Songs Analysis

Music is a beautiful medium that allows to transmit both emotions and thoughts through music, and lyrics. The songs included in the candidate playlists 'Love and desire around the world and time' should get added into the official interstellar NASA playlist, as they broadly and abudantly showcase the most powerful human emotion - love, and how it corelates with one's happiness and joy. The songs composing the playlist are "In Other Words", "I Put a Spell on You", "Ai Du", and "Millionaire", with their creation dates spanning half a century, giving insight into humanity and the history of it. They tell a story about how humans perceive love, share experiences, and the importance of belonging.

In Other Words - Kaye Ballard (Jazz)

First sang by Felicia Sanders (1954), written by Bart Howard (1954).
Originally titles 'In Other Words', later changed to 'Fly Me to The Moon'

Lyrics

Fly me to the moon
And let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars

In other words, hold my hand
In other words, darling, kiss me

Fill my heart with song
And let me sing forever more
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore

In other words, please be true
In other words, I love you

Analysis

The opening song of the playlist is 'In Other Words', written by Bart Howard in 1954 - inarguably one of the most important jazz ballads of all time. The lyrics (see Appendix A) use reference to the space: "Let me play among the starts" as comparision to the power and great magnitute of love. This song is a great front door to the romantic side of music, as throughout the years many different variations and remakes were created, but the essence of the song stayed the same - total, powerful love, so great it reaches planets and stars. If one were to look more into how humanity changed over the years, this piece shows that despite everything around us, humans, feeling of love stays exactly the same. This not only allows the playlist to introduce new listeners to the humanity's music, but also importance of love, its longevity and ability to transcend time. Music theory-wise, its renditons illustrate changes in music - from first-every recording made by Kaye Ballard, full of ecstasy and ornaments with full-orchestra background, through arguably the most known, light and flowing version by Frank Sinatra which also changed the time signature to better fit the listeners taste, ending at RAYE's version bringing back the big-band and adding modern, flair to it. As Clark and Heflin write, "rhythmic innovations of ragtime and jazz influenced popular music", which can be heard throughout the various versions of Howards' song.

I Put a Spell On You - Screamin' Jay Hawkins (R&B)

1956
Writers - Jay Hawkins, Herb Slotkin

Lyrics

I put a spell on you because you're mine
Stop the things you do
Mwahahaha, watch out!
I ain't lyin', yeah
I can't stand no runnin' around
I can't stand no puttin' me down
I put a spell on you because you're mine
Oh yeah

Stop the things you do
Mwahahaha, watch out!
I ain't lyin'
I love you, I love you, I love you, baby, how
I don't care if you don't want me, I'm yours right now
I put a spell on you because you're mine

Mine! Mine! Ow! Ooh!
Oh, oh you're mine!

Analysis

The opening song of the playlist is 'I Put a Spell On You', by Screamin' Jay Hawkins, talking about (see Appendix B) how love makes one obsessed beyond their normal levels of feelings and behavior. It shows human devotion and passion despite any circumstances - "I don't care if you don't want me, I'm yours right now". Those lyrics add another level of fascination, talked about in previously introduced Ballard's 'In Other Words'. Hawkin's song is a great representation of rhythm & blues genre as described by Clark and Heflin, having "twelve-bar blues form with [...] rhythm section augmented by saxophone". This piece's presence in the playlist should be understood as n continuation of presenting power of human emotions to the otherworldly beings. The Hawkin's signature screaming adds impact to his words, creating sense of meaning, importance, and intimacy.

Ai Du [I got it] - Ali Farka Toure (with Ry Cooder) (Folk, Desert Blues)

1996
Writer - Ali Farka Toure

Lyrics

Wala ay duu, uh wala ay kaati
Hey, wa mom ye ne kala ay duu
Wal’ay duu, uh wal’ay kaati
Hey wa mom ye ne kal’ay duu

Borrey kana di hey i-i
Borrey-ye ka no mom woo da
Borrey kana di hey i-i
Borrey-ye ka no mom woo da
Had’ay duu ka goro ay jere kala ay duu

Whether I got it or called out
Hey, you, hear me that I got it
Whether I got it or called out
Hey, you, hear me that I got it

The people who did not see it, you
Those who did not hear it, too
The people who did not see it, you
Those who did not hear it, too
Until I got to sit at my side, until I get

Analysis

Arguably the most interesting song on the playlist is 'Ai Du', made by a Mali-American collaboration between Ali Farka Toure and Ry Cooder. The lyrics sung in Songhai language (see Appendix C) tell about importance of belonging, witnessing, and sharing - "I got it or called (it) out [...] Those people who did not see it [...] did not hear it". Clark and Heflin describe folk music: "ballad", "contains moral or lesson", "'Call and Response' technique", with "repeating form" melody, and Ai Du falls right into those lines. It tells about how experience has to be seen and then passed on - "Until I got to sit at my side, until I get", which allows humanity to learn and understand, based on everybody's lives, the community, not only singular ones. The song presents another view at life, capturing something universal - the gap between those who have experienced something and those who haven't, and the importance of bringing everybody together to close that gap. It presents the human willingness to learn and teach, which, when understood by alien civilizations, may create a way for knowledge and trade exchange - one of the most important goals of the playlist.

Millionaire - Kelis, Andre 3000

2004
Writers - André Benjamin, Kelis Rogers, Douglas Davis, Ricky Walters

Lyrics

I said, her from the city
So her got to be witty, witty
She said, him from the country
So him got to be funky, funky

Mama, I'm a millionaire, but I feel like a bum
Mama, I'm a millionaire, but I feel like the only one
I, I, I, I woke up early this morning, I don't think y'all heard me
I woke up early this morning, I don't think y'all heard me
I woke up early this morning, I don't think y'all heard me
I woke up early this morning, but I still ain't see the sun

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Papa, I'm a millionaire, but Saks Fifth Ave don't sell affection
Saks Fifth Ave don't sell affection
Papa, I'm a millionaire, but I ain't moving in the right direction
Something ain't right, I know
I ain't rich, 'til he is rich, and she is rich, then we is rich, oh
I ain't rich, 'til he is rich, and she is rich, then we is rich
I ain't rich, 'til he is rich, and she is rich, then we is rich, oh
I ain't rich, 'til he is rich, and she is rich, then we is rich, mm

Where there is cheese, there are rats
Wherever there are rats, there are cats
Wherever there are cats, there are dogs
If you got the dogs, you got bitches
Bitches always out to put their paws on your riches
If you got riches, you got glitches
If you got glitches in your life computer, turn it off
And then reboot it – now you back on
Can't just put the cap on the old bottle
Once you pop it, that'll spoil it
Go on and drink it and enjoy it, uh
Mama, I'm a millionaire

What's a girl to do when she just has dimes?
No time, just pay
What's a girl to do? Instead of me
It's you, be true
What's a girl to do in a world of greed, but kneel and pray?
What's a girl to do when she's lost her longtime friends?
That's life

"I-I'm feeling sad" "like a million bucks"
"I-I-I-I-I-I'm feeling sad" "like a million–"
"I-I-I'm feeling sad" "like a million–"
"Sad, like a million–"
"I-I-I-I-I-I'm feeling sad..."

Analysis

The closing song of the playlist is 'Millionaire', which subject supports Toure's belief in importance of genuine connections. In the lyrics (see Appendix D), Kelis shares a view of a person who is wealthy, but doesn't see any benefit from it, as money "don't sell affection". Being a newer representation of R&B, 'Millionaire' reaches to "funk roots that uses electronic instruments, drums, and vocals", with its signature kick-tom-hihat intro, and is a great song to expose outerworldly listeners to newer, faster music. The repeated "I ain't rich, 'til he is rich, and she is rich, then we is rich" also exposes an important part of humanity - living in a community, taking care of everyone around that is important to us. This message is great to be used as the end of the playlist, as it tells that we, humans, want to not only experience ourselves, but also take care of those around us, sharing the happiness and pleasures of life.

Fin

The playlist composed and described above includes four songs that showcase humanity affection, love, and willingness to stay and experience the life together. They are a great addition to the interstellar NASA playlist, which has to not only give the other civilizations information about our culture, but also who we are, how we live, and show that we pose no threat, and there is no reason to destroy us and our planet. The songs describe us humans, as affectionate, caring entities, in constant search of experiences and knowledge that can be gained and shared across everyone and everything.