Prog Madness 2021

[carlmarx38]

The PROG REPORT review and podcast site is running their "Prog Madness" Bracket challenge again this year. Fun idea, although I'm not sure how I feel about Genesis having to face off against Camel in the first round, or the fact that Neal Morse gets dual listings in both Solo Artist and the Modern Artist categories (for the Neal Morse Band) !

I'm going to do a bracket just for fun.....Here is the link, post your picks here if you're interested, I'm curious who the Prog Ears community will vote as the winner :



https://progreport.com/get-your-prog...-2021-bracket/

[Dana5140]

King Crimson v. Yes in Round 2? Sigh.

And no Magma.

[carlmarx38]

King Crimson v. Yes in Round 2? Sigh.

yeah, that's a bit dumb, Yes and KC are such different prog genres, doesn't make a lot of sense, having a Symphonic band vs. a band as Eclectic as KC (YES wins though of course !

[miamiscot]

I can nitpick all day but I love this. Either way, Pink Floyd wins...

[Rarebird]

Gentle Giant v/s Kansas? Though I love both, Gentle Giant wins.
ELP v/s Van Der Graaf No Generator? If it would be Van der Graaf Generator, they win, even though I also love ELP.

[gearHed289]

My "Top 8" came out to:

Rush
Yes
Steven Wilson
Peter Gabriel
Frost*
Porcupine Tree
Haken
Tool

Narrowed down to:

Rush
Peter Gabriel
Porcupine Tree
Haken

AND that's as far as I go!

[Rarebird]

It's so hard to choose between Genesis and Camel.

[bigbassdrum]

It's so hard to choose between Genesis and Camel.

Who's got the better defense?

[carlmarx38]

I don't agree with the way the "seeds" are ranked......especially for the Classic Band wing of the tree. If I were to set up the seeds, the Classic Bands would be :

1. YES
2. Genesis
3. Jethro Tull
4. ELP
5. Rush
6. Kansas
7. Pink Floyd
8. Camel
9. Caravan'
10. Gentle Giant
11. King Crimson
12. Moody Blues
13. Soft Machine
14. Saga
15. Procol Harum
16. Van der Graaf Generator

[SunRunner2]

There is only one way this will work; add up the rankings of each of their studio albums and divide by the number of albums released. Use whatever source you desire; Gnosis, Prog Archives, RYM or your own ratings.

No matter what source, Genesis obviously beats Camel hands down

[Rarebird]

There is only one way this will work; add up the rankings of each of their studio albums and divide by the number of albums released. Use whatever source you desire; Gnosis, Prog Archives, RYM or your own ratings.

No matter what source, Genesis obviously beats Camel hands down

I still have a slight preference for Camel.

[NogbadTheBad]

Oldfield is a 16 seed in the solo artist bracket? Behind John Wetton as a solo artist!!

Guess they don't like avant, zeuhl, krautrock, Italian bands. Too vanilla for words.

[battema]

Oldfield is a 16 seed in the solo artist bracket? Behind John Wetton as a solo artist!!

Guess they don't like avant, zeuhl, krautrock, Italian bands. Too vanilla for words.

I didn't want to be the first to say it, but yeah.

[Scrotum Scissor]

Guess they don't like [...]

It's only rarely a case of not "liking", as you'll have to actually know and "get" something before realizing whether you do or don't.

Of course, these days folks are in a hurry to simply decide whether something feels right for them to "like" or not - and thus it's no longer about realization either.

[Bucka001]

I’m about to be nit picky but I can’t help it. As a major PH/VdGG fan, this bracket commits one of my annoying little pet peeves. It’s Van Der Graaf (not Graff), and it’s Peter Hammill (not Hamill). It’s one thing for a rube to write it that way but this site actually calls itself “The Prog Report” and they/he are classic artists of the genre. Googling takes five seconds when one is unsure of a spelling.

Ahem... carry on :-)

[Camelogue]

Banco Vs PFM in a play in game maybe?
or Magma vs Present?

[Scrotum Scissor]

I’m about to be nit picky but I can’t help it.

^ It's not nit picky. It's as elementary as it would be to have an index on allegedly "progressive" something reflect developments of the past 45 years, especially considering how radically some of those developments evolved.

[NogbadTheBad]

I’m about to be nit picky but I can’t help it. As a major PH/VdGG fan, this bracket commits one of my annoying little pet peeves. It’s Van Der Graaf (not Graff), and it’s Peter Hammill (not Hamill). It’s one thing for a rube to write it that way but this site actually calls itself “The Prog Report” and they/he are classic artists of the genre. Googling takes five seconds when one is unsure of a spelling.

Ahem... carry on :-)

Well said

[Rarebird]

Banco Vs PFM in a play in game maybe?
or Magma vs Present?

PFM and Magma for me.

Kraan v/s Hoelderlin
Novalis v/s Eloy
Grobschnitt v/s Triumvirat

Hard choices, to say the least.

[Zappathustra]

I like me 2nd round matchup Gentle Giant vs Soft Machine. I'd prefer to be imprisoned than choose.

(But I forgot...I am already imprisoned)

[Rarebird]

I like me 2nd round matchup Gentle Giant vs Soft Machine. I'd prefer to be imprisoned than choose.

(But I forgot...I am already imprisoned)

I think I prefer Gentle Giant. There is some Soft Machine I like, but I don't like everything they made.

[carlmarx38]

Oldfield is a 16 seed in the solo artist bracket? Behind John Wetton as a solo artist!!

Guess they don't like avant, zeuhl, krautrock, Italian bands. Too vanilla for words.

Yeah, I always thought the guys at Prog Report had a bit better taste than that......so I think what they've done is set it up the same way a Vegas Bookie would, and the "seed" rankings are based more on "fan favorites" than about who they think is aesthetically the better artist....so in other words Jon Anderson gets a higher seed than Steve Hackett, not because his solo catalogue is (god forbid) better than Hackett's but because your average unenlightened Prog Fan (or rabid YES fan !) who knows very little about the wider world of Prog is more likely to pick him in a Throwdown matchup.

[SunRunner2]

There is only one way this will work; add up the rankings of each of their studio albums and divide by the number of albums released. Use whatever source you desire; Gnosis, Prog Archives, RYM or your own ratings.

No matter what source, Genesis obviously beats Camel hands down

I used the proposed methodology denoted above, with the source being Prog Archives. I summed the ratings for each studio release and then divided by the number of albums rated for each. The number of divisors differs significantly which does affect the outcome, however, it still provides an interesting view of how they stack up against each other. Using this approach, the more popularly unheralded bands don't get the cold shoulder after all, vis a vis the more "popular" artists.

Magma - 46.75/12 = 3.90

Van der Graaf Generator - 48.97/13 = 3.77

Genesis - 53.00/15 = 3.53

Camel - 51.96/15 = 3.46

Yes - 68.13/20 = 3.41

Note: I excluded the last listed release for Camel, which was a re-recording of "The Snow Goose".

[Mister Triscuits]

As a major PH/VdGG fan, this bracket commits one of my annoying little pet peeves. It’s Van Der Graaf (not Graff)

It has always really bothered me that the band themselves spelled it wrong.

[moecurlythanu]

For me, this thing is an extension of those Prog Top Whatever lists on Prog or Rock sites. Boring nonsense that doesn't come close to reflecting my listening habits.

Sorry.