Music and Science Fiction
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Music and Science Fiction MUHl 588, Spring Semester 2014 F 11:00 am – 12:50 pm, MUS 102B 2.0 Units
Email: seannye@usc.edu Office Hours: 2-4 p.m. Thursday. 310 MUS.
[1] develop a critical history of “science fiction” as a genre designation in media and music. [2] address the history of multiple academic disciplines: science fiction studies, media studies, musicology, intermedial studies, and sound studies. [3] examine ekphrasis and intermediality in a science fiction context. [4] enrich our critical understanding of music, technology, and anthropology. [5] explore the roles that sound recording, broadcasting, and studio art have played in constructing “sonic fictions.” Required Texts: Books: Friedrich Kittler. Gramophone, Film, Typewriter Timothy D. Taylor. Strange Sounds: Music, Technology, and Culture Philip Hayward, ed. Off the Planet: Music, Sound and Science Fiction Cinema S. Alexander Reed. Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music Philip K. Dick. Radio Free Albemuth Philip K. Dick. VALIS Additional Resources: Science Fiction and Music Websites/Archival Research (a selection): Io9.com
eaton.ucr.edu depauw.edu/sfs/ blissout.blogspot.com discogs.com dancecult.net rocksbackpages.com thewire.co.uk
Ballard, J.G. Selected novels and short stories. Cope, Julian. Krautrocksampler. Denton, Bradley. Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede. Dick, Philip K. Selected novels and short stories. Disch, Thomas. On Wings of Song. Ellison, Harlan. Spider Kiss. Goonan, Kathleen Ann. Nanotech Quartet and In War Times. Lovecraft, H.P. “The Music of Erich Zann” and “The Whispherer in Darkness.” Eshun, Kodwo. More Brilliant Than the Sun: Adventures in Sonic Fiction. Miller, Paul D. aka. DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid. Rhythm Science. Reynolds, Simon. Energy Flash: A Journey thought Rave Music and Dance Culture. Sicko, Dan. Techno Rebels: The Renegades of Electro Funk. Toop, David. Ocean of Sound: Aether Talk, Ambient Sound, and Imaginary Worlds. Waldrop, Howard. Selected short fiction. William S. Burroughs. Selected writings. SCIENCE FICTION FILMOGRAPHY (a selection): Science Fiction Features Films (Music) Metropolis (1927) The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Godzilla (1954) Forbidden Planet (1956) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Planet of the Apes (1968) A Clockwork Orange (1971) Space is the Place (1974) The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) Star Wars (1977) Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) Alien (1979) E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) Tron (1982) Blade Runner (1982) Repo Man (1984) Akira (1988) The Fifth Element (1997) The Matrix (1999) Tron: Legacy (2010) Science Fiction and Music Documentaries: Modulations: History of Electronic Dance Music (Iara Lee, 1998) Krautrock: The Rebirth of Germany (BBC, 2009)) Kraftwerk and the Electronic Revolution (Chrome Dreams, 2008) High Tech Soul: The Creation of Techno Music (Plexifilm, 2006) The Last Angel of History (Icarus, 1996) J.G. Ballard (BBC, 1991) A Day in the Afterlife of Philip K. Dick (BBC, 1994) Pink Floyd: Behind the Wall (Sonia Anderson, 2011) David Bowie: The Story of Ziggy Stardust (BBC, 2012) Prog Rock Britannia (BBC, 2007) Synth Britannia (BBC, 2009) Selected Statements: It was like the drone of some loathsome, gigantic insect ponderously shaped into the articulate speech of an alien species, and I am perfectly certain that the organs producing it can have no resemblance to the vocal organs of man, or indeed to those of any of the mammalia. There were singularities of timbre, range, and overtones which placed this phenomenon wholly outside the spheres of humanity and earth-life. H.P. Lovecraft, “The Whisperer in Darkness,” 1939 “I think, Hamilton said, “that music is here to stay. The question is: how do we handle it? Operating a hi-fi rig is getting to be an art in itself. These sets we’ll be turning out will take as much skill to run as to build.” “I can see it now,” Laws said, grinning. “Slender young men sitting on the floors of their North Beach apartments, rapturously turning knobs and switches, as the incredibly authentic roar of freight engines, snowstorms, trucks unloading scrap iron and other recorded oddities thunder out.” Philip K. Dick, Eye in the Sky, 1957 We create out of the German language, the mother language, which is very mechanical, we use as the basic structure of our music. Also the machines, from the industries of Germany… We use tapes, prerecorded, and we play tapes, also in our performance… We don’t need a choir. We just turn the key, and there’s the choir. Kraftwerk, interview with Lester Bangs, 1975 I feel the science-fictional-enterprise is richer than the enterprise of mundane fiction. It is richer through its extended repertoire of sentences, its consequent greater range of possible incident, and through its more varied field of rhetorical and syntagmic organization. I feel it is richer in much the same way atonal music is richer than tonal, or abstract painting is richer than realistic. Samuel R. Delany, 1977 An ambience is defined as an atmosphere, or a surrounding influence: a tint. My intention is to produce original pieces ostensibly (but not exclusively) for particular times and situations with a view to building up a small but versatile catalogue of environmental music suited to a wide variety of moods and atmospheres. Brian Eno, liner notes to Music For Airports, 1978 I’ma pull out ya ears cuz I’m sick Traveling hard, I’ll off, another lunatic Smacking germs, eating bugs, biting mouse Roaches wonder why I’m traveling On to bell vue cuz I’m sick Traveling hard at the speed of thought. Ultramagnetic MCs, “Traveling at the Speed of Thought,” 1987. Sonic Fiction strands you in the present with no way of getting back to the 70s. Sonic Fiction is the first stage of a reentry program which grasps this very clearly. Sonic Fictions are part of modern music’s MythSystems. Moving through living space, real-world environments that are already alien. Kodwo Eshun, More Brilliant Than the Sun, 1998 Science fiction and music go together for me like… well, like Strayhorn and Ellington, like Rodgers and Hart, like B.B. King and Lucille, or Monk and his piano… To meld two major musical and literary ideas of the twentieth century, to portray human beings in a technological, if musical milieu, seems to me to be an interesting and almost inevitable enterprise. Kathleen Ann Goonan, 2000 Assessment and Assignments: Course Assessment (i.e., Grading): Letter Grades: A - Achievement that is excellent relative to the level necessary to meet requirements. B - Achievement that is good relative to the level necessary to meet requirements. C - Achievement that meets the course requirements in every respect. D - Achievement worthy of credit even though it fails to meet course requirements. F - Represents failure (or no credit) and signifies that the work was either (1) completed at a level of achievement that is not worthy of credit or (2) was not completed. Course participation (40%): Reading of articles, book chapters, and/or literary works will be assigned each week, along with listening assignments or film viewings (available in the Music Library). Each course session will focus on a single theoretical subject, course reading, or cultural object. Students are expected to come prepared each week and to bring all necessary materials to class; consistent and active participation in discussion is expected. Course readings that are not chapters from required books will be available on Blackboard. Essay (60%): Participants in “Music and Science Fiction” will complete one research essay (15-20 pages) over the course of the semester; the essay is due on the final day of class. Chicago or Modern Language Association (MLA) style should be used in formatting papers. The essay topic should be chosen only after consulting the instructor. The topic is intended to provide an opportunity for students to prepare either for a possible presentation at an academic conference or to engage fundamental issues related to their graduate research. In the case of the latter, the division of the essay into shorter assignments would be possible. Essay options will be discussed in class. For MLA style, see: http://libguides.usc.edu/content.php?pid=19123&sid=133048 See also the site on MLA style offered by Purdue University: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
Course Calendar: Overview
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