Weekend Diversion: Our years of shared songs

"Every day we should hear at least one little song, read one good poem, see one exquisite picture, and, if possible, speak a few sensible words." -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I don't always have all the answers, but every weekend I strive to bring you something interesting -- in some form or other -- to help remind you that whatever it is you may be most passionate about, there's a diverse world (and Universe) out there for you to discover, no matter how you look at it. And one of the best parts of that (at least for me) is music, something I try and share with you every week. The new song I'd like to share with you is by Sound Tribe Sector 9,

Music, Us.

While the band is known as STS9, I don't want you to confuse them with STS-9, the Space Shuttle Columbia mission that carried the first Spacelab module into Earth's orbit.

Image credit: NASA.

Quite to the contrary, rather than take you anywhere else in the Universe today, I'd like to take you to the Universe within, and offer you a look back at all the different songs I've had the opportunity to share with you. As with all my weekend diversions, I encourage you to take a listen to a vast diversity of music; you might discover something that awakens an amazing thought or glimmer inside of you. Here are the songs, going backwards-in-time, and a link to when they were first posted here:

  1. Last Known Address, by Josh Harty, on January 12, 2013.
  2. We’re Going To Be Friends, by the White Stripes, on January 6, 2013.
  3. With a Little Help from My Friends, by the Easy Star All-Stars, on December 30, 2012.
  4. Christmas In Hollis, by Run D.M.C., on December 23, 2012.
  5. Atlas Hands, by Benjamin Francis Leftwich, on December 16, 2012.
  6. Call Me a Dog, by Temple of the Dog, on December 9, 2012.
  7. Funplex, by the B-52s, on December 2, 2012.
  8. Color of Water, by M. Ward, on November 24, 2012.
  9. Voodoo Lady, by Ween, on November 17, 2012.
  10. Mostly Water, by Bap Kennedy, on November 11, 2012.
  11. Daddy’s Little Pumpkin, by John Prine, on November 3, 2012.
  12. Street Fighter II (Ken's Theme), by Capcom, on October 28, 2012.
  13. The Tale of Mr. Morton, by Skee-Lo, on October 21, 2012.
  14. Galaxies, by Laura Viers, on October 14, 2012.
  15. Your Light is Spent, by Owen Pallett, on October 7, 2012.
  16. Writing Again, by We're About 9, on September 30, 2012.
  17. Smack My Bitch Up, by the Prodigy, on September 23, 2012.
  18. Tuesday’s Gone, by Lynyrd Skynyrd, on September 15, 2012.
  19. New York, by Cat Power, on September 1, 2012.
  20. My Bike, by Kimya Dawson, on August 19, 2012.
  21. Shady Grove, by Jerry Garcia & David Grisman, on August 11, 2012.
  22. Particle Man, by They Might Be Giants, on July 28, 2012.
  23. Must I Paint You A Picture, by Billy Bragg, on July 1, 2012.
  24. Little Bombs, by Aimee Mann, on June 24, 2012.
  25. Gold Digger, by The Automatic, on June 9, 2012.
  26. Cosmic Love, by Florence + The Machine, on May 25, 2012.
  27. Shimmering Thing, by Cara Beth Satalino, on May 21, 2012.
  28. The Moon, by Cat Power, on May 12, 2012.
  29. Make A Fool Out Of Me, by the Dang-Its, on May 6, 2012.
  30. Another Wasted Night, by Bishop Allen, on April 28, 2012.
  31. Paradise, by John Prine, on April 22, 2012.
  32. When Doves Cry, by the Be Good Tanyas, on April 15, 2012.
  33. Talisman, by Air, on April 8, 2012.
  34. Lovers Of Light, by Afro Celt Sound System, on April 1, 2012.
  35. Apocalypse, by Wyclef Jean, on March 24, 2012.
  36. Eclipse, by The Beta Band, on March 11, 2012.
  37. Sunday’s Fantasy, by Peter Ratzenbeck, on March 3, 2012.
  38. Tie Your Shoes, by Widespread Panic, on February 26, 2012.
  39. Runaway, by The National, on February 19, 2012.
  40. Horses, by Bonnie 'Prince' Billie, on February 5, 2012.
  41. Give Something Else Away Every Day, by Magnolia Electric Company, on January 28, 2012.
  42. I’m Gonna Put You Down, by Gangstagrass, on January 22, 2012.
  43. Follow Me Up To Carlow, by Planxty, on January 15, 2012.
  44. Travel, by Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, on January 8, 2012.
  45. Turning Around, by Tim O'Brien, on January 1, 2012.
  46. Widow Of A Living Man, by Ben Harper, on December 18, 2011.
  47. Draw the Line, by Groovulous Glove, on December 11, 2011.
  48. You, by Marvin Gaye, on December 4, 2011.
  49. Golden Age Of Radio, by Josh Ritter, on November 27, 2011.
  50. Focus On Sight, by Thievery Corporation, on November 20, 2011.
  51. Doomed, by Galactic Funk, on November 13, 2011.
  52. Built For Speed, by the Stray Cats, on November 5, 2011.
  53. Werewolves Of London, by Warren Zevon, on October 30, 2011.
  54. Lift Me Up, by LZ Love, on October 22, 2011.
  55. Satan Lied To Me, by the Louvin Brothers, on October 16, 2011.
  56. Eyes On The Prize, by M. Ward, on October 8, 2011.
  57. Freedom Ain’t Free, by Brother Ali, on October 2, 2011.
  58. The Trick Bag, by Wes Montgomery, on September 24, 2011.
  59. How to Fight Loneliness, by Jeff Tweedy, on September 17, 2011.
  60. Passenger 24, by Melissa McClelland, on September 10, 2011.
  61. Clear Skies, by Keane, on September 3, 2011.
  62. Fight Like The Night, by Malcolm Middleton, on August 28, 2011.
  63. Columbus Stockade, by Jeff Hickey, on August 21, 2011.
  64. Another Brick In The Wall, by Keller and the Keels, on August 14, 2011.
  65. Water of Love, by Dire Straits, on August 7, 2011.
  66. Neath The Stars, by Railroad Earth, on July 30, 2011.
  67. I Heard Love Is Blind, by Amy Winehouse, on July 24, 2011.
  68. It’s Raining, by the Detroit Cobras, on July 17, 2011.
  69. Teddy Bears’ Picnic, by Jerry Garcia and David Grisman, on July 10, 2011.
  70. 4th Of July, by Aimee Mann, on July 3, 2011.
  71. Bird On The Wire, by Girlyman, on June 26, 2011.
  72. The Killing Moon, by Echo & The Bunnymen, on June 12, 2011.
  73. Learn to Fly, by Foo Fighters, on June 4, 2011.
  74. Uncle June And Aunt Kiyoti, by Kristin Hersch, on May 22, 2011.
  75. Morning Sun, by David Grisman and Tony Rice, on May 7, 2011.
  76. About A Girl, by Nirvana, on April 24, 2011.
  77. Time, by the Easy Star All-Stars, on April 17, 2011.
  78. Trouble, by Ray LaMontagne, on April 3, 2011.
  79. Midnight Moonlight, by the Be Good Tanyas, on March 26, 2011.
  80. Culling Of The Fold, by the Decemberists, on March 6, 2011.
  81. Crown Of Jewels, by Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby, on February 27, 2011.
  82. Get Up, Stand Up, by Bob Marley, on February 20, 2011.
  83. Braille, by Regina Spektor, on February 13, 2011.
  84. You Plant Your Fields, by New Grass Revival, on February 6, 2011.
  85. He Woke Me Up Again, by Sufjan Stevens, on January 29, 2011.
  86. Bob Dylan’s 49th Beard, by Jeff Tweedy, on January 23, 2011.
  87. The Home Stretch, by Loudon Wainwright III, on January 16, 2011.
  88. Shalom Aleichem, by the David Grisman Quintet, on December 25, 2010.
  89. Sex In A Pan, by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, on December 18, 2010.
  90. Memories Are Made Of This, by Leo Kottke, on December 5, 2010.
  91. Across The Universe, by Rufus Wainwright, on November 27, 2010.
  92. Keep On Looking, by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, on November 21, 2010.
  93. Holding On, by Storyhill, on November 14, 2010.
  94. I Don’t Believe You’ve Met My Baby, by Alison Krauss, on November 7, 2010.
  95. Caleb Meyer, by Gillian Welch, on October 31, 2010.
  96. Here Comes the Hotstepper, by Ini Kamoze, on October 17, 2010.
  97. Julia, by John Lennon / the Beatles, on October 9, 2010.
  98. Give Up The Ghost, by Storyhill, on September 26, 2010.
  99. Kings and Queens, by Loudon Wainwright III, on September 19, 2010.
  100. Burma Star, by Wizz Jones, on September 12, 2010.
  101. Me and My Uncle, by the Grateful Dead, on September 5, 2010.
  102. Keep on Rockin in the Free World, by Neil Young, on August 29, 2010.
  103. Saving All The Love, by Joe Firstman, on August 15, 2010.
  104. Nuthin’ But A G Thang, by Dr. Dre, on August 8, 2010.
  105. Lonesome Moonlight Waltz, by the Bluegrass Album Band, on July 31, 2010.
  106. Safety Joe, by John Prine, on July 24, 2010.
  107. Where Did You Sleep Last Night, by Nirvana, on July 18, 2010.
  108. Where Did You Sleep Last Night, by Lead Belly, on July 18, 2010.
  109. It’s The Same Old Song, by the Four Tops, on July 10, 2010.
  110. The Same Old Song, by Iron & Wine, on July 10, 2010.
  111. Dewsbury Road / That Time of Night, by Michael Chapman, on July 3, 2010.
  112. Long Way Down, by the Goo Goo Dolls, on June 27, 2010.
  113. Schoolbus, by Storyhill, on June 20, 2010.
  114. Weary Memory, by Iron & Wine, on June 13, 2010.
  115. Almost Cut My Hair, by Crosby, Stills & Nash, on May 30, 2010.
  116. PG, by Harvey Andrews, on May 23, 2010.
  117. Flatbush Waltz / Opus 57, by David Grisman Quintet, on May 16, 2010.
  118. Apres Moi, by Regina Spektor, on May 2, 2010.

Whatever you do and however you spend your time, remember, just occasionally, to take a few moments for yourself, and enjoy it however you like. While the Moon may be in monochrome black-and-white, our lives and our human experiences -- both inside and outside our minds -- are as rich as we choose to make them.

Image credit: NASA / Apollo 16.

I'll still be here to share the best of what I find, learn, and discover with you! Thanks for continuing to share the journey with me.

More like this

You rock Ethan. Thanks.

By theTentman (not verified) on 20 Jan 2013 #permalink

Look at this.

When you play the song above, you get his whole playlist of 118 songs. Nice.

Thanks Ethan, I'll just listen up.

So I'm listening to Ethan radio as I search. Not my usual cup of tea; but it's always great to hear music that this new to me.

Song 3 wouldn't come on so i had to manually skip over.

Do you have a photo credit for the first photo? Looks like Chris Hadfield, is that right?

Pete,

It is Col. Chris Hadfield, from Canada, good eye. Sometimes, the first (featured) image appears with the caption I add, sometimes not. Still don't know why, even after 8 months on the new blogging platform.

But yes, this is Chris Hadfield aboard the ISS.

Ethan,
I was taking note of all the David Grisman songs you listed when I saw song #31, "Paradise", and cringed. Oh, don't worry. I do love John Prine. It's just that for the last six months I have been viewing the TVA power plant that now sits there "where Paradise lay" from the recreation yard of the Muhlenberg County Detention Center. I was sent there by the state of Kentucky for growing my own cancer medication (I not only survived but I gained weight during chemo).
Unfortunately, they would not let me take my mandolin with me and I had no access whatsoever to Starts With A Bang or any of my other favorite physics websites. They also refused to allow me to bring my college physics and calculus textbooks with me. And then, after I composed a letter to send to Dr. Sean Carrol, the jail said they would not allow me to receive a reply from Caltech. Few people in that county even bother to attend any high school. I had to reside with the worst of them.
It's a good thing that John Prine made it out of there to write such great songs as he has. I had to wait for the judge to grant me probation to leave the locale.
I'm still going over your song list. Music and science seem to go so well together. For the time being, however, I can no longer "inhale" and read your blog, both of which I sorely missed.

By MandoZink (not verified) on 22 Jan 2013 #permalink

MandoZink,

That is heartbreaking, and it also means you were away when I did my recent Q&A with readers. (Link here.)

If you've got a physics question you'd like answered (or a selection for me to choose from), feel free to offer them here, and I'll do my best to turn one into a post for everyone.

ugh. Ethan! 118 songs for me to listen to. you don't want me to get anything done! lol.