| Obviously I'm simplifying and generalizing, but prog has always seemed to be complexity for the sake of complexity to me. I just don't get how people can listen to it. While Rush do have a few relatively straighforward singles, complete with hooks and structure and such, the majority of their work seems to be overindulgent crap. To call them a 'musician's band' and write off as anyone who doesn't like them as ignorant is exactly the attitude I was referencing in my original post. It may not be the only reason you like Rush, but you like the elitism Rush provide.
Besides, by claiming only a musician can truly appreciate the complexity of Rush's work, you're minimizing their actual impact. Jonny Greenwood is an amazing technical musician, but no one says you need to be a musician yourself to 'get' Radiohead. Television did things to guitars no one had ever thought about doing before, but you didn't need to play guitar to know it. Sigur Ros are one of the finest live bands of recent times, and brilliant technical musicians, but you don't have to be a studio engineer to get them. Stereolab know more about recording albums than just about anyone, but people don't like them because they know what their way around a Farfisa, they like them because they're good. Brian Wilson, Kevin Shields and Brian Eno changed music, but their work was embraced by everyone, not just musicians.
'Musician's band' is just another way of saying 'not interesting enough on their own merits'. |