking the ethnic slur “kraut” and applying it to the music that was being made by German bands at the time. This is also one of the few musical genres that is specific to a certain area. Even if an artist conforms to all the things that define krautrock, unless they are also German, it is likely they will be categorized as something else related to it, like ambient or Fusion.

Thus, because the term was more ethnically based originally (simply meaning rock that is made by Germans, and in this context, even the use of the word rock is debatable) it is hard to describe what krautrock actually sounds like. Most critics seem to agree that krautrock is not overtly rock music, and that it seems to possess elements of jazz and jazz fusion, experimental music, and is heavily influenced by ambient music as well. It may be hard to define, but the influence of the artists that are said to belong to this genre is heavily respected.

What is Kraan all about?

Kraan helped change the way that we see krautrock, and helped to bring in the elements of jazz that are so pervasive throughout the genre. The problem with krautrock and Kraan though, is that it is hard to place them within this very genre that they helped to create, especially since their break up in 1990 followed by their subsequent reunion in 2000. They constantly challenge their own genre classification. While the elements defining krautrock became gradually more set in stone, Kraan started to find themselves constantly more outside of that classification, often crossing into a path that we might refer to as jazz fusion. But they also incorporated elements of rock music, which was their original genre when they started out.

Today krautrock is seen as a more dissonant genre, both imploring and in some cases even depressing. Kraan is almost the opposite. The use the same instruments that characterize the genre, and they make similar sounds, but the mood is completely different, which is why people often have trouble classifying them. Whether they are a rock band, a jazz band, a fusion, or any number of tags, their influence on music cannot be ignored. They were very influential in the field of music that they chose, and continue to influence artists to this day.

“Free,” not Experimental

A standard record from the rock genre might have a positive review saying that the use of guitar layering created an unparalleled sonic experience and a negative review saying that though the guitars carried the listener through a unique plane of sound the record was marred by muddy, poorly executed bass riffs. However, a Miles Davis records would have both reviewers remarking on the same things such as the sporadic key changes and lack of melody, but the only difference in the reviews would be whether the reviewer find that to be bad or good. Critics all seem to agree that the music has few elements that we generally attribute to the form of art that we call “music,” a hard thing to admit, but the fact that they can agree on this at all opens up so many more avenues for discussion. The conversation goes from whether something is bad or good, to why something is bad or good, which is revolutionary in the world of musical criticism.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about free jazz though is its name. The musicians from this genre certainly experiment, so why is it not called “experimental” like the efforts of bands in any other genre that try to break out of mainstream classifications. They all have the same idea, and yet we don’t have “free rock” or “free electronic.” Jazz seems to have reached some emotionally transcendental level. The musicians aren’t just experimenting, they’re freeing themselves of all limitations.

Why Econore is Important

A non-profit music label like Econore will never make much money, but because this label is non-profit it means that it has the ability to change the face of music forever. A non-profit music label will only use as much resources on the bands it signs as the bands make. Essentially, the label is only there to manage the assets of the bands it signs but it does nothing more. This means that it exists in order to make the artistic visions of the artists a reality.

Many other labels have very nice contracts with the bands they sign, sometimes even nicer than Econore. Non-profits, unless backed by a wealthy person, have little capability to forward money to a band for recording or do anything else in that vein and in that sense, a major label may be better. But the difference is, a major label, being interested in profit, will threaten to void a contract if a band does not do well. With Econore, if a band puts out a bad album, they just regroup and try again until they get it right. The Econore website says that they are dedicated to free spirited music, ambient, noise, electronic, and other sound experiments. This is something that most labels cannot rightly admit to being open to. As long as they allow their artists to experiment, Econore’s influence has the possibility of being endlessly influential.