The Country Music Assn. Awards: To boldly go . . .

This similarity has been noticed in the past, but the 2009 Country Music Assn. Awards more clearly spell it out. With a new design that makes it look as if the CMA Award, which just happens to resemble the Starfleet logo, were coming out of warp speed, Wednesday's ceremony may as well be advertising the impending home video release of this year's "Star Trek" reboot.

At left is an earlier teaser poster for J.J. Abrams' 2009 edition of "Star Trek." At right is the cover of the CMA program, which comes complete with the bright, flashing-light-like sheen that Abrams brought to the franchise this summer. Watch Wednesday as fast-rising cadet Taylor Swift is pitted against Nashville royalty such as Kenny Chesney and Brad Paisley for entertainer of the year.

It's not the first time county awards have crossed paths with "Star Trek." Fan may recall the opening of this year's Country Music Television Awards, which placed Swift in "Trek" gear:

The soundtracks of summer: 'Star Trek,’ 'Up’ composer Michael Giacchino has them covered

'Star Trek,' 'Up' and 'Land of the Lost' all feature his scores. Then there's his work for TV's 'Lost' and 'Fringe.'

Everywhere you turn this summer, it seems impossible to miss the music of Hollywood's hottest composer.

Michael Giacchino wrote the music for "Star Trek," which is about to surpass "Monsters vs. Aliens" as the year's biggest-grossing movie to date. He's also written the music for Disney-Pixar's animated "Up," which opened Friday, and for "Land of the Lost," the Will Ferrell-with-dinosaurs comedy that opens this Friday.

Even if you aren't headed to the multiplex, chances are you've been exposed to Giacchino's music. He writes the weekly scores for ABC's "Lost," supervises the music for Fox's "Fringe" and was music director for this year's Academy Awards telecast.

"It's been an incredibly busy couple of years. I feel like I just went through a tornado -- in the best of ways," says the 41-year-old composer in his new, still mostly unfurnished office in Sherman Oaks, where stacks of music from recent projects sit in piles on a desk. "I'm proud of everything I've done. I really only work on things that I know I'm going to be passionate about, that are going to drive me to be creative."

'Trek' tunes: Where 'Star Trek' and pop music meet

Eminem isn't one to miss an obvious cultural reference. When his video for "We Made You" was released earlier this spring, it captured the media's favorite shock-rapper dressing up as Spock behind Dr. Dre as Captain Kirk.

In a clip that took cheap shots at Jessica Simpson and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Eminem's nod to the four-decade old sci-fi franchise was about the only thing that was relevant, as box office predictors are indicating that the current "Star Trek" reboot will have the biggest opening weekend in the brand's history.

If only Eminem had made his return with a song that had a little bit more of the whimsical, optimistic reflections of the best "Trek" episodes, then he might have been onto something. Instead, he released a tune with a fart noise.

No fear, as plenty of artists have taken inspiration from "Trek" and done more with it than wear a costume. There's the English version of Nena's '80s hit "99 Luftballons," with it's "everyone's a Captain Kirk" lyric arriving at a crucial moment, and becoming a symbol of war posturing. More lighthearted was Spizzenergi's novelty punk riff "Where's Captain Kirk?" -- a geek-rock cousin to the Shapes' "(I Saw) Batman (In the Launderette)."

More recently, one famed Los Angeles act incorporated "Trek's" iconic opening into its lyrics, and used the hopefulness of "Trek" to contrast with a Hollywood wasteland.

Tinkering with 'Speed Racer' and 'Star Trek'

The trailer for the Wachowski brothers film "Speed Racer" opens with about 5 seconds of the familiar "Speed Racer" theme -- the horn that mimics a honk, the hurried, frantic rhythm. Then it leaves tradition behind, breaking off into pure rave territory with a full-on explosion of techno sounds.

But don't think the trailer foretells the sound of the film.

Composer Michael Giacchino says the 2-minute "Speed Racer" teaser cribs from his pre-"Speed Racer" work.

"They used a tiny bit of music from ‘Alias,’ I think," he says. "I don’t think the music in the trailer is representative of what the music in the film will be. The film is going to be a big orchestral thing, mixed in with some rhythm elements."