Having seen the lists and preceeded my own, I was scared that even the more populist choices (Hammill, Kingdom Come, Grobschnitt) would seem too left-field for this list to have any support, a fear which only grew after a whopping 4-0 against me by the end of the day. Then other voters came in and with their support I gained back my confidence and I have to say I greatly enjoyed reading the responses to the list. Even the claims by those who voted against me, throwing such lovely words as "brave" and "a mystery" at it, made me feel very giddy. I was overjoyed with the posts PB and never/ever left, too.
To Niege, I have to admit that it was a mistake on my part to have included so many LONG tracks straight off the bat, if anything making their duration seem all the more notable, and maybe it's true that some of these are a bit overlong, definitely quite abrasive (though personally I take that as a huge compliment), but that they're tuneless and brains over heart I disagree. I feel there are most definitely several tunes to dig into here, although they're less of the Beatles conception and more in line with Bartok, Stravinsky or Mingus to name some. Present, for example, is hardly intending to be a popular, accessible product. Yet for me, the effect of many of these bands, be it because some are jamming or because they're promoting atmosphere above all else (see Kingdom Come, Hammill or Univers Zéro), they're most definitely pieces that appeal to a visceral effect and not an intellectual one. Anyways, that's my part, and I understand it was not a list everyone would enjoy.
Maybe Blue's right and next time I should balance things out with some Crimson or Genesis, but one thing's clear, there will definitely be a next time. Many thanks to NMB for allowing this to happen and being a top class organizer.
