Prog and Politics

The musicians you mentioned were all afilliated with the left.

It seems there were very few with right wing tendancies.

I know Phil Collins was a Tory, and once said he would leave the UK if Labour got into power, as he believed he would have to pay more tax.

Prog is not that political, and its probably better that way. I think one of the aims of prog was to avoid politics and to provide some escapism from all that sh!t.

Actually a good part of Kraurock groups in the late 60's and early 70's were so socially conscious in their text that the press started to talk about Polit Rock. Among which were consider as such Amon Duul and Amon Duul I as well as Kluster/Cluster but also Can . All were closely related to left-wing political ideas sometimes even at the extreme left. Of course Amon Duul evolved out of a hippy commune (much like GonG and Grateful Dead did - or at least were the focal points of a commune), so there was of course not much a chance they would be right wing capitalists.

As for right wing politics, they appear not too present in  rock lyrics - except for extreme right/fascist in some hard core groups and also except for christian rock - no link between the two intended. But the fact that some people will do anything to succed (boys band , Girlies teen stars, a lot of New Wave - Human League -  and Hair Metal - Bon Jovi - groups) cashing in on their looks, this was capitalism/opportunism and therefore hidden political ideas. This might also translate into thefact that most musicians are afraid to appear right-wing , but is rock stardom as such with all its excesses not right wing?

Just a few thoughts and no political intentions meant.

Due to Peter's political inclination they had acouple of lyrics that talked about revolutions and social issues like The Knife and Get 'em Out by Friday, later without Gebriel they released One for the Vine (Even when I read on another forum that this last song is about Moses, something I don't believe).

But they had the good taste to tell fiction stories and not actual themes like other do, using music as a political instrument.

Iván

Syzygy wrote: There's actually quite a strong thread of left wing/anarchist thinking in a lot of the original prog acts, although very few were explicit about it. Certainly prog's tory boys kept their odious views very much to themselves in the 70s, although they started to come out in the 80s during the cultural devastation of the Thatcher/Reagan years. This is slightly odd, given that the majority of prog fans are small 'c' conservatives at heart, as can be seen from many of the posts on this forum.

I guess you would have to understand the world at the time the prog bands were writing songs or leading up to it.  The counterculture very much influenced prog especially the anti war outcry in both Europe and The United States.

John Gargo wrote: Gotta love those Neil Peart lyrics!!! Live for yourself -- there's no one else More worth living for Begging hands and bleeding hearts will only cry out for more

Well done John,21 yr old and already a cynical bastard.

What about Peart's lyrics in Territories:

The whole wide world
An endless universe
Yet we keep looking through
The eyeglass in reverse
Don't feed the people
But we feed the machines
Can't really feel
What international means

Better the pride that resides
In a citizen of the world
Than the pride that divides
When a colourful rag is unfurled

libertine or selfish?