The Gloriousness of "A Glorious Dawn"

Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking. Not unlike other dynamic duos such as Kobe and Shaq along with Young and Rice, these science icons dominated their field. Sagan was one of NASA’s masterminds, while Hawking has mastered mathematics and other aspects of space. But our readers probably didn’t know their true talent: recording hit singles.

While this is clearly a collection of clips from television shows, the scientists’ true intentions were to use the clips in the music video for “A Glorious Dawn.”

Here are the highlights of the song:

:05 – Sagan shows his lack of confidence in his singing ability and attempts to justify his effort if the song is judged to be a failure. STOP IT CARL. Your singing voice is matched by no one (perhaps maybe this guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk4woNRD7NQ).

:20 – Did anyone not know that it was necessary to invent the universe before making an apple pie? Sorry Carl, not your brightest moment.

:40 and :47 – Sagan’s dramatic point into the blinding brightness followed by his beautiful face showing through the Sun is a music video sequence for the ages.

1:04 – The way Sagan watches that fluff ball fly away is like a baby lion leaving his mother for the first time. Excuse me for a second while I wipe the tears off of my keyboard.

1:37 – Where did they get gigantic brain in the background??? That my friends is a question worth asking. On a side note, does anyone speak Brainish?

2:15 – Carl shows just how exhausting it is to produce a music video by taking a nap. On set!

2:18 – The arrival of Stephen Hawking left me conflicted. Should I feel bad for him because of his condition? Should I admire him for perseverance? Should I stop watching?

2:21 – What the heck is this??? (Please don’t answer that question.)

2:33 – I’ve decided on my answer for the series of questions at 2:18. I should feel bad for the guy.  I wish this clip wasn’t in the video…

2:41 – Sagan is in a glass case of excitement/happiness. Then again, who wouldn’t be in this time of exciting time in which we are, in fact, visiting other worlds.

3:15 – Carl, that’s the first thing I think of when I think about space. How inviting it is…

There you have it people. In case you were interested, A Glorious Dawn is available on iTunes. And it may or may not be on my iPod...But that’s not important.

Special thanks to Chet McDougal and Austin Short for introducing this video to the AtF staff last spring. Y’all are truly an inspiration.