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Carl Sagan
last updated 2026-09-11 11:26
Carl Sagan
Plays on LTZ: (historical total not available beyond this vault's episode folders)
Tracks played
A Glorious Dawn — played 2026-07-30
Research
Carl Sagan — A Glorious Dawn
Played: 2026-07-30 (Moment in History)(TikTok)
"A Glorious Dawn" is the first track from John Boswell's Symphony of Science project, which uses Auto-Tune to set Carl Sagan's spoken words from Cosmos to music. Boswell — a musician and science communicator working under the name melodysheep — created the track in 2009, sampling Sagan's "Across the sea of space" and "A still more glorious dawn" passages alongside Stephen Hawking's "We are just an advanced breed of monkeys." The video went viral upon release. Jack White's Third Man Records pressed it as a special 7-inch vinyl single for the 75th anniversary of Carl Sagan's birth, on 9 November 2009. The Symphony of Science project has since grown to dozens of songs sampling various scientists.
Moment in History: On this date, 30 July 2016, Third Man Records celebrated its seventh anniversary by launching a specially engineered turntable, The Icarus Craft, into space via high-altitude balloon — playing the very first vinyl record in space. The 45 RPM single played was "A Glorious Dawn." The craft reached over 94,000 feet during its 80-minute flight before the balloon burst and it dropped back to Earth.
TikTok angle: Pitched as scratching "an itch only auto-tuned Carl Sagan could scratch," tied to the fact this collaboration was the record launched into space for Third Man Records' 7th anniversary.
Sources: Wikipedia · SymphonyofScience.com · LA Beat
Symphony of Science (feat. Carl Sagan)
Origin: Bellingham, Washington, US · project launched 2009 · ongoing on and off
Members: Created and produced by John D. Boswell, working under the alias "melodysheep" (solo musician/video producer; not a band). "Carl Sagan" here refers to sampled spoken-word audio, not a performing artist.
Genre: Auto-Tune remix / electronic — spoken-word science audio set to music
Discography:
"A Glorious Dawn" (2009) — self-released to YouTube — debut Symphony of Science video, samples Carl Sagan's Cosmos narration and Stephen Hawking; pressed as a 7-inch by Jack White's Third Man Records for Sagan's 75th birthday (Nov 2009)
Symphony of Science series (2009–ongoing) — dozens of further songs sampling scientists including Bill Nye, Richard Feynman and Neil deGrasse Tyson
Facts:
Boswell started out playing in metal bands in Spokane before turning to piano and, eventually, science-themed remix work.
In 2016, a copy of "A Glorious Dawn" became the first vinyl record played in space, via Third Man Records' high-altitude balloon launch "The Icarus Craft" for the label's 7th anniversary.