Obviously the title pays homage to Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" but really that is where the similarities end. This is probably the first song I've chosen that I'm more impressed with the music than I am the lyrics. Don't get me wrong, I think the lyrics are good too, but the music is absolutely perfect for a song about aliens. It is a little spooky and mysterious, and it has a sound and atmosphere that reminds me of comets, and nebula, and floating in outer space. I feel it is truly a great piece of musicianship and I wish Radiohead would write more songs like it. The direction the band is currently heading is one that I am not very fond of. That is not important right now, though. Let's take a look at the lyrics.

The breath of the morning
I keep forgetting.
The smell of the warm summer air.

I live in a town
where you can't smell a thing,
you watch your feet
for cracks in the pavement.

Here we have a person that seems to live in a city of some sort. This person is busy and doesn't stop to smell the proverbial rose. Or perhaps this person is worried, full of anxiety about his job, or marriage, or family. The whole town is on edge and everyone seems to be walking on egg shells about something or the other. Intriguing, isn't it?

Up above
aliens hover
making home movies
for the folks back home,

of all these weird creatures
who lock up their spirits,
drill holes in themselves
and live for their secrets.

They're all uptight, uptight,
uptight, uptight,
uptight, uptight.

Ah, here we get to the main issue of the song. If aliens could see us from above, what would they think? Radiohead tells this story of aliens filming us for "the folks back home" and that the films would show a rather unhappy and most importantly an "uptight" bunch of strange beings. Are we this uptight? Would aliens be unimpressed with our priorities or how we live our lives? It probably depends on what town or city they are monitoring. I can't imagine people are as uptight in Grand Forks as they are in Minneapolis. But we've all certainly got secrets, and those can certainly dictate how we live our lives. For example, my biggest secret is ... not for you to know! Actually, what kinds of secrets do I have? I can't even think of one you'd be impressed with. Anyway, on with the song.

I wish that they'd sweep down in a country lane,
late at night when I'm driving.
Take me on board their beautiful ship,
show me the world as I'd love to see it.

Seeing our lives from another, in this case alien, perspective would be a pretty cool. One of the best alien scifi books I've ever read is The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. The best part of this book is the "first contact" between the aliens in the story and the humans. What makes it really good though is that the first contact is told through the aliens' viewpoint. That was a very fascinating read.

I'd tell all my friends but they'd never believe me,
They'd think that I'd finally lost it completely.
I'd show them the stars and the meaning of life.
They'd shut me away.
But I'd be alright, alright,
I'd be alright,
I'm alright.

I'm just uptight, uptight,
uptight, uptight,
uptight, uptight,
uptight, uptight,
uptight.

I'm sure that having an alien encounter would be a life altering experience, and the aliens might be able to tell you the "meaning of life," but I highly doubt it. I think one of the biggest stretches in science fiction literature is that an alien will have all the answers just because it is an alien. More than likely, aliens will have problems of there own. Books like The Mote in God's Eye, or Illegal Alien or Calculating God by Robert Sawyer, show aliens that most certainly don't have all the answers. Just because an alien society figures out inter-stellar space travel doesn't mean they know the meaning of life. It does, however, demonstrate a certain level of higher intelligence, that is for sure.

In fact, this is probably the kind of science fiction book I would write. Science fiction is a genre that isn't afraid of asking the tough questions concerning religion and faith. In fact, I dare you to find any science fiction book that doesn't touch upon these issues in some way. So, here is my idea: imagine an alien civilization coming to earth with a completely different philosophy on the purpose of life, one that doesn't mesh at all with Christianity, or Islam, or Hinduism. Personally I think this would throw the world into a complete tizzy. What would this do to people's faith? Would people fight for their faith or would they willingly or easily drop their beliefs? Would there be war? More peace? Or would we try to convert the aliens? Another book along these lines I really like is Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card. One of the story lines in this book talks of trying to convert the native inhabitants of another planet to Christianity. How does our concept of God and faith translate to an alien society? Are they even compatible? Does God reveal himself in another way to aliens? Luckily, we still don't know if aliens even exist and this, I think, is a good thing because we aren't ready for it. I really think it would be a mess. Anyway, that is what my book would be about. Let me know if you think it sounds interesting.

So, as you can see, I find "Subterranean Homesick Alien" to be a very atmospheric and thought provoking song. I'm sure it would give me a lot to consider as I sat listening to it stranded on my desert island. That is all for now. I'm going home.