47 S2: 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.
47 S2: Sci-Fi References in Music List
Schultz, Mark:
There's a delightful short piece by Mark Schultz entitled
"Dragons in the Sky" for horn, percussion, and electronic tape. This is
supposedly the third work Mr. Schultz has written based on The Silmarillion,
though I have not encountered the first two. This one musically describes
the battle of the elves with the dragons of Morgoth. The only performance
of which I am aware is with Thomas Bacon on horn, and Richard Brown on
percussion on a Summit Records CD, DCD 135.
Scorpions:
"Robot Man" on "In Trance". See ex-Scorption Uli Jon Roth.
Screaming Blue Messiahs:
The album "Totally Religious", has some SF-related tracks:
"Mega-City One" -- Very Judge Dredd-influenced lyrics, about policeman
in a MegaCity of the future. If you're not familiar with Judge Dredd,
he is an English comic character, who is a "Judge" in a future
underground hyperviolent city called MegaCity One.
"Four Engines Burning over the USA" -- May be stretching it a bit,
but this song could be about a nuclear attack on the United States.
Scruffy the Cat:
Album called "Moons of Jupiter" with several songs about outer space.
Sensational Alex Harvey Band:
See "The Tale of The Giant Stone-Eater" from "Tomorrow Belongs to Me",
and "Nightmare City" from "Rock Drill". Also "Vambo" and "The Faith
Healer" from "Next". Bizarre Scottish lads.
Seventh Wave:
"Things to Come"
The Shamen:
The album "Boss Drum" contains "Space Time" and "Scientas".
Sheila & B. Devotion:
"Spacer" a single about - well, a spacer...
Sheila E.:
"The World Is High" (b-side) is a very apocalyptic sounding
song (sound effects included) and makes many references to what life may
be like during the end of the world, including a reference to the vision
of a nuclear bomb. This was the b-side to "Hold Me" which was released
in late 1986, early 1987.
Shonen Knife:
A Japanese band, they often sing about space travel and other SF-ish
themes. "Parallel Woman" (Japanese) from the "Shonen Knife" album, is about
a superheroine in a parallel universe. "Riding on the Rocket"
(japanese), on "Pretty Little Baka Guy", is about visiting different
planets in a space ship. "The Moon World" (japanese), on "712", is
about visiting the Moon. "Neon Zebra", a single, is about a zebra
who gets transformed by aliens. In "Space Christmas" (english), a
single, Naoko asks for a space ship for Christmas so she can visit
Pluto. Their latest album, "Let's Knife", includes an
English-language version of "Riding on the Rocket", as well as "I am
a Cat" (english), about turning into a cat and dancing on a flying
saucer. The CD single "Riding on the Rocket" also includes an
instrumental called "Milky Way".
Shriekback:
Did a song "Nemesis" about the comics character of the same name.
(The video shows him/her/it prancing in the background.) However,
the song may also have a second meaning: "Nemesis" is the name of
the hypothetical "dark companion" to the sun which (according to one theory)
is responsible for periodically disturbing the Oort cloud and causing a
rain asteroids on the earth producing the periodic extinctions that
(some say) are present in the fossile record. Much of the lyrics
of "Nemesis" seem to refer to the death of the dinosaurs as the
result of this sort of cosmic catastrophe. On the album
"Oil & Gold" (whence Nemesis comes as well), they have "This Big Hush",
about life after nuclear war, and "Health & Knowledge & Wealth & Power",
which contains the lines "Touchdown on a different world/White eyes
look 'round". On "Big Night Music", they have the song "Underwaterboys",
whose title says it all..
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".
Sinfield, Pete:
(See also Caravan, King Crimson, ELP.) His solo LP "Still" contains
the track "Song of the Sea Goat" which may or may not be fantasy.
Like much of Sinfield's work, the lyrics are very surreal and difficult
to interpret.
Sisters of Mercy:
"Black Planet" from "First and Last and Always" is another
one of those cheerful post-nuclear-holocaust ballads. :)
This is another band influenced by J.G. Ballard's sand/desert/
water/fire/urban-apocalypse imagery.
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