PODCAST · music
Cosmophonia
by Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell
A podcast about all things music and space.
Episodes
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Les Baxter's "Music Out of the Moon"
How does one with a penchant for cutting-edge electronic music, West-coast jazz, and lunar fantasies find relaxation in 1947? Why, with Les Baxter's Music Out of the Moon: Music Unusual Featuring the Theremin, of course! We take on this landmark album, which set the stage for exotica and lounge...
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Space Whales
From the alien dolphins in "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (so long and thanks for all the fish) to the whale on the cover of the They Might be Giants album "Apollo 18," there are numerous examples of cosmic-dwelling cetaceans in science fiction and other space imaginings. Even more...
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Total Solar Eclipse Special: "The Narrow Path"
On Monday, April 8, a total solar eclipse will sweep across much of North America, within view of millions of people. Most excitingly, the path of totality is coming by Bloomington, Indiana, current home of Cosmophonia! Your hosts have been involved in several music-space events in town…
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"Neptune" from Holst's The Planets
Probably the most well-known piece of space themed classical music is Gustav Holst's The Planets. In this episode, we focus on the last movement of the suite, "Neptune," discussing how the timbre and harmony create its signature icy, watery, mysterious soundscape. The suite was completed in 1918,...
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"Stardrive" (Uncharted Cosmophony No. 1)
In this new series, Uncharted Cosmophony, we choose a random, previously unknown to us album that seems to have some spacey elements, listen to it, and then talk about it. This time we chose the 1973 record "Intergalactic Trot" by Stardrive with Robert Mason. The album prominently shows off the...
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Sonification
Sonification is when scientific data is "visualized" or communicated through non-verbal sound. In this episode we discuss the affordances (and some cautions) of sonification in science and science communication as well as in musical compositions. The practice of sonification, especially of...
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”Alien” (1979)
On this Halloween special, we discuss the music and sound design in Ridley Scott's movie "Alien." Blending science fiction and horror aesthetics, the film relies quite a bit on musical cues and jarring juxtapositions of sound environments to create a tense and unsettling atmosphere. References...
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Alan Hovhaness’s ”Star Dawn”
What connects Dante's 14th century Paradiso, an early 20th century science fiction novel, and a 13-minute "symphony" for concert band written in the 1980s? It may be surprising but the answer is that they all involve a story where a human travels to Mars and finds it not harsh and warlike but...
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Blue Moon
On this Super Blue Moon, we discuss the superstar tune "Blue Moon." We begin our conversation assessing the contested definition of an astronomical "blue moon," finding surprising parallels with the human-centered vision of the moon that the song exhibits. We then delve into the muddy and fraught...
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Paul McCartney’s ”The Kiss of Venus”
For proof that the ideas of the Quadrivium continue to resonate in modern culture, we need not look further than Sir Paul McCartney. By pure coincidence, we happened to fall in love with the song "The Kiss of Venus" from his 2020 self-titled album, and decide to do an episode based partly on the...
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The Quadrivium
The idea that music and the cosmos are intrinsically connected has very deep roots in many human cultures. In Western cultures, one of the most long-lasting ways that this relationship manifest was in the Quadrivium. These four "number arts" were the ancestors of modern sciences and consisted of...
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Janelle Monáe’s ”Metropolis: The Chase Suite”
Musician and film star Janelle Monáe began her catapult to fame with her five suite and three album "Metropolis" series, which builds a wonderfully rich futuristic universe, chock full of references that situate it within the traditions of science fiction, Afrofuturism, and music of all genres.…
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Moonlight Sonata
The gorgeous and strange first movement of Beethoven's piano sonata Op. 27 No. 2 is one of the most popular piano pieces of all time, but there are many secrets that lie below its placid surface. We discuss some of the ways that the piece evokes moonlight and nocturnal landscapes. References The...
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Star Trek Themes Part 2
The anticipated second half of our Star Trek themes discussion! We get very excited about The Next Generation, and then get very opinionated about Enterprise and Discovery, while ultimately finding some redemptive qualities about them.
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Star Trek Themes Part 1
What is a more iconic space art than Star Trek? As both Meredith and Gabe are Star Trek nerds, we thought it a fitting beginning to our frontier into this podcast series. While of course music is omnipresent in the franchise in underscoring and even musical-themed episodes, we focus for now on…
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Cosmophonia have?
Cosmophonia currently has 15 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Cosmophonia about?
A podcast about all things music and space.
How often does Cosmophonia release new episodes?
Cosmophonia has 15 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Cosmophonia?
You can listen to Cosmophonia on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Cosmophonia?
Cosmophonia is created and hosted by Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell.
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