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goobster  ·  681 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: 484th Weekly "Share Some Music You've Been Into Lately"

Polyphia - and Tim Henson, specifically - interest me from a technical perspective, but I think the pyrotechnics overshadow the music. Hum the harmony line to G.O.A.T. or Playing God. See what I mean? There ISN'T one.

I do absolutely love what he has done to guitar playing, however. We haven't seen innovation or creativity with the instrument like that since Eddie Van Halen redefined guitar playing on Van Halen I.

There's an element of prog rock - whether you talk about Frank Zappa, or The Yellowjackets, or Polyphia, or Steve Morse - that goes for technical prowess over musicality, time and time again.

This is music you sit down, put headphones on, and FOCUS while listing to it. You can't just leave it playing in the background or while you are doing something else because it is too jagged and takes too much effort to follow the development of a piece, from start to finish.

Classical music is as technical, nuanced, and has sections built on other sections, and can either take your complete focus, or be played in the background.

Prog monsters like these guys have very limited listening opportunities for me. I just don't sit and ONLY listen to music anymore...