3.0
Strange Stars
ByPublisher Description
A Hugo Award-winning author and music journalist explores the weird and wild story of when rock ’n’ roll met the sci-fi world of the 1970s
As the 1960s drew to a close, and mankind trained its telescopes on other worlds, old conventions gave way to a new kind of hedonistic freedom that celebrated sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll. Derided as nerdy or dismissed as fluff, science fiction rarely gets credit for its catalyzing effect on this revolution.
In Strange Stars, Jason Heller recasts sci-fi and pop music as parallel cultural forces that depended on one another to expand the horizons of books, music, and out-of-this-world imagery.
In doing so, he presents a whole generation of revered musicians as the sci-fi-obsessed conjurers they really were: from Sun Ra lecturing on the black man in the cosmos, to Pink Floyd jamming live over the broadcast of the Apollo 11 moon landing; from a wave of Star Wars disco chart toppers and synthesiser-wielding post-punks, to Jimi Hendrix distilling the “purplish haze” he discovered in a pulp novel into psychedelic song. Of course, the whole scene was led by David Bowie, who hid in the balcony of a movie theater to watch 2001: A Space Odyssey, and came out a changed man…
If today’s culture of Comic Con fanatics, superhero blockbusters, and classic sci-fi reboots has us thinking that the nerds have won at last, Strange Stars brings to life an era of unparalleled and unearthly creativity—in magazines, novels, films, records, and concerts—to point out that the nerds have been winning all along.
As the 1960s drew to a close, and mankind trained its telescopes on other worlds, old conventions gave way to a new kind of hedonistic freedom that celebrated sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll. Derided as nerdy or dismissed as fluff, science fiction rarely gets credit for its catalyzing effect on this revolution.
In Strange Stars, Jason Heller recasts sci-fi and pop music as parallel cultural forces that depended on one another to expand the horizons of books, music, and out-of-this-world imagery.
In doing so, he presents a whole generation of revered musicians as the sci-fi-obsessed conjurers they really were: from Sun Ra lecturing on the black man in the cosmos, to Pink Floyd jamming live over the broadcast of the Apollo 11 moon landing; from a wave of Star Wars disco chart toppers and synthesiser-wielding post-punks, to Jimi Hendrix distilling the “purplish haze” he discovered in a pulp novel into psychedelic song. Of course, the whole scene was led by David Bowie, who hid in the balcony of a movie theater to watch 2001: A Space Odyssey, and came out a changed man…
If today’s culture of Comic Con fanatics, superhero blockbusters, and classic sci-fi reboots has us thinking that the nerds have won at last, Strange Stars brings to life an era of unparalleled and unearthly creativity—in magazines, novels, films, records, and concerts—to point out that the nerds have been winning all along.
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3.0
Tiffany
Created about 1 year agoShare
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marc towersap
Created about 4 years agoShare
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“as a fellow music fan and kinda former sci-fi fan, I did learn quite a bit! I own roughly half of the songs he mentioned, some of which I didn't really think about the lyrics, others, like hendrix's purple haze, didn't realize the sci-fi connection. Made me want to get more of the songs I don't have (hawkwind, sun ra, a jefferson starship (or airplane?) disk), and go buy/read the associated sci-fi authors. Already tried (and failed) to find the Philip Jose Farmer book behind Purple Haze (out-of-print, cheapest I could get would be imported from England), Delany, Zelazny, etc. And go dig up and re-read my copies of Moorcock's Elric series (although it seems more his Jerry Cornelius series was more mentioned, which I haven't read).
Thought the ending was a bit rushed though. It felt like I could have written this book, if I were more talented as a writer... but I am not! thank you Jason, spurred my curiousity into digging back into sci-fi and expanding my music horizons!”
Sophie
Created over 4 years agoShare
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Marcella McCann
Created over 4 years agoShare
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Kidudo
Created about 5 years agoShare
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