Hit Pop Songs with Sci-Fi Connections

The organic nature of popular culture grows and intertwines within many different artistic elements. Films, books, TV, comic books, along with pop music feed into one another so much, that it's often hard to see where one begins and ends. Science Fiction like Star Trek and Star Wars can act as a prime directive focus for pop culture's pop music. Here's a few famous examples of sci-fi focused music.

Heart & Soul - T'Pau - Vulcan Priestess - Star Trek

In the Star Trek universe, Spock (Leonard Nimoy) has a hard time expressing his heart and soul, so it's both fitting and ironic to have a Spock sci-fi connection to this pop band. Being both Vulcan and human, Spock's emotional health isn't always stable. Of course, if Dr. McCoy pressed the issue, the Enterprise's science officer would probably deny having any emotions at all.

British music group T'Pau took their name from one of Vulcan's most respected leaders. T'Pau was a kind of philosophical and spiritual guru. Her family was highly politically connected. In the original Star Trek episode, Amok Time, T'Pau presides over a ritual which sees Captain Kirk and Spock fight to the death over the lovely, but treacherous T'Pring. T'Pau the UK band scored their big hit Heart and Soul in 1987, after being played in a U.S. TV ad for blue jeans.

Pure Energy - Spock - Star Trek

What is it about pop music and Vulcans? There must be something potent, because here's another big pop music hit featuring Mr. Spock from Star Trek.

In 1988, Information Society scored a number three pop chart hit with this wildly infectious dance song. Both the title, and song refrain, come from an audio sample of Leonard Nimoy as Spock in the original Star Trek tale Errand of Mercy. The story sees Captain Kirk tangle with Klingons on an alien world - Organia. Much to the surprise of the Enterprise crew, the planet's inhabitants turn out not to be simple, even primitive humanoids, but entities composed of 'pure energy'. During the episode, Spock takes a reading with his trusty tricorder and memorably intones the phrase. Energetic superstar of illusion, magician David Copperfield himself, occasionally plays this song during his magic shows.

Nerfherder - Star Wars

The force is strong with this American pop group, who took their name from Star Wars.

Perhaps best known for composing the main theme music for the sci-fi, comedy horror TV show Buffy: The Vampire Slayer (Sarah Michelle Gellar) created by Joss Whedon, the Santa Barbara based group is a pop punk tinged quartet. In the 2^nd Star Wars chapter, The Empire Strikes Back, Princess Leia shoots off this line, "Why you stuck-up, half witted, scruffy looking nerf herder!" to an amorous Han Solo. It begs the question: What exactly are nerfs? Are they little squishy sponge ball like creatures? According to the Star Wars wiki, the Wookieepedia, they're large furry creatures resembling Bison.

99 Luft Balloons - 99 Red Balloons - Captain Kirk - Star Trek

With an ego as big as Captain Kirk's, (William Shatner) he can't let his Vulcan first officer Spock have all the pop music fun. German singer Nena, also the name of her band, released this protest song in 1983, which made reference to Star Trek's intrepid starship Captain.

Now that James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) has been reinvented as a young space explorer, a new generation can follow new adventures. They can see where Kirk came from, and listen to this powerful 1980's pop song about '99 Luft Balloons'. The English translation from German means 99 Toy Balloons, and conceptualizes a global super power war started over toy balloons floating in the air. The actual Kirk reference in the lyric is: 99 Knights of the air. Ride super-high-tech jet fighters. Everyone's a superhero. Everyone's a Captain Kirk. With orders to identify. To clarify and classify. Scramble in the summer sky. As 99 red balloons go by.

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99_Luftballons

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Nerf_herder

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Society_(band)