Space Jams

By Nicole Mo

In 1977, the Voyager spacecrafts rocketed into space on a mission to explore the outer solar system. NASA scientists, America’s perennial alien geeks, included a message on a gold-plated phonograph record in case Voyager should ever be intercepted by extraterrestrial life. Among sound-clips of bird calls and pictures of children is a collection of music—after all, little can convey our cultures and people as well as music can. The “Golden Record” contains tracks spanning from a Peruvian wedding song to Senegalese percussions, from Louis Armstrong to Beethoven and Bach. Carl Sagan did a decent job, but four decades of music-making have passed since Voyager’s launch and our intergalactic musical archives could use an update. It’s an enormous task to identify a handful of songs that communicate the totality of human experience. The below songs, perhaps not the best or most important, are nonetheless what my friends and I think E.T. & co. would enjoy and find helpful in understanding our freaky species. So the following 15 songs are far from a diverse and thorough collection, but such an entirely subjective, inevitably incomplete list was bound to fall short. But the human experience is nothing if not entirely subjective and inevitably incomplete, right?

- Michael Jackson, “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” (1979): MJ won his first Grammy for this song, and for good reason. The heart-racing synths and exhilarating falsettos combined for an iconic dance jam that foregrounded the 80s and kicked off the King of Pop’s legacy. Nothing brings people together like music and dancing—this song is a pretty good example of why.

- David Bowie, “Ashes to Ashes” (1980): The bass riff on this track is layered with metallic, warpy instrumentals that lend some nonhuman adrenaline to the subtly elegiac, intimately human lyrics—an accurate embodiment of Bowie himself, perhaps recent history’s best earth alien.

- Prince, “Little Red Corvette” (1982): Look, we can’t pretend that sex and cars aren’t both embedded in contemporary pop culture. And, yes, aliens probably don’t understand English, but Prince’s ecstatic rock-funk track gets the point across nonverbally with the syncopated percussions, revved-up (read: turned on) vocals, and electrifying (read: erotic) guitar solo.  

- Nena, “99 Luftballons” (1983): This undeniably catchy Cold War-era protest song tells the quirky, tragic story of children’s balloons that, mistaken for UFOs, set off a 99-year war. Everything on Earth is tangled up in politics and war: hopefully the aliens will get the gist of that message, even if it’s relayed in sunny, fast-tempo German.

- Tears for Fears, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” (1985): In the words of my friend Kamau, “I just feel like it’s human nature in a nutshell.” Not to mention, the 80s Brit pop-rock scene has certainly earned a spot in the interstellar with this classic sing-into-a-hairbrush, air-guitar-the-solo track.

- Tracy Chapman, “Fast Car” (1988): Chapman’s restraint in the verses gives way to the iconic, soaring, and idealistic choruses that we’ve all belted out along to. “Fast Car” is an intimate folk narrative with political undertones about the American Dream— a worthwhile song for E.T.s looking for a basic American history lesson and an emotional rollercoaster.

- Mazzy Star, “Fade Into You” (1993): Simple pop with surprising resonance, “Fade Into You” for sure soundtracked many an angsty makeout session in the 90s. The haunting, ethereal track stirs feelings of melancholy and hope at the same time—it’s a sad, beautiful track, and a dark horse contender as humankind’s best love song.

- Nas, “The World Is Yours” (1994): Nas arguably put New York rap back on the map, and “The World Is Yours” is a good indicator of why. Jazz sampling and trademark 90s scratching underlie the narratively brutal verses and empowering, titular chorus. Yeah, the aliens might mistake the title as a promise, but I’m kind of willing to take the risk.

- TLC, “Waterfalls” (1995): TLC brought a band-defining swagger to Motown-era harmonies and soothing neo-soul. “Waterfalls” is a cool and timeless summer jam that adds a new dimension to classic girl group music, pulling back the curtain on another dimension of growing up in the modern age.

- The Fishmans, “Part 1” (1996): A build-up of hypnotic, mystical instrumentals intertwines beautifully with trancy vocals that appear halfway through this jazzy, ambient dream-pop track. My friend Stefan thinks aliens would be best at minimalist music, if any genre, so hopefully they enjoy an offering of one of our best.

- Radiohead, “Karma Police” (1997): Alt-boi favorites Thommy Yorke and the Radioheads are known for voicing generational, technological anxiety through unconventional, atmospheric rock. In the words of the frontman, “This is a song against bosses. Fuck the middle management!” How very human.

- Daft Punk, “One More Time” (2001): Someone has to introduce intergalactic species to stylized autotune (at least of the human variety)—it might as well be the French electronic duo that presents itself as robots. Daft Punk was a major player in the ensuing decade-long reign of auto-tune. Love it or hate it, you can’t get this dance-club bop out of your head once you’ve heard it.

- Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Maps” (2004):  A classic love ballad in art-punk dress that was featured on Beyonce’s recent “Hold Up”, “Maps” blends tender lyrics with powerful guitar and a hysteria of percussion. Karen O & co. captured the turmoil and confusion of the aughts in this song about heartbreak and recovery.

- Kanye West, “POWER” (2010); Say what you want about Yeezy (and there’s a lot to say), but he’s carved himself a cultural legacy since he first surfaced as a producer. The aggressive nature of “POWER” makes it an unapologetic declaration of its creator’s abrasive egoism, and an amp-up anthem for the rest of us, brilliantly narcissistic or otherwise.

- Kamasi Washington, “Truth” (2017): The most contemporary song Carl Sagan sent to space in ’77 was “Johnny B. Goode,” Chuck Berry’s song from almost 20 years previous. But I’m not Carl Sagan and I think recent songs can be trusted to have a lasting effect. Washington delivers a cosmic, climactic 13-minute jazz piece in this unsubtly named track. If aliens could understand (and appreciate) anything on this list, my money’s on “Truth.”