50 S5: 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.
50 S5: Sci-Fi References in Music List
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.
There's also a song, "Time to Die" which seems to be based on Ray
Batty's "Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion..." speech
in Blade Runner.
Strawbs:
Song called "Fuschia", based on the character
from Mervyn Peake's "Gormenghast" (Titus Groan) trilogy.
Stray Cats:
The title track of the LP "Blast Off" is as full of SF references as you're
likely to find. For example: "Walking on the moon in blue suede shoes, well
I saw Doctor Smith and the Robot too"
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.
Suede:
"Stay Together", "We are the pigs" & "My Dark Star", all of which are
about a nuclear winter.
Sugarcubes:
Iceland's most famous export. Lyrics are often (usually) dreamlike and
surreal. Try their "Here Today, Tomorrow, Next Week": songs include
"Speed Is The Key", "Planet", "A Day Called Zero" and others. "Chihuahua"
on "Stick Around For Joy" has "the other vocalist" Einar babbling about
The Aliens. See also Bjork.
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".
The Surprises:
The single "Flying Attack" is about being invaded by flying saucers.
Swann, Donald:
Donald Swann provides music for a number of poems from J.R.R.
Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings," and plays the piano on this album. The
piano score is also available from Houghton Miffin in book form; the
book also explains the motivation for adding music to the poems as
well as other historical notes about the pieces. The B side of the
album has J.R.R. Tolkien, reading some of the poems from his book, "The
Adventures of Tom Bombardil."
Sweet, Matthew:
"Children Of Time (Forever)" from "Earth" is a story of the future.
The video for "I've Been Waiting" is loaded with clips
from the Japanese Animation series "Urusei Yatsura"; the video
for "Girlfriend" has clips from another anime, "Space Adventure Cobra".
Symphonic Slam:
One album, with tracks "Universe" and "Fold Back".
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