Space-themed music

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Space-themed music is any music, from any genre or style, with lyrics or titles relating to outer space or spaceflight.

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Songs or other musical forms influenced by the concept of outer space have appeared in music throughout history, both in instrumental and vocal pieces with lyrics. As early as Ancient Greece, Pythagoras believed in something called the "harmony of the spheres". He believed that since planets and the stars all moved in the universe according to mathematical equations that these mathematical equations could be translated into musical notes and thus produce a symphony. [1] This idea was explored further throughout Western history under the theories of Musica universalis.[ citation needed ] Some more recent and widely different examples are The Planets by Gustav Holst,[ contradictory ] and the song "Space Oddity" by David Bowie. Outer space also appears as a theme in "Space Age" retro pop music, such as Stereolab's Space-Age Bachelor Pad Music .

Music about outer space attracts enthusiastic listeners from all walks of life. Some have created web pages to share their interests. NASA, JPL, and the US government's Centennial of Flight Commission have webpages showcasing and discussing music about outer space. [2] [3] [4] One useful example of such a web-based list is by astronomer Andrew Fraknoi; see under External Links, below, "A Catalog of Music Inspired by Serious Astronomy."

Music about outer space

In 1777, Joseph Haydn's opera "Il mondo della luna"("The world on the moon") premiered.

Author and classical music critic David Hurwitz describes Joseph Haydn's choral and chamber orchestra piece, The Creation, composed in 1798, as space music, both in the sense of the sound of the music, ("a genuine piece of 'space music' featuring softly pulsating high violins and winds above low cellos and basses, with nothing at all in the middle ... The space music gradually drifts towards a return to the movement's opening gesture ... "); and in the manner of its composition, relating that Haydn conceived The Creation after discussing music and astronomy with William Herschel, oboist and astronomer (discoverer of the planet Uranus). [5]

1875 saw the premiere of the opera~féerie spectacle "Le voyage dans la Lune"("A trip to the moon") by Jacques Offenbach.

20th century

"Fly Me to the Moon" was written in 1954 by Bart Howard and first recorded by Kaye Ballard, the same year. The most famous version of the song is the 1964 recording by Frank Sinatra.

In 1958, Karl-Birger Blomdahl composed an opera Aniara to a libretto by Erik Lindegren based on the poem Aniara by Harry Martinson, a tragedy set aboard a spaceship.

In 1958, Russ Garcia recorded an exotica album called Fantastica on Capitol Records that was about space travel.

The Tornados reached the top of the charts in both the US and the UK with their instrumental "Telstar" in December 1962.

In 1966 Barry Gray wrote several space music pieces for the science-fiction film Thunderbirds Are Go .

In 1969, David Bowie released the single "Space Oddity". The single peaked at 15 on the US charts, becoming Bowie's first success. The song describes the story of a fictional astronaut known as "Major Tom" whose spaceship has an electrical fault. Major Tom is mentioned or referenced in several of Bowie's songs including, "Ashes to Ashes", "Hallo Spaceboy" and "Blackstar".

In 1969, The Beatles released the single "Across the Universe".

In 1972, Elton John released the single "Rocket Man".

The same year Hawkwind recorded and released the song "Space is Deep" and then performed their Space Ritual , which was an opera about a crew of astronauts dreaming in hibernation.

Also in 1972 Tangerine Dream released their double album Zeit , featuring space-related track titles such as "Birth of Liquid Plejades" and "Nebulous Dawn", as well as cover art depicting a solar eclipse. It is considered one of the first (possibly the first) dark ambient albums.

Eduard Artemyev has made space-themed music, for example for the space film Solaris (1972), although his best known and successfully covered space-themed sounding piece might be the theme song for non-space film Siberiade (1979).

In 1973, Montrose released "Space Station #5" as a single from their self-titled debut album. The song was covered by Iron Maiden in 1992. For Montrose's followup album in 1974, Paper Money , they recorded "Spaceage Sacrifice" and the instrumental "Starliner". Montrose's first lead singer, Sammy Hagar, went on to record the title track of his album Marching to Mars , which was released in 1997.

In 1975, the song "'39" was released on the album A Night at the Opera by Queen. The song relates the voyage of 20 volunteers to another star system. While the volunteers perceive the trip as being only a year, 100 years pass on Earth as a consequence of time dilation as described by Einstein's theory of special relativity, and, consequently, return to find their loved ones either no longer alive or of advanced age. [6] The song was written and sung by Brian May, who went on to complete his PhD in astrophysics in 2008, [7] with backing vocals sung by Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor. In 1983, Brian May's solo Star Fleet Project featured Eddie Van Halen. The song "Star Fleet" was a cover version of the ending theme song from the children's sci-fi television series Star Fleet .

The Japanese musician Isao Tomita has produced many albums with space-based themes, such as The Planets (1976), his version of Holst's suite; Kosmos (1978); Bermuda Triangle (1979); Dawn Chorus (Canon of the Three Stars) (1984); Space Walk – Impressions Of An Astronaut (compilation, 1984); Mind of the Universe – Live at Linz (1985); Back to the Earth – Live in New York (1988); and Nasca Fantasy (supporting Kodo, 1994).

The Vangelis album Albedo 0.39 (1976) is entirely devoted to space, while a segment of Heaven and Hell (1975) was used as the theme to the PBS television series Cosmos by Carl Sagan. His work Mythodea: Music for NASA's Mars Odyssey Mission is reflective of his interest in space exploration. [8]

The Police's "Walking on the Moon" single was released in 1979. The accompanying music video was filmed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the band performing in front of the Saturn V displayed outside the Vehicle Assembly Building. During the video, the band's drummer, Stewart Copeland, plays the Saturn V as a percussion instrument. The video also contains footage from the Gemini missions and the Apollo moon landings.

Jean-Michel Jarre's 1986 album Rendez-Vous finished with "Last Rendez-Vous (Ron's Piece)", which was intended to have had a saxophone part played by astronaut Ron McNair, while aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. This would have been the first piece of music recorded in space. However, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster ended this possibility. The track was subsequently dedicated to McNair and the rest of the Challenger crew. In 1983, Jarre had recorded "Moon Machine". This was also released in 1986, but as a 12" single B-side.

Europe's single "The Final Countdown" was also released in 1986. The lyrics are about a fictional interplanetary trip to Venus.

In 1987, David Bowie's Major Tom character and Elton John's "Rocket Man" were mentioned in Def Leppard's "Rocket". This song also features samples of dialogue from the Apollo 11 mission.

Tasmin Archer's "Sleeping Satellite" single was released in 1992. In 2021, Archer stated that the song "isn’t a criticism of man’s arrogance in leaving Earth, but more about the lack of further space exploration that might have led to a better understanding of ecological issues." [9]

Mike Oldfield's 1994 album The Songs of Distant Earth was based on Arthur C. Clarke's SF novel Songs of Distant Earth . The album's opening track, "In the Beginning", features a recording of the Apollo 8 Genesis reading.

Guitarist Joe Satriani has recorded several pieces of space-themed instrumental music: "Raspberry Jam Delta-v" from his 1998 album Crystal Planet , the title track from his 2004 album Is There Love In Space? , "Redshift Riders" from his 2006 album Super Colossal , "Light Years Away" and "Wormhole Wizards" from his 2010 album Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards , and the title track of his 2015 album Shockwave Supernova .

Other pop songs also mention outer space, such as Chris de Burgh's "A Spaceman Came Travelling", the Bonzo Dog Band's "I'm the Urban Spaceman", "Major Tom (Coming Home)" by Peter Schilling, and Deep Purple's "Space Truckin'". To Our Children's Children's Children by The Moody Blues was a 1969 album inspired by spaceflight.

Several albums have featured music inspired by the Apollo space program. In 1983, Brian Eno with his brother Roger Eno and producer/recording artist Daniel Lanois, composed the score for the film For All Mankind , a documentary of NASA's Apollo program; an album of the music, Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks, was later released. [10] On The Orb's 1991 two-disc debut album, Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld , disc one of features an ambient musical simulation of the Apollo 11 Moon journey, including excerpts of NASA recordings of the radio conversations between Mission Control and the astronauts in space.

The filk anthology albums Minus Ten and Counting (1983) and To Touch the Stars (2003) celebrate and promote the exploration of outer space.

21st century

In 2012, Van Halen's A Different Kind of Truth album was released, containing the song "Outta Space". Previously, the band's "Top of the World" music video, from 1991, featured footage from the first thirty years of NASA's human spaceflight programs.

In 2016, Avenged Sevenfold released their album, The Stage, a concept album about space, the universe, the human race, and artificial intelligence. The song "Exist" contains a spoken word section written and performed by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

On May 11, 2018 Arctic Monkeys released the album “Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino”. The album is a concept album based around a fictional hotel and casino built at Tranquility Base, the site of the 1969 Moon landing.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing in 2019, Julianne Regan and Tim Bricheno of All About Eve, released a video and song called Pale Blue Earth.

Sam Ryder's song "Space Man" placed second at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, while representing the United Kingdom. The song's lyrics imagine the scenario of a lonely and homesick astronaut, in search of other life.

Another band to use space as musical inspiration is the Christian "Astro-Rock" group Brave Saint Saturn, whose three albums, So Far from Home , The Light of Things Hoped For , and Anti-Meridian , form a trilogy that chronicles the journey of the fictional spaceship, the USS Gloria, on a trip to survey the moons of Saturn. The music uses space narratives, lingo, samples and quotes to portray the journey.

Soundtracks for films and television shows about outer space

An Etherwave-Theremin, assembled from Robert Moog's kit: the loop antenna on the left controls the volume while the upright antenna controls the pitch Etherwave Theremin Kit.jpg
An Etherwave-Theremin, assembled from Robert Moog's kit: the loop antenna on the left controls the volume while the upright antenna controls the pitch
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Epro theremin in middle range
A Bach piece played by Italian thereminist Fabio Pesce on a Moog Etherwave theremin.
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Soundtracks of science fiction films and television and radio series often feature music associated with outer space, such as Star Wars , Star Trek , Doctor Who , The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , Red Dwarf , The X-Files , Flash Gordon and others.

The theremin is an electronic musical instrument associated with a very eerie sound, which has led to its use in movie soundtracks such as those in The Day the Earth Stood Still .[ citation needed ]

Music played in planetariums and observatories

Many forms of music are used in observatory and planetarium shows, particularly genres such as electronic music, classical music, space music, and space rock. [11] Some artists, such as Geodesium, specialize in creating custom music for Planetariums.

During the 1970s, IMAX's OMNIMAX (now IMAX Dome) film system was conceived to operate on planetarium screens. More recently, some planetariums have re-branded themselves as "dome theaters," with broader offerings including wide-screen or "wraparound" films, fulldome video, and laser shows that combine music with laser-drawn patterns.

Music made with sounds of outer space

Energy sources in the atmosphere, such as lightning, can produce sounds (sferics, tweeks, and whistlers ) in the very low frequency (VLF) radio band. [12] [13]

Objects in space – the Sun, planets, stars, quasars, pulsars, galaxies, and active galaxies – all produce signals that, if received (usually through radio astronomy dishes and processed), can be used by a musician as the basis for any kind of composition imaginable. [14]

Scientists with an interest in space-based sounds include:

Artists/bands who have included space sounds in their works include:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space exploration</span> Exploration of space, planets, and moons

Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. While the exploration of space is currently carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration is conducted both by uncrewed robotic space probes and human spaceflight. Space exploration, like its classical form astronomy, is one of the main sources for space science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voyager program (Mars)</span> Planned series of uncrewed NASA probes to the planet Mars

The Voyager Mars Program was a planned series of uncrewed NASA probes to the planet Mars. The missions were planned, as part of the Apollo Applications Program, between 1966 and 1968 and were scheduled for launch in 1974–75. The probes were conceived as precursors for a crewed Mars landing in the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constellation program</span> Cancelled 2005–2010 NASA human spaceflight program

The Constellation program was a crewed spaceflight program developed by NASA, the space agency of the United States, from 2005 to 2009. The major goals of the program were "completion of the International Space Station" and a "return to the Moon no later than 2020" with a crewed flight to the planet Mars as the ultimate goal. The program's logo reflected the three stages of the program: the Earth (ISS), the Moon, and finally Mars—while the Mars goal also found expression in the name given to the program's booster rockets: Ares. The technological aims of the program included the regaining of significant astronaut experience beyond low Earth orbit and the development of technologies necessary to enable sustained human presence on other planetary bodies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space Oddity</span> 1969 song by David Bowie

"Space Oddity" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was first released on 11 July 1969 by Philips Records as a 7-inch single, then as the opening track of his second studio album, David Bowie. Produced by Gus Dudgeon and recorded at Trident Studios in London, it is a tale about a fictional astronaut named Major Tom; its title and subject matter were partly inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Bowie's feelings of alienation at that point in his career. One of the most musically complex songs he had written up to that point, it represented a change from the music hall-influenced sound of his debut to a sound akin to psychedelic folk and inspired by the Bee Gees.

The Apollo Applications Program (AAP) was created as early as 1966 by NASA headquarters to develop science-based human spaceflight missions using hardware developed for the Apollo program. AAP was the ultimate development of a number of official and unofficial Apollo follow-on projects studied at various NASA labs. However, the AAP's ambitious initial plans became an early casualty when the Johnson Administration declined to support it adequately, partly in order to implement its Great Society set of domestic programs while remaining within a $100 billion budget. Thus, Fiscal Year 1967 ultimately allocated $80 million to the AAP, compared to NASA's preliminary estimates of $450 million necessary to fund a full-scale AAP program for that year, with over $1 billion being required for FY 1968. The AAP eventually led to Skylab, which absorbed much of what had been developed under Apollo Applications.

<i>Voyage</i> (novel) 1996 novel by Stephen Baxter

Voyage is a 1996 hard science fiction novel by British author Stephen Baxter. The book depicts a crewed mission to Mars as it might have been in another timeline, one where John F. Kennedy survived the assassination attempt on him on 22 November 1963. Voyage won a Sidewise Award for Alternate History, and was nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1997.

<i>For All Mankind</i> (film) 1989 documentary film by Al Reinert

For All Mankind is a 1989 documentary film made of original footage from NASA's Apollo program, which successfully prepared and landed the first humans on the Moon from 1968 to 1972. It was directed by Al Reinert, with music by Brian Eno. The film, consisting of footage from Apollo 7 through Apollo 17, was assembled to depict what seems like a single trip to the Moon, highlighting the beauty and otherworldliness of the images by only using audio from the interviews Reinert conducted with Apollo crew members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex</span> Science museum on Merritt Island, Florida

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is the visitor center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida. It features exhibits and displays, historic spacecraft and memorabilia, shows, two IMAX theaters, and a range of bus tours of the spaceport. The "Space Shuttle Atlantis" exhibit contains the Atlantis orbiter and the Shuttle Launch Experience, a simulated ride into space. The center also provides astronaut training experiences, including a multi-axial chair and Mars Base simulator. The visitor complex also has daily presentations from a veteran NASA astronaut. A bus tour, included with admission, encompasses the separate Apollo/Saturn V Center. There were 1.7 million visitors to the visitor complex in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apollo 8 Genesis reading</span> Reading of the Book of Genesis by Apollo 8 crewmembers

On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1968, the crew of Apollo 8, the first humans to travel to the Moon, read from the Book of Genesis during a television broadcast. During their ninth orbit of the Moon astronauts Bill Anders, Jim Lovell, and Frank Borman recited verses 1 through 10 of the Genesis creation narrative from the King James Bible. Anders read verses 1–4, Lovell verses 5–8, and Borman read verses 9 and 10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of space exploration</span> Overview of and topical guide to space exploration

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to space exploration.

Christopher Riley is a British writer, broadcaster and film maker specialising in the history of science. He has a PhD from Imperial College, University of London where he pioneered the use of digital elevation models in the study of mountain range geomorphology and evolution. He makes frequent appearances on British television and radio, broadcasting mainly on space flight, astronomy and planetary science and was visiting professor of science and media at the University of Lincoln between 2011 and 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space art</span> Visual art genre about outer space

Space art or astronomical art is a genre of art that focuses on the universe as a frame of reference. Like other genres, space art has many facets and encompasses realism, impressionism, zoological art, abstract imagery, and the making of sculptures. Though artists have long produced art with astronomical elements, the genre of space art itself began only when technological advancement allowed for more detailed observation of the night sky. Space art also attempts to communicate ideas related to space, often including an artistic interpretation of cosmological phenomena and scientific discoveries. In some cases, space artists use more than illustration and painting to communicate astronomy or works depicting space. Several space artists work directly with scientists developing spaceflight technology in attempts to expand the arts, humanities, and cultural expression relative to space exploration.

Robert Godwin is a British author who has written about rock music and spaceflight. Early in his career he was a rock music impresario who managed a venue in Burlington, Ontario, and founded Griffin Music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASA</span> American space and aeronautics agency

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. Established in 1958, it succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the U.S. space development effort a distinct civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful applications in space science. It has since led most of America's space exploration programs, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the 1968–1972 Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle. Currently, NASA supports the International Space Station (ISS) along with the Commercial Crew Program, and oversees the development of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System for the lunar Artemis program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Discovery and exploration of the Solar System</span>

Discovery and exploration of the Solar System is observation, visitation, and increase in knowledge and understanding of Earth's "cosmic neighborhood". This includes the Sun, Earth and the Moon, the major planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, their satellites, as well as smaller bodies including comets, asteroids, and dust.

With the advent of robotic and human spaceflight a new era of American history had presented itself. Keeping with the tradition of honoring the country's history on U.S. postage stamps, the U.S. Post Office began commemorating the various events with its commemorative postage stamp issues. The first U.S. Postage issue to depict a U.S. space vehicle was issued in 1948, the Fort Bliss issue. The first issue to commemorate a space project by name was the ECHO I communications satellite commemorative issue of 1960. Next was the Project Mercury issue of 1962. As U.S. space exploration progressed a variety of other commemorative issues followed, many of which bear accurate depictions of satellites, space capsules, Apollo Lunar Modules, space suits, and other items of interest.

Virginia Air and Space Science Center Aerospace museum in Hampton, Virginia

The Virginia Air and Space Science Center is a museum and educational facility in Hampton, Virginia that also serves as the visitors center for NASA's Langley Research Center and Langley Air Force Base. The museum also features an IMAX digital theater and offers summer aeronautic- and space-themed camps for children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music in space</span> Music from a spacecraft in outer space

Music in space is music played in or broadcast from a spacecraft in outer space. The first ever song that was performed in space was a Ukrainian song “Watching the sky...”(“Дивлюсь я на небо”) sang on 12 August 1962 by Pavlo Popovych, cosmonaut from Ukraine at a special request of Serhiy Korolyov, Soviet rocket engineer and spacecraft designer from Ukraine. According to the Smithsonian Institution, the first musical instruments played in outer space were an 8-note Hohner "Little Lady" harmonica and a handful of small bells carried by American astronauts Wally Schirra and Thomas P. Stafford aboard Gemini 6A. Upon achieving a space rendezvous in Earth orbit with their sister ship Gemini 7 in December 1965, Schirra and Stafford played a rendition of "Jingle Bells" over the radio after jokingly claiming to have seen an unidentified flying object piloted by Santa Claus. The instruments had been smuggled on-board without NASA's knowledge, leading Mission Control director Elliot See to exclaim "You're too much" to Schirra after the song. The harmonica was donated to the Smithsonian by Schirra in 1967, with his note that it "...plays quite well".

References

  1. ↑ Riedweg, Christoph (2005). Pythagoras: His Life, Teaching, And Influence. Cornell University Press. pp.  29, 30, 116. ISBN   0-8014-4240-0.
  2. ↑ http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2003/dec/HQ_03396_Labelle.html ASA Song Soars To Grammy Nomination
  3. ↑ "Cassini-Huygens: News-Press Releases-2000". Archived from the original on 2007-11-11. Retrieved 2007-07-14. "Sounds" of Outer Space Near Jupiter Now Online – JPL/NASA website
  4. ↑ http://www.centennialofflight.net/essay/Social/music/SH16.htm Aviation and Space Music – U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission
  5. ↑ Hurwitz, David (2005). Exploring Haydn: A Listener's Guide to Music's Boldest Innovator. Amadeus Press Unlocking the Masters Series. Hal Leonard. pp.  78–81. ISBN   1-57467-116-2.
  6. ↑ Blake, Mark (2011). Is this the real life? : the untold story of Queen. London: Aurum. p. 179. ISBN   978-1-84513-713-7.
  7. ↑ "Imperial College Graduation". Imperial College London. 23 May 2018. Archived from the original on 24 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  8. ↑ NASA Spotlight on Vangelis music for Mars Odyssey Mission
  9. ↑ Bass, George (24 May 2021). "How we made: Sleeping Satellite by Tasmin Archer". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  10. ↑ Prendergast, Mark (2000). The Ambient Century: From Mahler to Trance – the Evolution of Sound in the Electronic Age. Bloomsbury Publishing, New York. pp.  125. ISBN   1-58234-134-6.
  11. ↑ Enthusiast's website with detailed information about music for Planetariums and generally about outer space
  12. ↑ space weather glossary sounds information
  13. ↑ NASA space-sound poetry page Archived 2007-07-11 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ here Hobbysapce article on space sounds used in music
  15. ↑ NASA Voyager CD
  16. ↑ electromagnetic fields processed with digital sampling techniques Archived 2002-08-03 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ↑ report on Voyager music by Kronos Quartet
  18. ↑ Stanford – Stephen Taylor album info
  19. ↑ The Music of Robert Schroeder
  20. ↑ AmbientMusicGuide.com – Robert Schroeder Archived 2007-08-04 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ↑ Robert Schröder – Galaxie Cygnus-A
  22. ↑ Bandcamp – Billy Yfantis album info
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