The archive of ten songs, or parts of songs, from the Voyager record that I wanted to control while other artifacts were erased in favour of their salvation is the following:

1. Java, court gamelan, “Kinds of Flowers,” recorded by Robert Brown. 4:43
2. Senegal, percussion, recorded by Charles Duvelle. 2:08
3. “Johnny B. Goode,” written and performed by Chuck Berry. 2:38
4. Bach, “Gavotte en rondeaux” from the Partita No. 3 in E major for Violin, performed by Arthur Grumiaux. 2:55
5. Peru, panpipes and drum, collected by Casa de la Cultura, Lima. 0:52
6. Azerbaijan S.S.R., bagpipes, recorded by Radio Moscow. 2:30
7. Holborne, Paueans, Galliards, Almains and Other Short Aeirs, “The Fairie Round,” performed by David Munrow and the Early Music Consort of London. 1:17
8. India, raga, “Jaat Kahan Ho,” sung by Surshri Kesar Bai Kerkar. 3:30
9. “Dark Was the Night,” written and performed by Blind Willie Johnson. 3:15
10. Beethoven, String Quartet No. 13 in B flat, Opus 130, Cavatina, performed by Budapest String Quartet. 6:37

Their unique survival advantage in this scenario was my interest in demonstrating how connected they are in the greater human context, even when there is very little to no actual connection among them locally or temporally. The songs fall into one or more of three categories:

1. Musical drone and repetition
2. Interesting changes in tempo
3. Representation of beginnings/greetings

One example of cross-categorical connections is how the morning raga from India is a greeting of the day with similar drone and tonality to the Peruvian Panpipes, Azerbaijan bagpipes, percussion from Senegal, and the gamelan music from Java. Ragas and gamelan music change rhythm and tempo in dissimilar ways compared to western classical music, but no so dissimilar to drone-like music found with bagpipes or percussive music elsewhere. We did not agree on the types of categories that might be used to draw strong connections between the musical selections of peers, which will be a limiting factor in the networking exercise. I think that we will see interesting, though weak connections and will demonstrate how this may be in Task 9.

The rationale for salvation may be personal, and maybe the inscriptions in gold will linger on in time for many generations. But like a digital copy, Smith (1999) interestingly explains that while the record will have value, it is not actually preservation. Durability of the medium of preservation is important, as is the means to read it. Solar flares and dust particles may wear away the record and instructions for its use. Smith (2017) rightly remarks that plans for data storage are under immense pressure, and we  need to figure out what users want and how to stabilize that in a platform that will preserve it.

Five songs were more problematic to cut because I could readily fit them into one or more of the three categories; however, they all distort one or more of the messages conveyed by each category….

1. Stravinsky, Rite of Spring, Sacrificial Dance, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Igor Stravinsky, conductor. 4:35 [This anxiety-driving conundrum does not match the cadence, tone, and message of the top ten.]
2. Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue in C, No.1. Glenn Gould, piano. 4:48 [Because a Fugue pulses repetitively, it belongs in SPACE!]
3. Bulgaria, “Izlel je Delyo Hagdutin,” sung by Valya Balkanska. 4:59 [It is reminiscent of the saxophone solos in Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty, which for popular similarity could have been retained.]
4. China, ch’in, “Flowing Streams,” performed by Kuan P’ing-hu. 7:37 [Similar to the Azerbaijan bagpipes and raga from India, I would like to have preserved this one because it is similar to ancient Greek Kythera string music that represents a dynamic lyric cultural context that there’s something to it that should live on.]
5. “Melancholy Blues,” performed by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven. 3:05 [Felt bad about this one. Ain’t no cure for the Summertime blues.]

…. and so they were all put down in the end!

Smith, A. (1999). Why digitize? Retrieved June 15, 2019, from Council on Library and Information Resources website: https://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub80-smith/pub80-2/

Smith, A. (2017). “Digital Memory: What Can We Afford to Lose?” Brown University. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/FBrahqg9ZMc