Please don’t take this too seriously.
Political Science: Fleetwood Mac
From 1975 to 1980, these guys had at least as much conflict as a UN meeting.
Economics: Rush
The only rock band to make a concept album based on a work of pro-capitalist political philosophy.
Philosophy: Steely Dan
Wry social commentary? Check. Superiority complex? Check. Uselessly intricate writing? Check.
Computer Science: Kraftwerk
They pretty much invented computer music. Seems like the obvious choice.
English: Pink Floyd
The most successful rock band to repeatedly create sophisticated creative works that meaningfully dealt with characters and themes.
Film: Goblin
This Italian prog-rock group spent most of the 70s making some of my favorite film soundtracks ever.
Religion: Black Sabbath
I know what you’re thinking, but some music critics argue that Black Sabbath was basically a Christian Rock band, but with scary imagery and more coke.
African-American Studies: Funkadelic
Funkadelic was not the only Black rock band in the 1970s, but they dealt with themes of modern Black life and Black identity in an overt and complex way that few, if any, other acts could match.
Psychology, Neurology: The Grateful Dead
Pretty much just neurochemistry test subjects.
Theater: Queen
Probably the most theatrical of 70s rock bands in any artistically meaningful way.
American Studies: Bob Dylan
I know, I know, Bob Dylan is not a band, he’s just one person. But he shows up on American Studies curriculums more than all of the other bands on this list put together.
Creative Writing: The Kinks
Though they were best known for their 60s work, the Kinks spent much of the 1970s making insular concept albums that explored themes of identity, nostalgia, and Britain, in ways that nobody else was trying. They were cool and artistically meaningful, but not that many people were paying attention and even fewer actually understood them.
Urban Studies: (tie) Chicago and Boston
This is the worst joke I have ever made.
Jazz Studies: Weather Report
Jazz Studies isn’t actually a major, just a concentration, and Weather Report wasn’t a rock band, just a jazz fusion band that sold out arenas. So it works.
Music: Electric Light Orchestra
Obviously, any of these bands could get the call here, since they all play music, but I’ll give it to Jeff Lynn & co for having cellos.
Electrical Engineering: AC/DC
Get it?
Fleetwood Mac from the public domain, via Wikimedia commons.