Art Rock proper

Art Rock is the name we've given to four separate genres of popular music which incorporate art music and art influences; one of these genres is what we might call "Art Rock proper," the genre of art rock which is closest to traditional pop rock.

Art Rock proper includes the following genres of popular music:

• Psychedelia
• Art Rock of the 1970s (and late 1960s)
• (some) New Wave
• Post Punk
• (some) Alternative music
• (some) Indie music

What is Art Rock?

Art Rock proper is the most popular and most common genre of Art Rock the supragenre. It's the most common and most popular because it is the most conventional of the four genres. We can compare Art Rock proper with the other three genres to see how it is different:

	Art Rock	Prog Rock	Avant Rock	Post Rock
Songwriting	Art Rock songs are usually conventional pop rock songs with either unusual chords or chord progressions for pop rock or unconventional structures (no chorus, no bridge, etc) or both	Many Prog Rock songs deviate from conventional pop rock format by attempting to imitate Classical or Jazz compositions in terms of form or length or both	Avant Rock compositions often entirely violate or ignore pop rock song conventions	Post Rock compositions rarely resemble traditional pop rock songs
Lyrics	Art Rock songs often have lyrics inspired by literature, poetry, theatre or some other art form, or philosophy, rather than the traditional blues and pop influences	Prog Rock lyrics are often influenced by science fiction or fantasy, but can also be influenced by religion and philosophy	When Avant Rock songs have lyrics, they are often provided by preexisting field recordings [i.e. samples]. When the lyrics are written by the artist or band the can be influenced by any number of things but only usually express mockery of traditional pop rock song lyrics	Most Post Rock doesn't have lyrics
Arrangements and Performance	Art Rock songs incorporate the odd non-traditional rock instrument (keyboard synthesizers, horns, strings) in place of a conventional rock instrument but often in otherwise conventional arrangements	Prog Rock songs usually incorporate at least one unconventional rock instrument - but not always - and often feature solos from that instrument	Avant Rock songs use unconventional instruments in unconventional ways as well as conventional instruments often in unconventional ways. Some Avant Rock does not rely on traditional pop rock instrumentation and challenges the idea of whether or not it can be classified as pop rock.	Post Rock relies on some and sometimes many unconventional instruments and usually uses both conventional and unconventional instruments in unconventional ways, which is why the genre exists separately from the other three.
Production	Art Rock songs use unconventional production techniques (studio editing, effects) but the degree to which they are used and are noticeable vary by genre. (For example: psychedelic music features lots of effects and often obvious studio editing but new wave doesn't.)	Prog Rock bands rarely use unconventional production techniques (with the very notable exception of Pink Floyd) unless it's to stitch to parts of a suite or song together.	Avant Rock is differentiated from Art Rock and Prog Rock in part because of its reliance on studio editing and effects.	Many Post Rock bands use a lot of unconventional production techniques but, as with Art Rock, it depends upon the sub-genre in terms of the extent to which they are used and how obvious they are.