Honestly, the guy created Cyborg 009 and Kaiketsu Zubat. Those are entirely worthy in themselves, but shall I further point out his most enduring creations, one of which is virtually unknown here in the West, but everyone has seen (perhaps unwillingly) what became of his other work.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

I’m exaggerating to an extent as my local Waterstones appears to actually Have A Clue. I’m still reeling, though, because there had been a dedicated sci-fi bookstore (The Friar Street Bookshop) scant minutes from my front door. It’s closure just makes itseem like a wall of Pratchett, screenplay novels, every other Terry Brooks ever written et cetera. I did score two Charlie Stross novels and a Sean Williams there today, and they do have a relatively decent selection. Maybe I’m just strossed out. Aha.

Arguing that Kanye is more influential than, say, Dragonforce is actually fairly easy. Kanye is a gateway drug. He uses light sf elements and gives them an imprimatur or veneer of cool for his legions of teenyboppers and sorority girls who might, as a result, take a step past Hello Kitty kawaii and move on to the hardcore limited edition robot figurines and anime-based zipper pulls. Those blessed few who master TTFAF are likely already members of hardcore geekdom, or are just obsessive Guitar Heros who wouldn’t bother listening to Dragonforce on their iPods but relish the challenge represented by the song. I’d imagine album sales numbers and demographics would bear this theory out.

Of course, with all the sf sub-genres and species, Kanye’s brand of sf, and that which his fans will pick up on, is going to be far different than the type consumed by your average uber-geek. Perhaps that’s lending to the confusion and debate here.

I’m not actually a Kanye fan, but I loves me a good argument

Then there is the YA SF/F section that is by itself another ~8′x16′ bookcase.

I love how George Lucas’s explanation was simply (George Lucas), which was much funnier than simply not giving him a parenthetical at all. And that kind of humor is why I find both John Scalzi and Wil Wheaton hilarious.

Okay, so Beyonce has a cyborg hand. Yes, that’s pretty cool.

Kanye . . . I likes me some Kanye West, but I agree with earlier posts re: how much Autotune helps the guy.

And 808s and Heartbreak is definitely on the To Buy list.

Stop The Future is a wonderfully dystopian vision set to some really awesome new wave/post punk. And the self titled album is nearly that cool. Linking to We’re So Small a love song set at the start of a nuclear war. Pure Win.