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List compiled by Rich Kulawiec
Note from Patterner:
This list of SF references in music is compiled by Rich Kulawiec and used by
permission.
This file was reference material for the O*W*C chat on 04/10/97, about SF in Music.
SF-references-in-music List
Archive-name: music/sci-fi-refs
Version: $Header: sf.music,v 1.43 1997/01/02 14:23:20 rsk Exp $
Copyright Rich Kulawiec 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997.
This is the SF-in-music list. It isn't comprehensive, but
it does try to cover rock, jazz, folk, classical and electronic music.
Most of the items listed here fall pretty well into these categories.
There is also a list of SF-based operas, which was assembled by
Evelyn C. Leeper and is reproduced here with permission. I've attempted
to list everybody who helped in the large (and growing) montage at the end.
SF can stand for whatever you'd like it to; science fiction, science fantasy,
speculative fiction, you pick it. My personal definition is rather broad,
which, coupled with the copious contributions of those of you on the
various networks, accounts for the length of this list.
One thing that I've changed since the last revision: I'm now listing
purely instrumental pieces along with everything else, rather than
bundling them at the end. This is mostly due to the large number
of updates that folks have sent in which list instrumental pieces.
I guess we'll see how it goes.
I'm not really interested in adding filk or novelty records to this list;
not that I have anything against them, but they would probably be
more appropriate on another list.
In most cases, I've relied on the contributions that have been sent in;
in others, I've verified spellings and attributions. Thus, the accuracy
of the information is uneven; so be it. Corrections (VIA MAIL ONLY)
are quite welcome, as are additions. I will be maintaining this list
and re-sending it periodically.
Rich Kulawiec
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10 CC:
Old Mister Time (from the album "Bloody Tourists") is
a story about an old man (living in a broken shack on the railway)
who is collecting junk to build a time-machine;
eventually he makes it work and disappears.
1919:
Has an EP "Machine".
801
Track "East of Asteroid". (This track was originally named
"Mummy was an asteroid, daddy was a small non-stick kitchen utensil".
The track originally appeared on the "Mainstream" album by Phil Manzanera's
earlier group Quiet Sun.) See also Eno, Brian.
AC/DC:
"Who Made Who" from the Maximum Overdrive soundtrack.
Acen:
Has a song called "Trip II the Moon (The Darkside)".
Adam Ant:
"Ants Invasion" (elsewhere reported as "Forbidden Zone")
from "Kings of the Wild Frontier" is about the invasion of the earth by ants.
Adolphson & Falk:
This Swedish band had a hit with "Control is Flashing Blue", a song
about how computers/sensors say everything is okay, but something
is crawling in the shadows. Most of their albums have a very dominant
SF theme. One example is 'Med Rymden I Blodet' (With Space In The Blood).
(In the same sense that one might say that a family with a seafaring
tradition "has the sea in their blood").
After the Fire:
"Suspended Animation" is either about weightlessness or genuine
suspended animation, and "Starflight" describes interstellar flight.
Alan Parsons Project:
Albums "I, Robot" (but not based on Asimov) and "Tales of Mystery and
Imagination (Poe). The title track from "Ammonia Avenue" is about a
world destroyed by pollution. "Eye in the Sky" has the title track "Sirius".
Alarm, The:
"The Stand" -- about Stephen King's "The Stand".
Alice Cooper:
On "School's Out", the words "Klaatu barada nikto" occur in background
vocals near the end of "My Stars". The album "Alice Cooper Goes to Hell"
is a fantasy. "Clones (We're All)" appears on "Alice Cooper '80: Flush
the Fashion"; it's about a collection of clones who revel against their
situation. He also refers to "the twilight zone" in "The Quiet Room"
from "From the Inside" and in "Wish You Were Here" from "...Goes to Hell".
Also, check out "BB on Mars" from "Pretties for You".
Finally, "No Baloney Homo Sapiens" from "Zipper Catches Skin" is about
a human challenege to potential marauding aliens.
Alien:
Early '80's post-disco group whose album "Sons of the Universe" has SF
themes running all through it.
Alexander, Heather:
Album "Wanderlust".
Alphaville:
The album "Afternoons in Utopia" include tracks such as "Afternoons
in Utopia", "20th Century" and "Lady Bright" (which contains an old
rhyming couplet about generally relativity). See also "For a Million"
of "Breathtaking Blue", with its reference to dancing under an alien sun.
Ambrosia:
"Nice, Nice, Very Nice" is from the 53rd Calypso of Bokonon from
Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut. Also "Time Waits for no One"; both
are on "Ambrosia", which also contains a reading of Jabberwocky.
Ambrosia is probably known to most readers for their mid-70's
hit "Holdin' On to Yesterday".
America:
"Sandman" refers to Nolan's "Logan's Run."
Bhatia, Amin:
Shawn Bird sent along this great writeup on Amin Bhatia:
Amin now composes film and television scores in Toronto, Canada.
Interstellar Suite is a soundtrack without a film, but it is easy
to follow the gist of the story from the song titles. Since 1987
when the album first came out (1987) it has been used in star shows
at several planetariums, including the Calgary (Alberta) Planetarium
and the MacMillan Planetarium in Vancouver, BC. Amin's work tends
to feature lush, orchestral sounds, all created by synthesizer, and
he masters all of the 'instruments' himself. He did not use any
digital samplings of any instruments in Int. Suite. You can hear
more of Amin's work in movies such as Iron Eagle 2, Cafe Romeo,
and John Woo's Once a Thief; as well as television shows like
Ray Bradbury Theatre, Free Willy and Tales of the Cryptkeeper.
Thankfully, after a decade wait, another album is in production;
hopefully it won't be more than a couple of years away.
Amon Duul II:
Some sf-oriented material; German band from the mid-seventies.
Two of their albums are "Made in Germany" and "Vive La Trance".
Amos, Tori:
"Tear in Your Hand" contains the line "If you need me,
me and Neil are hanging out with the Dream King." Neil Gaiman is the
creator of "Sandman", and is apparently a good friend of Tori's.
(Side note: The "Sandman" issue "Brief Lives" includes
some of the lyrics from that song. Tori also wrote the introduction
to the "Death: High Cost of Living" trade paperback.) And the song
"Happy Phantom" is about traipsing around the world after one is dead.
Also see "Space Dog".
Anderson, Ian:
Vocalist from Jethro Tull. His 1983 LP, "Walk Into Light" contains a
notable SF-related track, "User Friendly".
Anderson, Jon:
Vocalist from Yes. Solo album, "Olias of Sunhillow", from 1976.
"Olympia" from "Animation" seems to discuss a futuristic world;
"Boundaries" from the same album may be about the aftermath of a future war.
Anderson, Laurie:
Surrealism & sf-type music. Try "O Superman" and "Language is a
Virus From Outer Space", which I seem to recall is derived from
Burroughs (William S., that is). Anderson has released several
works in collaboration/cooperation with Burroughs:
"You're The Guy I Want To Share My Money With"
(This one is not very easy to find) (Laurie, William, and one other
artist all contribute sections of this, but there is no tie between
the sections; more like an anthology than a collaboration in effect.)
"Home Of The Brave" (soundtrack from her movie "Home Of The Brave",
which included Burroughs in person);
"Sharkey's Night" (the album companion to "Home Of The Brave" movie;
the movie's -artistic- companion, rather than its soundtrack)
(Burroughs speaks once or twice)
Her '94 album "Bright Red" featured "Same Time Tomorrow", about machines
and recorded experience, and the VR sendup "The Puppet Motel".
Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe:
(With bassist Chris Squire, these are the five core musicians of Yes.)
The eponymous album includes "Fist of Fire", a song about some sort
of acension after death, and "Birthright", about British atomic testing
carried out at Maralinga during the 50's and early 60's, which has
left many Aboriginal sacred sites and traditional lands uninhabitable.
Android Sisters, The:
"Songs of Electronic Despair".
Androids of MU:
A punk band that never got anywhere; their album "Blood Robots"
includes a track called "Lost in Space".
Ange:
(French progressive group) "Au-dela du delire" is a time-travel story.
Angel Witch:
New wave of British heavy metal band. Their first LP "AngelWitch" contains the
song "Atlantis" (about... you guessed it...) - There are also other songs
like "White Witch", "Sorcerers" and "Gorgon".
Ant, Adam:
"Apollo 9" is about a trip to the moon.
Anthrax:
The album "Among the Living" contains "I Am the Law" (about Judge Dredd,
the 2000 AD hero) and "Among the Living" (about the antihero of Stephen
King's "The Stand").
Anvil:
"Mothra", about the monster from the "Godzilla" movies.
Aphrodite's Child:
The album "666" is the veritable armageddon waltz; it is a musical
retelling of the Apocalypse (Book of Revelations). Vangelis was
in this band back then.
Apocrypha:
"West World" is presumably about the film.
April Wine:
A heavy metal band who indulge in fantasy imagery; note "The Whole
World's Goin' Crazy" and its references to Lewis Caroll. Along
with Nektar and Pavlov's Dog, cult heroes in the St. Louis area
thanks to twenty years of airplay on KSHE-FM.
Archer, Tasmin:
Her first hit, "Sleeping Satellite" (from her album "Great
Expectations") is a lament for the end of the Apollo programme.
[ Damn...I thought it was about the end of a love affair! ---Rsk ]
Art of Noise:
"Paranoimia" features Max Headroom.
Asia:
"After the War", from "Astra" refers to post-WW III era.
"Wildest Dreams", from the first album, might also be about a war that
is yet to happen. "Sole Survivor", also from the first album, seems
to be in a similar vein.
Atlantics:
An Australian instrumental band from the early 1960s, had popular singles
entitled "Moon Man" and "War of the Worlds." The latter is
amazing for its evocative sound effects.
Atomic Rooster:
(one of the early heavy metal bands) "Lost in Space". Organ player Vincent Crane
also was with The Crazy World of Arthur Brown.
Automatic Man:
Two albums of SF-ish mystic stuff; notable track "I.T.D."
(Interstellar Tracking Device).
Avatar:
Savatage (already in this list) released a 7" EP under the name Avatar before
they became Savatage. Two of the three tracks were "City beneath the surface"
and "Sirens".
B-52's:
"Planet Claire", and "53 Miles West of Venus" from "Wild Planet".
The title track from "Cosmic Thing" has aliens shaking their, uh, cosmic thing.
The song "Topaz" is a depiction of a future Utopian earth.
Also see the soundtrack to "Earth Girls Are Easy".
B.A.L.L:
"Little Tex in Trouble" and "Little Tex's Prelude" from "Trouble Doll"
are about a cowboy who sees his cattle being taken by aliens.
The Bags:
"September", from the album "Night of the Corn People", is about
a love affair between astronauts. "L. Frank Baum" is a tribute to the
Wizard of Oz books.
Ball, Edward:
Releases under many names, including Teenage Film Stars, The Times and
The Missing Scientists. Has done several songs with references to "The
Prisoner" including "I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape".
Banks, Tony:
See "Man of Spells" from "Fugitive".
Barbarella:
Their album "The Art of Dance" consists only of songs about
Barbarella and containing samples from the film Barbarella.
Barenaked Ladies:
Another Canadian Band, with a song called "This is me in Grade 9", with the lines:
"Some of my friends are crazy and the others are depressed,
None of them can help me study for my math test.
I got into the classroom and my knowledge was gone;
I guess I should have studied 'stead of watching Wrath of Khan."
Batt, Mike:
His album "Zero Zero" (released 1982, also a music video) features an
Orwell-like state where a man accidentally falls in love despite the
fact that emotions are wiped out in that society. Some brain surgery
takes care of the problem. The story concludes with a female neuro
surgeon being 'infected' with the emotion of love as well. The album
"The Hunting of the Snark" (1987) features Batt's interpretation of
Lewis Carroll's work.
Bauhaus:
Did a cover of "Ziggy Stardust", and the song "Bela Lugosi's Dead",
which opens the film "The Hunger" (they perform in it, too). Their lyrics
are obscure enough so that most of their songs can be taken for SF - or
anything else, for that matter. They broke up in '83. 3 members became
Love and Rockets, the other, Peter Murphy, got a solo career.
The song "Silent Hedges", which appears on the LP "The Sky's Gone Out"
doesn't seem to make a lot of sense at first -- until you realize that
the lyrics are a pastiche of phrases from Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World",
at which point it becomes much clearer.
Be Bop Deluxe:
Tracks include "Jet Silver And The Dolls Of Venus" (vague reminiscences
about '50s British SF-comics, also thought to be poking a little fun
at Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars) and "Life In The Air Age" (a time
traveller stranded in a Gernsbackian future). Also see
"The Dangerous Stranger from the Highway to the End of Time" on "Modern Music".
Beatles:
The "Yellow Submarine" movie and accompanying soundtrack probably deserve
a mention as an example of an interesting animated fantasy experiment.
It's also been pointed out that there are a few science fiction
allusions in the film: during the "When I'm Sixty-Four" sequence,
they seemed to be getting involved in time-space continuum warps,
and they talk about "holes", especially the one Ringo kept in his pocket.
Bedford, David:
Albums include "Star's End"; could this be a reference to Asimov's
Foundation series ("Star's End", "Tazenda")?
He also wrote a sort of Rock Opera, "Rigel 9", to text by
Ursula le Guin. And "The Dark Nebula" to words by Arthur C Clark.
Another album: "The Odyssey".
The Bee Gees:
"Edge of the Universe" is a space travel/love song
which first appeared as a track on the "Main Course" LP in 1975.
Two years latter was included as part of the "Here at Last .. Live"
album. The live version was released as a single and was the last
Top 40 hit for the Bee Gees before their "Saturday Night Fever"
releases and disco fame.
Beggars Opera:
"Time Machine" (from the album "Waters Of Change", 1971). A song about
escaping from nowadays life in a time machine and finding a better place/time.
Belew, Adrian:
"Phone Call from the Moon", as well as "Looking For a UFO" from "Young
Lions" - a message of hope that aliens will come and save us
from destroying ourselves. The song "The Momur" from "Lone Rhinoceros"
tells the story of a man who's wife turns into a "momur" (a critic);
probably not really science fiction.
The Beloved:
British conglomeration group, dreamy synth music. Released album "Conscience":
"Sweet Harmony", optimistically Utopian; "Outerspace Girl", love separated by
space (well done, albeit using tired sf metaphors); "Dream On", another of the
many songs about, well, dreams.
Benatar, Pat:
"My Clone Sleeps Alone".
The Bevis Frond:
Lots of SF and fantasy imagery, eg. "The Miskatonic Variations" from
"The Auntie Winnie Album".
Big Country:
Some songs have a magical theme, but the most outstanding is "The
Seer" from the album by the same name, about a woman who foretells the Roman
invasion of Scotland.
Bjork:
Former singer for the Sugarcubes. Her '95 album "Post" includes "The
Modern Things", which suggests that all of today's modern inventions have
simply been waiting for us, inside a mountain...
Black, Frank:
Frank Black is Black Francis from the Pixies. Two solo albums, "Frank
Black" and "Teenager of the Year" with lots of SF references. On the
first, "Parry the Wind High, Low" which is about a UFO/Trekkies
convention and alien implants; "Places Named After Numbers" references
black holes; "Old Black Dawning" talks about space colonization.. On the
second, "Whatever Happened to Pong?" is about the classic video game and talks
about delivering it to H.G. Wells; "Space is Gonna do me Good" is about
colonization; "Pie in the Sky" is about travelling to the sun.
"Two Spaces" and "Place Named After Numbers" are about spacewalking
and teleporting. Also, "Ole Mullholand" may contain Bradbury references,
and "Calistan" may be about a post-apocalyptic LA (talks about LA becoming
a tar pit again).
Black Sabbath:
Sort of. Tends to black magic et. al. See "Paranoid" for
"Iron Man" (mechanical golem?), "Plant Caravan" and "Electric Funeral"
(nuclear war?);"Black Sabbath" (1st LP) for demented ravings like
"Behind the Wall of Sleep" (Lovecraft). "Heaven and Hell" is all fantasy.
Some speculation that "Iron Man" refers to the comic book hero (paraplegic
w/special iron alloy suit and powers far beyond...) The song "Computer God",
from "Dehumanizer" concerns a sinister cyberpunk-like virtual reality.
"Tyr" (released 1990) features a lot of Norse mythology.
Blake, Tim:
Electronic New Age. Albums "Crystal Machine", "Blake's New Jerusalem",
both SF. Was in Hawkwind 1979-80, and Gong 1972-1975.
Blenner, Serge:
Lotsa instrumental stuff, e.g. "Musique Esthetique", "Equateur",
"Cosmos", "Liberation". (Maybe he should be listed with the other
instrumental artists, though for example the titles of the album
"Cosmos" include for example "Espace", "Dans l'universe", "Les
Centaures", "La voie celeste"... )
Blind Guardian:
A German heavy metal band with at least one album containing lots of SF&F
stuff: "Tales of the Twilight World", released 1990. Tracks include:
"Traveller in Time" (about Dune), "Lord of the Rings",
"Tommyknockers", "Altair 4", etc.
Blitzkrieg:
The song "Blitzkrieg" talks about aliens arriving and some sort of war.
Song was covered by Metallica.
Blondie:
SF themes in some songs: e.g. the "Man from Mars" in "Rapture";
also "Dragonfly" from "The Hunter", which is a half-spoken half-sung
description of a race between spaceships that uses a collage of
sf buzzwords. See also "The Attack of the Giant Ants".
Debbie Harry (lead singer) and Chris Stein (lead guitar) sing in the
animated SF/fantasy movie _Rock and Rule_ (along with Lou Reed and Iggy Pop).
Blue Oyster Cult:
Many tracks on many albums with SF themes; "Veteran of the Psychic
Wars" (which also was on the "Heavy Metal" soundtrack; the narrator
is Corum, of Moorcock's "Chronicles of Corum") from "Fire of
Unknown Origin", "E.T.I.", "The Subhuman", "Flaming Telepaths" and most
of the rest of the LP's "Tyranny and Mutation" and "Secret Treaties".
Later work includes "Godzilla" (from "Spectres" and "Some Enchanted
Evening"), which about our favorite Tokyo-bashing reptile; "Monsters"
(from "Cultosaurus Erectus"), which is about a small group of people
who escape a ravaged Earth but wind up battling each other over one of
the women; "Black Blade" (from "Cultosaurus Erectus" and "E.T. Live",
a song done with Michael Moorcock; the nararator is Elric, from
his Elric saga) "Nosferatu" (from "Spectres"), which is a
retelling of the Dracula story; "Vengeance (The Pact)" (from "Fire
of Unknown Origin), which retells the "Taarna" segment from the movie
"Heavy Metal"; and "Sole Survivor" (also from "Fire..."), tells the
story of the last man alive on earth, who runs away when aliens come to
rescue him. The LP "Imaginos" tells the story of a sorcerer attempting
to release the demonic other-worldly beings called "Les Invisibles".
"The Great Sun Jester" from "Mirrors" is based on the novel
"The Fireclown" by Michael Moorcock (also released as "The Winds
of Limbo"). "Joan Crawford" from "Fire..." might be SF depending
on how you feel about wire hangers. Incidentally, a couple of
Karl Edward Wagner's "Kane" series contain direct references to
the BOC song "Astronomy" (from "Secret Treaties"); in particular,
there's a chapter entitled "On the Origin of Storms". "Take Me Away"
(from "The Revolution by Night") is about a guy who wants to go visit aliens.
Boiled in Lead:
Minneapolis-based folk-rock-world outfit. They record some
folk/fantasy-sounding numbers. Their latest album, Antler Dance,
includes some songs co-written by SF author Steven Brust (or is it Stephen?).
There's also a "soundtrack" that they've released which is for
the Steven Brust/Megan Lindholm novel "The Gypsy".
Boney M.:
"Night Flight to Venus" (title track of LP), and "Steppenwolf",
a werewolf story, on the same LP.
Bone, Richard:
Early 80's synth-pop musician, has an LP called "Brave Tales" which
contains songs like "Prelude to Mothra", "Alien Girl" and "Mutant Wisdom".
Bonzo Dog DooDah Band:
"Urban Spaceman" from "Tadpoles" and "There's a Monster Coming" from "Gorilla".
Boom Crash Opera:
Australian band whose song "The Best Thing" from "Look! Listen!"
describes an astronaut's experiences in flight.
Bored Games:
Song "Joe 90". Classic Kiwi underground pop.
This schoolboy band was one of the early proponents of the "Dunedin Sound"
associated with the Flying Nun label, and band members went on to play
in virtually every important Dunedin band, including the Chills,
the Verlaines, the Clean, Straightjacket Fits etc.
Boston:
The LP "Third Stage" has a track emulating a spaceship take-off.
(All three of their album covers tell the story of the Guitar Spaceship
and its quest for a new home.)
Bow Wow Wow:
Punk. "I want my baby on Mars", "Giant sized baby thing!".
Bowie, David:
"Space Oddity" (most emphatically NOT "Major Tom") discusses eerie
experiences in orbit. Also has a film, "The Man who Fell to Earth".
See also "Diamond Dogs" (mutated life on earth after the bomb)
and "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars", about a rock band on
an earth with five years left; this LP also contains "Five Years"
and "Starman". From "Hunky Dory", see "Life on Mars", and from "Station
to Station", see "TVC15". See also "Ashes to Ashes", "Memory of a
Free Festival", and "1984". Also, "Cat People (Putting out the Fire)"
from "Let's Dance", the title song to the movie. His collaboration
with the Sales Brothers (Tin Machine), released an album with some
SF-oriented tracks, such as "Tin Machine", "Video Crime", and "I Can't Read".
--- Some commentary on Bowie...
Bowie, David:
A lot of his albums contain at least a few sf songs. The major ones are:
"Space Oddity", the title track (often mistakenly referred to as "Major Tom")
was apparently played on the BBC broadcast of Neil Armstrong's moon walk;
"The Man Who Sold the World"; "Hunky Dory" which contains 'Life on Mars';
"The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars", the first
side has sf songs, the second is about a rock band whose lead singer self-
destructs (presumably the band which sang the first side); "AladdinSane";
"Diamond Dogs", a sort of Orwellian '1984' album which contains the song
'1984' and other songs about big brother; "Heroes", "Scary Monsters (and
super creeps)" which contains the title track and 'Ashes to Ashes', a
followup to 'Space Oddity'. Also, 'Cat People (Putting out the Fire)'
(tenuosly sf) from "Let's Dance", the title song to the movie of the same
name. "Tonight" contains a song, 'Loving the Alien" and his latest
album, "Never Let Me Down", has another. (But "Loving the Alien" is
apparently addressed to the Christians and Moslems meeting each other
at the time of the Crusades, and is a plea for understanding.)
"Station to Station" was originally written, but not used, as the soundtrack to one
of his films, "The Man who Fell to Earth", a classic about an alien stranded on earth.
Bowie has done a couple of other sf films, "The Hunger", about vampires, and
"Labyrinth", where he plays the goblin king who has kidnapped a young girl's baby
brother after she brattishly announces, "I wish the goblins would take him away!"
-- Scott Butler
---
Note that "Diamond Dogs" started as a "1984" project, but the Orwell Estate
denied permission, so the project mutated into "...Dogs".
Bragg, Billy:
His song "New England" (covered by Kirsty MacCol) talks about wishing
on falling stars...except they're satellites.
Breeders:
"Metal Man" about a guy living at 2000 degrees.
Brickell, Edie and the New Bohemians:
The title track from "Ghost of a Dog" is, uh, well, about the ghost of a dog.
Brightman, Sarah
"I Lost my Heart to a Starship Trooper", "Love In A U.F.O.", and
"The Love Crusader" (not quite sf, but has many snips of supposed
intergalactic radio conversations, etc.) and "Lost in Space"
are all from a 1979 album.
Broderna Brothers:
Swedish band, with an song "Karlek i rymden" ("Love in Space") about
the boyfriend of a female astronaut.
Brown, Arthur:
In the late sixties, "The Crazy World of Arthur Brown" had a big hit
with "Fire". In the early 70's (1970-72), Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come
released three albums, all on Voiceprint: "Galactic Zoo Dossier",
"Kingdom Come", and "Journey". There's also a double LP entitled "The Lost Ears"
which is a "best of" compilation. The track "Time Captives" is from
"Journey" (a shorter version appears on "The Lost Ears"); it's
about a group of people who have crashed their timeship.
In 1993, he recorded a live CD "Order From Chaos (Live 1993)" where the
medley "Time Captains" contains parts of tracks for all three of these albums.
Another album "Strangelands" (CD on Reckless Records) contains sessions that
fill the 1969-1970 gap in A. B.'s recorded career. It does contain a few SF refs.
Brown, Julie:
"Earth Girls are Easy". :-)
Brownsville Station:
"The Martian Boogie" was a 1977 single about an alien who learns to
rock n' roll. The song was sort of a minor cult classic for this
band in the midwest as they tried to follow-up on their "Smokin' in
the Boy's Room" success. The single was issued on the Private Stock label.
(Your editor would like to mention that he saw Brownsville Station and
Styx on a double bill in a converted skating rink outside St. Louis around
1975 or so...it was an interesting pairing, to say the least. ---Rsk )
Bruford:
"One of a Kind" includes "Fainting in Coils", with words taken
from "Alice in Wonderland".
Buckner and Garcia:
"Hyperspace", "Defender". (These *are* the guys that did
that awful Pacman song.)
Buffett, Jimmy:
Yes, parrotheads, he occasionally references SF: "Could you beam me
somewhere Mr. Scott" from "Boat Drinks", "Phasers on stun" from "When
Salome Plays the Drums", "Stanley Kubrick, and his buddy HAL,
now don't look that abstract" and "Captain's log, stardate, 2000 and somethin"
from "Fruitcakes".
Buggles, The:
The LP "Age of Plastic" contains many SF themes;for instance, the title
song has the lines "They send the Heart Police to put you under
cardiac arrest" (1984 meets Harlan Ellison's Ticktockman?) Also "I Love
You, Miss Robot". See also "Johnny on the Monorail". See also
"Adventures in Modern Recording", with SF tracks such as "Vermillion Sands",
"Inner City", "Rainbow Warrior", and maybe "On TV".
For trivia fans: "Video Killed the Radio Star" was the first video shown
on MTV.
Bunnydrums:
"PKD", for Phillip K. Dick.
Burnett, T-Bone:
"We Are Humans From Earth" from the soundtrack of "Until the End of
the World".
William S. Burroughs:
In addition to the spoken-word album "Dead City Radio", he collaborated
with the Disposable Heroes Of Hip-Hoprisy on "Spare Ass Annie" and wrote
the libretto to Robert Wilson & Tom Waits' opera "The Black Rider". The
"Black Rider" CD consists of songs based on the opera; Burroughs sings on
"'Tain't No Sin". Did a version of "Words Of Advice" with Material on
their "Hallucination Engine" CD. See also Laurie Anderson.
Bush, Kate:
"Breathing", about breathing the fallout following a nuclear blast, (supposed
to be sung by an unborn child) is from "Never For Ever", and "Experiment IV"
from "The Whole Story" about designing a sound that can kill.
"Cloudbusting" is about a boy (played by Kate in the video) whose father
builds a rain-making machine and is kidnapped by the government.
(This song was inspired by Peter Reich's "The Book of Dreams".
The lines "I hid my Yo-yo/In the garden/
what made it special/made it dangerous"
is a reference to the fact that the rainmaking energy was inhibited
by radiation, so Peter's father made him throw away his yo-yo.
Peter buried it in the garden instead. -- Theo O'Neal)
(Peter Reich's father, Wilhelm Reich, was actually a 'scientist'
(regard the quotes) who did research in 'orgone energy'. Don't ask
me seriously what 'orgone energy' should be, but one of it's
abilities should have been to make it rain. The story
behind that is not sci-fi at all, it is true life (more or less).
Wilhelm Reich was actually arrested by the government and died in
prison, something the nine (or so) year old Peter couldn't comprehend
as a child. Peter later wrote 'a book of dreams' to cope with that
experience. -- Ulrich Grepel )
See also "Hammer Horror" from "Lionheart", a throwback to the
horror films of the 60's. "Deeper Understanding" from "The Sensual
World" is about computer addiction. "Hello Earth" from "Hounds of Love"
refers to an astronaut viewing the earth from his spaceship.
KB also covered Elton John's "Rocket Man".
Byrds, The:
"Hey Mr. Spaceman" from "The Fifth Dimension". "Space Odyssey"
from "Notorious Byrd Brothers" is a retelling of Clarke's "The Sentinel".
A comment on "Space Odyssey" from Norm Woodward:
According to their introduction to the song at a concert I
attended, the reason the song was about "the Sentinel", ie, a
pyramid, was that there was a rumor that Stan Kuprick was still
searching for material for the soundtrack for his long awaited
epic, and they thought they had a chance to be in it. Since
the only thing known about the project was that it was based on
the short story, the Byrds tried to stretch the lyrics to fit
the gig. Obviously, they were not in the final mix.
Byrne, David:
"In the Future", from the "Civil Wars" soundtrack is an
often-contradictory list how we will be in the future.
Camel:
Lots of fantasy stuff on various albums, notably "Mirage", which
contains the song "White Rider" (about Gandalf). "Moonmadness" contains
the instrumental "Lunar Sea". See also "Echoes" from "Breathless".
Campbell, Ian:
Wrote "The Sun is Burning," about nuclear war. Recorded by Californian
singer/songwriter Kate Wolf (1942-1986) in 1984 and included on "Out of
the Darkness" (various artists) and her "Gold in California" 2-CD
retrospective.
Camper Van Beethoven:
"The Day That Lassie Went To The Moon" from "Telephone Free Landslide
Victory", 1985; cover of Floyd's "Interstellar Overdrive" from self-titled
album, 1986. Other songs include some "fantastic" imagery. The title of
their album "II & III" is an oblique reference to R.A. Wilson's
"Illuminatus!" books (they also did the theme for a TV show Wilson did,
apparently; it appears on their album "Key Lime Pie").
Can:
First album "Monster Movie", 1969; occasional spacey themes in songs
("Cascade Waltz" on "Flow Motion" mentions a spaceship and an astronaut).
Candlemass:
A Swedish heavy metal band - pretty much slow heavy doom metal
with fantasy themes. LP's include "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus", "Nightfall",
"Ancient Dreams" and "Tales of Creation". This last often suggests
Michael Moorcock characters, particularly Corum.
Canto, Bel:
"Picnic on the Moon" from the album "Birds of Passage".
It's about a girl (the singer) who finds an old diary and reads an old story
she dreamed up about taking a Baron's old balloon (hot-air, I assume),
flying to the moon, and, upon arrival, well, having a picnic...
Captain Beefheart:
"Big Eyed Beans from Venus" and "The Floppy Boot Stomp". The latter is
that tale of a farmer who accidentally summons the devil while squaredancing.
Captain Beyond:
"Astral Lady", "Voyagers From Distant Planets", etc.
Caravan:
"Cthulhu" from "Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night".
Carlos, Wendy (Walter):
The soundtrack recordings to "A Clockwork Orange" and "Tron".
Carpenters:
See "Klaatu".
Jim Carrol Band:
The song "Nothing is True" is as Robert Anton Wilson as you can get.
Cassandra Complex:
Their album "Satan, Bugs Bunny and Me..." contains "E*O*D", a track
which discusses Cthulhu. The album "Cyberpunx" contains some tracks
with cyberpunkish dark visions of the future, e.g. "Nightfall (over the EC)".
Caswell and Carnahan:
Do a song called "Borderlands" which is about a man who
goes back in time to meet a woman but must return to his own time.
[There is a novel called The House On The Borderland by William Hodgeson(?)
Among its (sub)plots there is a man who goes back (or maybe sideways) in
time to meet a woman but must return to his own time.]
Cat:
"Tongue Tied", from the British TV-Series "Red Dwarf". (If you don't
understand why this is listed under "Cat", then (a) watch any one
episode of the series and (b) try to comprehend the size of Cat's ego. :-) )
Cheap Trick:
"Dream Police" (title track).
Chicago:
Last side of Chicago III is a suite named "Elegy" about ecodeath and final war.
----Some commentary on this from Ed Eastridge:
The side as a whole is named Elegy. Elegy's principal writer was trombonist
James Pankow. It is about humans killing themselves off in the name of
progress. Another song off of this album which is in a similar vein is
"Mother" describing the Raping of the Earth by Highways and other man-made
occurences. Anyway, If I can rememeber correctly Elegy consists of five
movements, the names As I can recall are:
"When All the Laughter Dies in Sorrow" (a small poem)
"Canon" (Brass quartet type of feel,interesting harmonies.)
"Once Upon a Time"(Soft Jazz ballad featuring Flute and Trombone.)
"Progress?" (Dissonant and forboding. Uses taped sounds of jackhammers,
traffic, etc. Most interesting is the use of the toilet...:))
"The Approaching Storm" (Normal Jazz type number like mid-60's "cool" sound)
"Man vs Man = The End" (Contemporary almost 12-tonal in sound, definitely not
like "normal" Chicago)
All in all, this is a good piece. The songs are cohesive, transitions are
smooth and subtle. (If you couldn't tell by now, yes, I am a Chicago freak).
--- Ed Eastridge
----
The Church:
Their last three albums ("Priest = Aura", "Gold Afternoon Fix", and
"Starfish") contain a good deal of SF material, such as:
"Pharaoh", "City", "Terra Nova Cain", "Priest = Aura", and "Dome".
Clannad:
New-age Celtic-folk stuff; numerous songs about druids, Stonehenge,
that sort of thing. Also did much of the music for the British
"Robin Hood" TV show, as well as the film "Last of the Mohicans".
Borderline for inclusion here, since they tend more toward New Age
stuff rather than sf&f.
Clark, Dave:
"Time", a musical with a lot of notable musicians and singers (e.g.
Freddy Mercury, Leo Sayer, Dionne Warwick, John Christie...) about the
people of the Earth put on trial --- are they worthy to continue their
existence?
Clarke, Stanley:
Jazz bassist, who spent considerable time with Chick Corea and Al Dimeola
in "Return to Forever". His self-titled solo release (mostly instrumental)
has a vocal track called "Vulcan Princess", about a woman he has loved
"through eternity". This track also appears on a recently released CD
of his live performances, "Stanley Clarke Live 1975-1976". "Modern Man"
is about an invasion or Mars, some similar space-opera theme.
Clash, the:
A band pretty much centered in the (then) Now, but had a couple songs
taking place in the future. "Groovy Times" (from "Black Market Clash")
is roughly about a fascist state, apparently sparked by the sight of
chain-link fences around a soccer stadium. "London Calling" (from the
LP of the same name) is about the apocalypse, a possibility which is
treated rather ambivalently. "Atom Tan" (from "Combat Rock") is about
the apocalypse again, from sort of a Beat-Marxist angle.
Clark, Anne:
On her "Changing Places" album, "Sleeper in Metropolis" deals
with loss of all human contact in a future (or present) world;
"Poem for a Nuclear Romance" is about what will happen to two
lovers in a nuclear war.
Clarke, Allan:
Formerly of the Hollies. The song "The Survivor" is specifically
about reincarnation. "Driving the Doomsday Cars" on this album is also
sf-oriented, while the title track refers to comic-book heroes, and "The
Only Ones" refers to flying away from Earth to start a new life.
Clinton, George (and Parliament/Funkadelic):
Parliament released a series of albums during the seventies with overt
SF themes: "The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein", "Mothership Connection",
and others. Clinton had a solo hit with "Atomic Dog" in the mid-80's.
All this music ranges from slow-burn funk to beat-heavy disco.
(Their influence is still felt in a number of places -- e.g. one
of the sequences in the Talking Heads' "Stop Making Sense" film.)
Clouds:
Australian pop music quartet. Have a song "Fox's Wedding" inspired by
a Japanese fairy tale. Their debut album "Penny Century" is named after
the character in Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez' comic book "Love and Rockets".
Colourbox:
A track from their "Colourbox" LP entitled "Just Give "em Whiskey." has
quotes from "Prisoner", "2001" and "West World" on it.
Comsat Angels:
Named after a J.G. Ballard short of the same name.
Concrete Blonde:
The entire album "Bloodletting" is about vampires, a la Anne Rice's
vampire novels.
Cooder, Ry:
"UFO has Landed in the Ghetto" from "The Slide Area". Cooder is
extremely well-regarded among other professional guitar players,
and is known responsible (with Steve Vai) for the music in the
film "Crossroads".
Consolidated:
Rap group, used a sample from They Live!. It's part of the speech that
someone (the President?) is holding on TV. Part of it is "We have faith in our
leaders".
Cope, Julian:
Lots of fantasy-new age stuff, but specifically on his album
"Jehovakill" is a Philip K. Dick quote in the liner. "Upwards at 45
Degrees" talks about alien abduction/harvesting humans?, two SF-ish
instrumentals: "Necropolis" and "The Subtle Energies Commission" as
well as "The Tower" about a boy/man who awakens in a land of hostile
warrior women. His album "My Nation Underground" has a liner quote
from the comic book "Watchmen" as well as a song about armageddon "5
O'Clock World." His album "Autogeddon" is mostly about how cars are
bad for the Earth, and includes the SF joyride "Starcar."
Costello, Elvis:
"Tokyo Storm Warning" from "Blood and Chocolate"; mentions the cheap
sets found in some Japanese horror/sf movies. (In the sleeve notes to
"Girls Girls Girls" (a retrospective collection of Elvis Costello + The
Attractions songs) Costello says that Tokyo Storm Warning is influenced
by "brutal SF stories", and mentions Philip K Dick as one of the
influences.) "Waiting for the End of the World" from "My Aim Is True",
(self explanatory) and "Night Rally" (fascist rally/totalitarian government)
"Hurry Down Doomsday (the Bugs Are Taking Over)" from "Mighty Like a
Rose". "Satellite" from the album _Spike_ is based on concepts from
"Radio Free Albemuth" by Philip K. Dick. "My Science-Fiction Twin" from
"Brutal Youth" mentions a lot of SF cliches, including "The Attack
of the Fifty-Foot Woman".
Crack the Sky:
"Robots for Ronnie" off "Crack the Sky" (not about Ronnie Reagan, but
could easily be adapted!). "Invaders from Mars" off "Animal Notes"
(the martians are coming for our hero, but he doesn't care, 'cause
it's probably better over there!). "Nuclear Apathy" off "Safety in
Numbers" discusses how the situation looks to those on the Moon.
Cracker:
Led by David Lowery, formerly of Camper Van Beethoven.
"Nostalgia" (from "Kerosene Hat", 1993) is about a stranded cosmonaut,
also mentioned on the single "Low", from the same album.
Cramps:
Contributed a song to the soundtrack of "Return of the Living Dead",
called "Surfin' Dead" (about zombies and the like, not
to mention numerous uses of 50's-60's era hot-rod lingo.)
Crash Test Dummies:
A Canadian group. "Superman Song" from their first album, "The Ghosts that
Haunt Me", is about the man of steel himself, comparing his lifestyle to that
of Tarzan.
The Cravats:
A number of albums contain SF references. For example the album "The
Bushes Scream While My Daddy Prunes" uses recordings from TV's "The
Twilight Zone" and "The Prisoner" plus the film "Them!". The title
track ends with the narrator's father being eaten by his roses. The
Cravats later turned into The Very Things and released the album
"Motortown!", which contains the track "The Land of the Giants" about
the TV series.
Cream:
(Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Jack Bruce.)
"Tales of Brave Ulysses" from "Disraeli Gears" is *not* about the
well-known mythological character; it's about Eric Clapton's holiday
in Greece. "Those Were the Days" from "Wheels of Fire" is about Atlantis.
The Creatures:
"Pluto Drive" from "Boomerang".
Creedence Clearwater Revival:
"It Come Out of the Sky".
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young:
"Wooden Ships" is a resigned tale of survival in a post-nuclear world.
(Written by Crosby, Stills, and Kantner; see "Jefferson Airplane".)
"Teach Your Children" is part of the soundtrack to "Silent Running".
The Cure:
On the "Faith" LP there is a track called "The Drowning Man" based on
chapter 75 in 'Gormenghast' by Mervyn Peake describing the death of Fuschia.
Dalek I Love You (aka Dalek I):
Who are these folks?
(As always, somebody has the answer!) Chris Oxford writes:
I also have a litle information on the "Dalek I (Love You)" Band,
all of which comes from the December 1983 edition of the
now defunct magazine "Electronic Soundmaker and Computer Music".
The band was formed in Liverpool, England in 1979. Their first
album, "Compass Kum'Pas", was released in 1980, and their second,
"Ambition", in 1983. The single "Holiday in Disneyland" was also
released in 1983.
Members of the band have included:
founder Alan Gill on guitars, vocals and rhythm programming;
Gordon Hon, keyboard & vocals;
Kenny Peers, keyboards & vocals.
The name of the band is apparently a compromise between two
suggested names: "Dalek" and "Darling I Love You". I am not
familiar with their music, but seems that the title may be the
only SF element; unless somebody else knows otherwise.
Incidentally, Alan Gill joined "The Teardrop Explodes" for a while,
during which time he wrote their hit single "Reward".
The Damned:
"I Just Can't Be Happy Today" (single + live on "The Black Album")
deals with a future military state in the UK.
Dandelion Lion:
Canadian band with a number of recordings, including "Cheap Hooch", which
has some mythical/fantasy tunes on it including "Windego".
Danse Society:
On their "Heaven is Waiting" LP is cover of "2000 Light Years from home".
DeBurgh, Chris:
"The Vision", "The Leader", and "What About Me?", a three-song
series from "Into the Light" discusses the Revelation, which may or
may not be a fantasy, depending on your viewpoint. See "A Spaceman Came
Travelling" and "The Tower" from "Spanish Train", "The Girl With April
in Her Eyes" from "Crusader", "Sight and Touch" from "Man on the Line"
(post-WW3), and "Don't Pay the Ferryman" from "The Getaway".
Also note "The Devil's Eye" from "Crusader", about the devil taking over the
world through TV screens, and "Sin City" from "Far Beyond These Castle Walls",
about the devil tempting people on Earth. Also from the same LP,
"Windy Night" is about an angel coming to earth to help a soldier die.
"Where Will We Be Going" from "Power of Ten" mentions "Childhood's End"
and the Bowman child from 2001, both A.C. Clarke references.
"Carry On" from "Crusader" has a verse that apparently makes no sense;
but if read backwards, it says: " Set a course for the stars/destination
unknown/The universe is calling the world/Towards her last and
final resting place".
Dead Kennedys:
Their album "Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death" has
at least one song which is set in a fascist state-future thing.
Also their song "Message From Our Sponsor" for the soundtrack of Terminal
City Ricochet is similar.
Dead Milkmen:
Have done a number of SF songs, including "Right Wing Pigeons" from
"Big Lizard in my Backyard", and "The Thing That Only Eats Hippies".
See also "Rocketship" and "Blood Orgy of the Atomic Fern"
on "Buckey Fellini". Also "Stuart" from "Beezelbubba" is the ranting
of a trailer park lunatic who is convinced that "the large
underground homosexual population" of Des Moines is building landing
strips for gay Martians!
Deep Fix:
Michael Moorcock's band of the late seventies-produced one album, "The
New Worlds Fair". A sort of cross between rock and slow square dance.
Deep Purple:
Occasional forays into SF. "Space Truckin'", from "Machine Head".
"The Mule", from "Fireball" (Asimov's 'Foundation'?). Also "Demon's Eye",
from "Fireball", "King of Dreams" and "Fortuneteller" from "Slaves and Masters",
and possibly "Child in Time" from "In Rock".
Def Leppard:
Heavy Metal. First album ("On Through The Night" has a futuristic track,
"When the Walls Came Tumblin' Down", and a fantasy "Overture".
The videos for "Foolin'" and "Rock of Ages" from "Pyromania" contain
fantasy/SF elements, although the lyrics of the songs aren't explicitly
SF-ish. The LP "Hysteria" includes "Gods of War", "Run Riot",
"Armageddon it" and "Rocket" which have s-f themes (It sounds so, at least).
The video for "Women" (also from "Hysteria")is about a s-f comic story
(called "Def Leppard and the Women of Doom").
Desolation Angels:
New wave of British heavy metal, their self titled LP contains the
tracks "Spirit of the deep" and "Valhalla".
Devo:
"Q: Are we not men? A: We are DEVO" and "Duty Now for the Future" are
full of SF themes; examples are "Space Junk" and "Jocko Homo". "Freedom
of Choice" and "New Traditionalists" also have some SF material.
Also "Shout" has a couple of SF tracks on it: "Are You Experienced?"
(the Hendrix song) and "4th Dimension". "Mr DNA" from "Duty Now for the
Future" is apparently about genetic engineering.
Diamond, Neil:
"Heartlight" is based on "E.T."
Diamond Head:
New wave of British heavy metal, the LP "Canturbury" is a bit fantasy oriented
with songs like "The Kingmaker", "Knight of the swords" and "Ishmael".
Die Prinzen (The Princes):
"Wir sind ueberall" (We are everywhere) "Die Prinzen" are a well-known
German band who sing mainly acapella. This song is about aliens
who are among us, take care for us and cherish us.
Dio:
Most Dio albums are fantasy in tone, i.e. covers & liners. "The Last
in Line" is about a quest to find a witch. Other songs and videos
have similar themes.
Divinyls:
Australian grunge band, did a track called "Science Fiction" on
their "Desperate" album. It's more about your average sf fan
"I thought love was science fiction...now that love is my addiction,
I've thrown all my books away."
DOEF:
(the OE being O umlaut, DOEF stands for Deutsch-Oestereichische-Freunschaft,
German-Austrian-Friendship) once wrote a song called 'Codo'. It's about
a peace and love bringing alien.
Dogzilla:
Boston funk band with songs "Mr. Toad's WIld Ride", "Scarab of Ra",
"The Two-Headed Baby Song" and "Giant Squid" as examples from "There's
Always Something Wrong"/"Allizgod". Fun.
Dolby, Thomas:
"Golden Age of Wireless" is mostly (if not all) songs about
science/technology and man. "The Flat Earth" also contains these themes
to a lesser extent. The album "Aliens Ate My Buick" (an SF title if ever
I heard one) includes the track "May The Cube Be With You" (first line -
"Late one night a happy Martian with nothing to do"). See also the
album "Astronauts and Heretics". And "Blinded By Science" deserves
a mention, if only for its quaint British institutional imagery in
the video, and for the catchphrase "SCIENCE!".
Donovan (w/Paul McCartney):
"Atlantis" (Georg Danzer translated and sang a German version.)
See also "The Intergalactive Laxative" and the title track
from "Cosmic Wheels". "Sunshine Superman" probably deserves
a mention as well.
Dorough, Bob:
"Little Twelvetoes" is about an alien with 12 toes.
Geoffrey Downes New Dance Orchestra:
"Plastic Age" on one of their albums (which one, anybody?).
Dr. John:
"Gris-Gris" and "Gumbo" are heavily into New Orleans voodoo party mysticism.
roids : "Star Peace"
Released 1979. Droids is/was a French group I know nothing about.
Alludes to "Star Wars". Instrumental (electronic) music.
Dschinghis Khan:
A German band with a song called "Kaept'n Nemo" about Jules Vernes'
undersea captain.
Duran Duran:
(Note: The group's name comes from a character in the Jane Fonda/Roger Vadim
film "Barbarella".)
Some comments from Gabrielle de Lioncourt on Duran Duran:
Their first album has "Planet Earth" and "Sound of Thunder" (the
latter about waiting for the bomb to drop). A B-side, "Faster than
Light", was also SF. Duran Duran have a very interesting video
history for SF lovers. The majority of their videos were directed
by Russel Mulchaey, director of Highlander. Some video plots:
"Night Boat" - zombie horror video
"Hungry Like The Wolf" - man chases woman who turns into panther.
"New Moon On Monday" - near future story of peaceful revolt against
totalitarian regime.
"Union of the Snake" - man from Earth travels into the world
beneath ours.
"View to a Kill" - James Bond fantasy.
"Wild Boys" wasn't a tribute to Barbarella. It was taken from
their film "Arena", a _very_ surreal story that takes place half
in the arena where Duran Duran are holding their concert and half
in the strange underworld below the arena (where Wild Boys takes
place). The videos by Arcadia, a splinter portion of the band,
are also surreal and SF-ish.
Dylan, Bob:
"Talkin' World War III Blues". He quotes some Star Trek dialogue (from
"Mayor of Castlebridge" on "Tight Connection to my Heart".
Earth and Fire:
A Dutch group from the late 70's to now (I think) with a lot of SF&F
themes. Albums worth listening to: "Atlantis", "Andromeda Girl", "Gate
to Infinity" (one side of the latter deals with reincarnation), "Reality
Fills Fantasy".
Earth, Wind & Fire:
"Jupiter" from "All 'n All"; the singer is visited by an alien
who wants to bring love and peace to the world by means of a
flower from his plant. "Electric Nation" from the "Electric Universe" album
tells how it won't be so bad to become a country of robots, as long as
we can still dance. ;-)
Earthling:
Album 'Radar".
Eat Static:
Practically everything by Eat Static is ufo-based. First album
"Abduction", second album "Implant". The track list for the latter
is: Survivors, Abnormal Interference, Implant, Dzopha Dream, Panspermia,
Area 51 (Nucleonic mix), Cydonia, Uforic Undulance. Lots of speech
samples referring to UFO's, aliens, conspiracy theories, etc.
Edelweiss:
An Austrian band who've recorded a parody of the Star Trek theme entitled
"Raumschiff Edelweiss" ("Spaceship Edelweiss"); they also have a
corresponding video.
Electric Light Orchestra:
"Mission (A World Record)" on "A New World Record". The entire album
"Time" involves a man from 1981 winding up in the 21st century (or perhaps
the other way around). The "10538 Overture" is a dystopia set in that year.
(Although closer examination of the lyrics indicates that "10538" might
be a person, not a year.)
Elektric Music:
The Kraftwerk offshoot band's first album "Esperanto" has a song about
making love to a machine ("Kissing The Machine"). Co-written by and
features the vocals of OMD's Andy McCluskey.
Elephant's Memory:
The track "Old Man Willow" is apparently a reference to the sentient
trees described by Tolkien.
Eloy:
(German/Swiss electronic progressive rock) See "Ocean", the atlantis
myth; "Planets","Time to Turn", a two album story of fantasy with a
twist. (It's about "the rise and fall of the most beautiful planet in
the universe, Salta".) Also, "Giant" from "Colours" and "Night Riders"
and "Metromania" from "Metromania", about the high tech near future. The
LP "Power and the Passion" is based on a story involving a student who
ingests some of his father's experimental timedrug. He travels back 600
years and falls in love, gets involved in her father's fight with the
peasants and eventually finds a wizard to send him back to the future.
(The name of the band was based on the Eloi race from H. G. Wells'
"The Time Machine".)
Emerald Web:
(small obscure west coast duo [flute & synthesizer]) New age material,
but one album is "Dragon Wings and Wizard Tales", a fantasy story set
to music.
Emerson, Lake, & Palmer:
Space battle in "Karn Evil 9" from "Brain Salad Surgery". (Artwork
by H R Giger, of "Alien" fame.) See also "Tarkus", whose tracks
seem to loosely correlate with the cover artwork, but which I've
never been quite able to figure out.
Enigma:
(yes, the 'project' who had a hit with gregorian choirs): "Out From The Deep".
A song about an ancient race who returns to make a new beginning and to
teach mankind of their knowledge.
Eno, Brian:
Albums: "Apollo" and "On Land"; see also "The Fat Lady of Limbourg"
from "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy", a bizarre story of
SF and espionage. See also "Nerve Net".
----Some commentary on Eno from Tim Day:
Re "Apollo": This is purely instrumental. It was apparently written as
sountrack for a video documentary of the Apollo missions (bits were
also used in the film "Static"), but I don't think this qualifies
it for the main section of the list any more than
"On Land" is also instrumental. #1 of a series entitled "Ambient" (sort of
intelligent background muzak). It is intended to suggest large open spaces
(and succeeds very well). But SF ? No way.
Eno's philosophy towards song lyrics seems to be summarized by the first
track ("Skysaw") on "Another Green World":
"All the clouds turn to words;
All the words float in sequence
And no-one knows what they mean
Everyone just ignores them"
Eno's songs generally aim to invoke an atmosphere, mood or emotion.
Like the music, lyrics are just another tool to serve this purpose; this can
often be done using particular words or phrases. However, the song they form
in combination is essentially meaningless (which is why it's so difficult
to classify any of his stuff as SF !). "The Fat Lady of Limbourg" is
probably the closest he's come. (Though it really seems to be just about
bumbling espionage agencies.)
--- Tim Day
-----
Enya:
"Aldebaran" is dedicated to Ridley Scott; the liner notes about it read:
"The Red giant star, Aldeberan, found in the constellation of Taurus,
is the Eye of the bull. From the Arabic, Al Dabaran, it means
'the follower' as it 'follows' the Pleiades. This piece portrays
future Celts passing Aldebaran on their journey to new territories,
continuing the migratory pattern which was so predominant in their
early history."
Another track, Tolkien-derived, is "Lothlorien".
The album "Shepherd Moons" is a sort of reference to moons found in
the rings of Saturn, which, due to their gravitational influence,
hold some of the rings in place. (See also Clannad: Enya is the sister of
the former lead singer, and was part of their early line-up.)
Eon:
Their album "Void dweller" include several tracks with samples from SF
and horror movies. For example, "Spice" and "Fear: The Mindkiller"
have samples from Dune (saw that coming, didn't you?), "Electromagnetic
Waves" has samples from "Prince of Darkness" and so on.
Erasure:
Their song "Sweet Sweet Baby" includes samples from the films "Dark Star"
and "Barbarella".
Erickson, Roky:
Landmark Texas psychedelic. Used to tour with the backing bands
Bleib Alien (where Bleib is an anagram for Bible) and then The
Aliens. "The Evil One" has a track entitled "Creature with the Atom Brain"
Also see "I Walked with a Zombie" (now you know all the lyrics :-) ).
Etheridge, Melissa:
Her 1992 release "Never Enough" includes "2001", a rocker with
semi-cyberpunk lyrics about the near future.
Europe:
A Swedish pop-slanted hard rock band, which did the song
"The Final Countdown", about being exiled from Earth.
Eurythmics:
Did the soundtrack to the recent version of "1984".
FM:
The album "Black Noise" is entirely SF, and deal with topics such
as suspended animation; "RocketRoll" from "Surveillance" is about SF Rock.
Also see "Phasers on Stun".
Fagen, Donald:
"True Companion", about a lonely starship pilot, appears on the
soundtrack for "Heavy Metal". (Incidentally, some folks have
interpreted I.G.Y. (International Geophysical Year) to be futuristic;
but it refers to the optimistic vision held *during* the IGY, 1957.)
"Tomorrow's Girls" from "Kamakiriad", and, in fact, the entire "Kamakiriad"
album -- it's an SF-oriented concept album. The action takes place
at the turn of the century, and the central character drives his brand-new
steam-driven satellite-navigated vegetable-garden-equipped dream car
through a futuristic landscape. One of the central character's stops on
his journey includes an amusement park attraction that lets you relive your
memories in vivid detail.
Fairport Convention:
A few fantasy-related songs -- most notably "Tam Lin", the classic
celtic tale of an encounter with the Queen of Faerie. F.C.'s music
is mostly based around traditional English folktales. (See also
Steeleye Span.)
Faith No More:
The last-minute addition of new singer and lyricist
Mike Patton before they came out with "The Real Thing" necessitated
that he write all the songs in about eight days, so he went on sort
of a scavenger hunt for topics. Among the usual assortment of love
songs, and some other truely weird topics, "Surprise! You're Dead!"
is about getting turned into a Vampire. "The Morning After" is about
a ghost, and is an adaptation of the film Siesta.
The Fall:
They have a song called "Lay of the Land" which starts with the
chanting of some "Planet people" from the British TV series
"Quatermass". "Spectre vs. Rector" on "Dragnet" is a story about
exorcism/possession- the demon is called Yog Sothoth (from H.P.
Lovecraft's horror books). "Jaw Bone and the Air-Rifle" on "Hex
Induction Hour" is about a curse. See also "Elves", "Bug Day".
Falling Joys:
Australian band; the title trakck from the album "Psychohum" is the
story of the galaxy being saved by the crew of a spaceship...until
the lyrics abruptly change direction and start describing a genie.
Farmer, Mylene:
This French singer has a song "Tristana" which tells the story of that
beautiful girl ("Schneewitchen" in German) with the seven dwarfs.
Fiona:
"Nights on Earth", from the soundtrack to "Hearts of Fire",
features the chorus line "Remember all the nights we spent on earth, long
before the colonies were planted in the sky".
Firm:
"Star Trekkin'". This is not the same "Firm" who did "Radioactive",
i.e. it's not Paul Rodgers and Jimmy Page.
Fink Brothers:
"Mutants in Mega City One", from 2000AD comic (origin of Judge Dredd).
America portrayed as three cities under police control.
Fishbone:
Off their self titled album, "V.T.T.L.O.T.F.D.G.F." stands for
"Voyage to the Land of the Freeze-Dried Godzilla Farts" and is
about a government attempt to convince everything that Hiroshima was
actually caused by Godzilla farting. I kid you not.
"Party at Ground Zero" from the eponymous album.
Fischer Z (the Z is pronounced the Britisch way, sead with a soft s):
The title track from their album "Red Skies Over Paradise" is
about nuclear war in Britain.
The Five Blobs:
"The Blob".
Five Man Electrical Band:
(most known for the 60's anthem "Signs") recorded a song (title?) about a werewolf.
The Fixx:
Much of their first two albums are built around the theme of
nuclear war. Most notable are "The Strain," "I Live," and "Red Skies" on
Shuttered Room, and "The Sign of Fire" on Reach the Beach.
Also, "Driven Out", about environmental disaster, from "Calm Animals".
(Known for early-80's hit "One Thing Leads to Another".)
Flaming Youth:
The album "Ark II" is a concept LP about the trials and tribulations of
a generation ship leaving earth. (Phil Collins was the drummer.)
Flash & the Pan:
"First and Last" is based on a combination of Olaf Stapledon's
"Last and First Men" and Arthur C. Clarke's "The Sentinel" or "2001,"
whichever you prefer. The song "California" is based on the novel
"Fail-Safe". See also "Atlantis Calling".
Flash Fearless and the Zorg Women, parts 5&6:
Another weird IGTB type collaboration album from the
late 70's with some well-known rockers on it.
Includes "I'm Flash" by Alice Cooper.
Fleck, Bela and the Flecktones:
Self-titled album includes the two part "Mars Needs Women (Space is a
Lonely Place/They're here)". "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo" includes "Flying
Saucer Dudes" and a track with the same name as the album. "UFO TOFU"
has "UFO TOFU", a song with lots of palindromic figures. "Three Flew
Over the Cuckoo's Nest" includes "Vix 9" (the video for this
apparently features a computer-animated spaceship called the Vix 9),
and "Interlude (Return of the Ancient Ones)" which is a solo number by
Futureman. Speaking of which, one of the Flecktones is called
"Future Man" and plays a futuristic SynthAxe Drumitar; he's allegedly
travelled back in time from the year 2050 to play with the Flecktones.
Fleetwood Mac:
"Green Manalishi". (Judas Priest did an eminently forgettable version.)
"Rhiannon" is about a Welsh witch.
Flock, The:
"Dinosaur Swamps" is an early LP. Notable for quality of musicians,
including Jerry Goodman who later joined the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Flock of Seagulls:
British band (circa 1982) very much associated with science fiction.
Songs with titles like "Man Made", "DNA", "Modern Love is Automatic",
and "Space Age Love Song". Some suggestions have been made that "I Ran",
one of their more popular singles, is about a UFO abduction.
Flying Pickets:
Have an a cappela cover of Bowie's "Space Oddity".
Flying Saucer Attack:
(named after a Revillos song).
Forbidden Dimension:
Canadian B-movie garage rock. Have put out two albums, "Sin Gallery" and
"Somebody Down There Likes Me", as well as numerous singles, full of songs
about monsters and psychos and what-have-you. Sample titles: "Graveyard
Line", "Mars Is Heaven", "Tall Dark and Gruesome", "Crawling Eye '95".
Foreigner:
"Starrider" is a track from their self-titled debut album in which
the singer is taken to the stars and "sails the celestial ways."
Reference is made to higher beings with the power to travel between the
stars and the singer seeks to gain their knowledge to become a Starrider.
A 3rd generation band, Foreigner followed in the footsteps of Bad Company,
who in turn followed in the footsteps of Free.
Foxx, John:
Former lead singer for Ultravox -- slightly harsh electro-pop. Futuristic
tracks include "20th Century" on the B-Side of the "Burning Car" single.
Surreal tracks include "He's a Liquid". First solo album "Metamatic"
is futuristic and minimalistic synth music, including "No-one's Driving"
and "Underpass"
Frank Chickens:
"Mothra", based on the movie monster.
Franke, Christopher:
Former member of Tangerine Dream who wrote the Soundtrack of "Universal
Solder" (1992) and is now involved with the soundtrack of "Babylon 5".
Frankie Goes To Hollywood:
Their 1984 "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" album has two tracks with SF'isch
connotations. The title track is about the Coleridge poem ("In Xanada
did Kubla Khan/A stately pleasure dome decree", if memory serves ---Rsk),
and 'Two Tribes' is about nuclear war.
The Front's:
"Violent World" from their self-titled album (as far as I know,
the only one they ever recorded) - another nuclear holocaust tale.
Front 242:
Cyberpunk music. On "Official Version", you'll find "W.Y.H.I.W.Y.G.
(invasion from flying saucers?) "Television Station" (corporate politics
with a vicious attitude), "Red Team", and "Quite Unusual" (waking up
to a nuclear war). On "Front by Front", see "Circling Overland"
(stealth fighters?) "Headhunter v3.0" (headhunter, hired to kidnap
someone), and "Work 01". Also use a sample from the movie Videodrome
in one of their songs.
Front Line Assembly:
An industrial band, their latest album is titled "Tactical Neural Implant"
and they have a single from that album called "Mindphazer". The video for
this single has footage from a japanese live-action sci-fi film
called "GUNHED".
GWAR:
Mentioned here mostly because these folks are sincerely weird. Its
members all claim to be from another planet and to have been frozen in
Antartica for countless years. Their music is heavy metal, and they
(aided with lots of latex) really look unearthly. Currently they are
on their 'World Maggot Tour' where they hope to awaken the sleeping
world maggot from its nest underneath the Pentagon and ride it back
into outer space.
Gabriel Bondage:
"Another Trip to Earth" (LP), religious/fantasy mixture.
Gabriel, Peter:
"Here Comes the Flood", with Robert Fripp, and "Solsbury Hill" are typical
of his work. "On the Air" from his second album is about running a pirate
radio transmitter under a totalitarian regime. Many of his other songs deal
with aspects of science and technology and progress, and their effects
on people, but many of them are metaphorical and interpretations vary.
See also Genesis.
Game Theory:
"One More for Saint Michael" on the album "Lolita Nation" includes
references to Captain Jim, the Prime Directive, T'Pau, etc. "Nine Lives
to Rigel 5" from "Distortion" and "Regenisraen" from "Big Shot Chronicle"
also have SF themes. Finally, "Room for One More Honey" from "Two
Steps From the Middle Ages" is based on an old episode of "The Twilight Zone":
A woman has a dream in which she meets this man at the entrance to a
morgue. He smiles and says to her, "room for one more, honey!" Next
day, she's about to board a plane when the guy boarding people says to
her, in the same voice, "room for one more, honey." Needless to say,
she freaks--doesn't get on the plane, which (of course) crashes,
killing everyone on board.
Gamma Ray:
This German heavy metal group was formed by Kai Hansen from Helloween.
The album "Heading for Tomorrow", released 1989/90, has some slight SF
influences, e.g. in the songs "Spaceeater" and "Heading for Tomorrow".
Ganymed:
An Austrian (I think) band with several SF type songs, e.g. "Saturn"
and "Hyperspace".
Gayle, Crystal:
When she appeared on "The Muppet Show", she sang "We Must Believe
in Magic", about a voyage to Alpha Centauri. This was also released
by EMI-Manhattan Records on CD.
J. Geils Band:
"No Anchovies, Please" frommm "Love Stinks" is about diabolical
scientists who kidnap a woman and transform her into...
Also, Peter Wolf (lead singer) did a great "Mars Needs Women".
Geldof, Bob:
"Thinking Voyager 2 Type Things" (album "The Vegetarians Of Love", 1990)
One verse of the song is about this interstellar satellite.
General Base:
"Bidi bidi, do you wanna dance?" and "Mein Gott, es ist voller Sterne!"
(My god, it's full of stars!) A german techno group. The first song has
quotes from the 70's SF-movie "Buck Rogers" (you know the little robot
who says "Bidi bidi bidi"?), the second quotes the movie
"2010 - the year we make contact".
Genesis:
"Watcher of the Skies" (from "Foxtrot") could be either a "last man
on Earth" story or a "alien comes upon a deserted Earth" story;
some indication that it's from Keats' sonnet "On First Looking Into Chapman's Homer".
"One for the Vine" from "Wind and Wuthering" concerns time travel;
perhaps "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" (Hello Triffids,
from "Nursery Cryme"), "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" (the entire album) is
a surreal concept album about opening of a gateway into an
alternative universe replete with mutants and monsters: The Colony of
SlipperMen, the Carpet Crawlers, the Lamia [more Keats] and the efforts of the
anti-hero Rael to rescue his brother and return to his homeworld.
Also, try the entire "A Trick of the Tail" album (fantasy).
Oh, and "Get 'em Out by Friday" (from "Foxtrot") which sounds like something
the BBC should have turned into a Doctor Who plot -- tenants are being kicked
out of their apartments by their new landlords, who just happen to be the
directors of Genetic Control, who just happen to have just announced a new
'four-foot restriction on humanoid height', thus enabling them to fit twice
as many people to a building...it's a downbeat retelling of Howard Fast's
"The Vision of Milty Boil" from "The General Zapped an Angel", which is
part fantasy, part vicious satire on marketing. See also "Keep it Dark"
in which visiting aliens persuade the person they contact to remain silent
about the visit. More stuff: "Am I Very Wrong", "Solitude", "The Knife"
(--maybe, from "Trespass"), "The Musical Box" (horror, from "Nursery Cryme").
According to the story told in 1970s concerts (and apparently on the liners
of the original release, but on present in the current American release): A
boy (Henry) is killed when his playmate (Cynthia) takes his head off with a
croquet mallet (one concert telling of the tale begins, in fact, with the
line, "Croquet is a particularly vicious British sport"). Upon reaching The
Great Hereafter, he is rejected and sent back to Earth, only to manifest
himself again when Cynthia comes upon his musical box. Upon her opening the
box, Henry pops out (and the song begins). Over the course of the song,
Henry's body ages rapidly, until, by the final strains, he is an old man,
who finally collapses and dies (assumedly for good this time).
"The Fountain of Salmacis" (fantasy, from "Nursery Cryme"),
is a retelling of the myth of Hermaphroditus and Salmacis.
Hermaphroditus, son of Hermes and Aphrodite, comes upon a pool wherein
dwells the naiad Salmacis. Salmacis, smitten with love, asks the gods to
make the two of them one being. The result -- a single being of both
genders; hence, the term 'hermaphrodite'. "Supper's Ready"
(the ultimate battle of good and evil, from "Foxtrot", possibly based on
an experience Peter Gabriel had one night when his wife began speaking
with another voice ), "Firth of Fifth", and Dancing with the Moonlit Knight"
(both containing heavy fantasy elements, both from "Selling England by
the Pound"). (It's also possible that "Dancing..." is political allegory
instead -- which I tend to agree with, given the album title and a re-reading.
"Cinema Show", from the same album, mentions the mythical figure of Tyresias,
a being who has been both male and female (but not at the same time).
See also "Squonk" from "A Trick of the Tail", and "The Lady Lies" from
"...And Then There Were Three...", a fantasy about a traveller captured
by a demon in the form of a young woman. See also "Little Nemo" and
"Snowbound" from the same album, which also have fantasy elements.
"Domino" from "Invisible Touch" is about nuclear war,
death, damnation, and other cheery topics. BTW, Peter Gabriel used to
tell stories before some of the songs in concert, although those stories
seem to have nothing to do with the songs (occasionally).
And (whew!), "Home by the Sea" from "Genesis" may be a description
of the Giants in Stephen R. Donaldson's "Second Chronicles of
Thomas Covenant". Whether it is or not, it's certainly a chilling tale, about
a visitor (thief?) who enters a large, old house by the sea...and once inside,
he is trapped along with the other ghosts who erred similarly and are doomed
to tell their stories over and over again.
Gentle Giant:
Much material, tending towards fantasy including "The Advent of Panurge",
and "Alucard" (spell it backwards).
Gerry and the Holograms:
The single "Gerry and the Holograms" is about a man who is split into
several copies of himself. If I remember rightly the man behind this
group was the singer from Albertos Y Los Paranoias.
Gong:
New Age before anyone had coined the label "new age". Three albums about
the Planet Gong, Zero the Hero & the Pot-Head Pixies!: "Radio Gnome",
"Angel's Egg", "You". Earlier albums had vaguely SF ideas, e.g.,
"Fohat Digs Holes in Space" from "Camembert Electrique".
Gillan:
The title song from "Future Shock" and, from "Glory Road", "On the Rocks"
describes a 1984-like world.
Ian Gillan Band:
"Clear Air Turbulence" is an album with some sf-related songs, such as
the title track (5000 'astral explorers' swarm out and return holplessly)
and "Five Moons" (describes the situation of people stranded somewhere
in space).
Girlschool:
All girl British heavy metal band, their LP "Nightmare at Maple Cross" is
pretty much a horror/fantasy type story.
Gowan, Larry:
See "Oceania" from "Gowan" (first LP) might refer to Oceana.
See also "Strange Animal", his second LP.
Graham, Mark:
The album "Natural Selections" contains several humorous songs on
various scientific topics, including "Big Bang Theory" (the story of
the universe in six minutes), "Working on the Food Chain", "I Can
See Your Aura and It's Ugly" and "Their Brains Were Small and They Died".
Great harmonica playing, too.
Grand Funk Railroad:
See "Time Machine" and "Into the Sun" from "On Time", and
"Life in Outer Space" from "What's Funk?"
Grateful Dead:
"Standing on the Moon" is a reflection by a singer who is standing on
the moon watching petty wars on earth; possibly SF-ish although it
seems to be more of a love song. In the post-apocalyptic vision/love song
"Morning Dew", two lovers decide to walk out in the morning dew
(despite the fallout) because "I guess it doesn't matter anyway".
Greenslade, David:
"The Pentateuch of the Cosmogony", a double album of electronic music.
A derelict alien spaceship enters our solar system. Their language is
decoded (details in the accompanying illustrated book); the music is
the story of their race. Also "Music from the Diskworld" based on and
using quotes from Terry Pratchett's Diskworld series. Most of the
album is "theme" tracks for one or another of the books several having
quotes from the text. And there are a couple of vocal pieces
"The Shades of old Ankh- Morpork" and "A Wizards Staff has a Knob on the End"
which relate to the series.
Guided By Voices:
Some of their songs have fairly suggestive titles such as "Hardcore
UFO's", "Alien Lanes" and "Saturn X Radio Report", but their lyrics
at their most understandable are fairly cryptic, and often just darn obscure.
H.P. Lovecraft:
Couple of albums...one contains "At the Mountains of Madness". Estimates
place them in the late 60's. Another track is "The White Ship",
directly referencing an H.P. Lovecraft story.
Some commentary on H.P. Lovecraft from Hal Broome:
H.P. Lovecraft lasted three albums. They were based in Chicago
and named the group because one of the members had a dog
named "Cthulhu", which meant that someone was always running
around yelling "here Chthulhu, here Chthulhu!"
The first album was creaky but the second was brilliant. The first,
HP I, had "The White Ship" and the second, HP II, had "At the
Mountains of Madness". The third came out years later in the
early 70s and only had the drummer as an original member. One
good song, but not very SFish except for the title ("Shadow of
the Moon"?).
Hackett, Steve:
"Narnia" on "Please Don't Touch" (one of his solo albums;he was with Genesis).
His album "Voyage of the Acolyte" isbased on the Tarot, and includes
"Star of Sirius", "The Hands of the Princess", "A Tower Struck Down",
"The Lovers", "The Hermit", "The Shadow of the Hierophant", and "Ace of Wands".
"Guitar Noir" includes "Vampyre with a Healthy Appetite". See also Genesis.
Hagar, Sammy:
"There's a Crack in the Earth".
Hagen, Nina:
"Zero Zero U.F.O." (sung in German, album "freud euch", 1995) A song about her
encounter with an UFO.
Hamm, Stuart:
"Radio Free Albemuth" is based on the novels of Phillip K. Dick, and
includes the title track and "Flow My Tears".
"Kings of Sleep" includes "Black Ice", "Terminal Beach", the title
track, and "Count Zero", based on William Gibson's material.
Hamm has also worked with Joe Satriani.
Hammill, Peter:
Has done an operatic treatment of "The Fall of the House of Usher".
Happy the Man:
"Time Considered as a Helix of Precious Laughs" is based on Samuel R.
Delany's story "Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones".
Great story, lousy song...from the album "Happy the Man".
Hardcastle, Paul:
The "No Winner" album is filled with songs about nuclear attacks and SDI.
Harper, Roy:
"McGoohan's Blues" from "Folkjokeopus" is influenced by The Prisoner.
"Nineteen-Forty Eightish" from "Whatever Happened To Jugula".
Album "Descendants Of Smith" (also released under title Garden Of Uranium)
is dedicated to Philip K. Dick.
Hatfield and the North
"Son of There's No Place Like Homerton" from their eponymous album.
It's a lengthy song which has sparse lyrics and seems to be
about an orchestra from Mars.
Hackett, Steve:
"Narnia" on "Please Don't Touch" (one of his solo albums;he was with Genesis).
His album "Voyage of the Acolyte" isbased on the Tarot, and includes
"Star of Sirius", "The Hands of the Princess", "A Tower Struck Down",
"The Lovers", "The Hermit", "The Shadow of the Hierophant", and "Ace of Wands".
See also Genesis.
Hagar, Sammy:
"There's a Crack in the Earth".
Hamm, Stuart:
"Radio Free Albemuth" is based on the novels of Phillip K. Dick.
"Count Zero" is based on William Gibson's material.
Instrumental music includes the song "Ice-9", a reference to Kurt Vonnegut's
"Cat's Cradle". Hamm has also worked with Joe Satriani.
Hammill, Peter:
Has done an operatic treatment of "The Fall of the House of Usher".
Happy the Man:
"Time Considered as a Helix of Precious Laughs" is based on Samuel R.
Delany's story "Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones".
Great story, lousy song...from the album "Happy the Man".
Hardcastle, Paul:
The "No Winner" album is filled with songs about nuclear attacks and SDI.
Hatfield and the North
"Son of There's No Place Like Homerton" from their eponymous album.
It's a lengthy song which has sparse lyrics and seems to be
about an orchestra from Mars.
Hawkwind:
The all-time consensus champion for sf-oriented rock. *Some* of their
albums are: "Hall of the Mountain Grill", "In Search of Space",
"Quark, Strangeness, and Charm", "Space Ritual--Alive in Liverpool &
London", "Warrior on the Edge of Time", "In Search of Space", "Doremi
Fasol Latido", "Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music","25 Years On",
"Levitation", "Sonic Attack", "Church of the Hackwind", and "Choose
Your Masks". Michael Moorcock, long associated with the group, has
in fact written much fantasy-sf, including co-authoring "Time of the Hawklords",
a fantasy about the band saving the world. He co-wrote "Veteran of the
Psychic Wars", from the soundtrack of "Heavy Metal". He also released a
solo album late in the 70's (See "Deep Fix"). Many of their tracks are
explicitly linked to SF books,e.g. "Lord of Light", "Jack of Shadows",
"Damnation Alley" (Zelazny), "Steppenwolf" (Hesse), "High Rise" (Ballard).
The lyrics of "Warriors" are taken from Moorcock's "The Eternal Champion";
the lyrics to another spoken track on "Space Ritual" from his book
"The Black Corridor" The lyrics of "The Awakening", "Spirit of the Age"
and "The 10 Seconds of Forever", are SF poems from Robert Calvert's
collection of poems, "Centigrade 232". Robert Calvert was lead singer
of Hawkwind from 1976-1978 (or thereabouts) and produced a solo album,
"Lucky Leif in the Longships" in the late 70's, and two more in the mid-80's.
"Lucky Leif" is based on the premise "What if the Vikings had
succeeded and colonizing America?", and features several Hawkwind
regulars as guest musicians. The 1985 Hawkwind LP "The Chronicle of
the Black Sword" is based loosely on Moorcock's Elric character.
Debut album was called "Hawkwind". Another album is PXR5.
Some commentary on "Live Chronicles" from Stephen Swann:
"Live Chronicles" is the double-album concert rendition of their
"Chronicle of the Black Sword" album, and features several events from
the Elric books (especially "Stormbringer"), loosely intertwined into
an 80-minute music-story performance. The tour also featured Michael
Moorcock himself on stage with the band, doing narration between
musical numbers. Moorcock's spoken parts didn't make it onto the
final cut of the album, because of legal problems between himself and
the band, but he -is- on the _Chronicle of the Black Sword_ video
(which is a live performance from the same tour, even though it
sports the name of the studio album).
--- Stephen Swann
For further info on Hawkwind, please see the rather massive entry
at the end of the list.
Hazard, Robert:
A Philadelphia-area performer who released the album "Wings of Fire"
in the mid-80's. It included a track entitled "Interplanetary Private Eye",
which was essentially the Bladerunner story -- and there was even
an attribution to it in the liner notes.
Heaven 17:
This band took their name from a band mentioned in "Clockwork Orange".
"Let"s All make a Bomb" from their "Penthouse and Pavement" LP is about The
Bomb and nuclear war, but is apparently not too SF-ish. See also
"Five Minutes to Midnight", on the same theme.
Hedges, Michael:
Semi-new age guitarist/composer/singer. His album "Taproot" is
described as "an autobiographical myth told in music," and appears to
have a semi-fantasy theme.
Heldon:
French band that took it's name from Norman Spinrad's "The Iron
Dream" and takes some song titles from the novel as well. A later LP called
"Interface" has a beautiful female alien face on the cover and the titles
seem suggestive of leading up to sex with green women.
Helloween:
Two loosely-related albums, "Keeper of the Seven Keys" Parts 1 & 2. The
first has songs about a future world, including "Twilight of the Gods"
which is about a planet that makes their own computerized gods, and the
new and old fight, and the whole planet gets trashed. In the credits, it
says thanks to Herman Frank for INSANIA 2016, which is mentioned in the
song, that's possibly what it's based on. Also, on "Pt. 1" there is a
song called "Halloween" (with an 'a' not an 'e') that is like a part one
to the song "Keeper of the 7 Keys" which is on "Pt. 2". The second LP
also contains "Dr. Stein", a comic Frankenstein, and the song of the
title, which is some sort of fantasy adventure.
Hendrix, Jimi:
Delta blues, except that the delta is on Mars. See "1983...A Merman
I Should Turn to Be","Hey Baby", and "Third Stone from the Sun",
"UFO", and lots of other stuff. "Third Stone from the Sun" has a half-speed
sound clip of a scout ship reporting to the mother ship on the.... 3rd planet
(3rd stone from the sun). He ends by saying that there shall be no more surf music.
Hillage, Steve:
His album "Green" includes an instrumental called "UFO over Paris".
Many albums have SF tinge, e.g. "Earthrise" from album "OPEN". See
also Gong and Khan.
Hitchcock, Robyn:
See "The Fly", "Man with the Light Bulb Head".
Holdsworth, Allan:
Fusion guitar, for the most part. "Atavachron" is the instrumental title
track about the Atavachron, a time machine from a "Star Trek" episode
which an entire race used to escape from their sun which was about to
go supernova. "The UnMerry Go-Round" from "Metal Fatigue" is a conceptual
"soundtrack" to a story about a space traveler who must leave for a
distant star, never to see his beloved ones again because his ten-year
voyage, by Einstein's laws, will last several hundred earth years.
The succeeding track, "In the Mystery" is about some sort of quest.
Holy Modal Rounders:
"Mister Spaceman", complete with yodeling.
Hoodoo Gurus:
Have a song called "Another World" which is about an alien. Also
see the song "Mars Needs Guitars".
The Horse Flies:
"Human Fly" from album of the same name--a cover of the Cramps' song.
Horslips:
Their 1970's album "The Book of Invasions: A Celtic Symphony" (IMHO one
of the most underrated albums ever produced --Dave Weingart) is one long
suite of magick and faerie. Good solid Irish rock 'n' roll, with nary
a bad cut. (Horslips has produced some other similar works; would anyone
like to add to the list? ---Rsk )
Huey Lewis & the News:
"Back in Time" from the "Back to the Future" soundtrack.
Human League:
"I Am the Law", also from Judge Dredd (futuristic cop) comic. Process
of apprehension, trial, conviction, and sentencing telescoped into a
very short time period. (This reminds me of the short story, "10:01 AM"
by Alexandar Malec; it appears in a hard-to-find collection called
"Extrapolasis" ---Rsk.) Also "Black Hit of Space" from the "Travelogue"
album. Top 40 hit songs arrives from space and takes over the charts.
"Circus of Death" from "Reproduction" (and misc EPs) mentions that the
last verse is spoken by "the last man on earth"...it is actually a drug song.
(And, to top it of, it mentions Steve McGarret from Hawaii 5-0.)
Also "Seconds" from "Dare!", possibly about a scientist blinding the dictator
of an African country with a laser. (The lyrics don't make direct reference
to it, but the tour slide show does...on the other hand, some folks report
that the tour slide show contained stills from the Zapruder film of the JFK
assassination. Much dispute and confusion on this point.) See also
"Tom Baker", on the CD of "Reproduction", which might be about Dr. Who.
Husker Du:
Song "Books about Ufoes" on their "New Day Rising" release.
Hypnotic Clambake:
"Chef Mobie's Gumbo Gator" is more nonsense than SF, but one verse
talks about "a huge aligator on the planet neptune drinking wine".
Icehouse:
"Icehouse" contains "Icehouse" which seems to be a gothic tale of some
sort and "Sister" which is about an android. The band was originally
"Flowers". The "Icehouse" referenced was the band members' flat
in Australia (probably Sydney).
Icicle Works:
English group best known for "Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)"
(titled the other way around in Europe). The group's name comes from
the short story "The Day the Icicle Works Closed", which I believe
was by Alfred Bester.
Ideal:
A band from the "Neue Deutsche Welle" (New German Wave) in the early
80ies. The song "Der Herrscher" ("The Emperor") from the Album "Der
Ernst des Lebens" ("The Earnestness of Life") describes a person who
escapes from hir dull life into a SF world.
Idol, Billy:
His 1993 album, "Cyberpunk", features a number of SF themes,
notably the works of William Gibson (one of the tracks is "Neuromancer").
IGTB:
Stands for Inter-Galactic Touring Band; Mish-mash album put out in 1977
with all sorts of people on it, purporting to be a group on galactic tour.
Immortal:
"The Story of Immortal", a single released in 1978. It tells the story
of a very powerful being that commits a crime (leading to the destruction
of a whole inhabited planet) and is punished with immortality. Now he
tries to redeem himself by doing good deeds, "but sometimes in my lonely
nights the screams of million of dying people hurt me from the next
world - and then I understand why I've been given immortality..."
Intergalactic Orchestra:
Their album "Super Nova" (early 80's), contains several SF themes.
"Star Probe Navigator" is about an interstellar ship that gets lost
underway. Other track are for example: "Star Flying", Demon God",
"Heroes Return", "Time Slip", etc.
INXS:
The video for "Listen Like Thieves" looks like a slice of a "Mad Max" film.
IQ:
Several possibilities here; "Last Human Gateway" from "Tales From a Lush
Attic"; "Outer Limits" from "The Wake"; "Human Nature" (about evolution)
and "Screaming is About Dying" from "Nomazmo"; "Falling Apart at the
Seams" from "Are You Sitting Comfortably?".
Incredible String Band:
"I Was a Young Man (back in the 1960's)", a future retrospective. See
also "Swift as the Wind", wherein a child's fantasy-hero turns out to be
more substantial. The double-LP "U (A Surreal Parable in Song and
Dance)" includes "Robot Blues".
Information Society:
Their albums are peppered with audio excerpts from Star Trek;
SF (or at lest computer) themes are common. "Mirrorshades" from "Hack"
is pure cyber-bandwagonism (at least they beat most of the "mainstream"
to it by a couple of years). See also "Where Would I Be Without IBM".
Their latest album, "Peace & Love, Inc." has samples from Star Trek and The
Outer Limits.
Inner City Unit:
Punk band led by Nik Turner of Hawkwind. Their first album, "Pass Out",
includes the tracks "Fall Out" (nuclear war), "Polly Ethelene",
"Cybernetic Love". Their second album, "Maximum Effect", starts with
a track suggesting that Elvis has been given Everlasting Life Via
Induced Suspendedanimation.
Iron Maiden:
The track "To Tame a Land" from "Piece of Mind" is about Dune. (Frank
Herbert wouldn't let them call it "Dune", supposedly, 'cause he doesn't
like heavy metal.) "Flight of Icarus" and "Quest for Fire" also appear
on "Piece of Mind". "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" is a concept album
about a mystical clairvoyant. The title track from "Powerslave" is about
the death of an Egyptian god; "Flash of the Blade" from the same LP is
about a young boy who is trained as a warrior and who avenges the death
of his master/teacher. "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", from the same LP,
is based on the Coleridge poem. They've also done two songs based on the
TV show, "The Prisoner": "The Prisoner" from "The Number of the Beast"
and "Back in the Village" from "Powerslave". The title track from
"Number of the Beast" deals with the discovery of a Satanic ritual -- it
might be based on "The Omen". Also from that album, "Children of the
Damned" (more horror than SF). The album "Somewhere in Time" contains
"Caught Somewhere in Time", which is about time travel, the devil, and
other assorted fun stuff. "Stranger in a Strange Land" from the same LP
is SF, but is apparently not related to the Heinlein book of the same
name. It's based on a newspaper story about a body found in the ice
near the North Pole. (The cover of that album really deserves note -- it's
a sci-fi scene, lots of details. Ditto for the 2 singles from that album,
"Wasted Years" and "Stranger in a Strange Land", which have sci-fi covers.)
Itch:
Piano-based punk. First CD "Dyin' To Be Jesus" includes "Energy Vampire"
and "Open Letter To Dr. Strange"; 94's "Pull The Wool" includes
"Frankenmouse" (and a rant about genetic manipulation in the liner notes).
Jackson, Dee Dee:
(real name: Deirdre Cozier) Album "Cosmic Curves" (released 1978/79).
Features songs like "Automatic Lover", "Meteor Man", "Galaxy Police", etc.
Jackson, Joe:
"In the T.V. Age" from "Night And Day" (aliens as TV sets).
The album "Blaze of Glory" is a concept album with two album-side
long song sequences about (among other things) human interaction
with technology, and living with myths of the future.
"Tommorrow's World" especially deals with images of science and the
future seen by those growing up in the sixties.
Jackson, Michael:
"Thriller", with narration by Vincent Price. Also, "Another Part of Me"
written for a 3D SF short called "Captain Eo"; the lyrics are a message
from aliens.
Jad Fair and Kramer:
"Nosferatu" (vampire) and "King Kong" from "Roll Out the Barrel".
Jade Warrior:
LP "Horizon" contains "Images of Dune: a) Prescient Dawn, b) The Fremen, c)
Journey on a Dream". Other albums contain fantasy and SF themes; like
Mannheim Steamroller, another prototype "New Age" group. Most work done
1974-1978; other LP's include "Kites", "Waves", "Released", and "Way of
the Sun". Frequent references to Oriental and Egyptian mythology.
Jam and Spoon:
Have a techno-industrial song entitled "Stellar" with apparent spaceship
homing sounds.
Jazz Butcher:
Has a song called "Harlan" on the album "Condition Blue",
which is about Harlan Ellison's short stories and contains references to
his story "Jeffty", amongst others possibly (not sure).
Jefferson Airplane/Starship:
"Blows Against the Empire" (album) done by JA+Crosy, Nash, Freiberg.
etc. "Have you seen the Saucers?" from"Thirty Seconds Over Winterland".
Also did Crosby, Stills, & Kantner's "Wooden Ships" (post-nuclear holocaust)
and "Crown of Creation" from Wyndham's "Re-Birth". Finally, "War
Story" from "Bark" tells of rebellion in the US, mind control.
"Hyperdrive" from "Dragonfly", "Modern Times" and "Alien" from "Modern
Times", "Lightning Rose", "Awakening", "Freedom at Point Zero" from
"Freedom at Point Zero", "Back from the Jaws of the Dragon" from "Winds
of Change", "Connection", "Rose goes to Yale", "Champion" from "Nuclear
Furniture". See also Paul Kantner's "The Planet Earth Rock and Roll
Orchestra", a followup to "Blows...". The 1971 LP "Bark" has a
track called "War Movie" in which Kantner rants about a revolt against
the government in 1975. Incidentally, "Re-Birth" was later revised
and edited, and published under the title "Chrysalids".
Jesus Jones:
Besides *sounding* like science fiction, Jesus Jones' third album
"Perverse" begins with the song "Zeros and Ones", about computer technology.
Jethro Tull:
"Passion Play" is about the afterlife (from the vantage point of
the first person singular). There's some speculation that "War Child"
is similarly constructed. "Dun Ringill" on "Stormwatch" is about some kind of
druidic rites ("We wait in stone circles/'til the force comes through.")
Folk tale "Jack in the Green" from "Songs From the Wood", and the songs
"The Clasp", "BroadSword", "Beastie" from "Broadsword and the Beast".
B & tB is probably their most fantasy-oriented album; nice cover art.
"Orion" and "Flying Dutchman" off "Stormwatch", "Fylingdale Flyer"
(Flyingdale is an ICBM early warning station in the UK, and this seems to
be about the possibility of false alarms leading to a nuclear exchange),
"Protect and Survive" (nuclear war), "Batteries Not Included" (android
child), "And Further On" from the album "A". "Astronomy" on the CD
version of "Under Wraps", and "Apogee" (either version). Also see
"March, the Mad Scientist" from a 4-song EP (untitled, also contained
"Ring Out, Solstice Bells" and two other songs).
Jobson Eddie/Zinc:
"The Green Album" has some interesting SF-style tracks; for instance,
"Listen to Reason" and "Through the Glass".
Joel, Billy:
"Miami 2017" from "Turnstiles"; a backwards reflection on our own future.
(Incidentally, "We Didn't Start the Fire" mentions "Stranger in a
Strange Land".)
John, Elton:
"Rocket Man"...perhaps from Bradbury's "Illustrated Man"? Anyway,
another road song. Also "I've Seen the Saucers"...from "Caribou".
"I am Your Robot" from "Jump Up".
Jones, Grace:
"Slave to the Rhythm" is about man as a slave to machines; "Demolition Man"
is a remake of Manfred Mann's song. (See also the Police's remake.)
Jones, Howard:
"Automaton" on "Dream Into Action" is about a man
from the future who turns out to be a robot.
Jonzun Crew:
Album "Lost in Space" includes "Space Cowboy"--apparently not the same
as the Steve Miller Band song.
Journey:
"Look in into the Future", from the album of the same name,
"Spaceman" from "Next" and "Wheel in the Sky" from "Infinity".
Joy Division:
One of many bands in the industrial and gothic genres influenced by
J.G. Ballard's work. For instance, their song "Atrocity Exhibition"
referred to in New Order's "the Him" (a minor character in "The Atrocity
Exhibition"); Ian Curtis's unused lyric "Driftwood" is based on Ballard's
first novel "the Drowned World", and many of his lyrics have a generally
Ballardian feel.
Judas Priest:
"The Green Manalishi with the Two-Pronged Crown". See also "Electric
Eye" from "Screaming for Vengeance", an Orwellian song about covert
surveillance drones in the sky. Some commentary on the latest Judas Priest LP:
The band's last album, "Painkiller" (1990) is basically a science
fiction concept album, a story set in a time/place frame similar
to the future of "The Terminator", in which human beings are hunted
down and killed after a third world war, but it seems less by outside
forces (though one song is about a monster that hunts people down,
the "Nightcrawler") than by internal strife. "Between the Hammer and
the Anvil" is a song about priests who hunt down heretics in the
collapse of civilization, and the title song is concerned with the
post-apocalyptic world's hero, only known as The Painkiller.
--- Brian Landwehr
Also of interest: "Jawbreaker" from "Defenders of the Faith", perhaps about
some kind of monster snake. "The Sentinel" is about some kind of killing machine.
"Beyond the Realms of Death" on "Stained Class" is about a post-death experience.
KLF:
A British rap group, formerly known as both the JAMS (Justified Ancients of Mu
Mu) and the Timelords (Dr. Who reference, of course). Both the JAMS and
the KLF are Discordian groups mentioned in Robert Shea and Robert
Anton Wilson's "Illuminatus!" trilogy. Jimmy Cauty from the KLF did an
album called "Space" under the name Space - perhaps not really SF but it
is very spacey (hence the name).
Kaleidoscope:
The song "The Sky Children", an epic fairytale.
Kansas:
Lots of stuff. See "Kansas", "Song For America", "Masque" and
"Leftoverture" for details...note, though, that Kerry Livgren is
heavily into Chrisianity, lending an alternative interpretation to many
of the lyrics. But "Icarus: Borne on Wings of Steel" (from "Masque" is
pretty clearly mythological, and "Portrait (He Knew)" from "Point of
Know Return" is about Einstein. "Point of Know Return" also has
sf-related stuff, such as "Nobody's Home". Livgren says that he didn't
consciously think of himself as writing Christian-influenced songs
until "Monolith", the LP after "Point...", so interpretation of his
earlier work in an SF context is probably not reaching too much. Note
also the influence of Native American mythos on several albums such as
"Monolith". Finally, "Taking in the View" and "Tomb 19" from "Power"
have a historical fantasy tinge.
Kayak:
Nearly all of their work is fantasy/sf-related. The tracks
"Journey Through Time", "Daphne (Laurel Tree)", "Phantom of the Night"
are interesting examples from the LP "Phantom of the Night". The first
is an interesting time-travel song and the last two deal mostly with
Greek-mythology and its associated fantasy story-lines. The album
"Periscope Life" contains "Astral Aliens". The "Starlight Dancer" LP
contains the title track, an interesting piece. The song "Relics
from a Distant Age" from "The Last Encore" is an SF piece. Another is
"Trust in the Machine" from their first LP, Kayak.
Keel:
80's US-Metal band. Their 1986 LP "The Final Frontier" is dedicated to the
crew of the Challenger Space Shuttle. It contains the track
"The final frontier" about space exploration.
Khan:
Early Steve Hillage group. Had album "Space Shanty".
Killdozer:
The quentissential mid-80's Wisconsen grundge-hardcore band
has a song off "Twelve Point Buck" named after that ancient British TV
series "Space: 1999", but it's pretty much about "babes."
The band's name is also the title of a terrible movie about a
possessed Caterpillar D-8 bulldozer, which in turn quite probably
comes from an old Theodore Sturgeon novelet of the same name, first
published in "Astounding" in the late 40's.
King Crimson:
"Epitaph" and "21st Century Schizoid Man" from "In The Court of the
Crimson King". Also "Dig Me", from "Three of a Perfect Pair",
is about an automobile found in the wild which begs the listener
to "Dig me, but don't...bury me". The LP "Lizard"'s second side
is about a terrible war in a fantasy world. (Lyrics by Pete Sinfield.)
"Earthbound" from album of same name (not released in U.S.).
King Missile:
Took their name from a Japanese comic-book [and
'Detachable Penis' could be seen as a farce on cybernetics].
[Or not. :-) ---Rsk ]
Kinks:
"I wish I could Fly (Like Superman)", and "A Gallon of Gas" from "Low Budget",
about a not-too-distant time when you can't buy a gallon of gas.
Kiss:
"(Music from) The Elder", a soundtrack for a never-made film.
Klaatu:
The group took their name from "Klaatu", the alien ambassador in "The
Day The Earth Stood Still". Their albums include "3:47 EST", "Hope",
"Endangered Species", "Sir Army Suit" and "Magenta Lane". (The first
album was original released eponymously, but picked up the title
later.) They're probably best known for "Calling Occupants of
Interplanetary Craft", and "Little Neutrino". The former was
apparently conceived as prayer to be recited all over the globe to
induce aliens to visit; it was also covered by the Carpenters. The
album "Hope" is a concept LP telling of the demise of a very earth-like
society on the planet Venus which eventually destroyed itself with
self-paranoia.
Kraftwerk:
Sf-themes occasionally. Certainly sounds sf-ish.
Albums include "Autobahn", "Radioactivity", "ManMachine",
"Computerworld", and "Trans-Europe Express"; tracks of note
include "The Robots", "Spacelab" and "Metropolis". Also,
see the track "Kometenmelodia (1&2)". (Alex Lasky claims
that Florian looks exactly like Dr. Zachary Smith from "Lost in Space".
I don't necessarily consider this an SF tie-in, but I agree with
him and think there's a great joke buried in this somewhere.)
Kooper, Al:
"Childhood's End" based on the Arthur C. Clarke novel.
A wild cover of Donovan's "Season of the Witch" appears on
the Bloomfield-Kooper-Stills "Super Session" album.
LDC:
"T-Raumreise" (Traumreise = dream-voyage, Raumreise = space-voyage)
A song about the journey through space and time in our minds and
thoughts. It also refers to the Voyager probes.
Landscape:
On "From The Tea-Rooms of Mars...to The Hell Holes of Uranus", see
"Einstein A-Go-Go"; nuclear terrorism ("You better watch out,
you'd better beware; Albert said that E equals M C squared") a classic.
Also "European Man", a life of leisure in an automated world.
and still from that same LP, "Live... from the Tea-Rooms of Mars";
synthesized tea-room dance music with some gently crooned SF lyrics,
(e.g "Do you know what it's like to live where there's no trees and no sky ?
Night and day are just controls.") See also "My Name is Norman Bates",
which isn't exactly SF, but horror.
Lavin, Christine:
In her song `Bald Headed Men' (performed with the Bitchin' Babes)
she says ``That guy from Star Trek: The Next Generation (love him).'' :-)
Le Orme:
Apparently a French art-rock band, did an album called "Beyond Leng",
which is apparently Lovecraftian from the title.
Lear, Amanda:
In her Album "Never Trust a Pretty Face" (1979 ??) you'll find the songs
"Black Holes", "The Sphinx" and "Intellectually", the latter a song
about a romance between a woman and a computer.
Leatherwolf:
"Gypsies and Thieves" from their first album is Melnibonean
(that is, it concerns "Elric of Melnibone", one of Michael Moorcock's
characters who jointly are "The Eternal Champion". See the entry
on Hawkwind.) and some of their other material is fantasy-ish.
Led Zeppelin:
A number of possible J.R.R. Tolkien references -- nobody really knows.
"No Quarter" from "Houses of the Holy" is rather eerie, but no one is
quite sure what it's about. There's some speculation that it might
be about Aragorn and company's trek through "The Paths of the Dead",
described in "The Return ofthe King". "The Battle of Evermore", from Led Zep IV
mentions Ringwraiths. Also see "Ramble On" on Led Zep II for mention of
Mordor and Gollum. See also "Misty Mountain Hop" on Led Zep IV. Some
speculation that "Stairway to Heaven" is about Saruman's journey to the
west, but nobody seems to be sure. It's probably as good an interpretation
as any. :-) Also "Kashmir" from "Physical Grafitti".
Level 42:
Song, "Star Child" -- is this about the Star Child from 2001?
(Level 42's name was based on the Answer to the Ultimate Question from
the Hitchhiker's Guide.) "Foundation and Empire" from "A Physical
Presence", and "Micro-Kid" from "Standing in the Light", about computer
whiz-kids.
Liebrand, Ben:
"Eve of the War". Liebrand is a remixer and disco-musician. He made a disco
version of this theme with quotes from the original recording
(including Richard Burton's introduction speech).
Limor, Gilead:
You Are The Stars. This album is an instrumental epic
describing a fantasy travel through solar systems and universes.
The album (on CD and Cassette) was released by Nesak International
Inc., New Jersey, and is part of a so-called "You Are..." series of
instrumental titles. (I believe Gilead is the first person to submit
one of his or her own works for inclusion in the list; congratulations
are in order for making it through the daunting process of cranking
out a release! Contact address: gileadgl@itexjct.jct.ac.il ---Rsk )
Lister, Anne:
English singer/songwriter with a lot of fantasy-based material; one of
her songs is dedicated to Ursula LeGuin.
Little River Band:
"Orbit Zero" from "Time Exposure" is the sad story of an alien race with
hopes of settling on Earth, only to find it already crowded by us humans.
Love and Rockets:
Rumored to have done songs relating to Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez'
comic book for which they're named. See "Holiday on the Moon", a
B-side to a single, and their cover of Pink Floyd's "Lucifer Sam".
Lovich, Lene:
"Telepathy" from "Stateless", about a maddening psychic gift.
On the album "Flex" there are the songs "Angles" and "You Can't Kill Me"
with SF aspects. "Rocky Road" from her Album "No Man's Land" describes
the stony path to an utopian land.
Lyon, Steve:
"Deimos and Phobos" is about a guy who is homesick for Mars.
M:
"The Official Secrets Act" (an innocent gets caught up in government
plots and secret police, a la 1984)
MC-5:
On "Kick Out the Jams", "Rocket Reducer" and "Starship".
MacDonald & Giles:
Two alumni of the early King Crimson, who released an LP who
second side is a long suite called "Birdman" about a scientist
who invents wings that work.
Machover, Ted:
"VALIS", an electronic space opera version of Philip K. Dick's novel.
Magma:
"Inedits", "Udu Wudu"...sort of cross between German language research
and H.P. Lovecraft. Curious reference to "Ork" on Udu Wudu.
Here's a bit of background on the band...
About Magma & its founder Christian Vander...what he invented was rather a
cult than a subculture. Most Magma material deals with a mythology that
Vander claims to have been given knowledge of during a revelation. This is
when he also was given the umlaut-seasoned language "Kobaian" that pervades
the lyrics on the Magma albums. In short, according to the mythology, there
is a "highest being" in the Universe by the name of "Kreuhn Ko:hrmann". (I
use ":" after a letter to denote umlaut, two dots over it.) Vander sees
himself as some sort of prophet, and the people of the Earth have to listen
and convert their lives to be more in accordance with the Right Way or a
global disaster, a sort of divine punishment, will be the result. Also
appearing are "orks" which "are to machines what machines are to men". All
this sounds like bad heavy metal fantasies but Vander has persisted for many
years so maybe he really believes in it, who knows? A good example of the
Vander/Magma type of stuff is the album "Mekhanik Destruktiw Kommando:h"
that is a sort of mass with lots of mystical chanting. The second side of
"U:du Wu:du:", "De Futura", is about travelling in time which according to
the liner notes on the sleeve enables us to see the orks. --Bjorn Lisper
Magnum:
Many songs with generic SF&F themes such as "On A Storyteller's Night",
"Firebird" and possibly "Don't Wake the Lion". (There's some speculation
that the latter might really be about WW I.)
Manhattan Transfer:
Recorded a (snappy) version of the theme to the TV show "Twilight Zone".
Man or Astro-Man?:
[the question mark is part of the band's name] A current
instrumental band who make science fiction part of their identity.
The band has constructed an elaborate mythology about its members being
visitors sent from space by The Unmentionable One. Their live shows
feature half a dozen TVs on stage showing sci-fi images ranging from
1950s B movies to recent Ultraman episodes. Their 1993 debut album "Is
it ... Man or Astro-Man?" (Estrus Records) features cover art by Richard
Powers, who I'm told is famous for sci-fi novel covers. Song titles
include "Invasion of the Dragonmen," "Illudium Q-36," "Escape Through the
Air Vent," "Alien Visitors." Many tracks begin with dialogue clips of
corresponding sci-fi content. They have lots more music, similarly
themed, in the pipeline for late 1993 and 1994 release. For more info write
them at Man or Astro-Man? HQ, 429 Moores Mill Rd. #4, Auburn, AL 36830.
Mannfred Mann's Earth Band:
"Solar Fire" (interpretation of Holst's "The Planets"), "Time is Right".
Manowar:
They generally sing about heroic deeds, from days of old, when
men were bold. They like to dress like Conan, and their music
brings to mind images of Viking feasts and adventures.
"Defender", from "Fighting the World" is an example wherein the
hero goes off on some mighty quest.
Manufacture:
An industrial band from Boston. "Pain Amplifier" on
"Voice of World Control" takes its title from the device in _Dune_.
Marillion:
"Grendel", i.e. Beowulf & friends is the B side of "Market Square Heroes",
a 12-inch EP. This track is now also available on an import CD called
"B'Sides Themselves". (The band took its name from "Silmarillion".)
"Season's End" from the LP of the same name, talks about global warming.
Martha and the Muffins:
"Echo Beach" seems to be about a desire to travel back in time to
a beach at pre-war Hiroshima. Update: nope, doesn't look like it.
It's apparently about a beach in northern Ontario (Canada), near Barrie.
Mary's Danish:
Their album "Circa" includes the song "Venus loves Leonard", which is
sort of a '50s SF movie soundalike.
Material:
The entire CD "Seven Souls", with liner notes from William S. Burroughs.
Appears to be about the effect of nuclear explosions on electromagnetically-
constituted souls.
Matthews, David:
"Dune".
May, Brian and Friends:
"Star Fleet" from "The Star Fleet Project" is a rock version of the theme
to a (children's?) science fiction TV show in the UK. The lyrics are
full of sci-fi references. Eddie Van Halen and Alan Grazier (REO Speedwagon)
played with Brian on this EP. See also Queen.
McCartney, Paul:
"Bogey Music" on "McCartney II" is inspired by Raymond Briggs'
"Fungus the Bogeyman" (1977) which deals with a race living within the
Earth. "Pretty Little Head" on "Press To Play" is about an ancient worker
race on a distant planet. See also Wings.
McGear, Mike:
Paul McCartney's brother, who goes by Mike McGear, put out an album in
1975 which I think was called "McGear". It was produced by Paul, and most
songs were either written or co-written by Paul, with the Wings crew
playing backup. Included was a song called "The Man Who Found God on the
Moon", co-written by McCartney/McGear, whose title is pretty descriptive,
and which features sound clips of Buzz Aldrin, broadcast live from the Moon.
The song was more adventurous musically than McCartney's own solo work.
McKennitt,Loreena:
Harpist; "The Visit" has an Arthurian track, "The Lady or Shalott"
(lyrics are from Alfred Lord Tennysons poem of the same name).
Meco:
Schlock disco camp versions of things like the main title from "Star Wars".
Possibly the only band to record a disco track worse than "A Fifth
of Beethoven". Mired in a 70's timewarp somewhere. Thankfully.
Megadeth:
Has several songs with sf or sf-related themes. Of note:
"Set the World Afire," from the album _So Far, So Good...So What!_
is a cautionary nuclear holocaust song. "Psychotron," from
_Countdown to Extinction_, is about a half-bionic, half-organic being
something like the Terminator. Several of the songs from _Rust in Peace_,
notably "Holy Wars...The Punishment Due," "Hangar 18," "Dawn Patrol,"
and "Rust in Peace...Polaris." Several songs from _Killing Is My
Business...And Business Is Good!" and _Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?_
[ Anybody know if "Hanger 18" is related to the B-movie UFO story? ---Rsk ]
Mekons:
Who are these folks?
Men at Work:
"Helpless Automaton" from "Business as Usual" is about a robot falling
in love with a human. "Doctor Heckyl and Mister Jive" refers to
the Robert Louis Stevenson classic. "Underground", also from "Business..."
is about a crisis; and "It's a Mistake" from "Cargo" may be about
accidental nuclear war.
Men Without Hats:
"The Great Ones Remember" from "The Rhythm of Youth"; "Folk of the 80's"
from "Folk of the 80's (Part III)"; "Moonbeam" from "Pop Goes the World".
"In the 21st Century", "Hey Men", and "Here Come the 90's"
from "The Adventures of Men and Women Without Hate in the 21st Century".
Messiah:
"Thunderdome (USA mix)" samples Mad Max 3 ("You know him, you love him").
"Temple of Dreams" samples The Running Man ("It's time to start
running" et al.).
Metallica:
"The Call of Ktulu" on "Ride the Lightning" (Lovecraft reference; the
name was changed from "Cthulhu" to avoid legal entanglements)
and "The Thing That Should Not Be" from "Master of Puppets" (also
Lovecraft-ian, about a critter named Nyogtha -- it's unclear whether
Lovecraft mentioned this particular beastie or not). However,
the lyrics of the song are very similar to HPL's phrasing in a quote from
the Necronomicon in "Call of Cthulhu", leading to the inference that "The
Thing..." is in fact about Cthulhu. Also see "The Four Horsemen"
from "Kill 'Em All". "Of Wolf and Man," from their self-titled album,
is a werewolf story. "Blackened," from "...And Justice for All",
is not really sf-related, but is an environmental-consciousness song
somewhat futuristic in nature. "Through the Never" seems to be about
the entire universe.
Midnight Oil:
Albums "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1" and "Red Sails in the Sunset"
both have nuclear cautionary themes running thru them. "Red Sails"
depicts Sydney, Australia after a nuclear strike.
Midnight Star:
"Freak-A-Zoid" is about the perfect robot lover.
Mike and the Mechanics:
"Silent Running" is about a man who travels to another planet and gains foreknowledge
of a major war; he is trying to contact his family on Earth and warn them of
the crisis. The song was used as the theme for the movie "On Dangerous Ground";
it's unrelated to the SF film starring Bruce Dern (the one dealing with an
orbital greenhouse, etc.).
Millions:
"M is for Millions" has "West" where the narrator
accidentally visits a recently-departed lover in the land of the dead
and is distressingly sent away. The album "Raquel" has "Drain the
Pool and Drown" about being in league with witches.
Ministry:
"Thieves" seems to have references to a future facist government.
"Faith Collapsing" from "The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste"
consists largely of samples from one or another of the _1984_ films.
Misery Index:
"The Power of 3" includes the single "Sixth Finger", which about the
Outer Limits of the same name.
Misex:
An Australian-based band (really from New Zealand) released a
minor hit single "Computer Games", from the album " Space Race".
The rest of the album is also SF.
Monitor:
A German band which produced the single "Mensch aus Glas" (Man of Glass)
about an Orwell-State where everything about everyone is registered etc.
(released 1984 - fitting)
Monkees:
See "Door Into Summer" on their album "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn
& Jones Ltd.". The song's writer, Bill Martin says "The title came from
the Robert Heinlein book _The_Door_Into_Summer_, which was about time travel.
The song is about the search for happiness, and is basically an anti-war song."
Monks of Doom:
Side-project-turned-spinoff from Camper Van Beethoven.
"Off On A Comet" (instr.) and "Virtual Lover" (ick! how could they?) both
from "Forgery", 1992; "The Insect God" (from an EP), based on a book by
Edward Gorey, author and illustrator of countless strange, scary little books
(he did the opening sequence to PBS' "Mystery!").
The Tony Monn Concept:
"Who Built The Pyramides", a song about an alien spaceship
who landed on earth, helped the people to build the pyramids
but couldn't take off anymore.
Moody Blues:
"To Our Children's Children's Children", which seems to be a musical
score for Olaf Stapledon's novel, "The Star Maker"; also "On the
Threshold of a Dream" begins with a man questioning his existence and
turns into computer rantings. Spooky psychedelia...
Also, the cover of "Long Distance Voyager" shows an 18th century
scene with something in the sky that looks like a Voyager space probe.
1971's "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour" has some relevant material; here
are some comments by Wm. L. Nothstine:
The first track, Procession, does a quick tour of human
evolution and, through music and sounds, strongly hints that
ETs were at the origin of it [no lyrics, except three words:
"desolation, creation, communication"]. It's credited as cowritten by
all members of the Moodies. [Procession mixes straight into The Story
In Your Eyes, the best-known cut, which has no real sci-fi take to it,
but sets some of the fear-of-the-future tone that the rest of the album
floats back to from time to time.]
The sixth track [on CD; track 1 side 2 of tapes and albums],
One More Time To Live, recapitulates some themes from
Procession and puts them into a more apocalyptic framework--humans
evolving, civilization turning to chaos, technology out of control and
turning back on the its makers and the earth--but managing to suggest
hope at the end. It's by John Lodge.
The last track of the album, My Song, briefly picks up the
theme again in the bridge of an otherwise seemingly unrelated
song, suggesting hope might come from ETs [perhaps those who attended
the origins of the species on Earth?]: "where did I find all these
words/something inside of me's burning/there's life in other
worlds/maybe they'll come to earth/helping man to find a way." It's by
Pinder [who also wrote the somewhat like-minded Thinking is the Best
Way to Travel on In Search of the Lost Chord.]
Moorcock, Michael:
(Some commentary on M.M. from Jeff Berry; see also the entries
for Blue Oyster Cult, Candlemass, Deep Fix, Hawkwind, and Leatherwolf.)
Michael Moorcock is a very prolific science fiction fantasy writer,
most widely known for the "Elric of Melnibone" series, a fantasy
staple. That series is, however, part of a more sweeping
"supra-series" concerning the Eternal Champion, a warrior who returns
again and again to live out various lives in a grand and ultimately
doomed cycle of birth and re-birth. (As an aside note, this concept
is satirized in Craig Shaw Garnder's "Ballad of Wuntvor" as
the Eternal Apprentice).
Moorcock has published at least 30 or 40 books, in many different
series, as well as a number of stand alone novels, both in science
fiction and in fantasy. Musically he has collaborated with Hawkwind
and Blue Oyster Cult, writing songs and occasionally performing.
Futhermore, Elric cover art by Michael Whelan has appeared as album
cover art in at least a few places (for example, Cirith Ungol
uses one of his covers for one of their albums).
The Chaosium Game Company has acquired rights to most of Moorcock's
work for gaming purposes, and has released games based on both Elric
and on Hawkmoon (yet another incarnation of the Eternal Champion).
Moorcock books should be available at almost any reputable book dealer.
More info available at request.
--- Jeff Barry, nexus@isis.cgd.ucar.edu
Moorcock, Michael and the Deep Fix:
A companion single to "The New Worlds Fair" was also released called
"Star Cruiser/Dodgem Dude" (on Flicknife records).
Moore, Gary:
"Nuclear Attack" from "Dirty Fingers" is about World War III; the
title track from "After the War" seems to focus on the same topic.
Moraz, Patrick:
The entire theme of the album "i" is SF; also see another LP,
"Transplanetary Flight".
Moroder, Giorgio:
(with Philip Oakey [Human League]): "Electric Dreams".
The title song for the movie with the same name. It's about a
computer, who developes emotiones and love for his programmer.
Actually Moroder did a great part of the soundtrack (and has done
a lot of soundtrack work in the past).
Mortifee, Ann:
Has done a few albums with fantastic themes on them. Her album
"Journey To Kairos", includes the song "Centaur", about the mythological
beast, "Shankarananda", about the afterlife as described by Eastern
religions, "Streets of Banaras", which seems to be about a rather
surreal search.. On her album "Born To Live", she does a song called
"Merlin" about the mythical wizard, and a pair of songs at the end
called "The Companion/Phoenix" about a strange creature called
The Companion that attends an old man, or something like that.
(There's also some speculation that it comes from the ST:TOS episode
about Zephraim Cochrane.)
Motley Crue:
"Shout At The Devil" [from the album of the same name]
includes a spooky voice-over about a future earth being run by a totalitarian
government [demons? One-World antiChrist government?] and imploring the
listeners to 'Rise up/and Shout at The Devil'. Other interpretations, though,
consider this as an exhortation to rise up against evil.
Move, The:
"Yellow Rainbow". See also Electric Light Orchestra.
Murder the Disturbed:
The EP "Genetic Disruption" contains "Walking Corpses" which is about
robots and "Ultimate System" which is about time travel.
Murphy, Peter:
The song "Shy" has a segment called "The Sister of Sleep" which
is based on the comic "Sandman". He also is the physical basis for the
character Klaus in the comic book Night's Children. (See also Bauhaus.)
NRBQ:
"Rocket 9".
National Health:
"Tenemos Roads", from their eponymous debut album, is about a war on Mercury.
Nektar:
"Remember the Future", "Recycle" and "Journey to the Centre of the Eye"
are all LP's with SF-ish themes. "Remember the Future" is highly
recommended on vinyl; the CD mix, at least the pressing I've heard,
overemphasizes the keyboards at the expense of some terrific guitar work.
Nelson, Bill/Red Noise:
"Sound on Sound" has a number of songs with SF themes, including
"Atom Man Loves Radium Girl". He's also done a lot of (mainly instrumental)
tracks with SF/magic themes.
Nena:
"99 Luftballons" (WW3 & aftermath); the English version is
"99 Red Balloons".
The Neon Judgement:
"Billy Tcherno and Pretty Petrouchka" from "Horny as Hell" is about
Russian mutants after a nuclear accident.
New England:
"L-5".
New Model Army:
"White Coats" talks about genetic engineering and its problems.
New Musik:
"On Islands" asks the question whether there might be other beings
in the universe, and "Living by Numbers" rehashes the old numbers
instead of names theme; both are found on the "Straight Lines" EP,
and on the "From A To B" LP.
Nilsson, Harry:
See "Spaceman" from "Son of Schmilsson"; and "Son of Dracula",
the soundtrack for |
