A couple of years ago I participated in the A To Z challenge and
posted an album review every day, where the artist's name began with the letter of the alphabet corresponding to the day in April.
Last year I sat out-working seven days a week and ten plus hours each of those days simply took too much of a toll....enough of a toll that I left my employer of 23 years, leaving a bunch of "stay-on" bonus money behind, thinking that the money would do me little good if I had a heart attack trying to collect it.
And so, I find myself with the time this year to once again participate in the madness!
Since music reviews are the point of this blog, I’m
going to do the same thing this year, with a little twist.
My original plan was to do a review on a progressive rock
release from 2012 that most people who listen to whatever passes for mainstream
radio (I never listen to radio, so I really don’t know whether it’s FM,
satellite, or internet that people listen to) would not have been aware of.
I got close.
I had to
get a little er…. creative with a couple
of letters (Q, X, Z) and a couple of the other titles were actually late 2011
releases, but I think I’ve got a month’s worth of music that any progressive
rock fan will find interesting, and many others among you will enjoy exploring.
Who knows? Maybe some of you may actually purchase the title for your collections! If so, tell your local independent store (when you visit them on Record Store Day, April 20) that DiscConnected sent you!.
For the uninitiated, progressive rock (also known as prog
rock, or simply prog) is a rock music subgenre that had its heyday in the
1970’s featuring bands as diverse as Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull,
Emerson Lake & Palmer and The Moody Blues.
Intending to give greater artistic weight and credibility to
rock music, progressive rock attempted to break the boundaries of traditional
rock music by bringing in a greater and more eclectic range of influences,
including free-form and experimental compositional methods, as well as new
technological innovations.
Although the genre started to fade in popularity by the
latter part of the decade due to rawer and more minimalistic rock gaining
popularity, prog bands have continued to release music for the last three
decades, with bands like Rush, Queensryche, Dream Theater and Muse findng
significant commercial success.
Interested in knowing more? By all means, follow this blog
(and comment, comment, comment) for the month of April.
You may also want to check out two magazines devoted to
progressive rock, Progression and Classic Rock Presents: Prog.
Both offer feature articles about prog bands
old and new, as well as a plethora of reviews of new prog music each month.
And don't forget....support your local record store!
Hey, stranger. How are you doing? You cracked me up with that heart attack comment. You know, I just turned 44, but I'm surrounded - it seems - by people at work who simply want more money. I counter with the fact that more money isn't going to miraculously repair the hole in your gut when you're running around like a crazy person w/ their rear-end on fire...
ReplyDeleteAs for supporting your local record store, as fate would have it I just did. We traveled from the Fresno area to the central coast. My 18 year old took us to one of his favorite places: Boo Boo Records in San Luis Obispo. Apparently it's a big deal, although I had never heard of it before he started visiting. They have an article taped to the window near the door where they were featured in Rolling Stone. He bought the remastered version of Boston's first album and I picked up the first Black Sabbath album since iTunes doesn't have it. I guess I'll have to go back, huh?
You take care of yourself, my friend.
-Jimmy
Jimmy-
ReplyDeleteI can joke about it now, but one of my brothers was pointing out what I was walking away from with the old employer-there was a big bonus to stay through the end of 2013 and I had been awarded stock that vested this year...my answer to him was "what good is it if I have a heart attack," and let me tell you, the stress was getting to me. I was real close to quitting without a job.
I do not blame my old company-they always treated me well...but towards the end, the direction they went it was a conflict with my values, and the amount of extra time I was putting in was exhausting.
More money can be nice, but if you do not like what you are doing, it is not enough to compensate.
And when you feel too tired to write 30 short blog bits....you're simply working too much!
I have not yet seen what the exclusives will be for this year's Record Store Day, but I usually find something I like!
That is so cool that your son likes the first Boston album! More than 35 years later, it is still a classic!
Larry
Have fun with the A-Z! Not gonna play in it this year, but I'll try to stop by a time or two to check out some of your music choices.
ReplyDeleteAnd good for you. Life's too short to put up with the stress.