Gong & Punk

Here And Now arexa band that plays Prog Space-Punk. Gong collaborated with them in 1977 on their Floating Anarchy album. Gong and Punk is not such a far-fetched ideal.

A lot of punk rockers claimed Gong as an influence.

It'd be a massive generalization to say punk is "anti-hippie". I've never met a punk who didn't love Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators. I think punk was more reacting against how many of the hippies either gave up when the going got rough in the 1970s, or those who ended up at influential positions in academia and the arts became assimilated by the same kind of "establishment" they originally opposed.

People like the late Daevid Allen from Gong would then be largely exempt from those criticisms. Not to mention that the ideology of the crust punk subgenre could be categorized as basically the hippie movement liberated from 1960s nostalgia and the drugs.

Is it really necessary to use that many beer toasting smileys?

I don't know why Camembert Électrique should be considered punk ... it's typical early Gong music (space rock, psychedelic, prog).

Toaster Mantis wrote: ... People like the late Daevid Allen from Gong would then be largely exempt from those criticisms. Not to mention that the ideology of the crust punk subgenre could be categorized as basically the hippie movement liberated from 1960s nostalgia and the drugs.

Very tough topic and discussion. But we're forgetting that Daevid was also a "beat poet", and as such, he did not distinguish between one thing or another and there is enough work of his that could easily be defined as "punk", even if it were just the pointed lyrics.

All in all, for me, the word is a gross representation of the whole thing, and more of a promotional/commercial usage for the term, than it really was in reality or concept. And then, they become RICH nice boys and girls, and appreciated when they are in their 50's and 60's. I really do not like to label artistic movements, since they are so different, and there are too many distinctions between them, but history uses these terms as a way to describe their livelihood.

A more modern example today would be rap. Distinguishing the rap details kinda takes away its very edge and strength. It's like naked, the whole thing is meaningless, and I do not wish to think that of any music or art. Same with "punk".

Not to mention that Hawkwind have a direct connection to punk through Motörhead, whose influence on early-1980s British punk groups like Amebix, Discharge and GBH is hard to get around.

As a matter of fact, in that light crust punk is ideologically speaking just Motörhead's origins in Hawkwind going full circle like I mentioned a couple posts above. Especially if you consider its influence on sludge metal, which is often overtly psychedelic in sound.

Of course, Hillage's famous appearance with Sham 69 at the Reading Festival showed the alliance with punk...'1988 Activator' off Side 4 of Live Herald was inspired by this event. 

Nik Turner - the woodwinds player of Hawkwind fame - his Inner City Unit fused Punk with Space-Prog sensibilities. And lest we not forget that many of these Punk exponents were often closet Prog-heads, esp. Krautrock fiends.......
........ Bloody typos............'gawkwind' I typed........

Edited by Tom Ozric - January 04 2016 at 23:23

Depends on which albums you're talking about. The S/T, Hall of the Mountain Grill and Warrior on the Edge of Time are probably their most prog albums.