Headbangers Blog have issued the following blog from DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy:

"Some of you may see this guest blog as a shameless plug for our upcoming tour. But really, I’m just rambling about s–t that I always love to talk about — kick-ass, good quality music.

Once upon a time, progressive music (or PROG) was a genre that was all about the best (or worst) excesses of music — virtuoso musicianship, long, daring arrangements, over-the-top theatrics, etc. But within five or six years, the artsy-fartsy approach had blown up to Spinal Tap proportions, and soon PROG became a very dirty word in the industry (maybe PETER GABRIEL dressing up as a giant sunflower on stage was a sign that things had been taken too far).

After its introduction in the late ’60s and its heyday in the early ’70s with bands like PINK FLOYD, KING CRIMSON, YES and GENESIS, PROG was soon crushed by the commerce of disco and the attitude of punk, which took over music in the late ’70s. Sure, bands like RUSH, JETHRO TULL and KANSAS continued to get occasional airplay from AOR American radio, but most of the fathers of prog needed to change their colors and sounds and created radio hits in order to survive into the ’80s. Pink Floyd, Genesis (and even Yes for a few minutes) all becoming multi-platinum stadium acts throughout this weeding process but only by writing “pop” hits."

Read Mikes blog at Headbangers Blog.