What music did astronaut David Saint-Jacques listen to before launching into space?
Quebec's David Saint-Jacques was aboard the successful Soyuz rocket launch this morning, a six-and-a-half-month mission that marks the first time a Canadian has been in space since 2013.
Before launch, though, the three crew members (Saint-Jacques along with Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and American astronaut Anne McClain) had 40 minutes to themselves — and they spent that time listening to music.
According to the Canadian Space Agency, music journalist Nicolas Tittley, who is a friend of Saint-Jacques' and works for ICI Musique, chose the "Before Space" playlist, which is heavy on the CanCon: songs by Elisapie, Alexandra Stréliski, Patrick Watson, Richard Reed Perry and Daniel Bélanger all made the cut, along with songs by David Bowie and the National.
Before Space playlist
- "Sleep/Swim", múm
- "Green Grass of Tunnel", múm
- "Quarrel," Moses Sumney
- Music for 18 Musicians (Modular Version): Pulses, Steve Reich (Ensemble Signal)
- "On the Ground", Richard Reed Parry
- "Subterraneans" (2017 remastered version), David Bowie
- "Suspirium", Thom Yorke
- "Rêver mieux", Daniel Bélanger
- "Sunday Morning" (stereo version), the Velvet Underground & Nico
- "Nuit debout", Camille
- "Distant Sky" (feat. Else Torp), Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
- "Le départ", Alexandra Stréliski
- "The Great Escape", Patrick Watson
- "Ikajunga", Elisapie
- "Sail to the Moon", Radiohead
- "Flight from the City", Jóhann Jóhannsson, Yuki Numata Resnick, Ben Russell, Clarice Jensen and Tarn Travers
- "Blue Moon", Beck
- "Faites monter", Alain Bashung
- "Fade into You", Mazzy Star
- "Higgs Boson Blues", Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
- "Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois", Sufjan Stevens
- "Looking for Astronauts", the National
- "New Star in the Sky", Air
- "We're Going Home", Clint Mansell
- "Décollage", Air
- "The Stars Our Destination", Stereolab
- "Major Tom (Coming Home)", Peter Schilling
- "A Model of the Universe", Jóhann Jóhannsson