This has been yet another interesting and challenging task. I realized at some point that I was taking it a little too seriously as I pored over the music and felt quite guilty for leaving out Louis Armstrong and the Japanese cranes, among other tracks that I felt were important. I probably also spent too much time lamenting that there was no Beatles song, not that I’m a huge Beatles fan, but really, how do you not include them as another example of pop culture in the 20th century? Chuck Berry was a given, for the same reason.
It did make me consider our access to information and data and why we are familiar with the music, art and literature that we are. We can only know such a tiny fraction of what is produced.
I tried to balance a mix of sounds and instruments, including the strings of Beethoven’s 5th, the mariachi band, Chuck Berry, the flowing streams of the Chinese classic and the Indian sitar, along with the different sounds of wind instruments from Australia, Senegal and Bulgaria, and the full symphonic sound, including brass, in Bach’s Brandenburg concerto. I also wanted to include at least one example of just the human voice, and opted for the Georgian choir, although it was a tough choice between that and the Navajo chant.
Along with the instrument sounds, there is an attempt at representing different regions of the world. I also wanted to ensure that there were female voices included, and selected the Bulgarian bagpipe piece with the female voices over the Azerbaijani bagpipes, which also created a very interesting sound.
Overall, this feels like a comprehensive cross-section of the available songs, although I’m certain that we will all come up with different and equally justified lists.
My 10 selections from the Golden Record:
| # | Track # | Name |
| 1 | 24 | Beethoven’s 5th |
| 2 | 14 | Jaat Kahan Ho – India |
| 3 | 13 | Johnny B Goode – Chuck Berry |
| 4 | 18 | El Cascabel |
| 5 | 19 | Flowing Streams – China |
| 6 | 21 | Bach – Brandenburg no 2 |
| 7 | 5 | Tchakrulo – choir – Georgia |
| 8 | 15 | Iziel je Delyo Hagdutin – Bulgaria |
| 9 | 7 | Morning Star & Devil Bird – Australia |
| 10 | 23 | Tchenhoukoumen – percussion Senegal |
HiJanice,
When I hear Beethoven’s 5th, I feel like it may scare the heck out of the people that find it. It is powerful and strong. Not a bad way to keep aliens from coming to eat us! 🙂
The other two choices that I really agree with on your list are, Morning Star & Devil Bird – Australia and Tchakrulo – choir – Georgia. The Australian piece made me want to dance and it went well beyond just being a way to showcase the fabulous didgeridoo. The Georgian choir made me feel like we were sending a message out that we are more than just individuals. When voices come together like this, I think that they gain confidence in themselves to belt it out. LIke linking arm and arm with a line of protesters, a choir is a unit whose strength is the common goals and desires they share. I can’t move a mountain on my own, but I feel like anything is possible when we sing together.
Hi Janice, I picked Chuck Berry for the same reason…POP CULTURE FAN here. I took my BA in History Canadian history and pop culture history. There should have been Beatles on that record and Elvis come on NASA!