17 E2: 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.
17 E2: Sci-Fi References in Music List
Eno, Brian:
Albums: "Apollo" and "On Land"; see also "The Fat Lady of Limbourg"
from "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy", a bizarre story of
SF and espionage. See also "Nerve Net".
----Some commentary on Eno from Tim Day:
Re "Apollo": This is purely instrumental. It was apparently written as
sountrack for a video documentary of the Apollo missions (bits were
also used in the film "Static"), but I don't think this qualifies
it for the main section of the list any more than <random Tangerine Dream track>
"On Land" is also instrumental. #1 of a series entitled "Ambient" (sort of
intelligent background muzak). It is intended to suggest large open spaces
(and succeeds very well). But SF ? No way.
Eno's philosophy towards song lyrics seems to be summarized by the first
track ("Skysaw") on "Another Green World":
"All the clouds turn to words;
All the words float in sequence
And no-one knows what they mean
Everyone just ignores them"
Eno's songs generally aim to invoke an atmosphere, mood or emotion.
Like the music, lyrics are just another tool to serve this purpose; this can
often be done using particular words or phrases. However, the song they form
in combination is essentially meaningless (which is why it's so difficult
to classify any of his stuff as SF !). "The Fat Lady of Limbourg" is
probably the closest he's come. (Though it really seems to be just about
bumbling espionage agencies.)
--- Tim Day
-----
Enya:
"Aldebaran" is dedicated to Ridley Scott; the liner notes about it read:
"The Red giant star, Aldeberan, found in the constellation of Taurus,
is the Eye of the bull. From the Arabic, Al Dabaran, it means
'the follower' as it 'follows' the Pleiades. This piece portrays
future Celts passing Aldebaran on their journey to new territories,
continuing the migratory pattern which was so predominant in their
early history."
Another track, Tolkien-derived, is "Lothlorien".
The album "Shepherd Moons" is a sort of reference to moons found in
the rings of Saturn, which, due to their gravitational influence,
hold some of the rings in place. (See also Clannad: Enya is the sister of
the former lead singer, and was part of their early line-up.)
Eon:
Their album "Void dweller" include several tracks with samples from SF
and horror movies. For example, "Spice" and "Fear: The Mindkiller"
have samples from Dune (saw that coming, didn't you?), "Electromagnetic
Waves" has samples from "Prince of Darkness" and so on.
Erasure:
Their song "Sweet Sweet Baby" includes samples from the films "Dark Star"
and "Barbarella".
Erickson, Roky:
Landmark Texas psychedelic. Used to tour with the backing bands
Bleib Alien (where Bleib is an anagram for Bible) and then The
Aliens. "The Evil One" has a track entitled "Creature with the Atom Brain"
Also see "I Walked with a Zombie" (now you know all the lyrics :-) ).
Etheridge, Melissa:
Her 1992 release "Never Enough" includes "2001", a rocker with
semi-cyberpunk lyrics about the near future.
Europe:
A Swedish pop-slanted hard rock band, which did the song
"The Final Countdown", about being exiled from Earth.
Eurythmics:
Did the soundtrack to the recent version of "1984".
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