Feb 2022 science-rock pop very-big-things full-production
I've been obsessed with the blue supergiant binary star Eta Carinae for decades, even though it can't be seen from where I live. It's a star, and a truly monstrous one at that. In the 19th century, it exploded, and made a real mess of itself but somehow avoided becoming a supernova. It will eventually *properly* explode, leaving behind a black hole and an even larger nebula of gas and dust than it already has.
And yes, it really does emit laser light in the ultraviolet. It's the only star known to do so.
If you were an Aussie who could see in infra-red
At night the brightest thing you'd see, directly overhead
would be Eta Carinae, a supergiant star
As night-sky objects go, it's probably the most bizarre
And if you were a Kiwi, who observes in ultra-V
"Eta Car" is quite the strangest thing you'll ever see
The photons from its hydrogen and iron are so bright
that when it shines it does so by emitting laser light
Eta Car, Eta Car
Absolute unit of a star
Going to blow to bits one day
Thankfully, it's far away
It used to be 250 times the mass of our own Sun
but there's little of its stellar lifetime left for it to run
A century or two ago it very nearly died
Blew thirty solar masses worth of gas into the sky
Eta Car, Eta Car
Absolute unit of a star
Going to blow to bits one day
Thankfully, it's far away
Space is big; the light in which it's currently portrayed
set out towards us well before the pyramids were made
Be grateful that our galaxy has lots and lots of room
'cos millions of years from now, it's going to go BOOM
but thanks to all the many thousand light years in between us
it will most likely shine as bright as we see light from Venus
Eta Car, Eta Car
Absolute unit of a star
Going to blow to bits one day
Thankfully, it's far away
@bootsylavox Mar 2022
I learned something!!! And my gruel of a mood has cleared after one listen. How ever did you do that?!?
@ryako Mar 2022
This feels so They Might Be Giants! Not sure if anyone has said this, but I think you should create an educational album or science album that can be used in classrooms. This is very upbeat and would go down well with kiddos!
@outinpublicdrummer Mar 2022
This is groovy and educational! Love it :) The harmony vocals gave it a really classic rock vibe
@mosley Feb 2022
Hell yes, totally killer first track to kick off the month with! Your pieces are always mind blowingly full sounding arrangements! I always love your lyrics too :)
@lenigmusx1 Feb 2022
This is so awesome. It is like modern rock mixed with music theater and the talking heads… almost a “little shop of horrors” rocked out vibe. Also as always so well done. Sorry I’m so behind on listening. I see you crushed it this year.
@jess Feb 2022
ah I love that you wrote a song about a star !!! and I love when the chorus kicks in ! Eta Car !! :-)
@heliosonorous Feb 2022
Nicely done! Great sounds and chorus and topic as well!
@petemurphy Feb 2022
Chris! Your voice gets better and better. I really dig that key change into the chorus.
I'm not very knowledgeable with space stuff, so I've learned something too.
This is very well written.
@erucaesounds Feb 2022
Love it! It's like an astronomical history lesson meets 1980's pop rock. Fun tune to listen too.
@elesimo Feb 2022
So good, Chris! Everything about this song is great: the energy (no pun intended), the concept, the rhymes. That chorus is so fun!
@beat Feb 2022
;].
@sapient Feb 2022
God, how much do I LOVE THIS SONG!!!
It's about space!
It sounds like an utterly modern take on all my favoutie songs from the 80s!
It's much funnier than it has any right to be!
It's got the COOLEST lead break in it!
Yeah. Happy me. :D
@coolparadiso Feb 2022
i am half there! somehow you slipped off my watchlist, must have been something you said! but you have made the grade again ;-)
this is interesting educational and catchy! very enjoyable
@tawny249 Feb 2022
Well this is catchy and delightfully nerdy. I am especially enjoying some phrases in here...I'll call out "absolute unit of a star" and that little two-line bridge. Really inventive rhymes, too. And whatever you're doing musically in the chorus (some kind of minor chord? I think?) is pretty cool.
@chroes Feb 2022
Whoa, what a track to kick FAWM off with! Love the sciency text, but also the effects on the voice, very well done. But the choir passages have to be my favs!
@zecoop Feb 2022
I was waiting for this one after seeing your post. What a fun science pop nugget! Such a joy to listen to and I feel smarter now that I heard it. You have ingrained that riff in my head tonight too... ;)
@airbagtester Feb 2022
The chorus is very powerful when you drop down into those low harmonies - I think it's the strongest part of the song. (Not to take away from all the cool stuff I learned from the verses.) Stellar solo at the end! :)
@philkmills Feb 2022
Wonderful pop vibe.
Excellent science lesson to go with it.
@janeg Feb 2022
I would be amazed at this start to FAWM if I hadn’t already known how good you are. And I love science songs and took an astronomy course long ago at university so you are talking my language. The virtual English filk con is this coming weekend; you would blow them away doing this in circle. Recorded back-up tracks are fine if you can’t play everything at once.
@yam655 Feb 2022
This is a really great song. I do enjoy some good science-rock!
@mikeb Feb 2022
Tight production, entertaining lyrics and upbeat music make for a fun listen!
@rshakesp Feb 2022
A lot of fun, great production and very informative (shades of TMBG science songs) I like the slightly dirty guitar riff. The 'Space is big' breakdown sounded like Zappa. Nice solo too! Great job
@ineloquentsd Feb 2022
Oh this is a fun & informative little romp. I’m going to have that guitar riff and chorus stuck in my head all day. Well done!
@engebretsen Feb 2022
Love the chorus work here. And the song is a little bit Bowie and Iggy Pop. Splendid work.
@djtjb Feb 2022
I really dig the main guitar riff. This is an absolute blast to listen to, and I am admittedly not too knowledgeable about astronomy but the lyrics are constructed brilliantly! Happy FAWM
@radioovermoscow Feb 2022
I just happen to be a Kiwi who observes in ultra-V, and you're right.
@katestantonsings Feb 2022
Eta Car, Eta Car
Absolute EPIC of a song, Chris. I wonder if the James Webb telescope will be able to capture more information for enthusiasts such as yourself? Happy FAWM! You're off with a BOOM.
@toms Feb 2022
My old eyes read that as BLUES supergiant Eta Carinae, and for about 3 seconds I was trying to figure out why I didn't recognize that particular musician. :D What a great start. And the production is awesome. But you have to admit that Eta Car would be a great blues name.
@ayehahmur Feb 2022
Chris. This might be my favourite of your songs. Like ever. It's sooooo jaunty and flippant and irreverent. And educational! Great fun, brilliant wee verse riff. And that "absolute unit of a star" is comedy gold.
Great to see you having this much fun already!
@juoppis Feb 2022
Eat a car!
Why thank you.
This is groovy like Elvis Costello would meet the Barenaked Ladies. Love the outer-spacey guitar solo all in the middle.
This was fun, catchy and informative, thank you!
@aeye Feb 2022
Not only is this a fun song, but I learned something new. ( though I kept thinking you were singing "eat a car" lol)
@czep Feb 2022
I live for nerd music!
@dragondreams Feb 2022
Grinning from ear to ear with a nerdish delight! If anyone could make a head-bopping track from such a sciencey topic, it would have to be you! :-D
@metalfoot Feb 2022
Science rock with a bouncy guitar feel and a catchy melody! Love it!
@atitlan Feb 2022
Rhythm guitar tone and riff feels very post-punk - poppy and catchy. Enjoyed the astronomical lyrics.
@dreamscuba Feb 2022
Astronomy in a song... with super cool harmonies... love it. Great guitar solo.
@bri4n Feb 2022
Hello Headfirst :) Happy to see you here again for another FAWM. Great start here; in particular the "Kiwi seeing Ultra V" rhyme made me giggle. Rock on!
@guatecoop Feb 2022
I can totally see why you are so interested in Eta Car! Amazing. Now, your song is so catchy--who would have thought that a song with this subject would be. I was guessing it would be a prog kind of thing, but this one is pop ear candy! Really well done....full production? Yeah!!