LogFAQs > #957055010

51. King Crimson 21st Century Schizoid Man (1969)
from the album In the Court of the Crimson King

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OvW8Z7kiws

Key lyrics:
Nothing hes got he really needs

To simply label 21st Century Schizoid Man a progressive rock track misses out on its most definitive element. After a bigger than life opening, King Crimson descend into an extended jazz-rock jam session. Now, jazz and rock are such expansive genres that few combinations come out the same. This particular version resonates because it pulls from the most chaotic brand of jazz. This is as fiery as Minguss most brutal pieces, all while letting the typical rock instruments play their part. Most rock songs pull from the blues, making this a perfect window into a world where jazz instead served as a central foundation.

21st Century Schizoid Man has two distinct spirits, yet they never lose track of each other. By returning to the opening section, the instrumental break serves as an extended bridge. The finale erupts from this section as if nothing has happened, bigger and louder than when it started. The vocal sections are the polar opposite of the instrumental break, drawing out notes for grand emphasis. The juxtaposition of the two makes a truly intimidating atmosphere to be confronted with a self-assured madman, tossed into the abyss, only to be dragged back out again. Both chaos and structure are used for violence.

Many progressive rock tracks immediately age themselves our visions of the future tend to be marked by the time those visions took place. 21st Century Schizoid Man, however, has grown more impressive with age. The distorted vocals conjure up a mad general, but the particular battleground could be any moment in time or space. With so few bands pursuing this mix of jazz and rock, nothing has supplanted it. Many bands chase after a cool image, only for one generations idea of cool to become dorky to the next. 21st Century Schizoid Man speaks to such a pervasive idea to have never lost its cool.

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My top 100 games (with write-ups): https://foolfantastic.com/top-100-video-games-project/