“I Told Her on Alderaan” – Neon Neon
(Words/music: Bryan Holloran and Gruff Rhys, available on Stainless Style, Lex 2008)
One problem I have with many futuristic narratives is that far too often, these concepts aren’t innovative. I think many times we make the mistake of confusing “innovation” and “progress” with “futuristic” - just because something is flashier or incorporates more technology doesn’t make it an improvement over our current era. Sure, we might one day have hover cars like George Jetson, but he still faced problems with gridlock (not to mention the unspoken questions of fuel consumption or cost). Is it truly progressive if I still sit in traffic on my way to work? Still, it’s an understandable problem, as we build our concept of futuristic societies with the building blocks we have right now. Chances are, when “the future” comes, it will be different in unimaginable ways (even if human nature will largely be the same).
Music works in a similar way. When we describe something as “futuristic,” it almost exclusively refers to aesthetic qualities. “Futuristic” songs aren’t ones that push the boundaries of songwriting, production, or performance. Instead, the “futuristic” tag refers to how the music sounds on the surface – often sounding shiny and polished. Ironically, this “futuristic” sound relies heavily on an instrument often associated with the 1980s – the synthesizer. This makes sense on “I Told Her on Alderaan” – like the Star Wars reference in the title, the song creates a futuristic feel with elements from the past. While Star Wars took classic narratives and set them in a far off galaxy “a long time ago” even if it seemed futuristic to us. Neon Neon, a collaboration between Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys and producer Boom Bip (aka Brian Holloran), set out to create what Rhys dubbed “a bonkers disco record” inspired by the life and troubles of John DeLorean (designer of the car used in Back to the Future). The result, particularly on “Alderaan,” is a song that has the shiny feel of the future with classic parts. Rhys spins an enormously catchy melody in between’s layers of synthesizers and sound effects, and even the guitar has an icy tone. Even if most of the parts – the source material, the main musical choices, and the stylistic mode – come from the early 80s, Rhys and Halloran manage to turn these old parts into something that sounds vibrant years later. They may not have anticipated the future, but they managed to create something that becomes vibrant and relevant without having to rely solely on retro nostalgia.
More on Neon Neon: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm
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