I tried to pick the most varied music I could. I think variety, if we are talking extraterrestrial, would be the most likely to get a response or gain a connection. For this reason I tried to select a variety of natural and constructed sounds. Language is socially constructed and would have no meaning out of that context, which is why I didn’t want to pick only songs that had words or some sort of spoken language in them.

1.  Track 4 Sounds of Earth – Voyager Golden Record

• Even though this was not included on the original music list, I believe this is an extremely important piece to add to this list, and I would argue that it may be one of the most important pieces OF MUSIC. The sounds of nature are cross-cultural and do not rely on any understanding of culture, which is unique to nature. Nature is neutral in all senses, which makes it the most beautiful music of all.

2. Mexico, “El Cascabel,” performed by Lorenzo Barcelata and the Mariachi México. 3:14

• Mariachi music was first introduced by musicians that accompanied Hernan Cortez (who is a terrible person) to Mexico in the 1700s. These musicians collaborated with Indigenous musicians to create the modern day Mariachi music (Clark, 1996). This music tells a story, is unique, and is a mash up of 2 cultures.

3. Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue in C, No.1. Glenn Gould, piano. 4:48

• Math is a cross-cultural subject, which makes Bach a welcome addition to the golden record. Math is ingrained in our every day life and represents a vast amount of cultures vs. 1 culture. Taylor (2019) discusses that math was the primary reason this piece of music was included on the record in the first place. I, personally, love this piece as I find it very pleasing and easy to listen to.

4. Java, court gamelan, “Kinds of Flowers,” recorded by Robert Brown. 4:43

• I found this song interesting as it is a royal song for a prince (Taylor, 2019). The song is comprised of instrumental and also vocals listing off different types of flowers. One of the main reasons I selected this piece is because of how different it was, at least in my opinion.

5. Zaire, Pygmy girls’ initiation song, recorded by Colin Turnbull. 0:56

• Performed by the Indigenous people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this song is an example of traditional living and life. The Indigenous populations live primarily in the rainforests and rely on subsistence. The Indigenous people of the DRC are facing a similar story to the Indigenous communities residing in Canada. While they are recognized by the government they have been stripped of their governing bodies and rights. For this song to be included on the Golden Record is to recognize their significance.

6. Navajo Indians, Night Chant, recorded by Willard Rhodes. 0:57

• A representation from an Indigenous community is imperative for understanding Earth. If we are representing North America then the only true way to do this is through Indigenous voice. Indigenous communities rely heavily on knowledge passed down through story and song. Smith (1999) talks about the importance of digitizing text to combat losing information, and while preservation through digitization is debated, it is a start. This is particularly relevant to Indigenous communities as colonialism and discriminatory laws made language preservation impossible (Rice, 2022).

7. Peru, wedding song, recorded by John Cohen. 0:38

• Weddings are traditional ceremonies in many cultures, so this song seems fitting to be cross-culturally representing. Marriage, while socially constructed, is practiced all over the world. The meaning of marriage is what differs between cultures. Some cultures marry for love while others for family alliance. It is interesting that this song is the only song remaining uncredited. Rumor has it that perhaps the singer was so young they did not credit her, but regardless, I have included this in my list of songs to keep in hopes that she is found and credited (Misreader, 2019).

8. China, ch’in, “Flowing Streams,” performed by Kuan P’ing-hu. 7:37

• Like the nature sounds, it is important to incorporate as many sounds from our natural world as possible if the goal is to compile a true representation of who and what we are as species. We can not exist without our natural surroundings, reinforcing the importance of including it within the Golden Record.

9. India, raga, “Jaat Kahan Ho,” sung by Surshri Kesar Bai Kerkar. 3:30

• The transition from Flowing Streams to Jaat Kahan Ho is beautiful. They are both methodical in their own way and I think the transition is quite unique. I found Jaat Kahan Ho to be such a powerful representation of emotion in music. I also love that she resisted recording music for so long, reinforcing her appreciation and respect for the personal connection formed with live music (Sampath, 2019).

10. “Dark Was the Night,” written and performed by Blind Willie Johnson. 3:15

• It’s interesting that Taylor (2019) talks about the music being positive in the Golden Record, and yet we have this song included. It is imperative that there is a variety of emotion represented on the record if we truly want it to be a reflection of life on earth. Willie Johnson grew up in the late 1800s- early 1900s and faced discrimination due to being blind and black (Pinkard, 2016). The raw emotion embodied in his music is a representation of the oppression he faced every day resulting from the very real and unfortunate past in the Southern U.S.A.