King Crimson – 21st Century Schizoid Man

A lot of musicians have been a part of the legendary progressive rock band King Crimson, but every incarnation of the band shares one constant...founder and guitar player Robert Fripp. The iconoclastic musician has formed, reformed, disbanded and reformed the group no less than eight times over more than four decades, each iteration (which tend to last around two to three years each) reflecting Fripp's concept of what King Crimson should be at any given moment.

And those musicians include a who's who of progressive rock: Greg Lake (Emerson, Lake and Palmer), John Wetton (UK), Bill Bruford (Yes), Adrian Belew (Frank Zappa) and Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel) are but a few of the luminaries who have been a part of Fripp's ongoing effort to reinvent his musical collective over the years. And as the band members change, so does the sound...each version of the band has its own distinctive approach and style.

But the incredible "21st Century Schizoid Man," from Crimson's 1969 debut album "In the Court of the Crimson King" set the high standard that the band would meet (and surpass) throughout the group's long tenure.

From the DGM website:

King Crimson

"King Crimson is, as always, more a way of doing things. When there is nothing to be done, nothing is done: Crimson disappears. When there is music to be played, Crimson reappears. If all of life were this simple."
Robert Fripp

King Crimson was conceived in November 1968 and born on January 13th 1969 in the Fulham Palace Cafe, London (Fripp/Ian McDonald/Greg Lake/Michael Giles/Pete Sinfield), coming to prominence after supporting The Rolling Stones at Hyde Park. Their ground-breaking debut In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969) described by Pete Townshend as "an uncanny masterpiece", began a career that has spanned four decades and influenced many bands and individuals including Yes, Genesis, Tool, and Porcupine Tree.

"King Crimson lives in different bodies at different times and the particular form which the group takes changes. When music appears, which only King Crimson can play then, sooner or later, King Crimson appears to play the music"
Robert Fripp

I was part disappointed and part highly amused when I recently began seeing a TV ad for Invictus, a cologne made by Paco Rabanne and marketed by Macy's that is using a segment of King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man" as its theme music (to be fair, it's sampled in Kanye West's song "Power," the piece that is used for the majority of the spot). But the refrain from the Crimson song is what jumped out at me. Here are the lyrics to the song in question...they are pretty bleak:

21st Century Schizoid Man

Cat's foot iron claw

Neuro-surgeons scream for more

At paranoia's poison door.

Twenty first century schizoid man.

Blood rack barbed wire

Politicians' funeral pyre

Innocents raped with napalm fire

Twenty first century schizoid man.

Death seed blind man's greed

Poets' starving children bleed

Nothing he's got he really needs

Twenty first century schizoid man.

21st Century Schizoid Man - written by Peter Sinfield (lyrics), Robert Fripp, Ian McDonald, Greg Lake, Michael Giles (composers)

According to Songfacts, here is an excerpt from an interpretation of what the song is about:

Before a live performance of the song on December 14, 1969, Robert Fripp said that the song was dedicated to "an American political personality whom we all know and love dearly. His name is Spiro Agnew." Agnew was the thirty-ninth Vice President of the United States (and the first Greek American to serve in that capacity), serving under President Richard Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland.

"Schizoid" is a personality disorder. It's often associated with multiple personalities, but the medical definition is extreme social withdrawal and trouble forming personal relationships. The lyrics, which were written by Pete Sinfield, take us inside the mind of a troubled individual with dark imagery and references to the Vietnam War ("innocents raped with napalm fire"). Sinfield, who started out as the band's roadie/lighting director, was their lyricist. Along with Keith Reid of Procol Harum, he's the most prominent member of a major band who did not sing or play an instrument with the act. Sinfield has said that the lyrics of this song are about "justice and injustice."

In a 2003 interview with Saga magazine, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said that the guitar solo on this song was his favorite of all time. While he only mentioned the guitar part, his praise of the song drew interest for the contrast between Blair's policies and the political implications in the song.

It reminds me of when Royal Caribbean used Iggy Pop's song "Lust For Life" in a TV spot a few years back. Here is the first verse:

Here comes Johnny Yen again
With the liquor and drugs
And a flesh machine
He's gonna do another strip tease

Hey man, where'd you get that lotion?
I've been hurting since I bought the gimmick
About something called love
Yeah, something called love
Well, that's like hypnotizing chickens 

Lust For Life written by Iggy Pop and David Bowie

Note: A gimmick in this instance is slang for the paraphernalia used for injecting drugs.

Did we hear those lyrics in the spot? No, we did not. Did an entire generation or two of music fans hear that lyric in their heads during that spot? Yes, we did. And we were incredulous even as we were laughing.

At least Crimson probably is getting a little cash for licensing their song, and maybe a few chuckles along the way.