On the 24th, the UCLA Astronomy Club went down to Griffith Park for this month’s “star party” co-hosted by the Los Angeles Astronomical Society and Los Angeles Sidewalk Astronomers. On the trip down Santa Monica Blvd, I started to imagine what a “star party” would be like. It was my first time ever going to a “star party,” so I wondered, this being the city of celebrities, if actual stars would attend; Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Convict #12, and other cast members of Hancock. Maybe, there would be the manliest of man-servants providing refreshing beverages and star and planet shaped hors d’oeuvres. What about the music? I started to list some of the songs that would most likely make it on the very exclusive stary party playlist:

1. Zongamin – AZZAZZA

Producer Susumi Makai’s best known work is probably Bongo Song, often making its way into DJ sets in clubs all over the world; especially by Ed Banger artists. AZZAZZA references irreverent philosopher Anton Wilson and uses imagery that alludes to Wilson’s Illuminatus! Trilogy book series. Who knows what’s out there, sometimes we need to break out of our reality tunnels to make an attempt at formulating some idea of range of possibilities.

2. David Bowie – Life on Mars?

Life on Mars? According to our tour guide at the observatory, there could have been. There are indications of Mars once having water, and there is some evidence pointing to ice just below the surface.

3. Midnight Juggernauts – Into the Galaxy

Australians have really brought their A-game to electro world with the debut of Midnight Juggernauts’ album Dystopia. Midnight Juggernauts have shown that a band doesn’t have to sign with Modular to be a credible force in a scene currently dominated by the French.

4. People Under the Stairs – San Francisco Knights

Light pollution results in an effect known as sky glow and obscures our ability to see the night sky. Los Angele, and the rest of Southern California, was once the astronomical capital of the world. Many renowned discoveries in astronomy occurred in Southern California, including the discovery of the expanding universe by Edwin Hubble at Mt. Wilson.

Needless to say, the “star party” didn’t live up to expectations. However, the trip to BevMo more than made up for it.

-Yatin