To complete this week’s task of curating the twenty-seven songs from the Voyager Golden Record down to ten, I wanted to keep the curated collection representative of the different regions from around the world. Additionally, I wanted to honour Carl Sagan’s intent with the original selection of music to be non-threatening and to remove original selections that, to my ear at least, could come across as threatening (Taylor, 2019).
My Curated List (in no particular order):
- Senegal, “Tchenhoukoumen” percussion, recorded by Charles Duvelle. 2:08
- Beethoven, Fifth Symphony, First Movement, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer, conductor. 7:20
- “Johnny B. Goode,” written and performed by Chuck Berry. 2:38
- “Melancholy Blues,” performed by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven. 3:05
- Holborne, Paueans, Galliards, Almains and Other Short Aeirs, “The Fairie Round,” performed by David Munrow and the Early Music Consort of London. 1:17
- India, raga, “Jaat Kahan Ho,” sung by Surshri Kesar Bai Kerkar. 3:30
- Japan, shakuhachi, “Tsuru No Sugomori” (“Crane’s Nest,”) performed by Goro Yamaguchi. 4:51
- Peru, Wedding song, recorded by John Cohen. 0:38
- Australia, Aborigine songs, “Morning Star” and “Devil Bird,” recorded by Sandra LeBrun Holmes. 1:26
- Georgian S.S.R., chorus, “Tchakrulo,” collected by Radio Moscow. 2:18
List edited from Jet Propulsion Laboratory (n.d.)
My Selection Process:
From the original list of twenty-seven there were several songs that were variations of the panpipes, or songs that sounded similar to panpipes, namely “Men’s House Song” from New Guinea, Solomon Islands panpipes, and “panpipes and drum” from Peru. In the end I chose “Tsuru No Sugomori” (“Crane’s Nest,”) from Japan as it is very similar sounding to the pan pipe tracks and I wanted to keep an Asian representation in the collection and I had removed Ch’in, “Flowing Streams,” from China for sounding similar to American Blues.
For the following two selections, personal preference for the songs likely outweighed other factors.
“Johnny B Goode” is a song I love and gets me swaying in my seat every time I hear it, not very scientific I know. It also represents the newest music on the album and is emblematic of the recently developing genre of Rock and Roll at the time of pressing. Like many of my selections on this list the tempo is lively, and the tone is upbeat, evoking feelings of joy.
Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is one of my favourite classical pieces, and while it can come across as threatening at times, I find it a very uplifting piece. I removed Mozart’s “The Magic Flute, Queen of the Night Aria, no. 14” for being very melancholy and Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring, Sacrificial Dance” for having a threatening tone, going against Sagan’s wish for the selection to be non-threatening to any potential species that may encounter the craft and be able to decipher the instructions on how to listen to these songs (Taylor, 2019).
“Tchenhoukoumen,” percussion from Senegal is an incredibly happy track. The Pygmy Girl’s Initiation Song from the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a beautiful song, but “Tchenhoukoumen” makes me feel happy. With these being the only two songs representing Africa I made the choice based on my feeling of joy from the Senegalese track.
While my early selection of Beethoven’s “Fifth Symphony” covers European and Classical Music, “The Fairie Round” is such a joyful piece I had to include it on my list. This might be a bias towards European music, but the positivity of the piece is just so powerful. The flute featured in the piece can for some sound like panpipes, but I feel there is enough of a difference to include it on my list.
Having included “Johnny B Goode” on the list, I wanted to make sure that non-dominant cultures in North America were also represented in my list. The Navajo “Night Chant” is beautiful, but I decided to represent Afro-North American culture through my choice of Louis Armstrong’s “Melancholy Blues”. The brassy notes of Armstrong on the trumpet represent a sound not embodied in any of the other musical selections on my list and bridge the genres of Jazz and Blues, this element of musical diversity is the reason I chose this piece over Blind Willie Johnson’s “Dark Was the Night”, that is more representative of true Blues music.
Wanting to ensure that the South Pacific, or Oceana, was represented on my list and having eliminated the “Men’s House Song” from New Guinea and the Solomon Islands panpipes earlier in my selection process, which left “Morning Star” and “Devil Bird” from Australia. These combined songs also bring representation of Indigenous cultures to a list that could be seen as very colonially dominant.
To my ear “Jaat Kahan Ho” from India and “Izlel je Delyo Hagdutin” from Bulgaria sound remarkably similar. Between the two songs, I chose “Jaat Kahan Ho” it represents the second largest population on the planet. Reinforcing this decision was the fact that Europe was already represented by two other songs and my next selection cand bridge the eastern regions of the continent.
To represent Eurasia there were two choices on the original Golden Record, “Ugam” Azerbaijani bagpipes and “Tchakrulo” from Georgia. The Azerbaijani bagpipes sound similar to panpipes and as I mentioned above, I was trying to avoid replicating sounds. Additionally, “Tchakrulo” as preformed by the Georgian choir on the record is hauntingly beautiful and struck me as being very hopeful, a fitting feeling for potential first contact with a new culture, let alone a new species.
To represent Central and South America there were two choices from the Voyager Golden Record. “El Cascabel” representing Mexican Mariachi and the Peruvian Wedding Song. I chose the Peruvian wedding song for several reasons. The Wedding Song seems to better represent Pre-Columbian cultures in South America than the Mexican Mariachi music which has had a larger colonial Spanish influence. The Wedding Song also brings a female voice to the collection, something that would otherwise be missing as I have removed the other songs from the collection that featured this representation. Hearing Dr. Peña mention that he did not feel “El Cascabel” was the best representation of Mariachi music influenced my decision to not select it for my curated list.
I was curious to see how AI would preform the same task of curating a ten-song selection from the Voyager Golden Record and provided the following prompt to ChatGPT.
Prompt:
Which ten songs from the original 27 Voyager Golden Record songs would you choose to represent humans on Earth? Why did you pick these songs?
ChatGPT’s Response:
The original 27 songs included on the Voyager Golden Record were chosen to represent a diverse range of music from around the world. If I had to select ten from this list, I would choose the following:
- “Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F, First Movement” – Classical music represents human achievement and mathematical precision.
- “Beethoven, Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, First Movement” – A masterpiece of classical music showcasing human creativity and emotional depth.
- “Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring, Sacrificial Dance” – An avant-garde piece representing the evolving nature of human art and culture.
- “Guarani Song” (Paraguay) – “Chancha Via Circuito” – A contemporary representation of world music, highlighting the global diversity of musical traditions.
- “Navajo Night Chant, Walpi Village, and Mishongnovi Village” – Traditional Native American music symbolizing the rich cultural tapestry of Earth.
- “Valencian Music” (Spain) – “Jose Oliveira & His Band” – A representation of European folk music and dance traditions.
- “Blues” – “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground” by Blind Willie Johnson – A deep and emotive piece capturing the essence of blues music and human emotion.
- “J. S. Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II, Fugue in C, No. 1” – An example of intricate and intellectually stimulating classical music.
- “Beethoven, String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat, Opus 130, Cavatina” – A beautifully expressive chamber music piece.
- “Mozart, The Magic Flute, Queen of the Night Aria” – A demonstration of human vocal prowess and operatic traditions.
These selections represent a variety of musical genres, time periods, and cultures from the original 27 songs on the Voyager Golden Record, showcasing the richness and diversity of human musical expression.
While the list looks complete, ChatGPT did select two songs that were not on the original Golden Record, it is also interesting that ChatGPT ignored almost all of the songs representing cultures outside of Europe and North America. It raises the interesting question as to how it came to these selections and if the exclusion of indigenous songs, with the exception of the Navaho Night Chant, is a representation of a colonial mindset present in the data used to train the chatbot, or if the bias towards predominantly white musical selections comes from a different source?
I then asked ChatGPT to pick a curated list of ten songs that represent humanity, removing the requirement that they be from the original Voyager Golden Record.
Prompt:
Could you choose tens songs that represent all of humanity, and why?
ChatGPT’s Response:
Selecting ten songs to represent all of humanity is a challenging task, as human culture is incredibly diverse and dynamic. However, I can provide a list of ten songs that, to some extent, capture different aspects of human experience and culture from various parts of the world:
- “Imagine” by John Lennon: A song that promotes peace, unity, and the hope for a better world, transcending borders and language.
- “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika” (National Anthem of South Africa): A symbol of the struggle for freedom and equality, representing the resilience of humanity in the face of adversity.
- “La Marseillaise” (French National Anthem): Reflecting the spirit of revolution and the pursuit of liberty, this anthem symbolizes human determination.
- “U2 – One”: A song about love and reconciliation, emphasizing the universal human experience of connection and empathy.
- “Ravi Shankar – Raga Bhairavi”: A representation of the rich tapestry of Indian classical music and the depth of human cultural traditions.
- “Fela Kuti – Water No Get Enemy”: An Afrobeat song highlighting social and political issues, demonstrating the power of music as a medium for social commentary.
- “Teresa Teng – The Moon Represents My Heart” (月亮代表我的心): An iconic Chinese love song reflecting the universal theme of love and longing.
- “Bob Marley – One Love”: Promoting unity and harmony among people, irrespective of their background or nationality.
- “Antonio Vivaldi – The Four Seasons”: A classical piece representing the profound influence of Western classical music on global culture.
- “Aboriginal Music of Australia – Morning Star and Devil Bird”: Highlighting the importance of indigenous cultures and their deep connection to nature and spirituality.
These songs were chosen to represent various cultural, emotional, and social aspects of humanity. While it’s impossible to capture the full scope of human diversity and experience in just ten songs, these selections aim to provide a glimpse into the global tapestry of our shared human heritage.
It is interesting that by removing the condition that the songs come from the original Golden Record the list becomes much more culturally diverse and includes “Morning Star and Devil Bird” from the Golden Record that wasn’t included on the list it curated from the original record.
References:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (n.d.). Voyager – Music on the Golden Record. https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/golden-record/whats-on-the-record/music/
Taylor, D. (Host). (2019, April). Voyager golden record [Audio podcast episode]. In Twenty thousand hertz. Defacto Sound. https://www.20k.org/episodes/voyagergoldenrecord?rq=voyager