If you don't know who Carl Sagan is, I suggest you pop onto YouTube and check out some of the videos you can find there. Sagan was (he sadly died of cancer in 1996, aged 62) an astronomer, astrophysicist, and author. Among other things, he worked tirelessly to get the public to engage with science and astronomy, he was instrumental in some key discoveries (with regards to Venus, Mars and Titan), he fought the proliferation of nuclear weapons during the Cold War, he was a key figure in SETI (the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) and he wrote several books including the novel 'Contact'. But his greatest triumph is his 13-part 1980 television series 'Cosmos' (also based on an earlier book). The programme is fantastic, and was inspiration for millions - including a young Brian Cox who based his 'Wonders Of...' series on Sagan's 'Cosmos'.
My next video revisits the magic of Carl Sagan and 'Cosmos'. You would have, without doubt, heard one of the many modern-day auto-tune creations, where someone takes spoken word and runs it through auto-tune to give it a melody. This is almost always done for comic effect, but electronic musician John Boswell has gone further, taking clips of Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' and putting it to music. The effect is genius, choosing some key moments where Sagan talks about (for lack of a better term) the wonders of the universe and the future of the human race. Boswell even manages to add an appearance by Steven Hawking just before the bridge. It's a magic moment that is both modern and retro at the same time. I give you: Carl Sagan featuring Stephen Hawking in “A Glorious Dawn”. (Quick note: This is the re-mastered version of the song, which has added a little instrumentation and makes it sound richer than the original.)
A great, great choice. This has been one of my favourite songs ever since you introduced me to it a couple of years ago.
ReplyDeleteVery inspirational!
C.//
Xxx.