There but by the grace of God ...

So I was watching the Sesame Street episode in which the often-irritating Richard Kind conjures balloons for Snuffy to float into the sky, and I was thinking that the dissonant, sci-fi background music for Snuffy's visit to thinner air sounded like the black-hole sequence of Rush's Hemispheres. Then, of course, I thought: "I am one of the biggest geeks in the world. How in the world did I ever manage a somewhat normal life? I even have a kid! (Yes, that's why I was watching one of Sesame Street's worst recent episodes.)"

But my amazement at my own ability to procreate was short-lived, because I happened to stumble upon this account (oddly, written by two people) of a progressive-rock fan finding music for his wedding. He ponders Jethro Tull selections, the Yes epic Close to the Edge and Genesis -- Peter Gabriel-era Genesis. The musical differences in the couple are apparent:

Good Lord. How can I marry this woman? She doesn't even own any songs in 5/4.

To be fair, this guy(s) has a great sense of humor about his own favorite genre of music. In fact, for all the supposed pretentiousness of prog-rock fans, I find they laugh easily about the music.

"Games People Play"? No, no, no. A marriage consecrated by the Alan
Parsons Project will end in divorce. I read that somewhere.

It's a fun read.

Of course, I hadn't realized Close to the Edge was allegedly about suicide, so I wound up reading a lengthy academic analysis of the piece that's frankly over my head. And I went to grad school. So maybe the joke's on me.