Science fiction has been around since the beginning of the 19th century and the first novel in the genre was written by Mary Shelley in the form of Frankenstein. Since then, over the course of its rich history, it has touched every aspect of human culture and imagination, from art to culture to architecture and, most notably in this article, music.
While the list of music inspired by works of science fiction exceeds the scope of all but the most comprehensive encyclopedias, readers may be surprised to find that some of the most important works in Western music are inspired by works of this genre.
These works, which will be briefly dealt with in the paragraphs below, include the obvious, e.g Space Oddities Written by David Bowie, as well as some works whose inspiration is not clear, such as that of Jimi Hendrix Purple haze.
“Purple Haze,” “Space Oddity,” and other sci-fi-inspired standout songs
1) “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix – Inspired by “Night Light” by Philip Jose Farmer
Jimi Hendrix was reading Night of light Written by Philip José Farmer, which tells the story of a binary astral world, whose people are often disoriented by sunlight. The Farmer's novel and its plot device of confusion were the inspiration behind what it would eventually become Purple haze.
2) David Bowie's “Space Oddity” – Inspired by the 2001 film “Space Odyssey” by Stanley Kubrick and based on the film “The Sentinel” by Arthur C. Clark and the Kaleidscope by Ray Bradbury.
The grandfather of science fiction music, at least in terms of popularity, Space Oddities Written by David Bowie pays homage to Stanley Kubrick's 1950s film 2001 A Space OdysseyWhich in turn was based on the fictional piece Watchman By Arthur C. Clarke.
While most fans and reviews focus on the homage to Kubrick's film in the song, the song is also inspired by another classic film, kaleidoscope Written by Ray Bradbury (1951), which focuses on the tragic story of the spaceship crew left behind, just like Major Tom in the song.
3) “Sam Jones” by Leslie Fish and Ernie Mansfield – inspired by “Downbelow Station” by CJ Cherryh
One of the lesser-known classics of the Felicity genre, a genre that began as a way to pay homage to the great works of science fiction in some ways, Sam Jones Written by Leslie Fish and Ernie Mansfield, the film is set in the same setting as C.J. Cherry's novel and was written in collaboration with the author herself.
The song chronicles the friendship between a station-born junior engineer embarking on his first voyage and the chief engineer of the spacecraft he is on, who slowly becomes blind.
4) “Heartlight” by Neil Diamond – “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” by Steven Spielberg
Neil Diamond co-wrote this song alongside Carole Bayer Sager and her partner at the time, Burt Bacharach. The song, from the perspective of a young man who desires the return of his friend, the film's titular alien, landed Neil Diamond in legal trouble, with an alleged $25,000 settlement being its price tag.
5) “The Mule” by Deep Purple – Inspired by “The Second Foundation” by Isaac Asimov
Mule By Deep Purple is based on the psychological warlord of the same name from the The second institution A novel by Isaac Asimov, published in 1953. Band member Ian Gillian confirmed the same thing in Q&A No. 62 on his website (no date available):
“Yes, The Mule was inspired by Asimov. It's been a long time coming but I'm sure you made the right call… Asimov was required reading in the 1960s.”
6) “To Tame The Land” by Iron Maiden – Inspired by “Dune” by Frank Herbert
To tame the earth Inspired by Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction novel and originally titled after the novel itself. However, Herbert refused to give the band permission regarding the song's title, so they changed it for legal purposes. The song chronicles the journey of the novel's main character, Paul Atreides:
“He rules the sandworms and the Fremen/In the land between the stars/In the age of tomorrow/He is destined to be king/Rover all/On the land called Planet Dune.”
7) “Skywatcher” by Genesis – Inspired by “Childhood's End” by Arthur C. Clark
Sometimes the inspiration is in the name itself. Sky watcher It alludes heavily to the aforementioned science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke, in which the titular “watchers” are aliens who stand and watch as man becomes dependent on technology, ultimately leading to his doom.
“Now their reign is over/Has life destroyed life again/Are they playing elsewhere, do they know/More than the games of their childhood?/This is the end of man's long union with the earth.”
8) “Many Moons” by Janelle Monae – Inspired by “Metropolis” by Fritz Lang
Janelle Monae began her career with a seven-part series based on the 1931 film Metropolis by Fritz Lang, arguably the first science fiction film ever made. Her first album, Metropolis: First Ward (Haunting), It follows the story of Android Cindi Mayweather who lives in a world of deeply stratified human society, where all classes exploit androids as a product, turning Fritz Lang's tale on its head.
Many moons, the album's most successful single, highlights this with a video set at an Android Auction event, similar to a fashion show. In it, Cindy performs while people of different classes buy androids while performing them to the public and is taken away when her performance causes them to malfunction.
The singer explains her inspiration from Fritz Lang in an exclusive interview with Elle magazine on August 29, 2013, saying:
“It wasn't until I watched Metropolis, a German expressionist film, I felt compelled to write a conscious album about science fiction. I heard the line in that movie, “The mediator between the mind and the hand is the heart,” and I said, “Wow, that's my music. That's what I want to represent in my music.”
9) “99” by Toto – Inspired by George Lucas' “THX 1138”.
Before George Lucas took the world by storm with a tale of a galaxy far, far away in the form of Star Wars, he envisioned a darker, dystopian future in the form of a sci-fi film. Thx 1138, Which depicts the disintegration of personality in twenty-fifth century society.
Toto 99 pays tribute to this film, especially its ending, where the nameless characters in the song reflect the sadness and feeling of oppression in the film.
10) “Highway to Roswell” by Pixie – Roswell and Area 51 Conspiracy Theories and Their Actions
Although it is not inspired by any particular work of science fiction, Highway to Roswell It is part of the larger mythology around Area 51 and the conspiracies and urban legends surrounding secret government facilities. The song tells the story of an alien who lands on Earth to be captured and experimented on by Area 51, based in Roswell, New Mexico.
In addition to these ten songs mentioned above, science fiction left its mark on several other songs, perhaps the most prominent of which Karma By David Bowie and I'm the law By anthrax.
