There’re too many songs out there about love, and breaking up, and dancing. And single ladies. What there aren’t enough songs about: Spaceships, aliens, interstellar exploration, time travel. But you know what? There are some. They’re the brilliant, speculative anthems lurking on the airwaves, drifting in the cloud, or locked up in old vinyl. Well, you’ve got a right to know about some of the best.
Sure, you’ve all heard Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” or its older brother, David’s Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” And these mainstream hits are a step in the right direction, but they’re still not enough. Of course, there are some amazing sci-fi movie soundtracks to be had — Blade Runner , Star Wars , Tron: Legacy, even Flash Gordon ! – but I’m specifically referring to songs, not scores.
Yup, there sure are more than 11 songs to know, but these will do in a pinch. So read on and listen, fellow geeks!
Oh, and I also do mean good sci-fi songs. Katy Perry’s “E.T.” will just have to wait for a different list.
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1. Cygnus X-1
Cygnus X-1, "a mysterious, invisible force," is a very real black hole discovered in 1964, and it's the subject of a song from Canada's greatest export -- the band Rush -- off their 1977 album A Farewell to Kings . In this song, the protagonist shoots across the galaxy in a spaceship and draws too near the titular black hole. He wonders, too late, whether he'll be "atomized at the core" or instead pass "through the Astral Door." Is it death, or it is a gateway to somewhere else?
In the wailing, spine-chilling climax, the ship is sucked in:
The X-ray is her siren song
My ship cannot resist her long
Nearer to my deadly goal
Until the Black Hole gains control...
Technically, this song is subtitled "Book I: The Voyage," because the story continues as "Book II: Hemispheres" on Rush's subsequent album, where it takes a decidedly mythic twist and reveals the fate of the ship's pilot.
It's worth mentioning that Rush has a more famous sci-fi epic, 2112 . Another day, perhaps, I'll include that one.
Listen to "Cygnus X-1" on YouTube. It starts off with some effectively eerie sci-fi sound effects for '77.
(Images courtesy of Amazon and NASA/APotD )
2. Major Tom (Coming Home)
In 1983, Peter Schilling created this unofficial sequel to David Bowie's "Space Oddity," wherein he relates the final fate of Major Tom and gives the famous astronaut a happy ending. The song has been covered a few times, but none sound better than Shiny Toy Guns' 2009 version.
Listen to Peter Shilling's original , or Shiny Toy Guns's cover of it , on YouTube. And only check out Shatner’s take if you dare.
(Image courtesy of NASA/APotD )
3. Olias of Sunhillow
I'm cheating with this one because Olias of Sunhillow isn't a song by itself. It's a full concept album by Jon Anderson, lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes. You only need to listen to the "Sound out the Galleon" track to get a good sense of this mystic epic. And indeed, this series of songs could be considered fantasy, but it's about an alien race on another planet who are forced to abandon their world and find another. Olias, architect of the ship the Moorglade Mover , is the titular character who undertakes the quest.
This was back in 1976, but damn, this is a solid album. There are also some strong influences here by Vangelis (of Blade Runner and Chariots of Fire fame), who produced several albums with Anderson later on.
Listen to "Sound Out the Galleon" on YouTube.
(Images courtesy of Amazon and Olias.wordpress.com )
4. '39
At first, both the title and the spirited pace of this song makes it sound like some sort of toe-tapping, country "skiffle" tune reminiscing about some year long past.
But no, this is true sci-fi! It begins with Queen's signature operatic vocals, then launches into the story of explorers who set off through space and "milky seas" until they reach "a world so newly born." When they return home, they find that while only one year has passed for them, one hundred years have gone by, the Earth is "old and grey," and all the people they knew had died. What started out as old-timey and sweet turns out to be melancholy and deep. Queen is awesome like that.
Speaking of awesome, did you know guitarist Brian May has a PhD in astrophysics? The best rock stars are nerdy ones.
Listen to "'39" on YouTube.
(Images courtesy of Amazon and DailyGalaxy.com )
5. Watcher of the Skies
Loosely inspired by Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End , this song tells the tale of an alien who visits Earth long after we've gone extinct.
Creatures shaped this planet's soil
Now their reign has come to an end
Has life again destroyed life
Do they play elsewhere, do they know
More than their childhood games?
The song is made into a thoughtful lament by powerful organs and Peter Gabriel's vocals. That's right, this was back when Gabriel was the lead singer of Genesis and the band itself was much more interesting, back when Phil Collins was just a drummer who did a few backup vocals. I swear, this is also when rock itself was more artistic, and performances were downright theatrical. Lady Gaga's shocking outfits are nothing compared to Peter Gabriel's costume antics .
Listen to "Watcher of the Skies" on YouTube.
(Images courtesy of Amazon, and jlacpo on Flickr)
6. Let There Be Light
If you don't know who Mike Oldfield is, I can -- along with pitying you -- tell you he's most famous for the well-known Exorcist theme, extracted from his first album Tubular Bells (1973). But he's got a crazy long career, and in 1994 he released an album, Songs of Distant Earth , loosely based on Arthur C. Clarke's novel of the same name.
The whole album is a sci-fi, Enigma-ish gem, but "Let There Be Light" is a highlight and is best listened to while watching the aurora borealis , while driving at night, or while reading/writing Geekosystem articles about space.
Listen to "Let There Be Light" on YouTube.
(Images courtesy of Amazon)
7. Into the Black Hole
Smack dab in the middle of the 2000 album Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight of the Migrator , by Ayreon (a project by Dutch musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen), this song features Iron Maiden lead man Bruce Dickinson as a guest singer. Which makes this sci-fi metal, I guess.
Therein, the last living man from Earth uses a time-traveling device called the Dream Sequencer (much cooler than Bill and Ted's excellent contraption or Marty McFly's DeLorean, but probably not quite as charming as the TARDIS) and it takes him on a great journey through astronomical anomalies, pulsars, and eventually leads -- as all good stories do -- into a black hole.
Listen to "Into the Black Hole" on YouTube.
(Images courtesy of Amazon)
8. Rocketship 2010
Lest you think that the only worthwhile sci-fi music comes from the 70s or that crazy prog rock, here is Shiny Toy Guns again to save the day. It's a wistful little pop tune about wanting to escape the world aboard a rocketship. This is every teen's desire at some point, right?
Listen to "Rocketship 2010" on YouTube.
(Images courtesy of Amazon)
9. In the Year 2525 (Exordium and Exodus)
This one takes the cake as the oldest in the list -- from 1969 by Zager and Evans. Maybe it's the old-timey music, or the disturbingly prescient nature of some of the lyrics, but I'm actually creeped out by this song -- which is why I like it and why you should give it a listen. It's basically a series of predictions, and these three stanzas in particular stand out:
In the year 4545 / Ain't gonna need your teeth, won't need your eyes / You won't find a thing chew / Nobody's gonna look at you
In the year 5555 / Your arms are hanging limp at your sides / Your legs got not nothing to do / Some machine is doing that for you
In the year 6565 / Ain't gonna need no husband, won't need no wife / You'll pick your son, pick your daughter, too / From the bottom of a long glass tube
Listen to "In the Year 2525" on YouTube.
(Images courtesy of ZagerGuitar.com )
10. Experiment IV
Nearly every one of English singer-songwriter Kate Bush's videos are cheesy, like borderline RiffTrax-worthy, but her music is brilliant. She's one of those spunky, creative talents that I personally believe allowed eclectic, melody-driven musicians like Tori Amos or Regina Spektor to manifest.
This particular song is about a secret military experiment gone awry -- as they always do -- wherein they attempt to create a sound that has the power to kill. And it works too well...starting with the scientists who create it. Kate Bush, of course, is the visual vessel in the goofy Ghostbusters-meets-MST3K-style video, in which she starts off a lovely apparition and turns into a banshee! She's cool.
Listen to "Experiment IV" on YouTube.
(Images courtesy of Amazon)
11. Calling All Occupants of Interplanetary Craft
It's fitting to end this list further back in time with another Canadian progressive rock band. Naming themselves after the alien in The Day the Earth Stood Still , Klaatu's song about mankind's attempt to contact aliens was made more famous by The Carpenters. So much so that they started to get letters from fans asking them when the real World Contact Day -- the day mentioned in the lyrics, wherein every participating human would send a "telepathic" message into outer space -- would occur.
Basically, this is a song about hippies mentally hugging the universe and wanting to make friends with whatever's out there, foolishly assuming interplanetary species to be benevolent.
Listen to "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" on YouTube.
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(Images courtesy Amazon and Michael Whelan )
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