Music from Space

Music can be found in the most unlikely places.

I was so inspired when I saw a video that was posted to YouTube Sunday. International Space Station Commander Chris Hadfield, aboard the Space Station for a period of many months, sang and played the guitar to his own version of David Bowie’s song “Space Oddity.” At first I thought it may be a hoax, but then read about it online, and found out it was, in fact, really shot in space and performed by the Commander (final sound mixing done on Earth). With beautiful, majestic views of our planet in the background, Commander Hadfield performs the song on different parts of the Space Station, sometimes in front of windows looking out into space, sometimes moving about the Station; at times his guitar is seen simply floating around part of the cabin. Initially it was hard to believe this guy was actually allowed to sing and play an instrument on a Space Station, and make a recording of it to share with us; I mean, this was a serious, scientific venture taking place, why would anyone think music and creativity mattered in light of this? And yet it did. 

Let’s get real here; being artistic is often looked down on as something unimportant compared to science, law, politics, or medicine, but not so here. This performance is a beautiful reminder that art is as much a part of our lives as all of these things, and perfectly captures what this astronaut wanted to say about his time in space. It is more effective than any interview ever could be, capturing the challenges, emotions, and inspirations of being above the earth looking out onto a vast universe.

This video inspires me. It is proof that music and creativity can live just about anywhere.  

So the next time someone says to you, “listen to this song; it is out of this world,” maybe you will think a little differently than you did before. I know I will.

What an inspiration. Thank you, Commander Chris Hadfield.

 

 
To watch the video and read a news article about this, click on the link below:

 Commander Chris Hadfield sings aboard the International Space Station