There is no doubt in my mind that one of the best written, most sincere, time honored, and definitely most enduring love songs ever written is "Science Fiction/Double Feature", written by Richard O'Brien.
I'll give you a minute to look it up and educate yourself.
First of all, and most importantly, if you haven't seen the musical, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", STOP RIGHT NOW! It is currently available on Hulu, and you need to see it. You need to experience this piece of Americana. Yes, I said it. This is Americana from the mid-70s. When I was in high school in the mid 1980's, my best and most fabulous friend Ronnie would pick me up on a Saturday night around 11:30, and we would stand in line weekend after weekend at the Peachtree Mall Movie Theater in Columbus, Georgia to throw Scott toilet paper, toast, and, if we remembered, Ronnie shot me with a water gun as I held a newspaper over my head.
Oh. Those were the damn days.
But, back to this masterpiece love song. It is Richard O'Brien's love song and homage to B-movie horror. "The Day the Earth Stood Still", "The Invisible Man", "Forbidden Planet", and "King Kong" are just some of the movies mentioned, to say nothing of naming the stars in those movies. I have seen all of these productions, and some of them just because of this song. This song inspires. This song encourages. This song is an introduction of the highest order to a genre which is a vital cornerstone to imagination. This song is the epitome of a lifetime of love, devotion, meaning, and dedication. The fact that O'Brien took all of these actors, movie titles, important scenes, and indelible images and was able to merge them into a coherently rhyming, and if I may say so, VERY singable song, is GENIUS.
GENIUS.
I was reminded of this musical today at Sunday Family Lunch when my dad said that he was scrolling through his streaming apps, and came across Rocky Horror. It filled him with memories of my weekends out with Ronnie, reveling in being a teenager in the 80s, feeling naughty as we snuck contraband into the theater (they said you couldn't bring in stuff to throw, but they knew we would, and always looked the other way), and learned the lyrics to one of the best musicals ever written.
And don't even get me started on O'Brien. He was a man before his time. He has vision, and lived a life that would have been celebrated today, but was kept in the shadows back in his day. But he lived it anyway. And he is still living it. As of this post, he is alive and living in New Zealand. He has been active and prolific in the arts through the years, but Rocky Horror is by far his greatest success, and most well-known piece.
Please, for the love of all that is ... well, love ... listen to this song. LISTEN to it. And revel in the love that his fine man had at this time in space for the Science Fiction/Double Feature.
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