# What's Your Favorite Piece of Music Associated With Sci-Fi/Fantasy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 23, 2013, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547 "2013-04-23T22:45:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547/21 "2013-04-24T02:12:53Z")
The score to Star Trek II makes a good movie great. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547/22 "2013-04-24T02:15:37Z")
Easy one. My two favorite movie soundtracks _regardless_ of genre are _Blade Runner (Vangelis)_ and _Alien (Goldsmith)_. third place goes to a Western: _Long Riders (Cooder, Lindley)_ ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547/23 "2013-04-24T02:17:53Z")
Another nice Williams piece is that for E.T. the Extraterrestial. ---
**Author:** ![Recusant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@Recusant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recusant)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547/24 "2013-04-24T02:47:05Z")
I’d nominate a good many of the bits from Babylon 5. It’s a show that you have to watch at least twice to really appreciate; it’s only when the plot doesn’t hold you that you appreciate how good the music is. One bit in particular, however, moved me when I first heard it, before I’d actually, technically, watched the show, the background music here: [Londo Mollari comments on the Earth-Minbari War - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeNBJ5o-b7s) The part I’m talking about kicks in at about a minute. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547/25 "2013-04-24T02:54:59Z")
I happen to like _Carmina Burana_ a lot, and I know it is overused, but the usage of _O Fortuna_ in \*Excaliber \*was excellent. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547/26 "2013-04-24T02:57:10Z")
Strauss Waltz, 2001 a Space Odyssey ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547/27 "2013-04-24T04:50:24Z")
The opening theme to the original “Total Recall” with Arnold. Runner-up is from “Superman,” but not the main theme, the haunting sequence as the \*\*Dome Of Justice! \*\* (or whatever) opens on Krypton , closing with the sound effect from **The Hula Hoops of Imprisonment!**. Third place, theme from High School of the Dead, a zombie-apocalpyse anime. A poem about loss and crying in the rain, set to speed-metal, but it’s catchy. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547/28 "2013-04-24T05:05:38Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > Strauss Waltz, 2001 a Space Odyssey The Blue Danube, to be precise. While “Also sprach Zarathustra” is great, the audacity of scoring the spacecraft scenes to a waltz takes it for me. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547/29 "2013-04-24T05:22:33Z")
i’ll second the music for _Homeworld_. it’s simply approriate, echoing the loss of your home and the feeling of desolation amidst the vastness of space. ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547/30 "2013-04-24T05:52:23Z")
My favorite is the Cliff Martinez soundtrack to the 2002 Steven Soderbergh remake of _Solaris_, especially the various interpretations of the central theme music, such as: [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nHO49QVQ9U&list=PL38CFFE9F294D35E3) and [also this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2DllLgz-9Q&list=PL38CFFE9F294D35E3). ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547/31 "2013-04-24T05:52:23Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > What? No mention yet of the closing music to [Silent Running](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ0JGjKYVdU)? Written by Peter Schickele, of all people. ---
**Author:** ![CorneaGenii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@CorneaGenii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CorneaGenii)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547/32 "2013-04-24T05:56:54Z")
There are so many scores and themes from sci-fi that I like, but the one I find myself listening to more often than others is **This Is Gallifrey: Our Childhood, Our Home** from the 3rd series of NuWho. I’d heard it first in the series, but when I saw a fan-made Doctor Who [video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUld2qcyNpw) on youtube by Seduff, it definitely became my favorite. Honorable mentions would be: - _I Am The Doctor_ and _Doctor Who XI_ (opening title music) from NuWho series 5 - _Enterprising Young Men_ from the Star Trek 2009 reboot - the score from the binary sunset sequence in Star Wars: A New Hope ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547/33 "2013-04-24T05:59:06Z")
“The Power of Seven” Halo theme. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547/34 "2013-04-24T06:15:44Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > “Also sprach Zarathustra” for 2001. I always expect to see Ric Flair “walk that aisle” when I hear that. Woooooo! ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547/35 "2013-04-24T06:26:48Z")
I really love “Princess Leia’s Theme” from the original _Star Wars_ and “Yoda’s Theme” from _The Empire Strikes Back_, both by John Williams, of course. I’m also partial to Wendy Carlos’ _Tron_ soundtrack and Vangelis’ work on _Blade Runner_. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547/36 "2013-04-24T06:30:03Z")
The only movie music that I’ve loved so much that I went out and bought the soundtrack was _Lord of the Rings_. All three of them. Awesome stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547/37 "2013-04-24T06:48:30Z")
Another great video game soundtrack - Mass Effect. Reminiscent of the NuWho soundtracks. [Suicide Mission](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVSsJzSK-H8)from Mass Effect 2. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547/38 "2013-04-24T07:42:50Z")
Has anything from Holst’s \*The Planets \*been used in a movie? ---
**Author:** ![Beastly\_Rotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@Beastly\_Rotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastly_Rotter)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547/39 "2013-04-24T07:43:55Z")
Barry Grey’s [Thunderbirds](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vpMy14XiBw) theme ought to be the planetary anthem of Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Agnostic\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Agnostic\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agnostic_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547/40 "2013-04-24T08:34:46Z")
[“Ok. 3 2 1. Let’s jam.”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6jCJZEFIto) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-piece-of-music-associated-with-sci-fi-fantasy/656547.md?page=3)