Nevermind the Nerdcore It's Scifi Music

Annalee Newitz — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:00:21 PST

Sure the nerdcore craze is totally hip, with guys like MC Frontalot and MC Hawking drawing in crowds of dozens with their geeksta raps about particle physics. But they're just selling out the real scifi music underground, which includes hidden classics like the Portal Song, above, written by Popular Science magazine's resident composer and included in the closing credits of cult video game Portal. Plus, nerdcore bands are just johnnies-come-lately in the true scifi music tradition.

Scifi music began with filking, and the less said about that the better. But did you know that mega-popular band Blue Oyster Cult sang songs written by British scifi author Michael Moorcock? (One of those songs, "Black Blade," was a minor hit in the UK.) That's true scifi music for ya. And then there is the totally underground Massachusetts band Honest Bob and the Factory to Dealer Incentives, who sing about time cubes and Tatooine with feeling. Plus, one member of Honest Bob is an editor at New Scientist, which is serious cred.

And let us not forget that Judas Priest's song "Electric Eye" from way back in the 1980s is a brilliant dystopian vision of a world controlled by surveillance. OK, maybe not brilliant. But prescient! And very scifi.

Must See: Heavy Metal

Annalee Newitz — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 22:43:01 PDT

Must-see movies are futuristic classics that shouldn't be missed. Of course, not every must-see is perfect. That's why we've rated them 1-5 on the patented "crunchy goodness" scale. Written by Jason Shankel.

Title: Heavy Metal
Date: 1981

Vitals: In this collection of animated short stories, a glowing green orb from outer space imprisons a young girl and menaces her with sexual innuendo and drug humor.

Famous names: Blue Oyster Cult John Candy Devo Joe Flaherty Sammy Hagar Eugene Levy Stevie Nicks Grand Funk Railroad Black Sabbath Cheap Trick John Vernon

Crunchy goodness: 3

Elevator pitch: Animal House meets Flash Gordon, with more cartoon boobies. And one moving violation.

Sights you'll never unsee: Harry Canyon's "Mayonnaise Sandwich Royale"

Life lesson: When you've captured the last of the Tarakians, just kill her. Quickly. All this talking and whipping and everything just gives her time to think.

The Heavy Metal Movie Script

io9: blue oyster cult

Nevermind the Nerdcore It's Scifi Music

Must See: Heavy Metal