Songs that scratch the same itch as "Don't Pay The Ferryman" & others
January 1, 2021 8:23 AM Subscribe
Looking for songs that scratch the same itch as "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" & "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" by Blue Oyster Cult, "Don't Pay The Ferryman" by Chris de Burgh, "Space Oddity" by David Bowie, and "Major Tom (Coming Home)" by Peter Schilling.
Not sure how to categorize these songs, exactly but they all (to me, at least) have a similar vibe where they tell a story and have a sci-fi or fantasy vibe, and have solid hooks. I remember being really excited when these came on the radio or MTV back in the day, and would love to find more songs that hit the same.
Especially interested in more current music, if any, that has a similar vibe.
Not sure how to categorize these songs, exactly but they all (to me, at least) have a similar vibe where they tell a story and have a sci-fi or fantasy vibe, and have solid hooks. I remember being really excited when these came on the radio or MTV back in the day, and would love to find more songs that hit the same.
Especially interested in more current music, if any, that has a similar vibe.
Lorelei by the Pogues might hit that spot. (The Lorelei were like Sirens, singing men to their death, if anyone is unfamiliar with their legend.)
posted by mark k at 8:42 AM on January 1, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by mark k at 8:42 AM on January 1, 2021 [3 favorites]
Might not be rock/operatic enough, but for "tell a story and have a sci-fi or fantasy vibe, and have solid hooks," you might like Jonathan Coulton's Re: Your Brains and Still Alive ?
posted by Mchelly at 9:14 AM on January 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Mchelly at 9:14 AM on January 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
You might dig into The Decemberists. They do like epic story songs. Here's The Mariner's Revenge.
posted by booth at 9:14 AM on January 1, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by booth at 9:14 AM on January 1, 2021 [3 favorites]
Uriah Heep frequently dips into narrative songwriting (Lady in Black) with a frequently fantastical bent (The Wizard)
Big Business' "Grounds for Divorce" is framed as people telling stories of another mysterious accursed figure.
The Sword has many tracks about epic legend like "Barael's Blade"
posted by FatherDagon at 9:39 AM on January 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
Big Business' "Grounds for Divorce" is framed as people telling stories of another mysterious accursed figure.
The Sword has many tracks about epic legend like "Barael's Blade"
posted by FatherDagon at 9:39 AM on January 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
The turn of a friendly card by Alan Parsons Project
posted by mani at 9:44 AM on January 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by mani at 9:44 AM on January 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
Hällas are a modern band that write songs with a hooky, 70's rock, sci-fi vibe. Try Star Rider.
Hawkwind may also fit the bill. They have an enormous discography of psychedelic rock to dip into. Try The Psychedelic Warlords.
posted by apparatchik at 9:47 AM on January 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
Hawkwind may also fit the bill. They have an enormous discography of psychedelic rock to dip into. Try The Psychedelic Warlords.
posted by apparatchik at 9:47 AM on January 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
It’s a horror vibe rather than a sci fi/fantasy vibe, but Murder Ballads by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is full of hooky, atmospheric story-songs. Standouts are the portentous and terrifying “Song of Joy,” the rollicking and cheerfully gruesome “The Curse of Millhaven,” and the epically long over-the-top bloodbath “O’Malley’s Bar.”
posted by ejs at 9:57 AM on January 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by ejs at 9:57 AM on January 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm a fan of many of the songs and artists you and others have mentioned, and I really like Janelle Monae's sf-themed albums such as The Archandroid and Metropolis, and clipping.'s Splendor & Misery. Very different musical genres from most of what's been mentioned, but all have strong storytelling, sf elements, and hooks.
Examples: "Many Moons", "Long Way Away"
posted by wintersweet at 10:35 AM on January 1, 2021 [4 favorites]
Examples: "Many Moons", "Long Way Away"
posted by wintersweet at 10:35 AM on January 1, 2021 [4 favorites]
rush has so much sci-fi narrative: 2112, red barchetta, cygnus-x1...but the style is distant from your examples.
posted by j_curiouser at 10:41 AM on January 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by j_curiouser at 10:41 AM on January 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
Late Pixies and early Frank Black solo stuff had lots of sci-fi/alien themes, like "Motorway to Roswell" and "The Happening"
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:13 AM on January 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:13 AM on January 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
Blitzen Trapper's 'Furr' might could do. Or the D.
posted by troywestfield at 11:31 AM on January 1, 2021
posted by troywestfield at 11:31 AM on January 1, 2021
About the same time as the Blue Oyster Cult songs you mention was sorta-progressive rock Angel (label mates to KISS and Donna Summer). Try The Fortune or Tower.
posted by a person of few words at 12:54 PM on January 1, 2021
posted by a person of few words at 12:54 PM on January 1, 2021
there's lots of vintage prog-rock with decent hooks + sci-fi story-songs (sometimes layered under bombastic arrangements)
reiterate for Hawkwind & Uriah Heep (under-rated with some very catchy riffs)
also note:
The Moody Blues - Have You Heard?
Procul Harum - Conquistador
Emerson Lake & Palmer - Karn Evil 9
Yes - Relayer
Led Zeppelin - Battle of Evermore
posted by ovvl at 2:27 PM on January 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
reiterate for Hawkwind & Uriah Heep (under-rated with some very catchy riffs)
also note:
The Moody Blues - Have You Heard?
Procul Harum - Conquistador
Emerson Lake & Palmer - Karn Evil 9
Yes - Relayer
Led Zeppelin - Battle of Evermore
posted by ovvl at 2:27 PM on January 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
Genesis - Home by the Sea
Queen - '39 (a sci-fi tale, but as a folk song)
posted by kimota at 2:39 PM on January 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
Queen - '39 (a sci-fi tale, but as a folk song)
posted by kimota at 2:39 PM on January 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
I found a flea market vinyl copy of War of the Worlds. If you want to go all in, it’s various rock/orchestral songs interspersed with the text from the novel.
posted by freecellwizard at 2:59 PM on January 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by freecellwizard at 2:59 PM on January 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
Kate Bush – Experiment IV
A chilling song about a military experiment to create a sound that can kill. The linked video shows it does not go well.
posted by ejs at 4:03 PM on January 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
A chilling song about a military experiment to create a sound that can kill. The linked video shows it does not go well.
posted by ejs at 4:03 PM on January 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
Highwayman by the Highwaymen, recently reworked as Highwomen by the Highwomen
posted by sigmagalator at 5:54 PM on January 1, 2021
posted by sigmagalator at 5:54 PM on January 1, 2021
tell a story and have a sci-fi or fantasy vibe, and have solid hooks
Iron Man and Electric Funeral, both by Black Sabbath
posted by obscure simpsons reference at 6:20 PM on January 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
Iron Man and Electric Funeral, both by Black Sabbath
posted by obscure simpsons reference at 6:20 PM on January 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
Oh, and I'm partial to SHEL's performance of The Battle of Evermore.
posted by adventitious at 6:20 PM on January 1, 2021
posted by adventitious at 6:20 PM on January 1, 2021
Joanna Newsom - Waltz of the 101st Lightborne
posted by valrus at 7:00 PM on January 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by valrus at 7:00 PM on January 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
Queen - '39 (a sci-fi tale, but as a folk song)
I came to recommend 39, too. It is a skiffle song about relativistic time dilation. That's what you get when your guitarist is an astrophysicist.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 8:39 PM on January 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
I came to recommend 39, too. It is a skiffle song about relativistic time dilation. That's what you get when your guitarist is an astrophysicist.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 8:39 PM on January 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
On phone at mo so links difficult but Alan Parsons Project might hit the spot.
posted by unearthed at 12:03 AM on January 2, 2021
posted by unearthed at 12:03 AM on January 2, 2021
Two members of Steeleye Span recorded a concept album adapting Dunsany’s The King of Elfland’s Daughter.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 1:08 AM on January 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 1:08 AM on January 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
San Francisco B.C. by Silver Jews
posted by parmanparman at 4:23 AM on January 2, 2021
posted by parmanparman at 4:23 AM on January 2, 2021
Dragonforce is more speed metal than prog rock, but they have some amazing songs about fantasy, sci-fi and video games
posted by Jacen at 2:06 PM on January 2, 2021
posted by Jacen at 2:06 PM on January 2, 2021
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On Soft Bulletin:
Race for the Prize
The Spark That Bled
Waitin' for a Superman
Suddenly Everything Has Changed
On Yoshimi:
Fight Test
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1
Do You Realize?
All We Have Is Now
Next 2 albums were At War with the Mystics and Embryonic, which still have some of that vibe but aren't necessarily as poppy.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:41 AM on January 1, 2021 [5 favorites]