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I love the War of the Worlds musical by Jeff Wayne! It’s a personal favorite. Also, my husband got me the Brain in a Box SF Music Collection, and it’s great.
Some time ago I made a couple of general mixes to play before my SF courses to “set the mood.” Here are the playlists:
My first mix…
(songs are in chronological order)
1. “2000 Light Years from Home” by The Rolling Stones
Sun turnin’ ’round with graceful motion.
We’re setting off with soft explosion
Bound for a star with fiery oceans.
It’s so very lonely, you’re a hundred light years from home.
2. “In the Year 2525″ by Zager and Evans
In the year 2525,
If man is still alive,
If woman can survive they may find…
In the year 3535
Ain’t gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lies,
Everything you think, do and say
Is in the pill you took today.
3. “It Came Out of the Sky” by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Oh, it came out of the sky, landed just a little south of Moline.
Jody fell out of his tractor, couldn’t believe what he seen.
Laid on the ground and shook fearin’ for his life,
Then he ran all the way to town screamin’ “It came out of the sky!”
Well, a crowd gathered round and a scientist said it was marsh gas.
Spiro came and made a speech about raising the Mars tax.
The Vatican said, “Woe, the Lord has come!”
Hollywood rushed out an epic film,
And Ronnie the Popular said it was a communist plot.
4. “Space Oddity” by David Bowie
Ground Control to Major Tom.
Ground Control to Major Tom.
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on.
Ground Control to Major Tom.
Commencing countdown, engines on.
Check ignition and may God’s love be with you.
Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One,
Liftoff
5. “Rocket Man” by Elton John
She packed my bags last night pre-flight,
Zero hour nine a.m.,
And I’m gonna be high as a kite by then.
I miss the earth so much I miss my wife.
It’s lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight.
And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time
Till touch down brings me round again to find
I’m not the man they think I am at home.
Oh no no no – I’m a rocket man,
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone.
6. “’39″ by Queen
In the year of ’39
Assembled here the volunteers
In the days when lands were few.
Here the ship sailed out into the blue and sunny morn
The sweetest sight ever seen.
And the night followed day,
And the story tellers say
That the score brave souls inside
For many a lonely day
Sailed across the milky seas.
Ne’er looked back, never feared, never cried.
Don’t you hear my call
Though you’re many years away?
Don’t you hear me calling you?
Write your letters in the sand,
For the day I’ll take your hand
In the land that our grand-children knew.
7. “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft” by Klaatu
In your mind you have capacities, you know,
To telepath messages through the vast unknown.
Please close your eyes and concentrate
With every thought you think
Upon the recitation we’re about to sing.
Calling occupants of interplanetary craft,
Calling occupants of interplanetary, most extraordinary craft,
You’ve been observing our Earth
And we’d like to make a contact with you.
We are your friends.
8. “Miami 2017″ by Billy Joel
I’ve seen the lights go out on Broadway.
I saw the Empire State laid low.
And life went on beyond the Palisades,
They all bought bright Cadillacs
And left there long ago.
We held a concert out in Brooklyn
To watch the Island bridges blow.
They turned our power down,
And drove us underground
But we went right on with the show…
9. “A Spaceman Came Travelling” by Chris De Burgh
A spaceman came travelling on his ship from afar,
‘Twas light years of time since his mission did start,
And over a village he halted his craft,
And it hung in the sky like a star, just like a star…
He followed a light and came down to a shed,
Where a mother and child were lying there on a bed,
A bright light of silver shone round his head,
And he had the face of an angle, and they were afraid…
10. “905″ by The Who
Mother was an incubator.
Father was the contents
Of a test tube in the ice box
In the factory of birth.
My name is 905,
And I’ve just become alive.
I’m the newest populator
Of the planet we call Earth.
In suspended animation
My childhood passed me by.
If I speak without emotion
Then you know the reason why.
11. “Down in the Park” by Gary Numan and the Tubeway Army
Down in the park
Where the Machmen meet
The machines are playing `kill-by-numbers’ -
Down in the park with a friend called `Five.’
I was in a car crash
Or was it the war?
Well, I’ve never been quite the same.
Little white lies like “I was there.”
Come to “Zom-Zom’s”, a place to eat
Like it was built in one day,
You can watch the humans
Try to run.
Oh, look, there’s a rape machine,
I’d go outside if it looks the other way.
You wouldn’t believe
The things they do.
Down in the park
Where the chant is “Death, death, death”
Until the sun cries morning,
Down in the park with friends of mine.
12. “Veteran of the Psychic Wars” by Blue Oyster Cult
You see me now, a veteran
Of a thousand psychic wars.
I’ve been living on the edge so long
Where the winds of limbo roar.
And I’m young enough to look at
And far too old to see
All the scars are on the inside.
I’m not sure that there’s anything left of me.
13. “Dragonfly” by Blondie
Greetings Ladies and Gentlemen of Earth and all native intelligences
Of the forty planets, satellites, moons, stars,
And any other inhabited orbs
With contestants entered in the annual Grande Trex,
The only inter-galactic race.
This year’s event promises excitement to surpass all previous races.
As many of you fans already know the route or track of the orbits, glides, etc.
Has been increased by 5,000 million kilometers
Thus enabling Grande Trex to include the B’Arc System,
In our present event and for all succeeding GT races.
Dragonfly, Dragonfly
Satellite
Strike and fight
14. “Major Tom (Coming Home)” by Peter Schilling
Standing there alone, the ship is waiting
All systems are go. Are you sure?
Control is not convinced, but the computer
Has the evidence: “No need to abort.”
The countdown starts.
Watching in a trance, the crew is certain.
Nothing left to chance. All is working.
Trying to relax up in the capsule,
“Send me up a drink,” jokes Major Tom.
The count goes on.
15. “99 Red Balloons” by Nena
You and I in a little toy shop,
Buy a bag of balloons
With the money we’ve got.
Set them free at the break of dawn
‘Til one by one, they were gone.
Back at base, bugs in the software.
Flash the message:
“Something’s out there.”
Floating in the summer sky,
99 red balloons go by.
16. “Experiment IV” by Kate Bush
We were working secretly
For the military.
We only know in theory
What we are doing:
Music made for pleasure,
Music made to thrill.
It was music we were making here until
They told us all they wanted
Was a sound that could kill someone
From a distance. So we go ahead,
And the meters are over in the red.
It’s a mistake in the making.
17. “Humans from Earth” by T-Bone Burnett
We come from a blue planet light-years away
Where everything multiplies at an amazing rate.
We’re out here in the universe buying real estate.
Hope we haven’t gotten here too late.
My second mix…
(again, songs are in chronological order)
1. “Mr. Spaceman” by the Byrds
Woke up this morning with light in my eyes
And then realized it was still dark outside.
It was a light coming down from the sky.
I don’t know who or why.
Must be those strangers that come every night.
Those saucer-shaped lights put people uptight,
Leave blue-green footprints that glow in the dark.
I hope they get home all right.
2. “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” by Pink Floyd
Little by little the night turns around,
Counting the leaves which tremble and turn.
Lotuses lean on each other in yearning.
Under the eaves the swallow is resting.
Set the controls for the heart of the sun.
3. “Wooden Ships” by Crosby, Stills & Nash
I can see by your coat, my friend,
You’re from the other side.
There’s just one thing I’ve got to know:
Can you tell me please, who won?
Say, can I have some of your purple berries?
Yes, I’ve been eating them for six or seven weeks now,
Haven’t got sick once.
Prob’ly keep us both alive.
Wooden ships on the water, very free, and easy -
Easy, you know the way it’s supposed to be.
Silver people on the shoreline let us be.
Talkin’ ’bout very free, and easy.
Horror grips us as we watch you die.
All we can do is echo your anguished cries,
Stare as all human feelings die.
We are leaving, you don’t need us.
Go take a sister, then, by the hand.
Lead her away from this foreign land.
Far away, where we might laugh again.
We are leaving, you don’t need us.
And it’s a fair wind
Blowin’ warm out of the south over my shoulder.
Guess I’ll set a course and go.
4. “Have You Seen the Saucers?” by Jefferson Airplane
Have you seen the saucers?
Do you know there are people out there,
Who are unhappy with the way that we care,
For the earth mother?
Tranquility base, there goes the neighborhood;
American garbage dumped in space,
And no room left for brotherhood.
Have you seen our saucers?
You see our lights in your western skies,
California’s rainbow skies;
Your government tells you another missle is flying;
Have you any idea why they’re lying,
To you, to your faces?
5. “King of the World” by Steely Dan
No marigolds in the promised land.
There’s a hole in the ground
Where they used to grow.
Any man left on the Rio Grande
Is the king of the world
As far as I know.
I don’t want your bread.
I don’t need your helping hand.
I can’t be no savage.
I can’t be no highwayman.
Show me where you are.
You and I will spend this day
Driving in my car
Through the ruins of Santa Fe.
6. “Children of the Sun” by Billy Thorpe
People of the earth can you hear me?
Came a voice from the sky on that magical night.
And in the colors of a thousand sunsets
They traveled to the world on a silvery light.
The people of the earth stood waiting,
Watching as the ships came one by one,
Setting fire to the sky as they landed,
Carrying to the world children of the sun.
7. “My Clone Sleeps Alone” by Pat Benatar
You know and I know my clone sleeps alone.
She’s out on her own, forever.
She’s programmed to work hard. She’s never profane.
She won’t go insane, not ever.
No V.D., no cancer, on TV’s the answer.
No father, no mother. She’s just like the other.
8. “London Calling” by The Clash
The ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in.
Engines stop running and the wheat is growing thin.
A nuclear error, but I have no fear -
London is drowning
And I live by the river.
9. “Red Skies” by The Fixx
Red skies at night, red skies at night.
Oh oh…
Should have taken warning .
It’s just, people mourning, running, hiding, lost.
You can’t find, find a place to go.
So it’s red skies at night, red skies at night.
Oh oh…
Someone’s taking over
And it looks like they’re aiming right at you .
Someone says, “We’ll be dead by morning.”
10. “Distant Early Warning” by Rush
An ill wind comes arising
Across the cities of the plain.
There’s no swimming in the heavy water,
No singing in the acid rain.
Red alert.
11. “The Final Countdown” by Europe
We’re leaving together,
But still it’s farewell.
And maybe we’ll come back,
To earth, who can tell?
I guess there is no one to blame
We’re leaving ground.
Will things ever be the same again?
Its the final countdown…
We’re heading for Venus and still we stand tall,
‘Cause maybe they’ve seen us and welcome us all.
12. “Aldebaran” (Dedicated to Ridley Scott) by Enya
[Note from liner notes: "The Red giant star, Aldeberan, found in the constellation of Taurus, is the Eye of the bull. From the Arabic, Al Dabaran, it means 'the follower' as it 'follows' the Pleiades. This piece portrays future Celts passing Aldebaran on their journey to new territories, continuing the migratory pattern which was so predominant in their early history."]
Lyrics translated:
Long sleep, deep sleep
Rise! Look down: Aldebaran.
Walk with me through the red stars
The end, end of the journey,
Star, red star.
13. “Extremis” by Hal featuring Gillian Anderson
Atom by atom,
Molecular beings
Transport me away
To the place of my dreams.
A point in space,
Where time is still,
Colliding worlds,
In limbo until extremis.
A melting of minds,
A cerebral mesh,
A union of liquid
And virtual flesh.
Automaton love,
Your caress is pneumatic.
I’m a slave to your touch,
My response automatic….
I don’t want to hear about the future.
I want to see it,
I want to feel it,
I want to taste it.
There is a tendency to forget that the darkness automatically brings about fear in the world.
But I have already got a piece of the darkness. Trouble begins in the light, if you come around here.
14. “The Ballad of William Robinson” by Bill Mumy
My name is William Robinson, I’m 42 years old.
I’ve seen the hot side of the sun, I’ve seen blue icy cold.
I’ve shot the one-eyed giant down with laser in my hand,
But I’ll never see my home again on walk on Earth’s green land.
In 1997 we set out on the Jupiter 2,
Bound for Alpha Centauri, my family and small crew.
We ran into a meteor storm – the wrong time, the wrong place.
It’s been six months and thirty years that we’ve been lost in space.
My father died five years ago. There was no better man than he.
My mother’s never been the same, and now it’s up to me.
Our pilot is a handsome man, my sisters both could tell.
And Dr. Smith will get us killed and that may be just as well.
I’ve worked the mines of many worlds for fuel to power our ship.
I have a robot for a friend and helper on our trip.
I’m sending out this message now from this ungodly place
In hopes someone will rescue us from being lost in space.
My name is William Robinson and I’ll never take a wife.
No children will I father. I have no normal life.
Show me mercy in this universe, or show me God’s true face.
Whisper my name to the stars for I am lost in space.
15. “The New Zero” by Rasputina
He has agreed to take me
To the ice hotel from the magazzine.
What we will need is a gleaming key
Made of ice as well by the finest ice machine.
It’s there that no one will stare
At your jaws and your long fur, the claws in your fingers.
It’s the past when the passersby laughed
At your strange way of speaking, your batteries leaking, oh no.
Oh God no, they dont know
The new zero.
16. “Spaceman” by Bif Naked
Remember that night at my window
When I waved at you?
I must have been only five, or so,
But I never forgot you.
I wonder why you choose those others
And you never come to call on me.
When I’m the one who’s waiting for you
I really need you – please pick me!
17. “20 Minutes of Oxygen” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets
If I had the brains, here’s what I’d do:
Build a time door and visit my youth.
This cigar burn is for effect.
In the future you won’t forget,
When you’re trapped in that airtight room,
Flick the red switch but not the blue.
So, if you remember,
If you remember me.
That’d be the rip-cord in my destiny.
18. “Cosmos (Outer Space)” by T.A.T.U.
Our home forever is outer space.
Black stars and endless seas, outer space.
New hope, new destinies, outer space.
Forever we’ll be in outer space, outer space.
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