Music of the Spheres: SF & F Inspired Rock

Rock & roll seems to have always been accepting of Science Fiction and Fantasy.  Without even considering novelty songs of the fifties and sixties, there are plenty examples.  The Byrds were singing about spacemen and had adapted Clarke’s “The Sentinel” in the sixties.  By their second album, Zeppelin was rambling through Middle-earth.  Nearly everybody has heard, or at least knows, Bowie’s “Space Oddity.”  Nowadays, you got your Muses and Radioheads and even your Katy Perry-types chiming in.  The point being, it’s not new and there’s really too much out that for one soul to find on his or her own.  Luckily, this being the information age and all, most of the hard work has been done for us.

The following lists provide a variety of styles and artists.  There’s some overlap, of course, and there’s some wtfs.  All in all, however, they are worth a look. 

1. 100 Albums Every Science Fiction and Fantasy Fan Should Listen To  You may not have to go further than this one from i09.  This is actually the first of several articles covering a super-varied list.  There's artist here I've never heard of, and soundtracks I would never have considered.  From Ayreon to Ziggy, it's here. 

2.  Top 10 Best Sci-fi Inspired Rock Albums  No R&B or soundtracks here, just rock.

3.  The 23 Greatest Sci-Fi Songs of All Time I don't necessarily agree with its title, but the list is pretty solid and varied.

4.  The 15 Greatest Science Fiction-Based Pop/Rock Songs  Okay, this one has "Purple People Eater" on it.

There’s some missing items, I know.  I plan to address some of those at a future date, but please let us know any you happen to see missing.

Enjoy.