# Why no really positive songs about space flight? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 23, 2003, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387 "2003-09-23T20:07:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/61 "2003-10-02T15:04:25Z")
> [@](#): > > _originally posted by Tuckerfan_ > The bulk of folks record labels are pushing these days haven’t the brains of Geddy and the boys, so for them to have the necessary curiosity and ability to write a decent song about spaceflight, is well-nigh impossible. So the lack of songs devoted to space flight by bands on indie labels is explained by…? There are plenty of bands given the opportunity to develop by their labels. Many of them have curiosity, ability and write very good lyrics. Still, not a great deal about space flight. I don’t think record labels can be blamed here. **Sam Stone** : perhaps this is why we differ in opinion. I’m not a great Rush fan 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Isabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5a626/32.png) [@Isabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isabelle)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/62 "2003-10-02T15:37:03Z")
I stood outside and watched the Challenger blow up back in 1986. When I came back into the office to hear the news and find out what happened the song “Somewhere” was playing by Babs Streisand. So that song always reminds me of flight. It sure fits the tragedy. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/63 "2003-10-02T17:02:23Z")
"I fly a starship across the universe divide and when I reach the other side I’ll find a place to rest my spirit if I can Perhaps I may become a highwayman again or I may simply be a single drop of rain But I will remain and I’ll be back again … and again … and again … " “Highwayman”, Willie/Johnny/Waylon/Kris ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/64 "2003-10-02T20:09:46Z")
There is plenty of positive music about spaceflight, but you won’t hear it on any radio station – it’s part of the underground genre of “filk,” science-fiction folk music, which is performed by fans at “filksings” at science-fiction conventions, and sometimes recorded and released on tapes and CD’s you won’t find at any music store but which you can order from special catalogs or over the Net. Filk tapes and CD’s are usually live recordings from performances at conventions, rarely studio recordings. Filk is an acquired but highly addictive taste. It is music by nerds for nerds. It is purely amateur – nobody ever does it for the money. The musical quality is highly variable, as you might expect. It is highly unlikely that filk will **ever** become a commercial success outside the fannish community. For a good intro, check out [www.filk.com](http://www.filk.com); Filk FAQ at [http://home.earthlink.net/~kayshapero/filkfaq.htm;](http://home.earthlink.net/~kayshapero/filkfaq.htm;) [http://www.lovesong.com/people/keshlam/filk/whatfilk.html;](http://www.lovesong.com/people/keshlam/filk/whatfilk.html;) and “Darn near all the filk on the Web” at [http://www.dnaco.net/~mobrien/filk/filklink.html](http://www.dnaco.net/~mobrien/filk/filklink.html). A prime example of pro-spaceflight filk is “Fire in the Sky” by Jordin Kare: Prometheus, they say, Brought God’s fire down to man And we’ve caught it, tamed it, trained it Since our history began! Now we’re going back to heaven Just to look Him in the eye, And there’s a thunder 'cross the land And a fire in the sky! You can hear this on MP3 if you click on [http://artists.mp3s.com/artist\_song/2475/2475506.html](http://artists.mp3s.com/artist_song/2475/2475506.html). You can link to a whole page of links to spacefilk at [http://www.dnaco.net/~mobrien/filk/spacelnk.html](http://www.dnaco.net/~mobrien/filk/spacelnk.html). ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/65 "2003-10-06T23:02:43Z")
Why hasn’t anyone put the poem [_High Flight_](http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/prewwii/jgm.htm) to music? I realize that it’s not exactly about space flight, but it’s not so far a field from the subject matter to be counted out. Oh, Jean Michel Jarre’s album _[Rendez-Vous](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000001ZS9/qid=1065481228/sr=1-11/ref=sr_1_11/002-0292337-2239238?v=glance&s=music)_ was to have parts of it recorded in space by astronaut Ron McNair. Sadly, however, that was not to be after Ron was killed when _Challenger_ exploded. Jarre dedicated the album to the _Challenger_ crew. ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/66 "2003-10-07T00:55:53Z")
Calling Occupants - Klatuu Telstar - The Ventures (okay, this is intstrumental). ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/67 "2003-10-12T07:04:31Z")
[NASA’s website has a space themed song.](http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/NASA45th/index1.html) You have to select the “Flash Feature” to hear it (and you’ll need a broadband connection), but it’s a piece of “trance” music that’s obviously space themed (and pretty good, IMHO). ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/68 "2003-10-12T07:13:54Z")
Oh! :smack: And now that I think about it, [Doubting Thomas’s song _Come in Peace_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000003RF9/ref=m_art_li_1/002-0292337-2239238?v=glance&s=music) includes samples from the movie [_The Day the Earth Stood Still_](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0043456/) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/69 "2003-10-12T17:25:08Z")
Yes, there are some positive songs about space flight. But space is, quite simply, a scary place. It’s extremely alien, very dangerous, and the sheer scale of it is, as the Late Great Douglas Adams (May He Always Be With His Towel) would say, mind-boggling. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/70 "2003-10-12T21:30:41Z")
Posted by **Mr. Excellent:** > [@](#): > > Yes, there are some positive songs about space flight. But space is, quite simply, a scary place. It’s extremely alien, very dangerous, and the sheer scale of it is, as the Late Great Douglas Adams (May He Always Be With His Towel) would say, mind-boggling. So? You can’t write uplifting songs about scary, mind-boggling things? Some of the best popular songs ever written are about wars; what could be scarier than that? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/71 "2003-10-12T22:22:39Z")
**Moons of Jupiter** by **Scruffy the Cat** _Wanna go to the moons of Jupiter Seen the pictures in the magazines Wanna go to the moons of Jupiter Escape the political scenes_ (Bouncy song, which goes on to describe the delights of wearing “silver helmets and shiny gloves.”) **Planet Claire** by **The B-52s** _She came from Planet Claire I knew she came from there She drove a Plymouth Satellite Faster than the speed of light_ also, **There’s a Moon in the Sky** by **The B-52s** _If you’re lucky you get to ride in a gold meteorite If you’re not, you get a mouth, a mouthful of red Kryptonite You better move over Here comes a Super-nova Kryptonite- - - Destination moon_ Goofy upbeat song about space travel. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/72 "2003-10-13T01:20:01Z")
This one isn’t negative The way I’ve interpreted World Party’s “Is It Like Today?”, I consider it to have a non-negative meaning. Since the Dawn of Civilization, mankind’s search for for the answer to ‘who am I?’ and ‘why am I here?’ eventually lead him to the moon and space - where he finally meets the face of God. Don’t ask me what the meaning of the glassless window is…for all I know, it’s a reference to an institution or insane asylum. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/73 "2003-10-13T01:49:28Z")
One of the things that occured to me is that a _lot_ of song types have traditional roots. Songs developed around rail road workers because it helped everyone keep a certain tempo and rhythm while they worked, the same is true of a lot of other jobs. However, as industrialization has taken over industries, we’ve stopped doing that. So, we’re _less_ musical as a society. Plus, actual spaceflight is in it’s infancy, and all but two of the participants in it have been highly trained specialists in the field, who were trained for specific missions and **not** doing the job on a daily basis. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/74 "2003-10-13T05:14:26Z")
I can’t believe it took me this long to remember this one. **"Riding on the Rocket" by Shonen Knife** \*Riding on the rocket I wanna go to Pluto Space foods are marshmallows, asparagus, ice cream, ooh Blue eyed kitty cat said “Please let me go with you” Iko, iko, everybody let’s go Iko, iko, everybody let’s go Iko, iko, everybody iko Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Uranus, Neptune Pluto and planet Earth Getting in radio communication “Hello, hello” Earth is like a little star “Hello, hello” Shaking her hip, blue eyed cat dances the mambo …\* It just doesn’t get any more positive than that. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/75 "2003-10-13T06:04:52Z")
It’s an instrumental track, but it’s fairly up-beat: Badden Powell’s **O astronauta**. Bossa Nova in space! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/76 "2003-10-13T09:20:53Z")
How about Pluto Drive by The Creatures? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387.md?page=3)