Well, I didn't say Magma were 'gay', but just not so overly hetero as other prog bands. Will think on it.
I suppose they are camp in a Laibach - look at us, we are very intense + serious + also slight militaristic + butch - sorta way
― R. Stornoway (Tom D.), Monday, 18 July 2011 10:00 (twelve years ago) link
Prog is a very intellectual kind of music
Yeah, you see, I think this is exactly why KJB thinks there isn't any gay prog, because it's the preserve of straight male nerds who need their music to be 'intellectual'. But the more I think about it the more I think he's probably wrong. I think it's only the 'I put on my robe and wizard hat' English AD&D playing prog that's like this, and there's a bunch of other stuff out there that's as omnisexual as anything else.
Though I'm probably still drunk from staying up way too late last night talking about this.
(Also, that Easy Going track I posted really is great - you should all listen to it,)
― emil.y, Monday, 18 July 2011 11:24 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah, I can't reconcile Emerson Lake & Palmer with this idea of sexually-repressed intellectual nerds.
― scraping wheatus off the wheel (NickB), Monday, 18 July 2011 11:26 (twelve years ago) link
Oh, and one more thing - total lol at Henry Cow being described as 'centre-left'.
― emil.y, Monday, 18 July 2011 11:27 (twelve years ago) link
Tarkus is pretty sexy, you know.
― emil.y, Monday, 18 July 2011 11:28 (twelve years ago) link
This is what you get if you google search "Gay Tarkus": http://artcloud.com/works/dbermangallery_Faith-Gay_Tarkus
― emil.y, Monday, 18 July 2011 11:30 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah, you see, I think this is exactly why KJB thinks there isn't any gay prog, because it's the preserve of straight male nerds who need their music to be 'intellectual'.
If all gay people are supposed to be disco dancers, then I see that as a very typical stereotype, only a stereotype that is not only widespread among heterosexuals, but perhaps just as much within gay people.
― Hongroe (Geir Hongro), Monday, 18 July 2011 11:54 (twelve years ago) link
How do you jump from 'not a straight male D&D playing nerd' to 'must be a disco dancer, then'?
― emil.y, Monday, 18 July 2011 11:58 (twelve years ago) link
it's the preserve of straight male nerds who need their music to be 'intellectual'.
Compare with modern classical composers, who are a pretty intellectual lot by and large, no shortage of teh gayz there
― R. Stornoway (Tom D.), Monday, 18 July 2011 12:01 (twelve years ago) link
Another one that probably doesn't count - Silmaril. Not really prog but psych-folk, mind you. I think I just associate them in my head with prog because of the Tolkein thing.
― emil.y, Monday, 18 July 2011 12:47 (twelve years ago) link
Also, not necessarily gay but transgender: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dee_Palmer
― emil.y, Monday, 18 July 2011 12:52 (twelve years ago) link
Pretty sure there were a lot of gay composers in the good old classical days too. Only it was more of a taboo back then. The ones from the 17th and 18th century sure looked very feminine, although that had just as much to do with trends and fashions among posh people back then of course.
― Hongroe (Geir Hongro), Monday, 18 July 2011 13:56 (twelve years ago) link
I had high expectations when I clicked on "Gay prog - does it exist? [...] last updated Monday, July 18, 2011 9:56 AM by Hongroe (Geir Hongro)" and still they managed to be exceeded
― Spotify, Spotify me (DJP), Monday, 18 July 2011 14:08 (twelve years ago) link
just the musicians
That's definitely not what I had in mind for this thread. I'm looking for prog that sounds like a snort of poppers, like a chant of "butch queen up in pumps." Doesn't matter if the musicians are gay or not. Sparks is an excellent suggestion! Prolly the closest we'll come unless Jobriath solo counts.
If all gay people are supposed to be disco dancers
Would it were so...
And lookie what a search for "Robert John Godfrey" + "gay" turned up - another thread on gay prog!
http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6610
― Kevin John Bozelka, Monday, 18 July 2011 14:44 (twelve years ago) link
See, I'm interested in all aspects of the question, really - musically, in terms of subject matter, and yeah, personally as well. Not entirely sure we're likely to come to any conclusions about, well, anything really, but I find it interesting.
― emil.y, Monday, 18 July 2011 14:50 (twelve years ago) link
Well yeah I guess I'd be mildly interested to discover some progger is gay. But waaaaay more interested in prog that's suitable for bathhouses.
― Kevin John Bozelka, Monday, 18 July 2011 15:00 (twelve years ago) link
Mexican prog group MCC, were fronted by a openly gay singer, and some of their songs had gay themes ("Angel de Sodoma").
http://ritornomiracolo.blogspot.com/2009/10/rock-mexicano-m-c-c.html
― Monkey tennis? (Solrac), Monday, 18 July 2011 15:17 (twelve years ago) link
not really prog i guess but i once watched a gay porn flick from the '70s that used "one of these days" by pink floyd in the soundtrack. it was pretty intense!
― jesus and mary chapin carpenter (donna rouge), Monday, 18 July 2011 16:14 (twelve years ago) link
Joe Z. may fall under not really prog and not really gay, but the phallic use of his instrument in the photo made me think it might get us on the right track.
― bernerrrrr! berrrrrnowwww.... (Eazy), Monday, 18 July 2011 16:29 (twelve years ago) link
There was definitely some glam/prog crossover going on in the '70s, along the lines of Sparks (who weren't all really that prog -- not as prog as Queen to my ears), but maybe more so. Pavlov's Dog? Mr. Big (the mid '70s band on Arista, not the later hair metal one)? Esperanto? Sailor? Zolar X? Skyhooks? And Roxy Music certainly had their swishy and proggy moments, right? But if Queen aren't the best example of this, I'm not really sure why.
― xhuxk, Monday, 18 July 2011 17:13 (twelve years ago) link
That's definitely not what I had in mind for this thread. I'm looking for prog that sounds like a snort of poppers, like a chant of "butch queen up in pumps." Doesn't matter if the musicians are gay or not.
Ah, well in that case, what about Gong? Gentle Giant? Some of the German Bands like Amon Duul 2 and Can started getting more glammed out in the late '70s and doing disco-y stuff.
― lizard tails, a self-regenerating food source for survival (wk), Monday, 18 July 2011 17:14 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah, there was certainly prog/Eurodisco crossover, too. In fact, it's pretty obvious that prog helped inspire some of those longer Eurodisco suites (and some of the Chicago house guys were prog fans, too.)
Also, if we're talking real life biography, Doug Pinnick from King's X has long been of the closet, right?
― xhuxk, Monday, 18 July 2011 17:17 (twelve years ago) link
And Mountains Come Out Of The Sky: The Illustrated History Of Prog Rock lists Bowie's Low as the 236th best prog album of all time in the appendix in the back. (Not sure where Camel, Caravan, Happy The Man, etc., fit into all of this.)
― xhuxk, Monday, 18 July 2011 17:21 (twelve years ago) link
And Hello People? (Or is mime-rock not gay and/or prog enough?)
― xhuxk, Monday, 18 July 2011 17:26 (twelve years ago) link
And hell, Peter Gabriel used to dress up as a flower on stage back in Foxtrot days! How straight is that??
― xhuxk, Monday, 18 July 2011 17:30 (twelve years ago) link
*sigh*
― Disneyland Purgatory (Ówen P.), Monday, 18 July 2011 17:46 (twelve years ago) link
No point trying to change the minds of people who have decided that all white music = straight. This in spite of the fact that the most homophobic genres in existence are hip-hop and dancehall reggae, at least judging from lyrical content and quotes from the actual musicians.
― Hongroe (Geir Hongro), Monday, 18 July 2011 17:53 (twelve years ago) link
No mention of Aluminu Group yet - I'd think they'd qualify
― BlackIronPrison, Monday, 18 July 2011 17:56 (twelve years ago) link
duh - Aluminum Group
― BlackIronPrison, Monday, 18 July 2011 17:57 (twelve years ago) link
I've just gone through the whole thread again *twice* and I honestly can't spot anybody mentioning 'white music', never mind suggesting that such a thing is invariably heterosexual. A little help, anyone?
― emil.y, Monday, 18 July 2011 17:58 (twelve years ago) link
No point trying to change the minds of people who have decided that all white music = straight good music = primarily melodic .
fyp
― Josef K-Doe (WmC), Monday, 18 July 2011 18:02 (twelve years ago) link
opened this thread to say that if you're counting 00s stuff then Extra Life is kinda prog and has lyrics which are at least sexually ambiguous, but apparently the thread starter didn't actually want that, so I'm just going to stand in the corner humming "White Music" by Crack The Sky
― the ascent of nyan (a passing spacecadet), Monday, 18 July 2011 18:45 (twelve years ago) link
I know I've mentioned Orchestra Luna in a dozen or more threads, one of my favorite bands ever. I don't know if they were exactly prog, but there was certainly a gay sensibility at work. They got me into showtunes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emP_DxA1KzE
― An influential prophet from Denton, Texas (Dan Peterson), Monday, 18 July 2011 18:54 (twelve years ago) link
Why does black people never want to get all yessed out?
― lizard tails, a self-regenerating food source for survival (wk), Monday, 18 July 2011 18:55 (twelve years ago) link
Larry Heard, Marshall Jefferson were/are big YES fans.
― Vendo Caramelos A Veces Sin Dinero (Capitaine Jay Vee), Monday, 18 July 2011 18:58 (twelve years ago) link
If this thread ventures to say that "prog band ____" is gay because of romantic themes, stage costumes and a aong that mentions a rainbow then I'm out of here.
That's why the only question should be about whether any prog musicians are gay. And so far we got a Mexican prog band that I've never heard of and maybe a prog-metal band but obviously it would be the metal bringing in teh gay
― could've been a baller (CaptainLorax), Monday, 18 July 2011 19:24 (twelve years ago) link
so it's not fair to bring up camp sensibility?
― lizard tails, a self-regenerating food source for survival (wk), Monday, 18 July 2011 19:28 (twelve years ago) link
Kodwo Eshun is a huge Yes fan iirc. xxxp
Can't believe I forgot about King's X...
― in 77 everything is fine (Drugs A. Money), Monday, 18 July 2011 21:07 (twelve years ago) link
Also, this myth about right wing prog musicians, I know about nobody who is a prog musician and right wing, and who hasn't been a member of either Strawbs or Rush.
― Hongroe (Geir Hongro), Monday, 18 July 2011 22:19 (twelve years ago) link
(well, OK, Phil Collins, but that entire story was apparently based upon a misinterpretation)
― Hongroe (Geir Hongro), Monday, 18 July 2011 22:20 (twelve years ago) link
Still waiting for Matt to spill the beans on RJG.
― solfege made me schizophrenic (MaresNest), Monday, 18 July 2011 22:23 (twelve years ago) link
(xxpost) I had to stop reading Geoff Downes' Twitter. Some of his Tweets smelled of RW tendencies.
― Vendo Caramelos A Veces Sin Dinero (Capitaine Jay Vee), Monday, 18 July 2011 22:31 (twelve years ago) link
Not really sure if I count Geoff Downes as prog even though he used to be a member of Yes. (I don't count Asia as prog even though Prog magazine does). Didn't know he was right wing, but even though few artists are, some will be of course.
― Hongroe (Geir Hongro), Monday, 18 July 2011 22:34 (twelve years ago) link
I wouldn't say he's "right wing", just that some of his Tweets were kind of jingoistic. Still love the dude.
― Vendo Caramelos A Veces Sin Dinero (Capitaine Jay Vee), Monday, 18 July 2011 22:37 (twelve years ago) link
Ahh - here he is blogging during the current Yes tour. Not sure if this is the right thread but I'll post here anyway. He's definitely patriotic (no crime) and addresses said "jingoism"
― Vendo Caramelos A Veces Sin Dinero (Capitaine Jay Vee), Monday, 18 July 2011 22:41 (twelve years ago) link
http://yesworld.com/blog/
Yikes, what a shithead
― solfege made me schizophrenic (MaresNest), Monday, 18 July 2011 22:46 (twelve years ago) link
uh, Magma
― lizard tails, a self-regenerating food source for survival (wk), Monday, 18 July 2011 23:30 (twelve years ago) link
this seems kinda close (to gay prog):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1j-6vRykFs
― in 77 everything is fine (Drugs A. Money), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 03:02 (twelve years ago) link
There are plenty of female-fronted prog bands. For centre-left (or even just left) prog, see Henry Cow.
― ban this sick stunt (anagram), Monday, 18 July 2011 17:46 (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
Oooh, cheers for that (emil.y, I saw your counterpoint)
― invite ← VERB (Schlafsack), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 03:12 (twelve years ago) link
what about Gong? Gentle Giant? Some of the German Bands like Amon Duul 2 and Can started getting more glammed out in the late '70s and doing disco-y stuff.
Which albums/moments of theirs are most glammed/discoed out?
And yes, Queen absolutely count. And duh, of course, Roxy Music. Totally forgot about them.
Off to city hall to legally change my middle name to "Romantic Themes."
― Kevin John Bozelka, Tuesday, 19 July 2011 15:21 (twelve years ago) link
*restrains self from correcting Hongro*
― One Big Craigo, Full Of Bad Boingos (Craigo Boingo), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 20:52 (twelve years ago) link
Well, Can had a disco hit "I Want More", plus the reprise ".........And More" on their album Flow Motion. Their album Landed has a vaguely Roxy Music feel to it too. The songs Sunday Jam and Aspectacle are pretty disco-y as well.
But then disco itself has pretty strong roots in progressive rock. David Mancuso was basically a hippie dude who played a lot of progressive rock and fusion types of records at the Loft (like Henri Texier, Babe Ruth, etc)
And lots of the later 70s ADII albums had kind of a roxy music or disco influence.
― lizard tails, a self-regenerating food source for survival (wk), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 22:18 (twelve years ago) link
plus if you're counting glam and roxy music, then there's a whole huge crossover between prog and glam. Wizzard, Eno solo, some Todd Rundgren (plus the Hall and Oates album he produced), etc
― lizard tails, a self-regenerating food source for survival (wk), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 22:31 (twelve years ago) link
hmmmm....the magma/vander nazi stuff itt is bumming me out
― van ingalls wilder (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 22:33 (twelve years ago) link
wrt to Peart:
in Roadshow With Drums, his recent book, he definitely goes out of his way to criticize fox news and the bush administration
― van ingalls wilder (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 22:34 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah, there were some blatantly anti-Republican lyrics on Snakes and Arrows:http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/rush/thewaythewindblows.html
Hasn't he been a bit of an environmentalist for a while? "Natural Science" seems both environmentalist and at least anti-commercialism in the arts. "Nobody's Hero" was obviously anti-homophobia, even if it was crap. Afaik, they've never really taken any hard stance on Canadian politics, which may have been to their benefit.
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 23:50 (twelve years ago) link
I mean, the strongest consistent stance through their lyrics seems to be atheism, beyond just a general belief in the individual, which could swing in a right or a left direction.
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 23:54 (twelve years ago) link
Afaik, they've never really taken any hard stance on Canadian politics
Apart from "The Trees".
The Christian Vander=nazi stuff is best forgotten about I think, I would guess he was into the iron discipline, megalomania and hell, the uniforms. Doubt if he was really into the idea of genocide tbh.
― /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\etc (Matt #2), Wednesday, 20 July 2011 00:25 (twelve years ago) link
Anyway back to the question, here's a picture of Omega for you all
http://retronom.hu/files/images/kepek/eredeti/91/1978_Omega_lemez.jpg
― /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\etc (Matt #2), Wednesday, 20 July 2011 00:27 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4vmlB7L6mQ
― cold gettin' dumb (m coleman), Wednesday, 20 July 2011 00:35 (twelve years ago) link
Well yeah, he presumably thinks that the genocide didn't really happen. But at any rate, even if he isn't an anti-semite I think it's fair to say that he's right wing.
― lizard tails, a self-regenerating food source for survival (wk), Wednesday, 20 July 2011 00:44 (twelve years ago) link
Apart from "The Trees"
Ha, fair point, an explicit anti-maple manifesto.
Seriously, what I meant was that while Rush has definitely recorded many songs with broad philosophical/political messages, or even songs about particular issues, they've never recorded anything that seems to be a direct comment on something that was actually going on in politics in Canada at the time. For example, I don't think they've ever publicly voiced any clear opinions in favour of one party or another or spoken out against a particular government policy, even in the way that "The Way the Wind Blows" seems like a direct comment on the Bush administration. (I'd honestly be hard-pressed to even guess which way they voted.)
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Wednesday, 20 July 2011 01:33 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/321/cover_4158112832017_r.jpg
― the man from P.O.R.L.O.C.K. (Drugs A. Money), Sunday, 11 February 2018 04:06 (six years ago) link
i don't know. i guess there's this band, who are a kind of prog rock/italo cross. named after the henry cow song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1Q7Wj8IQTQ
― ziggy the ginhead (rushomancy), Sunday, 11 February 2018 04:20 (six years ago) link
xpost "Diamond Song" is good!
― vicious almond beliefs (crüt), Sunday, 11 February 2018 04:22 (six years ago) link
yes but it's not on that album
nothing on that album is good
and that's coming from me, ILX's #1 Starcastle fan
― frogbs, Sunday, 11 February 2018 04:23 (six years ago) link
also, that cover is straight as hell!!!
Coil mentioned upthread but their alumnus Thighpaulsandra should have probably had all his album covers posted here already - he is p much Queen Prog
Also, arguably one of the best exponents of this has posted to this thread!
― imago, Sunday, 11 February 2018 11:14 (six years ago) link
Geir?
― Mark G, Sunday, 11 February 2018 11:26 (six years ago) link
well anyway furry prog is better than gay prog (see: the complete works of bob drake)
cover of "reel to real" looks like they're trying to out-"love beach" "love beach", and the cover of "love beach" is definitely not gay. the guy wearing the tiny little sailor shirt just comes across as regrettable, not really any more "gay" than that fireballet album cover is "trans"
― ziggy the ginhead (rushomancy), Sunday, 11 February 2018 12:11 (six years ago) link
O yeah Bob Drake is the nicest guy and a sterling representative for furkind
― imago, Sunday, 11 February 2018 12:25 (six years ago) link
omg how did we not mention Yamantaka // Sonic Titan yet
― imago, Wednesday, 11 April 2018 17:57 (six years ago) link
Actually.... prog is probably more androgynous than gay. Prog is a very intellectual kind of music and the entire intellectual culture is more androgynous. Not stereotypically male as in fast cars, girls with big boobs and lots of energy and rock'n'roll riffs, but not really "gay" either. Just typically intellectually androgynous.
― Hongroe (Geir Hongro), Monday, 18 July 2011 08:28 (six years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Even though I'm not even sure it's him, classic Geir.
― Buff Jeckley (Tom D.), Wednesday, 11 April 2018 18:16 (six years ago) link
the new Rhododendron :)
― imago, Thursday, 10 June 2021 08:31 (three years ago) link