This is the first book to bring together the imagination and energy of rock music with its sources in mythology and science fiction. The mythological roots of classic rock music artists from David Bowie, the Jefferson Airplane, and Pink Floyd, to Rush, Blue Oyster Cult, and Iron Maiden are explored, along with the stories they tell and the critiques of contemporary society that their songs carry. Discover science fiction imagery, music that suggests the reaches of space, lyrics that draw upon mythic archetypes, and the mythical hero’s journey. Hear from mythologists and psychologists like Joseph Campbell, J.G. Frazier, Carl Jung, Mircea Eliade and others in an exploration of musical creativity. Memories of the progressive rock era of Yes, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, and Hawkwind meet with the mythological explorations of the precursors of heavy metal, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, and the exuberance of pop/ rock bands like ELO and the Alan Parsons Project. Rock listeners are invited to search new horizons with this unusual blend of musicology, literature, science fiction, and inquiry into the creative process.
