The Influence of Science Fiction In Popular Music

Science fiction has long been influential in popular music. Experiencing a ‘Golden Age’ in the 1940’s and 1950’s, science fiction appealed to society’s changing attitudes towards technology, space and the Earth’s place within it. Science fiction film was flourishing, and with the advent of television, it was making a name for itself within mainstream popular culture. It was only a matter of time before science fiction would begin to infiltrate mainstream popular music in the late 1950’s, coinciding with the beginning of the great space race.

The 1940’s and 1950’s saw a sub-genre of pop music now referred to as ‘atomic platters’, which was influenced by the atomic bomb, concerns of an imminent World War Three, and flying saucers. ‘Atomic platters’ was kitschy and short lived, but undoubtedly influenced Sheb Wooley’s 1958 novelty hit ‘Purple People Eater,’ a cheesy tune about a one-eyed, one-horned, flying alien that eats purple people. Love and relationships was standard subject matter for popular music of the time, but ‘Purple People Eater’ is characteristic of the bug-eyed monster space-invader science-fiction craze of 1950’s America.

Things started to ramp up in the 1960’s when psychedelic rock was born. Influenced by psychedelic culture and mind altering drugs such as LSD, psychedelic rock incorporated electronic sound effects, feedback, wah wah and extreme reverb to produce some space age sounds. It was perfectly suited to subsume science fiction. Folk rock band,The Byrds, who were influential in originating psychedelic rock, released ‘Mr Spaceman’ in 1966 and ‘Space Odyssey’ in 1968, which speak of a clear yearning for contact with alien life. Pink Floyd’s ‘Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun’ released in 1968, uses space travel as a metaphor for an acid trip.

Then in 1969, the same year of the first moon landing, David Bowie released the album ‘Space Oddity,’ of which the title track would become one of four of his songs to be included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. ‘Space Oddity,’ with its main character Major Tom, is also one of the most distinctly science fiction songs in rock music. The video clip for ‘Space Oddity,’ bears many similarities to Stanley Kubrik’s 1968 film ‘2001: A Space Odyssey,’ which incidentally was based on the 1951 short story, ‘The Sentinel,’ by British science fiction writer, Arthur C. Clarke.

Bowie’s fascination with science fiction didn’t stop there though. Science fiction was a major influence on much of Bowie’s work. The hugely successful 1972 concept album ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars’ centres around the theme of extraterrestrial life. 1974’s ‘Diamond Dogs,’ was heavily influenced by George Orwell’s science fiction classic, ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’. Major Tom also resurfaces in 1980 on ‘Ashes to Ashes’ and again in 1995 on ‘Hallo Spaceboy.’ Much has been written about Bowie’s work and it’s numerous connections to science fiction. As one of the most influential artists in rock history, I think it’s safe to say that David Bowie has played a huge part in making science fiction cool.

Afro-futurism is another significant example of the merging of science fiction and popular music. Stemming from African-American science fiction, Afro-futurism explores the African-American experience through literature, music and art. Author of ‘The World of Black Science Fiction and Fantasy Culture,’ Ytasha L. Womack explains; ‘Afrofuturism bridges so many aspects of our culture, from African mythology, art and hip-hop to politics, comic books and science. The name serves as an anchor from which we can build ideas and expanding our minds.’

Although the term Afro-futurism was not conceived of until 1993, the Afro-futurist approach to music began with American jazz composer Sun Ra as early as the 1950’s. Sun Ra, a pioneer of Afro-futurism, was known for his experimental jazz style and persona as a peace loving alien from Saturn. Ra led the musical collective, ‘The Arkestra,’ from the mid-1950’s until his death in 1993. ‘The Arkestra’ would often perform dressed in futuristic costumes inspired by ancient Egyptian attire and the space age.

Other well known Afro-futurist pioneers were George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic. The collective began in the late 1950’s as a doo-wop group, but really came into prominence in the 1970’s as a funk and soul collective, and were incredibly influential throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s. Parliament Funkadelic were the originators of ‘P-Funk,’ (short for ‘pure funk’ and featuring ‘Afronauts, capable of funkitizing galaxies’ explains George Clinton) and they constructed a science fiction universe concerned with the black American experience. ‘Mothership Connection’ released in 1975, envisions a space-age setting in which black characters are the primary protagonists and cultural arbiters of the future. The black American experience of racism was explored in space-age, science fiction settings, particularly through clashes with alien races.

Since the early days, there have been many great musicians who have expanded Afro-futurism, such as hip hop pioneer and champion of social justice, Afrika Bambaataa, prolific R&B artist, Erykah Badu, psychedelic soul queen, Janelle Monáe, and funk/rock/jazz sensation, Esperanza Spalding.

Of course, science fiction has imbued the human psyche so completely that one doesn’t have to reach very far to hear it’s influence, and here I’ve only just scratched the surface. Not only in psychedelic rock or Afro-futurism; the influence of science fiction can now be heard everywhere. In the work of stadium rock band Queen (Flash Gordon and Highlander), alternative rock band, Radiohead (‘OK Computer’ with it’s numerous references to ‘The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy’), industrial music pioneer, Gary Numan (his 1979 concept album ‘Replicas,’ which is heavily influenced by the works of J.G. Ballard, William S. Burroughs, and Philip K. Dick), The Beastie Boys (Intergalactic), any number of Muse songs; the list goes on and on.

Much has been written about science fiction in music, and you can find lots of articles on the internet listing artists, songs and albums of all genres. So, if you always thought that science fiction wasn’t your thing, maybe now is the time to rethink that notion.