Space is much like art. Both are boundless in their opportunities, but one is a form of expression while the other is an always expanding system involving planets, stars, and the cosmos. Artists have looked to the sky for inspiration in music, taking notes of the stars and the beauty that lies within them. Here are a few tracks that capture the themes of space in positive and negative lights.
With a title like Across the Universe from a quintessential band like the Beatles, it’s an obvious pick for this playlist. The original song found on the Let It Be album is great, but the stripped back acoustic version from the Let It Be… Naked remix album gives the song a whole new meaning. It’s simplistic, psychedelic, but in the same breath, extremely insightful when looking at Lennon’s lyrics.
Carl Sagan, among other researchers within NASA, launched the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 into space in 1977. On board each of the spacecrafts were golden records including Earthly sounds like animals, humans speaking, and 27 different pieces of music. Blind Willie Johnson’s Dark was the Night, Cold was the Ground was one of those songs, allowing the worlds beyond ours to experience the loneliness shared by Johnson’s painfully haunting guitar and heartbreaking hums.
Ziggy Stardust was the alter ego of legendary rock singer David Bowie. The story behind the elusive rock star character is that he originates from the cosmos and has come to Earth to save it before the world ends. Starman throws the listener into the view of a fan of Ziggy whilst listening to the radio. Bowie’s song is extremely catchy, with the chorus grabbing the attention of anybody close by. Who knew a glamorous alien rock star could give the world such a fun tune like this?
The satellite Elliott Smith mentions in this short but sweet song is the moon. What makes the moon any different from satellites anyways? It orbits around the Earth all the same. The only difference is how enigmatic of a sight the moon can be at night, glaring brightly on the folks below. “Satellite” perfectly soundtracks a night of being entranced by the moon and the stars scattered around it.
Would it be absurd to compare love to floating in the ever-expanding universe? According to Spiritualized, not at all. That is the central idea behind this song, directly creating a soundscape unlike many other love songs. Euphoria fills the track once all of the verses line up with each other and harmonize.
Flying Lotus’s Cosmogramma album is, in itself, a trip to a new musical world. While playing with elements of hip-hop, electronic, and jazz, Flying Lotus puts together spacey soundscapes that range from experimental to down-right dancefloor worthy. Galaxy in Janaki represents a high energy, symphonic portion of the album, and would fit neatly in a quick trip around the Milky Way.
Alex Ross
Alex Rossis a third-year Communication student at Lock Haven with a focus in Journalism. This is his second year as an active member of the Eagle Eye and has been the Arts and Entertainment editor, News editor, and an active writer. He focuses on writing reviews for the A&E section, but has written stories for news, sports, and opinions. Outside of the newsroom, Alex enjoys record shopping, reading classic literature, and analyzing films. Alex hopes to work for a film or music news site as a writer or editor after graduation.
