Things have really been grooving here at Lodestar Central. On the podcast some weeks back I mentioned Muse’s new album The Wow! Signal during the “what’s new in sci-fi?” segment, and this has sent our ship on an unexpected trajectory.

I asked readers what their favorite sci-fi music was, and while the most votes were cast for Vangelis’s original score to Blade Runner (which triggered a whole memory), I soon found myself with a remarkable selection of tunes from diverse genres all with some kind of connection to science fiction.

I have, as such, made the executive decision to curate the first shareable STARLOG playlist, deploying the common technologies of our day. (Yes, I used Spotify, which I know is not a service that is beloved by all; for more on the green Swedish menace, I suggest reading Liz Pelly’s remarkable book Mood Machine.)

I primed the pump myself with the opening and closing numbers — Brazilian disco legend Eumir Deodato’s spin on Richard Strauss’s “Also Spake Zarathustra” and the musical bloodsport that is Gustav Holst’s “Mars, the Bringer of War” — but the rest is all you guys. I took your suggestions, which ranged from Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds rock opera to a track from Janelle Monae’s Dirty Computer, from synth pioneer Gary Numan to percussion-heavy Bear McCreary, and did my best to make segues that made sense. Some artists were new to me, like Starfarer, The Phenomenauts, and Arjen Anthony Lucassen’s Star One. Others I hadn’t thought about in a very long time, like Joan Baez’s theme to Silent Running. And I was really happy someone else digs the fat analog keyboards on Herbie Hancock’s album Thrust, the cover of which features the great jazzman in some kind of spherical spaceship visiting another world.

The whole thing clocks in at 122 minutes and my hope is that this will only grow over time with more feedback. Hats off to many awesome Lodestar readers (what should we call you? Loders? Lodesters?) like Diana K., Jancee T., Paul G., Benjamin A., Jesse S., Alice B., Matthew H., Susan B., Palvi S., Sean M., Alan S., and more for your ideas and expertise.

Click to listen here.

Jordan Hoffman, Communications Officer

The treasures of the STARLOG archive are immeasurable!

Our guest this week on the STARLOG Podcast is film producer Daniel Noah. If you have taken a plunge into hardcore midnight movies any time in the past decade, you’ve likely seen one of the projects from SpectreVision, the company he runs with actor Elijah Wood. Color out of Space, Mandy, The Greasy Strangler, Daniel Isn’t Real, Rabbit Trap, and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night are some of the envelope-pushing titles he’s helped bring into the world.

He is also a comic book writer whose collection High Strangeness has just been released and is weirding people out with its stories of UAPs, multidimensional awareness, and eerie experiences. Noah calls himself an “experiencer,” and shares with us some of his encounters. It all began, believe it or not, with a Ouija board.

Noah, whose company also features a podcasting network, may be pitching a belief system anathema to some of our more science-focused readers and listeners. But I trust that anyone interested in STARLOG is also interested in hearing unusual points of view. One thing that is undeniable, the guy has a soothing and mellifluous voice — so if you are going to listen to someone talk about seeing Bigfoot, he’s the guy you want doing it.

The new episode of the STARLOG Podcast, like the ones before it, are on whatever podcasting platform you prefer. Or you can just click the little “listen” button below.

SCI-FI

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is just around the corner. As such, the studio has plopped one final trailer onto the internet to try and catch a few more ticket sales. I actually haven’t watched it yet, because I’m gonna be seeing the movie in theaters no matter what. But as a service to you, you can check it out here.

SCIENCE

Turns out that all you need to measure Earth’s magnetic field from space is a lentil-sized diamond housed in a 10 cm by 10 cm by 10 cm cube designed by students at Hasselt University. The doohickey in question is OSCAR-QUBE, which stands for Optical Sensors based on CARbon materials: QUantum BElgium. Take a look for yourself.

CULTURE

I thought I was sick of stories about Christopher Nolan’s love of IMAX 70mm film, until I saw this 60 Minutes report of him in the field with his enormous rig and visiting the last remaining film lab that knows how to handle his specific needs. The handmade aspect of The Odyssey is exhilarating. Watch it here.

ETHICS

Drones have already drastically changed the world, as anyone following news from Ukraine and Lebanon already knows. But here is an extra twist: roboticists at Northwestern University have created a drone that is essentially invisible. Is that good? You can read more and watch the eerie video right here.