Thinking politically / socially-engaged songs (4)

Saperlipopette! wrote: I guess listening to De Futura make me think that the future doesn't look to bright. Much like Pioneers I would save it for a more futuristic/sci-fi or maybe Post-Apolaclyptic themed poll.

Hi,

Edited by moshkito - October 02 2024 at 07:10

Saperlipopette! wrote: Here's the text about De Futura on the back of the Üdü Ẁüdü album cover translated to english: The people of Ork surround us, but we can't see them. These people are a type of being whose relation to machines is like that which machines have to us. Only a voyage through time enables us to see these beings. De Futura is the story of this voyage through time, a voyage which shows us how to stop the illusory movement of passing time which prevents us from seeing. This voyage is a magical and enchanting one - of course, this is on the condition that one really wished to live this adventure, to persevere in it and to let it carry one away. Behind the apparent harshness of this music, all is silence

David_D wrote: Sean Trane wrote: Not sure Sci-Fi oriented lyrics should be considered as social or politically-engaged,.....  As I wrote in the thread "Prog about nightmarish technocracy?": David_D wrote: Besides the overtly political Prog, and according to Edward Macan's Rocking the Classics (1997, p. 69, 73), symbols drawn from mythology, fantasy and science fiction literature, as well as a host of sacred texts from the past have been used in Progressive Rock lyrics as symbols of resistance and protest in two ways: 1. to symbolize an idealized society toward which we might strive, or 2. to symbolize a nightmarish technocracy which the hippies believed is on the verge of overwhelming us.  So I think Sci-Fi lyrics can be considered as socially/politically engaged, but best of course to confirm it in specific cases. We should definitely be cautious here, as it's a matter of giving credits where the credits should be given.

Sean Trane wrote: In that case, 2112 should be considered. Less certain about Cygnus, however; but tracks like The Trees (US oaks and Canadian Maples) or Subdivisions are also eligible.

Saperlipopette! wrote: I do not believe tht Rush ever were right-wing as such though. Neil Peart describes himself as a left-leaning libertarian. So I my impression is the he is not typically a leftie in the free will, individual vs the collective sort of questions.

Sean Trane wrote: But Peart had it wrong: the Pistols only cared about getting their share of the sunshine and would've killed mom & grandma to achieve it. They were 50% junkies anyways: Sid Vicious and Nick Kunt (the writer), whom he replaced. Other punk bands were more credible (though The Jam's Paul Weller was openly pro-Bitcher)

Edited by David_D - October 03 2024 at 11:53

Always good to have views about Britain from people who were not born there and have never lived there . I mean I could talk about Belgium if you like , that would be just as meaningful. I grew up in Swindon (generally seen as the ultimate average town in the UK and so companies used to do all sorts of market research there as  a result). It was predominantly a labour voting working class town until the seventies. It then started to change in the 70's moving away from heavy industry of the past (the railways workshop was one of the biggest in the UK and links with Isambard Kingdom Brunel were strong) towards the so called 'Service Industry' (Nationwide set up their headquarters there and it's still around) , it did retain a link with the past with the Honda car factory although that closed a few years ago post Brexit.  All this somewhat mirrors the country in a way. It's a country that went through massive change in then seventies. The then labour government at that time lost it's grip when the Unions striked at every turn bringing the country to its knees. This is course brought forward the rise of Maggie Thatcher , a divisive figure to many, she brought some order to the chaos and helped re-establish rule of law. ( as an aside I strongly recommend the recent TV series Sherwood (season 1) which is set against the back drop of the war between the Yorkshire miners, Thatchers government with the less militant Nottinghamshire miners unions caught somewhere in between during the early 80's. It's fascinating stuff.)