gijoel writes "Someone with too much time on their hands and access to Auto-Tune has taken clips from Carl Sagan's Cosmos series to make this fantastic song. Watch for the Stephen Hawking cameo."
Does anyone have any idea of how to get a hold of the very original Cosmos television series that aired on P.B.S. back in the early 80's ?
The Cosmos series was bought, remastered, and remade in the late 90's by Ted Turner, and that is the series that I own (the DVD set), however it is not what I watched as a child. I liked the original better. The original had much better ambient music, and in the transitions between scenes, worked much better I thought (more powerfully evoking). The remastered version may be more up to date scientifically, but the music has been replaced with mostly classical that doesn't fit the emotion, and is hacked up quite a bit.
I know the story is that Carl had a large disagreement with the way the original series was produced by KCET out of Los Angeles. Later the series was remade with the help of his wife, but some of the original music could not be relicensed (or was not even licensed correctly the first time) when the series was sold to Turner.
I have most of the episodes of the original 80's version on cassette, that I have now digitized. But the sound isn't that great since it was recorded by simply placing a microphone in front of the TV. There are other tape "abnormalities" as well, like the side A to side B change over.
I know there must be some remaining VHS or Beta tapes around of the original series somewhere, since they were sold as sets to schools and universities back in the 80's. I'd love to have a copy of those! Digital of course.
He inspired a generation to be interested in science. How many actual scientists today can trace their choice of career back to Cosmos?
Oh, and read Demon-Haunted World.
Read all his stuff. Pale Blue Dot is great for instance. His short essays were brilliant. Pity he was an arrogant man and so harsh on Sci-Fi though (especially Startrek) but that too is a lesson - don't idolize people.
On the contrary, imho, this is what idle SHOULD be, instead of the worthless crap we saw at the first launch of idle (though I've got to admit, idle stories have gotten noticeably less shitty over the past few months).
His tune-up of MLK's I have a dream speech [youtube.com] is pretty awesome. It's good enough to actually consider a mainstream artist doing a proper cover in the mode of the Obama "Yes we can" video.
Sadly, a vast majority of people, when faced with this argument, will reply (as Sheldon Cooper's mother did when discussing creationism) "..and that is your opinion!". Sad state of affairs indeed!
That you've noticed. If your pitch correction is noticeable, you're doing it wrong. Unless you think the effect is cool - in which case you're a retard.
I could say the same about synthesizers: "If your synthesizer is noticeably different from a real instrument, you're doing it wrong. Unless you think synthesizer effects are cool - in which case you're a retard." Artists have always looked for new ways to create sounds. The repurposing of autotune is no different from the creation of synthesizers, or any other new instrument. Why is someone "retarded" for thinking that the use of autotune as a new musical tool is cool?
I mean, it annoys me too, but your point of view is really condescending. Let musicians play. Autotune is just a set of algorithms; there's no reason why it can't be used in a way that the original programmers didn't anticipate. And anyway, Stevie Wonder and Peter Frampton both used vocoders for a similar effect. Are they "retarded"?
Ah, the classic "I'll change what I said; maybe people won't notice that I said something different TWO POSTS ABOVE" technique. No, you didn't say that the (non)musicians were retarded. You said that anyone who thinks the effect is cool is retarded. This covers ANYONE who likes the effect, not just stupid RIAA brands. I am a musician. I am just as offended by modern pop music, if not more, than you are. But don't be silly and make blanket statements about ANYONE who likes the effect. I'll ask again: Do you think Stevie Wonder and Peter Frampton are retards? Or musicians?
I think about the time in which Sagan lived, and the hope and threat of a more glorious dawn awaiting. Someone once compared the light of a nuclear detonation to the light of a thousand suns. While the current nuclear stockpile wouldn't reach the light of 400 billion suns, I think it would be close enough for all intended purposes. The current poll on/. seems to be leaning heavily towards the expectation that we will have destroyed ourselves in 100 years; Hawking has repeatedly stated that if we are to
Since the US finally has a president who is talking about getting rid of all nuclear arms, even our own, I think there may just be a galaxy rise in our future:-)
Those guys are smart. Those guys never said the universe needs or wants us to survive. That's the ramblings of some moron posting things on the internet, rather than a top physicist.
Why do *we* want to survive? Probably because most of us (other then the aforementioned moron) still have the desire to survive, procreate, and pass on our genes to a future generation. That's been hard-wired in most life on the planet for quite some time now.
This is about as coherent as an episode of Teletubbies.
Oh yeah ?
"Laa-Laa sent out for one of those short, plump little breads called Tubby Toast, which look as though they had been moulded in the fluted scallop of The Noo-Noo's hose. And soon, mechanically, weary after a dull day with the prospect of a depressing morrow, I raised to my lips a spoonful of the Tubby Custard in which I had soaked a morsel of the toast. No sooner had the warm liquid, and the crumbs with it, touched my palate than a shudder ran through my whole body, and I stopped, intent upon the e
That series [wikipedia.org] was a real classic. It amazing that a science show
from the 80s is still so remembered today. Carl Sagan died over twelve years ago. So let the song, be tribute to him.
I was given the book Comet which he co-authored with Ann Druyan, and while you might think the subject matter smaller, the vision it showed for how we could travel to space and spread life between the stars was amazing. It showed there's more to do out there than invent a spaceship to go from world to world at - how we do not know - speeds far greater than light's. We can be the ancestors of life made to be out there. Panspermia might not be a fact now, but we can make it so. I think that's a beautiful goal to pursue.
Lot's of negative comments here. I can only assume that they're posted by the younger generation.
To me though, that had the privilege to watch the original "Cosmos" series in my early teens, this video brings back found memories of a man that inspired me and planted the seed of curiosity in me.
I like this video. Not for the music or technical achievement, but for it's spirit.
worth watching. not slow news at all. matter of fact, its much cooler than another 'lets toot the linux/FOSS horn' and the 'F to the RIAA' pitter patter that constantly resounds here.
It is perhaps unquestionably true that there is nothing more pathetic than the inheritors of the estate of great personages who choose to enrich their own endowments than carry on the work from which it came.
Yeah, but Carl Sagan is dead, so there aren't many other ways to make it seem like he's singing. If anything, this is the most appropriate use of autotune technology I've seen to date: Making the dead come back to life in a new way.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but nearly every mainstream (especially pop, country, hip-hop/r&b, etc.) album that includes vocal parts in it these days has been "enhanced" through the use of auto-tune. Heck, auto-tune is even used in live concerts nowadays. Don't confuse the general usage of auto-tune, which is merely a tool for pitch correction, with the specific practice of feeding extreme parameters into auto-tune software to produce synthetic- or electronic-sounding vocal effects (some like to call th
Question about the first clip (Score:3, Interesting)
What episode of Cosmos is the section where Sagan begins "I'm not very good at singing" ?
Re:Question about the first clip (Score:5, Informative)
Episode 11: The Persistence of Memory
Around the 10:24 mark.
Parent
Where is the Original Cosmos series??? (Score:4, Interesting)
Does anyone have any idea of how to get a hold of the very original Cosmos television series that aired on P.B.S. back in the early 80's ?
The Cosmos series was bought, remastered, and remade in the late 90's by Ted Turner, and that is the series that I own (the DVD set), however it is not what I watched as a child. I liked the original better. The original had much better ambient music, and in the transitions between scenes, worked much better I thought (more powerfully evoking). The remastered version may be more up to date scientifically, but the music has been replaced with mostly classical that doesn't fit the emotion, and is hacked up quite a bit.
I know the story is that Carl had a large disagreement with the way the original series was produced by KCET out of Los Angeles. Later the series was remade with the help of his wife, but some of the original music could not be relicensed (or was not even licensed correctly the first time) when the series was sold to Turner.
I have most of the episodes of the original 80's version on cassette, that I have now digitized. But the sound isn't that great since it was recorded by simply placing a microphone in front of the TV. There are other tape "abnormalities" as well, like the side A to side B change over.
I know there must be some remaining VHS or Beta tapes around of the original series somewhere, since they were sold as sets to schools and universities back in the 80's. I'd love to have a copy of those! Digital of course.
Parent
How is this less important? (Score:5, Interesting)
He inspired a generation to be interested in science. How many actual scientists today can trace their choice of career back to Cosmos?
Oh, and read Demon-Haunted World.
Parent
Re:How is this less important? (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm certainly one of them (thanked him for Cosmos in my PhD thesis specifically).
And I agree with you about Demon-Haunted World. I think that should be required reading for all high school students.
Parent
Re:How is this less important? (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
He inspired a generation to be interested in science. How many actual scientists today can trace their choice of career back to Cosmos?
Oh, and read Demon-Haunted World.
Read all his stuff. Pale Blue Dot is great for instance. His short essays were brilliant. Pity he was an arrogant man and so harsh on Sci-Fi though (especially Startrek) but that too is a lesson - don't idolize people.
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Meh. I'm also an arrogant man, and also quite harsh on Star trek. I'll watch it, but I'll argue with it in the process...
I think he would've liked Firefly.
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Question: (Score:2, Insightful)
Should this not be posted under idle?
Re:Question: (Score:5, Insightful)
No way! This was too beautiful for idle!
Parent
Re: (Score:3)
Autotune the News (Score:5, Informative)
Autotune the News has been doing this kind of thing for a while now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bduQaCRkgg4&feature=related [youtube.com]
Re:Autotune the News (Score:5, Interesting)
His tune-up of MLK's I have a dream speech [youtube.com] is pretty awesome. It's good enough to actually consider a mainstream artist doing a proper cover in the mode of the Obama "Yes we can" video.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Agreed, I love their MLK song.
Autotune the News #8 was the best mix (Score:3, Funny)
Yo, I'm happy for Autotune #1 and all, but I'ma let you finish... the Autotune the News #8 [youtube.com] was the best news mix of all time.
Especially the lip-sync video editing was just too good. It had me singing along to Michael Vick ... that's gotta count for something :)
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gotta say that the Sagan song was better though.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Unless you think the effect is cool - in which case you're a retard.
This is where art and profession differentiate. And why they need each other.
Opinion != fact
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Opinion != fact
Sadly, a vast majority of people, when faced with this argument, will reply (as Sheldon Cooper's mother did when discussing creationism) "..and that is your opinion!". Sad state of affairs indeed!
Re:Autotune the News (Score:5, Insightful)
That you've noticed. If your pitch correction is noticeable, you're doing it wrong. Unless you think the effect is cool - in which case you're a retard.
I could say the same about synthesizers: "If your synthesizer is noticeably different from a real instrument, you're doing it wrong. Unless you think synthesizer effects are cool - in which case you're a retard." Artists have always looked for new ways to create sounds. The repurposing of autotune is no different from the creation of synthesizers, or any other new instrument. Why is someone "retarded" for thinking that the use of autotune as a new musical tool is cool?
I mean, it annoys me too, but your point of view is really condescending. Let musicians play. Autotune is just a set of algorithms; there's no reason why it can't be used in a way that the original programmers didn't anticipate. And anyway, Stevie Wonder and Peter Frampton both used vocoders for a similar effect. Are they "retarded"?
Parent
Re:Autotune the News (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
A Still More Glorious Dawn (of some sort) (Score:2, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Since the US finally has a president who is talking about getting rid of all nuclear arms, even our own, I think there may just be a galaxy rise in our future :-)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Nobody thinks that. You think there are people thinking this, but I think you're wrong.
Re:A Still More Glorious Dawn (of some sort) (Score:4, Insightful)
Those guys are smart. Those guys never said the universe needs or wants us to survive. That's the ramblings of some moron posting things on the internet, rather than a top physicist.
Why do *we* want to survive? Probably because most of us (other then the aforementioned moron) still have the desire to survive, procreate, and pass on our genes to a future generation. That's been hard-wired in most life on the planet for quite some time now.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
What the hell are you even talking about? This is about as coherent as an episode of Teletubbies.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
This is about as coherent as an episode of Teletubbies.
Oh yeah ?
"Laa-Laa sent out for one of those short, plump little breads called Tubby Toast, which look as though they had been moulded in the fluted scallop of The Noo-Noo's hose. And soon, mechanically, weary after a dull day with the prospect of a depressing morrow, I raised to my lips a spoonful of the Tubby Custard in which I had soaked a morsel of the toast. No sooner had the warm liquid, and the crumbs with it, touched my palate than a shudder ran through my whole body, and I stopped, intent upon the e
Amazing... (Score:4, Insightful)
New Slashdot meme? (Score:5, Funny)
Loud (Score:5, Insightful)
It's nice, but the music track is too loud compared to the voice.
Expurgated version (Score:3, Funny)
Is there a version edited for rednecks?
Interesting piece of work! (Score:2)
I genuinely enjoyed this! A very clever and imaginative work of art, I'd say. Lyrics, music, and visuals... two thumbs-up, for sure!
Cosmos (Score:2)
---
Astronomy Feed [feeddistiller.com] @ Feed Distiller [feeddistiller.com]
Carl Sagan is amazingly inspiring (Score:3, Informative)
I was given the book Comet which he co-authored with Ann Druyan, and while you might think the subject matter smaller, the vision it showed for how we could travel to space and spread life between the stars was amazing. It showed there's more to do out there than invent a spaceship to go from world to world at - how we do not know - speeds far greater than light's. We can be the ancestors of life made to be out there. Panspermia might not be a fact now, but we can make it so. I think that's a beautiful goal to pursue.
Very nice (Score:4, Insightful)
To me though, that had the privilege to watch the original "Cosmos" series in my early teens, this video brings back found memories of a man that inspired me and planted the seed of curiosity in me.
I like this video. Not for the music or technical achievement, but for it's spirit.
I don't care. (Score:5, Insightful)
It was worth watching.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
There are much better autotune videos out there:
Auto-Tune the News #2 [youtube.com]
I Was Like Um [youtube.com]
Re: (Score:2)
worth watching. not slow news at all. matter of fact, its much cooler than another 'lets toot the linux/FOSS horn' and the 'F to the RIAA' pitter patter that constantly resounds here.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
It is perhaps unquestionably true that there is nothing more pathetic than the inheritors of the estate of great personages who choose to enrich their own endowments than carry on the work from which it came.
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perhaps unquestionably?
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You know it hasn't actually been censored, right?
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Cosmos is continually being removed from Youtube and re-added.
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Good point.
You can download both the mp3 and the high rez video from this page
http://www.colorpulsemusic.com/youtube.html [colorpulsemusic.com]
Re:fuck autotune (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah, but Carl Sagan is dead, so there aren't many other ways to make it seem like he's singing. If anything, this is the most appropriate use of autotune technology I've seen to date: Making the dead come back to life in a new way.
:)
I'm sure Carl would approve
Parent
Re:fuck autotune (Score:5, Funny)
Do you think he'd be for or against sounding like Kermit the Frog gone techno?
Parent
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They seem to be objecting to artificial voices and a lack of originality...
I wonder where that music in the background came from? Synthesizer? Or sampled from someone else?
If you don't like how autotune sounds, fine. But that video was pretty hypocritical.
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Sorry to burst your bubble, but nearly every mainstream (especially pop, country, hip-hop/r&b, etc.) album that includes vocal parts in it these days has been "enhanced" through the use of auto-tune. Heck, auto-tune is even used in live concerts nowadays. Don't confuse the general usage of auto-tune, which is merely a tool for pitch correction, with the specific practice of feeding extreme parameters into auto-tune software to produce synthetic- or electronic-sounding vocal effects (some like to call th
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
The mpg on the creators site is a bit higher quality, but not much.
http://hinome.net/EFh9F10/galaxyrise.jpg [hinome.net]
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Don't be silly.
Carl Sagan is always on topic on Slashdot.
Cosmos was as profound and inspiring as TV gets, and a defining moment for an entire generation of nerds; any excuse to talk about it is welcome.