
Pink Floyd's "Animals" Tamed: Prog Review #13
In simplicity, Floyd finds their most power and charm.

Dressing for ELP's "Brain Salad Surgery": Prog Review #12
The band’s try-anything approach and rapidly shifting soundscapes can be alienating, making it music you have to work hard to appreciate. Yet forcing myself to listen to this album has been a real treat

Rush’s “Hemispheres” Subdivided: Prog Review #11
Tl;dr: I should be listening to A Farewell to Kings instead.


Savouring Genesis's "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway": Prog Review #9
This album is all about growth, identity, change. It makes sense as a quest narrative, because so many heroes go through these sorts of dilemmas. They are on a set course for life, but something monumental happens, and suddenly they have to question and change, and fight.

"The Little Grumpy Cat That Wouldn't" is a Grumpy Cat You Won't Want to Put Down.
Joy, fun, and participation can sometimes become oppressive responsibilities, and therefore obstacles to happiness and identity formation.

No Future in Can’s “Future Days”: Prog Review #8
A link between Progressive music and Video Game Music (VGM) is obvious to those of us who enjoy both genres

#TOS Too: Star Trek S1E13, “The Conscience of the King”
At a time when we are facing up to the idea that many of the artists responsible for entertaining us on a daily basis may have dark secrets, this is a curious episode to be reviewing.

One Beep for a Dying Colonialism: Star Trek TOS, S1Ep11 and 12, "The Menagerie"
The ideal of an harmonious human race necessitates external threats, but the fantasy of the show is pernicious by making the threatening aliens so frequently absent. This works as a variation of Edward Said’s concept of Orientalism in that discourse about the other (aliens) is controlled by European (Federation) writers, so that the subjects of inquiry are given no voice in creating a knowledge base about them. The result is a total demonization of the other that justifies continued cultural and political domination via colonization.

"Thick as a Brick" Through Glass: Prog Review #7
But my dread of writing this album review played a small part as well. I listened to Thick as a Brick many times over a period of weeks at the beginning of my hiatus, hoping I would be inspired to find some point of focus. But the meandering, sprawling, impenetrable world of this album offered me little to latch onto because its vastness leaves me lost.

Getting a Great Deal "Selling England by the Pound": Prog Review #6
If you’ve read my previous reviews or know my contrarian nature firsthand, you won’t be surprised to learn that Selling England by the Pound is not my favourite Genesis album. It doesn’t even make my top three.
Still, it’s easy to see why this is considered the band's best.

More Than "Close to the Edge" of Greatness: Prog Review #5
I’m pretty sure a degree in musicology is prerequisite for writing about Yes: a Master’s at least for an album like Close to the Edge. I’m going stream of conscious this week because writing intelligently on Yes would take way too long.

The Real Monster at the End of This Book is Your Child
Ever wonder if your child is too obedient? Does she always respect the limits you set for her? Is she sympathetic to other children and supportive when they express their fears?
Well worry no longer, because Little Golden Books and Sesame Street have the story for you!

Monetizing Play: Bubbles
Writing at the crossroads of introspection, poetry, prose, and marketing:
"What is it about the soap bubble that so fascinates and delights the child?

Wishing I Wasn't Here Listening to "Wish You Were Here": Prog Review #4
Two Pink Floyd albums in the top five? Maybe I should have started from the bottom of the list.

Sorting Through "Moving Pictures": Prog Review #3
It’s a wordplay offensive enough to be reminiscent of Byron’s Don Juan, and appreciating that phrasing or not might be a determining factor of who does and does not enjoy Rush music in general.

Seeking Audience "In the Court of the Crimson King": Prog Review #2
From the pinnacle of early prog we move backward to its inception: In the Court of the Crimson King (1969) must have made a remarkably jarring entrance into the world of popular music on its release.

Prog Review #1: In which we Illuminate the "Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd.
Unfortunately, #1 is the album I’ve been dreading most: Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.


Monetizing Play: Fisher-Price 3-in-1 Bounce, Stride, and Ride Elephant
“Can penguins ride elephants?”