Tag: music

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Link #2: Golden Record

In my Network Assignment post, I mentioned that I would check out Teri-Lynn and Michael‘s experiences with choosing their lists for the Golden Record.  There is one criteria that we all base our lists on, and that is diverse representation- all of us wanted to be able to represent various cultures through our list. Interestingly, Teri-Lynn and Michael both based their selections off of time periods, whereas I ignored that completely. Teri-Lynn mentions that she has no expertise in music, where I grew up in a very musical household, so I could choose my criteria quite differently.

I think it is SO interesting that Michael based his songs off of the most current information, rather than a holistic view:

“I want songs that tell me what their life, culture and planet are currently like… I want to know what is happening now, not who is a historical figure (that can come later).”

I never thought of it like this at all, and I so appreciate this different perspective. Because the golden record is just a snapshot summary into what it’s like on Earth, it makes sense to show the present rather than the past; if we ever make contact with anything/anyone in space, then they can definitely sit down for a History lesson or two once they come visit…

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Task 8: Golden Record Curating

First of all, I had no idea that this existed, and now I am telling everyone who will listen about how cool this is. I was incredibly impressed and blown away by the intricacy of the first few “sounds of the Earth” tracks, and the ability for various and wide connections to be made across the universe, should these golden records be scooped up and analyzed by something or someone! I mean, come on- planets are represented mathematically through sound, which can translate to location in the universe… how cool is that!?

The ten songs that I chose are:

  • Track 2: Kinds of Flowers
  • Track 3: Percussion (Senegal)
  • Track 4: Pygmy Girls’ Initiation Song
  • Track 6: El Cascabel
  • Track 9: Tsuru No Sugomori (Crane’s Nest)
  • Track 10: Gavotte en rondeaux
  • Track 11: The Magic Flute (Queen of the Night aria)
  • Track 17: The Well-Tempered Clavier
  • Track 18: Fifth Symphony (First Movement)
  • Track 19: Izlel je Delyo Hagdutin

The curators of this record used mathematics to help inform their thinking about what songs to include  (Taylor, 2019). When I curated my list, on the other hand, I used phrases, sounds, and descriptions to guide my choices- I wrote down phrases like sounds familiar but different, magically beautiful, or first full piano track, and adjectives like fun and intriguing. I also chose songs based on various musical genres, making sure to include a variety of different cultures and backgrounds in my list.

References

Taylor, D. (Host). (2019, April 22). Voyager Golden Record (No. 65). [Audio podcast episode]. In Twenty Thousand Hertz. Defacto Sound. https://www.20k.org/episodes/voyagergoldenrecord

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