33 M2: 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.
33 M2: Sci-Fi References in Music List
Material:
The entire CD "Seven Souls", with liner notes from William S. Burroughs.
Appears to be about the effect of nuclear explosions on electromagnetically-
constituted souls.
Matthews, David:
"Dune".
May, Brian and Friends:
"Star Fleet" from "The Star Fleet Project" is a rock version of the theme
to a (children's?) science fiction TV show in the UK. The lyrics are
full of sci-fi references. Eddie Van Halen and Alan Grazier (REO Speedwagon)
played with Brian on this EP. See also Queen.
McCartney, Paul:
"Bogey Music" on "McCartney II" is inspired by Raymond Briggs'
"Fungus the Bogeyman" (1977) which deals with a race living within the
Earth. "Pretty Little Head" on "Press To Play" is about an ancient worker
race on a distant planet. See also Wings.
McGear, Mike:
Paul McCartney's brother, who goes by Mike McGear, put out an album in
1975 which I think was called "McGear". It was produced by Paul, and most
songs were either written or co-written by Paul, with the Wings crew
playing backup. Included was a song called "The Man Who Found God on the
Moon", co-written by McCartney/McGear, whose title is pretty descriptive,
and which features sound clips of Buzz Aldrin, broadcast live from the Moon.
The song was more adventurous musically than McCartney's own solo work.
McKennitt,Loreena:
Harpist; "The Visit" has an Arthurian track, "The Lady or Shalott"
(lyrics are from Alfred Lord Tennysons poem of the same name).
Meco:
Schlock disco camp versions of things like the main title from "Star Wars".
Possibly the only band to record a disco track worse than "A Fifth
of Beethoven". Mired in a 70's timewarp somewhere. Thankfully.
Megadeth:
Has several songs with sf or sf-related themes. Of note:
"Set the World Afire," from the album _So Far, So Good...So What!_
is a cautionary nuclear holocaust song. "Psychotron," from
_Countdown to Extinction_, is about a half-bionic, half-organic being
something like the Terminator. Several of the songs from _Rust in Peace_,
notably "Holy Wars...The Punishment Due," "Hangar 18," "Dawn Patrol,"
and "Rust in Peace...Polaris." Several songs from _Killing Is My
Business...And Business Is Good!" and _Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?_
[ Anybody know if "Hanger 18" is related to the B-movie UFO story? ---Rsk ]
Mekons:
Who are these folks?
Men at Work:
"Helpless Automaton" from "Business as Usual" is about a robot falling
in love with a human. "Doctor Heckyl and Mister Jive" refers to
the Robert Louis Stevenson classic. "Underground", also from "Business..."
is about a crisis; and "It's a Mistake" from "Cargo" may be about
accidental nuclear war.
Men Without Hats:
"The Great Ones Remember" from "The Rhythm of Youth"; "Folk of the 80's"
from "Folk of the 80's (Part III)"; "Moonbeam" from "Pop Goes the World".
"In the 21st Century", "Hey Men", and "Here Come the 90's"
from "The Adventures of Men and Women Without Hate in the 21st Century".
Messiah:
"Thunderdome (USA mix)" samples Mad Max 3 ("You know him, you love him").
"Temple of Dreams" samples The Running Man ("It's time to start
running" et al.).
Metallica:
"The Call of Ktulu" on "Ride the Lightning" (Lovecraft reference; the
name was changed from "Cthulhu" to avoid legal entanglements)
and "The Thing That Should Not Be" from "Master of Puppets" (also
Lovecraft-ian, about a critter named Nyogtha -- it's unclear whether
Lovecraft mentioned this particular beastie or not). However,
the lyrics of the song are very similar to HPL's phrasing in a quote from
the Necronomicon in "Call of Cthulhu", leading to the inference that "The
Thing..." is in fact about Cthulhu. Also see "The Four Horsemen"
from "Kill 'Em All". "Of Wolf and Man," from their self-titled album,
is a werewolf story. "Blackened," from "...And Justice for All",
is not really sf-related, but is an environmental-consciousness song
somewhat futuristic in nature. "Through the Never" seems to be about
the entire universe.
Midnight Oil:
Albums "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1" and "Red Sails in the Sunset"
both have nuclear cautionary themes running thru them. "Red Sails"
depicts Sydney, Australia after a nuclear strike.
Midnight Star:
"Freak-A-Zoid" is about the perfect robot lover.
Mike and the Mechanics:
"Silent Running" is about a man who travels to another planet and gains foreknowledge
of a major war; he is trying to contact his family on Earth and warn them of
the crisis. The song was used as the theme for the movie "On Dangerous Ground";
it's unrelated to the SF film starring Bruce Dern (the one dealing with an
orbital greenhouse, etc.).
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