On The Death of a Science Fiction Icon: A Celebration of David Bowie’s Life and Legacy

One of the greats is gone: David Bowie died on January 10, 2016. He left behind a legacy of brilliant music, groundbreaking films, and enormous contributions to the fields of science fiction and fantasy.

From his breakout hit “A Space Oddity” to his iconic concept album and persona Ziggy Stardust, and on to his Orwell-inspired masterpiece “Diamond Dogs” and beyond, his musical career, spanning nearly 50 years, defined science fiction rock and roll.

His acting performances – in “Labyrinth”, “The Man Who Fell to Earth”, “The Hunger”, “The Image”, and “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” (to name but a few) – mirrored the ethereal nature of his cosmic rock.

And the field of science fiction and fantasy returned the favor: as Smithsonian Magazine explains, Bowie inspired a number of characters in the genre we love so well.

In the Sandman comic book series, writer Neil Gaiman specifically based the character of Lucifer on the singer, while Batman scribe Grant Morrison later admitted to basing his version of the Joker on Bowie’s ’80s persona… Recently, the television series The Venture Brothers cast the leader of a massive super organization of super villains as a shapeshifter so inspired by Bowie that he took on the singer’s appearance.

Read more

Tricky Pixie in Concert

Tricky PixieOne of the Guests of Honor at Renovation is the musical trio, Tricky Pixie. I attended their concert performance Wednesday evening. Now, I have to admit that I didn’t know anything about them, other than that they do a kind of Celtic folk rock. And to be honest, I was expecting some kind of frou-frou Renaissance Faire music, of the sort that would lead to me slipping out quietly after 15 minutes or so. I’m happy to report that my expectations were dashed. The band was really fun, with an exceptionally energetic and engaging stage presence. You can tell when performers are having a great time on stage, and these were—and the crowd responded in kind.

They describe themselves as:

An adventurous gypsy celtic folk rock trio, unleashed from the land of Fae. These wild and masterful performers are raw entertainment. Expect more than just music, they’ll take you on a ride down the twilight roads.

You can check out this sample of their music:

Tricky Pixie

Taglio!
Tricky Pixie

Featured Question: Why Do We Hear Leia’s Theme During Kenobi’s Death

[This post is based on our Question of the Week #1!  Periodically, we’ll feature questions (and their answers) that demonstrate the type of question that we’re extremely interested in having on scifi.stackexchange.com.  These questions aren’t just well asked (and answered), but are interesting and worth reading even if you’re not familiar with the work.]

 

Adrian Petrescu asked “Why do we hear Leia’s Theme during Kenobi’s death?“, referring, of course, to the death of Obi-Wan ‘Ben’ Kenobi in the classic Star Wars (or less-classic Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope).  For those that haven’t seen Star Wars, my apologies for the spoiler (and go watch them all, in whatever order you prefer).

During the film, the composer, John Williams, uses several musical themes (the “Force theme”, “Luke’s theme”, an “Imperial theme”).  When Kenobi is killed, when any of those themes would seem appropriate, Williams (and/or possibly Lucas) chooses to play “Leia’s theme” instead, even though there is little connection (especially as known at this stage) between the two characters.

Adrian posits a theory from his music professor:

Kenobi has taken on a paternal role for Luke and so Williams is co-opting Leia’s “feminine” familial theme for the entire Skywalker family, thereby foreshadowing that entire connection.

However, Adrian is doubtful that Williams knew about the familial connection at this time, and so whether he could have been foreshadowing it.

DVK‘s excellent answer references Michael Matessino‘s liner notes on RCA release of “Star Wars: A New Hope: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack“:

Interestingly, Williams uses Princess Leia’s theme at the moment Ben vanishes, deferring to the purely musical effectiveness of the sweeping melody over any apparent thematic relevance, although the theme does reinforce the connection between the Princess and the old Jedi suggested by her holographic message.

In other words, Kenobi’s connection to Leia in Episode IV, as far as Williams knew, was not via Luke, but via her father, Senator Bail Organa (“… years ago, you served my father in the clone wars”).  DVK also clarifies that Williams could not have known about the Luke & Leia family connection at this time.

%d bloggers like this: