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Originally Posted by boo boo
Nor are they supposed to, not many prog bands really give two sh*ts about the lyrics, vocals are treated more like an instrument than a way to use lyrics to translate some point of view, and more often than not music comes first, and the lyrics are intended to just fit with the music. I think it's one reason fantasy themes are used so often because it fits with that kinda music.
But yeah, I'm pretty sure 90% of Jon's lyrics are made up on the spot and used just because they fit well with the music, I think he just uses words he really likes, like "River" and "Mountain". 
Of course that's not to say there aren't prog bands with emphasis on lyrics, Ian Anderson, Peter Garbiel, Richard Sinclair and Peter Hammill are pretty tight lyricists IMO, and have a great sense of wit and humor that people often overlook. And Waters of course. |
There`s certainly a lot of wit in the lyrics of both Ian Anderson and Peter Gabriel and I think there is also a lot of tongue-in-cheek with Roger Waters as well.
I think as far as Prog bands go, Rush do seem to put more of an emphasis on their lyrics, especially given Neil Peart`s admiration on Ayn Rand.
I`d never really listened to too much by Van der Graaf Generator but listened to one the albums that you recommended and besides liking the album the album a lot, I was very impressed with Peter Hammill`s vocal range, on further investigation found John Lydon of all people, was greatly influenced by his vocal style. Kinda of strange really that a punk artist would draw inspiration from a prog one but then again I`m sure there are similiar musical disparities out there.