Sci-Fi Music

[Tango Alpha Delta]

[I'm copying a couple of posts over from the "Gender" etc.  thread over in "Gaullimaufry", at the request of those interested in un-distracted debate.]

Now here's a thread I'd like to see develop, and maybe you all can help.  Who are your favorite sci-fi musicians?  I've heard of the folk bands that sing Star Trek ballads, and Steve has featured some great stuff on EP from time to time.  I was fond of Peter Schilling ("Voelig losgeloest/Major Tom" is still pretty awesome), and there are always Led Zeppelin's Tolkein-based lyrics; but who really bases music on SF themes?  Who does it and manages to evoke your Sense of Wonder?

We were at a restaurant the other night, and they were playing a '70's mix, so of course that included the disco rendition of the Star Wars music (Stuff from "A New Hope", complete with the 'Cantina theme').  It reminded me that I still have a cassette of Maynard Ferguson playing jazz/disco arrangements of "Star Wars", "Star Trek" (the Alexander Courage original!), "Battlestar Gallactica", and "Gonna Fly Now".  Alright, Rocky isn't SF, but it's an awesome track.

[Tango Alpha Delta]

Now here's a thread I'd like to see develop, and maybe you all can help.  Who are your favorite sci-fi musicians?  I've heard of the folk bands that sing Star Trek ballads, and Steve has featured some great stuff on EP from time to time.  I was fond of Peter Schilling ("Voelig losgeloest/Major Tom" is still pretty awesome), and there's always Parliament's Mother Ship flying around; but who really evokes that Sense of Wonder for you?

Wow, Sci-Fi music- there's a challenging question.  There's a few that pop right out, of course- I'm totally with you on "Major Tom"!  God I love that song!  I've had trouble getting my hands on a copy of it, though.  A friend gave me a 12" version recorded on CD- audio quality was OK, but at the end of the song there was a skip on the record!  I still listen to it though.  It's really long and combines both English and German versions.

Of course there's the other Major Tom song, "A Space Oddity" by David Bowie, and Elton John's "Rocket Man" is ok.  Can I count John Williams Star Wars scores?  I don't sit and listen to them on my iPod, but the Star Wars theme gives me chills when I hear it.  (Laugh if you will).  I think my wife feels almost the same way about the Superman theme, but she won't admit it.

How about A Flock of Seagulls's "Space Age Love Song"?  The instrumental song at the end of Buckaroo Banzai?  Weird Al's "The Saga Begins"? I like those. 

I don't care for Duran Duran's Electric Barbarella- and now I'm stretching.  I can't think of anything else I'm really familiar with.

[Tango Alpha Delta]

I'm not sure if this counts, but I have several of the Babylon 5 soundtrack albums, by Chris Franke.  They're really good in an electronic, symphonic, space-opera sort of way.

[jrderego]

Albums with sci-fi themes or mechanics -

Deltron 3030 by Del Tha Funkee Homosapien: Fantastic Rap record with one foot in cyberpunk, another in Manga.

David Bowie by Diamond Dogs: Post apocalyptic record, his best from the Ziggy Stardust period

Fragile - Yes: for the song Starship Troopers and the amazing cover art.

Land of Hunger by The Earons: for stage presence

All of GWAR's records (not at all for kids)
Flaunt it by Sigue Sigue Sputnik (and all their other albums too)

Songs with sci-fi themes or mechanics (not including those mentioned above)-

To Tame a Land by Iron Maiden: Dune in Heavy Metal form
The Prisoner by Iron Maiden: The Prisoner TV show in Heavy Metal form
Somewhere in Time by Iron Maiden: Time travel story in Heavy Metal form
Pump up the volume by M.A.R.R.S.: sci-fi heavy video
Skullcrusher Mountain by Jonathan Coulton: As featured on Escape Pod
The Final Countdown by Europe: Possibly the worst song ever recorded (Gob Bluth's theme music on Arrested Development)
Elektronik Supersonik by Zlad: Australian comedian's "Molvanian" alter ego video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp_PIjc2ga4
 

[lowky]

There was a song I heard on doctor demento years ago about the robot from Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy.

More so Fantasy than Sci-fi--The songs about Elric by Hawkwind

[SFEley]

There was a song I heard on doctor demento years ago about the robot from Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy.

"Marvin I Love You."  For several adolescent years I thought the female vocalist in that song was the most beautiful woman's voice I had ever heard.  I kid you not. 


...Other SF albums I've enjoyed:

I Robot from The Alan Parsons Project.  For that matter, their first album, Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allen Poe, should be considered genre if Poe's work is genre.

Cyberpunk by Billy Idol.  Don't laugh.  I liked it.

I cannot believe Rush's album 2112 hasn't been mentioned yet, although I personally am not much of a Rush fan.  I like "Tom Sawyer" and that's about it.


Individual songs:

"Mister Roboto" by Yes.  One of only about a half-dozen standalone songs I've bought from the iTunes store.

"Science Genius Girl" by Freezepop.  I know about it from the PS2 game Frequency.  Who can argue with these lyrics:

    When I clone a human being
    It will want to hold my hand 
    When I clone a human being
    It will be a member of my band

[ClintMemo]

"Mister Roboto" by Yes.  One of only about a half-dozen standalone songs I've bought from the iTunes store.

um....that would by Styx.

[SFEley]

"Mister Roboto" by Yes.  One of only about a half-dozen standalone songs I've bought from the iTunes store.

um....that would by Styx.

Argh.  Thank you.

The embarrassing thing is that I could have just pulled my iPod out of my pocket and looked at it to confirm.

[ClintMemo]

There was a song I heard on doctor demento years ago about the robot from Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy.

...Other SF albums I've enjoyed:

I Robot from The Alan Parsons Project.  For that matter, their first album, Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allen Poe, should be considered genre if Poe's work is genre.

"By the last breathe of the four winds that blow,
I'll have revenge upon Fortunato."

That is a good album. 
IIRC, he did one just a few years ago about "The Time Machine," but I don't have that one.

I cannot believe Rush's album 2112 hasn't been mentioned yet, although I personally am not much of a Rush fan.  I like "Tom Sawyer" and that's about it.

You just beat me to it. 
I think several early Rush albums have fantasy themed songs - Hemispheres, Fly By Night.  So do many of the early Genesis albums, back when Peter Gabriel was with them - Watcher of the Skies, the Fountain of Salmacis (sp?), Get 'em out by Friday, heck, all of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. There's also a later one on Abacab - Keep it Dark.

[Jim]

TV and movie soundtracks aside, I used to have the LP version of Rainbow in Curved Air by Terry Riley because of the radio version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Vangelis music, like Heaven & Hell, China, and so on, seems very spacey and sci-fi inspired to me.

[ClintMemo]

"Mister Roboto" by Yes.  One of only about a half-dozen standalone songs I've bought from the iTunes store.

um....that would by Styx.

Argh.  Thank you.

The embarrassing thing is that I could have just pulled my iPod out of my pocket and looked at it to confirm.

Hey, I'm just happy to help out.
I used to be a enormous Yes fan, practically a Yes bigot, so mistaking Yes and Styx in my mind is like mixing up whiskeys would be in yours.
(disclaimer: I like Styx, too. )

[ClintMemo]

TV and movie soundtracks aside, I used to have the LP version of Rainbow in Curved Air by Terry Riley because of the radio version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Vangelis music, like Heaven & Hell, China, and so on, seems very spacey and sci-fi inspired to me.

Have you ever listened to any old Tangerine Dream albums? Like Phaedra, Tangram, Stratosphere, or Force Majeure?
They have some of the spacey-dreamy quality as well.

[slic]

I think several early Rush albums have fantasy themed songs - Hemispheres, Fly By Night.

The full title is Cygnus X-1 Book II "Hemispheres" (unless you meant the album names) is semi-sci-fi.  It's the second part of the song started on "Farewell to Kings "Cygnus X-1" Book I - The Voyage.  It's about a spaceship that drives into a black hole.

The third album "Caress of Steel" is also very fantasy driven with The Necromancer and Fountains of Lamneth.

[DKT]

More fantasy than sci-fi, but for any other Neil Gaiman junkies out there there was the "Where's Neil When you Need Him?" cd.  I wish somebody would do more kinds of cds like this, for other authors/stories, as well. 

[SFEley]

I used to be a enormous Yes fan, practically a Yes bigot, so mistaking Yes and Styx in my mind is like mixing up whiskeys would be in yours.

Heh.  I feel the same way about Alan Parsons.  He was my favorite group (an odd statement, but strictly accurate) for well over a decade.

In fact, I once got to see them both in concert: Alan Parsons opening for Yes in an outdoor ampitheater here.   Unfortunately I don't remember much of Yes, but I have a good reason for it.  My wife and I were seeing this other couple at the time, and the other girl was an even bigger Parsons fan than I was.  (She had bootleg videotapes of the German stage musical version of Gaudi.  That's hardcore.)

Somehow, through means I was never quite clear about but made for a fun story in my head, she managed to swing us all backstage passes.  So as Yes was opening, I got to go back and meet Alan Parsons.  It was a good conversation, though I remember nothing now of the actual words that were spoken.  I remember only that he's very polite, very British, and very tall.

We then went back to hear the rest of the show, but our friend was all melty from having gotten to hug Alan Parsons, and we all found that far more entertaining than Yes's music.  I'm very sorry about that, and if I ever do get to hear them again I promise I'll pay more attention.  >8->

[lowky]

almost forgot, entire album by Rudimentary Peni--Cacophony it's all about H. P. Lovecraft, songs about Brown Jenkin, etc.

[Tango Alpha Delta]

More fantasy than sci-fi, but for any other Neil Gaiman junkies out there there was the "Where's Neil When you Need Him?" cd.  I wish somebody would do more kinds of cds like this, for other authors/stories, as well. 

I know Tori Amos is tight with him -- and most of her stuff is "out of this world" in one sense or another -- but I'm not familiar with that one.


Oh, and there's always the Beastie Boys: "Intergalactic Planetary" (which is one of those "mind virus" songs in our house).

[Tango Alpha Delta]

TV and movie soundtracks aside, I used to have the LP version of Rainbow in Curved Air by Terry Riley because of the radio version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Vangelis music, like Heaven & Hell, China, and so on, seems very spacey and sci-fi inspired to me.

Have you ever listened to any old Tangerine Dream albums? Like Phaedra, Tangram, Stratosphere, or Force Majeure?
They have some of the spacey-dreamy quality as well.

My college roomie was heavy into that kind of stuff; Philip Glass, Klaus Schultz... he got me listening to Jean-Michel Jarre, and I still love those albums.  "Waiting for Cousteau" is amazing (and a great soundtrack for reading Arthur C. Clarke).  His 1986 Rendezvous contains "Ron's Piece", which was written for astronaut Ron McNair to play as the first live performance from space in Jarre's 1986 Houston concert.

Oh, and Jeff... that Zlad video is the funniest thing I've seen since the last time SNL was funny!

[ClintMemo]

I used to be a enormous Yes fan, practically a Yes bigot, so mistaking Yes and Styx in my mind is like mixing up whiskeys would be in yours.

Heh.  I feel the same way about Alan Parsons.  He was my favorite group (an odd statement, but strictly accurate) for well over a decade.

In fact, I once got to see them both in concert: Alan Parsons opening for Yes in an outdoor ampitheater here.   Unfortunately I don't remember much of Yes, but I have a good reason for it.  My wife and I were seeing this other couple at the time, and the other girl was an even bigger Parsons fan than I was.  (She had bootleg videotapes of the German stage musical version of Gaudi.  That's hardcore.)

Somehow, through means I was never quite clear about but made for a fun story in my head, she managed to swing us all backstage passes.  So as Yes was opening, I got to go back and meet Alan Parsons.  It was a good conversation, though I remember nothing now of the actual words that were spoken.  I remember only that he's very polite, very British, and very tall.

We then went back to hear the rest of the show, but our friend was all melty from having gotten to hug Alan Parsons, and we all found that far more entertaining than Yes's music.  I'm very sorry about that, and if I ever do get to hear them again I promise I'll pay more attention.  >8->

lol - I saw that same tour! 

Actually, I got to see AP a few years earlier when he was doing a solo tour - the same tour that he recoded his live album. Kansas was the opening act (another one of my favorite bands as a youth). He had a bigger band and two or three different singers.  The guy who did his orchestrations - (Andrew Powell?)  was one of the keyboard players.  One of the last songs they did had a part for a male vocalist that was just "Oh OH OH" syllables, if you get my meaning.  They had Steve Walsh, the singer from Kansas come out on stage to sing it.  He has a voice about the size of the grand canyon.  It was chilling.

I'm almost embarrassed at how many times I've seen Yes. Actually, I'm not quite sure, maybe 12 or 13.  Some shows - one of the best live bends I've ever heard. Other shows - mediocre.

[SFEley]

lol - I saw that same tour! 

Actually, I got to see AP a few years earlier when he was doing a solo tour - the same tour that he recoded his live album. Kansas was the opening act (another one of my favorite bands as a youth).

And I saw that tour, too.  >8->  Those are the two times I've seen Alan Parsons.

One of the last songs they did had a part for a male vocalist that was just "Oh OH OH" syllables, if you get my meaning.  They had Steve Walsh, the singer from Kansas come out on stage to sing it.  He has a voice about the size of the grand canyon.  It was chilling.

Was it "You're the Voice?"

You're the voice, try and understand it
Make a noise and make it clear
Whoa... Whoa...
We're not gonna sit in silence
Were not gonna live with fear
Whoa... Whoa...

(Only each of those "Whoas" has at least eight syllables in it.)  >8->

[ClintMemo]

lol - I saw that same tour! 

Actually, I got to see AP a few years earlier when he was doing a solo tour - the same tour that he recoded his live album. Kansas was the opening act (another one of my favorite bands as a youth).

And I saw that tour, too.  >8->  Those are the two times I've seen Alan Parsons.

One of the last songs they did had a part for a male vocalist that was just "Oh OH OH" syllables, if you get my meaning.  They had Steve Walsh, the singer from Kansas come out on stage to sing it.  He has a voice about the size of the grand canyon.  It was chilling.

Was it "You're the Voice?"

You're the voice, try and understand it
Make a noise and make it clear
Whoa... Whoa...
We're not gonna sit in silence
Were not gonna live with fear
Whoa... Whoa...

(Only each of those "Whoas" has at least eight syllables in it.)  >8->

Yes, I'm pretty sure that was it.  Was Kansas opening when you saw them the first time?  When I saw that show, it looked like Steve was sneaking on stage to sing that part.  I was curious if they always did that and just made it look spontaneous.

[SFEley]

Yes, I'm pretty sure that was it.  Was Kansas opening when you saw them the first time?  When I saw that show, it looked like Steve was sneaking on stage to sing that part.  I was curious if they always did that and just made it look spontaneous.

Yes, Kansas did open.  I remember being really impressed by their energy level.  I can't remember if he came back on to do any Parsons songs, though.  He probably did -- that's too cool a trick to do just once.  >8->

[DKT]

More fantasy than sci-fi, but for any other Neil Gaiman junkies out there there was the "Where's Neil When you Need Him?" cd.  I wish somebody would do more kinds of cds like this, for other authors/stories, as well. 

I know Tori Amos is tight with him -- and most of her stuff is "out of this world" in one sense or another -- but I'm not familiar with that one.

She's got a song on it, but it's not one of my favorites (of either her's or the album's). There's a lot of interesting and eclectic kind of sounds.  I'd never heard of Thea Gilmore before but I found some more of her stuff after listening to this cd (she had a song about American Gods).  There's a fun little song called Trader Boy from the Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish.  Then there's a creepy as hell song sung in German called Vandermeer.

[Anarkey]

...Other SF albums I've enjoyed:

I Robot from The Alan Parsons Project.  For that matter, their first album, Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allen Poe, should be considered genre if Poe's work is genre.

Yes, ok, I will take the award for being pedantic now :

It's Edgar Allan Poe.  I'm sorry to pick on you, Steve, because it's wrong  (the same way) in several posts on several threads by several people.  Like his stuff, been reading it since back in the day, he's an inspiration?  Try spelling his name right.

Tales of Mystery and Imagination is a great album, though.  I have only an LP copy, so I haven't heard it in well over a decade.  As soon as you mentioned it though, I started humming bars of the different songs.  Now I'm aching to hear it again.

[Russell Nash]

It's Edgar Allan Poe.

I thought so. I was just too damn lazy to look it up.