Gay prog - does it exist?

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.

yeah, speaking as an intellectual i personally haven't knocked one out in over 5 years

geir bomb

Just typically intellectually androgynous.

In other words, women + gays not allowed

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

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,)

Yeah, I can't reconcile Emerson Lake & Palmer with this idea of sexually-repressed intellectual nerds.

Oh, and one more thing - total lol at Henry Cow being described as 'centre-left'.

Tarkus is pretty sexy, you know.

This is what you get if you google search "Gay Tarkus": http://artcloud.com/works/dbermangallery_Faith-Gay_Tarkus

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.

How do you jump from 'not a straight male D&D playing nerd' to 'must be a disco dancer, then'?

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

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.

Also, not necessarily gay but transgender: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dee_Palmer

Compare with modern classical composers, who are a pretty intellectual lot by and large, no shortage of teh gayz there

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.)

And Hello People? (Or is mime-rock not gay and/or prog enough?)

And hell, Peter Gabriel used to dress up as a flower on stage back in Foxtrot days! How straight is that??

*sigh*

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.

No mention of Aluminu Group yet - I'd think they'd qualify

duh - Aluminum Group

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?

No point trying to change the minds of people who have decided that all white music = straight good music = primarily melodic .

fyp

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

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

Why does black people never want to get all yessed out?

Larry Heard, Marshall Jefferson were/are big YES fans.

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

so it's not fair to bring up camp sensibility?

Kodwo Eshun is a huge Yes fan iirc. xxxp

Can't believe I forgot about King's X...

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.

(well, OK, Phil Collins, but that entire story was apparently based upon a misinterpretation)

Still waiting for Matt to spill the beans on RJG.

(xxpost) I had to stop reading Geoff Downes' Twitter. Some of his Tweets smelled of RW tendencies.

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.

I wouldn't say he's "right wing", just that some of his Tweets were kind of jingoistic. Still love the dude.

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"

http://yesworld.com/blog/

(promising myself that's the last time i will state the obvious)

ok, yeah that is pretty obv but what i want to know is if they were queer or not. them, not me. me, i'm not so sure.

And then there's the swastikas on the cover of the first album

um, yes. but this swastika is also being crushed by a giant dinosaur creature.

Plus I kind of trust that Daevid Allen isn't lying about Vander having nazi flags and hitler pictures up in his apartment

Must have led to some awkward conversations when Stella's parents came over for tea

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."

*restrains self from correcting Hongro*

Which albums/moments of theirs are most glammed/discoed out?

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.

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

hmmmm....the magma/vander nazi stuff itt is bumming me out

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

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.

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.

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.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4vmlB7L6mQ

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.

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.

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.)

http://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/321/cover_4158112832017_r.jpg

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

xpost "Diamond Song" is good!

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

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!

Geir?

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"

O yeah Bob Drake is the nicest guy and a sterling representative for furkind

omg how did we not mention Yamantaka // Sonic Titan yet

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.

the new Rhododendron :)