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rlaferney's review against another edition
3.0
Hugo Award–winner Jason Heller traverses the realm of 1970s science fiction in his thorough cultural history that examines how the genre influenced music and musicians, from David Bowie’s 1969 “Space Oddity” to the “tipping point” in 1977, when Star Wars, Alan Parsons Project’s I, Robot, and Styx’s “Come Sail Away” were all released. Never before has anyone written a book on how sci-fi paved the way for major musical and pop culture innovations. David Bowie’s career is a constant thread throughout, from his “Space Oddity” song (inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey and the Apollo 11 moon landing), which Heller establishes as the catalyst for sci-fi infiltrating 1970s music, to its sequel “Ashes to Ashes” in 1980, demonstrating the Bowie was at the forefront of musical innovation within this decade that often gets ridiculed for disco. Heller excavates sci-fi influences across genres including the influences that shapes Rush's classic album 2112; the robotic aesthetic of electronic duo Kraftwerk and their cold, mechanical, synthesizer-driven music; the dystopian lyrics of postpunk bands such as Joy Division; and the extraterrestrial liberation baked into the identity of seminal funk band Parliament. Heller concludes that, while countless bands wrote songs about science fiction, Bowie stood apart because he “was science fiction.” Heller concludes the book with a brief discussion on Bowie's last album and his elusive death. It's really all I could ever ask for in a book and possibly the most interesting music book of 2018. My only critique is that I wished he wrote an epilogue that briefly discussed the late 80s and 90s.
jessferg's review against another edition
5.0
This is fantastic.
I was a child in the '70s and I am familiar with much of the music and books Heller discusses (not so much on movies although I do know Star Wars and Star Trek which was more than enough to get me through) so I figured this would be a fun "trip down memory lane," as it were.
Nope. Not one piece of nostalgic fluff in sight! (That's not a bad thing, in case you aren't sure.) I was so absorbed with the connections I hadn't considered (or wasn't aware of) that it was as if I'd never heard/read/seen/lived it. To have a new view of David Bowie's Space Oddity, for example, just seems impossible. It's decades old, overplayed, clearly in the cannon of songs that pretty much everyone knows, and yet here I am, listening to it with new ears and new insights. (The old lady in me is supremely happy about this since she will do something drastic if she has to hear one more auto-tuned piece of shit while searching for new music, but we'll talk about that some other time.)
That said, the list of unknown (to me) musicians and songs is embarrassingly long. I can't even begin to imagine how Heller found them all (it must be a personal passion.) Even more impressive is that despite the overlap of themes, topics, and names, despite the levels of influence from authors to musicians and back again, the timetable is seamless. Rather than feeling insulting, repetition is relevant and short, assuming the reader can remember something said twenty pages ago and be reminded with a little "shorthand."
I'm making it sound too academic Really, this is a book I could not put down. It's encyclopedic in the content but it is also compellingly written. And did I mention it's fascinating?
Bowie, of course, takes center stage but we also see a good bit about Jefferson Airplane/Starship, P-Funk, Hawkwind and some other biggies I'm sure I'm forgetting. You're probably saying to yourself, "Yeah, but I bet he doesn't cover (insert obscure '70s band here)." If they wrote a sci-fi song, I'd put good money down that you're wrong. The only two omissions that surprised me were Frank Zappa and the Residents but neither of them could, in any reality, be considered pop.
I ended up with three pages of notes (mostly stuff I need to listen to, watch, and/or read) and can't stop obsessing over the topic so I think this has become a long-term commitment for me. I doubt it would be easy for anyone to read it and forget it.
Apparently it is good form to tell you that I received a pre-pub of this book for free, but as I like to point out, I get books from my library for free all the time, too, and you just need to look at my reviews to see that it doesn't seem to influence me.
I was a child in the '70s and I am familiar with much of the music and books Heller discusses (not so much on movies although I do know Star Wars and Star Trek which was more than enough to get me through) so I figured this would be a fun "trip down memory lane," as it were.
Nope. Not one piece of nostalgic fluff in sight! (That's not a bad thing, in case you aren't sure.) I was so absorbed with the connections I hadn't considered (or wasn't aware of) that it was as if I'd never heard/read/seen/lived it. To have a new view of David Bowie's Space Oddity, for example, just seems impossible. It's decades old, overplayed, clearly in the cannon of songs that pretty much everyone knows, and yet here I am, listening to it with new ears and new insights. (The old lady in me is supremely happy about this since she will do something drastic if she has to hear one more auto-tuned piece of shit while searching for new music, but we'll talk about that some other time.)
That said, the list of unknown (to me) musicians and songs is embarrassingly long. I can't even begin to imagine how Heller found them all (it must be a personal passion.) Even more impressive is that despite the overlap of themes, topics, and names, despite the levels of influence from authors to musicians and back again, the timetable is seamless. Rather than feeling insulting, repetition is relevant and short, assuming the reader can remember something said twenty pages ago and be reminded with a little "shorthand."
I'm making it sound too academic Really, this is a book I could not put down. It's encyclopedic in the content but it is also compellingly written. And did I mention it's fascinating?
Bowie, of course, takes center stage but we also see a good bit about Jefferson Airplane/Starship, P-Funk, Hawkwind and some other biggies I'm sure I'm forgetting. You're probably saying to yourself, "Yeah, but I bet he doesn't cover (insert obscure '70s band here)." If they wrote a sci-fi song, I'd put good money down that you're wrong. The only two omissions that surprised me were Frank Zappa and the Residents but neither of them could, in any reality, be considered pop.
I ended up with three pages of notes (mostly stuff I need to listen to, watch, and/or read) and can't stop obsessing over the topic so I think this has become a long-term commitment for me. I doubt it would be easy for anyone to read it and forget it.
Apparently it is good form to tell you that I received a pre-pub of this book for free, but as I like to point out, I get books from my library for free all the time, too, and you just need to look at my reviews to see that it doesn't seem to influence me.
megatheriid's review against another edition
4.0
Lots of great connections and odd little facts, with the occasional section of squidging in facts about that year before the chapter ends. As someone who's been reading sci-fi and listening to classic rock since I was a child, but a 1990s child, it's interesting to see how these things were received in their own time, and the conversation back-and-forth between sci-fi and music.
kitsana_d's review against another edition
4.0
An intriguing premise that lead down many rabbit holes. Wish there had been more Bowie but I’ll take what I can get. Deeper review to follow
summerxleague's review
4.0
Exhaustively researched and full of rich opportunities for reading and learning. This text gives a lot of context to rock music history (and pop, and funk, and jazz, and metal.....) by pairing its development with the science-fiction influences of the last century. Bowie was an excellent jumping off point but I had wholly expected to see more of him throughout the book; I recognize he stepped away from overt sci-fi themes in the mid-70’s but it was strange to see his likeness on the cover and his name in the title ans only encounter him about half as much as that might suggest. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this with its contents giving me a bigger reading list and discography!!
808jake_'s review against another edition
3.0
Fascinating (especially for Bowie fans) and it gave me a lot of new music to check out, but at times it reads like a thesis statement that can’t hold up under its own weight.
Lots of statements aren’t supported with actual facts, merely conjectures as to what an artist maybe had been influenced by. But on the whole, a fun and entertaining read for any music or sci-fi fan.
Lots of statements aren’t supported with actual facts, merely conjectures as to what an artist maybe had been influenced by. But on the whole, a fun and entertaining read for any music or sci-fi fan.
18thstjoe's review against another edition
4.0
less Bowie and less 80s than I was expecting, kind of a stretch at times as well to make the point
ederwin's review against another edition
4.0
Great overview of the many, many artists who were influenced by Sci-Fi and incorporated it into their music in the 1970's. (There is only brief mention of music after 1980.) Many of the examples are well known, such as David Bowie, Sun Ra, Hawkwind, and Rush, but many more are not. This took a long time to read because I kept wanting to search for and listen to the listed songs. (There is probably no reason to read this unless you also want to seek out the songs.) I wish there were a website accompanying the book with quick and easy links to all songs, but that is too much to ask for.
Some of the new-to-me things I found from this book:
Paul Kantner - "Blows Against the Empire": perhaps the first Sci-Fi concept album. Nominated for a Hugo Award in 1971.
Marvin Gaye - "A Funky Space Reincarnation". Not great, but still, it's Marvin Gaye!
Dream Boys - "Outer Limits". A future actor who played Dr. Who was already singing Sci-Fi punk in the 70's.
George Duke - "The alien succumbs to the mucho intergalactic funkativity of the funkblaster". Hey, P-Funk weren't the only ones to make space funky! Fabulous!
Jimmy Castor Bunch - "Bertha Butt Encounters Vader". One of many Star-Wars influenced songs.
Alan Parsons Project - "I Robot". Note the absence of a comma in the title. The rights for "I, Robot" had been sold to someone else.
Queen - "39". Inspired by Heinlein.
Julian's Treatment - 'A Time Before This'. Another early Sci-Fi concept album, with related novels: [b:Waiters on the Dance|15834495|Waiters on the Dance|Julian Jay Savarin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1345290055s/15834495.jpg|21571448]
I need to add this book to my collection so I can slowly listen through all the songs mentioned.
Some of the new-to-me things I found from this book:
Paul Kantner - "Blows Against the Empire": perhaps the first Sci-Fi concept album. Nominated for a Hugo Award in 1971.
Marvin Gaye - "A Funky Space Reincarnation". Not great, but still, it's Marvin Gaye!
Dream Boys - "Outer Limits". A future actor who played Dr. Who was already singing Sci-Fi punk in the 70's.
George Duke - "The alien succumbs to the mucho intergalactic funkativity of the funkblaster". Hey, P-Funk weren't the only ones to make space funky! Fabulous!
Jimmy Castor Bunch - "Bertha Butt Encounters Vader". One of many Star-Wars influenced songs.
Alan Parsons Project - "I Robot". Note the absence of a comma in the title. The rights for "I, Robot" had been sold to someone else.
Queen - "39". Inspired by Heinlein.
Julian's Treatment - 'A Time Before This'. Another early Sci-Fi concept album, with related novels: [b:Waiters on the Dance|15834495|Waiters on the Dance|Julian Jay Savarin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1345290055s/15834495.jpg|21571448]
I need to add this book to my collection so I can slowly listen through all the songs mentioned.
allisonthurman's review against another edition
4.0
My teenage musical interests tended to be deep and specific. As I read more about 1970s pop music the more I realize that I'm ignorant of so much of it even now. This book filled in some very serious gaps.
This book isn't just about songs that literally reference sci fi (though there is that - remember disco Star Wars?) but also about the interaction between sci fi authors and rock musicians (Hawkwind and Moorcock) and the fact that a lot of 70s prog and glam rockers were inspired in both sound and appearance by their love of science fiction (Bowie would watch 2001 repeatedly). Like a lot of aficionados of post punk I wrote off prog rock as overblown and didn't realize how much they innovated in terms of theme albums and use of synthesizers.
If you have an interest in 70s rock with a look at broader 1970s sci-fi culture, this book comes highly recommended. If you're interested in Bowie and his ilk in general this and Simon Reynolds' "Shock and Awe" are excellent primers for what to listen to and how it came about.
This book isn't just about songs that literally reference sci fi (though there is that - remember disco Star Wars?) but also about the interaction between sci fi authors and rock musicians (Hawkwind and Moorcock) and the fact that a lot of 70s prog and glam rockers were inspired in both sound and appearance by their love of science fiction (Bowie would watch 2001 repeatedly). Like a lot of aficionados of post punk I wrote off prog rock as overblown and didn't realize how much they innovated in terms of theme albums and use of synthesizers.
If you have an interest in 70s rock with a look at broader 1970s sci-fi culture, this book comes highly recommended. If you're interested in Bowie and his ilk in general this and Simon Reynolds' "Shock and Awe" are excellent primers for what to listen to and how it came about.
woodson's review against another edition
3.0
Very well researched look at how sci fi influenced and was influenced by pop culture throughout the 1970s. Jason Heller's book reminded me of a wall map of strings, connecting Bowie's Space Oddity to Kubrick's 2001, Sun Ra and afrofuturism, Devo, Kiss, Battlestar Galactica, Michael Jackson, Anne McCaffrey, Insta Funk, Mötörhead, early hip hop, punk, Carl Sagan, Klaus Nomi, JG Ballard, and lots lots more. And it all leads back to Bowie. Lots of pop culture crammed in here. An enjoyable read for sci fi, music, or pop culture fans.