The Musical Era of "Far Beyond the Stars."    According to the novelization of the episode "Far Beyond the Stars" by Steve Barnes, the episode takes place in 1953. A time of societal unrest, racism was affecting people all over the world. This episode tackles the issue head on, showing us the struggles of Benny Russel, a science-fiction writer whose race is kept hidden from the readers of the pulp magazine that publishes his stories. During this era, several important musical artists including Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Count Basie, and Ralph Ellison, as well th epoet Langston Hughes were mentioned as inspirations for Benny.  

In this episode of Melodic Treks, host Brandon-Shea Mutala is joined by Andy Farber to discuss the music of the early 1950's. We talk about different styles of music, artists that Benny Russel name drops in the episode, the charts, source music, and the score.

Chapters  Intro (00:00:00)   Welcome to Melodic Treks (00:01:01)   Keeping up with Andy (00:01:30)   The Musical Era of "Far Beyond the Stars" (00:04:50)   R&B, Charts, and the Era (00:10:10)   "Django" performed by the Modern Jazz Quartet (00:15:25)   Dizzy Gillespy and Be Bop and More (00:18:33)   "In a Sentimental Mood" performed by Sonny Rollins with the Modern Jazz Quartet  (00:23:02)   Benny Russell Name Drops (00:25:00)   "Miles Ahead" performed by Miles Davis (00:26:38)   Racial Issues (00:28:47)   "Potato Chips" performed by Slim Gaillard (00:34:29)     The Score and Source Cues (00:38:00)  "Back to the Future" composed by Dennis McCarthy (00:41:32)   The Episode (00:43:43)   Finding Andy (00:49:30)   Closing (00:56:26)      Hosts Brandon-Shea Mutala   Guest Andy Farber   Production Tony Robinson (Editor) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Tony Robinson (Associate Producer) Stephen Boyd (Associate Producer) Bobby Tucker (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Tony Robinson (Show Art) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)