Progressive music new to the 21st century...

Progressive music… where are today's Yes, Alan Parsons Project, Pink Floyd?

There are a great many awesome and wonderful musicians out there today. A large many of them are making their music in obscurity, because (my opinion) labels and record companies are averse to too much risk right now.

But, where are the Yes, Alan Parsons Project, Blue Oyster Cult, and Pink Floyd bands of the 21st century? What does that mean? It means, "who's shaking up the musical world and making great stuff that isn't mainstream?" There are many who come close...

As we were watching Disney's "Cars" movie, I was having a blast listening to the fabulous music in the movie's soundtrack. James Taylor really makes you love "home town", Sheryl Crow really makes your feet stomp when she's singing about being "real gone", and Rascal Flatts sounds absolutely phenomenal doing a rendition about life being "a highway." All of these tunes really crank up the enjoy-o-meter, particularly with their flawless recording quality, excellent rendition, and the (et. al) musician's excellence. But… none of the music is progressive. It's wonderful, it's excellent, but not progressive. DON'T read into this that I don't think fun, well-made, thoughtful, and entertaining music isn't valuable – that couldn't be further from the truth… The focus of this missive is the idea of progressive music.

Truly progressive music typically doesn't quite make it to radio (and now video) mainstream. Would Herbie Hancock have made it to today’s media mainstream? Would "Schindleria Praematurus" (The Fish – Yessongs) have ever made it to the charts or on video? Would Hendrix's "Machine Gun" have ever seen the light of day if presented to today's execs? I wonder. Maybe? I don't really know…

There is a metric ton of great music out there RIGHT NOW… sometimes you've got to dig around to find it. There must be progressive gems in there somewhere…

I'm still looking…

P.S. Sheryl, hang in there! All the Bears are sending positive vibes your way!!!