Task 8: Golden Record Curation Assignment

Being a big fan of all types of music, I found this task to be quite difficult. The podcast presented small snippets of each of the songs, which was useful, though I listened to each song in its entirety. The variety of music is extremely diverse representing a wide range of ethnic origins, time periods, and complexity. I thought it is necessary to select the pieces that continue to represent this diversity. I went through a few rounds of whittling down the original 27 songs until I arrived at 10. I also assumed that the greeting would not be included in the 10, either because if we were still sending it to space, a greeting would be a given, and if we were not sending it to space, we wouldn’t need a greeting. I started by eliminating the more harsh and aggressive sounding songs as to not scare away the aliens, such as Mozart’s Queen of the Night (I think anything in German, particularly German opera sounds aggressive) and Beethoven’s 5^th. For the next step, I grouped similar sounding music, such as the Peruvian panpipes and the Azerbaijan bagpipes, and then picked one from the group. With the songs that were remaining, I selected 10 based on emotion and what I believe to be musical merit. I define musical merit as having influence on or having been influenced by a variety of music, in addition to musical complexity. The following is the list of 10, in no particular order:

1) Peru Wedding song – I feel this piece represents a part of South America that is not necessarily what is typical music from this part of the world. I found this song to be very sweet and moving. I think the brevity of this song also makes it easy to listen to. If the song was a few minutes longer, it would lose its ability to have a sustained emotional impact.

2) Azerbaijan bagpipes – Again, I thought this song represents a region that is not typically known for its music. I would ordinarily associate bagpipes with Scottish Highland music, but this piece has a distinct difference. The Azerbaijani bagpipes sounds much more melodic and subtle with its vibrato. It felt like a beautiful lullaby.

3) Bach by Glenn Gould – I am very partial to classical piano and Glenn Gould is considered a musical genius. The beauty of this solo piano piece rests in its simplicity coupled with its complexity through the pianist’s interpretation of the composition. The tempo, volume, and tone changes throughout to give the music depth, interest, and emotional connection. I think it is an exemplary piece of classical piano music.

4) Tchakrulo Choir – This piece of music and the Bach by Glenn Gould have similar elements. Both are simple in its instrumentation, this one, only voices, with a similar use of elements in the composition to bring interest and depth. It is in its use of harmony and tempo that draws the listener in, but it’s the tone and increasing volume that evokes emotion.

5) Morning Star and Devil Bird – I found this song and the one from Papua New Guinea to sound similar, particularly at the beginning. I chose this piece, over the one from Papua New Guinea, as it moved into more variety following the digeridoo section. The addition of the chanting gave it a human element and depth that sounds mysterious and representative of an indigenous voice from Australia.

6) Melancholy Blues by Louis Armstrong – I chose this piece of music because I played the trumpet in grade school and Louis Armstrong was the impetus in choosing my instrument. Needless to say, I’m not a legendary trumpetist and I still love to hear Satchmo play and sing. Also, I think American Jazz music has such a rich history that tells a story of the cultural elements that influence the Jazz sound. In addition, American jazz has had a massive influence on later music.

7) Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry – I think the electric guitar is a revolutionary instrument. Coupled with the rock and roll sound and played by an innovator in Chuck Berry, this song is the epitome of rock and roll music. And rock and roll being a musical and cultural progression from American Jazz mixed with rhythm and blues. Chuck Berry is another musical genius included in the Golden Albums that cannot be overlooked. Also, the song Johnny B. Goode reminds me of one of the last scenes in the movie Back to the Future.

8) Jaat Kahan Ho – I think there needs to be music from India in order for this list to be representative of world music. It doesn’t have to be this song in particular, but anything that represents the richness of Indian culture is a necessary addition. In general, Indian music is such as departure from any other type of music that its inclusion is like a conversation that takes an interesting tangent. Also, Indian music has had a major influence on several great bands, such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

9) Brandenburg no. 2, part 1 – There also needs to be the inclusion of a classical piece of music, this one is happy and uplifting. Again, this song was grouped with the other classical pieces and I chose this based on its positive vibe. I think the heavy reliance on the horns made the piece sound more uplifting as opposed to the stirring sound of the stringed instruments in other classical pieces.

10) El Casabel – I feel my assessment of this song similar to Jaat Kahan Ho from India, in that it’s not necessarily the song, rather the culture this song is tied to. I think the Mexican culture has a richness and depth that cannot be represented by a single song, but is significant enough to require its inclusion on my list of 10.