Golden Record Curation

Song Choice	Continent	Reason
“Wedding Song” – Peru	South America	I chose this for its beautiful and whimsical sound. The young girl’s voice conveys innocence and pure emotion, even without understanding the meaning. The high pitch is calming, with a melancholic tone that shifts from hard to soft, showing sad acceptance and the pain in the world.
“Ugam” – Azerbaijan Bagpipes	Eastern Europe/Western Asia	I chose this for its unique and beautiful sound. It represents Azerbaijani culture and is unfamiliar in North America. The music feels welcoming, familiar, and calming.
“Queen of the Night” Mozart, Eda Moser	Europe	I chose this for the raw human emotion it conveys. It expresses joy, pain, beauty, and chaos, showing the difficulty of the voice and emotional range. Dark emotions are expressed through artistry, representing human experiences and capabilities.
“Men’s House Song”	Australia (Oceana)	I chose this because it is unfamiliar and technically intricate. It is inviting and interesting, reflecting a culture very different from many others.
“Morning Star and Devil Bird”	Australia	I chose this for its raw and natural sound. It is unique and has a lower tone that conveys desperation.
“Navajo Night Chant”	North America	I chose this for how it portrays the United States differently from common perceptions. It emphasizes human voices coming together, cultural diversity, and the often-overlooked roots of America.
“Melanesian Panpipes”	Oceana/Asia	I chose this for how multiple parts of the instrument come together. It captures many feelings, showing that sounds can transcend meaning and reach something deeper.
“Jaat Kahan Ho” – India, Surshri	Asia	I chose this for its diversity of emotion. The song expresses sadness, mourning, longing, and raw human experience.
“Flowing Streams” – China	Asia	I chose this for its calming and peaceful tone. It represents nature and the appreciation of surroundings, highlighting the positive aspects of humanness.
“Cranes in their Nest” – Japan	Asia	I chose this for its calming representation of nature. It paints a picture of solitude and quiet reflection in the mind.

Reflection:

Prior to completing this week’s readings, I listened to the playlist to approach it with my own initial reactions and take notes on what resonated with me. After that first listen, I read and listened to the podcast by Dr. Rumsey, approaching the playlist with a new lens. Upon my second listen, I considered her main question: “What can we afford to lose?” (Brown University, 2017). Thinking from this perspective, I reflected on what was most vital to preserve, what spoke most deeply about the human experience on Earth, and I aimed to capture beyond the cultural expressions, but what it truly means to be human. Additionally, I focused on Dr. Rumsey’s statement that “we need to be documenting communities we feel the least comfortable with” (Brown, 2017), as this provides deeper insight than experiences we may be culturally linked to, and highlights a collective spectrum of human emotions. 

Overall, the songs I selected aimed to reveal the complexity of human experiences: joy, suffering, pain, chaos, calm, and the many ways that we communicate. Even though we do not share language or cultural context, the emotional impact is present. Communication is not only textual, digital, or physical; it is deeply emotional. The songs represent both the individual and the communal; the experience may be personal, but the emotion is shared and connected. 

As I considered the songs across different continents, I noticed patterns and contrasts that revealed unique expressions of human emotions in each region. Within Asia in particular, I noticed a contrast in the songs. Some were melancholic, carrying a sense of desperation, while others almost celebrated and appreciated nature. This contrast reflects many facets of humanity, being that even within the same geographic space, people express and perceive life differently. Some focus on human challenges, and others attune themselves to their surroundings and the influence of the physical world. 

My selection process aimed to step outside of my own familiarity and engage with how the songs connected, resonated, and evoked emotions. Even when I did not understand the lyrics and language, I felt what the song intended me to feel. Each piece captured a different aspect of being human, almost like a kaleidoscope revealing the many dimensions of humanity. 

References

Brown University. (2017, July 11). Abby Smith Rumsey: “Digital Memory: What can we Afford to Lose?” (Video). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBrahqg9ZMc&t=2201s