Space Songs: A New Golden Record!

In 1977, NASA launched spacecraft containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, and are intended for any intelligent extraterrestrial life form who may find them. The selections are meant as a time capsule and include two Golden Records that include music ranging from Bach to Chuck Berry to Peruvian panpipes, to name just a few.

As student Isabella explains in the above video, this year Daily Orchestra Program’s Upper Elementary students have been listening to all of the music on the Voyager’s Golden Record and imagining what music they would put onto their own golden record if they were going to launch it into space for aliens to jam out to.

Here, every student has picked one piece to represent themself, and another one to represent their family, to make a Daily Orchestra Program Golden Record. We hope you enjoy!

Eliana chose The Duck Song to represent herself because “I listened to this song when I was younger and it makes me happy” and Amazing Grace to represent her family, saying “we went through a hard time last year when very close family members passed away. Amazing Grace was the last song that my sister and I played for our grandmother, which brought joy to her in her final days. It reminds us of the power of music, love, and faith and also that good things come.”

Glarmelle chose Rihanna’s We Found Love for her love of diamonds and “being energetic and dancing.” Ayti Cheri (Beloved Haiti) is her family song choice, as arranged and sung by her dad, Crisler Philemond, accompanied by a sibling backup band.

Isabella thinks that Blackpink’s Shutdown represents her personality, which is “all about laughter, joy, being excited and jumpy.” Her family chose Luna de Xelajú by Gaby Moreno and Oscar Isaac because “to this day it is heard by young and old after it was written in 1944 by a Guatemalan writer.”

Jasmine chose Taylor Swift’s You Belong With Me, saying, “I like the way it sounds. It makes me laugh and I sing it sometimes.” Her family’s choice is Bill Wither’s Lovely Day, because “we thought that it sounds like us because we all have each other and it makes us happy.”

Joseph chose Happy by Pharrell Williams “because I feel good when I sing that song and it’s on the soundtrack to one of my favorite movies Despicable Me.” Joseph’s family chose Sister Sledge’s We Are Family to represent them, saying “it’s about family coming together and we have a big family. It reminds us of family cookouts.”

Juniper says that Kirari by Fujii Kaze represents who she is as a person. “I chose the song because of the way the music changes from being calm and gentle to then becoming excited and happy.” Cyndi Lauper’s The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough represents Juniper’s family because “I feel like my family is kind of like the Goonies. We’re all very different but we’re all there for each other.”

Justin chose Leviathan’s American Boy parody song Chug Jug With You because it’s featured in the online video game Fortnite. His family representation is the song Happy because the music “makes the whole family happy.”

Kaitlyn chose a song called Death by Melanie Martinez because “it’s a catchy song” and listening to it makes her feel more calm and happy. Kaitlyn’s family chose Chris De Burgh’s Lady in Red because “this was the first song my mom and dad danced to on their first date.”

Katherine chose the Suzuki tune Allegro because “it brings me happy moments and it makes me calm.” Her family chose the song God Is In This Story, saying “God is the center of our hearts and he is the one who gives us wisdom.”

Miel grew up listening to Beyoncé and chose Halo as her personal song. To represent her family, she chose Die Zauberflote (Queen of the Night aria), saying, “my family are very outgoing, rambunctious, loud Cubans but loving. We love OPERA!”

Nate chose Crazy Frog by Axel F because “I really like the part when they start to speak gibberish to the beat.” His family is represented by La Sonora Ponceña’s Fuego En El 23, a tune composed and arranged by Nate’s great-grandfather, Carmelo Rivera, who also played trumpet on the song.

Olivia picked Lisa Loeb’s The Wake Up Song “because every day my dad puts that song on to wake me up. It annoys me so much that I get up to stop it. Without that song I would not be in Daily Orchestra Program, I would be sleeping.” For Olivia’s grandparents’ 25th wedding anniversary, her dad played Czardas on the violin with his dad’s partner, who plays the Portuguese guitar, and that song represents her family.

Raphael created a mashup of two songs by LSPLASH: “Dawn of the Doors” + “Elevator Jam”, aka “Dawn of the Elevators” and says “this song makes a sort of chill vibe. I feel like it just speaks to me.” His family is represented by the song Burbujas de Amor by Juan Luis Guerra. Raphael says, “They all love it. It represents Dominican culture greatly.”

Rhyan is always smiling, and that’s why Pharrell Williams’ Happy is her personal pick. “I try to always be happy no matter what,” she says. “The song brings me joy.” Rhyan’s family chose the Luther Vandross song So Amazing “because it is about love. It is also about being together and showing how much you care and also being happy.”

And there you have it! The Daily Orchestra Program Upper Elementary Strings present their own Golden Record, perhaps to launch into outer space…someday soon! What songs would you choose?

Listen to the original 1977 NASA Golden Record.

Return to the Daily Orchestra Program’s Space Songs.