Yahoo! Radish

 (Play in Yahoo Music Jukebox)

The first installment of the Star Wars universe hit the big screen over 30 years ago. At the time I was lucky enough to be in the single digit age group. A time when my young impressionable mind could be completely absorbed into the world created by George Lucas’ Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Still to this day, no movie experience has left a bigger impact on me than that film did when I first saw it with my family 3 decades ago.

The special effects were truly groundbreaking (and breathtaking) for the era, but the film’s stunning success was tied to much more than this. The music, the sound effects, and the timeless theme of good vs. evil all helped Star Wars transform into something much bigger than the sum of it’s parts. And although we have had 5 more films since the original, none have had the same impact on me.

The franchise morphed into a multi-billion dollar industry to include 6 films, books, magazines, toys, video games, role playing games, board games, clothing and every imaginable kind of merchandise in between.

The film has engrained itself into our culture deeper than almost any other work of art produced in America. And although at first thought, one pictures the typical Star Wars fan as a complete dork still living at home with mom, we must not forget that it has also inspired legions of a new NASA scientists, writers, filmmakers, artists and musicians.

I wanted to celebrate the 30th anniversary of this American film landmark with a playlist. I could have chosen to do a list of songs by rabid fans of the film (Nerf Herder, Cut Chemist, etc), or I could have done a John Williams retrospective to include the most important musical works from the film itself, but both of these ideas paled in comparison to compiling a list of some of the weirdest, off-the-wall tracks I could find. It includes bands that have found some success in their own right, but also tracks from the unknown underbelly of American culture.

I think this playlist will crack a smile on the faces of NASA scientists and live at home dorks alike.

After all, if the film taught us anything it was that it’s not your position in life that’s important, but whether you’ve chosen the right side of the force.

The World’s Oddest Star Wars Themed Playlist:

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This entry was posted on Saturday, October 13th, 2007 at 11:53 am and is filed under Odd, Space. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.