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New York Times
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Space Out With 11 Far-Out Songs
By Maya Salam Dear listeners, Outer space is my Roman Empire: I am on some level obsessing about it whenever I have a free moment. I will devour true stories of discovery and space travel or mind-bending concoctions of science fiction — I'm here to be fascinated, thrilled and terrified by it all. So when researchers recently suggested that the Earth may actually be trapped in a giant cosmic void, my thoughts, more intensely than usual, drifted to our odd little marble's place in the vast expanse of the universe. In fact, it was on this very day 67 years ago that NASA was founded, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. So there's no better time than now for a playlist about the great unknown that surrounds us. Let's rock out on this rock together, shall we? Maya The first song on Pink Floyd's first album, 'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn' (1967), opens with the voice of Peter Jenner, the band's manager, reading out names of the moons of Uranus and a handful of planets through a megaphone, almost mimicking the effect of an interplanetary transmission. 'Pluto was not discovered till 1930,' you can hear him say if you listen closely. Pink Floyd would of course go on to become beloved for its music's ability to transport the psyche to astral planes. For something more familiar that's still on topic, try most any track off 'The Dark Side of the Moon.'▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube Like 'Astronomy Domine,' this track from Kate Bush's 1985 album, 'Hounds of Love,' opens with an crackly missive, this time a comms recording from the Columbia Shuttle: 'Columbia now nine times the speed of sound,' it starts. Before long, Bush breaks in with her signature otherworldly, soul-awakening vocals that lead to a meditative Georgian chant performed by the Richard Hickox Singers. 'In some ways, I thought of it as a lullaby for the Earth,' Bush has said. 'It was the idea of turning the whole thing upside down and looking at it from completely above.' ▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube Practically any song from David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust era would be at home on this list. (He embodied a rock star who communicates with extraterrestrial beings in the face of a coming apocalypse on Earth.) But it's this earlier track — from the 1969 album that later became known as 'Space Oddity' — about a fictional astronaut named Major Tom who loses contact with ground control, that gets me every time. Bowie was in part inspired to write it after watching Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey,' one of my favorite films. The track was also intentionally released on July 11, 1969, to dovetail with real life: The Apollo 11 mission, which would culminate with humans setting foot on the moon for the first time, launched just days later. ▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube Björk has never seemed to be from this planet, and I mean that as the highest compliment. Virtually all her songs sound like an interstellar broadcast. This one off 'Biophilia' from 2011 opens and closes with a trippy sound comparable to the unsettling requiem motif in '2001: A Space Odyssey.' In between is a surprisingly tender ode to the creation of the universe. Interestingly, her lyrics here are more immediately legible than in much of her work. 'Heaven's bodies, whirl around me, make me wonder,' she sings. 'And they say back then our universe wasn't even there, until a sudden bang.' ▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube Even time I hear this gorgeous, delicate song by the indie-rock singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens from his 2005 LP 'Illinois,' I so wish its two minutes were just the start of a much longer musical experience. Punctuated with lilting flute, it reflects on a true story from 2000, in which police officers and others reported seeing lights in triangular formation around 4 a.m. near Highland, Ill. ▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube Elton John's hit 'Rocket Man,' about the fragmented life of an astronaut, is a natural fit for this list, but this 1974 track off the less-celebrated album 'Caribou' is a bop that tells a tale of alien abduction while exploring earthbound feelings of alienation. It also celebrates John's emotive, rock-soul voice at its peak. Like 'Rocket Man,' it was inspired by his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin's love of science fiction. ▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube When I was a teenager in the 1990s, I had a 'Soundgarden' baby tee that I wore until it was threadbare. I kind of wish I'd framed it because it represents the beginning of my interest in (and my fear of) our place in the cosmos, in no small part because of the song and video for 'Black Hole Sun,' off the band's 1994 grunge classic, 'Superunknown.' The video, which shows delusionally happy suburbanites whose grins get creepily distorted as a black hole comes to swallow up humanity, was like nothing I'd ever seen. It's a psychedelic image that, for better or worse, shaped me. ▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube If you are here for the intergalactic theme, but some of the songs above are too melancholy, take a sharp turn toward the funky with the entirety of Parliament's 1975 album, 'Mothership Connection.' The flying-saucer cover art alone is worth the cost of admission. This track about desperate funk-less alien beings wanting to save their dying world by siphoning off the band's superpower is undeniably danceable. 'Like a streak of lightning it came, filling my brain with pain,' the lyrics go. 'Without saying a word, this voice I heard, 'Give up the funk, you punk.'' ▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube This song is not about literal aliens, but the vibe is supernatural in the most fabulous of ways. From Beyoncé's 2022 studio album, 'Renaissance' — 'a dazzling nightclub fantasia,' as our pop music critic Lindsay Zoladz put it — this funky, synthy, layered track explores themes of Afrofuturism and queer liberation, and is simply out of this world. ▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube If you ever get the chance to watch the 1986 horror-comedy musical 'Little Shop of Horrors' with me, skip it. I know every word to the entire film, about a sentient alien plant hungry for human blood, and I don't restrain myself. This theatrical funk-rock track — written by the musical's creators, Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, and sung by Levi Stubb, the voice of Audrey II in the movie — accompanies the film's climatic scene, a fever-dream battle between man and extraterrestrial. It also earned an Oscar nomination for best original song, one of only a few songs sung by a movie's villain to do so, with profanity no less. ▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube Originally recorded in 1954 by Kaye Ballard as 'In Other Words,' it was Frank Sinatra's 1964 interpretation that quickly became an anthem of sorts for the NASA Apollo moon missions, which ran from 1961 to 1972. Legend has it that the song was played both during the Apollo 10 mission, which orbited the moon in 1969, and Apollo 11, before it landed on the moon, making Neil Armstrong the first human to walk on its surface. In 2012, at Armstrong's memorial service, the jazz singer Diana Krall performed a plaintive version of the song in a tear-jerking tribute. ▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube The Amplifier Playlist 'Space Out With 11 Far-Out Songs' track listTrack 1: Pink Floyd, 'Astronomy Domine'Track 2: Kate Bush, 'Hello Earth'Track 3: David Bowie, 'Space Oddity'Track 4: Björk, 'Cosmogony'Track 5: Sufjan Stevens, 'Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois'Track 6: Elton John, 'I've Seen the Saucers'Track 7: Soundgarden, 'Black Hole Sun'Track 8: Parliament, 'Unfunky UFO'Track 9: Beyoncé, 'Alien Superstar'Track 10: Levi Stubbs, 'Mean Green Mother From Outer Space'Track 11: Frank Sinatra, 'Fly Me to the Moon'
Al-Ahram Weekly
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Khaled Selim and Hisham Kharma conclude the Summer Festival for Music and Singing in Alexandria
Beit Al-Seheimi Al-Moez St, Al-Darb Al Asfar Alley, Al-Gamaleya District, Tel 02 2787 8865 Every Sunday, 7.30pm (Free entry): The Nile Troupe for Folk Instruments, founded by artist Zakariya El-Hagawy, performs dances and songs from Upper Egypt on mizmar, tabla and other traditional musical instruments. Every Friday, 8pm (Free entry): 'Alaragouz wa Khayal Al-Zel' (The Karakouz and The Shadow Puppet), a free public performance by clowns in Al-Muaaz Street, presented by Wamda and directed by its founder and scripter Nabil Bahgat. Al-Ghouri Dome 111 Al-Azhar St, Al-Ghouriya, Tel 02 2506 0227 Al-Tanoura whirling dervishes perform to live Sufi music (Performances every Sat and Wed, 7pm). Thurs 31, 8pm: Mosaic band features violina player Mohamed Sharara performs a selection of Arab and international compositions. Makan 1 Saad Zaghloul St, Al-Mounira, Cairo, Tel 2792 0878 Every Tuesday, 8pm: Mawawil features vocalists Hend and Sara in a repertoire of traditional music of the Nile Delta, Al Jaafra music played by Arab Tribes from Aswan and Nass Makan band. Every Wednesday, 8pm: Zar music and songs by Mazaher ensemble featuring Umm Sameh, Umm Hassan and Nour Al-Sabah. Rawabet Art Space 5 Hussien Pasha El-Meaamar St. ext. of Mahmoud Bassiouny St, Maarouf, Qasr El Nil, Downtown Thurs 31, 8pm: 'Shawshy Time' is a crowd work special, every show has a topic and discuss it in a way that's entertaining, balancing between laughter and storytelling. Nothing is prepared in advance, the show is completely on the spot, based on audience interaction and Amgad Shawshi and that makes each show different than the ones before it. Room Art Space & Café 10 Etihad Al Mohamin, Garden City, Tel 01000 068 159 Thurs 31, 8pm: Shady El-Qasseer live in concert featuring vocalist Noha Fekry. Fri 1 August, 8pm: 'Living Show' a unique comedic experience because the audience will sit as if he is sitting at home with his friends, where the audience is the heart of the show in an unforgettable evening full of surprises and laughter. Sat 2, 8pm: Nostalgic night by Ezzo, an Egyptian singer, songwriter and actor who specializes in Arabic singing in the oriental, pop and several other genres. Tues 5, 8pm: Karaoke night. The Spot mall, infront of AUC Gate 4, New Cairo Sun 3, 9pm: Pedro open mic. Mon 4, 9pm: Ahmad Ali El-Haggar is an Egyptian musician performing original music as well as covers of Classic Egyptian songs. Tues 5, 9pm: Paranoid Eyes is an Egyptian Pink Floyd tribute that revives Pink Floyd's music in Egypt. Wed 6 and Thurs 7, 9pm: Karaoke night. El Sawy Culturewheel End of 26th of July St, underneath the 15th of May Bridge, Zamalek, Tel 2736 8881/6178/2737 4448 El Sawy's Nile University branch El Sheikh Zayed Thurs 31, 8pm: Massar Egbari band. Wisdom Hall Tues 5 August, 8pm: Carnivalia X Crashendo. Thurs 6.30 and 8.30pm: El Sawy Culturewheel Puppet Theatre show revives the concerts of Umm Kolthoum performing two of her much-loved songs. Teatro Arkan Arkan Plaza, El-Sheikh Zayed, Giza, Egypt Thurs 31, 8pm: Iron Tawfeeq is bringing you the final episode of his hit comedy show 'Dah Video Beyedhak' (this is a comic video). Thurs 7 August, 8pm: For the last time, comedian Ahmed Khairy will perform his one-hour stand-up comedy show, 'Made in Egypt'. He promises an unforgettable night full of laughter and surprises. ALEXANDRIA Alexandria International Stadium 12 Omar Tosoun St, Qesm Bab Sharky, Alexandria The Summer Festival for Music and Singing (27-31 July 2025) Thurs 31, 9pm: Musical composer Hisham Kharma (10pm) Super star singer Khaled Selim and his band. Anfoushi Culture Palace 59 Kasr Al Tin, Ras Al Tin, Al Gomrok, Alexandria Thurs 7, 8pm: Tablet Elsitt band is back with a brand-new show full of art, folklore, and authentic eastern rhythms. Bibliotheca Alexandrina Chatby, Alexandria 21526, Tel (03) 4839999 The 22nd International Summer Festival (7-31 August) Conference Centre Main Hall Thurs 7, 8.30pm: The opening concert of the festival features super star singer Medhat Saleh, accompanied by his band, conducted by pianist Amr Selim. Tickets for the festival concerts are sold exclusively through the BA ticket sales outlet, BA's official online booking link: * A version of this article appears in print in the 6 August, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Scotsman
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
ANYMA announces performance at Pyramids of Giza
The DJ is set to headline the APEX_ Stage at Creamfields 2025 before heading to Egypt for the 'immersive' performance Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... ANYMA has announced an incredible performance to take place in October 2025. The DJ is set to performance at the iconic Pyramids of Giza. Pre-sale ticketing is open to the public, as the DJ is set to perform at Creamfields 2025 months before the scheduled event. Celebrated DJ ANYMA is set to perform at one of the biggest venues on earth - and it's not a Las Vegas residency either. The Creamfields 2025 performer will be jetting off to the Pyramids of Giza for a special performance set 'against the backdrop of ancient stone and open desert sky', it's been confirmed this week. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The historic occasion will see the DJ present his first-ever two-part performance, spanning two distinctive stages. He'll firstly offer a unique Quantum concept DJ set, seamlessly transitioning into The End Of Genesys, a state-of-the-art audio-visual show pushing the very limits of live artistry. ANYMA has announced he will be performing at the Pyramids of Giza later this year - after his performance at the upcoming Creamfields Festival in Daresbury in August 2025. |for Coachell Attendees can anticipate an immersive event that awakens every sense through his captivating visuals, bespoke lighting and world-class production - if he set at Tomorrowland 2025 is anything to account for. With his meticulously crafted sets, ANYMA has sculpted throughout his rise among the EDM scene a sound that is both deeply intimate and breathtakingly expansive, and this event presents a unique opportunity for fans to 'immerse' themselves in a set within one of the world's most monumental settings, ensuring every echo travels farther and every intricate detail strikes with amplified force. When are tickets to see ANYMA at the Great Pyramids of Giza available? Pre-sale access is currently underway, with those wanting to get tickets when they go on sale on August 4 2025 from 3pm BST. General ticket sales will then commence on August 5 2025 from 3pm BST through TicketEgypt only. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad When is ANYMA performing at Creamfields 2025? ANYMA will be performing on the APEX_ Stage at Creamfields 2025 this August Bank Holiday at 8pm BST on Sunday August 24 2025. Where is the strangest place you've seen a band or musician perform? Pink Floyd at Pompeii? Travis Scott at Circus Maximus? Share your favourite 'out there' setting for a gig by leaving a comment down below.
Forbes
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Pink Floyd's Masterpiece Mounts A Multi-Chart Comeback
Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon reappears on four U.K. charts, proving the classic album's ... More continued commercial strength. UNITED KINGDOM - JANUARY 01: Photo of Rick WRIGHT and PINK FLOYD and Syd BARRETT and Roger WATERS; Back L-R: Syd Barrett, Nick Mason. Front L-R: Roger Waters, Rick Wright - posed, group shot (Photo by Andrew Whittuck/Redferns) Throughout the decades, Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon has sold tens of millions of copies around the world. These days, it can typically be found on rankings in many Western nations. In fact, it almost always appears on multiple tallies in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The album is so immensely successful that several versions have been released throughout the years, and fans snap them all up in large numbers. In the band's home country of the U.K., multiple editions of the blockbuster have reached several lists. A more recent version of The Dark Side of the Moon finds its way back to numerous charts at the same time while also flying onto others as it seems that interest in the rock collection may never dwindle. The Dark Side of the Moon on the U.K. Charts The Dark Side of the Moon can currently be found on four charts in the U.K., reappearing on two of them. The bestseller soars back onto both the Official Albums Sales and Official Physical Albums rankings, coming in at Nos. 94 and 99, respectively. The same Pink Floyd project also lives on the Official Album Downloads and Official Rock & Metal Albums charts. On the former — which looks at all genres and ranks the most downloaded full-lengths in the U.K. — The Dark Side of the Moon pushes north from No. 88 to No. 82. The classic is a non-mover at No. 18 on the list of the bestselling rock and metal titles in the country. Coincidentally, this take on The Dark Side of the Moon has now spent 18 weeks on that roster. Pink Floyd's Iconic Set Beats The Band's Newest Just two releases by Pink Floyd appear on the charts in the U.K. at the moment, and The Dark Side of the Moon is the only one that finds space on more than one roster. The group hit No. 1 on multiple tallies in the country earlier this year with At Pompeii - MCMLXXII, and while that live project has largely disappeared, it can still be found on the Official Rock & Metal Albums chart this week. It sits at No. 26 on that style-focused ranking, down from No. 19.
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Sarajevo street art marks out brighter future
'I want to be like a positive view. When you see my murals or my artworks, I don't want people to think too much about it. 'It's for everyone.' During the Bosnian war, 1992-1995, Sarajevo endured the longest siege in modern conflict, as Bosnian Serb forces encircled and bombarded the city for 44 months. Attacks on the city left more than 11,500 people dead, injured 50,000 and forced tens of thousands to flee. But in the wake of a difficult peace, that divided the country into two autonomous entities, Bosnia's economy continues to struggle leaving the physical scars of war still evident around the city almost three decades on. Facades of old buildings renovated with murals by Bosnian street artist Benjamin Cengic and his creative team in Sarajevo, pictured in May. Photo / Elvis Barukcic, AFP 'A form of therapy' 'After the war, segregation, politics, and nationalism were very strong, but graffiti and hip-hop broke down all those walls and built new bridges between generations,' local muralist Adnan Hamidovic, also known as rapper Frenkie, said. Frenkie vividly remembers being caught by police early in his career, while tagging trains bound for Croatia in the northwest Bosnian town of Tuzla. The 43-year-old said the situation was still tense then, with police suspecting he was doing 'something political'. For the young artist, only one thing mattered: 'Making the city your own'. Graffiti was a part of Sarajevo life even during the war, from signs warning of sniper fire to a bulletproof barrier emblazoned with the words 'Pink Floyd' - a nod to the band's 1979 album The Wall. Sarajevo Roses - fatal mortar impact craters filled with red resin - remain on pavements and roads around the city as a memorial to those killed in the strikes. When he was young, Frenkie said the thrill of illegally painting gripped him, but it soon became 'a form of therapy' combined with a desire to do something significant in a country still recovering from war. 'Sarajevo, after the war, you can imagine, it was a very, very dark place,' he said at Manifesto gallery where he exhibited earlier this year. 'Graffiti brought life into the city and also colour.' 'A way of resisting' Sarajevo's annual Fasada festival, first launched in 2021, has helped promote the city's muralists while also repairing buildings, according to artist and founder Benjamin Cengic. 'We look for overlooked neighbourhoods, rundown facades,' Cengic said. His team fixes the buildings that will also act as the festival's canvas, sometimes installing insulation and preserving badly damaged homes in the area. The aim is to 'really work on creating bonds between local people, between artists'. Mostar, a city in southern Bosnia, will also host the 14th edition of its annual street art festival in August. With unemployment nearing 30% in Bosnia, street art also offers an important springboard to young artists, University of Sarajevo sociology professor Sarina Bakic said. 'The social context for young people is very difficult,' Bakic said. Ljiljana Radosevic, a researcher at Finland's Jyvaskyla University, said graffiti allowed youth to shake off any 'nationalist narrative or imposed identity'. 'It's a way of resisting,' Radosevic said. - Agence France-Presse
