"The Sound-Sweep" is a short story by British writer
J. G. Ballard. It was first published in ''
Science Fantasy
Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scientif ...
'', Volume 13, Number 39, February 1960 and was reprinted in the collection ''
The Four-Dimensional Nightmare
''The 4-Dimensional Nightmare'', also known as ''Voices of Time'', is a collection of science fiction short stories by British writer J. G. Ballard, published in 1963 by Victor Gollancz.
Contents
* " The Voices of Time"
* " The Sound-Sweep"
* " ...
''.
Plot summary
The main character, a mute boy vacuuming up stray sounds in a world without music, befriends an
opera singer living in an abandoned
recording studio
A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...
. As all previous music has been rendered obsolete thanks to advances in "ultrasonic music", the opera singer is destitute.
Reception
According to
Trevor Horn and
Bruce Woolley, the lyrics of the song "
Video Killed the Radio Star" by
The Buggles were inspired by this story of a world where audible music is superseded by developments in new technology.
References
External links
*
Short stories by J. G. Ballard
Works originally published in Science Fantasy (magazine)
1960 short stories
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