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Xref: bloom-picayune.mit.edu rec.music.misc:112813 rec.arts.sf.misc:3671 news.answers:4648
Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!enterpoop.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!usenet
From: rsk@aspen.circ.upenn.edu (Rich Kulawiec)
Newsgroups: rec.music.misc,rec.arts.sf.misc,news.answers
Subject: SF-references-in-music List
Supersedes: <music/sci-fi-refs_721980023@athena.mit.edu>
Followup-To: poster
Date: 17 Dec 1992 06:02:45 GMT
Organization: Cardiothoracic Imaging Research Center
Lines: 2442
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
Expires: 30 Jan 1993 06:02:10 GMT
Message-ID: <music/sci-fi-refs_724572130@athena.mit.edu>
Reply-To: rsk@gynko.circ.upenn.edu
NNTP-Posting-Host: pit-manager.mit.edu
Keywords: science fiction, sf, music, fantasy
X-Last-Updated: 1992/10/27
Archive-name: music/sci-fi-refs
Version: $Header: sf.music,v 1.12 92/10/26 22:56:26 rsk Exp $
This is the revised 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.
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.
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, rsk@gynko.circ.upenn.edu, rsk@ecn.purdue.edu, pur-ee!rsk
--
1919:
Has an EP "Machine".
AC/DC:
"Who Made Who" from the Maximum Overdrive soundtrack.
Acen:
Has a song called "Trip II the Moon (The Darkside)".
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.
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.
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".
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.
Amin Bhatia:
Has an entire album entitled "Interstellar Suite" about space travel.
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".
Anderson, Ian:
His 1983 LP, "Walk Into Light" contains a notable SF-related track,
"User Friendly".
Anderson, Jon:
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 "Oh, Superman" and "Language is a
Virus From Outer Space", which I seem to recall is derived from
Burroughs (William S., that is).
Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe:
The eponymous album includes "Fist of Fire", a song about some sort
of acension after death, and "Birthright", about an atomic bomb that
was detonated in Australia before all of Aborigines could be evacuated.
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.
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.
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.
Athletico Spizz '80:
LP "Do A Runner".
Automatic Man:
Two albums of SF-ish mystic stuff; notable track "I.T.D."
(Interstellar Tracking Device).
B-52's:
"Planet Claire", and "53 Miles West of Venus" from "Wild Planet".
"Cosmic Thing" and "Planet" (is this the correct title/album?)
from "Cosmic Thing" 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.
Banks, Tony:
See "Man of Spells" from "Fugitive".
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. (See below)
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).
Beatles:
The "Yellow Submarine" movie and accompanying soundtrack probably deserve
a mention as an example of an interesting animated fantasy experiment.
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.
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.
Benatar, Pat:
"My Clone Sleeps Alone".
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...)
Blake, Tim:
Electronic New Age. Albums "Crystal Machine", "Blake's New Jerusalem",
both SF. Was in Hawkwind 1979-80.
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".
Blue Oyster Cult:
Many tracks on many albums with SF themes; "Veteran of the Psychic
Wars" (which also was on the "Heavy Metal" soundtrack) 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; "Nosferatu" (from "Spectres"), which
is a retelling of the Dracula story; "Vengeance (The Pact)" (from "Fire
of Unknown Origin), which retells the "Tarna" 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".
Boney M.:
"Night Flight to Venus" (title track of LP), and "Stepenvolf" ("Steppenwolf"?
does anyone know whether they used the Anglicized or European spelling?),
a werewolf story, on the same LP.
Bonzo Dog DooDah Band:
"Urban Spaceman" from "The Best of the Bonzos",
and "There's a Monster Coming" from "Gorilla".
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.
--- 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. "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
---
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, Julie:
"Earth Girls are Easy". :-)
Buckner and Garcia:
"Hyperspace", "Defender". (These *are* the guys that did
that awful Pacman song.)
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".
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".
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".
"Moonmadness" contains the instrumental "Lunar Sea", "I Can See
Your House From Here" contains the instrumental "Snow Goose".
See also "Echoes" from "Breathless".
Candlemass:
A European (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.
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".
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.
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
----
Clannad:
New-age Celtic-folk stuff; numerous songs about druids, Stonehenge,
that sort of thing.
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.
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.
Concrete Blonde:
The album "Bloodletting" has "The Vampire Song" which sounds like it
was patterned after Anne Rice's Vampire novels.
Costello, Elvis:
"Tokyo Storm Warning" from "Blood and Chocolate"; mentions the cheap sets
found in some Japanese horror/sf movies. "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.
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.
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.
Cream:
"Tales of Brave Ulysses" from "Disraeli Gears" is about the
well-known mythological character.
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.
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.
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".
Dead Milkmen:
Have done a number of SF songs, including "Right Wing Pigeons" from
"Big Lizard in my Backyard".
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'?).
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 LP "Hysteria" includes "Gods of War".
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."
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.
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").
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.
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"
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. ;-)
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. 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.)
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.
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". See also "Tarkus".
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 <random Tangerine Dream track>
"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 (I forget the name) 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 dedicate to Ridley Scott; but does it deal with SF themes?
Another track, apparently Tolkien-derived, is "Lothlorien".
The album "Shepherd Moons" is a sort of reference to the clusters of leading
and trailing satellites around Jupiter. They are called the Shepherd
Moons and there are two camps, named after the sides in the Trojan War.
Erickson, Roky:
"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 :-) ).
Europe:
A heavy metal 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".
Fagan, 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.)
Fairport Convention:
A few fantasy-related songs -- most notably "Tam Lin", the classic
celtic tale of an encounter with the Queen of Faerie.
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".
See also "Elves", "Bug Day".
Firm:
"Star Trekkin'". This is not the same "Firm" who did "Radioactive".
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.
Fisher 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".
The Fixx:
"Driven Out", about environmental disaster, from "Calm Animals".
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:
"Flight of the Cosmic Hippo", and "UFO Tofu" a couple of songs
with self-explanatory titles. Incidentally, one of the Flecktones
is called "Future Man" and plays a futuristic SynthAxe Drumitar.
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.
Flock of Seagulls:
British band (circa 1982) very much associated with science fiction.
Songs with titles like "Man Made", "DNA", and "Modern Love is Automatic".
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.
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.
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".
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.
Game Theory:
One of the tracks on the album "Lolita Nation" includes references
to Captain Jim, the Prime Directive, T'Pau, etc.
Genesis:
"Watcher of the Skies" (from "Foxtrot") and "One for the Vine" from
"Wind and Wuthering" concern time travel; perhaps "The Return of the
Giant Hogweed" (Hello Triffids, from "Nursery Cryme"), "The Lamb Lies
Down on Broadway" (surrealism), and "A Trick of the Tail" (fantasy).
Oh, and "Get 'em Out by Friday" (from "Foxtrot"). 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"
(from "Trespass"), "The Musical Box" (horror, from "Nursery Cryme"),
"The Fountain of Salmacis" (fantasy, from "Nursery Cryme"), "Supper's Ready"
(the ultimate battle of good and evil, from "Foxtrot"), "Firth of Fifth",
and Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" (both containing heavy fantasy
elements, both from "Selling England by the Pound"). 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. "Domino" from "Invisible Touch" is about nuclear war,
death, damnation, and other cheery topics.
Gentle Giant:
Much material, tending towards fantasy including "The Advent of Panurge",
and "Alucard" (spell it backwards).
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".
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.
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.
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.
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".
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.
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 some fantasy-sf,including "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. 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.
Hazel O'Connor:
"Eighth Day" track. This is about how, as man advances, the world we know is
destroyed - part of lyrics - "Nobody laughs, nobody cries". Very similar
to Zager & Evan's "2525".
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.
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.
Hillage, Steve:
His album "Green" includes an instrumental called "UFO over Paris".
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:
Do a song called "Another World" which is about an alien.
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.
Icehouse:
"Icehouse" contains "Icehouse" which seems to be a gothic tale of some
sort (haven't heard the album in a while) and "Sister" which is about
a computer/android (not sure which off-hand for same reason above).
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.
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.
Information Society:
Their self-titled album is peppered with samples from Star Trek.
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.)
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.
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.
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 CSN&Y'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...".
Jethro Tull:
Folk tale "Jack in the Green" from "Songs From the Wood", and the songs
"BroadSword" and "Beastie" from "Broadsword and the Beast". "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.
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.
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".
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.
Kaleidascope:
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. "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.
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.
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."
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 the dehumanization of man by technology.
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:
Best know for "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft", and "Little
Neutrino". Albums: "Klaatu", "Hope".The Carpenters also recorded Calling
Occupants...Apparently the song was conceived as prayer to be recited
all over the globe to induce aliens to visit. ("Klaatu" is the name of
the alien in "The Day the Earth Stood Still".) Other known Klaatu
albums include "Sir Army Suit" and "Endangered Species"; there may be
another album entitled "EST 3:47" (a reference to the movie), but it's
possible that this is a different release of a pre-existing album.
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)".
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.
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.
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:
"No Quarter" from "Houses of the Holy" is rather eerie, but no one is
quite sure what it's about. "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'sjourney to the
west, but nobody seems to be sure. Also "Kashmir" from "Physical Grafitti".
Level 42:
Song, "Star Child" -- is this about the Star Child from 2001?
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.
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".
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.)
Mannfred Mann's Earth Band:
"Solar Fire", "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.
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 apparently took its name from "Simarillion".)
"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.
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".
Men at Work:
"Helpless Automaton" from "Business as Usual" is about a robot falling
in love with a human. "Doctor Heckle and Mister Jive" refers to
the Robert Louis Stevenson classic.
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"
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).
Also see "The Four Horsemen" from "Kill 'Em All".
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" depicts life after a major war; as far as I can tell,
it's unrelated to the SF film starring Bruce Dern.
Ministry:
"Thieves" seems to have references to a future facist government.
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.
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...
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
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".
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.
Move, The:
"Yellow Rainbow"
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.
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 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 a very silly movie he made with Ringo Starr.
Normaali, Eppu:
"Science Fiction", which is mostly derogatory things about people reading SF.
Numan, Gary:
"Cars", of course, and an LP done with a band called "Tubeway Army",
"Are Friends Electric", containing the title track and "Praying to
the Aliens"; it's apparently about alien androids taking over the earth.
See also "Down in the Park", "We Are Engineers".
O'Brien, Richard:
"Science Fiction Double Feature", from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
(How much of the rest of it did he write?)
Oingo Boingo:
"Perfect System" and "Controller" (both from the LP "Only a Lad") discuss
Orwellian/Huxleyian societies. "No Spill Blood" from "Good for Your Soul"
is based on "The Island of Dr. Moreau" by H.G. Wells. See also the
soundtrack for "Weird Science", and "Dead Man's Party" for various
songs on spooks and life after the bomb.
Oldfield, Mike:
A track from "Discovery" called "Saved By the Bell"
describes a trip through the universe.
Omega:
(Hungarian) has a record called "Idorablo" (add some dots and
accentes here), meaning "Time Robber". The title suite contains
one part called "Napot hoztam csillagot", "Sun and Stars I brought".
The Only Ones:
A New Zealand band with a song "Another Girl, Another Planet", which
is about futuristic space travel.
The Orb:
Their album "U.F.Orb" includes songs such as "Close Encounters", "O.O.B.E.",
"Blue Room" (supposedly the nickname of the room in the US where UFO's
are kept), "Majestic", and the title track. Their first album, "The Orb's
Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld" featured songs identified by orbits
and probes instead of numbers, viz.:
Earth Orbit One - Little Fluffy Clouds
Earth Orbit Two - Earth (Gaia)
Earth Orbit Three - Super Nova at the End of the Universe
Earth Orbit Four - Perpetual Dawn
Earth Orbit Five - Into the Fourth Dimension
Ultraworld Probe Six - Outlands
Ultraworld Probe Seven - Star 6 & 7 8 9
Ultraworld Probe Eight - A huge ever growing pulsating brain that
rules from the centre of the ultraworld: live mix mk 10.
They also have all sorts of SF related singles.
Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark (OMD):
A lot of their songs have a futuristic feel to them. Tracks called "Genetic
Engineering" and "Pretending to see the future" are examples. See also
"Enola Gay", about the bombing of Hiroshima.
Orion:
"Star Trek", a techno mix.
Pallas:
The album "The Sentinel" contains "Rise and Fall" and "Atlantis", which
are both about Atlantis; also on this album is "Ark of Infinity", which
is about a deep space hibernation ship.
Parker, Graham:
"Waiting for the UFOs" on "Squeezing Out Sparks".
Pearls Before Swine:
"Ring Thing" -- Three rings for the elven kings...good rendition.
Peek, Kevin:
"Starship Suite" from "Awakening", actually managed to work the word
"cryogenic" into a song.
Petra:
Christian rock band with numerous SF allusions in their cover art and
music; see "Computer Brains" on "Beat the System".
Phillips, Anton:
"1984", inspired by Orwell's book.
Pickett, Bobby "Boris":
Famous for "Monster Mash", he also recorded a song titled "King Kong"
(chorus: "King Kong, King Kong, the white man done you wrong.") and a Star
Trek parody called "Star Drek" (with Peter Ferrara).
Pinhas, Richard:
Has done an LP about Dune ("Rhizosphere" or "Chronolyse", the contributor
couldn't recall which), and also has Norman Spinrad doing vocals on a piece
on "East/West" that is about some air disaster. Pinhas did and electronics
and played guitar in Heldon (see above).
Pierre Etoile ("Stone Star"):
Song "In The Sun" on Rough Trade records.
Can be found also on Indie Top 20 Vol.13.
Pink Floyd:
Of course. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" & "Astronomy
Domine", (on "Ummagumma") are fairly representative. Much of their
instrumental music has an sf/fantasy feel to it. See also "Piper at the
Gates of Dawn", "Saucerful of Secrets", Some speculation that "Set
the Controls..." influenced Douglas Adam's writing about the group
Disaster Area.
Pixies:
"Wave of Mutilation" and "Monkey Gone to Heaven" from "Doolittle",
"Allison" and "The Happening" from "Bossanova". "Trompe Le Monde" has,
in addition to the title track, "Palace of the Brine" and
"Olympus Mons" (the large extinct volcano on Mars). The whole
album is about an alien looking for the "Planet of Sound" (Earth).
Planet P:
Albums: "Planet P" and "Pink World". Now known as Planet P Project.
"Planet P" is the name that Tony Carey ("A Fine Day for a Reunion")
uses when writing SF-oriented music.
Platinum Bond:
Album "Alien Shores".
The Polecats:
"Juvenile Delinquents from a Planet Near Mars"
Police:
"Synchronicity II" (Loch Ness monster references, but not really an
SF tune) from "Synchronicity". Also "Synchronicity" (a different
song on the same LP) is about action-at-a-distance; it seems to be
part mystical, part quantum mechanics. (There's a short short SF story
called "Synchronicity", but I can't recall the author.)
Also see "Wrapped Around Your Finger", which some claim is about a spirit
trapped inside a sorcerer's ring; I tend to go with a more mundane
interpretation. "Demolition Man" (also done by Manfred Mann) from
"Ghost in the Machine".
Pop Will Eat Itself:
This band often samples the movie "Blade Runner"; the song "Wake Up!
Time to Die..." is built around that quote from the film. "Def Con One"
from the album "This is th Day...This is the Hour...This is This"
describes a nuclear attack. "X Y & Zee" from "Cure for Sanity"
is a description of a future world.
Powell, Roger:
Former keyboard player with Todd Rundgren's Utopia; has a solo
album ("Cosmic Furnace"?) with tracks like "Sandworm of Arrakis".
Punishment of Luxury:
Has done an album (title unknown) with a track about receiving
signals from an alien civilization.
Quadrophonia:
Album called "Cozmic Jam" contains songs "Djoum 1000", "The Wave of the
Future", "Cozm'" and "Ovo", along with the title track.
Quantum Jump:
(group lead by Rupert Hine) "No American Starship".
Queen:
"Thirty-Nine", from "A Night at the Opera", discusses the problems of
relatavistic travel. Also "Machine World" from "The Works"; other
albums include the Flash Gordon soundtrack and "Fun in Space", a solo
album by drummer Roger Taylor. "Ogre Battle" (seems to be about the fantasy
game Ogre) "March of the Black Queen" and "Seven Seas of Rhye" from "Queen II".
The album "A Kind of Magic" contains fantasy tunes from the film "Highlander".
Queensryche:
Their first and second albums, "The Warning" and "Rage for Order"
both contain songs about sentient machinery, e.g. "Screaming in
Digital" and "I Only Dream in Infra-Red". Most of their self-titled
EP is also fantasy, include "NM 156" which is full of computer terminology.
The album "Operation: Mindcrime" is a rock opera about mind control. It
tell the story of a man who is programmed by revolutionaries to kill political
and religious leaders (and his girlfriend).
Renaissance:
"Jekyll and Hyde" from "Azure D'Or", and "Kalynda (A Magical Isle)".
Replacements:
"Androgynous" off "Let it Be" discusses "unisex evolution" and how
"Dick and Janes" who wear pants and skirts will be future outcasts.
Return to Forever:
Fusion jazz with Chick Corea and Al DiMeola. "Romantic Warrior" is
a medieval/fantasy concept album. Tracks include "The Sorceress"
and "The Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant".
Revolting Cocks
"We Shall Cleanse the World" from the album "Big Sexyland" is based
on, and contains samples from the movie "The Omega Man." "Attack
Ships on Fire" is on the same album, but the only SF connection seems
to be the title (Rutger Hauer quote from "Blade Runner.")
Rezzilos:
See "2000 AD", and "Flying Saucer Attack" from "Can't Stand the Rezzilos".
REM:
Single "Superman".
Radiorama:
This Italian pop/disco group released an album entitled "2nd Album",
which contains ongs like "Aliens" (inspired by the movie), "Yeti"
and "Vampire".
Rainbow:
Heavy Metal. Some fantasy tracks, e.g. "Temple of the King",
"16th century greensleeves", "Kill the King", "Stargazer".
See the album "Rainbow Rising".
Ramases:
"Space Hymns", including great fold-out cover, studiowork by
Godley & Creme; apparently expounds religious visions of infinite
regress of microscopic universes.
Ramatam:
"In April Came the Dawning of the Red Suns" contains
"Downrange Party". Band featured April Lawton, the female Jimi Hendrix.
Rapp, Tom:
The lead singer of Pearls before Swine broke out with two solo
albums which included these songs: "The Rocket Man", based on the
Bradbury short story of the same name; "Stardancer", based on the
Bradbury story, Kaleidoscope; and "For the Dead in Space" an
original (and equally depressing) song.
Reed, Lou:
"Red Joystick" and "Down at the Arcade". Also "Satellite of Love".
Residents:
"The Mole Trilogy", a conflict between two alien cultures. Other
SF-ish songs and albums, included "God in Three Persons", which is
about a pair of Siamese twins with healing powers.
Richmond, Jonathan & the Modern Lovers:
"Here Come the Martian Martians" is a funny song about the Martians'
inability to deal with earth and the concept of capitalism. See also
"Abominable Snowman in the Supermarket", which is similar in nature.
Ridgway, Stan:
Ex-vocalist from Wall of Voodoo. Quirky subject matter in general,
but sci-fi specifically on the album "Partyball". See the songs
"I Want to be a Boss", "Overlords", and "Beyond Tomorrow".
Rinder & Lewis:
Early 80's new-wave group that produced some SF songs, including
"Apocalypse" and "New Malibu".
Robinson, Tom:
"Listen to the Radio", about a war that is yet to happen.
Rolling Stones:
Wrote the ultimate road song for astronauts, "2000 Light Years From
Home", which is on "Their Satanic Majesties' Request". Also "2000
Man", about how child-parent relationships still don't work, even in
the 21st century.
Roth, Uli John:
"Electric Sun".
Rundgren, Todd:
"King Kong Reggae" and "Sons of 1984" from "Todd". See also Utopia.
"Healing" is about a man who recives the power to become a healer.
Rush:
In "2112", based on the book "Anthem" by Ayn Rand, the protagonist
discovers an ancient guitar and winds up battling the dictatorial
priesthood. The LP also contains "Twilight Zone", about the TV show of
the same name. "Red Barchetta" on "Moving Pictures"is similar, except
the guitar is replaced by a car. (It's based on the story "A Nice
Morning's Drive".) See also "Cygnux X-1" (thought to be a black hole),
"Rivendell" (Tolkien reference), "The Necromancer". See also "The Body
Electric" and "Red Sector A" from "Grace Under Pressure". See also
"By-Tor and the Snow Dog" from "Fly by Night". "Hemispheres" (title
track thereof) is a sequel to "Cygnus X-1". "Countdown" from "Signals"
is about the space shuttle. See also "Manhattan Project" from "Power
Windows". The song "Xanadu" from "A Farewell to Kings" is based on the
Colerige poem of the same name. See also "The Fountain of Lamneth" from
"Caress of Steel" and "Anthem" from "Fly by Night" -- both songs deal
with individuality. See also "Natural Science" from "Permanent Waves",
which deals with future dystopias, utopias, etc.
Russell, Leon:
"Stranger in a Strange Land" -- based on the Heinlein novel.
Saga:
Canadian progressive synth-rock band with a series of songs which
combine to tell a single story spread out over four albums, to wit:
From "Saga": Chapter 4: Will It Be You?,
and Chapter 6: Tired World;
From "Images At Twilight":
Chapter 1: Images,
and Chapter 3: It's Time;
from "Silent Knight":
Chapter 2: Don't Be Late,
and Chapter 7: Too Much To Lose;
and from "Worlds Apart":
Chapter 5: No Regrets,
and Chapter 8: No Stranger.
Roughly speaking, the story tells of space war, alien encounters,
and the aftermath of war.
Sanders, Ed:
(A member of the Fugs at one time) released "Beer Cans on the Moon",
which contains such gems as a song about a yodeling robot in love with
Dolly Parton as well as some more topical songs. "Dark Carnival"
sets a number of Bradbury's "Illustrated Man" stories to music.
Sandy Bradley and the Small Wonder String Band(?):
"Interstellar Sweetheart"
Sangster, John:
Australian jazz musician, has two albums "The Hobbit Suite" and "Lord of
the Rings" which are jazz tone poems based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Satriana, Joe:
"Surfing with the Alien" and "Back to Shalla-Bal" are about the
Silver Surfer of comic book fame.
Schilling, Peter:
"Major Tom (Coming Home)"; perhaps a sequel to or re-telling of
Bowie's "Space Oddity"? from "Error in the System" (originally
titled "Fehler im System") [also possibly based on the Bradbury story
Kaleidescope]; also "The Noah Plan" (about an exodus from Earth),
"Error in the System" (Earth as lost interstellar colony),
"Only Dreams" (computers plotting to take revenge on humans),
"Lifetime Guarantee (mind-controlled Utopia) and others.
There is some speculation that the translator may be responsible for the
SF content of some of these; for instance, the original (German) version
of "Only Dreams" ("...dann truegt der Schein") seems to be a non-SF song.
"Things to Come" includes "Zone 804" (aliens come to bring peace) and
"Lone Survivor" (man hides in bomb shelter, but war is averted; he's stuck).
Also, the song "Berlin, City of Night" (about fighting to reunite Belin
and Germany) was speculative fiction at the time that it was written.
Scorpions:
"Robot Man" on "In Trance". See ex-Scorption Uli Jon Roth.
Sensational Alex Harvey Band:
See "The Tale of The Giant Stone-Eater" from "Tomorrow Belongs to Me",
and "Nightmare City" from "Rock Drill".
Seventh Wave:
"Things to Come"
The Shamen:
The album "Boss Drum" contains "Space Time" and "Scientas".
Sigue Sigue Sputnik:
The album "Flaunt It" includes "21st Century Boy" along with other
SF-sounding stuff; the lyrics are difficult to decipher. Their
song "Love Missile F-11" includes samples from "A Clockword Orange".
Skinny Puppy
"200 Years" from the album "Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse" is
based on and contains samples from a Twilight Zone episode.
Smithereens:
Just a quick note to mention that "Behind the Wall of Sleep" is *not*
a Lovecraft adaption (see the entry for Black Sabbath) but is about
having an obsession with a woman bass player.
Sonic Youth:
On the album "Daydream Nation," a lot of sci-fi/cyberpunk
themes, and direct references to 'jacking in' as in Gibson's "Neuromancer".
See also the songs "Eric's Trip", "Hyperstation" and "Silver Rocket".
Sonic Youth draws heavily on the material of Phillip K. Dick and
William Gibson, in general; see "The Sprawl".
Southwind:
"The Green Hills of Earth" -- lyrics by Heinlein (or Rhysling, if
you prefer) from the story of the same name.
Spacemen3:
Covered "Starship" by Sun Ra and the MC5.
Sphynx:
Another band led by Nik Turner, produced the album "Xitintoday" which
was based on the Egyptian book ofthe dead. The flute was recorded
inside the sarcophagus of the Great Pyramid.
Spirit:
"Future Games" has interspersed fragments of old "Star Trek" episodes
between tunes. Also see "Potatoland" -- the songs aren't at all SF,
but are strung together by "The Adventures of Captain Copter and
Commander Cassidy" in a totalitarian state -- very bizarre.
Spizzenergi:
"Where's Captain Kirk"; band renamed "Athletico Spizz '80".
Stackridge:
UK band from the 70's: see "Purple Spaceships over Yatton", "Slark" (monster
gets boy, boy gets girls), and "Frankenstein's Pillow".
Starcastle:
A Yes clone. First album has a nice piece, "Lady of the Lake".
Steeleye Span:
Folk-rockers who tend to sing traditional songs with modern instruments.
"Elf Call" is about elves; "The Demon Lover", a well-known song,
appears on the LP "Commoner's Crown" along with "Elf Call".
Steve Miller Band:
"Brave New World" and "Space Cowboy" from the album "Brave New World".
Stevens, Cat:
"Freezing Steel" from "Catch Bull at Four"; also "Longer Boats"
from "Tea for the Tillerman" is about flying saucers. (It may
not be implicit in the lyrics, but Cat Stevens discussed it in
an interview.)
Stevens, Steve:
The title track "Atomic Playboys" is about nuclear war; there are
probably a few more cuts of a similar nature on the rest of the album.
Album artwork by H R Giger, of "Alien" fame.
Stewart, Al:
"The Sirens of Titan" (Vonnegut); also "Merlin's Time" from "24 carrots".
See also the title track from "Last Days of the Century" and "Red Toupee"
from that same album -- apparently he cited it as SF in an interview.
Sting:
"Dream of the Blue Turtles" has the track "Moon Over Bourbon Street" based,
according to the liner notes, on Anne Rice's "Interview With A Vampire".
Strange Advance:
See "Nor Crystal Tears" from "Strange Advance 2wo" (not a typo).
See also the album "Worlds Away"; several tracks with SF allusions and
themes, notably the title track, "One Chance in a Million", and "Sister Radio".
Cover artwork had examples of Arcologies for futurist-architect Paulo Soleri.
Stranglers, The:
The album "The Gospel According to the Meninblack" is about a race of
people from another planet who are raising humans on Earth for their
food. Considering there are over 5 billion people now, they should be
very happy. The Meninblack are first introduced in the song "Meninblack"
on the album "The Raven". See also "Rockit to the Moon", a B-side.
Stubbs, Levi:
"Mean Green Muther from Outer Space", from the musical "Little Shop
of Horrors", in which it is revealed that Audrey II is actually
an alien planning to take over the earth.
Styx:
Usually has one sf-ish piece on each album. All of "Kilroy was Here" is
a fable (this is the LP with "Mr. Roboto"). See also "Man of Miracles"
and "Come Sail Away". There is some speculation that "Lords of the Ring"
on "Pieces of Eight" is Tolkien-derived.
Sudden Sway:
Little known synthesizer based independent band.
Their "Spacemate" double album contains some futuristic advertising jingles
for imaginary products. The LP comes with some instructions on how to
"spacemate" which stands for "Super Dimensional Perceptive Aid Combining
Every Manner and Type of Everything". A note of explanation from the LP
cover - "which means it helps you expand your dimensions".
There are some puzzles and other goodies included by the previous 'owners'.
A non-musical track from a Peel session named "A Walk in the Park from the
Hypno-stroll" has a very "Hitchhiker's" feel to it.
Sun Ra:
An unusual jazz musician who has been obsessed with space travel; his
band is the "Arkestra". Some of his songs from the 70's are
"Rocket Number Nine to the Planet Venus" and "We Travel the Spaceways".
Supertramp:
Album "Brother Where You Bound". "Fools Overture" is about the threat
of nuclear war. Possibly "Crime of the Century".
Swann, Donald:
"The Road Goes Ever On". This album has a note on it that says "Poems
by J.R.R. Tolkien, music by Donald Swann". (Flanders, Swan's
sometime partner wasn't involved.) The flip side is him reading
"The Adventures of Tom Bombadil".
Sweet, Matthew:
"Children Of Time (Forever)" from "Earth" is a story of the future.
Symphonic Slam:
One album, with tracks "Universe" and "Fold Back".
T99:
Songs include "The Skydreamer", "Maximizor" (a single with some Japanese
SF-style artwork).
T'Pau:
This band is named after the Vulcan High Priestess in the (original)
Star Trek episode, "Amok Time".
T. Rex:
Before they hit it big with "Get it On (Bang a Gong)", they recorded
music dominated by sylvan fantasy themes vaugely inspired by Tolkein.
(Their percussionist went by the name Steve Peregrin Took, f'instance.)
The album entitled "T.Rex" includes "Ride a White Swan" and "Wizard";
two earlier albums, recorded when the band used the long form of their
name, i.e. Tyrannosaurus Rex, are "My people were fair and had sky in
their hair...But now they're content to wear stars on their brow"
and "Prophets, Seers, and Sages."
Talking Heads:
"Life During Wartime" from "Fear of Music", about an America at war.
"Moon Rocks" from "Speaking in Tongues", a surrealistic piece about
nuclear physics and magic. "(Nothing But) Flowers" from "Naked",
discusses a future return to an agrarian, nature-oriented lifestyle.
"The Facts of Life" from "Naked" recapitulates human history
extending it into the future.
Taylor, Roger:
LP "Fun in Space".
Telex:
Belgian electro-pop; futuristic tracks include "Rendezvous Dans L'Espace".
Ten Years After:
"Year 3000 Blues" on "Cricklewood Green" is about someone having to report
to some sort of euthanasia center because he wasn't up to the society's
eugenic standards. Also "Here They Come" from "A Space in Time",
which is about some visiting space travellers.
They Might be Giants:
"For Science!" is about a man willing to date "the girl from Venus'
despite the risk of radiation poisoning. Their latest LP is entitled
"Apollo 18" (the Apollo program stopped at #17). See also "The Guitar".
The also perform (live) a song called "Why Does the Sun Shine?" which is
somewhat Mr.Wizard-ish; it's not available on any released recording yet.
They performed it live on Nicks Rocks _ages_ ago, and some people still have
a copy floating around. Strangely, it is a cover of an educational children's
record. It starts out with "The sun is a mass/ of incandescent gas..."
Thorpe, Billy:
"Children of the Sun"
Titus Groan:
A band named after, and taking most of their material from,
Mervyn Peake's "Gormenghast" books. Relevant songs include "The
Hall of Bright Carvings" and "Fuchsia".
Tonio K:
"Mars Needs Women" from "La Bomba". "Life in the Foodchain" has the
songs "How Come I Can't See You in My Mirror?" (Answer: because the
subject is a vampire.)
Die Toten Hosen:
A German punk band. Their album "Eine kleine Horrorshow" is an
interpretation of Anthony Burgess' "A Clockwork Orange", the
novel which Stanley Kubrick made into film.
("Die Toten Hosen" translates to "dead pants", which is a German
slang expression for "nothing going on". Thanks to Thomas Koenig
for pointing this out.)
Toto:
Several tracks of the "Hydra" and "Isolation" albums have SF themes;
they also handled the soundtrack for "Dune".
Pete Townshend:
"Uniform", from "All The Best Cowboys have Chinese Eyes" discusses
the use of computers in the service of the state.
"The Iron Man" LP/rock opera is about an (alien?) robot who eats
everything in sight that's made of iron, including tanks and guns;
features the song "Heavy Metal".
Toyah:
"Sheep farming in Barnet" - Near future high tech (mind to machine transfer)
Messianic story. "Anthem", Story of a girl growing up in the present, but
uses *lots* of SF imagiary. "The Changling" seems to be a pre-post holocaust
story but is open to other interpretations. See also "Martin Cowboy"
from "Love is the Law".
Tubes:
"Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman", on "Completion Backward Principle";
also "Space Baby" and "Cathy's Clone".
Turner, Tina:
"Private Dancer" has the track "1984".
Twelfth Night:
"We are Sane" from "Fact and Fiction" is about state control of thoughts
by the implantation of a "component".
U2:
Bono and The Edge did the score for a new stage production of
"A Clockwork Orange." One song is available on the single of
"The Fly" -- no relation to the horror movie.
Ubangi:
Swedish band wrote "Monster ombord" (Monsters on board,
something has invaded the space ship) Some of their albums
have English lyrics...also, the LP "Disco Baby" has a song
"They Came From Outer Space".
Ultravox:
"All Stood Still" is apparently about an accident at a nuclear power
station. "Dancing With Tears In My Eyes" is about a nuclear attack.
Futuristic/surrealistic tracks from the Foxx era include "Slow Motion" and
"The Man Who Dies Every Day". Also, "Hiroshima Mon Amour" and "I Want
to be a Machine".
Uriah Heep:
"The Magician's Birthday", and "Demons and Wizards".
Utopia:
"Winston Smith Takes It on the Jaw" from "Oblivion". (Orwell's 1984)
Possibly "Adventures in Utopia". Also "Utopia", "Abandon City" from
"Oops, Wrong Planet" and "Emergency Splashdown" (which also appears on
one of Roger Powell's solo albums). "RA" is heavily fantasy, including
the epic "Singring and the Glass Guitar, an Electrified Fairy Tale".
Vai, Steve:
"Little Green Men" and "Next Stop Earth" from his album "Flex-Able".
Vai claims his album "Passion & Warfare" is a conceptual SF story
with the plot being too detailed to publish with the CD and says that
"Passion and Warfare - The Novel" will be published soon, but until then
it's pretty disjointed.
Van Halen:
On the album "5150", the song "Love Walks In" is about falling
in love with an alien.
Van der Graff Generator:
"Pioneers Over c", and others. (c = speed of light)
See also "Still Life" (immortality) and "Childhood's End" (destiny
of mankind; presumably based on Clarke's book) from "Still Life".
Also "After The Flood" (melting of polar icecaps) from "The Least Can Do
is Wave to Each Other". From "Godbluff", see "Arrow" (fantasy),
"Sleepwalkers" and "Scorched Earth" (programmed soldier?).
Vanity 6:
"Flippin' Out" is about vampirism.
Violinski:
"No Cause for Alarm" (WW3 breaks out in your neighborhood)
Visage:
Redid Zager & Evans "2525"; also did some other SF-type material.
VoiVod:
Their lyrics are largely SF. Most of their albums are conceptual and
loosely based around the VoiVod character. The earliest stuff is
standard post-holocaust type business, although they developed
considerably with "Dimension Hatross", an allegorical story in which
the VoiVod creates a parallel microdimension and monitors the development
of the inhabitants from tribal societies to technocratic states eventually
to apocalyptic destruction. "Nothingface", contains more surreal
cyberpunk(ish) SF lyrics with more introspective themes. "Angel Rat"
deals with a variety of concepts from Chaos theory to robot sentience.
Wakeman, Rick:
"Journey to the Center of the Earth" retells Verne's story; "No
Earthly Connection" has a fantasy slant to it. "Myths and
Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table" tells
the story of Camelot.
Randy Van Warmer:
On the album "Terraform", the title track is a three part SF song, the last
part of which is "I'm so 21st century" (repeated ad-nauseum). The song,
as well as the album, is absolutely dreadful. ;-)
Warrior:
The LP "Fighting for the Earth" deals with saving the earth
from demonic evil by forming a band of hard-core warriors to
do battle with it. The band has been characterized as
"a nontypically environmentally concerned metal band".
Was (not Was):
"Born to Laugh at Tornadoes" contains "Man vs. the Empire Brain
Building" a cyberpunk piece in which the vocals mostly consist of
the following line repeated over and over:
"In my life there's just three things:
Man vs. Nature
Man vs. Woman
and
Man vs. the Empire Brain Building"
Waters, Roger:
"Radio K.A.O.S." is a story about a psychic who hears radio
waves in his head; he learns to control them and takes over
a military computer system...
Wayne, Jeff:
"War of the Worlds". H.G. Wells' story with
Richard Burton doing narration, and awful music (purely
a personal opinion ;-) ).
Weather Report:
"I Sing the Body Electric" borrows the title from Ray Bradbury and
shows an android on the cover.
The Weathermen:
LP "Ten Deadly Kisses" features a track "Space", which is about
a space-age yuppie.
Who, The:
"Tommy" is half-fantasy, half-opera. "905" from "Who Are You?".
Also "Rael" from "The Who Sell Out". "Baba O'Riley" from "Who's Next"
seems to possibly be about some post-holocaust world. (Note:
"Baba O'Riley" and other tidbits were part of the very SF-ish
concept album "Lifehouse", which was never released.)
See also "Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde" from Quadroprhenia (depends on
how you interpret it).
Wings:
"Nineteen Eighty-Five" from "Band on the Run". Also "Magneto and
the Titanium Man" and "Venus and Mars (Reprise)" from "Venus and Mars".
Wishbone Ash:
"The King Will Come", "Phoenix", and "Throw Down the Sword"
(all from "Argus") are all heroic-fantasy type pieces. (By the way,
W.A.'s double/triple lead guitar work is worth hearing. ---Rsk)
Also see the title track from "Number the Brave".
Wood, Roy:
"Miss Clarke and the Computer" from "Boulders" (computer falls in
love with its operator).
Wooley, Sheb:
"Purple People Eater"
XTC:
"Reel by Reel" (the government can hear and record your thoughts);
"This World Over" from "The Big Express" which is a post-nuclear
holocaust cautionary tale.
Yankovic, Weird Al:
"I Think I'm a Clone Now" from "Even Worse" (parody of the 60's hit
"I Think We're Alone Now", recently recut by Tiffany).
"Yoda" (to the tune of "Lola") and "Slime Creatures from Outer Space",
an original music-tribute to B-movies; both are from "Dare to Be Stupid".
Also "Attack of the Radioactive Hamsters From a Planet Near Mars"
on the soundtrack for "UHF", and "Christmas at Ground Zero" from
"Polka Party".
Yaz:
There's a song on the album "You and Me Both" about childhood
during a nuclear war.
Yellow Magic Orchestra:
"Citizens of Science" from "X Infinite Multiples".
Yes:
Much sf-oriented work. Try "Astral Traveller", "Starship Trooper"
(Heinlein?), "The Gates of Delirium". (One reader commented that
this latter LP is actually based on Tolstoy's "War and Peace". I can't
confirm or deny that since I've never made it through the book.)
See also Jon Anderson's "Olias of Sunhillow" and Anderson & Vangelis's
song "Mayflower" from "The Friends of Mr. Cairo". See also "Then" with
references to telepathy. Also, "Arriving UFO" from "Tormato", "Machine
Messiah" from Drama (computer/controller), most of the entire album
"Close to the Edge" (which your editor regards as unquestionably the most
complex and finest piece of music ever written and performed by a rock band),
"South Side of the Sky" from "Fragile", and "Awaken" from "Going for the One".
"Tales from Topographic Oceans" is a 2-LP concept albums about
(possibly intelligent) life in the oceans singing to stars they can't see.
Tracks include "The Revealing Science of God", "The Remembering",
"The Ancient", and "Ritual". "Shoot High Aim Low" from "Big Generator" might
be about a futuristic war. The problem with figuring out much of Yes's work
is that the abstract poetic style often obscures the meaning
and multiple interpretations are possible.
Young, Kenny:
LP "Last Stage for Silverworld"
Young, Neil:
"After the Gold Rush", and "Ride my Llama" from "Rust Never Sleeps".
On the album "Trans", see "Computer Age", "We R In Control", and "Sample
and Hold".
ZZ Top:
Just a note to mention that the videos for the songs from their "Afterburner"
album had SF themes; also the song "TV Dinners" from "Eliminator" had
some SF references.
Zager & Evans:
"In the Year 2525"; dated but cute; was #1 when Armstrong walked on the moon.
Zappa, Frank, and the Mothers:
"Cheapnis", from "Roxy and Elsewhere", is the story of a grade Z monster movie.
"Thing-Fish" (evil scientist, etc.). "Inca Roads" from "One Size Fits All"
discusses the question of whether or not extraterrrestrials made the
huge patterns visible from the air in the Andes. See also "The Radio is
Broken" (from "The Man from Utopia") and the title track from "Drowning Witch".
See also "Billy the Mountain" from "Was Mothers Just Another
Bands from L.A.?", the story of a sentient mountain which refuses
induction into the U.S. armed forces. Also "Joe's Garage", a dystopian
operatta about a society which controls its citizens by making as many
things as possible illegal; presented as if it were an object lesson
told by an enforcer from that society.
Zevon, Warren:
"Werewolves of London" from "Excitable Boy", just for fun.
"Transverse City" is a concept album which, according to interviews
with Zevon, is based in part on "Bladerunner" and the works of
cyberpunk author William Gibson. SF tracks on the album include the
title cut, "Run Straight Down", and "The Long Arm of the Law".
Miscellaneous Notes and Comments:
---------------------------------
Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michael Jarre, Return to Forever, Weather Report,
Vangelis, Klaus Schultz, Deodata, Eno, Jean-Luc Ponty, Michael Urbaniak,
Stomu Yamashta & Go, The Enid, Peter Michael Hamel, Bo Hansson, Mannheim
Steamroller, Lancaster & Lumley, Lol Creme & Kevin Godley, Shadowfax,
Larry Fast aka Synergy, Kitaro, Mark Shreeve, Kevin Braheny, Steve
Roach, Constance Demby, Wendy Carlos, Michael Sterns, and B.J. Cole:
...have all been listed down here because several people have pointed out
that "sounding like SF" doesn't make it SF music. Note that some of these
people have done some SF soundtracks, and that some of them have done
instrumental material with SF/fantasy titles. Notable works include Hansson's
"Lord of the Rings", Creme & Godley's "Consequences", an ecological parable,
Mannheim Steamroller's "Fresh Aire V", a musical retelling of Kepler's
fantasy about a trip to the moon and back, and Klaus Schulze's "Cyborg"
and "Dune". Jarre's "Rendez-Vous" album was going to have had the sax part
for the track "Final Rendezvous/Ron's Piece" played, in orbit,
by Ron McNair on the ill-fated Challenger launch.
Hitchhiker's Guide:
Just a note that the theme music for THHGTTG is "Journey of the Sorcerer"
from the Eagles' "One of These Nights". Marvin is credited with a single
called "Marvin", backed with "Metal Man". Tim Souness did a single of
the HitchHiker's Guide theme. Disaster Area is credited with "Only
the End of the World Again", the B side of the theme single.
A second single called "Marvin I Love You" was released later--in it, Marvin
discovers an old recording of a female voice declaring her love for him
while perusing his memory banks. (Of course, he doesn't know where it
came from.)
Doctor Who:
Just a note to mention "Doctorin' the TARDIS" and "Gary and the TARDIS"
by the Timelords (now The KLF), "Who is the Doctor" by Jon Pertwee,
"Doctor...?" by Blood Donor, "Doctor in Distress" by Who Cares, and
"S.O.S. Daleks have landed" by ??.
SF Themes in Opera:
This section was originally posted to rec.music.classical by
ecl@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (Evelyn C. Leeper), who has kindly
granted permission to reproduce it here.
Benford, David & LeGuin, Ursula K. "Rigel-9"
Standard sf fare - astronauts on strange planet, one sensitive,
the rest rednecks. Only he sees the strange city in the forest etc.
Benford, David "Star's End"
A fantasy on SF themes.
Blomdahl, Karl-Birger "Aniara"
About a space ship leaving Earth (which is in an environmental
crisis).
Davis, Anthony & Atherton, Deborah "Under the Double Moon"
Attempt of a government Inspector to force telepathic twins to
accompany him to feed the powers of the Empress.
Dresher, Paul & Eckert, Rinded "Power Failure"
About an evil tycoon who has spent millions on a perpetual youth
machine for himself. When the moment comes to use it, a power
failure traps him, his assistant, secretary, and the janitor in
the underground laboratory. Despite the morality-play aspects of
what follow, it comes off as a powerful statement against rampant
materialism and exploitation of people and the environment.
Glass, Philip "Einstein on the Beach"
Has a scene where a flying saucer appears
Glass, Philip "1000 Airplanes on the Roof"
Glass, Philip "Hydrogen Jukebox"
Glass, Philip "Juniper Tree"
Glass, Philip & Lessing, Doris "The Making of the Representative
from Planet 8"
Haydn, J. "Il Mondo della Luna"
"It isn't straight sci-fi in the modern sense; the setting was meant
to provide a distant enough context to present a parody of powerful
people and institutions." But it *isn't* set on the moon; it has
someone tricked into believing they have traveled to the moon when
they haven't.
Janacek "The Excursions of Mr Broucek"
Two stories, one of which is Mr Broucek goes to the moon.
Janacek "The Macropoulous Affair"
Original by Karel Capek; the story of a 400+ year old opera
singer who possesses the formula for endless youth
Ligeti, G. "Le Grand Macabre"
I. The setting is the countryside in Brueghelland. Preceded by
the drunken Piet the Pot, the two lovers Amando and Amanda look
for a secluded place in which to make love. Out of a sepulchre
to one side of the stage emerges Nekrotzar, Angel of Death,
Great Reaper, Demon, Vampire etc, to announce the end of the
world that day at midnight.
II. Astradamors, court astrologer and hen-pecked husband, sees
apparitions through his telescope portending disaster. His wife
dreams of Venus, whom she asks to be sent a real man for a
husband. Astradamors' fears are confirmed with the arrival of
Nekrotzar, who first fulfils Mescalina's sexual desires and then
kills her.
III. The gluttonous ruler Go-Go receives word from the Chief of
his secret police ('Gepopo') that a comet is headed on a collision
course for Breughelland. Nekrotzar arrives with appropriate pomp
and ceremony to announce once more the end of the world.
Astradamors celebrates the death of his wife with Piet the Pot in
a drinking bout, and Nekrotzar, imagining the cup is filled with
sacrificial blood instead of wine, joins in. Becoming increasingly
intoxicated, Nekrotzar boasts about his cruel misdeeds and fails
to notice that midnight has already passed.
IV. With everyone wondering whether or not the world has really
ended, Mescalina breaks out of her tomb and recognises Nekrotzar
as her first husband, who then sinks into oblivion under the
weight of his failure. Having missed all the excitement, the two
lovers reappear.
Mackover, Todd "Valis"
Based on the Philip K. Dick novel
Menotti, Gian Carlo "A Bride from Pluto"
Menotti, Giancarlo "Help, Help the Globolinks!"
Monk, Meredith & Chong, Ping "The Games"
About a human society in a spacecraft that has been en route to a
distant star system for many generations. The games are simple
children's games which have acquired ritual status in the spaceship
culture. (Ballet?)
Offenbach, Jacques "Tales of Hoffman"
Robot
Offenbach, Jacques "Journey to the Moon"
Rice, Jeff "The War of the Worlds"
Swan, Donald "Perelandra"
Based on the C. S. Lewis
Swan, Donald various Tolkien songs (not opera)
? Robert Anton Wilson's stuff
? "A Wrinkle in Time"
And some random comments:
George Coates has a new work that takes place in virtual reality at
a theater in San Francisco. I don't know the name or composer, sorry.
For what it's worth I'm not sure I'd eliminate Wagner too soon: the
Ring may seem pretty fantastic, but many of the plots turn on the
appropriate use of technology (always Promethean, of course) and the
power it confers on the user.
Or sf novels with opera themes? How about Jack Vance's _Space
Opera_? As I recall the plot, it concerns the adventures of an
interstellar opera company.
Much thanks to:
alves@calvin.usc.edu@usc.edu (William Alves)
arb@martigny.ai.mit.edu (Barb Miller)
chrisi@lloyd.Camex.COM (Chris Ischay)
diarmuid@uniwa.uwa.edu.au (Diarmuid Pigott)
etxmtsb@solsta.ericsson.se (Mats Bengtsson TX/DK )
gal@bnr.ca (Gene Lavergne)
gower@cis.uab.edu (Mr. Gower)
haack@iscsvax.uni.edu
hedrick@dumas.rutgers.edu (Charles Hedrick)
jefrank@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Jason E Frank)
jkp@ukc.ac.uk (J.K.Pearson)
kaf8f@faraday.clas.Virginia.EDU (Keith Andrew Falconer)
kos@cunyvms1.gc.cuny.edu (Bob Kosovsky)
lms@TorreyPinesCA.ncr.com (Max Stern 310-524-6152)
mgresham%dscatl.UUCP@mathcs.emory.edu (Mark Gresham)
pdelafos@dsd.es.com (Peter Delafosse)
pranata@watserv.ucr.edu
rob@computer-science.manchester.ac.uk (Robert Marshall)
rp04@Lehigh.EDU (R M Price)
rtut@troi.cc.rochester.edu (Raymond Tuttle)
rwilmer@zinka.mitre.org (R. Wilmer)
steve@fid.morgan.com (Steve Apter)
zornow@hpcc01.corp.hp.com (Claudia Zornow)
(end included material on SF themes in opera)
---------------------------------
Well, that's it. Remember, please send your comments, corrections
and additions via *mail*. Thanks!
Rich Kulawiec, 8/92
Hastily-assembled montage of names of people who sent this stuff in:
Aaron Tucker, Al Crawford, Alan Greig, Alan Meiss, Alan Vymetalik,
Alastair Milne, Alex Melnick, Andrew Priestley, Andrew Raphael, Andy
Tucker, Becky Slocombe, Berry Kercheval, Bill Kaufman, Bjorn Lisper,
Blake Sobiloff, Bob, Brad, Brandon Allbery, Breebaart, Brent Woods,
Brian Ritchie, Brian Yamauchi, Bruce Holloway, Calle Dybedahl, Can
Altinbay, Carl Fongheiser, Carlo N. Samson, Chisholm, Chris Klausmeier,
Christopher Dollin, Chuck Koelbel, Corey Liss, Craig Wilcox, Dan Bloch,
Dan Duval, Daniel Dern, Dave, Dave Berry, Dave Gourley, Dave Rosik,
Dave Steiner, Dave Fiedler, David Adler, David Datta, David Gibbs,
David Kuznick, David Cook, Dean Lawrence Higgins, Devin Ben-Hur, Doug
Alan, Doug Mink, Ed Eastridge, edge!walker, Edwin Wiles, Eerke Boiten,
Ellen Keyne Seebacher, Eric Pepke, Erland Sommarskog, Ethan Miller,
Francini, Fricklas, Fujitsu, fyfesh, G. T. Samson, Gabrielle de
Lioncourt, Gareth, Gerard Lachac, Greg Samson, Guy Harris, Guy
Middleton, Hall, Hartman, Henry, Hirai, Husk, Imko Molenbuur, Jack
Ostroff, Jay Freeman, Jed Hartman, Jef Poskanzer, Jeff, Jeff Rogers,
Jessie Jim, Joanne Brooks, John, John, John A.Mariani, John Ockerbloom,
John Turner, John Relph, Jon Reeves, Jonathan Watts, Jonathan D.
Trudel, Joseph McLean, Kai-Miakel J{{-Aro, KarenColten, Ken, Ken
Leonard, Kyle Grieser, Lance A. Sibley, larry@ssdevo, Leo, Lewis, Lewis
Barnett, Lionel Marcus, Loren "Buck" Buchanan, Loring Holden, Malc,
Malcolm Humes, Malcolm Mladenovic, Mark Schlagenhauf, Maroney, Matthew
Belmonte, Mel, metlay, Michael Caplinger, Mijjil, Mike Holmes, Mike
Swiston, Mike Linksvayer, Miles Bader, Neil Weinstock, Nicholas
Simicich, Nick Smith, paszkows, Patrik Jansson, Paul Czarnecki, Paul S.
R., PaulCzarnecki, Pete, Peter, Peter Alfke, Platt, Randall Shane,
Randy Orrison, Richard Caley, Richard Smith, Robert Pietkivitch,
RobynTarter, Romkey, Russ Williams, Ryk E Spoor, Samir Chettri, Scott
A., Scott Butler, Sean Ellis, Seth Kadesh, Sheila Coyazo, Shelli
Meyers, Smith Steve, Smithson, Stephen Mulrine, Stephen Pearl, Steve
Herring, Steve Lionel, Stuart Sullivan, T. William Wells., Templeton,
Terry Poot, The Roach Above Reproach, The Roach(dan'l), Theo Hong,
Thomas Gayler, Thomas Koenig, Thomas Koenig, Tim, Tim Day, Tim Walters,
Tim Smith, Tom Galloway, Tony Towers, Tynor, Vlach, Vogel, Walker
Aumann, Wayne Barber, William Ingogly, William J. Richard, Dave Vernal,
Ben Waggoner, Chris Mungall, Steve Greer, Jason O'Broin,
Christopher Davis, Brian Kendig, Matt Maxwell, Richard Barrett, Dayne
Miller, Mary Ellen Foster, Alfvaen, Ronny H. Arild, Paul R. Joslin,
Alexander Yok-Wai, Ronald D. White, Kjetil Wiekhorst J|rgensen,
Jim Gillespie, Diarmuid Pigott, Evelyn C Leeper, Christopher Haynes,
Jim Atkinson, Robert Chansky, wakelins@fri.cri.nz, Michael Simla,
Ray Charbonneau, TheO O'Neal, Alex Melnick, Richard K Fox, Dion Francois.
Derek G Bacon, Daniel F Boyd, Jeff Berry, Richard Heritage, Joe Decker,
James Gillespie, Ulrich Grepel, Mark Parker, Jim Freund, Mike Alberghini,
Paolo Valladolid, Francisco X DeJesus, Scott Grier, Andrew Raphael,
Steve W. Hill, Curt Wiederhoeft.