21 G2: 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.
21 G2: Sci-Fi References in Music List
Genesis:
"Watcher of the Skies" (from "Foxtrot") could be either a "last man
on Earth" story or a "alien comes upon a deserted Earth" story;
some indication that it's from Keats' sonnet "On First Looking Into Chapman's Homer".
"One for the Vine" from "Wind and Wuthering" concerns time travel;
perhaps "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" (Hello Triffids,
from "Nursery Cryme"), "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" (the entire album) is
a surreal concept album about opening of a gateway into an
alternative universe replete with mutants and monsters: The Colony of
SlipperMen, the Carpet Crawlers, the Lamia [more Keats] and the efforts of the
anti-hero Rael to rescue his brother and return to his homeworld.
Also, try the entire "A Trick of the Tail" album (fantasy).
Oh, and "Get 'em Out by Friday" (from "Foxtrot") which sounds like something
the BBC should have turned into a Doctor Who plot -- tenants are being kicked
out of their apartments by their new landlords, who just happen to be the
directors of Genetic Control, who just happen to have just announced a new
'four-foot restriction on humanoid height', thus enabling them to fit twice
as many people to a building...it's a downbeat retelling of Howard Fast's
"The Vision of Milty Boil" from "The General Zapped an Angel", which is
part fantasy, part vicious satire on marketing. See also "Keep it Dark"
in which visiting aliens persuade the person they contact to remain silent
about the visit. More stuff: "Am I Very Wrong", "Solitude", "The Knife"
(--maybe, from "Trespass"), "The Musical Box" (horror, from "Nursery Cryme").
According to the story told in 1970s concerts (and apparently on the liners
of the original release, but on present in the current American release): A
boy (Henry) is killed when his playmate (Cynthia) takes his head off with a
croquet mallet (one concert telling of the tale begins, in fact, with the
line, "Croquet is a particularly vicious British sport"). Upon reaching The
Great Hereafter, he is rejected and sent back to Earth, only to manifest
himself again when Cynthia comes upon his musical box. Upon her opening the
box, Henry pops out (and the song begins). Over the course of the song,
Henry's body ages rapidly, until, by the final strains, he is an old man,
who finally collapses and dies (assumedly for good this time).
"The Fountain of Salmacis" (fantasy, from "Nursery Cryme"),
is a retelling of the myth of Hermaphroditus and Salmacis.
Hermaphroditus, son of Hermes and Aphrodite, comes upon a pool wherein
dwells the naiad Salmacis. Salmacis, smitten with love, asks the gods to
make the two of them one being. The result -- a single being of both
genders; hence, the term 'hermaphrodite'. "Supper's Ready"
(the ultimate battle of good and evil, from "Foxtrot", possibly based on
an experience Peter Gabriel had one night when his wife began speaking
with another voice ), "Firth of Fifth", and Dancing with the Moonlit Knight"
(both containing heavy fantasy elements, both from "Selling England by
the Pound"). (It's also possible that "Dancing..." is political allegory
instead -- which I tend to agree with, given the album title and a re-reading.
"Cinema Show", from the same album, mentions the mythical figure of Tyresias,
a being who has been both male and female (but not at the same time).
See also "Squonk" from "A Trick of the Tail", and "The Lady Lies" from
"...And Then There Were Three...", a fantasy about a traveller captured
by a demon in the form of a young woman. See also "Little Nemo" and
"Snowbound" from the same album, which also have fantasy elements.
"Domino" from "Invisible Touch" is about nuclear war,
death, damnation, and other cheery topics. BTW, Peter Gabriel used to
tell stories before some of the songs in concert, although those stories
seem to have nothing to do with the songs (occasionally).
And (whew!), "Home by the Sea" from "Genesis" may be a description
of the Giants <Caamora> in Stephen R. Donaldson's "Second Chronicles of
Thomas Covenant". Whether it is or not, it's certainly a chilling tale, about
a visitor (thief?) who enters a large, old house by the sea...and once inside,
he is trapped along with the other ghosts who erred similarly and are doomed
to tell their stories over and over again.
Gentle Giant:
Much material, tending towards fantasy including "The Advent of Panurge",
and "Alucard" (spell it backwards).
Gerry and the Holograms:
The single "Gerry and the Holograms" is about a man who is split into
several copies of himself. If I remember rightly the man behind this
group was the singer from Albertos Y Los Paranoias.
Gong:
New Age before anyone had coined the label "new age". Three albums about
the Planet Gong, Zero the Hero & the Pot-Head Pixies!: "Radio Gnome",
"Angel's Egg", "You". Earlier albums had vaguely SF ideas, e.g.,
"Fohat Digs Holes in Space" from "Camembert Electrique".
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