I would say the opposite happens. Prog fans "open up" to prog, think they've found the best music ever, and proceed to never check out anything new that isn't "prog" again, because how could it be good?
Though I guess neither caricature is really helpful.
[/quote]
Yeah I used to think that as well. The only thing is, while yes, music is subjective, the same could be said of paintings, movies, and the beauty of another person (among other things). I can say all day that a painting by DaVinci is not as good as a painting I made myself. However, quality is quality. While taste is subjective, the actual quality of something is not subjective. My personal opinion is that whatever music anyone likes, I don't think less of them in any way. People like what they like. What I do think is that they could potentially be missing out on something they have not tried yet. That is why pop music is, in my opinion, sort of like a music trap. The people that like it don't seem to feel the need to like anything that isn't catchy or 3 minutes. I feel like the people that listen to prog have already opened their mind to get there, since it is not easily accessible. If it was easily accessible, prog would be all over the mainstream radio hits.
I started listening to pop when I was 7, then glam rock, then old school metal, then industrial metal, then thrash metal, and finally prog. That's just me.
[/quote]
Likewise, I started with rock and pop, moved on to prog, experimental, discovered old school metal (through DT), classic metal, classic prog, indie, electronic, etc., roughly in that order. And I discover new music in non-prog genres that is WAY more interesting than what most prog bands are doing.
Trust me, dude. Prog is just where you are at on your particular path. As someone who discovered prog and now still finds plenty of non-prog stuff that's just as good if not better than prog, where you *think* you are musically and how open minded you *think* are to new things is completely relative to where you started. If you already think you've found the best music your mind is already closed to all the great music (prog and non prog) still yet to be made.
There is nothing wrong for spending some time obsessing over a particular genre, my feeling is that you are just obsessed with prog right now, but if you continue to prioritize listening to music later in life the same way you do when you're in high school and college, you will discover that there is still plenty to discover.
Thank you for this insightful response. I am on a "prog binge" right now, and it is really hard to open your mind to other things when you're on a particular binge. We all have a music path to follow, and let me tell you, I love every second of mine.
[/quote]