EVAN@SU-CSLI.ARPA (07/15/85)
From: Evan Kirshenbaum <evan@SU-CSLI.ARPA> >I concur. And as an attempt to come up with a gap-bridging >conversation-starter, can anyone think of interesting examples of >written SF in which music played a dominant theme? Stories that come to mind immediately include: McCaffrey's ``Harper Hall'' trilogy (Dragonsong, -singer, and -drums) McCaffrey's ``The Ship Who Sang'' Stories which use music, but not as a dominant theme, include: Adams' Life,_the_Universe,_and_Everything [The Disaster Area concert] C. Smith's ``Under Old Earth'' [The congohelium] Anthony's _Macroscope_ [Ivo's flute] Without refering to my collection, that's all I can think of offhand. McCaffrey's the only author I know of who really uses music as an important part of the story. Evan Kirshenbaum ARPA: evan@SU-CSLI.ARPA UUCP: ..ucbvax!shasta!amadeus!evan -------
kdale@minet-vhn-em.arpa (07/17/85)
From: kdale@MINET-VHN-EM >I concur. And as an attempt to come up with a gap-bridging >conversation-starter, can anyone think of interesting examples of >written SF in which music played a dominant theme? One story that I haven't seen mentioned is: Cherryh's "Crystal Singer" (it *was* Cherryh, wasn't it?) That particular story struck a...a...(no, I will not make an obvious pun here!!)...anyway, I really liked it. Anyone have any comments about it?
mary@bunkerb.UUCP (Mary Shurtleff) (07/19/85)
> From: kdale@MINET-VHN-EM > > > >I concur. And as an attempt to come up with a gap-bridging > >conversation-starter, can anyone think of interesting examples of > >written SF in which music played a dominant theme? > > One story that I haven't seen mentioned is: > Cherryh's "Crystal Singer" (it *was* Cherryh, wasn't it?) > No, it was Anne McCaffrey, actually. Another example of musically-oriented SF is the short story "The Tunesmith", by Lloyd Biggle, Jr. It tells of a man named Erlin Baq who writes jingles for commercials which become popular for themselves. There's lots more to it than that, but it would take a while to describe. It's a very good story. M. Shurtleff ....decvax!ittatc!bunker!bunkerb!mary "Anyone for a jelly baby?"
slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) (07/19/85)
Has anyone mentioned "Armageddon Rag" yet? It has a playlist
of songs in the front of it that are supposed to be played as
you read the book.
--
Sue Brezden
Real World: Room 1B17 Net World: ihnp4!drutx!slb
AT&T Information Systems
11900 North Pecos
Westminster, Co. 80234
(303)538-3829
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your god may be dead, but mine aren't.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~pugh@topaz.ARPA (07/19/85)
From: "pugh jon%e.mfenet"@LLL-MFE.ARPA Although we never really heard it, can we forget the war prevention song entitled "Su Madre" from Lost Dorsai by Gordon Dickson? After all, it helped save the day. It took guts too, but he was a Dorsai after all. Jon Pugh
DAA@MIT-MC.ARPA (07/20/85)
From: David A. Adler <DAA@MIT-MC.ARPA>
I have been reading through the messages citing references to music in
SF and SF in music and was surprised that no one has mentioned the works
of Somtow Sucharitkul. Some of you might recall that his works were
discussed a couple of months ago.
Since Sucharitkul composed music before he wrote SF, there are many
musical themes intertwined in his SF (at least in the Inquestor
series). Music is very important to a couple of the characters in the
Inquestor series and in one instance an entire city is genetically
altered so their voices create perfect harmony as they walk through
the streets and chant.
In FIRE FROM THE WINE DARK SEA, a collection of his short stories,
Sucharitkul included the theme song he was asked to write for Isaac
Asimov's SF Magazine. There are also a couple of interviews in the
collection in which he describes his musical "career." Personally I
have not heard the composition, but was told from a friend that it is
rather amusing.
Sucharitkul footnotes the music and breaks the work down into several
themes, including: fanfare ("every march should have a nice grand
fanfare"), generalized superhero theme, exotic alien princess theme
("every space opera has one"), obligatory hordes of evil, conflict,
triumph, and a distant rumbling of evil forces ("the obligatory 'I
shall return' line that leaves room for a sequel").
The interview, by Darrell Schweitzer, works through the life an times
of Somtow Sucharitkul. Schweitzer asks Sucharitkul about hhis early
career, which includded composing both poetry and music at a fairly
you age (early teens) as well as the development of his writing and
his philosophy of writing. When asked if there was any relation
between his music and writing, Sucharitkul responded that he didn't
see any barrier between the two, but thought he was much better at
writing music since he had more practice at it and he thought it was
easier to write in the first place.
Another composer who has written some work for SF Movies and other work
with SF in mind is Wendy Carlos (formerly Walter Carlos of "Switched-On
Bach" recordings with a Mood synthesizer). Wendy wrote the soundtrack for
TRON and has since written DIGITAL MOONSCAPES featuring her interpretations
of several of the moons in our solar system, mainly those of Jupiter and
Saturn, but those of Mercury and Earth as well. She explains in the
commentary that comes with the recording that the work entitled "Europa"
has a hopeful ending: "beneath the cracked-ice surface there may be life
waiting to be thawed from its frozen prison as in Arthur C. Clarkes's
2010."
Carlos has moved away from the Moog synthesizer and is now using what
she calls the LSI Philharmonic (and yes, LSI stands for Large Scale
Integration). She uses the new synthesizer with a "library" or
recorded voives to create the music. It is quite interesting and I
highly recommend it for those of you who like digitally synthesized
music.
-David Adler
< Schweitzer: You could want the meaning of life.
Sucharitkul: It's in the dictionary. >DOLSON@USC-ECLB.ARPA (07/22/85)
From: Douglas M. Olson <dolson@USC-ECLB.ARPA> Several folks have mentioned the lyrics of the British group Hawkwind, but I haven't seen any mention of the SF story written by Michael Moorcock around the group! Moorcock himself appears as Moorlock the Acid Sorceror; the group faces some nasties and tries to save the world. Quite entertaining and more enthusiastic than much of his stuff. Oh, its called "The Time of the Hawklords" and was written with Michael Butterworth, C. 1976. Doug -------
mooremj@EGLIN-VAX (07/22/85)
From: mooremj@EGLIN-VAX
I'm surprised no one has mentioned "A Work of Art" by James Blish. It
concerns the revivification, as a scientific experiment, of the composer
Richard Strauss in the year 2161. The arts, especially music, are central
to the story. It is probably the best thing Blish ever wrote and one of the
most moving stories I have ever read. It was first published as "Art Work" in
the July '56 SF Stories; if you don't have a pile of 30-year-old magazines
around the house, it can be found in the Blish collections Galactic Cluster
and New Dreams This Morning, and in numerous anthologies.
marty moore (mooremj@eglin-vax.arpa)gdh@dcl-cs.UUCP (Gareth Husk) (07/22/85)
Yet more examples of music/ian being a dominant theme in an SF/F novel are :- (i) 'Piper at the Gates of Dawn' (Short story) (ii) 'The Road to Corley' Both are by Richard Cowper and are published by Pan in the UK. I think 'Piper...' is in a book called 'The Guardians' I'd appreciate help in finding a copy of this as I really enjoyed the story. Gareth. -- " I'm at the bottom of a deep , dark , hole looking up .... what does this remind me of ? ... oh yes ... LIFE . " Marvin (Your plastic pal who is fun to be with) the paranoid android. UUCP: ...!seismo!mcvax!ukc!dcl-cs!gdh DARPA: gdh%lancs.comp@ucl-cs | Post: University of Lancaster, JANET: gdh@uk.ac.lancs.comp | Department of Computing, Phone: +44 524 65201 ext 4146 | Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4YR, UK.
brust@hyper.UUCP (Steven Brust) (07/22/85)
> From: Evan Kirshenbaum <evan@SU-CSLI.ARPA> > > > Without refering to my collection, that's all I can think of offhand. > McCaffrey's the only author I know of who really uses music as an > important part of the story. > > Evan Kirshenbaum Llyod Biggle Jr's THE STILL SMALL VOICE OF TRUMPETS is one example, but nearly everything of Biggle's features music in one way or another. (Just in general, by the way, I like Biggle quite a bit.) -- SKZB
gdh@dcl-cs.UUCP (Gareth Husk) (07/23/85)
In article <331@dcl-cs.UUCP> gdh@dcl-cs.UUCP (Gareth Husk) writes: > >Both are by Richard Cowper and are published by Pan in the UK. >I think 'Piper...' is in a book called 'The Guardians' I'd >appreciate help in finding a copy of this as I really >enjoyed the story. > Okay I made a mistake and hopefully I can correct it before the net fills to overflowing. 'Piper at the Gates of Dawn' is in a book called 'The Custodians' ( Imean its virtually the same thing ). Gareth. -- " I'm at the bottom of a deep , dark , hole looking up .... what does this remind me of ? ... oh yes ... LIFE . " Marvin (Your plastic pal who is fun to be with) the paranoid android. UUCP: ...!seismo!mcvax!ukc!dcl-cs!gdh DARPA: gdh%lancs.comp@ucl-cs | Post: University of Lancaster, JANET: gdh@uk.ac.lancs.comp | Department of Computing, Phone: +44 524 65201 ext 4146 | Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4YR, UK.
dca@edison.UUCP (David C. Albrecht) (07/23/85)
>I concur. And as an attempt to come up with a gap-bridging >conversation-starter, can anyone think of interesting examples of >written SF in which music played a dominant theme? "Songmaster" by Orson Scott Card. David Albrecht General Electric
mae@aplvax.UUCP (Mary Anne Espenshade) (07/24/85)
On the topic of music in SF, I have a different sort of example -
the Japanese animated series Mospeada. The title of each of the 25
episodes includes a musical term or a reference to musical performance.
Some examples, with the musical reference marked -
1. *Prelude* to Attack
6. Young Girl *Blues*
7. *Ragtime* for a Dead Hero
9. Lost World *Fugue*
10. *Requiem* of the Battlefield
25. *Symphony* of Light
One of the main characters, Yellow Belmont, is a rock star and his
performances are used as cover for the resistance groups attacks
against the aliens who have invaded and control Earth.
Unfortunately, the cut up version of this show now being seen in
the U.S. as part of Robotech, along with episodes from the unrelated
shows Macross and Southern Cross, has entirely new titles and a new
sound track. Yellow's character was mostly cut out, since he performs
as a woman and frequently dresses and acts femininely - and you can't
allow that in a "children's" show. They even changed the character's
name, adding a line about Yellow being just a stage name.
Mary Anne Espenshade
...!{allegra, seismo}!umcp-cs!aplvax!maeroot@ncsc (07/24/85)
From: System Owner <root@ncsc> Didn't Crosby, Still, and Nash ( or C,S,N, and Young) do one called Wooden Ships, about the soldier/survivors of a future war? Also hasn't Neil Young done at least one solo on the same subject? Sorry I can't be more specific, but maybe that will jog someone's memory. My favorite science fiction album is a two-disc version of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds (titled War of the Worlds) with Richard Burton doing narration. Justin Hayward and David Essex are among the artists. There is a riveting piece titled Thunderchild and another called The Spirit of Man. The Martian's theme is appropriatly menacing. While I don't want to spoil the story I will say that playing the album is a Halloween tradition and is the focus of our "Find A Three-Day Weekend for August" movement. Jessie(ops@ncsc) -------
slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) (07/24/85)
Another trilogy that was music related--at least a harp
played a large part--was Patricia McKillip's Riddle Master
set. I remember Riddle Master of Hed, and Harpist in the Wind.
The other title escapes me. Is is Heir of Sea and Fire?
I am fond of this series because this was the first real
fantasy I ever read and enjoyed. I was always a hard SF
fan, from 10 years old, but except for Tolkien (who is really
in another league altogether) I had never read fantasy. My current
husband gave me this trilogy to read, and I got hooked.
What has this author done besides these? Has she had any
books out recently and are they as good?
--
Sue Brezden
Real World: Room 1B17 Net World: ihnp4!drutx!slb
AT&T Information Systems
11900 North Pecos
Westminster, Co. 80234
(303)538-3829
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your god may be dead, but mine aren't.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SCOYAZO@USC-ISIB.ARPA (07/24/85)
From: Sheila Coyazo <SCOYAZO@USC-ISIB.ARPA> Re music in sf stories and novels: Has anybody mentioned The Ship Who Sang? The author was a woman, but I can't remember who. Also, here's yet another I-remember-the-bones-of-a-story-but-not-the-title-or- author posting: I read a short story a few years ago about a guy who kept composing music that was being written at the time by somebody (or several somebodies) else. He was accused of plagiarism, and that's how he started to figure out what was happening. As I recall, in the end of the story he was happily composing the works of past masters (Mozart?). I'm not sure this qualifies as SF, although I seem to remember that it was included in an SF anthology of some sort. It might even have been in an sf magazine. Anybody know of this one? Please mail to me. -------
muffy@lll-crg.ARPA (Muffy Barkocy) (07/26/85)
Someone has already mentioned "The Singer Enigma" by Ann Maxwell. She has also written "Name of A Shadow" (a *wonderful* book) which has an unusual musical instrument, the sarsa, as a very important part of the story. In other arts, she has written "A Dead God Dancing" in which one of the characters is a member of a race famous for their dancing abilities. A book which is not so much SF, but by a person who also writes SF is "The Armageddon Rag" by George R. R. Martin, who also wrote the (SF) short story "A Song for Lya" (in the collection of the same name). Muffy
dca@edison.UUCP (David C. Albrecht) (07/26/85)
> > > Another trilogy that was music related--at least a harp > played a large part--was Patricia McKillip's Riddle Master > set. I remember Riddle Master of Hed, and Harpist in the Wind. > The other title escapes me. Is is Heir of Sea and Fire? > Yep! > What has this author done besides these? Has she had any > books out recently and are they as good? > The only other book that I know of by Patricia is "The Forgotten Beasts of Eld" and while not the same caliber as the Riddle of Stars trilogy it is certainly a reasonably good read. David Albrecht General Electric
becker@uiucdcsb.Uiuc.ARPA (07/27/85)
...a short story called "The Preserving Machine" by, I believe, Philip K. Dick, concerned two men who wanted to preserve the classics of music through what they felt was the coming fall of civilization. They had a device that would transform a musical score into an animal, which they then released into the nearby woods. The men figured that the music could survive in this way for future generations. Only problem is that the musical animals start to turn wild... Craig Becker ihnp4!uiucdcs!becker
Leban%hp-hulk.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa (07/28/85)
From: Bruce <Leban%hplabs.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa> > From: mooremj@EGLIN-VAX (marty moore) > I'm surprised no one has mentioned "A Work of Art" by James Blish. > It concerns the revivification, as a scientific experiment, of the > composer Richard Strauss in the year 2161. I just read the story "Gianni" by Robert Silverberg, reprinted in /The Conglomeroid Cocktail Party/. It's about the revivification, as a scientific experiment of the composer Gianni Pergolesi in the year 2008. Sound familiar? Well, yes and no. The story is quite different, although it starts out essentially the same. Since "A Work of Art" is much older, it seems likely Silverberg wrote this as a variation on that story. -------
nancy@MIT-HTVAX.ARPA (07/30/85)
From: nancy@MIT-HTVAX.ARPA
From: Sheila Coyazo <SCOYAZO@USC-ISIB.ARPA>
Re music in sf stories and novels:
Has anybody mentioned The Ship Who Sang? The author was a woman,
but I can't remember who.
It is yet another Anne McCaffery tale.
-Nancy Connor <nancy@mit-htvax.arpa>psc@lzwi.UUCP (Paul S. R. Chisholm) (07/31/85)
< I can use my magic to change the color to red -- but I don't do windows. > In article <1040@wucs.UUCP>, tp@wucs.UUCP (tom thumbs) writes: > --> speaking of sf & music, someone mentioned hints of "Lord of the > Rings" in Led Zeppelin... if memory serves me correctly, "Ramble On" > from Led Zep II had lines like "in the darkest depths of Mordor > [something] a girl so fair / but Gollum, [?] the evil one, crept up ^ I loved ^ > and slipped away with her..." and more things, enough so that while > in an altered state of consciousness, I had a mystic revelation about > the relationship between LZ II and LotR which didn't survive the > translation back to reality. > tom patterson ihnp4!wucs!tp (uucp) > and wherever fine toys are sold. << SPOILER WARNING - if you don't know how LORD OF THE RINGS ends! >> Y'know, it's funny. I heard those references to Mordor and Gollum in "Ramble On", too. Ever since, "Stairway to Heaven" (the last cut on the album) seemed to be telling the story of Saruman's trip west after the destruction of the Ring. (THE RETURN OF THE KING, Book Six, Chapter Six, "Many Partings"; pages 322-3 in my old Ballantine Books edition.) Saruman would have to be "the lady", so you can't interpret this too literally. -- -Paul S. R. Chisholm The above opinions are my own, {pegasus,vax135}!lzwi!psc not necessarily those of any {mtgzz,ihnp4}!lznv!psc telecommunications company. (*sigh* ihnp4!lzwi!psc does *NOT* work!!! Use above paths.) "It must be fast, and it must be red, and it must have windows."
afw@pucc-k (schlagenha) (08/01/85)
There has been much ado about Micheal Moorcock's (sp?) contributions to
Hawkwind of late. I think Moorcock is great, I don't know squat about
Hawkwind. However, on the topic of Moorcock's songwriting he is listed on
the credits of two Blue Oyster Cult songs, namely Veteran of the Psycic
Wars and Black Blade. Both of obvious science fiction-fantasy bent.
--
Mark Schlagenhauf
Purdue University
ihnp4!pur-ee!pucc-k!afwNORRIS@SRI-AI.ARPA (08/02/85)
From: NORRIS@SRI-AI.ARPA P. McKillip is one of my favorite authors. I met her at a local writing conference, and was surprised at how young she was. The first book I read by her was -The Forgotton Beasts of Eld- which is a WONDERFUL book. She said (I think) that she started to write this book for money, but the main character Sybil kind of "took over the book." She has also written a short book called -The Throme of the Erril of Sherril- (not sure of the spelling). This she wrote after taking a course in Middle English. It can sometimes be found in the children's section, as can her other books. When I met her, about 1980, she said that she was going to try to write some mainstream fiction. Aline Norris Baeck Norris@sri-ai.arpa P.S. Here is a list of her books according to Books in Print. Some have 2 versions, paperback or hardback. Enjoy! Moonflash ISBN: 0-425-08457-4 The Quest of the Riddlemaster ISBN: 0-345-26198-4 The Forgotten Beasts of Eld ISBN: 0-380-00480-1 Thm Oight Gift ISBN: 0-689-70470-4 The House on Parchment Street ISBN: 0-689-70451-8 The Forgotten Beasts of Eld ISBN: 0-425-06595-2 The Riddle-Master of Hed ISBN: 0-345-28881-5 Heir of Sea & Fire ISBN: 0-345-28882-3 Harpist in the Wind ISBN: 0-689-30687-3 The Throme of the Erril of Sherill ISBN: 0-689-30115-4 Stepping from the Shadows ISBN: 0-689-11211-4 The Riddle-Master of Hed ISBN: 0-689-30545-1 The Night Gift ISBN: 0-689-30508-7 Heir of Sea & Fire ISBN: 0-689-30606-7 The Forgotten Beasts of Eld ISBN: 0-689-30434-X Moon-Flash ISBN: 0-689-31049-8 Stepping from the Shadows ISBN: 0-425-07107-3 -------
bobg@cstvax.UUCP (Bob Gray ERCC) (08/02/85)
In article <2839@topaz.ARPA> DOLSON@USC-ECLB.ARPA writes: >From: Douglas M. Olson <dolson@USC-ECLB.ARPA> > > ... its called "The Time of the Hawklords" and was written >with Michael Butterworth, C. 1976. > >Doug This was the first volume in a planned trilogy. The second volume was published in 197{8,9} written by Moorcock on his own. It was called something like "The Queen of delerium". I have never heard of the third volume in the series. Does anyone out there know if it was ever published? Nine years is a long time to wait to find out what happens after the setting up for the sequel done in vol 2. BTW. I haven't seen any mention of the double album of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds" from about 1980 mentioned in this category. Bob Gray ERCC.
MLY.G.SHADES@MIT-OZ (08/04/85)
From: shades <MLY.G.SHADES%MIT-OZ@MIT-MC.ARPA>
i have been waiting and waiting but no one yet has mentioned 'the infinity
concerto' by greg bear. this is a fine book which uses a piece of music to
transport people to a darker land. read it and enjoy.
shades%mit-oz@mit-mc.arpatjb@warwick.UUCP (Tim Bissell) (08/06/85)
While we are discussing 'Ramble On' in LZII, I thought this little story might cast a bit of light on the lines "...Iloved a girl so fair/ but Gollum, the evil one/ crept up and slipped away with her..." Jimmy Page went to my school (the King's School Canterbury) some time in the Sixties, and was expelled from it after being caught (ahem) 'in flagrante delecto' with his girlfriend .. by a certain Mr. Gollop. So if you substitute Gollop for Gollum (I can't choose which on my record) the meaning becomes clear! From the fumbling digits of .... tImm Bi$sell
SIGEL%umass-cs.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa (08/07/85)
From: ANDREW SIGEL <SIGEL%umass-cs.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa> Another novel in which music plays an important role is A MIRROR FOR OBSERVERS by Edgar Pangborn. I highly recommend it, even though its near-future setting is, by now, past, and some of the speculations far from fulfilled.
kdale@minet-vhn-em.arpa (08/07/85)
From: Keith Dale <kdale@minet-vhn-em.arpa> At least when I goof up, I do it in a really big way: >>From: kdale @ MINET-VHN-EM >>One story that I haven't seen mentioned is: >>Cherryh's "Crystal Singer" (it *was* Cherryh, wasn't it?) From that innocent posting I received more hate mail, aspersions, and such than I would have believed possible. Just when I thought it was safe to show myself in public again, I got this zinger: >From: Paula_S._Sanch%Wayne-MTS%UMich-MTS.Mailnet@MULTICS.ARPA >May St. Patrick forgive you for the mortal insult to Erin. I will >struggle to do the same. I concede that McCaffrey may be a 'low >taste' writer, but she can at least imbue her characters with some >personality--something at which Cherryh fails utterly. I am abashed, chagrinned, and properly chastened. I will hereby reread everything that I have by Anne McCaffrey, get all that I don't have, appeal to St. Patrick for forgiveness (and to be cured of my lousy memory), and make a pilgrimage this year to the land of my grandfather (and grandmother, of course)! My apologies to all!! Keith M. Dale P.S. - One mystery is cleared up: I now know why I thought Cherryh was so damn good! Uh, oh...I think I just opened myself up to a new round of flaming...oh, well *sigh* ...
peter@baylor.UUCP (Peter da Silva) (08/12/85)
> >From: Paula_S._Sanch%Wayne-MTS%UMich-MTS.Mailnet@MULTICS.ARPA > >May St. Patrick forgive you for the mortal insult to Erin. I will > >struggle to do the same. I concede that McCaffrey may be a 'low > >taste' writer, but she can at least imbue her characters with some > >personality--something at which Cherryh fails utterly. Pyanfar Chanur has no personality? Tully has no personality? I'd watch out for 6' tall Michael Whelan cats if I were you... And McCaffrey isn't an irish name, is it? Sounds more scottish. I know she lives in Ireland but I thought that was because of the tax breaks for creative artists. And gee, on the local bulletin boards we just had a discussion about how bad her male characters are. They all talk like a '50s western. I like her stuff, but to compare Cherryh unfavorably with her? Ick. -- Peter da Silva (the mad Australian) UUCP: ...!shell!neuro1!{hyd-ptd,baylor,datafac}!peter MCI: PDASILVA; CIS: 70216,1076