Don’t worry, we’ll fix it in post
April 6, 2009 9:43 am MusicI’m really sick of the prefix “post,” when applied to genres of music.
Most of it started in the 1990s, when terms like “post-punk,” “post-industrial,” and other such nonsense became popular buzzwords. Well, guess what people; it’s all meaningless drivel, and yet another attempt by bands and record labels in order to make themselves sound more important than they really are.
Want to know why? Allow me to explain. As we know, the prefix “post” means “after,” such as in the word “postapocalyptic” (after an apocalypse). When applied to genres of music, it goes to say that post-punk would mean “after punk.” One big problem: it’s still punk. Sure, it may sound a bit different, but that’s to be expected, as music as a medium evolves over time. In fact, that’s the entire point! Black Sabbath was referred to as “heavy metal” in the 1970s. Was Slayer then called “post-metal” in the 1980s? Of course not. It was still metal, just of an evolved form due to the passage of time. Thus, the “post” prefix is proven to be more pretentious manufactured bullshit.
As a devoted progressive rock fan, I’ve actually come across the term “post-prog” in my travels. That one really makes me fly into a rage. More than any other genre, the purpose of progressive rock is to constantly change and evolve, incorporating musical skill and experimentation. Post-prog? After prog? It’s the same goddamned thing, not to mention unnecessarily redundant, arrogant, and fucking stupid.
April 6th, 2009 at 1:07 PM
Wow, I hadn’t even heard the label “post-prog” thrown around. That is silly and stupid. I’ve heard of “neo-prog” (of which Marillion is apparently a flagship band of) though. Progressive music is inherently always changing, so it doesn’t need a new label each time that there’s a shift.
“I’m going to listen to some Stravinsky now. This post-classical stuff is incredible!”
Can you imagine anyone ever uttering that nonsense? I won’t go into the misuse of the “classical” label here though – except to say that Stravinsky is not and never has been “classical” music – as that’s a whole other discussion!
April 20th, 2009 at 9:28 AM
I’ll try not to use the term “post-hardcore” around you, though the only reason I use it is because wikipedia lends this term to certain bands from the late 90′s/early 2000′s that I’m into that aren’t necessarily punk or hardcore, but fall into this sub-genre.