# Music within Science Fiction films



## Toby Frost (Jan 2, 2019)

A lot of science fiction films include futuristic music, usually in bars, clubs and the like. I'm thinking of background music that the characters can hear, not the film soundtrack. _Star Wars_ has the Mos Eisley cantina music, which sounds rather like old-fashioned jazz to me, the vaguely trip-hop "Chicken in the Pot" song from _Solo_ and the band from Jabba's palace, who I think sounded rather like lounge music if I remember rightly.

In the prom scene in _Starship Troopers_, a band is covering David Bowie's "I Have Not Been to London Town" in a light rock style. It's acceptable.

In _Robocop_, Robocop apprehends a suspect in a nightclub that's playing the industrial band The Ministry, which is at least appropriate to the setting.

The bar in _Outland_ plays some primitive techno, which works much better in the film than out of it.

_Blade Runner _acquits itself very well: the random bar music sounds quite like 90s trip-hop with Arabic influences. I think the earlier version incorporated a brief bit of Brian Eno music, too.

I've always wondered if the song Ripley quotes in _Alien_ ("You are my lucky star") really exists. There must be others.


And here is what I think is a deleted scene from Dune: Gurney Halleck jamming on the baliset at what seems like the end of a very long party at Atreides HQ, which Thufir Hawat looks unimpressed by all the young people's music.


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## Rodders (Jan 2, 2019)

Always a difficult thing to get right, I remember watching an episode of Buck Rogers where they were in some sort of club and the music was hilarious, (and awful). I think the original series of BSG had a similar sort of music thing going on in a casino. All bad synthesiser music.

It's best to be contemporary, I think.


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## Brian G Turner (Jan 2, 2019)

IMO what can be really clever about using music within a film is it presents a sense of culture that we can readily relate to. The Cantina Band achieved this really well in the original _Star Wars_ film, but I don't think later attempts worked so well in the series - especially the George Lucas cut of _Return of the Jedi_ where, in Jabba's den, Sny Snootles is accompanied on stage by some kind of singing rat muppet with a giant CGI mouth.

I don't think it worked so well in _Buck Rogers_, either!


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## AlexH (Jan 2, 2019)

I think there's a band that appears in one (or more) of the Futurama films?

That's all I have to contribute, apart from adding that I like how that Star Wars band keeps repeating the same bit.


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## clovis-man (Jan 2, 2019)

Toby Frost said:


> I've always wondered if the song Ripley quotes in _Alien_ ("You are my lucky star") really exists. There must be others.


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## Rodders (Jan 3, 2019)

Didn’t Spock sing in one of the Star Trek: TOS episodes?


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## -K2- (Jan 3, 2019)

Rollerball, during the party, mid-70's so kind of funky;












Tron (2010) Bar Scene;







K2


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## farntfar (Jan 3, 2019)

Rodders said:


> Didn’t Spock sing in one of the Star Trek: TOS episodes?



He certainly did, while playing a sort of Vulcan lute. (I think Nurse Chapel went all starry eyed.)

And while we're on that subject, Picard played a flute from the ancient society that took over his mind to "remember" a bit of their history, (Virtually all the guy's life playing the same tune on it), and of course Data played the violin in several episodes.
Oh and the EMH sang in Voyager.
 I can't find any clips though.


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## Dave (Jan 3, 2019)

The problem is that music dates the film/TV show so quickly. When _Buck Rogers_ asks for "Rock," if he had only asked for Chuck Berry rather than Jazz Funk Disco then it wouldn't now seem so odd. Ironically, I was going to say that _Rollerball_ was a good example, because in his apartment his music of choice is _The Rolling Stones_, and good music never ages. We still play _Tchaikovsky, Mozart_ and _Beethoven_ today. They are frequently on adverts without appearing old-fashioned at all.


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## farntfar (Jan 3, 2019)

I Robot






Apologies to most of you that this clip is dubbed in French.


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## Al Jackson (Jan 3, 2019)

Wonder what background music there was here?


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## Dan Jones (Jan 3, 2019)

The "You Are My Lucky Star" song from Alien certainly does exist, Brian, because 20th century Fox had to pay MGM royalties for using it in the film!


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## M. Robert Gibson (Jan 3, 2019)

Rodders said:


> Didn’t Spock sing in one of the Star Trek: TOS episodes?


Spock Sings





Uhura sings with Spock





Space hippies jam


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## -K2- (Jan 3, 2019)

Tank Girl: Ripper's Sole






Tank Girl: Army of Me (Liquid Silver Brothel/bar scene)






And naturally, Tank Girl: Let's do it






K2


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## Dave (Jan 3, 2019)

There are also whole musicals, of course - _The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Little Shop of Horrors, Return to the Forbidden Planet. _I found a Wiki list - Category:Science fiction musicals - Wikipedia 

Many more than I had imagined. I had completely forgotten _Starlight Express_ (which I saw before it closed in London) but 99% of them are a little camp and certainly fall into the same school as that _Buck Rogers_ excerpt. 

I still think that _War of the Worlds_ is excellent, so I wonder why there have never been other, more serious, adaptations to musical like that.


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## dask (Jan 4, 2019)

Daisy, Daisy
Give me your answer, do.
I'm half crazy
All for the love of you...


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## reiver33 (Jan 4, 2019)

Captain Pickard's flute music...


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## Rodders (Jan 4, 2019)

I don't count Picard's flute playing in The Inner Light, as it was an integral part of the story.

Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds is incredible and for me, was a much listened to album in the 80's. I believe that Rick Wakeman did a musical version of Journey to the Centre of the Earth but i haven't heard it. 

I have a CD at home somewhere by Mark Cerrone called the Collector which told was a sci fi store. It's pretty camp ow, but some of the music is actually pretty good.


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## Al Jackson (Jan 4, 2019)

The electronic sound track by Bebe and Louis Barron  for Forbidden Planet (1956) is still unique. The attack of the ID Monster on the Krell Lab is the best piece.


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## -K2- (Jan 4, 2019)

Regarding Forbidden Planet as it directly relates to this thread, here is the Krell Music track






K2


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## Phyrebrat (Jan 4, 2019)

Toby Frost said:


> In the prom scene in _Starship Troopers_, a band is covering David Bowie's "I Have Not Been to London Town" in a light rock style. It's acceptable.



Is that the one by a female vox that has a line that says something like "Oh, oh, watch the days go by"? I've always wondered what that song was as I suspected I might like it. The nearest I got to a decision was that it was something by _Wendy and Lisa_.
<Edit: YES IT IS! Twenty-odd years later I finally identfy this song! Thanks!>

Interesting seeing you mention _Chicken in the Pot_, as I was surprised you knew it when i mentioned it in that post the other day. That song was inspired IMO.



Brian G Turner said:


> especially the George Lucas cut of _Return of the Jedi_ where, in Jabba's den, Sny Snootles is accompanied on stage by some kind of singing rat muppet with a giant CGI mouth.



Isn't it!!! I forgive Lucas his questionable scripts and compulsive fiddling, but one thing I can't stand is when he goes from SW movie to Looney Toons. What's a shame is that it's a great song! There could have been so much more fan service for example, to Boba and the B-Vox Twileks and Rodian, than that stupid Jah Yowza thing.



farntfar said:


> Apologies to most of you that this clip is dubbed in French.



There was sound? I was too busy drooling at my other half 

On a serious note, I don't think the use of _Superstition_ by Stevie Wonder really counts here, does it? Such an iconic song, so firmly placed in its sociopolitical climate when released, will be used forever in various media, and with a black MC it takes on even more depth, even in a meta way.

I'd like to add to the mix:

Diva Plavalaguna: undoubtedly the most orignal, and my favourite:






Then you have two in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica (compulsory viewing as a franchise if you've never seen it). First of all there's the repeated use - plotwise, too! - of Bob Dylan/Jimi Hendrix's All Along the Watchtower, which as a motif works supremely - even the remix by Bear McCreary's brother's group.

And then, one of the deepest things I've seen in Sci-Fi, is Felix Gaeta's lament (again from BSG) which I've even used choreographically (the OST version of the final season is even better!).

You can find that here:




and the full CD version




 (from about the 3 min mark the drama really gets intense!)

I'd also mention Farscape. I'm sure there must have been songs they parodied or used in that show. God knows it was surreal enough to do some real creative excellence with music. I can't recall any, tho. Maybe @Mouse can shed light?

Finally, in season two of _Fringe_, it's one of those madcap episodes the X-files does so well, where characters act completely differently. In this case - episode Brown Betty - it's a noir parody in which Lance Reddick, Anna Torv et al sing big show tunes.

Great thread.

pH


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## Mouse (Jan 4, 2019)

Phyrebrat said:


> I'd also mention Farscape. I'm sure there must have been songs they parodied or used in that show. God knows it was surreal enough to do some real creative excellence with music. I can't recall any, tho. Maybe @Mouse can shed light?



Only one I can think of off the top of my head is the Looney Toons inspired music in the Revenging Angel ep.

Farscape had some great music though. And I have the Fifth Element soundtrack.


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## M. Robert Gibson (Jan 4, 2019)

Phyrebrat said:


> Bob Dylan/Jimi Hendrix's All Along the Watchtower,


Talking of which, and I know this off-topic, but being a huge Hendrix fan I got goosebumps the first time I saw this scene from  Watchmen.


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## Vince W (Jan 4, 2019)

The Tech Noir scene in The Terminator.


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## Vince W (Jan 4, 2019)

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.


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## Dave (Jan 4, 2019)

That reminds me - Heavy Metal (1981) - not a great film, but great soundtrack.

Also, Donnie Darko (2001) - Director's Cut Cinema ReRelease - another great soundtrack.


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## Toby Frost (Jan 4, 2019)

I was thinking of music heard by characters in films (so actually playing) rather than soundtracks.

The _Starship Troopers_ music is tricky to track down because the lyrics have been changed: the original Bowie song is on his weird jazz-industrial concept album _Outside_.

Brian is right: music provides an evocative glimpse of future worlds. However, given that it's usually heard in clubs and bars, it tends to aspire to being either sophisticated or sleazy. It's true that classical music doesn't date: Captain Dallas listens to Mozart in _Alien_. Less classily, I've got this weird feeling that we overhear a convict in _Alien 3_ singing "In the year 2525" by Zager and Evans.

I can't remember if the doctored classical music in _A Clockwork Orange_ is actually what Alex is listening to,  whether it's the result of the drugs warping the original, or whether it's just the soundtrack. He does have some tiny dictaphone tapes containing entire symphonies, though. And of course, it gave us this gem:


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