“21st Century Schizoid Man” by King Crimson

"21st Century Schizoid Man" first came howling out of the speakers in October 1969, opening In the Court of the Crimson King, and it has been King Crimson's signature song ever since: a collision of rock muscle, jazz improvisation and classical discipline that Rolling Stone later counted among the early stirrings of heavy metal. The music is credited to Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake and Ian McDonald, and Peter Sinfield's words stack up clipped, disconnected images, verse after verse, into an attack on the Vietnam War and the horrors of napalm and Agent Orange.

This recording, issued in 1996, is the song in the hands of a later lineup: John Wetton singing and playing bass, Bill Bruford on drums, David Cross on violin and Fripp on guitar, with Fripp producing.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.