Pink Floyd, ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ vs. Star Fleet Project, ‘Star Fleet': Rock Star Wars

We're in for a galactic battle of guitar coolness as Pink Floyd's "Interstellar Overdrive" squares off against the Star Fleet Project's "Star Fleet" in the first round of our Rock Star Wars battle.

To try and fill our days between now and the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie, we’ve tracked down 32 space-themed classic rock songs and paired them off against each other in 16 first-round battles. The field will be halved every week based on your votes, until only the spaciest song in rock history remains standing.

The chromatic "Interstellar Overdrive" finds Syd Barrett at the peak of his psychedelic powers, as his freaked-out guitar leads a nearly 10-minute improvisational journey that came to define Pink Floyd's 1967 debut The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Roger Waters has (rightly) called this song "an abstract piece," and what could be more abstract than space, right?

The Star Fleet Project, meanwhile, found Queen's Brian May leading an ad-hoc group that also included guest guitarist Eddie Van Halen. They tangle most impressively on "Star Fleet," which – like the band itself – was named after a children's sci-fi series broadcast in England.

So, which of these songs will emerge victorious from this round? It’s your choice. You can listen to both tracks below, and vote once per hour in each of the this round's Rock Star Wars battles until polls close on Nov. 23 at 11:59PM ET. Your choice for our Rock Star Wars champion will be revealed on Dec. 22, 2015.

Listen to Star Fleet Project's 'Star Fleet'

Listen to Pink Floyd's 'Interstellar Overdrive'

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