Exploring science fiction in song

Hawkwind's "Hall of the Mountain Grill": It doesn't get spacier than this.

Hawkwind's "Hall of the Mountain Grill": It doesn't get spacier than this.

Heard a fun story on NPR on the commute home last night.

Reporter Chris Boros used NASA’s recent discovery of water on the moon as an opportunity to delve into an exploration of science fiction in popular song. Just so you know, it dates back to a 1905 ditty called “Come Take a Trip in My Airship” (the first steampunk song, perhaps?). He also takes a look at flying saucers popping up in hillbilly music and in ’50s novelty records and briefly mentions the filk phenomenon and S.F. themes in ’70s prog rock.

Sadly, he missed an opportunity to mention Hawkwind, the penultimate space rock band, and to explore some of the trippier musical excursions into the stars (Gong, anyone?). Still, I can’t complain when NPR does a pretty good job mashup of two of my favorite subjects.