SNOBS OR SNUBBED?
I am writing to offer another view to the writer of your ‘Star letter’ and even more disappointingly the comments of InsideOut record label Thomas Waber, who were both moaning about the so-called ‘Prog Snobs’.
From my own point of view, I found these comments to be of poor judgement. What they have to realise is that times are different from back in the 60s and 70s as to what they are now.
When I was growing up, musical taste was formed by the vinyl LPs that our brothers and friends were playing. It was an all-too-frequent sight seeing long-haired guys walking down the street with LPs under their arm on their way to educate another friend. We used to share/borrow albums and it was a very
social scene back then, while the internet has all but made people insular. I am a dad of two and can tell you that this education system has long gone. There were also three local record shops, so you could go in and browse, and in some cases get a listen to bands or artists you had never heard of. Record shops have all but gone, and with it the social side.
Just because we like the older prog acts doesn’t mean we don’t like what’s new and trending – it’s just harder to find or have a listen to. We can’t nip into the nearest record shop and find the latest single or album by new acts, or have a listen with friends. Old proggies like myself still play vinyl and I prefer to listen to music this way rather than through my Mac on YouTube. I know there is the sampler on the cover of your magazine, and this has introduced me to some acts that I quite like, but as I have pointed out, it’s not snobbery, it’s just that times are different.
Alex Aikman (not a snob in any way!)