The Innerspace of Outerspace: Exploring Other Worlds Through Music , by Mike Fiorito. Apprentice House, 2026, 218 pages. $20.98
The modern world can be a dreary place. At times it seems there is more plastic in our blood than birdsong in our ears. In an era where technology is ubiquitous, rapidly progressing, and increasingly necessary for cultivating a traditionally “successful” life, it is easy to deprioritize the more intangible aspects of existence. Time which a few decades ago may have been spent on self-reflection is now devoted to doomscrolling; songs are heard not in full but as several-second snippets; and anything which fails to provide instant gratification is tossed aside for whatever shiny new thing which might replace it.
In a social moment like this one, people like Mike Fiorito become more important than we really give them credit for. By that, I mean that Mike Fiorito has a special talent not just for getting you to think, but for getting you to think about how you think. In fact, Fiorito outlines his approach in this book quite directly in its Author’s Note: “This is not intended to be a conventional scholarly work, but rather, an invitation to the reader… to explore, to question, [and] above all, to listen – especially to the music.”
The Innerspace of Outerspace: Exploring Other Worlds Through Music is part cultural review, part musical history, part personal reflection, and a few other things as well. Above all, I think its strongest merit comes from its willingness to eschew any particular convention and embrace each of those roles simultaneously. Mike isn’t kidding – this is not a conventional scholarly work. But that is a wonderful thing, because it means that the reader is not expected to engage with it in the same way they would for a conventional scholarly work. Expectation can be discarded in favor of free-wheeling exploration, the reader encouraged to embrace the intellectual freedom exhibited by the author himself.
For a book about music, this approach is intoxicating. Taking as a starting point the Afrofuturist music of Sun Ra, Fiorito explores how music, and its ability to reach those parts of the human experience which are so difficult to find with words, can serve as a bridge to connecting with phenomena beyond the limits of our normal understanding. In an engaging and eclectic progression of chapters, Fiorito charts a dotted line on the map of our cultural soul by chasing a simple guiding question: How can music help us engage with our world beyond the endless blare of our day-to-day? How can it lead us to places we would otherwise never discover?
The answers, like the evidence themselves, are manifold and worth exploring in far more depth than I can offer here. What I will say is that the power which Fiorito seems to be recognizing in music is its ability to “unground” us from the perspectives we are comfortable with and used to, freeing us in ways which can’t be done otherwise. In his view, this opens the door to connecting with the vast “innerspace” of our consciousness. There are a number of aspects to this which Fiorito covers here – from Steven Halpern’s views on music’s ability to quite literally open one’s consciousness, to the author’s own experiences of using music to connect with his own reality and the people in it – and he does so with passion and enthusiasm. Mike isn’t kidding – this is not a conventional scholarly work. And thank goodness it isn’t, for if it was I fear the constraints of that approach would suffocate the beating heart which keeps it going and makes it so engaging.
While not necessarily a work of music criticism, The Innerspace of Outerspace is a fascinating work for anyone interested in music. Beyond being incredibly well-paced and a joy to read, it offers a deeply important perspective on music which often goes overlooked in an era of “what/when/why”-ism. This is not a conventional scholarly work: It is a roadmap which encourages you to think, and to experience, and to ask questions you may never have thought of. Even when it doesn’t ask, the curiosity and passion of its author will make you do so anyway, and, if you choose to engage with the music referenced here (which I would highly recommend doing), it will give you plenty to think about as you listen. More than anything, Fiorito reminds us that growth and learning and living should not be taken for granted: They should be explored, embraced, and reflected on.
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Vincent Sergiacomi is a poet and writer. His poetry has appeared in publications including Poetry Pacific, the Eunoia Review, and the Moonstone Arts Center’s New Voices anthology. His criticism has been featured in Ovunque Siamo and the Philly-based Loco Magazine. Vincent holds a degree in English from Arcadia University, and currently resides with his fiancee and their cat in West Philadelphia.
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