History Main / FutureMusic

* [[VirtualIdol Sharon Apple]]'s trippy, GenreBusting songs from ''Anime/MacrossPlus'', which were part of a notable early score by Music/YokoKanno made to sound weird and future-y, and have aged considerably well.

* ''The Game Of Life'' had a ([[SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames surprisingly decent]]) video game adaptation on the original UsefulNotes/PlayStation. It had "2000s" music which was generic 90s techno.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', "May the Best Stan Win" claims that "Japanese Funk" is what everyone listens to 1,000 years in the future. We hear a brief sample during a montage with Francine and future cyborg Stan.
** The song is Monochrome Effect by Japanese pop band Music/{{Perfume}}, which was released in 2004.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', the popular music portrayed is mostly a combination of metal and techno--but with the visual production values cranked to even more insane levels in videos and concerts.
** It appears that there's also an audience for Turn-of-the-(21st)-Century style Broadway musicals. ("A superstitious cowardly lot...")

'''[[WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers Brock Samson]]:''' The hell is that crap?\\

* The only song in the ''VideoGame/StarFox'' game that we can be sure the characters are actually listening to comes at the beginning of VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures, when Slippy is listening to a metal arrangement of some VideoGame/StarFox 64 level music on a rather traditional jukebox, of all things.

** In one episode Fry refers to The Hustle as "[his] people's native dance." Leela looks it up in a book called "Dances of the Ancient Bronx".

* ''Film/TheFifthElement'' features a scene in which a blue-skinned alien gynoid with tentacles protruding from her head sings a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2246g7AzbMc song]] which has been described as "opera meets disco". Being ''[[WidgetSeries The Fifth Element]]'', [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic it fits perfectly]].

* ''Film/{{Zenon}}: Girl of [[SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale the 21st Century]]'' focused heavily on the music of a band called Microbe. This being a 1999 Creator/DisneyChannel movie, their biggest song sounds prezactly like modern light tween pop, except with lyrics such as — sing along, contemporaries, you know the words — "ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM, make my heart go BOOM BOOM, would you be my [[SciFiNameBuzzwords Super Nova Girl]]?" Slightly hilariously, the "futuristic" personal aesthetic of the FaceOfTheBand, [[http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v227/smartie145/Disney/protozoa.png Protozoa]], seems to have been adopted wholesale by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JayManuel.jpg Jay Manuel]].

* ''VideoGame/WarioWare DIY'' has a set of songs from Orbulon, which have an alien\futuristic theme. Many are like current video game music, just done in weird time signatures and\or more sparsely.

* In Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's ''Literature/TheShipWhoSang'', Music/BobDylan is a popular classical musician of the future. Singing in his style is banned on some planets, because it's too persuasive.
* In ''Literature/SnowCrash'' teenagers still listen to rap and heavy metal, but the specific subgenre popular at that point is "post-nuclear fuzz-grunge".
* In Dan Abnett's {{Literature/Eisenhorn}} trilogy, taking place in the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' universe, there's apparently this thing called "pound", which is by [[{{Fanon}} fans]] described as a mix between house, trance and dance music turned up to over 9000.

* In ''Literature/Ringworld'' (and other stories set within the "Known Space" series) the native tongue of the Pierson's Puppeteers sounds like music to human ears. During ''Ringworld'' when Nessus speaks in his native tongue at one point the narration describes it as sounding like "''classical'' music such as Beethoven or The Beatles".

** ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'' has a scene where Sergeant Johnson is listening to "old-style colonial 'flip' music", which is descended from metal. All of the younger Marines complain about it being old and outdated. WordofGod has stated that the song Johnson was listening to was originally intended to be "Paint It Black" by Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}}, but they could not obtain licensing.

* The 1970s series ''Series/{{UFO}}'' incorrectly predicts that racism will have died out by 1980, cars will drive on the right hand side of the road in the UK, supersonic transport and Moon bases will be routine, and military pilots can wear a [[SpaceClothes blue catsuit and white vinyl boots]] without being laughed at. However it is correct in assuming that the Beatles song "Get Back" will still be popular.

'''[[VideoGame/{{Portal}} GLaDOS]]''': I believe it is what the kids are calling {{Dubstep}}.\\
'''Brock''': Aw, Jesus, can't you play some [[Music/LedZeppelin Zeppelin]] or something?\\
'''Claptrap''': You better get used to this sound, grandpa, because the dub is the only music that survives the Great Digital Event Horizon of 2033. BOOM!!\\
'''Brock''': Great, another reason to die young.
--> -- ''VideoGame/PokerNight2''

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

* ''[[Film/BillAndTed Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure]]''. Contemporary music ''[[ThePowerOfRock creates utopia in the future]].'' The movie makers wisely never actually give an example of whatever composition Bill and Ted create that brings about world peace.
* ''Film/BladeRunner'' Soundtrack ala Music/{{Vangelis}}.
* ''Film/ChildrenOfMen'' has ex-photojournalist rebel Jasper entertaining his younger counterpart Theo with some delightful Zen music from TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture... it sounds like traditional drums mixed with guttural punk screaming all being scratched by a DJ. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUq4P-v4BMs Have a listen]]. The song, minus the screaming, is actually "omgyjya Switch 7" by Music/AphexTwin.
** This may be justified, though, since it actually is 20 years in the future, and Jasper could reasonably be assumed to listen to Aphex Twin and other forms of electronic music popular in the present day. Not to mention that Jasper was probably joking about it being delightful Zen music.

* ’’Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera’’ is set in 2057 and depicts a world completely culturally dominated by opera music, albeit with some industrial beats and dark cabaret elements folded in. The soprano Blind Mag (played by SarahBrightman) is the most popular artist in the world and opera galas are met with a nearly religious ecstasy- though this is probably because BigBad Rotti Largo is a WickedCultured opera fan, as well as a savior figure to much of the world and the most powerful person on the planet, so he can ‘’make’’ opera the new rock n roll if that’s what he pleases.
* Similar to the above example, the [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 MST3K]] fodder ''Film/SpaceMutiny'' contains a random rave scene that is ''painfully'' [[TheEighties '80s]] (in a setting that is supposed to be ''much'' closer to ''Franchise/StarTrek''), for no other purpose than to [[MaleGaze focus on the posteriors]] of women in hi-cut leotards hula-hooping to generic synths.
* ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'' has an inversion (see also the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' entry below): a 22nd century starship has in its music library 80s\90s rap music filled with what the alien Jaylah describes as "beats and shouting". These include Music/PublicEnemy (Scotty describes as "too old-fashioned for my taste") and Music/BeastieBoys (which apparently is now "classical").

* A rare example of this trope being handled tastefully comes from Wim Wenders' 1991 film (better seen as a trilogy) ''Film/UntilTheEndOfTheWorld''. The director asked such well known artists as Music/{{REM}}, Music/DepecheMode, Music/TalkingHeads, Music/LouReed, Music/PattiSmith, Music/ElvisCostello and Music/NickCave and the Bad Seeds to come up with the kind of music they thought they would be recording [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture in the year 1999]]. The result was one of the most influential film soundtracks of the 1990s.

--->Interplanetary, mega-stellar, hydrostatic.\\
There's no gravity, between us. Our love is automatic.

** ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'' has a scene where Sergeant Johnson is listening to "old-style colonial 'flip' music", which is descended from metal. All of the younger Marines complain about it being old and outdated. WordofGod has stated that the song Johnson was listening to was originally intended to be "Paint It Black" by Music/TheRollingStones, but they could not obtain licensing.
** Later, the ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}'' AlternateRealityGame ''ARG/ILoveBees'' placed a rather large note on the musical styles enjoyed by Jersey's father — with clues in both timelines. "Ancient music, jazz and swing, always in the mood..."

* A random and non-musical collection of notes and rhythms that ''no one'' -- aside from a malfunctioning robot with Parkinson's -- could hope to dance to.

** Lister's music style was referred to as "Rastabilly", - presumably a mix of reggae and rockabilly. There was also a performer named Rastabilly Skank.

* ''Series/RedDwarf'' has a few examples. Lister's backstory had him playing guitar (very badly) in a punk/rock/ska/whatever band sometime ExtyYearsFromNow. Holly comes up with a system of "decimalized" music called "Hol-Rock" that apparently requires really huge instruments, due to adding two more notes. (woh & boh) We never get to hear it, but the idea seems "different" enough from modern music to count as an aversion. And then there's that god awful Ganymede & Titan song that keeps popping up...

Anytime a character sings a song or turns on a radio (or the [[SubspaceAnsible futuristic movie equivalent]] of a radio) you can expect to hear music which sounds not unlike a top 40 hit dating from the decade the movie was made, with a few "futuristic-sounding" instruments (like synthesizers or the aforementioned {{theremin}}) thrown in. The [[WesternAnimation/TheJetsons Jetsons]] episode featuring Jet Screamer, a 60s-ish pop idol, singing "Epp Opp Ork Means I Love You" is a prime example of this. (Although [[WeirdAlEffect more people today may be familiar]] with the Violent Femmes' particularly faithful cover version of this song...)

* In Dan Abnett's {{Literature/Eisenhorn}} trilogy, taking place in the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' universe, there's apparently this thing called "pound", which is by [[{{Fanon}} fans]] described as a mix between house, trance and dance music turned [[UpToEleven up to over 9000]].

* The "classical pop" idea is used often in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. The beauty contest in "The Lesser of Two Evils" includes a recital of "a traditional gangster rap," with a green jellyfish-like creature beatboxing and scratching.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} Transhuman Space'', popular music genres include Greek Fire (Greek folk music with Transhumanist themes), microtonal (music with elements outside the range of unaugumented human hearing), Soft Edge (ballads with subtle instruments and visual effects), Hard Edge (Soft Edge with heavier rythm lines). There is also still Neo-Classical, World Music and Rock.

'''Claptrap''': You better get used to this sound, grandpa, because the dub is the only music that survives the Great Digital Event Horizon of [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture 2033]]. BOOM!!\\
'''Brock''': [[FlatJoy Great]], [[DrivenToSuicide another reason to die young]].

* Allegedly the genesis of ''Manga/{{Akira}}'''s one-of-a-kind soundtrack came in the form of composer Geinoh Yamashiro trying to write music that combined the sounds of the past and the future.