I mentioned many times that I like to read about the widely understood Universe. In this post, I will provide my favorite books and songs about the cosmos.
Firstly, I will mention which books do I like most about the Universe. From these books, I already took incentives to write new texts, and I read all of them:
– Mark Holborn’s “Sun and Moon” (Phaidon);
– Norman Mailer’s “Moonfire. The epic journey of Apollo 11.” (Taschen);
– Edward Brooke-Hitching “The Sky Atlas: the greatest maps, myths and discoveries of the Universe” (Simon & Schuster);
– Paul Murdin’s “Universe: Exploring the Astronomical World” (Phaidon);
– Laerke Rydal Jorgensen’s “The Moon: from inner worlds to outer space.” (Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.)
– “Expanding Universe. The Hubble Space Telescope.” (Taschen).
A few days ago (I wrote this text on the 16th of March,2021), YouTube reminded me of one of the most fantastic David Bowie’s songs, entitled “Space Oddity.”
While listening to it, after a break of several months, I can say that it is probably the best song about the relationship between man and the Universe. It awakens ambivalent feelings in me. On the one hand, it is a poetic, delightful, reassuring, breathtaking composition. On the other hand, the “Space Oddity” song is ominous, odd, and pessimistic. Why? Because it suggests that when it comes to conquering outer space, we, as humanity, are practically in a lost position. The song de facto tells about madness and death in outer space. What are other melodies about the Universe that I genuinely admire? The following songs are my other favorites:
– The Police – “Walking on the Moon;”
– R.E.M. – “Man on the Moon;”
– Beastie Boys – “Intergalactic;”
– The Prodigy “Out of Space.”
Undoubtedly, there are many more books and songs about the Universe. I am convinced that it is a matter of time when I discover them.
