Prime 30 Songs About UFOs

The house race and rock ‘n’ roll launched on the identical time, so it is maybe no shock artists have seemed to the skies for inspiration.

We’re celebrating that lifelong reference to this record of the Prime 30 Songs About UFOs.

Some tunes centered on rocket males and house cowboys, whereas others ruminated on the thought of aliens invading earth’s orbit. Early rock hits akin to Sheb Wooley’s “The Purple Individuals Eater” went the route of the novelty music, whereas classic-rock artists wrote about UFOs in a grander context (and even named themselves after these unexplained spacecraft).

We check out the Prime 30 Songs About UFOs under.

30. Pixies, “The Occurring”
From: Bossanova (1990)

The place’s the primary metropolis you’d wish to go to on Earth? In “The Occurring,” Pixies frontman Black Francis imagines that the aliens have chosen Las Vegas. He vividly describes the pandemonium that ensues, as emergency CB transmissions unfold the information and automobiles fill unexpectedly wet desert highways to get their glimpse of our otherworldly guests. (Matthew Wilkening)

29. Fleetwood Mac, “Hypnotized”
From: Thriller to Me (1973)

Even the jazzy chords in Fleetwood Mac’s “Hypnotized,” written and sung by Bob Welch, fire up eerie emotions. Issues begin innocently sufficient — two pals are merely having espresso collectively when one thing goes by exterior the window. Welch then recollects another unusual tales: a pond in North Carolina with sides like glass, a spot in Mexico the place folks can fly about at will with none aircraft or engine. (The primary of those examples is predicated on a real-life “anomalous despair,” as Welch instructed Songfacts in 2012, close to Winston-Salem {that a} buddy had instructed him about. The second refers to a personality in a Carlos Castaneda e-book, Don Juan the Yaqui Indian “sorcerer.”) In the end, Welch decides the one factor extra curious than a UFO itself is the tales we make up about them, “as a result of there is not any explaining what your creativeness could make you see and really feel.” (Allison Rapp)

28. Sheb Wooley, “The Purple Individuals Eater”
From: Single (1958)

Impressed by the joke a buddy’s baby instructed, Sheb Wooley reportedly wrote this light-hearted, chart-topping monitor about an alien invasion in lower than an hour. “The Purple Individuals Eater” has gone on to turn into one of the vital well-known novelty songs of all time, and its title was adopted because the nickname for the Minnesota Vikings’ famed ’70s line of defense. The “one-eyed, one-horned” flying monster described within the music is right here to get a job in a rock ‘n roll band, to not devour anyone. That is fortunate for him since there aren’t many purple-hued folks right here on Earth. (Wilkening)

27. Rob Zombie, “Nicely, All people’s Fucking in a U.F.O.”
From: The Electrical Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser (2016)

Be careful for warp-speed whiplash as we bounce from essentially the most kid-friendly music on our UFO songs record to the one with essentially the most NSFW lyrics. In Rob Zombie’s foul-mouthed invasion story, the aliens are on the lookout for intercourse along with large-scale destruction, they usually’re fortunate sufficient to have discovered the right social gathering host. (Wilkening)

26. Foreigner, “Starrider”
From: Foreigner (1977)

“Starrider” is a curious pay attention which sounds extra like a music that the Moody Blues may need crafted than a Foreigner music. It opens with a fragile flute half, performed by ex-King Crimson alum Ian McDonald, who had been drafted into the Foreigner ranks. In one other curveball, guitarist Mick Jones takes the lead vocal as an alternative of Lou Gramm. However as “Starrider” retains climbing larger and better, Gramm steps in on the climax with an appropriately epic vocal half. “Pace growing, all management is within the arms of those that know / Will they assist us develop, to at some point be starriders?” The cosmic story shortly turned a stay standout as soon as they hit the street in 1977. (Matt Wardlaw)

25. Ramones, “Zero Zero UFO”
From: Mind Drain (1989)

Dee Dee Ramone co-wrote a few paranormal punk tunes for his final Ramones album: “Pet Semetary” (written in live performance with the film’s launch) and “Zero Zero UFO.” Joey Ramone growls the lyrics a couple of man in Idaho who witnesses the touchdown of an alien spacecraft that “didn’t appear like it got here from Japan.” A wierd man approaches him, however we’re not instructed a lot about what occurs after that, besides that most people isn’t prone to consider tall tales instructed by potato farmers. (Bryan Wawzenek)

24. Pink Floyd, “Let There Be Extra Gentle”
From: A Saucerful of Secrets and techniques (1968)

There isn’t any terror or dread to be present in Roger Waters’ story of a UFO’s first go to to a navy base, simply marvel and enlightenment. The opening monitor from Pink Floyd’s sophomore album borrows a personality from the Beatles as “Lucy within the Sky,” dazzling in flowing robes, is the being revealed as soon as the outer lock of the mighty ship is rolled open to the amazement of the gathered servicemen. (Wilkening)

23. Brownsville Station, “The Martian Boogie”
From: Brownsville Station (1977)

If “Smokin’ within the Boys Room” is the one music you recognize by Brownsville Station, you’re in for an actual journey with “The Martian Boogie.” The B-movie sci-fi story that unfolds throughout seven minutes, expertly narrated by vocalist Cub Koda, is absolute lunar perfection in its execution. Koda and the Martian have an unforgettable assembly in a late-night diner. The alien has arrived within the unnamed city, it appears as a result of he was instructed it was the boogie capital of the united statesA. Brownsville Station allegedly recorded it in a single take, they usually have been satisfied that they had the music which might turn into their largest hit since “Smokin’.” That didn’t occur, nevertheless it stays an enchanting novelty of their catalog. (Wardlaw)

22. Judas Priest, “Invader”
From: Stained Class (1978)

Judas Priest continued refining and streamlining their anthemic heavy-metal assault on Stained Class, however the album nonetheless featured a number of moments of progressive, sci-fi grandeur that categorized their early output. See: “Invader,” a cinematic story of extraterrestrial guests launching an offensive blitz towards an unsuspecting Earth. Rob Halford’s uncharacteristically subdued vocal permits the suspense to construct throughout every verse, whereas Glenn Tipton evokes dueling laser beams together with his hovering guitar solo. Judas Priest’s lyrical M.O. of fine triumphing over evil stays intact on “Invader,” as Halford declares, “We cannot give in with no combat, a combat till the tip.” (Bryan Rolli)

21. Porno for Pyros, “Pets”
From: Porno for Pyros (1993)

Porno for Pyros frontman Perry Farrell is greater than able to roll out the welcome mat for any conquering alien forces who want to take over the Earth. “My buddy says we’re just like the dinosaurs, solely we’re doing ourselves in a lot sooner than they ever did,” he laments on the primary single from his post-Jane’s Dependancy band Porno for Pyros. His resolution is straightforward: Let anyone else run issues. “Possibly Martians may do higher than we have achieved. We’ll make nice pets.” (Wilkening)

20. Misfits, “I Turned Right into a Martian”
From: Stroll Amongst Us (1982)

The duvet of Stroll Amongst Us, the Misfits’ debut album, exhibits the horror-punk pioneers standing in entrance of the UFOs from 1956’s Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers and the Martian Bat-Rat-Spider from 1959’s The Offended Purple Planet. The LP inside is a 25-minute tour de pressure of B-movie carnage, off-the-rails riffing and gang-vocal choruses and practically all of its songs can be proper at dwelling on this record. “I Turned Right into a Martian” is without doubt one of the grisliest of the bunch, a breathlessly catchy blitzkrieg about an earthling who’s possessed by an alien invader and develops an insatiable thirst for homicide. “Cannot even recall my identify – will not you inform me, what the fuck is my identify?” Glenn Danzig wails, however one will get the sense that he is having fun with his rampage an excessive amount of to care. (Rolli)

19. Elton John, “I’ve Seen the Saucers”
From: Caribou (1974)

Elton John and his co-conspirator Bernie Taupin aren’t any strangers to space-based songs. On the mid-tempo rocker that opens Facet 2 of Caribou, John sings in regards to the pleasure of a real believer who’s taken aboard a UFO. Dealing with the large scope of the universe, the house traveler shortly will get homesick (identical to the “Rocket Man”) and prays to return to Earth quickly: “Possibly if I promise to not say a phrase, they will get me again earlier than the morning mild.” (Wawzenek)

18. Sammy Hagar, “Silver Lights”
From: 9 on a Ten Scale (1976)

Sammy Hagar has been obsessive about unexplained phenomena for many years, writing a number of songs (akin to this one, from his solo debut) in regards to the universe and the opposite life kinds that will exist in it. “Silver Lights” describes a gaggle of alien beings that visited Earth, then whisked a few of the inhabitants away whereas the remainder “fought for the damaged bits” that remained. In his autobiography, Hagar described a dream he had about having his ideas uploaded by aliens – one thing he later claimed wasn’t only a dream, however occurred to him. If he will get kidnapped once more, it higher be in a fast-flying saucer. In spite of everything, Sammy can’t fly 55. (Wawzenek)

17. Billy Thorpe, “Youngsters of the Solar”
From: Youngsters of the Solar (1979)

This makes our record for Thorpe’s out-of-this-world intro alone, one which begins with a sequence of ominous, closely processed rhythms earlier than exploding into wave after thunderous wave of streaming spaceships. They descend upon our honest planet, surrounded by a silvery mild (and a monstrous riff), then open the door to a brand new world of sights and sounds – however solely after a weightless center eight that finds the earthlings experiencing zero gravity for the primary time. Cool! (Wawzenek)

16. Jefferson Airplane, “Have You Seen the Saucers?”
From: “Mexico” single (1970)

Launched because the B-side to the anti-Nixon tirade “Mexico,” “Have You Seen the Saucers?” marked the final recording by the classic-era Jefferson Airplane lineup. Over Jorma Kaukonen’s livid, wah-drenched lead guitar, Grace Slick dares listeners to think about: What if alien craft are the least of our worries? What in the event that they’re only a handy scapegoat for greater, extra imminent horrors, like government-launched missiles? What if aliens have not come to destroy us, however to shake their heads in dismay and beckon us to depart this wretched trash heap behind? As leaders of the countercultural and psych-rock revolutions, Jefferson Airplane dared to dream of a utopia unsullied by human corruption. On “Have You Seen the Saucers?” they notice it would be out of orbit and out of attain. (Rolli)

15. Radiohead, “Subterranean Homesick Alien”
From: OK Pc (1997)

Following the equally themed multipart epic “Paranoid Android,” “Subterranean Homesick Alien” arrives in the course of Radiohead’s masterwork as one other voice of isolation in a sea of communication breakdown and technology-induced paranoia. “I want they’d swoop down … take me on board their stunning ship,” Thom Yorke sings over a skittering rhythm impressed by Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew. The music’s origins date again to Yorke’s college days when he was assigned to jot down “Martian poetry.” Right here, his narrator welcomes a visit on a saucer to interrupt up his on a regular basis mundane life. (Michael Gallucci)

14. Graham Parker, “Ready for the UFO’s”
From: Squeezing Out Sparks (1979)

Displaying up close to the tip of Graham Parker’s wonderful Squeezing Out Sparks, “Ready for the UFO’s” is an anomaly within the album’s overriding idea about dwelling on the finish of the ’70s. Amongst tracks like “Native Ladies” and “Saturday Nite Is Lifeless,” a music about anticipating the arrival of tourists from outer house appears a bit misplaced till you dig a bit deeper. “This new obsession is popping us alien, too,” Parker concludes, tying collectively issues of the guts, authorities conspiracies and extraterrestrial invasion. “We all know that they are there.” And Parker would not appear to thoughts in any respect. (Gallucci)

13. A Flock of Seagulls, “I Ran (So Far Away)”
From: A Flock of Seagulls (1982)

A Flock of Seagulls’ extraterrestrial preoccupation started with their debut single “(It is Not Me) Speaking.” It then carried over to their eponymous debut album, whose breakthrough single “I Ran (So Far Away)” turned the new-wave band’s solely Prime 10 U.S. hit. They received a double dose of inspiration from watching a band on the Cavern Membership of their native Liverpool taking part in a music referred to as “I Ran” and seeing an image of two folks working away from a flying saucer the following day. “It was like, ‘Have a look at that! First ‘I Ran’ and now that!'” lead singer Mike Rating instructed Billboard. “We went to rehearsal that night time, and the image was in my head, and we began to attempt to formulate phrases about that. And after I’m taking part in stay, that image comes again into my thoughts.” (Rolli)

12. Klaatu, “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft”
From: 3:47 EST (1976)

For a time within the ’70s, there was a buzz surrounding the Canadian prog band Klaatu that they have been the resurrected Beatles in disguise. Fueling these rumors have been the group’s mysterious lack of look on file covers and their obsession with sci-fi themes. The epic “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft” celebrates the very actual World Contact Day when telepathic messages can be beamed to would-be outer-space guests. An odd twist to the story arrived a 12 months later when Carpenters launched a devoted seven-minute cowl model throughout a business downturn. It made it to No. 32. (Gallucci)

11. Megadeth, “Hanger 18”
From: Rust in Peace (1990)

In creating this steel traditional, Megadeth was impressed by the UFO conspiracy theories suggesting that Hangar 18 at Wright-Patterson Air Drive Base in Ohio is the place the U.S. authorities hides aliens and their spaceships – such because the notorious craft mentioned to have landed in Roswell, N.M. Then-drummer Nick Menza was credited because the band’s alien believer, BUT the lyrics additionally tie into frontman Dave Mustaine’s anti-authoritarian stance: “Navy intelligence – two phrases mixed that may’t make sense.” (Wawzenek)

10. The B-52’s, “Planet Claire”
From: The B-52’s (1979)

Constructed on prime of the musical bones of Henry Mancini’s “Peter Gunn Theme” (to the purpose that the composer obtained a writing credit score), the B-52’s’ “Planet Claire” nonetheless one way or the other manages to sound like nothing else. A cosmic planetary soundscape takes form within the lengthy intro, which rolls for greater than two and a half minutes earlier than quirky Fred Schneider makes his entrance. Talking in an appropriately alien cadence, it appears fairly doubtless that he beamed in from components unknown, relatively than Athens, Ga. “Planet Claire” turned a fan favourite and Schneider later reprised his position for a memorable Foo Fighters cowl. (Wardlaw)

9. Blue Oyster Cult, “E.T.I. (Additional Terrestrial Intelligence)”
From: Brokers of Fortune (1976)

Did you see a UFO if three males in black do not additionally seem to firmly warn you towards recounting what you have seen? “Do not report this,” these males say in “E.T.I. (Additional Terrestrial Intelligence).” The identify “Balthazar” seems within the music’s refrain, a potential reference to one of many Bible’s Three Smart Males – or maybe Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. (Balthazar is the character who informs Romeo of Juliet’s demise. “He is discovered the terrible reality,” Blue Oyster Cult’s Eric Bloom sings.) It is also about Dennis Balthaser, a well known impartial UFO researcher who centered totally on the Roswell incident. (Rapp)

8. Deep Purple, “Area Truckin'”
From: Machine Head (1972)

Go away it to Deep Purple to discover a option to take the pains of their regular touring life and make an area music out of it. Someway, the day by day grind of the street feels higher in the event you’re in outer house, doesn’t it? “We have rocked the Milky Method thus far, we danced round with Borealis / We’re house truckin’ spherical the celebs,” Ian Gillan sings over a jaunty rhythm, setting the right tone. Clocking in at a compact 4 and a half minutes on the Machine Head album, “Area Truckin’” took on a complete new type in live performance and was typically their closing quantity. One model, recorded stay in London, finds the members of Deep Purple jamming for greater than a half hour. (Wardlaw)

7. Creedence Clearwater Revival, “It Got here Out of the Sky”
From: Willy and the Poor Boys (1969)

John Fogerty employed a B-movie plot (even the music’s identify feels like a schlocky sci-fi flick) for this Creedence Clearwater Revival monitor. “It” isn’t revealed to be something; we simply hear about what everybody else sees within the UFO that landed “a bit south of Moline.” Within the chooglin’ rocker, Fogerty explains that scientists search a pure clarification. The Vatican sees an indication from God, conspiracy theorists blame the Communists, Hollywood turns it right into a big-budget movie and then-Vice President Spiro Agnew seems to revenue from “It.” (Wawzenek)

6. Parliament, “Mothership Connection (Star Youngster)”
From: Mothership Connection (1975)

This LP’s third and remaining single could be crucial since “Mothership Connection (Star Youngster)” is the place George Clinton’s extraterrestrial alter ego was first launched to the world. “Starchild right here,” he proclaims, “residents of the universe / I carry forth to you the great time.” Your complete album centered on the outer-space theme and the next tour additionally featured a large spaceship prop onstage. “We had put Black folks in conditions no one ever thought they’d be in, just like the White Home,” Clinton instructed Cleveland Scene in 2006. “I figured one other place you would not suppose Black folks can be was in outer house.” (Rapp)

5. The Byrds, “Mr. Spaceman”
From: Fifth Dimension (1969)

This hit single – together with “5D (Fifth Dimension)” – led to the primary use of the time period “house rock.” The country-rock jangle of “Mr. Spaceman,” after all, bears no resemblance to the progressive rock epics that will be related to that time period within the ’70s however the subject material of this two-minute Byrds tune is however proper at dwelling with these later works. Roger McGuinn wrote the light-hearted story a couple of man who’s visited by UFOs each night time however is upset after they refuse to carry him aboard and take him for a spin across the universe. McGuinn hoped that extraterrestrials could be inspired to contact Earth in the event that they heard the music on AM radio; sadly, AM indicators dissipate shortly in outer house. Thanks for making an attempt, Roger. (Wawzenek)

4. Sure, “Starship Trooper”
From: The Sure Album (1971)

The arrival of Steve Howe in 1970 was a pivotal second for Sure. “It positively upped our degree of writing,” late Sure bassist Chris Squire instructed UCR in 2013. Their new guitarist introduced within the music for “Wurm,” the closing part of “Starship Trooper” that includes an epic guitar solo that’s one among Howe’s greatest. Within the opening moments of the music, Sure vocalist Jon Anderson factors out the mysteries of life, cautioning that some issues amongst us are greatest left in the dead of night. “Although you have seen them, please do not say a phrase / What you do not know, I’ve by no means heard.” A journey in three components, “Starship Trooper” is an enchanting journey that’s price taking each time. (Wardlaw)

3. Blondie, “Rapture”
From: Autoamerican (1980)

On the identical time that punk and new wave music started budding in New York venues within the late ’70s, so too did town’s rap and hip-hop scene. Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, pals of hip hop artists like Fab 5 Freddy Brathwaite, drew from the freestyle groove of native rap MCs after they wrote “Rapture,” a six-plus minute science fiction-inspired music about an extraterrestrial beamed down from Mars who eats bars, automobiles and guitars. By the tip of the monitor, the person from Mars decides Earth is an excessive amount of for his style: “Now he is gone again as much as house, the place he will not have a problem with the human race.” (Rapp)

2. Styx, “Come Sail Away”
From: The Grand Phantasm (1977)

This traditional rock radio staple from Styx is neatly break up into two components. There’s the baroque, piano-ballad portion, which presents a lonely ship captain on the open sea, and there’s the guitar-fueled finale, which is the place the UFO is available in. Angels, who’re aliens, rescue the depressed captain and crew and take them on a journey into the ultimate frontier – crammed with spacey synthesizer and keyboard results. Dennis DeYoung mentioned he wrote this music as a result of he was unhappy about his band’s lack of success on the time. Just like the extraterrestrials within the music, “Come Sail Away” rescued Styx and have become one among their largest hits. (Wawzenek)

1. David Bowie, “Starman”
From: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust (1972)

You couldn’t have a UFO songs record with out David Bowie. From “Area Oddity” to “Loving the Alien,” the Skinny White Duke wrote and carried out a justifiable share of sci-fi materials – together with Bowie’s most well-known album. Opposite to what many suppose, the character of Ziggy Stardust isn’t an alien, however merely an earthbound messenger who speaks for otherworldly beings that would rescue Earth within the final 5 years of humanity’s existence. “Starman” tells the story of youngsters who hear Ziggy’s message about alien beings who’re “ready within the sky” and can land their ships if the younger folks can “sparkle” for them. The music is a key second within the story of Ziggy, but in addition Bowie’s profession. “Starman” was his first British hit within the three years that adopted the discharge of “Area Oddity.” (Wawzenek)