Intelligence vs. Work Ethic

Yesterday during my investment banking interview I was asked to rate myself on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being intelligence and 10 being work ethic. How do you answer a question like that?

Here's my response and rationale. I rated myself "6 or 7" because I thought my GPA and part-time economics job demonstrated intelligence; thus I put more emphasis on my work ethic, which would be more difficult for an interviewer to identify. I also (politely) said that the question was misleading because in most results-oriented environments, intelligence and work ethic are complimentary, rather than opposites.

Where would you rate yourself?

In Defense of Progressive Rock

“I couldn't give it a 10, because it is emotionally vapid.” – A response to Mark Prindle’s review of “Fragile” by Yes

“Most 'progressive' rock is, IMO, incredibly pretentious and has no soul.” – A reply to a prog fan on rec.music.classical

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Progressive rock fans inevitably encounter a number of clichéd slurs used against their favourite genre. Critics call it pretentious, soulless and outdated, though a small but passionate minority consider prog rock rich, beautiful and sophisticated. Though I definitely fall into the latter category, I will look at the arguments of the other side. Thus, the goal of this essay is to defend progressive rock from critics' arguments. I will look at five common criticisms of prog rock and respond to each of them. Though it's difficult for any aesthetically-oriented essay, I will try to rely strictly on facts and logic, rather than subjective opinions.

Before continuing, it’s worth discussing a couple of incorrect strategies for defending progressive rock. Lots of prog fans dismiss critics simply by saying that they’re not intelligent enough to understand the genre, and that they should go listen to Britney Spears instead. While there may be some truth in that statement, it accomplishes little. It reinforces the stereotype that prog fans are arrogant and pretentious, and, more importantly, it doesn’t give an outsider any reason to delve into this great genre. So, as fun as they are, I’ll avoid ad hominems.

Another incorrect strategy would be to focus solely on anecdotal evidence. For example, I think that “Fallen Angel” by King Crimson is a great example of a song that shows prog is (or can be) emotionally resonant and soulful. Of course, this is a subjective opinion referring to an obscure song, which likely wouldn't convince an outsider. Thus, I’m going to avoid anecdotal evidence where possible, even if this comes at the cost of occasionally overgeneralizing.

Criticism #1: Progressive rock is emotionally vapid and soulless

This is perhaps the most common criticism used against progressive rock, though it is the easiest to refute. In order to address this criticism, we need to understand what emotionally resonant, soulful music consists of. The most salient quality of emotional or soulful music is that it must be the product of sincere artistic efforts and it must demonstrate creativity, integrity and purpose. Thus, manufactured bands that simply pander to their audiences do not qualify as “emotional” or “soulful”.

According to his definition, progressive rock is a highly resonant and soulful genre. Progressive artists eschew preconceived notions of rock music and generally sacrifice popularity and financial success for the opportunity to make highly complex, abstract rock music. I can’t think of many examples of progressive rock artists simply pandering to their audience, rather than making sincere artistic statements. (Besides, if one wanted to become rich and famous, progressive rock is probably one of the worst ways of doing it). Of course, nobody can say that every prog album is a sincere work of artistic expression. However, the genre as a whole demonstrates the most important aspects of artistic integrity: creativity, ambition, and avoiding commercialism.

Criticism #2: Progressive rock is pretentious

Critics have called prog “pretentious” to the point that it’s become a hollow cliché. The genre is often considered pretentious for having long, complex songs that feature multiple obscure time signatures. Furthermore, progressive rock artists tend to be virtuosos on their instruments, play extensive solos, and use non-traditional instruments in prominent roles. However, this can only be considered pretentious if the artists are in some way attempting to be more than they're capable of being.

Regardless of the band or its talent level, critics almost universally acknowledge that prog musicians are highly talented. Music is only pretentious if there is a dischord between an artist's ambition and skill. For example, the Ramones would be pretentious if they sang songs about mythical creatures while played violins in 6/13 time signatures; however, bands like Gentle Giant have enough talent to do this well. Given that even critics acknowledge that progressive rock musicians are highly talented, there is no basis for considering progressive rock pretentious, as there is consistency between the artists' ambitions and skills.

Criticism #3: Progressive rock lyrics make no sense

While I said I wouldn’t dwell on specifics, this argument is a considerable over-generalization. Numerous bands write concrete lyrics, particularly those who focus on politics. Prominent examples include Jethro Tull, the Waters-era Pink Floyd line-up and the Gabriel-era Genesis line-up.

However, notwithstanding the exceptions, it’s safe to say that progressive rock lyrics aren’t conventional. They tend to be more complex and abstract (both in terms of content, and how the content is presented) than lyrics in most other genres. Prog lyrics will make you think, but they are (usually) rich in content. It is impossible to defend every progressive lyricist here. However, assuming one reads them as poetry (not narratives) and opens their mind to non-conventional topics (like ancient civilizations and science fiction), there’s nothing inherently “nonsensical” in prog lyrics.

Criticism #4: Progressive rock songs are needlessly long and complicated

Critics often accuse progressive rock songs of being long and complicated. It is easy to see the fallacy in this argument. Stating that songs are long and complicated is meaningless without a reference point. It’s true that prog songs are long and complex compared to genres like pop, rap and country, but they are short and simple compared to classical, jazz and opera. Thus, this criticism only makes sense if you listen to progressive rock from the perspective of a pop fan. However, it is foolish to judge a rap song by the standards of an opera. Similarly, it makes no sense to judge a progressive rock song by the standards of pop music.

Criticism #5: Progressive rock fans are arrogant, pretentious and anti-social

Uh, that one’s mostly true.

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In the end, four of the major criticisms of progressive rock fail. While there are surely exceptions, they don’t represent the majority of prog artists. How does this relate to the big picture? Music critics and the general public have unjustly criticized and marginalized progressive rock for the past forty years. Don’t make the same mistake, and learn about this great genre of music.