I submitted one work for the September 2025 Issue of Moss Piglet - The 1980s:
Forgotten Musical Moments
I’m Malcolm McGladwell and this is Forgotten Musical Moments.
What we now know as Progressive Rock had, as one of its pioneers, the band Yes. Formed in 1968 London, it went through many different lineups in the 1970s, disbanded in 1981, but reformed in 1983 with the multi-platinum album 90210.
News of Yes getting back together infuriated several former band members - some for not being invited to join, while others believed the world could do with less progressive rock. This set the stage for the formation of the band No. No essentially invented Regressive Rock (which has morphed into genres such as Doom and Death Metal). Their 1983 anthem, “Two Positives Can’t Be Negative (Yeah, Right)”, was a well-received single.
In an effort to bridge the gap between the two bands, members of both got together to form the supergroup, Maybe. And they did live up to its name. While short-lived, primarily because they couldn’t make any firm decisions, they did manage to write catchy songs such as “I’ll consider that”, “51/49?”, and “Sleeping on Everything”. Their music defined a new genre (although musicologists can’t decide on whether it should be called Gressive Rock or Passive-Aggressive Rock) and became the progenitor of Shoegaze, Drone, and ambient music, not to mention their tremendous influence on music everyone loves to hate, Muzak.
While it’s unlikely No and Maybe will ever be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Yes was granted entry in 2017), we owe much to these two unheralded bands.
Reference:
Museum of Musical Misinformation, (1986), Yes, No, and Maybe, A History
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