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duparker's review against another edition
4.0
Books about David Bowie fascinate me. They have to be creative, document a depth of understanding of Bowie and his influences, and allow for some exploration that can take the reader to weird places, and conformity at the same time. This book does all that, plus explored the weirdness of sci fi in the 70s, plus the band's who embraced it.
I enjoyed the author's deep dive into this limited Sub genre and his ability to weave together a cacophony of songs and eras into one book.
I enjoyed the author's deep dive into this limited Sub genre and his ability to weave together a cacophony of songs and eras into one book.
lanternatomika's review against another edition
4.0
So, full disclosure, I love music (not as much as I love the person who gave me this book, though) and I'm a bit of a David Bowie obsessive. Seeing his face and name on the incredibly pretty cover of this book definitely got me interested
The cover and title actually happen to be a bit misleading, because the book doesn't really have all that much to do with Bowie, certainly not enough for him to get top billing. If you're looking for a biography of David Bowie, look elsewhere (The Age of Bowie is a good, if needlessly wordy, one). If you're looking for a book that dives into his music, there's a really great book that analyzes a great deal of his tracks whose title I wish I could remember. If you're looking for an outline of the relationship between science fiction and music throughout the 1970s, this is your book. As far as I was concerned, it was a surprise to be sure but a welcome one
It all began in the late 60s, when a lot of prog rock groups took inspiration from their favorite sci-fi authors and integrated elements from their work into their music. Then came the moon landing in 1969 and with it came Space Oddity, David Bowie's seminal single that began music's dalliance with sci-fi in earnest. And then came the 70s, and Jason Heller charts the relationship between rock and sci-fi and the spread of that influence to funk and disco and then waning of sci-fi's presence in popular music as 1980 rolled around, closing with a slightly deeper dive into the remake of Space Oddity and the release of Ashes to Ashes, David Bowie's ending bookmark of the 70s
This is a book about entire scenes of music that persisted through and past a decade. It would be so easy for a writer to get bogged down in the minutiae of sci-fi/prog rock or sci-fi/rock or sci-fi/funk or whatever, but Heller glides smoothly through the era, introducing us to the many individuals and bands that thrived in this era. These include acts that have become hallmarks of the genre - Bowie himself, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, etc - but it also includes bands that I'd never heard of before - Hawkwind is almost as big a player in this story as Bowie. I actually went ahead and made a big list of these acts that I want to listen to, and if you're also in search of some great sci-fi music, this book has got the goods. While you're at it, make a point to read the novels that inspired these artists as well, they must be pretty legit
The lack of Bowie in this book doesn't really bother me, nor did it come as a huge surprise. Though he's the face of sci-fi music, only a handful of his 27 albums are actually sci-fi, and of them, only a few were released in the period covered by this book. I'm glad that Blackstar got a mention at the end, such a great album
My only complaint with Strange Stars is that it does get a bit boring, which really shouldn't be happening in a book filled with 70s rockstars. I've read Bowie's biography and I'm familiar with all the insanity that happened in his life, but none of it shows in this book, and the same is true for all the other bands as well. The coverage of the Altamont Free Concert was so bare, considering what a defining moment that was for music as a whole. What does come across well in this book is the way so many artists wound up inspiring each other over the years. The music industry is a small world, as it happens
If the subject matter interests you, Strange Stars is an engaging and interesting chronicle of an era of music that occasionally leaves out some of the juicier details. That being said, if you want a deep dive into Bowie or any of the other artists mentioned in this book, you'd be better off searching elsewhere
The cover and title actually happen to be a bit misleading, because the book doesn't really have all that much to do with Bowie, certainly not enough for him to get top billing. If you're looking for a biography of David Bowie, look elsewhere (The Age of Bowie is a good, if needlessly wordy, one). If you're looking for a book that dives into his music, there's a really great book that analyzes a great deal of his tracks whose title I wish I could remember. If you're looking for an outline of the relationship between science fiction and music throughout the 1970s, this is your book. As far as I was concerned, it was a surprise to be sure but a welcome one
It all began in the late 60s, when a lot of prog rock groups took inspiration from their favorite sci-fi authors and integrated elements from their work into their music. Then came the moon landing in 1969 and with it came Space Oddity, David Bowie's seminal single that began music's dalliance with sci-fi in earnest. And then came the 70s, and Jason Heller charts the relationship between rock and sci-fi and the spread of that influence to funk and disco and then waning of sci-fi's presence in popular music as 1980 rolled around, closing with a slightly deeper dive into the remake of Space Oddity and the release of Ashes to Ashes, David Bowie's ending bookmark of the 70s
This is a book about entire scenes of music that persisted through and past a decade. It would be so easy for a writer to get bogged down in the minutiae of sci-fi/prog rock or sci-fi/rock or sci-fi/funk or whatever, but Heller glides smoothly through the era, introducing us to the many individuals and bands that thrived in this era. These include acts that have become hallmarks of the genre - Bowie himself, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, etc - but it also includes bands that I'd never heard of before - Hawkwind is almost as big a player in this story as Bowie. I actually went ahead and made a big list of these acts that I want to listen to, and if you're also in search of some great sci-fi music, this book has got the goods. While you're at it, make a point to read the novels that inspired these artists as well, they must be pretty legit
The lack of Bowie in this book doesn't really bother me, nor did it come as a huge surprise. Though he's the face of sci-fi music, only a handful of his 27 albums are actually sci-fi, and of them, only a few were released in the period covered by this book. I'm glad that Blackstar got a mention at the end, such a great album
My only complaint with Strange Stars is that it does get a bit boring, which really shouldn't be happening in a book filled with 70s rockstars. I've read Bowie's biography and I'm familiar with all the insanity that happened in his life, but none of it shows in this book, and the same is true for all the other bands as well. The coverage of the Altamont Free Concert was so bare, considering what a defining moment that was for music as a whole. What does come across well in this book is the way so many artists wound up inspiring each other over the years. The music industry is a small world, as it happens
If the subject matter interests you, Strange Stars is an engaging and interesting chronicle of an era of music that occasionally leaves out some of the juicier details. That being said, if you want a deep dive into Bowie or any of the other artists mentioned in this book, you'd be better off searching elsewhere
jonwesleyhuff's review against another edition
4.0
Very enjoyable! I was mostly here for Bowie but tons of other interesting stuff too.
missamandamae's review against another edition
4.0
This was a heck of a lot of fun to read. My interest in sci-fi is fairly minimal, but it was delightful to read about how different sci-fi authors and stories and franchises influenced rock music, especially David Bowie - who is the main thread through the book. You better have YouTube or Spotify handy while you read because you’ll be picking up lots of new tracks to listen to, and I finished with a small list of sci-fi novels I’d like to try. If you’re a fan of Bowie, read it. If you like 70s rock, read it. If you like the sci-fi genre, read it. There’s something for most everyone in the book.
marct22's review against another edition
5.0
as a fellow music fan and kinda former sci-fi fan, I did learn quite a bit! I own roughly half of the songs he mentioned, some of which I didn't really think about the lyrics, others, like hendrix's purple haze, didn't realize the sci-fi connection. Made me want to get more of the songs I don't have (hawkwind, sun ra, a jefferson starship (or airplane?) disk), and go buy/read the associated sci-fi authors. Already tried (and failed) to find the Philip Jose Farmer book behind Purple Haze (out-of-print, cheapest I could get would be imported from England), Delany, Zelazny, etc. And go dig up and re-read my copies of Moorcock's Elric series (although it seems more his Jerry Cornelius series was more mentioned, which I haven't read).
Thought the ending was a bit rushed though. It felt like I could have written this book, if I were more talented as a writer... but I am not! thank you Jason, spurred my curiousity into digging back into sci-fi and expanding my music horizons!
Thought the ending was a bit rushed though. It felt like I could have written this book, if I were more talented as a writer... but I am not! thank you Jason, spurred my curiousity into digging back into sci-fi and expanding my music horizons!
shoffschwelle's review against another edition
5.0
A fascinating walkthrough of the intersection between sci-fi and pop music.
captainjaq's review against another edition
3.0
While I appreciate the amazing amount of work and research that went into this book, I'm ultimately just not sure what the point was. There's no thesis, no overarching theme or question being answered. And because of that, it all just seemed like a catalog rather than an analysis.
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.