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James Lee View Drop Down
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Points: 3525 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Band with the most literary references?
    Posted: December 22 2004 at 06:31

Inspired by the "80's King Crimson" thread...thinking about "Neil and Jack and Me"*, and I started to wonder who might be the reigning champs of literary name-dropping.

So let loose with your picks for songs based on (or referencing) literature. Just nailing down some of the references on the first three King Crimson albums should keep us going for a few pages. And I'm willing to accept Iron Maiden submissions as well...they managed to do Coleridge, Frank Herbert, Adam Sillitoe, Alastair MacLean, and more!

*as many of you know, it's about Neil Cassady and Jack Kerouac.

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Points: 59 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 22 2004 at 06:45

 So interesting ,i also noticed this point of view before ,Tom Sawyer of Rush which was inspired by Mark Twain's novel or album Tales of Mystery and Imagination of Alan Parsons Project which was inspired by Edgar Alan Poe's poems ...

 If one had read those literature ,when listening to the inspiring music of Progressive Rock then...  vivid pictures and visions !

 
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Points: 760 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 22 2004 at 07:05
Does the bible count? as that may result in a near endless list
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Points: 2234 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 22 2004 at 07:07
Megadeth use tonnes of bible quotes. Their new album, "The System Failed" has a heavy reading of Psalm 23. i think almost all their albums have biblical quotes and references
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Points: 2234 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 22 2004 at 07:09
P I N K    F L O Y D
T H E    P I P E R    A T     T H E    G A T E S     O F     D A W N

a chapter from wind in the willows

"sheep" also has a verse from psalm 23 in it tho the megadeth version is quite different

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Points: 2779 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 22 2004 at 07:23

I think Rush are probably up there as Peart is always heavily influenced by what he reads and what he sees in contemporary culture. The Belew era of Crimson seem to have a similar literary bent.

Roger Waters uses much from both history (The Final Cut) and modern society, Radio KAOS being a prime example which explored aspects of the UK coal miners strike back in the mid 80's and used it as a backdrop for the album's main theme.
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Points: 16130 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 22 2004 at 07:37

Rush, for there work inspired by Ayn Rand, Coleridge, Twain, and the guy who wrote the poem that inspired 'Red Barchetta' cant remember his name..

 
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Points: 12799 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 22 2004 at 08:31
Tolkien has perhaps influenced most knowingly, and perhaps Shakespeare and the Bible influenced most unknowingly.

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Points: 5502 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 22 2004 at 08:39

I think Shadow Hammer covered/interpreted Tolkiens entire works.

.

 
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Points: 7559 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 22 2004 at 13:33

"Fugazi" mixes up Coleridge and Shakespeare - and you find all sorts of literary references in much of Fish's work with or without Marillion.
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Points: 3525 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 22 2004 at 15:34

Originally posted by Metropolis Metropolis wrote:

Does the bible count? as that may result in a near endless list

That's a good point...I think we can leave out the Bible, just because so many of the quotes and concepts have become deeply entrenched in language over the centuries. One could make the same case for Shakespeare...there's endless songs about Romeo and Juliet which don't quite inspire a discussion of the Bard.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 22 2004 at 15:55
Bo Hansonns' Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings
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Rob The Good View Drop Down
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Points: 476 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 22 2004 at 19:53
I don't know if they have the most references, but Genesis certainly have quite a few if one looks hard enough: I think "Supper's Ready" refers to the "New Jerusalem" which is a reference to Romantic poetry of the early 19th century..I think "Jerusalem" was a poem by Blake (also set to music, and covered by ELP). "The Lamb...." has a song called "The Lamia" which is a reference to a Greek mythological character who ate her children, and developed a taste for kiddies...in fact, Greek mothers used to use this to keep their kids in line! There are many more references obviously, but I haven't really delved deep enough into the subject. There would certainly be some biblical stuff. Sorry people! I'm a literature fiend! :)
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Points: 5187 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 22 2004 at 20:03

Rush have many many literary references.

A whole web page full!

http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/RushInspirations.htm

 



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Points: 5187 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 22 2004 at 20:03
Originally posted by Blacksword Blacksword wrote:

Rush, for there work inspired by Ayn Rand, Coleridge, Twain, and the guy who wrote the poem that inspired 'Red Barchetta' cant remember his name..

 

http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/fosternicedrive .htm

Richard S Foster, dear boy!Wink



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Points: 7003 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 22 2004 at 20:15

Genesis also quote T.S. Eliot more or less verbatim on 'Cinema Show', borrowing one of the passages Ezra Pound edited out of 'The Waste Land'.

Peter Blegvad, lyricist and sometime singer/guitarist with Henry Cow, Slapp Happy and some solo work, crams in all kinds of arcane references and generally wears his erudition lightly. Ezra Pound, Rimbaud, Basho and Wittgenstein all feature in his work, but not in the same song.

 
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frenchie View Drop Down
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Points: 2234 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 22 2004 at 21:53
blind guardian wrote a song called lord of the rings
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Points: 19535 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 23 2004 at 00:27

Genesis:

White Mountain: Based on White Fang by Jack London

Supper's Ready: Book of Revelations

Squonk: "All the Kings horses and all the King's men could never put a smile on his face" Squonk in reference to a famous Nursery Rhyme.

Supper's Ready: "The Pied Piper takes his children underground"

Fountain of Salmacis: Based in Greek Mythology, the legend of Hermafroditus.

The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway: The whole album has a clear inspiration in The Trial by Franz Kafka.

Iván



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maani View Drop Down
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Points: 2632 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 23 2004 at 01:00

I must agree with Rob, Cert and Ivan: Genesis and Marillion (i.e., primarily Gabriel and Fish) probably use more literary references than any other prog writers.  Most are overt, but some are extremely subtle (especially with Fish).

Gentle Giant also used myriad literary references, including (admittedly indirectly) the name of the band.

Peace.
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Points: 854 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 23 2004 at 02:53

I think those 3 haven't been said already:

Camel: Nimrodel (about Gandalf of LotR)

Camel: Snow goose (hmm, it's based on a book, im sure, but i forgot which one )

also, not prog at all (just comes to my mind, lol): The Herd - From The underworld (based on mythology, this story about orpheus in the underworld ....)
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