Voyager Record, Etching, 7-28-77. NASA/JPL-Caltech
Further curating the Voyager Golden Record is the embodiment of the “what can we afford to lose?”/”what can we afford to keep” conundrum. For this purpose of this task, lets pretend that I have been tasked with the responsibility of cutting the tracklist down prior to Voyager’s launch in 1977. Exclusion from the record means that inevitably, over a long enough timeline, the recording will be lost forever. Whether it takes only a few decades, or the complete eclipse of human civilization, the loss is inevitable.
Inclusion, on the other hand, grants a recording with preservation that will likely exceed humanity’s existence. Barring luck, advanced extraterrestrial life, or circumstances inconceivable to current understandings of physics, it may never be heard again. Nonetheless, the grooves of each golden record will perfectly preserve each recording as Voyager I and II continue their interminable interstellar mission, sailing the records further and further away from our home galaxy for potentially billions of years (https://www.space.com/predicting-voyager-golden-records-distant-future).
How does one decide what to keep in such a high stakes scenario? Not only for purposes of preservation, but potential demonstration of humanity for other intelligence? Ironically, the selection process didn’t sound particularly stressful, per curator Timothy Ferris:
I’m often asked whether we quarrelled over the selections. We didn’t, really; it was all quite civil. With a world full of music to choose from, there was little reason to protest if one wonderful track was replaced by another wonderful track.
To remove tracks will be to prioritize, and to prioritize will be to recognize my own plethora of biases. There is no perfect track selection. Having listened to the golden record, here are my choices (using track titles sourced from Wikipedia)
“Roncadoras and Drums” (by Musicians from Ancash) – This track feels almost foundational. The drum is such a universal human instrument and sound, and its simple prominence in this track conveys it well (Veggeberg, 2021). Other tracks in my selection feature drums as well, which demonstrates the cultural exchange, universality, and thematic interplay present within humanity, an important concept the original curators looked to communicate via their selection (Ferris, 2017).
“Wedding Song” (by young girl from Huancavelica, recorded by John Cohen – The raw, minimal vocals on this track feel so delicate and personal. Its lack of instrumentation and its short length make it feel like someone singing to you in a room.
Cengume (by Mahi musicians of Benin) – Eclectic and joyful is how I would describe Cengume. It builds on the foundational percussion of “Roncadoras and Drums”, but with a much more frenetic energy.
The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps), Part II—The Sacrifice: VI. Sacrificial Dance (The Chosen One)” (by Columbia Symphony Orchestra/Igor Stravinsky) – Igor Stravinsky 1913 – This track by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky is booming and raucous. The pounding drums and the intensity of the strings create for an intense and powerful track.
Liu Chui (Flowing Streams) – Guan Pinghu – Much like “Roncadoras and Drums” represented for the drum, Liu Chui represents for the string. The soft, meandering plucking feels pure and conversational.
Ketawang: Puspåwarnå (Kinds of Flowers) – Pura Paku Alaman Palace Orchestra/K.R.T. Wasitodipuro – Carl Sagan, the famed astronomer and contributor to this tracklist, noted it as his favourite track on the album (Sagan, 1979). The majestic chorus of the Javanese orchestra and choir is almost haunting.
“Chakrulo” (by Georgian State Merited Ensemble of Folk Song and Dance (Head: Anzor Kavsadze)) – This Georgian choir piece, although geographically and culturally distant, conveys a striking resemblance to “Kinds of Flowers.” It’s similarity to its Javanese sibling hints at a common understanding between cultures. Anecdotally, famed ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax selected this track by throwing the LP to Timothy Ferris across the room (Ferris, 2017).
“The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte), K. 620, Act II: Hell’s Vengeance Boils in My Heart” (by Edda Moser/Bavarian State Opera Orchestra and Chorus/Wolfgang Sawallisch) – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Even as someone with only the most shallow of knowledge of classical music, even I am well acquainted with this aria. The vocal performance is astonishing in its range and delivery. The interplay between the orchestra and the vocals is mesmerizing.
“Melancholy Blues” (by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Seven) – Marty Bloom and Walter Melrose – The crooning trumpet on this Blues track is singing a song itself. This track is just so distinctive that it felt impossible not to include it, as it demonstrates such an evolution in music – to my biased ears at least!
Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Barry 1958 – There was inevitably some recency bias at play with the inclusion of this track. Certainly, it was already emblematic of a major shift in western music. And fittingly, it has (thus far) stood the test of time and remained part of the cultural zeitgeist as a pillar of contemporary music. In an anecdote, Timothy Ferris (2017) mentions that Carl Sagan and Adam Lomax both dismissed Johnny B. Goode as “awful” and “adolescent” respectively. It feels fitting to include the most recent work at the end.
My track selection feels haphazard, but it was impossible to commit to the loss of certain aspects of the tracklisting without losing what they were attempting to communicate entirely. I could have completely excluded all classical music, but felt there would have been a void. I could have dropped the more minimalist tracks, but felt that would have gone against some of the record’s purpose. Clearly, I felt we couldn’t afford to lose much, and tried to hang on to as much as possible.
In her lecture “Digital Memory: What Can We Afford To Lose?” (2017), Dr. Smith Rumsey discusses the downfall of the library of Alexandria. She dispels the myth of a dramatic destruction of the legendary library through war, but instead through purposeful elimination or neglect of texts that didn’t suit the contemporary mono-culture of the city’s rulers. Ignoring or dismissing history and its texts is a regular human phenomenon, and hearing this discussion really emphasized to me how incredibly well executed the Golden Record’s creation was. Its curators managed to avoid the mono-cultural perspective Dr. Smith Rumsey touches on, distancing themselves from myopic cultural biases. Instead, they created a tracklist based on a much more broad perspective of humanity, one which covered the gamut of cultures, time periods, and obscurity. The result is something that truly captures human sound and music.
Could the same record be made today? Its hard to imagine it being done without courting fandom, controversy, and commercialization. Voyager Golden Record wasn’t even commercially available until 2012 (citation)! Instead, a geographically and temporally diverse set of tracks managed to be preserved as a record of humanity within the universe. A record that will outlive us all, and potentially the entire human race.
The image at the beginning of this post is from NASA’s gallery on the Golden Record’s creation. Perhaps its a bit cliche, but it really stood out to me. We see a man holding one of the pre-etched disks, his face mirrored in its reflective surface. And that is exactly what the Golden Record represents, a reflection of humanity. Like a reflection, it allows us to see a representation of our identity. But reflections are perceived differently by others, depending on where they are standing. Others may see features we overlooked, or interpret what is represented entirely differently.
Thus, the Golden Record isn’t just a message being sent off into the cosmos to other beings, but a reflection of humanity that we are inviting others to see and interpret for themselves.
References
Bartels, M. (2021, February 23). Scientists’ predictions for the long-term future of the Voyager Golden Records will blow your mind. Space.com. https://www.space.com/predicting-voyager-golden-records-distant-future
Brown University (Director). (2017, July 11). Abby Smith Rumsey: “Digital Memory: What Can We Afford to Lose?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBrahqg9ZMc
Ferris, T. (2017, August 20). How the Voyager Golden Record Was Made. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/voyager-golden-record-40th-anniversary-timothy-ferris
Sagan, C. (1978). Murmurs of Earth: The Voyager interstellar record (1st ed.). Random House.
Veggeberg, K. V. (2021, July 16). There’s a scientific reason why humans love drumming. Massive Science. https://massivesci.com/articles/drum-circles-anthropology-music-primates/
Voyager Golden Record. (2024). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Voyager_Golden_Record&oldid=1232229637
Voyager—Making of the Golden Record. (n.d.). Retrieved July 6, 2024, from https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/galleries/making-of-the-golden-record/#gallery-21
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