Connections:

• Both "Starman" by David Bowie and Ray Bradburys "The Rocket Man" explore how space and travel can have an impact on people emotionally.

• In “Starman,” an alien brings hope to young people on Earth, promising something better beyond the stars.

• In “The Rocket Man,” a boy's father is a space traveler who is always leaving and ends up dying in space, causing sadness for his family.

-Both show a mix of wonder and loneliness. Space represents dreams and escape, but also distance and loss. While Bowie’s song feels more hopeful, Bradbury’s story ends in tragedy. In both, space creates emotional gaps between people, especially between parents and children.

Connection: The Rocket Man by Ray Bradbury and Space Oddity by David Bowie both explore the emotional distress that space travel can take on individuals. They both emphasize themes of sacrifice and isolation, along with the conflict between personal connection and duty. In the story The Rocket Man, the father who is a space traveler struggles with his desire with both exploring space and his love for his family. He is torn between these two desires and ultimately his desire to explore space leads to his disappearance. In the song Space Oddity, Major Tom becomes physically and emotionally detached from Earth. Major Tom's journey into space becomes a representation of loss and isolation, as he drifts away from human connection. This mirrors the fathers fate in The Rocket Man as they both emphasize the emotional cost of exploration.

Connection- The song "I don't want to live on the moon" by Ernie in Sesame Street and Ray Bradbury "Rocket Man" both show the conflict between adventure and having that close relationship to loved ones. In the song, Ernie dreams of far off places but still chooses to stay close to home and love in the end. In the short story the astronauts father is conflicted between space and his family along with h his constant absence leads to emotional pain. Both pieces show that exploring is exciting, but in the end being with the people you love matters more

Connection to “The Rocket Man” by Ray Bradbury:

In Bradbury’s "The Rocket Man", the father is a space traveler who feels torn between his love for the stars and his responsibility to his family. Similarly, in Ernie’s song, Ernie imagines traveling to far-off places like the moon, ocean, and jungle, but always concludes that he wouldn’t want to live there since he’d miss home too much. Both Ernie's song and "The Rocket Man" explore the tension between adventure and domestic life. Ernie’s longing for home mirrors the emotional struggle of the Rocket Man’s son, who wishes his father would stay grounded. The song’s kiddy tone adds another layer to it's message when paired with the story’s tragic ending, deepening the emotional impact of choosing family over exploration, or failing to do so.

Bio: The writer, Shawn Colvin, born in 1956 started music at the young age of 10 and had her first public performance at the age of 15. Later on, she moved on to song writing in the 1970s. Her first album, Steady On, won the GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Folk Recording.

Connection: A quote from the Shawn Colvin's song "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon" which has great connection to “The Rocket Man” is “though I'd like to look down at the Earth from above/I would miss all the places and people I love,” because it is expressing exactly how Doug’s father feels. He told his son, “when you’re out there you want to be here, and when you’re here you want to be out there” which underscores how even though Doug may want to go and explore space when he’s on earth, when he is out there, he would be longing to be home.

Connection: I felt that this song connected to Ray Bradbury's short story, "The Rocket Man" because both the song "Space Oddity", as well as Hadfield's personal life, because of the real life parallels that can be drawn between Hadfield and the father within the story. For instance, the father struggles with the desire to explore space; He is torn between both his family and his life he has on Earth as well as the curiosity and mystery space holds. As the story progresses, it's evident that the father ultimately chooses to explore the wonders of space, leading to his disappearance. Similarly, Hadfield struggled to pursue his space dreams while still be present and an active father figure in his life below the stars. As a result, he looked into covering this song with his son while aboard the ISS as a way to connect both his ambitions with the reality of his family. Additionally, the song, "Space Oddity" is unique in the sense that it refers to the idea of detachment and isolation, common thematic ideas when talking about space. Throughout the song, Major Tom becomes more and more disconnected from the reality of the mission, leading him to drift away into the deep, dark unknown of endless space. Similarly, in the short story the "Rocket Man", it's evident that the father becomes more and more emotionally disconnected from humanity, as he chooses to explore space, further isolating himself from his family and the future he could have had on Earth.

Connection: Bradbury’s story “The Rocket Man” connects well with the quote : “Just look up / There is no place to hide / True love doesn't die / It holds on tight and never lets you go.” This shows the emotional struggle Doug’s father faces as he chooses between his passion for space and his love for his family. Just like the lyrics say that love is powerful and can hold you back, Doug’s father feels torn because no matter how far he travels into space he cant escape the emotional guilt of his family back on Earth. The song and story shows us how emotional conflict can affect a person’s choices and it leads to regret when love is sacrificed for their goal.

Analysis: This is considered one song or piece but there are 7 movements that each represent a planet in our solar system. The first one being "Mars - Bringer of War" this is a very fitting start to the suite, it introduces the rest of the lineup with Gusto and very dramatic portions. Then following is "Venus - Bringer of peace", which in Greek mythology is the God of Love. It is very peaceful but also dramatic movement, I can relate it to the calm after a large rain storm. This imagery that Holst Portrays is beautiful, I can picture this scene of a grassy field with blooming flowers as the crisp spring sunlight projects onto this imaginary utopia. "Mercury - The Winged Messenger" is more of a mediary piece which has lots of quick crescendo's with wind instruments, these crescendos conform in the brain almost little hops or literal wing movements hence the name "Winged Messenger". The key of "Jupiter - Bringer of Jollity" is an E-Flat Major which can be representative of the bold and heroic terms of which the song lays upon. It is also used in many movies today and is known as one of the more famous Planets in this suite. Then, "Saturn - Bringer of Old Age" which has a repetitive yet powerful tone, towards the middle of the movement there is a repeating cymbal and bass drum duo in which they continuously go back and forth at each other and suddenly some quieter yet seemingly useless instruments chime in and interrupt this cycle. This almost reminds me of after retirement age comes around elderly people just have a cycle of everyday life and every once and a while a small turn of events happens and then back to normal life they go. A sillier more playful tune follows, "Uranus - The Magician", its beginnings are very happy and contains a very quick tempo, then almost transforms completely into a different song almost like magic into this very serious, strong and loud sounding piece. There isn't too much to this one compared to the other but still can hold a lot of meaning if you unpack it further. Last but definitely not least, "Neptune - The Mystic" contains a very eerie and edgy vibe to it, towards the start of the movement, shortly after the intro there is a double choir that imperceptibly enters the movement that gives it that unforgettable vibe of edginess. Through to the connection to the short story, "The Rocket Man" Written by Ray Bradbury. They both use lots of imagery in their works to easily create an image in they mind but not so much so that every reader or listener sees the same thing in their mind. What I found ironic in The Rocket Man, was that Bradbury actually listed the planetary dusts Doug looks at in the same order in which the planets are ordered in Holst's music. I don't know if this was done on purpose to show the connection between these two artists if you will or not. The significance of this order in the pieces is they aren't listed due to size or order of the planets. Some connection to the planets themselves and thematic ideas that are expressed throughout the story might include: distance from loved ones, isolation from humanity, and even glory versus grief. Firstly the distance from loved ones in Neptune, the double choir within the orchestral piece eventually fades out could represent the Rocket Man's emotional detachment from his wife and son. This almost 'siren' sound produced by the ethereal female vocalists can also symbolize the Rocket Man getting "lured" into space by the stars. Isolation and alienation from Earth, the quote "He’s gone into space again. It’s like he’s never here, just a shadow walking through." frames the feelings of this family perfectly. He is only home 3 months at a time which is not nearly enough time a son needs with his father, and his mother and him both recognize this and try and get him to stay every time but seem to fail every time too. This 9 month isolation from Earth causes space to become not his alternate reality but his true reality. He becomes so physically and emotionally far from Earth, he dies by flying into the Sun, which physically has no meaning but deeper symbolically it does. When we unpack this as something further we notice as we live today we would not be able to live without the sun as it is the closest star to our planet giving us light warmth and UV. Him dying from the sun is really a juxtaposition because what used to give him life on Earth really takes his life away in space, which highlights the fact that space itself is vast but very dangerous.

The song connects to the story because of the fascination with space travel and technological progress. At the same time, the song and the story almost contradict each other. The message of the "The Rocket Man" is that space is a symbol of pain and absence for some, while the message of "The Space Race Is Over" is the sadness that the future generations won't get to live in progress. The song shows how, as a young boy, Billy Bragg loved to look up at the stars in awe and wonder because of the competitive nature of the world as they "raced to space;" however, he mourns for his son because he will never get to truly experience the dream of space life. The space race is over for them because there is no hope. In "The Rocket Man," however, the space race is over because Doug's father is dead. There is no more tension between Earth and space, and no more strife within the family. The narrator and his mother feel like the father needs to stop going to space because of the emotional disconnection that space entails on the family. Both the song and the story portray the dangers of romanticizing space travel.

Connection: The song connects to "The Rocket Man" due to both mediums exploring the consequences of a progressing society through human detachment from the dangers of advancing technology and society. In "Space Junk", there is a dystopian chaos ensuing as people die from falling debris from space as a result of satellites and other technologies, "It smashed my baby's head, and now my Sally's dead." However, the song is sung in a very satirical tone that doesn't take the tragic subject seriously. This can be compared to the human detachment of, "The Rocket Man." The Rocket Man himself is going through a crisis of his love for exploring space damaging his family life. While both "Space Junk" and "The Rocket Man" have themes of death, the consequences of technology and progression are the main themes of both mediums.

Connection: "Rocket Man" was released in 1972 and was written by Bernie Taupin, and was made into a song by Elton John. This song reflects the emotional isolation and inner conflict of an astronaut leaving his family behind for a space mission. It was noted that Taupin took inspiration from "The Rocket Man" from The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury when writing this song. In Bradbury's short story, a space-traveling father is torn between his love for his family and the irresistible pull of space, which ultimately leads to his tragic fate. Bradbury quotes, "I hate going away. I guess I'll always hate it." Additionally, "Rocket Man" parallels this quote by remarking, "And I think it's gonna be a long, long time / I'm not the man they think I am at home." These quotes both explore the conflict of someone who is physically distant from home and emotionally removed from those who care about them. In either case, they are both reluctant travellers who are disconnected and caught between two lifestyles. Both the short story and ballad humanize the astronaut ideal by shifting the focus from heroism to the emotional sacrifices involved in space exploration.

Connection: Muse’s Starlight explores themes of longing, isolation, and the emotional cost of distance, especially through space imagery. Lines like “My life, you electrify my life” and “I just wanted to hold you in my arms” echo the yearning and separation felt by the astronaut protagonist.

In Ray Bradbury’s "The Rocket Man," a young boy grapples with the emotional absence of his father, a space traveler torn between his love for space travel and his family. The father’s desire to explore ultimately ends in his death, reflecting the cost of chasing the unknown.

Both focus on the emotional toll of space exploration. Not the science or adventure, but the heartbreak and detachment it brings. Starlight becomes a kind of emotional soundtrack to the quiet sorrow and distant love portrayed in Bradbury’s short story.