Baker's Dozen

I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth – President John F. Kennedy, May 25, 1961

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the first manned mission to land on the moon, here’s a Baker’s Dozen devoted to space:

“Ladies and Gentlemen, We’re Floating in Space”

Spiritualized

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Knowing Jason Pierce, the space he’s referring to can’t be reached by a rocket. The only way to get there is through a perfect cocktail of narcotics. This song of longing, with its sound effects and languid, hazy vocals is an apt opener to an album that has all the grandeur and ambition of space travel.

“Space Truckin’”

Deep Purple

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“We got music in our solar system/We’re space truckin’ round the stars.” An autobiographical tale of the British proto-metal band, “Space Truckin’” uses space lingo to tell the world how much they rock. Considering this track was on the same record as the mega-smash, “Smoke on the Water,” I’d say they had a point.

“Moonship Journey”

Sun Ra

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You can’t have a playlist about the moon and space without at least one contribution from the incomparable Sun Ra. Claiming that he was of the “Angel Race” and not from Earth, but from Saturn, Sun Ra often incorporated “cosmic philosophy” into his music, which was a thrilling amalgamation of swing, bebop, free jazz, avant garde electronic composition, and African rhythms. While “Space is the Place” would have been the obvious choice, I’ve selected the more obscure “Moonship Journey” from Ra’s 1976 album, Cosmos.

“The Space Race is Over”

Billy Bragg

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A touching tale of regret and lost innocence, in “The Space Race is Over,” Bragg’s narrator recalls watching the Apollo 11 moon landing and dreaming of all the possibilities in life. Now with a son of his own, he laments the failed aspirations in both his personal life and in society at large: “Now that the space race is over/It’s been and it’s gone and I’ll never get to the moon/Because the space race is over/And I can’t help but feel we’ve all grown up too soon.”

“Man on the Moon”

The Jesus and Mary Chain

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Being stuck on the moon can be a real drag, so the narrator of this late-period song from The Jesus and Mary Chain invites his lady to come join him: “Come visit soon/Sure gets lonely living here on the moon/I’ve got a tale to tell/About my planetary prison cell/We could shoot the breeze/Go out walking in the godless freeze.” Sounds like a lovely vacation! I hope she makes it.

“Mr. Spaceman”

The Byrds

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There’s no better way to escape the flies in your beard and smeared toothpase than hitching a ride on a spaceship. And that’s exactly what Roger McGuinn, David Crosby and their Byrd brothers ask for in this rollicking country number from 1966’s Fifth Dimension.

“Moonrock Mambo”

Yo La Tengo

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Like a Chunky or a Charleston Chew/Like shoe crab soup or chicken stew/Like Cinderella’s other shoe/I just want to be next to you/I wanna be, I wanna to be next to you.” It doesn’t have much to do with actual moon rocks, but you gotta love a track that name drops Charleston Chew and Don Cheadle in the same song. The funkier side of Yo La Tengo shines through.

“Moon Mission”

Kai Rautenberg & Orchester Juergen Ehlers

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Taken from the groovy compilation, The In-Kraut Vol.2: Hip Shaking Grooves Made in Germany 1967-74, “Moon Mission” is a far-out instrumental jam worthy that’ll at least get you to the dancefloor, if not the moon.

“Space Travel is Boring”

Sun Kil Moon

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This lilting cover of a Modest Mouse track seemingly tells the tale of woman who lands herself in a mental hospital because she “started hearing voices sometime in June.” Again, not a literal reference to space travel, but I’m sure the descent into madness is a far scarier trip.

“Dave the Moon Man”

Looper

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Inevitably, the anniversary of the moon landing brings with it countless conspiracies about how it was an elaborate hoax, meticulously choreographed on some sound stage. Looper’s charming song introduces us to a nerdy Scottish boy who, after studying all the facts, is convinced that the landing never happened, although his motives are unclear: “He was telling everyone all this stuff he’d learned cause he was hoping someone could prove to him it was wrong, and it wasn’t just a hoax. Cause dreaming was so much harder otherwise.”

“Moonshot”

Dean & Britta

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Dean & Britta turn in a positively stellar version of the classic Buffy Sainte-Marie track from 1972, bringing to life the gorgeous lyrics and the melody’s dreamy lilt. One critic described it as a fairytale, “one of those sad stories about someone who has to leave their home and never look back.”

“Starman”

David Bowie

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No discussion of music and space would be complete without mention of Bowie’s alter-ego, Ziggy Stardust. According to Bowie, Ziggy is not the extraterrestrial but merely his earthly messenger, bringing a message of hope to Earth’s youth through the radio, salvation by an alien ‘Starman.’

“The Fucking Moon”

The Evolution Control Committee

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There’s not much to say about this hysterical mash-up of the first transmissions from the Apollo moon landing. I would surmise, however, that although Armstrong, Collins, Aldrin and the NASA fligt controllers weren’t this honest, it’s probably how they felt once the lunar module Eagle touched down.

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