Sci-Fi Music

[stePH]

I have, no world of a lie, the soundtrack to the novel of Battlefield Earth. You read right, the soundtrack to the novel, composed and at least partially played by crazy ol' L. Ron himself. It's on vinyl and I don't currently have a working record player, otherwise I'd record it and post some samples on my site.

I used to have that on CD.  It was awful.  Edgar Winter must also be a Scientologist; I can't imagine why else he'd have consented to record that unmitigated POS.

[Tango Alpha Delta]

I have, no world of a lie, the soundtrack to the novel of Battlefield Earth. You read right, the soundtrack to the novel, composed and at least partially played by crazy ol' L. Ron himself. It's on vinyl and I don't currently have a working record player, otherwise I'd record it and post some samples on my site.

I used to have that on CD.  It was awful.  Edgar Winter must also be a Scientologist; I can't imagine why else he'd have consented to record that unmitigated POS.

I'm going to take a wild stab at an answer:  "'Cuz it was the 70s, man!"   

[Darwinist]

When I bought Kid A my youngest lad (then 5) and I were listening to it in the car when the song Kid A came on.  He asked me where this "weird music" came from.  I told him this song was found in the wreckage of an alien space ship.  He believed that for quite a while but has since learned the truth.

[Tango Alpha Delta]

When I bought Kid A my youngest lad (then 5) and I were listening to it in the car when the song Kid A came on.  He asked me where this "weird music" came from.  I told him this song was found in the wreckage of an alien space ship.  He believed that for quite a while but has since learned the truth.

That's one of those cases where the truth isn't as accurate as your story...

[Cognosco]

Add Emerson, Lake & Palmer's 'Tarkus' to the list.

The Moody Blues had at least one album that is bona fide SciFi music - 1978 musical version of 'The War Of The Worlds'.  Another TMB example is 'To Our Children's Children'.  One of its songs is "Eternity Road" (wonder if Jack McDevitt got the idea for his book from that song?) and another is titled "I Never Thought I'd Live To Be A Million" (Itunes plays a 30-second clip of this 33-second song which is pure flash SciFi).

How about themes to a couple of old SF television shows?  Like, 'The Twilight Zone' or 'The Time Tunnel'.  Yes, I'm that old...

[stePH]

Add Emerson, Lake & Palmer's 'Tarkus' to the list.

I can see "Karn Evil 9" perhaps, but "Tarkus"? 

[Planish]

I have, no world of a lie, the soundtrack to the novel of Battlefield Earth. You read right, the soundtrack to the novel, composed and at least partially played by crazy ol' L. Ron himself. It's on vinyl and I don't currently have a working record player, otherwise I'd record it and post some samples on my site.

That certainly trumps my vinyl LP of Leonard Nimoy Presents Mr. Spock's Music From Outer Space.



After nearly 40 years, it is (not surprisingly) still in mint condition.

[Tango Alpha Delta]

I have, no world of a lie, the soundtrack to the novel of Battlefield Earth. You read right, the soundtrack to the novel, composed and at least partially played by crazy ol' L. Ron himself. It's on vinyl and I don't currently have a working record player, otherwise I'd record it and post some samples on my site.

That certainly trumps my vinyl LP of Leonard Nimoy Presents Mr. Spock's Music From Outer Space.

After nearly 40 years, it is (not surprisingly) still in mint condition.

Is that the U.S.S. Proud Mary he's holding there?

[wintermute]

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

I love that album. I still listen to it semi-regularly.

Also, Star Trekkin' by The Firm, and I'll be Back by Arnee and and the Terminaters, for my parody picks.

Albums:
Vangelis' BladeRunner soundtrack.
Jeff Mill's Metropolis soundtrack.
Frontiers and New Technologies by Vex.
Famous Monsters by The Misfits

Individual tracks
Networking by Warren Zevon. For being written in the 70's it's very sci-fi.
Cold Machines by Alice Cooper.
Space is Deep by Hawkwind.

[stePH]

Space is Deep by Hawkwind.

Quite a lot by Hawkwind, actually.  (I liked to think of them as England's answer to the Grateful Dead, except that Hawkwind's music was actually psychedelic where the Dead was just warmed-over blues and country.)

[wintermute]

Space is Deep by Hawkwind.

Quite a lot by Hawkwind, actually.

True, but that is the one that stands out, to me.

[arcticwolfe]

I've only tried an EVE Online trial account, but I found its music very compelling.  It helped me feel as though I was in space.

[Tango Alpha Delta]

Alright, check this out, gang:  http://wtmd.mixtape.sgizmo.com/ takes you to a submission form which let's you submit your suggestions for a "mixtape" to my local college radio station, WTMD (Towson, MD).

Since there are obviously a lot of good suggestions for Sci-Fi themes here, I figured at least a couple of you might be willing to suggest a list of 8-10 songs to them, which they might then play some Thursday night at 8pm (EST).  Of course, if you're NOT local, you should still be able to stream their broadcast... ain't the Internet fantastic?


If you do send them a list, be sure to post it here so we can all "ooh"  and "ahh" over it... and critique your taste, of course. 

Road Trip (YMMV)
1. Medeski Martin & Wood - Let's Go Everywhere
2. Miles Davis - Move
3. Jackson Browne - Miles Away
4. Sheryl Crow - Everyday Is a Winding Road
5. Stone Temple Pilots - Interstate Love Song
6. Tom Waits - Big Joe and Phantom 409
7. Buckwheat Zydeco - Route 66
8. They Might Be Giants - Everything Right Is Wrong Again
9. Keller Williams - Kidney in a Cooler
10. Johnny Cash - I've Been Everywhere

Note: clicking on any of these links will take you to Last.fm, where (if the full track has been made available, and you let it play all the way through) the artists will be paid royalties for your visit - at no cost to you.

[stePH]

Road Trip (YMMV)
1. Medeski Martin & Wood - Let's Go Everywhere
2. Miles Davis - Move
3. Jackson Browne - Miles Away
4. Sheryl Crow - Everyday Is a Winding Road
5. Stone Temple Pilots - Interstate Love Song
6. Tom Waits - Big Joe and Phantom 409
7. Buckwheat Zydeco - Route 66
8. They Might Be Giants - Everything Right Is Wrong Again
9. Keller Williams - Kidney in a Cooler
10. Johnny Cash - I've Been Everywhere

Note: clicking on any of these links will take you to Last.fm, where (if the full track has been made available, and you let it play all the way through) the artists will be paid royalties for your visit - at no cost to you.

Off on a tangent here, but the best "road trip" song is "Mei" by Echolyn.  It's not really mix tape material though, as its running time is forty-nine-and-a-half minutes, being the only song on the CD of the same title

[Tango Alpha Delta]

Off on a tangent here, but the best "road trip" song is "Mei" by Echolyn.  It's not really mix tape material though, as its running time is forty-nine-and-a-half minutes, being the only song on the CD of the same title

http://www.last.fm/music/Echolyn/_/Mei  (Sadly, "Mei" is not available to listen to there, but you can listen to their track "One Brown Mouse".)

[stePH]

http://www.last.fm/music/Echolyn/_/Mei  (Sadly, "Mei" is not available to listen to there, but you can listen to their track "One Brown Mouse".)

That's the one.  And though I haven't listened, I'd bet "One Brown Mouse" is a cover of the Jethro Tull song.

Back to topic, Echolyn doesn't really have anything SFnal in their catalog, unless you might count "My Dear Wormwood" from As the World since it's based on (or inspired by) The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.

[DKT]

Has anyone else heard of Abney Park?  They're a steampunk band. 

Seriously. 

Well, mostly serious.  They dress up like steampunk characters and their music is obviously inspired by a lot of SF/F, especially steampunk.  I first heard about them on boing boing, I think.  They're also going to be doing some of the music on the Variant Frequencies that's going to feature my next story.  They have a really good sound and some cool lyrics like these verses from their song Airship Pirates:

With a crew of drunken pilots, We’re the only Airship Pirates!
We’re full of hot air and we’re starting to rise
We’re the Terror of the skies, but a danger to ourselves now.

Expendable crew starts to reel her in.
Our swords are sharpened and we're ready to sin.
I’m 3 miles up, we're about to swing aboard.
My tethers made of leather so I’m not about to fall here.

Highly recommend checking their site out.  They've got a lot of songs you can listen to for free.  And sRobert's (the lead singer) comments in the "Adventure" pictures are really pretty funny.  It sounds like he could've written for Firefly.

[stePH]

Missed this the first time around:

... and you have to love a band that does a song about the Hale Bopp cult. 

Then pick up the Porcupine Tree album Lightbulb Sun, which contains the track "Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It is Recycled".

And their previous album Stupid Dream has the even more SFnal track "A Smart Kid".

[Ocicat]

Ya, I've heard of Abney Park, and seen them play live (they're mostly Seattle based).  Good stuff.  Glad to see they're getting success outside the local scene here.

[Darwinist]

ELO's "Time".  I remember riding my bike to Pamida and buying the cassette.  It is a concept album about the future with songs like "Yours Truly, 2095" and "Ticket to the Moon".   I loved it.

[Tango Alpha Delta]

ELO's "Time".  I remember riding my bike to Pamida and buying the cassette.  It is a concept album about the future with songs like "Yours Truly, 2095" and "Ticket to the Moon".   I loved it.

There's a lot of sci-fi goodness by ELO (I've written more about Jeff Lynne on my Last.fm blog).  I particularly like Out of the Blue:

[stePH]

There's a lot of sci-fi goodness by ELO (I've written more about Jeff Lynne on my Last.fm blog).  I particularly like Out of the Blue:

Is there anything SFnal about that album apart from the cover?  I hardly think "Mister Blue Sky" or "Turn to Stone" qualify.

[Tango Alpha Delta]

There's a lot of sci-fi goodness by ELO (I've written more about Jeff Lynne on my Last.fm blog).  I particularly like Out of the Blue:

Is there anything SFnal about that album apart from the cover?  I hardly think "Mister Blue Sky" or "Turn to Stone" qualify.

Nope... you got me there.  Even Starlight isn't particularly SFish.  Even their other stuff isn't actually very SFnal, lyrically.  Calling America is all about satellite communications, and that's kind of a lame connection.

So, aside from their artwork and stage shows (I've heard about their massive mother-ship landing onstage to open their shows) I guess I was wrong.

Edit: oops.  How long were y'all gonna let me sit there with my url hanging out?

[stePH]

Haven't checked into them (yet), but I've heard the band Chrome described thusly: "If Philip K. Dick had a rock band, it would sound like this."

Following up on my own post here:

"If sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick started a band, it would sound like Chrome." -- Tage Savage, 18 May 2007 in the Vanguard, a free Portland-area newspaper.

"If sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick started a band, it would suck." -- stePH, 25 May 2008 after listening to Chrome: Anthology 1979-1983.

Apart from the horrible production on most of the tracks (if I wanted to listen to something that sounds like it was recorded in a garage, I've got Kenso's Esoptron which is at least musically interesting), the music itself is boring crap and the lyrics are unintelligible.  Voivod's sci-fi rock leaves Chrome eating their French-Canadian dust.

[Roney]

A couple on the theme of Alien Promises:

Subterranean Homesick Alien - Radiohead

The King Of Outer Space - The Bluetones

(Song links go to last.fm, following TAD's good example.)