Progressive Pop
| Progressive pop | |
|---|---|
| Etymology | A "progression" from mid-20th century pop music formulas. |
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Mid-1960s |
| Derivative forms | |
| Other topics | |
Progressive pop is a form of pop music which attempts to break with standard pop music formulas. Originally termed for early progressive rock music, some stylistic features of progressive pop include changes in key and rhythm, experiments with larger forms, and unexpected, disruptive, or ironic treatments of past conventions. Performers commonly produce their own material while opposing the influence of managers, agents, or record companies.
Since 1967, "progressive" pop has stood in contrast to "mass/chart" pop. Following the economic boom of the mid 1960s, record labels began investing in artists, but allowed performers limited control over their own content and marketing. Groups who combined rock and roll with various other music styles such as Indian ragas and oriental melodies ultimately influenced the creation of progressive rock (or "prog"). After the 1970s, prog began selling poorly, opening a vacuum for a new, milder brand of progressive pop. During the 1980s, the New Pop movement attempted to bridge the divide between "progressive" pop and its mass/chart counterpart. By the 2000s, progressive pop gave rise to a host of popular, uncommonly large bands with an aversion to formal hierarchies.
The term "progressive" refers to the wide range of attempts to break with standard pop music formulas through extended instrumentation, personalized lyrics, and individual improvisation. The premise involved popular music that was created with the intention of listening, not dancing, and opposed the influence of managers, agents, or record companies. Progressive music was also mainly produced by the performing artists themselves. In 1970, a journalist at UK publication, Melody Maker, described progressive pop as music made that is appealing to the masses, but less disposable than the "six weeks in the charts and the 'forget it' music of older pop forms."
Some stylistic features of progressive pop include changes in key and rhythm or experiments with larger forms. In terms of tonal structure, progressive pop is similar to rock and roll in overthrowing harmony as its basic organizing structure. However, unlike rock and roll, progressive pop inverts received conventions, playing with them ironically, disrupting them, or producing shadows of them in new and unexpected forms. Electronic techniques such as echo, feedback, stereo, loudness, and distortion may be used to give the music the impression of space and lateral extension.
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