"21st Century Schizoid Man" | |
---|---|
Song by King Crimson | |
from the album In the Court of the Crimson King | |
A-side | "Epitaph" |
Released |
|
Recorded | 1, 20–21 August 1969 |
Genre | |
Length | 7:24 |
Label | Island |
Composer(s) | |
Lyricist(s) | Peter Sinfield |
Producer(s) | King Crimson |
"21st Century Schizoid Man" is a song by the progressive rock band King Crimson, released in 1969 as the opening track on their debut album In the Court of the Crimson King . Often regarded as the group's signature song, it has been described by Rolling Stone as "a seven-and-a-half-minute statement of purpose: rock power, jazz spontaneity, and classical precision harnessed in the service of a common aim."
The lyrics of "21st Century Schizoid Man" were written by Peter Sinfield and consist chiefly of disconnected phrases which present a series of images in a fixed pattern. The first line of each verse consists of two short phrases, while the second line is a single, more specific image, and the third is a longer phrase or a full sentence. The fourth and last line of each verse is the song's title. [1]
The song criticizes the Vietnam War with the lyrics "Politicians' funeral pyre/Innocence raped with napalm fire" and "death seed", which according to Sinfield refers to a "harvest of bad things" created by the use of Agent Orange. The line "Cat's foot, iron claw" refers to the French fable "The Monkey and the Cat". [1]
Before a live performance of the song on 15 December 1969 (later included on the live album Epitaph ), guitarist Robert Fripp sarcastically remarked that the song was dedicated to then-Vice President of the United States Spiro Agnew, "an American political personality whom we all know and love dearly." [2] [3]
"21st Century Schizoid Man" is notable for its heavily distorted vocals, sung by Greg Lake, and its instrumental middle section, called "Mirrors". Most of the song is in either 4/4 or 6/4 time, while the abstract chaotic outro, which was inspired by the Duke Ellington Orchestra, has no discernible meter. [1] The song has been described as heavy metal, [4] [5] jazz-rock and progressive rock, [6] and is considered to be an influence on the later development of progressive metal and industrial music. [7] [8]
Fripp's dissonant and almost atonal guitar solo on the song was rated number 82 in Guitar World 's list of the "Top 100 Greatest Guitar Solos" in 2008. [9] [10] Louder Sound ranked the solo at No. 56 in its "100 greatest guitar solos in rock" poll in 2018. [11] As he explained to Guitar Player magazine in 1974: "It's all picked down-up. The basis of the picking technique is to strike down on the on-beat and up on the off-beat. Then one must learn to reverse that. I'll generally use a downstroke on the down-beat except where I wish to accent a phrase in a particular way or create a certain kind of tension by confusing accents, in which case I might begin a run on the upstroke." [12]
In 2006, Pitchfork ranked "21st Century Schizoid Man" at number 104 on its list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s", with Joe Tangari calling it a "seven-minute hellstorm of gonzo guitar, shifting meters, and nasty sax". [13]
King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London. The band drew inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, blues, industrial, electronic, experimental music and new wave. They exerted a strong influence on the early 1970s progressive rock movement, including on contemporaries such as Yes and Genesis, and continue to inspire subsequent generations of artists across multiple genres. The band earned a large cult following.
In the Court of the Crimson King is the debut studio album by English progressive rock band King Crimson, released on 10 October 1969 by Island Records. The album is one of the earliest and most influential of the progressive rock genre, where the band combined the musical influences that rock music was founded upon with elements of jazz, classical, and symphonic music.
Lizard is the third studio album by British progressive rock band King Crimson, released on 11 December 1970 by Island Records in the UK, and in January 1971 by Atlantic Records in the United States and Canada. It was the second consecutive King Crimson album recorded by transitional line-ups of the group that did not perform live, following In the Wake of Poseidon. This is the only album by the band to feature singer and bass guitarist Gordon Haskell and drummer Andy McCulloch as official members of the band.
Live at Jacksonville is a live album by the band King Crimson, released through the King Crimson Collectors' Club in December 1998.
Live at the Marquee is a live album by the band King Crimson, released through the King Crimson Collectors' Club in October 1998.
The Night Watch is a live album by the English rock band King Crimson, recorded in Amsterdam in 1973, and released in 1997.
King Crimson Live in Hyde Park is a live album by the band King Crimson, released through the King Crimson Collectors' Club in September 2002.
Ladies of the Road is a live two CD set by the band King Crimson, recorded in 1971 & 1972, released in 2002, and reissued in 2008 in Japan. It is named after a song on the Islands album.
Heartbeat: The Abbreviated King Crimson is a compilation by the band King Crimson, originally intended for radio stations as a promo vehicle to accompany Frame by Frame: The Essential King Crimson 4-CD boxed set. It was released in 1991. The medley was prepared to present an intensive overview of the catalogue to Virgin Records.
Frame by Frame: The Essential King Crimson is a 4-CD box set by the band King Crimson, released in 1991.
Ian Richard McDonald was an English musician, composer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founder member of the progressive rock band King Crimson in 1968, as well as the hard rock band Foreigner in 1976.
21st Century Schizoid Band were a King Crimson alumnus group formed in 2002.
Official Bootleg V.1 is the first CD release by the 21st Century Schizoid Band. It features the band playing in the studio songs they had previously performed in King Crimson.
Live in Japan is the second "Official Bootleg" release by the 21st Century Schizoid Band. It was released on CD and DVD, the DVD containing the extra tracks "Tomorrow's People" and "If I Was", as well as bonus features.
"Starless" is a composition by English progressive rock band King Crimson. It is the final track on their seventh studio album, Red, released on 1 October 1974.
"Epitaph" is the third track on British progressive rock band King Crimson's 1969 album In the Court of the Crimson King. It was written by Robert Fripp, Ian McDonald, Greg Lake, and Michael Giles with lyrics written by Peter Sinfield.
The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson – Volume One – 1969–1974 is the first of two 4-CD sets of compilation albums, showcasing the entire production of the British progressive rock band King Crimson. This set of discs contains both studio and live performances ranging from the beginnings of the band in 1969 to their first dissolution in 1974.
The Compact King Crimson is a compilation of songs by the British progressive rock band King Crimson, selected by Robert Fripp from the then-two different eras of the band.
Blackjazz is the fifth studio album by the Norwegian band Shining, released through Indie Recordings on 18 January 2010. It marks a shift into the avant-garde metal genre, with extreme metal, industrial and progressive influences.
"I Talk to the Wind" is the second track from the British progressive rock band King Crimson's debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King (1969).
Coming right after the assaultive jazz-prog rock of '21st Century Schizoid Man'.
There follows an extended solo by guitarist Robert Fripp, who uses different amplification effects and plays sharply angled, almost atonal melody lines, creating dissonance and texture instead of simply displaying his technique.