For those of you who have followed progarchy from the beginning (and, a huge thank you–whenever you joined our little anarchomusical republic), you know how much we admire Arjen Lucassen.  Lucassen is a wonder in every way.  What he does with music is simply mind boggling.  Not only do I listen to Arjen in all of his many projects whenever I can, I also use every chance when lecturing on modern literature, science fiction, and dystopia to talk about Lucassen.  So, it grieves me that this has to be short as a post.  I’ve spent the past week at an academic conference in Bryn Mawr, and I’m more than a bit behind on my writing.  

Whenever Arjen produces something–whether it’s a solo album, Guilt Machine, Star One, Ambeon, or Ayreon–he does so with impeccable excellence.  The writing, the lyrics, the packaging–every thing is perfect.

Dear Progarchists, as always, a huge thanks to all who read us, all who write for us, and all who make the incredible music we all enjoy.

2016 has already been a really interesting year for Prog even if we’re not quite halfway done with it.  The market for Prog releases is higher than at any other time in my 48-year old adult memory.  In the meantime, we see more and more complaints and fears that the market is dead or near dead.  These cries of woe and despair began about a year ago, but now we see it becoming complacent in the music press.  Folks such as those who made huge money in the 70s and 80s now argue that they would never make an album now, as they’d find no support from labels.  I’m sure this is true, as the music market is radically decentralized from what it was in, say, 1985.

For someone listening to the music, however, all of these complains and fears seem like an incredible disconnect.  After all, the type of music I enjoy is now being produced and created at a rate I’ve not seen since my childhood.  I am not, however, looking at the market as a producer, merely a consumer.

Continue reading “The State of Prog, June 2016” →