MY OWN GOLDEN RECORD

In blog prompt2, I chose three examples of sound that I would include on a ‘Golden Record’ type project. These sounds would be sent into space, with the hope that one day an extra-terrestrial intelligence would intercept it and learn how to access the audio on the device. I chose the following three samples:

Sounds of the earth’s natural landscapes: 

This sound sample was taking to a publicly available 10-hour audio recording of nature. I felt that capturing the raw audio of Earth, undisturbed by human touch, was an important aspect of the golden record. The sounds could include but are not limited to:  waterflow – from ocean waves, rain, or river rapids; the howl of winds or wolves; the buzzing of a bee; or a crow’s call; or an block detaching from our arctic ice packs. The idea would be to paint an auditory image of Earth, and to draw contrast to the next sound example.

Sounds of earth’s urban environments:

This sample was taking from a similar source, though this was a 10-hour audio recording of New York City, one of the most established and well known urban epicenters on the planet, and one which resides in western civilization where a large quantity of the worlds media and entertainment is produced. These sounds might detail the honking traffic or sound of sirens, the rush of people with their distant chatter, the shouts of construction workers, the beeping of a cargo truck in reverse. This sample play great contrast to the previous sample of natural sounds, which I believe is an important aspect for a ‘Golden Record’ type project. This way, there is an apparent diversity in sounds that roughly follow the same format. I think this would make sense as far as creating an auditory experience that would be simpler to understand or interpret, given we know nothing of the other beings level of intelligence or technology.

I would consider including samples from multiple environments to further diversify this auditory description and encapsulation of Earth; perhaps other urban epicenters such as Tokyo, Dubai, or Hong Kong, as well as less populated area such as in countries in Africa or the South Pacific.

Across the Universe – The Beatles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90M60PzmxEE&ab_channel=TheBeatles-Topic

A song by one of the, if not the most, popular band from the 20th century, and one that is arguably one of the most influential in the direction of popular music that we still hear today. I think there of course should be multiple samples of music included, but coming from this new golden record idea, I believe ‘Across the Universe’ is a fitting song and if the being who discovers it is able to develop an understanding of the language, I believe the song represents a powerful message.

Each example represents aspects of life on earth, hopefully allowing for a basic understanding of earth. The natural landscapes demonstrates the environment which the humans live upon. The urban sounds show our daily life innovation on the natural world. The Beatles song shows creative expression and I believe the lyrics are fitting for not only human life, but also the very nature of the project.