Forty years ago, NASA put together an album for aliens' ears only, until now …
Damn near 40 years ago, NASA blasted the Voyager I and Voyager II into space to boldly go where no human construct has gone before. The purpose? To introduce alien life to the hottest tracks ever produced by mankind.
Right now, the Voyager I is in an area called interstellar space, or some 13 billion miles away from Earth. The Voyager II isn't very far behind. When built, they both were outfitted with a record made of gold, with instructions etched onto the craft about how to play the album if anyone (or anything) ever finds it. Only the people involved in the project really know what the album sounds like, because it's never been reproduced — until now, with help of collectors and their expendable income.
As a wildly successful project on Kickstarter, the Voyager Golden Record: 40th Anniversary Edition has copped more than $600k in funds — a number well over its initial goal of $198k. Because of its success, the team behind the idea is expecting an April 2017 send date on every order.
Per the site, the 3 gold albums are going to be cloaked in outrageous packaging and will come with a book showcasing the history, and the detailed process of creating the album. Yet, unlike the real albums shot into space, the 40th anniversary collector ones won't be actual gold, but what are you gonna do?
Full Tracklist:
– Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F. First Movement, Munich Bach Orchestra, Karl Richter, conductor
– Java, court gamelan, “Kinds of Flowers,” recorded by Robert Brown
– Senegal, percussion, recorded by Charles Duvelle
– Zaire, Pygmy girls’ initiation song, recorded by Colin Turnbull
– Australia, Aborigine songs, “Morning Star” and “Devil Bird,” recorded by Sandra LeBrun Holmes
– Mexico, “El Cascabel,” performed by Lorenzo Barcelata and the Mariachi México
– “Johnny B. Goode,” written and performed by Chuck Berry
– New Guinea, men’s house song, recorded by Robert MacLennan
– Japan, Shakuhachi, “Tsuru No Sugomori” (“Crane’s Nest,”) performed by Goro Yamaguch
– Bach, “Gavotte en rondeaux” from the Partita No. 3 in E major for Violin, performed by Arthur Grumiaux
– Mozart, The Magic Flute, Queen of the Night aria, no. 14. Edda Moser, soprano. Bavarian State Opera, Munich, Wolfgang Sawallisch, conductor
– Georgian S.S.R., chorus, “Tchakrulo,” collected by Radio Moscow
– Peru, panpipes and drum, collected by Casa de la Cultura, Lima
– “Melancholy Blues,” performed by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven
– Azerbaijan S.S.R., bagpipes, recorded by Radio Moscow
– Stravinsky, Rite of Spring, Sacrificial Dance, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Igor Stravinsky, conductor
– Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue in C, No.1. Glenn Gould, piano
– Beethoven, Fifth Symphony, First Movement, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer, conducto
– Bulgaria, “Izlel je Delyo Hagdutin,” sung by Valya Balkanska
– Navajo Indians, Night Chant, recorded by Willard Rhodes
– Holborne, Paueans, Galliards, Almains and Other Short Aeirs, “The Fairie Round,” performed by David Munrow and the Early Music Consort of London
– Solomon Islands, panpipes, collected by the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Service
– Peru, wedding song, recorded by John Cohen
– China, ch’in, “Flowing Streams,” performed by Kuan P’ing-hu
– India, raga, “Jaat Kahan Ho,” sung by Surshri Kesar Bai Kerkar
– “Dark Was the Night,” written and performed by Blind Willie Johnson
– Beethoven, String Quartet No. 13 in B flat, Opus 130, Cavatina, performed by Budapest String Quartet
– Greetings from the Secretary General of the United Nations, Kurt Waldheim
– Greetings in 55 languages
– United Nations greeting
– Whale greetings
– The Sounds of Earth: “Music of the Spheres” by Laurie Spiegel, Volcanoes, Earthquake, Thunder, Mud Pots, Wind, Rain, Surf, Crickets, Frogs, Birds, Hyena, Elephant, Chimpanzee, Wild Dog, Footstepts, Heartbeat, Laughter, Fire, Speech, The First Tools, Tame Dog, Herding Sheep, Blacksmith, Sawing, Tractor, Riveter, Morse Code, Ships, Horse and Cart, Train, Tractor, Bus, Auto, F-111 Flyby, Saturn 5 Lift-off, Kiss, Mother and Child, Life Signs, Pulsar
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