Monday, 10 June 2013

My Top Ten Time Travel Songs


Okay. Time circuit's on. Flux capacitor... fluxing. Engine running. All right!


10. Death In Vegas - Silver Time Machine

No, they didn't steal this from David Essex.

9. Busted - Year 3000

I like to think this blog will boldly go where other music blogs never go... Busted!
I've been to the year 3000
Not much has changed but they live underwater
And your great-great-great-great granddaughter is pretty fine...
Busted, of course, went on to spawn McFly... so extra marks for that, at least.

8. Uriah Heap - Traveller In Time

From an album called Demons & Wizards. You've got to love the 70s.

7. Grand Funk Railroad - Time Machine
Don't worry about tomorrow,
I'm gonna love you tonight
You old smoothie, you, Mr. Grand Funk.

6. Cher - If I Could Turn Back Time

Looking for a definition of the phrase "phallic imagery"? Look no further...

Also, you know that nightmare you have where you leave the house without your trousers and everyone is staring and pointing at you and eventually you get chased by a load of sailors...?

5. Robyn - Time Machine

Robyn's DeLorean needs only go in one direction. (And that will be the only time you hear those two words used together on this blog.)

4. The Blazing Zoos - Anywhere But Here

Today's the worst day of Andrew Mueller's life... except for yesterday. And he's not overly optimistic about tomorrow. His solution is to call up every science lab in town, looking for a time machine that he can borrow. You get the idea...

3. The Rocky Horror Picture Show Cast - The Time Warp

It's just a jump to the left.

2. Frank Turner - Time Machine

From the amazing new album, Tape Deck Heart... though you have to buy the Deluxe Edition to get this doozy...
I’m a gonna build myself a time machine
On particle physics and the power of steam
It runs on diesel oil and Donnie Darko daydreams...


Packed up, sat in my DeLorean
Like some kind of amateur historian
I’ll visit the Renaissance and the Romans, the Victorians
Drinking in Deadwood in the 1880s
Rock 'n roll and drive-thrus in the 1950s
Trying not to change things so the plot lines don’t get shifty...
1. Huey Lewis & The News - Back In Time 

Often overshadowed by that other Huey song from Back To The Future, this is the lesser-remembered track that plays out over the end credits. And if that sax intro doesn't take you back in time to 1985, 1.21 gigawatts isn't going to help you...
Tell me, doctor, where are we going this time
Is it the 50s - or 1999?
Ah, yes, remember when 1999 was in the distant future? 



Great Scott! Comments? Where we're going, we don't need comments...

But they're always appreciated. 

17 comments:

  1. Go on Rol, admit it, this top ten is just an excuse to revel in the glory of BTTF, isn't it? Don't worry though, you'll get no complaints from me on that score - quite the opposite, in fact.

    Speaking of which, bearing in mind the DeLorean's license plate, surely Out Of Time by Blur should get a passing nod, if only for completeness?

    And point of order, Mr Chairman - wasn't the David Essex track Death In Vegas didn't steal from called Silver Dream Machine? Can't be sure as it was my then-teenage sister who was the fan, and I won't Google it as I just don't want that in my search history....

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    1. Guilty as charged, milord. Yeah, Essex was a dream machine, but it was close enough to be an influence on the title of the DIV track, I'm sure.

      Too many Out Of Time songs... Blur's is but one many.

      Delete
    2. Maybe a whole "out of time" top ten is required?

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  2. Don't forget Nathalie Imbruglia's Counting Down the Days, which is as far as I can see, literally about having access to a time machine:

    "I want to travel through time - see your surprise..."

    As far as I'm concerned if anyone is going to dabble with the Space/Time Continuum, I can think of no-one more suitable than the Australian pop princess.

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    Replies
    1. Well, she certainly seems to have been lost in time!

      Delete
  3. Does your reference to a flux capacity refer to Back to the future? What does Dr Who use, surely there should be an honourable mention to his theme tune somewhere...

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    Replies
    1. I already did a Dr. Who tribute top ten a few years back - and to answer your question, Doctor in' The Tardis by the Time lords (KLF) would do the trick.

      Delete
  4. Killing Joke - Slipstream, which is about slipping the streams of time and memory. Honest.

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  5. My first thought was mu mu land, which was slightly disturbing and I had no idea why. Toddled off to read lyrics and got "Their voyage, the bottom of time" - I think it should be excluded on the grounds of crapness anyway.

    and then just when I thought it couldn't get anyworse http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaSZE194D4I

    you're welcome

    xD

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mu mu land stands head and shoulders above Pit bull. There was a song by the lead singer of Savage Garden about a time machine, but that was excluded for blandness.

      Delete
  6. I think Coldplays "The Scientist" should be added to the list...

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  7. How about "Enter Nucleon" ?
    song: http://youtu.be/tfaGEGVtNPk
    lyrics; http://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Factory_of_Dreams/Melotronical/292371
    For the whovians amongst us; almost sounds like the creation of a TARDIS

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  8. I want to travel through time - see your surprise. Used Mercedes E350 Cars For Sale

    ReplyDelete
  9. Check out STUCK IN BETWEEN by Jerry Chiappetta, Jr. of MAINFRAME at http://www.mainframe.band

    ReplyDelete