Hello all, and welcome to another edition of What I'm Listening to! With the summer upon us, there are opportunities to go camping, hiking, or going to the beach. One thing that I'm always excited about when doing these outdoor activities is enjoying the stars. Light pollution in the city always gets in the way of seeing what our ancestors saw: a pristine sky full of lights from afar. This love of the universe has also lent itself to my more imaginative side, wondering if life exists elsewhere, and if so, what does it look like. So, with UAPs/UFOs being more relevant today than ever, I decided to list 5 songs that talk of aliens.
"Starman" - David Bowie (The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars)
I'll admit that I did not come into listening to much David Bowie until later in life, mostly because my dad was a Beatles fan who, once they broke up, kind've swore off the new wave of Rock 'n Roll in the early 70s. This song is so well done, that it really speaks for itself. Definitely my favorite of his personally, as I think the way the music crescendos and builds up the chorus is wonderful. If you haven't been living under a rock like I did for a good chunk of my life, please listen to Mr. Bowie. You will not be disappointed.
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
"E.T" - Katy Perry ft. Kanye West (Teenage Dream)
This song came out when I was in college, so I have some sentimentality associated with it. From her third album Teenage Dream, E.T. tells of a relationship being so "out of this world" that it's like their love interest is an alien. From there, the verbiage skews towards alien abductions, etc. Kanye also did his part as the featured artist.
"Starship Trooper" - Yes (The Yes Album)
When I was young, my uncle who lived with my grandma was a rabid Yes fan. When the internet was in its infancy, he was all over the Yes band chat rooms. He met some gentlemen from Australia, who in turn came to the US to go with him to a couple concerts while Yes was touring. I met them, and it was a lovely interaction. "Fan" is just short for "fanatic" after all. At any rate, this song is fun and very emblematic of the rock happening at the time i.e. Styx.
"Spaceman" - The Killers (Day & Age)
I am a fan of The Killers. Their album "Sam's Town" might be in the top 30 albums of all time to go track to track. Their album after, "Day & Age", was another ambitious one. Hit songs I enjoyed were "Losing Touch", "I Can't Stay" and "Human", their biggest hit on the album. However, "Spaceman" is another one that was fun. Again, with the them of aliens, talks about an alien abduction, and being different. Please enjoy The Killers like I have.
"Aliens Exist" - Blink-182 (Enema of the State)
How can I not include this song from the title alone? Growing up in the 1990s, there were a couple punk pop bands I listened to. One was Green Day, the other Blink-182. Blink was sillier than Green Day, and their songs and music videos were always fun in so many ways. Tom DeLonge, one of the members of Blink, is a True Believer in that he believes aliens exist throughout the universe. To commemorate that, they came out with this song on their album "Enema of the State", which was a super popular album that launched them into stardom. "What's My Age Again?" is far and away their most popular song of the album, but if you like fun, crude, punk music, you'll enjoy them. I know I did, and still do, mostly in nostalgia. Also, Blink's frontman Mark Hoppus came out with a great, great book about his life and the life of Blink-182, called "Fahrenheit-182". I listened to the audiobook, and it was a delight.
With that, there goes another edition of What I'm Listening To! I hope you enjoy this mashup of different music, and as always, if it sounds good, listen to it! #TheTruthIsOutThere
