Referenced By / Blue Öyster Cult

Anime & Manga

• Battle Angel Alita is practically overloaded with BOC references. At the very tip of the iceberg, there's a central villain named Desty Nova, one early character has the band's logo visibly scarified onto his forehead, and one of Alita's upgrades is the "Imaginos body."

Fan Works

• In A.A. Pessimal's Discworld fic Hear Them Chatter On the Tide, the Discworld's Eight Graces are tasked with restoring their number back to eight, after a pissed-off God turned one into a shoal of oysters. They are aided by, err, a Blue Öyster Cult. The Eight Deadly Sins turn up to thwart their rival gang, however. The chosen battlefield is the City Zoo, (Acquatic Bivalves and Deep Sea Life Galleries). The tale takes its name and a lot of incidental lines from the song Sub-Human and other BOC lyrics are also freely referenced.
  • Elsewhere in the same ouevre, the tale Fresh Pair Of Eyes uses lots of BOC references; the lyrics of Harvester of Eyes become part of the liturgy in religious services of the Church of Blind Io, the All-Seeing God of Eyes. And are attributed, In-Universe, to the Reverend Bloom and the Reverend Roeser.

Literature

• The back cover of Cult Classic (and indeed elements of the front cover) look suspiciously like homage to British fantasy writer Terry Pratchett, whose Discworld series uses BÖC lyrics as allusions, most notably a latinisation of "Don't Fear The Reaper" as motto for the extended Death family. Anyone reading Reaper Man and then looking at the back cover art of Cult Classic will surely see an unmistakeable link. The artwork visually alludes to Pratchett's book. It would be far too great a coincidence otherwise.
  • There are distinct Shout Outs to the BÖC's music throughout the Discworld series. There is, for instance, a set of extended dialogues in Hogfather, the first of which Homages the last verse of Don't Fear The Reaper as Susan Sto Helit sees a candle flicker, a window burst open and the curtains billow out, signifying that her grandfather is nearby, and is expecting her to fearlessly come to him, and that her taking his hand would be appreciated. Later on in the book, she and the Assassin Jonathan Teatime have a discussion about the good taste or otherwise of the Death family motto.
  • In Going Postal, Moist von Lipwig is informed by the animating spirits of the Post Office that while he might not be the one they were looking for, he's the best man for the job (of reviving the Post Office and getting the mail moving again). And indeed The One For Us.
  • In Soul Music, a romantic dreamer called Johnny, who hates the crush, but can play guitar a bit and who needs the Music so, is obsessed with a mystery girl called, er, Suzie, who appears and dissappears at concerts by his Band. Susan Sto Helit becomes his Muse, but every time he reaches out for her, she unnaccountably dissapears. And then there's the spectral motorcyclist who comes to grief on a tight bend in the road while going far too fast, who does indeed feel the thunder on a stormy night.
  • In Carpe Jugulum, there is a scene where a young vampire attempts to persuade a reluctant human girl to join him in the vampire lifestyle. He spends a long time explaining to her why he loves the night and how much he'd appreciate a girlfriend who shares his interests.
  • The author himself took the motto "Noli Timere Messorem" (Don't Fear The Reaper) for his coat of arms when knighted.
• The Robert Galbraith novel Career of Evil makes many references to Blue Öyster Cult lyrics and song titles, especially "Career of Evil" and "Mistress of the Salmon Salt (Quicklime Girl)". The book is also dedicated to the band, as well as their frequent collaborator Patti Smith.

Live Action TV

• The iconic Saturday Night Live "More Cowbell" sketch is a fictionalized account of the recording of "Don't Fear the Reaper".

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