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IN SPACE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SING
Mar. 6th, 2008 06:48 pmITEM: The International Space Station crew will be getting something extra with its supply shipment this weekend: an MP3 player loaded with a playlist of ten songs specially chosen for astronauts.
The playlist was selected via a contest held by the European Space Agency as part of a promotion for its new Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) for the ISS.
Out of 1,000 entries from ten countries, here’s the list that won:
1. The Beatles, “Here Comes The Sun”
2. Frank Sinatra, “Come Fly With Me”
3. Elton John, “Rocket Man”
4. Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes, “Up Where We Belong”
5. John Lennon, “Imagine”
6. Irene Cara, “Flashdance (What A Feeling)”
7. Dire Straits, “Walk of Life”
8. Celine Dion, “Fly”
9. Status Quo, “Rockin' All Over The World”
10. R Kelly, “I Believe I Can Fly”
Which is mostly hideous, of course – though to be fair, the winner was a 14-year-old girl from Norway, so I don't want to pick on her.
Still, no “Space Oddity”? No “Space Truckin’”? No “Satellite Of Love”? Maybe they couldn't get legal clearance for the RIAA in time. Which is understandable, because you really don't want the RIAA to sue the ISS out of the sky for copyright infringement, do you? The RIAA is very strict about exporting songs for use off the Earth. Interplanetary rights and all. Otherwise Martians could kill the music industry. And then there'd be war, and shit, Jim, who needs that?
io9 has a much better list of songs here (albeit for sci-fi karaoke purposes, not space flight playlists). And, for what it’s worth, here’s the top ten list I would have submitted had I known about the contest in the first place:
TOP TEN DEF SONGS FOR ASTRONAUTS
1. Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, "I’m The Urban Spaceman"
2. Black Sabbath, “Supernaut”
3. Shonen Knife, "Riding on the Rocket"
4. Sonic Youth, "Silver Rocket”
5. The B-52s, “Cosmic Thing”
6. Pink Floyd, "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun”
7. Blue Oyster Cult, “Astronomy”
8. Adam Ant, “Apollo 9”
9. Rush, “Countdown”
10. Talking Heads "Moon Rocks"
BONUS TRACKS
Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers "Here Come the Martian Martians"
Rush, “Cygnus X-1”
Parliament, “Theme From The Black Hole”
Devo, "Space Junk"
Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Third Stone from the Sun”
Camper Van Beethoven, "The Day That Lassie Went To The Moon”
Rolling Stones, "2000 Light Years From Home"
The Only Ones, "Another Girl, Another Planet”
Ladies and gentlemen we are rocking in space,
This is dF
The playlist was selected via a contest held by the European Space Agency as part of a promotion for its new Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) for the ISS.
Out of 1,000 entries from ten countries, here’s the list that won:
1. The Beatles, “Here Comes The Sun”
2. Frank Sinatra, “Come Fly With Me”
3. Elton John, “Rocket Man”
4. Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes, “Up Where We Belong”
5. John Lennon, “Imagine”
6. Irene Cara, “Flashdance (What A Feeling)”
7. Dire Straits, “Walk of Life”
8. Celine Dion, “Fly”
9. Status Quo, “Rockin' All Over The World”
10. R Kelly, “I Believe I Can Fly”
Which is mostly hideous, of course – though to be fair, the winner was a 14-year-old girl from Norway, so I don't want to pick on her.
Still, no “Space Oddity”? No “Space Truckin’”? No “Satellite Of Love”? Maybe they couldn't get legal clearance for the RIAA in time. Which is understandable, because you really don't want the RIAA to sue the ISS out of the sky for copyright infringement, do you? The RIAA is very strict about exporting songs for use off the Earth. Interplanetary rights and all. Otherwise Martians could kill the music industry. And then there'd be war, and shit, Jim, who needs that?
io9 has a much better list of songs here (albeit for sci-fi karaoke purposes, not space flight playlists). And, for what it’s worth, here’s the top ten list I would have submitted had I known about the contest in the first place:
TOP TEN DEF SONGS FOR ASTRONAUTS
1. Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, "I’m The Urban Spaceman"
2. Black Sabbath, “Supernaut”
3. Shonen Knife, "Riding on the Rocket"
4. Sonic Youth, "Silver Rocket”
5. The B-52s, “Cosmic Thing”
6. Pink Floyd, "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun”
7. Blue Oyster Cult, “Astronomy”
8. Adam Ant, “Apollo 9”
9. Rush, “Countdown”
10. Talking Heads "Moon Rocks"
BONUS TRACKS
Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers "Here Come the Martian Martians"
Rush, “Cygnus X-1”
Parliament, “Theme From The Black Hole”
Devo, "Space Junk"
Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Third Stone from the Sun”
Camper Van Beethoven, "The Day That Lassie Went To The Moon”
Rolling Stones, "2000 Light Years From Home"
The Only Ones, "Another Girl, Another Planet”
Ladies and gentlemen we are rocking in space,
This is dF
