51 T: 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.
51 T: Sci-Fi References in Music List
T99:
Songs include "The Skydreamer", "Maximizor" (a single with some Japanese
SF-style artwork). "Anastasia"(sp?) by T99 samples "...more powerful
than you can possibly imagine" (Ben Kenobi, Star Wars).
T'Pau:
This band is named after the Vulcan child bride of Spock in the (original)
Star Trek episode, "Amok Time". Their biggest hit, "China in Your Hands",
is about Frankenstein. Most listeners never realised this because the
version released as a single was missing a couple of crucial lines.
They may be most well-known for the song "Heart and Soul".
T. Rex:
Before they hit it big with "Get it On (Bang a Gong)", they recorded
music dominated by sylvan fantasy themes vaugely inspired by Tolkein.
(Their percussionist went by the name Steve Peregrin Took, f'instance.)
The album entitled "T.Rex" includes "Ride a White Swan" and "Wizard";
two earlier albums, recorded when the band used the long form of their
name, i.e. Tyrannosaurus Rex, are "My people were fair and had sky in
their hair...But now they're content to wear stars on their brow"
and "Prophets, Seers, and Sages."
Talking Heads:
"Life During Wartime" from "Fear of Music", about an America at war.
"Moon Rocks" from "Speaking in Tongues", a surrealistic piece about
nuclear physics and magic. "(Nothing But) Flowers" from "Naked",
discusses a future return to an agrarian, nature-oriented lifestyle.
"The Facts of Life" from "Naked" recapitulates human history
extending it into the future.
Taylor, Roger:
LP "Fun in Space".
Telex:
Belgian electro-pop; futuristic tracks include "Rendezvous Dans L'Espace".
Ten Years After:
"Year 3000 Blues" on "Cricklewood Green" is about someone having to report
to some sort of euthanasia center because he wasn't up to the society's
eugenic standards. Also "Here They Come" from "A Space in Time",
which is about some visiting space travellers.
They Might be Giants:
"For Science!" is about a man willing to date "the girl from Venus'
despite the risk of radiation poisoning. Their latest LP is entitled
"Apollo 18" (the Apollo program stopped at #17). See also "The Guitar".
The also perform (live) a song called "Why Does the Sun Shine?" which is
somewhat Mr.Wizard-ish; it's recently been released as a single.
(They performed it live on Nicks Rocks _ages_ ago, and some people still have
a copy floating around.) Strangely, it is a cover of an educational children's
record. It starts out with "The sun is a mass/ of incandescent gas..."
(It's originally from the album "Space Songs", an album of space songs
for children performed by Tom Glazer (a children's singer) and
Dottie Evans (a Country/Western singer). They also did an album called
"Energy and Motion Songs", about Physics.) There's also a song on one
of their CD-singles called "Moving to the Sun", sort of sf-ish.
"The Statue Got Me high" is also sf-ish, and "Actual Size" may be
about Armageddon. Another notable track: "Particle Man"
(from "Flood", 1990) combines superhero imagery with quantum physics.
TMBG were Musical Ambassadors for the International Space Year.
And "My Evil Twin" is on "Apollo 18".
Thin Lizzy:
The title track of "Jailbreak" is about a (futuristic?) jailbreak.
Thorpe, Billy:
"Children of the Sun", a curiously popular song from the early 80's,
is about an massive alien ship landing.
Timelords:
Formerly known as the JAMS, now calling themselves the KLF, the Timelords put
out a single called "Doctorin' the TARDIS", which contains lots of samples from
the TV show Doctor Who, and a remix called "Gary in the TARDIS" with samples (I
think) from Gary Glitter.
Titus Groan:
A band named after, and taking most of their material from,
Mervyn Peake's "Gormenghast" books. Relevant songs include "The
Hall of Bright Carvings" and "Fuchsia".
Tom Ze:
Warped Brazillian pop. Has two albums out in the States on David Byrne's
Luaka Bop label. The second, "Hips Of Tradition" features "Ogodo, Ano
2000" (Ogodo, Year 2000); a "Jingle do Disco" (Jingle of the Album), a
self-promoting little ditty in tribute to that great huckster Tom Edison;
and the nutty "Fliperama", inspired apparently by Clarke's "Childhood's
End". (Lyrics in Portuguese but with full translations and blurbs in English.)
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