39 P: Sci-Fi References in Music List
Description
This article is from the SF references in music List FAQ, by Rich Kulawiec rsk@gsp.org with numerous contributions by others.
39 P: Sci-Fi References in Music List
PTP:
A collaboration between Al Jourgensen of Ministry and Cabaret Voltaire.
The name stands for Programming The Psychodrill, which is a phrase from a
J.G. Ballard collage.
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.
Pamela, Lucia:
Legendary space diva. Arf Arf Records (see Space Negros) has re-released
her "Into Outer Space With Lucia Pamela", an album apparently recorded on
the moon. Pretty much indescribable.
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.
Penal Colony:
This band named themselves after a Kafka story. Virtually all of their songs
contain references to sci-fi; many of their references are to Robert Anton
Wilson and William Gibson. They also use sample from sci-fi movies, like the
sample at the beginning of "Blue 9" which is from "Tetsuo the Iron Man." Blue
9, incidentally, is the name of a substance used in Gibson's _Neuromancer_.
Pere Ubu:
"Worlds in Collision" SF-ish title has "I Hear They Smoke
the Barbecue" about Martian refugees adapting to life on earth,
"Goodnight Irene" mentions the "King of Mars, fell to earth and ended
up behind bars" maybe related to the former, along with the title track.
Perplexer:
"Da Capo" -- a disco/techno version of "Also Sprach Zarathustra".
Also the video refers to "2001".
Pet Shop Boys:
"The Sound Of The Atom Splitting" is the B-side of the single
"Left To My Own Devices".
Petra:
Christian rock band with numerous SF allusions in their cover art and
music; see "Computer Brains" on "Beat the System".
Phillip Boa and the Voodoo Club:
"Get Terminated" on the album "Boaphenia" (released 1992) is a song
about a near-future dystopia.
Phillips, Anton:
"1984", inspired by Orwell's book (but completely instrumental except
for a chorus of "1984" on the last track).
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 ("Chronolyse") and also has Norman Spinrad
doing vocals on a piece on "East/West" that is about some air disaster.
(Chronolyse is entirely instrumental, by the way.)
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, and containing "Interstellar Overdrive". Pink Floyd's
"Piper at the Gates of Dawn" borrows its title from a chapter in the
children's classic, "The Wind in the Willows," in which some animals
innocently encounter the god Pan. (It might also be a Lovecraft
reference; anybody know?) "Obscured by Clouds" includes "Childhood's
End", which might be an A.C. Clarke reference. "Wish You Were Here"
has "Welcome to the Machine"; "The Final Cut" has "Two Suns in the
Sunset" about a nuclear holocaust. The video of "The Wall" show's Pink's
out-of-control fantasies about becoming a facsist dictator ruling his
audience through music. The album "Momentary Lapse of Reason",
contains tracks called "A New Machine" parts 1 & 2, which seem to be
spoken by a computer; it also has "Signs of Life", "Terminal Frost",
and "Sorrow", which is about a future earth with a shattered ecology.
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