Tales From Both Sides of The Brain

Boundary-pushing electronic duo and technological pioneers the Future Sound of London have charted a magnificent, unpredictable course throughout their multi-decade career, ranging from early rave staples to ambitious excursions into ambient soundscapes, psychedelic rock, modern classical, and more. Prodigiously releasing club records under various pseudonyms since the late '80s, Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans launched FSOL with the breakbeat house classic "Papua New Guinea" in 1991, following suit with the Accelerator full-length. After signing with Virgin Records in 1992, the duo began releasing more experimental, atmospheric material, including the highly regarded 1994 double album Lifeforms. They also sidestepped traditional methods of touring, instead broadcasting studio performances via ISDN lines. Following 1996's Dead Cities, the duo went on hiatus, re-emerging with the 2002 psychedelic opus The Isness, one of several releases credited to their Amorphous Androgynous alias.

It doesn't take much rhetorical muscle to argue that science fiction was one of the dominant genre artforms of the 20th century, from the Lumiere brothers to Spielberg, from Wells and Conan Doyle to Asimov, Bradbury, and Clarke. This nearly exhaustive, lavishly packaged collection documents the genre's musical legacy across virtually every major genre on its five discs and 113 tracks. Each volume is divided by sub-genre–Movie Themes, TV Themes, Pop, Incidental/Lounge, Novelty–with each containing both the obvious contenders and some delightful surprises. The film disc alone contains a wealth of rarities, including music from Them!, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, The Andromeda Strain, Fantastic Voyage, and other notables. The packaging is brilliant kitsch: a 6.5-inch square, metal-lidded cube emblazoned on three sides with suitably tacky 3-D images of–you guessed it!–a floating brain. But the profusely illustrated, hard-bound, 200-page book (designed to emulate the Big Little Books of the 1940s and '50s) that's included gives the subject its serious due, with an introduction by Ray Bradbury and contributions from an array of other notables, including Forrest J. Ackerman, Billy Mumy, Joe Dante, Dr. Demento, and Matt Groening. Perhaps the best half-cubic-foot of sci-fi brain food every assembled. –Jerry McCulley