Soundtrack Considerations for the Great American Eclipse of 2017
Next week, a gigantic swath of North America will get to behold a total solar eclipse. At a time when so much about our country is divisive in nature, one hopes that such an event would bring diverse groups together. After all, a mega eclipse like this is as much of interest to astrologers as it is to astronomers, which is a fairly apt metaphor for the types of (real or false) dichotomies our society seems rife with.
Whether one views Monday’s event as a cosmic sign from The Universe or a rare astronomic treat — or possibly both — one critical aspect of all this that people aren’t yet discussing is … the accompaniment!
Thankfully, a thing as absolutely vital to human life as the sun has inspired numerous musical compositions. I happened to come across a site called Ranker that lets people vote on just about everything. It actually had a list of 100 “best songs about the sun” (see here). (Seems not all are directly about the sun, but at least mention it a good bit.)
As one might well guess, the Beatles top the list with “Here Comes the Sun,” although in this case their “I’ll Follow the Sun” may be more appropriate. Tough to top those! Other notables from that list include:
- Island in the Sun — Weezer
- Sunshine of Your Love — Cream
- Black Hole Sun — Soundgarden
- House of the Rising Sun — The Animals
Basically, no matter who you are at your core, there is likely a sun-themed piece of music to accompany the event. For boomers, there’s “Seasons in the Sun”; for reggae lovers, there’s the absolute classic “Sun Is Shining”; for the classic-rock set, perhaps Billy Thorpe’s “Children of the Sun”; for the 90s alt-crowd, there are numerous ones from “Blister in the Sun” to “Walkin’ on the Sun.”
Classical music fan? Don’t worry, you’re covered as well. Here’s a list of nine recommended works inspired by the sun.
The point is this: Millions of Americans have a chance to set the witnessing of this rare event to music. Why not make a conscious choice to do so?!
As for me, I think I’m going to watch this great gig in the sky with some Pink Floyd on headphones — specifically “The Great Gig in the Sky,” which ought to provide the appropriate level of celestial freak-out this event merits. I’m eager to hear others’ choices.
✍🏻 Jim Dee maintains his personal blog, “Hawthorne Crow,” and a web design blog, “Web Designer | Web Developer Magazine.” He also contributes to various Medium.com publications. Find him at JPDbooks.com, his Amazon Author page, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Medium, or via email at Jim [at] ArrayWebDevelopment.com. His latest novel, CHROO, is available on Amazon.com. If you enjoy humorous literary tales, please grab a copy!
