3 Sci-Fi Rock Songs From the 1970s That Sounded Like Fiction but Are Now Realer Than Ever

If you listened closely in the 1970s, you could hear the future. The songs, the lyrics—many of them were trying to tell you something. It was as if a select group of lyricists back then knew what was on the horizon.

And that’s just what we wanted to explore here. We wanted to remember three songs from the era that boasted real vision. Indeed, these are three sci-fi rock songs from the 1970s that sounded like fiction but are now realer than ever.

“The Robots” by Kraftwerk from ‘The Man-Machine’ (1978)

In the 1970s, the German musical group Kraftwerk put electronic music on the map. But at the same time, the band was quite self-aware about it. They wrote songs like this 1978 offering, “The Robot”, which was all about the blending of man and machine. Sound familiar? There are plenty of people blurring that line in real life today. While the song predicted 1980s movie plots like that of the film Robocop, it also highlighted future technological work done by scientists and developers all over the world. Staggering (and scary) stuff.

“Mothership Connection (Star Child)” by Parliament from ‘Mothership Connection’ (1975)

If one rockstar seems like he came from the future, it’s the great George Clinton. For an example of this, check out his 1975 song, “Mothership Connection (Star Child)”. The track sounds like it came straight from the celestial horizon. Perhaps it’s the stuff you hear in some shopping mall in the year 5026. It’s as if in 3,000 years, or so, this kind of music is normal, everyday. But when we hear it in our stereos in the 1900s and 2000s, it’s almost beyond our comprehension. It foretells of a future we start to pine for. Indeed, Parliament and Clinton know the way. Can we ride on their spaceship, too? Can we be citizens of the universe? Maybe one day…

“Welcome To The Machine” by Pink Floyd from ‘Wish You Were Here’ (1975)

When it comes to thoughts about the future, what’s the biggest worry? Well, it’s probably that technology will take over all of humanity and replace us. Sounds pretty bad, right? Well, we aren’t the first generation to think about such horrors. The British-born psychedelic rock group Pink Floyd was warning us about the idea decades ago. Just listen to the 1975 track, “Welcome To The Machine”. It explains everything.

Photo by Maurice Seymour/Kraftwerk/Getty Images