X-RAY SPEX
Germfree Adolescents (1978)
In 1978, punk was in the process of sputtering out, for the first of many times. Post-punk, however, had yet to fully coagulate. Into this inchoate environment emerged Germfree Adolescents. The sole 70s album by X-Ray Spex was simultaneously more mature and more juvenile than most of its contemporaries; while groups like Wire and The Fall injected art-rock angst and harsh angles into their work, X-Ray Spex radically reconfigured punk by being innocent enough to take it at face value.
Lead singer Poly Styrene was the lightning rod: with chubby cheeks, braced teeth and a voice like an ambulance siren, she turned the poppy, punky gems of Germfree Adolescents into neon-tinted mirrors – then gleefully held them up to society. Songs such as Arti-I-Ficial, Identity, and the eerily tender title track revelled in the repressed, Ballardian, consumerist wasteland of the late 20th century without recoiling. In fact, it’s often tough to tell whether Styrene is condemning modernity or simply frolicking in its imminent ruins, giggling all the while. Even at the time of Styrene’s untimely death of cancer in 2011, Germfree Adolescents’ bright-eyed embrace of cultural malaise – paradox, neurosis, mysophobia, isolation – still resonated as one of the post-punk era’s most enduring legacies. Not to mention one of its catchiest. Jason Heller
TUBEWAY ARMY
Replicas (1979)
It’s diffcult to remember now, when he’s namechecked by everyone from Dave Grohl to Jarvis Cocker and Trent Reznor to Tricky, but back in 1979 Gary Numan was a deeply divisive figure. Critics in the inkie music press saw his brand of robotic synth music as derivative, a Bowie rip-off, which was ironic considering the Thin White Duke’s own penchant for stealing big. In school playgrounds, meantime, Numan’s pale weirdness divided the nation’s kids. To be a Numanoid, at least in rural North Devon where I grew up, was to be a very strange person indeed. And perhaps there was also an underlying sense that Numan had somehow cheated his way to the top of the charts by releasing Replicas’ second single, Are ‘Friends’ Electric?, as a picture disc. Numan himself, who used the Tubeway Army moniker for his first two albums, didn’t much help matters by so clearly being angered at his press coverage.
From the perspective of the 21st century, this all seems particularly strange because Replicas doesn’t just hold up as a product of its moment, it sounds like a signpost to the future, in particular for the way Numan fuses synth pop and BIG rock sounds. Plus its android Machmen and Philip K Dick vibe are unimpeachably science fictional. Jonathan Wright
SCIENTIST
Scientist Meets The Space Invaders (1981)
It’s dub Jim, but not as we know it. This 1981 album was recorded in Jamaica’s legendary Channel One Studios and produced by Mikey ‘Roots’ Scott and Linval Thompson. Scientist (born Hopeton Brown) was a protégé of King Tubby who inherited his passion for electronics via his father, a television and radio repairman.
After spending his apprenticeship with Tubby winding transformer coils and learning the sacred art of dub mixing, Scientist became principal engineer for Channel One in the late 70s. One listen to Space Invaders makes it clear why he was trusted at the mixing desk. It’s an album that’s as all about spaced-out echoes and slow reggae riddims played by regular cohorts Roots Radics. It’s also the first of a series of albums that saw Scientist fighting aliens and ridding the world of vampires. In truth, it doesn’t sound radically different from any other dub album: there aren’t sounds of rockets lifting off, or lyrics about bug-eyed monsters. But seeing as most dub records somehow sound like they were made in outer space anyway, Scientist instead relies on the superhero artwork of Tony McDermott, in conjunction with track titles such as Beam Down, Cloning Process and Laser Attack to get the message across. Phil Meadley
DR OCTAGON
Dr Octagonecologyst (1996)
This classic slice of surrealist beat poetry touched down to Earth in 1996, and is considered by many to be one of the finest hip-hop albums of that era. Dr Octagon is a persona of Bronx rapper Kool Keith, best known for his work with Ultramagnetic MCs. The former is described as an extraterrestrial time travelling gynaecologist with yellow eyes, green skin and a pink-and-white Afro. On the standout track, Earth People, he raps: “Armed with seven rounds of space doo-doo pistols, you may not believe, livin’ on the Earth planet my skin is green and silver, warhead lookin’ mean.”
It’s a million miles away from 50 Cent and Puff Daddy. Beats are by Dan the Automator and Kutmasta Kurt, with scratching by award-winning scratch DJ Qbert. The former (real name Daniel Nakamura) ended up producing the debut album by Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz (2001) and was quoted as saying at the time: “Hip-hop was always inventive. Then the 90s hit and everyone wants to be Dr Dre; no one wants to be their own thing anymore. Everyone now wants to have the Lexus and deal pounds of drugs. We don’t do that. That’s not our lifestyle. You don’t see us coming out with the fur coat.” Phil Meadley
THE FLAMNG LIPS
The Soft Bulletin (1999)
At the risk of offending longtime fans of not one but two bands, there are strong parallels between the careers of Pulp and The Flaming Lips: both spent a lot of years being not particularly good yet showing enough promise, originality and sheer staying power to keep being given opportunities to make new albums. For Pulp, this would culminate in wholly unlikely stardom at the height of Britpop, a moment in time when lanky, laconic Jarvis Cocker seemed already to be predicting the post-Cool Britannia comedown.
If the case of Flaming Lips, the journey to stardom was arguably even stranger. After scoring a minor hit in 1993 with the catchy She Don’t Use Jelly, the band seemed consciously to retreat from success. In 1997, for example, came Zaireeka, an album that might well be a masterpiece, except I wouldn’t know because it’s designed to be played on four CD players simultaneously. Cult status beckoned, except that’s not what happened. Instead, frontman Wayne Coyne and co reconvened to record The Soft Bulletin, a masterpiece of symphonic pop that’s (with good reason) been compared to Pet Sounds. With its scientists “racing for the good of all mankind” SF imagery abounds, but never overwhelms a new-found humanism in the lyrics, a sense of how fragile we all are. A beautiful, beautiful album. Jonathan Wright
MUSE
Black Holes And Revelations (2006)
Muse come from a small but proud tradition of bands able to fill a stadium with noise whilst imparting cryptic lyrics hinting at conspiracies and unseen forces. But Muse differ from bands such as Blue Öyster Cult and Rush in two important ways: firstly, they’re doing this stuff right now; secondly, they aren’t from the USA. They’re from Devon.
The band’s 2006 tour de force opens with the deceptively gentle processional Take A Bow, calling to account those who are (secretly) screwing us over. The album’s title comes from the next track, Starlight, which combines solid rock with existential yearning. These first two songs encapsulate Muse’s mixture of lyrical tunes that deliver a punch and punchy tunes with intriguing lyrics. And the album never lets up, right through to the anthemic Knights Of Cydonia. Musically they’ll incorporate whatever the song needs – wailing sax! choral harmonies! flamenco guitar! – into a seamless whole. Yet at the same time as creating polished, catchy tunes, Muse call on us to question the lies we’re told, look for hidden meanings and consider our place in the universe. These boys are peeved, paranoid and play a mean guitar. Jaine Fenn
VANGELIS
Blade Runner Trilogy – 25th Anniversary (2007)
The main problem with the original soundtrack release of director Ridley Scott’s classic 1982 film is that it isn’t actually the Vangelis score. Sounds crazy, but it’s actually a jazzy orchestral reinterpretation by the New American Orchestra. To say it isn’t very good is an understatement. It starts off with a cheesy cover of the already schmaltzy Love Theme and doesn’t improve from there. Imagine Richard Clayderman mugging the iconic Greek composer and bringing Joe Loss to the party. OK, it isn’t quite as bad as that, but fans had t
o wait until 1994 for an official release of the real thing.
However, many of the incidental pieces that made the soundtrack so sought after were still missing. For a more definitive overview, fans had to wait until 2007 when a three-CD set was released to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the film. It features the 1994 release, plus previously unreleased material and a third disc of music inspired by the film. Completists will moan that it doesn’t include bits such as the music during Leon’s Voight-Kampff test and a longer version of the Main Titles with prologue, but it’s still the best version available… for now. Phil Meadley
Contributors
Ian Berriman has been reviews editor of SFX for an awfully long time. He has a much cooler record collection than his contribution here suggests. www.sfx.co.uk/author/iberriman/
David Butler is senior lecturer in screen studies at the University of Manchester. His books include Fantasy Cinema: Impossible Worlds on Screen (2009). www.manchester.ac.uk/research/david.g.butler
Stanley Donwood has written two collections of unsettling short stories, Slowly Downward and Household Worms. He’s Radiohead’s ‘artist in residence.’ www.slowlydownward.com
Minister Faust is the author of several acclaimed novels including The Coyote Kings and the award-winning Shrinking The Heroes. www.ministerfaust.com
Jaine Fenn is the author of the Hidden Empire series of far-future SF novels, which began with Principles of Angels (Gollancz). www.jainefenn.com
Jon Courtenay Grimwood has twice won the BSFA Award for Best Novel, for Felaheen and End Of The World Blues. www.j-cg.co.uk
Jason Heller is the author of Taft 2012, the former nonfiction editor of Clarkesworld, and a contributing writer to The Onion A.V. Club. jasonmheller.blogspot.co.uk
NK Jemisin is a Brooklyn-based author of speculative fiction. Her novels include The Killing Moon (Orbit). nkjemisin.com
Sam Jordison is a writer and co-director of Galley Beggar Press. His Crap Towns Returns: Back By Unpopular Demand will be published in September 2013. samdjordison.blogspot.co.uk
Christopher Kirkley is a guerilla ethnomusicologist of the West African Sahel. He has produced an extensive selection of albums. www.sahelsounds.com
Tim Maughan is a Bristol-based writer. In 2011 he released Paintwork, set in a very near, and strangely familiar, future. timmaughanbooks.com
Phil Meadley is a journalist, producer and DJ who has written for The Independent, Observer Music Monthly, and the New Statesman. His taste in literature is as eclectic as his record collection.
Martin Millar is the author of such novels as Lonely Werewolf Girl, The Good Fairies Of New York, and Suzy, Led Zeppelin And Me. www.martinmillar.com
Anne C Perry is the co-founder of pornokitsch.com and director of The Kitschies. She is as an assistant editor with publishers Hodder & Stoughton.
David Quantick is a comedy writer (The Thick Of It, Brass Eye, Veep). His SF comic novel Sparks, namechecked by Neil Gaiman, is available for Kindle and iTunes.
Jared Shurin is part of The Kitschies, pornokitsch.com and other kitschy things. He’s also a trained barbecue judge and the editor of several anthologies.
Mark Sinker writes about music, film and television. His book on Lindsay Anderson’s if.... was published by BFI Classics in 2004. marksinker.co.uk
Lavie Tidhar grew up on a kibbutz in Israel and currently lives in London. His novel Osama won the World Fantasy Award in 2012. lavietidhar.wordpress.com
Liz Williams is a science fiction and fantasy writer who lives in Glastonbury, where she is co-director of a witchcraft supply business. mevennen.livejournal.com
Rob Williams is a comics writer whose credits include work for Marvel, 2000AD, DC Comics and Dynamite. His creator-owned Ordinary is due in 2013. www.robwilliamscomics.co.uk
Jonathan Wright is a journalist and editor. He was strongly advised he was mad to launch Adventure Rocketship!
Nir Yaniv is an Israeli writer, musician and filmmaker. His latest story collection, The Love Machine And Other Contraptions, was published by Infinity Plus in 2012. www.niryaniv.com
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I need to thank publisher Richard Jones and designer Joe Burt for their patience in co-piloting Adventure Rocketship! into orbit. Thanks also to Stanley Donwood for designing the cover and for sending so many brilliantly surreal emails. Thanks to Eloise Millar, any proofing errors you find stem from my ignoring her advice. Thanks to those who took the time to give interviews and to pitch ideas; and thanks to all the writers, especially those who listened to me grumbling, you know who you are. A big shout also to Robyn Hitchcock (a man who’s very good at titles), Mark Bould, John Jarrold, Alastair Reynolds, Cheryl Morgan, Tom ‘Brassneck’ Hunter and all at SFX, especially Nick Setchfield. Most of all, thanks to Chloe and my children, Sam and Isabelle, for putting up with this whole escapade. Jonathan Wright
Adventure Rocketship! will return with an edition devoted to Denimpunk, the 1970s seen through a science fictional lens.
Table of Contents
Editor’s Introduction
Time to Come Back: Delia Derbyshire, Electronic Music Pioneer
New Worlds Fair: Michael Moorcock, Musician
Mick Farren: Still Raging Against the Machine
Clockwork Angels: Rush and Kevin J Anderson
Bill Nelson: Jets at Dawn
But What Does George Clinton’s Mothership Mean?
Roots And Antennae, Tongues And Flight: Boney M Aboard The Black Star Liner
Music for a Concrete Island: JG Ballard and the Prefabrication of Post-Punk
Ladyhawke: Reclaiming a Soundtrack from its Historical Moment
Martin Millar: Urban Pioneer
The Orb: Behind the Ultraworld
King Rat Revisited: Talking Trash With China Miéville
Digital Distribution in an Analogue World: MP3 Markets in Nouakchott, Mauritania
How Long ’Til Black Future Month? The Toxins of Speculative Fiction, and the Antidote that is Janelle Monáe
Phonogram: Sublimated Emotion
Starmen
Between the Notes
Blues for Ahab
Musicians
Flight Path Estate
One Door Closes and then Another Door Closes
Possible Futures: 20 Mind-Expanding Ways to Start Your SF Album Collection
Contributors
Acknowledgments
Adventure Rocketship! Let's All Go To The Science Fiction Disco Page 16