Beyoncé: Sampling The Sounds of Tragedy For Pop Music
Beyonce Slammed for Sampling Shuttle Tragedy on New Album, ABC
“Retired NASA astronaut Clayton Anderson told ABC News, “For the words to be used in the video is simply insensitive, at the very least.” Anderson knows NASA tragedy firsthand. In 2003, he was assisting shuttle Columbia family members the moment news came that all seven had died when the craft disintegrated re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. But Anderson, who flew twice on the space shuttle and lived on the International Space Station for five months, seemed to give Beyonce and her team the benefit of the doubt. “What we do in space just isn’t as important to young people today,” Anderson said.”
Statement by Dr. June Scobee Rodgers Regarding Beyonce Audio Clip of Challenger Accident
“We were disappointed to learn that an audio clip from the day we lost our heroic Challenger crew was used in the song ‘XO’. The moment included in this song is an emotionally difficult one for the Challenger families, colleagues and friends. We have always chosen to focus not on how our loved ones were lost, but rather on how they lived and how their legacy lives on today. Their dedication to education and exploration resulted in the creation of Challenger Center for Space Science Education and because of this we have been able to educate millions of students across America and beyond. We hope everyone remembers the crew for the inspirational legacy they left in the hearts of so many.”
Keith’s update: NASA Public Affairs issued the following statement in response to audio from the Challenger shuttle tragedy being used in the song ‘XO’ by Beyonce:
“The Challenger accident is an important part of our history; a tragic reminder that space exploration is risky and should never be trivialized. NASA works everyday to honor the legacy of our fallen astronauts as we carry out our mission to reach for new heights and explore the universe.”
Keith’s original note: Recording artist Beyoncé’s new song ‘XO’ begins with a sampled audio clip of NASA’s Steve Nesbitt during the first moments of the last flight flight Space Shuttle Challenger. The clip contains Nesbitt saying “Flight controllers here looking very carefully at the situation. Obviously a major malfunction.” These words were uttered as the crew and their disintegrating vehicle were still falling into the sea.
These words are forever etched into the psyche of everyone who was watching that day and still echo across the years for the generation that followed.
The song that follows these words about Challenger is certainly catchy – but it has nothing whatsoever to do with Challenger and the sacrifice that their crew made that morning in January 1986. Instead, the song has to do with the trivial life event of a girl breaking up with her boyfriend. The music video shows them playing at an amusement park. Having this audio included in such a song serves to mock the severity of the events and loss that these final words represent.
This choice of historic and solemn audio is inappropriate in the extreme. The choice is little different than taking Walter Chronkite’s words to viewers announcing the death of President Kennedy or 911 calls from the World Trade Center attack and using them for shock value in a pop tune.
If this was done with full knowledge of the origin of these words then this is simply repugnant. If this was done without due diligence as to the source of the words being sampled, then this is ignorance. Either way Beyoncé owes the families of the crew of Challenger an apology.
I know the families of the Challenger crew very well. If you ask they will tell you with quiet dignity and purpose that they chose to focus not on how their loved ones died but rather upon how they lived – and how their legacy continues through the educational organization, Challenger Center, that they formed in their memory.
Beyoncé was a little girl living in Houston in 1986 when her astronaut neighbors (including a school teacher) died on their way to work in outer space. She needs to apologize for using this audio clip and remove it from the song. Its absence won’t affect the song at all.
Beyoncé could do something more to make things right – by doing what she does so well: create a song that speaks to the sacrifices (big and small) that explorers and teachers make every day as they seek to enrich us all.
Yeah. I don’t really understand the point. I think it’s cool that artists like the NASA Space-to-Ground loop sound with the qindar. This type of sampling happens from time to time (notably in “Rocket” by Def Leppard). In this case it seems to be included not for the content but just for that sound. Don’t really see the point and I agree they could have picked a different sample that would be considered less offensive. They should probably change it – but too late now. I don’t expect the record company to care.
There is nothing taboo in our society anymore. Sad day and I agree with Keith.
Yes, it is quite clear you don’t understand the point.
How about:
“That’s one small step … “
“Godspeed John Glenn”
or even, if she wanted drama, “Houston, we have a problem” (which ended in a triumph).
An instantly recognizable clip of an Apollo era Launch Director calling “31 seconds” (referring to the Ground Launch Sequencer Engineer monitoring the countdown from T-9 minutes to T-31 seconds), is used throughout a Drum and Bass performance available on YouTube (unique ID = zU0-omTR1Ps).
Nice to have the kids taking notice.
Hah, and old skool favorite tune of mine. Didnt know the 31 seconds sample was Apollo.
There was another D&b tune with a very distinct “all engines running, liftoff, we have a liftoff” but i forgot the name.
EDIT : its The Terrorist – The Chopper
Hah! The sample is almost certainly the voice of veteran Flight Director Gene Kranz who lead the ground effort during the Apollo 13 triumph: one of NASA’s many fine moments. 🙂
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_F._Kranz
According to this guy, no
“Jack King, the Chief of Public Information for NASA at the time”
http://dnb365.blogspot.com/…
Sorry Savuporo, I confused the thread, my bad.
The reference to Launch Director Gene Kranz relates only to the “31 seconds” sample.
Your direction to The Chopper with a sample of Jack King is, thanks very much, another great example of NASA clips breaking into pop culture.
I hadn’t heard it before.
Thanks again for pointing this out 🙂
Let’s just let this Beyonce song flyby and be forgotten. Instead, let’s campaign to send Lady Gaga to ISS for one more rendition of “The Lady is a Tramp” with Tony Bennett singing duet from Times Square. One Lady Gaga mission constraint – no meat dress worn on board ISS. http://www.youtube.com/watc…
Sarah Brightman, yes, Lady Gaga, no.
The janitor in my building, yes. Justin Bieber, no.
Keith–
Unlike some commenters here, I share your outrage about using Nesbitt Challenger blurb for purely commercial (absolutely NOT creative or socially relevant). This trivializes the Challenger loss and hurts all those who knew the family or someone who worked that mission.
Sadly, I guess this young generation has no clue to what that comment refers, or if they do, don’t seem to give a flip about using it for “sampling” a piece of entertainment commercialization.
We saw this a few weeks ago with an editorial cartoon using the Challenger explosion in reference to the Obamacare fail — complete with a “voice bubble” coming from the very location of the falling crew compartment.
I guess when “Duck Dynasty” rules the 24/7 media headlines, we shouldn’t expect our entertainers to really have a concept of reality or good taste.
The song may not be as simple as it seems. The “XO” sign has historical origins in Christianity and Judaism, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wik… . She sings about searching for her loved one in the darkest night. You
think it’s about a trivial life event, it might as well be something
apocalyptic.
Huh?
Beyoncé has a high school education- a performing and visual arts high school education. So, your theory may not hold up when making the claim that Beyoncé is a deep, well-read scholar of theology. I’m just saying.
I am not a scholar of theology either. Religious themes in pop music are not a new thing. By the way, it seems Beyonce has just generated another controversy by posting a picture on Instagram in which she poses in front of the Last Supper painting, right in front of Jesus’s spot.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/…
The song is beautiful. Actually the sound clip fits with the meaning of the song. She’s not talking about breaking up with a boyfriend. It’s saying love me fully before I’m gone. That could be due to becoming elderly or a tragic event. It actually honors their memory when you think about it.
I could care less what the song is about unless it had to do with Challenger. Even then, how would you react if you suddenly heard the 911 call made to report the death of your spouse or parent in a horrific accident affixed to a song on the radio?
Consider the song “Countdown” by RUSH, a celebration of the shuttle and technology.
Centered around a shuttle launch, the video was released months before the Challenger tragedy. After Challenger it was yanked off the air, never to be seen again, out of respect.
Perhaps an apology from Beyonce would be in order including pledging all proceeds from the album to Challenger Center for Space Science Education, the organization founded by the Challenger family members to continue their mission.
That would be nice but based on her official statement I really do not think she thinks that she has to do anything.
Whats sad is that this article is so focused on bashing beyonce that they didn’t even put her quote in here! She said to abc “My heart goes out to the families of those lost in the Challenger disaster. The song ‘XO’ was recorded with the sincerest intention to help heal those who have lost loved ones and to remind us that unexpected things happen, so love and appreciate every minute that you have with those who mean the most to you.
“The songwriters included the audio in tribute to the unselfish work of the Challenger crew with hope that they will never be forgotten.”
I can’t imagine Houstonian Ms. Knowles would knowingly insult the memory of the Challenger crew. Unless Mr. Cowing knows otherwise?
I only know what was in the statement that ABC quotes.
No. Just no. Beyoncé, please go away.
Following that reasoning she could have used the Sandy Hook 911 calls and had the same effect. But if she did do you think she would have gotten away with that for an explanation? No, there would have been outrage.
While Beyonce is the master of the, “aww shucks… little ole me??” smile when flattered, she is actually a grade A narcissist who has a video crew follow her around 18 hours a day to document how “interesting” she is. Her recent documentary, about herself, naturally, exposed a lot of misandry as well. If she weren’t singing, she’d be running North Korea or the IRS.
She is catering to her market, which is that of immature high school students and their equally emotionally-stunted special snowflake twenty-something peers who think that some high school break-up is the end of the world.
If she wants to demonstrate tragedy with a government funded disaster, please replace the clip with Obama saying, “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.” Someone should doctor just such a clip and put it on YouTube to make the point. If they object, parody the whole song. Call it Ex-HMO.
I think you don’t understand what Keith does and says. There are many of us who support NASA but also see great problems at NASA. Wanting a better agency, and agency that is more agile, more transparent, more efficient, and more robust is not in conflict with supporting NASA.
Note that I of course cannot speak for Mr. Cowing, but I can offer my impressions as I did above.
Why doesn’t she send JayZ to Mars and feel the effects of a broken family threw space exploration
Use the right side of your brain sometimes NASA. Images and sounds of disasters have always been incorporated into art.
Yea right – audio reporting the imminent death of 7 people is art, you sicko.
Keith,
Thanks for elevating this! I do not listen to Beyonce so I would have never heard this. I do understand artistic freedom and the argument for fair use of public information but personally I think it is hurtful to the nation to marginalize any event that results in loss of life especially when that life is lost in service to our nation.
Well, after reading the lyrics of the song and the various comments by both Beyonce and the families of the Challenger astronauts it seems to me that she just made a half baked attempt at a deep emotional song. She chose a highly charged and emotional audio clip to lead off her song, one which either flies over peoples heads entirely because they don’t know what its referencing, or it pisses them off for its irreverence – either way, stupid choice. She then proceeds to sing a catchy pop song with perhaps some complexity hidden beneath the repetitive lyrics, but in all honesty it does a pretty poor job of even starting to explore the theme of loving someone before they are gone.
Long story short, Beyonce made bad art. In my opinion it doesn’t mean that the audio clip couldn’t have been used to send the exact same message, just that she did a shitty job. Shame on her, and she deserves condensation for it. If you miss the mark as an artist I have no pity for you.