Friday, March 11, 2011

The "if I were an astronaut about to launch etc..." list

Nick Hornby, in "High fidelity", showed us the delightful art of compiling lists.
It's more satisfying than what you may think, unless your mind can't go further than a dull "my favourite 10 albums" list.
Along the years I happened to come across intriguing lists like "songs to be heard at my funeral", classics like "songs to shag to" (or "ALBUMS to shag to", in case you were that type) or weird inventories like "most useless member of a band" (uh... if I don't get wrong, I read it on the Melody Maker, and the "winner" was awkward skinny allucinated-eyed Bez of the Happy Mondays. Actually, his role was to play maracas and dance. Although maracas were not hearable and he danced like "a man who needs the bathroom trying to start a fight at a bus stop"*).
Anyway, talking about oddness, here's my "songs I'd listen to if I were an astronaut in the Space Shuttle two minutes before countdown starts" list.
Imagine yourself, sitting stiff and tensed in a Space Shuttle about to lunch, alone in your spacesuit, breathing like Darth Vader, halfway between the warm confidence of your beloved ones, the noise and confusion of your earthly life, and the cold, astonishing silence of the great beyond.
What would it be your soundtrack?
That's my choice:
#5
Foo Fighters - Next year (1999**)
Widely predictable.

#4
Blur - Far out (1994)
Ground control for the Major Damon...

#3
R. Kelly - I believe I ca... no, joking.

#3
Nine Inch Nails - A warm place (1994)
Because I'll need an instrumental


#2
Mansun - Wide Open Space (1996)

(I suggest you to have a listen to the acoustic version here)

#1
Spiritualized - Ladies and gentlemen, we are floating in space (1997)
Anything to add?


*: by David Pollock in independent.co.uk. Full excellent review here.
**: ok, the single was released in 2000; but I received the album as a Christmas present, in 1999.

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