Laughing Lagomorph, for an answer to your question, go ask, Alice, I think she’ll know. 
But not the White Knight, it is talking backwards.
Sir Rhosis
Hookah smoking caterpillers are calling …
http://gunther.simplenet.com/v/data/whiterab.htm
Musically, it also steals the “one long rising creshendo” gimmick from Ravel’s “Bolero”.
Feed your head.
As a student of communications I’m ashamed it took me this long to remember that Roger Waters’ album Amused to Death was inspired by Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death.
Speaking of concept albums, didn’t The Alan Parsons Project have a War of the Worlds concept album?
The Byrds’ Turn, Turn, Turn, based on Ecclesiastes.
No, it was Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds with various artists. But you’re right about Alan Parson though, they did two literrary concept albums : Tales of Mystery and Imagination inspired by Edgar Allan Poe and I, Robot inspired by Isaac Asimov.
And kaylasdad99, The Byrds’ just reprised a Pete Seeger song (although they’re the one who made it famous).
Check.
Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit based on Alice in Wonderland (I didn’t see it mentioned, excuse me if I passed over it)
Metallica - One (based on Johnny Got His Gun)
Erek
Reaching a little here, but wasn’t Simon and Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson” written for the movie “The Graduate”, which was a book first?
Crash Test Dummies have a song named “Afternoons and Coffeespoons” (I think), which is based on “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.”
Metallica’s “The Thing That Should Not Be”–Lovecraft reference.
No. Actually, the song was written independantly of the movie in one of life’s little odd coincidences. The 2nd verse (Hid it in a hiding place where no one ever goes/Put it in the pantry with your cupcakes) refers to bottles or drugs, and Where have you done, Joe DiMaggio doesn’t tie in with the book at all.
According to an interview with Mark Knopfler in a recent issue of Acoustic Guitar, “Sailing to Philadelphia” on his new solo album was inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s Mason & Dixon.
Not only is the guy a hell of a picker, but he’s literate too!
Well, you may be right, but that would be an odd coincidence. I always thought the references to bottles or drugs in the song were not inconsistent with the character of Mrs. Robinson (I have seen the movie, and read the book at one point). Although we never see or hear about her using drugs (she does seem to like her liquor, though) she obviously isn’t a happy person and there could be substance abuse demons hiding in her closet/pantry. I agree, Joe DiMaggio doesn’t figure in the story at all. I have heard that Paul Simon actually wanted to refer to Mickey Mantle, but DiMaggio’s name fit better rhythmically.
Jimmy Buffet has a song called “Prince of Tides” on the album Hot Water that is inspired by the Pat Conroy novel of the same name. He also wrote an entire musical based on Herman Wolk’s Don’t Stop the Carnival. A couple of Buffett songs, most notably “Incomunicado” refer to Travis McGee, the protagonist John McDonnald’s series of novels. I’m sure he has other examples, but those are the first ones that come to mind.
It was my understanding that the song was written independantly, but that the name “Mrs. Robinson” was inserted into it for the movie.
Just remembered another one : Al Stewart’s Sirens of Titan, based on the Vonnegut book.
And wasn’t that just a sad, miserably depressing book? I almost felt suicidal after reading it, and I ended up just sitting in the dark all teary when I finished it. I wish I could find my copy and read it again.
Sad as it is, it’s a great book.
Yeesh. I can’t believe I forgot to mention “The Ballad Of Bilbo Baggins” by Leonard Nimoy.
That was based on…um…I forget. Something by Ray Bradbury, I think.
haha
Speaking of Ray Bradbury, his short-story The Rocket Man was the basis for Elton John’s Rocket Man.