THE GOLDEN RECORD PROJECT

Music and noise are both key elements to the human experience, as discussed throughout the course, which would be a great example of what life on earth if we were to send a record to aliens. They are often used to express what words cannot, and can recreate emotions of everyday life. 

I will begin this by saying that, on principal, I would never work with Elon Musk, no matter how cool the concept is. With that fact aside, there is a lot that I would want to make sure goes into The Golden Record Project. Conversation, pain, and coming of age are all key aspects of life that aliens would have to understand to understand our society, as aliens most likely do not experience the same things that we do. Conversation is what builds our relationships, it is how others gain an opinion of us and how our relationships with others flower. Those relationship also do not exist without pain and heartbreak. We are also culturally fascinated with growing up and how growing up changes us, as is resinated through film, theatre, and music. To capture these experiences, I would send honest conversations from people around the world, I “Dreamed A Dream” from the musical Les Miserables, and “Night Changes” by One Direction. 

Honest conversations from people around the world would give aliens an idea of what humans are actually like and how we function in our everyday lives. These conversations would be from friends, family, lovers, and more. They would be of people just authentically existing in the moment, giving any non-human listeners an idea of what we do everyday and how we communicate with the people we love or hate. There would also be as many language as possible captured in the recording. Diversity is what makes humans so interesting, which would need to be expressed when sending this recording to space. I could only imagine the recording being found and the aliens just examining the different tone within the voices and the expression varying from culture to culture. They could also examine how people in different cultures talk to one another and how love and hate are expressed within the different parts of earth. Another key aspect is storytelling. This is a key aspect of cultures and has existed for many, many years. Humans are naturally drawn to tell stories, as witnessed in many form of art. These honest conversations that happen in everyday life, where people are authentically themselves, are a key aspect of our society that is necessary to share. 

“I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables captures Fontaine’s pain and explains her life tragedy. While it could be considered an extreme, the emotions that Fontaine is is experiencing are a part of the human experience. The music and lyrics are composed in a such a way to make the listener feel Fontaine’s pain. What she has experienced is unfair, as life is at times, illustrating another factor of human experience. The song is also, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful musical theatre pieces ever written and from one of the best musicals. Les Miserables is overall a piece of art that I believe aliens need to see and “I Dreamed a Dream” is an excellent choice to send to space. 

Something else that is important to the human experience that the media loves to explore is growing up and coming of age. A song that exemplifies those themes is “Night Changes” by One Direction. It is about a relationship that is continuing through life’s changes and growing up. If this song were heard by the extraterrestrial, I believe it would properly convey this important human experience. It is also an example of popular music, which is another important aspect of life to share. Not only that, it is a good song from a good album. A lot of the disregard of One Direction is rooted in misogyny due to the fanbase primarily being teenage girls, and the patriarchal idea that teenage girls cannot like something because it is good. Anyways, if aliens got to listen to this without the societal connotations, it would convey the experience of growing up with those you love in a human society. 

There are many experiences of human life that are crucial to understanding it. A few of these are connection, pain and suffering, and coming of age, which are shown in honest conversations between loved ones, Les Miserables’ “I Dreamed a Dream”, and One Direction’s “Night Changes”. All of these sounds and songs would show aliens what the human experience is like if it were a part of The Golden Record Project. Music and noise allows those listening to feel, and would be a great communication device.Â