I approached Task 8 with Abby Smith Rumsey’s admonitions from her “Digital Memory: What Can We Afford to Lose?” lecture to consider which resources “we need to be collecting now that will help people in the future understand” our history and that, “We actually don’t know the value of anything until way in the future because its actual meaning is determined by events . . . that we don’t know about.” Accordingly I aimed to narrow the Golden Record collection to ten recordings representing a diverse amalgam of culture, geography, historical significance, artists or composers*, instrumentation, and composition while also approaching the curation of such a list—without knowing who, if anyone, will find the Golden Record(s) or what the lasting value of any of these compositions will be—as analogous to constructing a puzzle with ten thousand pieces without the box.

*Due to these numerous criteria I excluded as an evaluative consideration the diversity of conductors where applicable.

Percussion (2:08) from Senegal contains percussion and perhaps flute. The recording is gender-neutral and represents Africa. This piece provides a composition primarily of rhythm, which aligns with the original curators’ intention of including mathematical music. This may also represent some of the oldest type of human music on earth.

“Tchakrulo” (2:18) symbolizes Western Asia and Eastern Europe. The recording is a capella, polyphonic, and harmonic. The choir sounds male. As a narration of battle preparation this song is a relevant depiction of the ever-present human history of conflict and wars.

“Melancholy Blues” (3:05) by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven is a 20th-century American jazz instrumental. The presentation is a coordinated ensemble of musicians featuring trumpet and including trombone, tuba, drums, clarinet, banjo, and piano. Jazz is one of the most important American contributions to the world of music. Louis Armstrong was an African American from Louisiana, and his second wife was the pianist on this recording.

Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier (4:48) is 18th-century Western Europe classical. Bach is one of the most skilled composers in history. This recording is a piano solo. Bach was a male. The recorded pianist was a male Canadian. Because the full Golden Record contains three Bach pieces it seemed apropos to include Bach in the reduced list.

Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (7:20) has large historical significance as it contains some of the most known musical bars on earth. It is classical from 19th-century Western Europe. The composition is an exemplar symphony. It is a complex coordination of dozens of musicians. The instrumentation is heavy with strings and brass. Beethoven was male.

“Izlel je Delyo Hagdutin” (4:59) sung by female Valya Balkanska is folk from approximately 18th-century Eastern Europe. The recording is bagpipes and vocals. Although Balkan folk often employs asymmetric meters such as 7/8 and 15/16, I am uncertain of the meter in this particular tune. The lyrics about a Bulgarian rebel highlight the historical significance of millennia of conflict between Islam and Judeo-Christianity.

Panpipes from Solomon Islands (1:12) stands for Oceania. This recording is gender-neutral. It is a simple repetitive composition of pipes.

The Peruvian wedding song (0:38) is a solo female singer without accompaniment. It symbolizes South America. The lyrical content of a woman lamenting marrying too young represents two global human themes: 1-marriage and 2-the different experiences of men and women.

Kuan P’ing-hu’s performance of “Flowing Streams” (7:37) represents Asia. Kuan P’ing-hu was male and a master of a seven-stringed zither called the guqin. The recording is a solo. This is the longest piece on the original list, and given that the Voyagers are so far from earth it seemed fitting to include this piece which represents a long journey.

“Dark Was the Night” (3:15) by Blind Willie Johnson is early 20th-century blues from The South in the United States with electric slide guitar and male vocals. Blind Willie Johnson was an African American man who lost his sight in his youth. Blues is the foundation of rock ‘n’ roll and is historically important as an expression of centuries of racial conflict and oppression.