Remembering the Space Age. - Black Vault Radio Network (BVRN)

246 reMeMBerING the SpaCe aGe
of the term, yet they meld and twist samples with the best of them.” 28 as for the
name, Margaret Fiedler and Guy Fixsen explain their choice as follows:
[W]e liked the sound of the word and we liked the association
with being “out there” in terms of experimentation
while at the same time being a warm furry organic thing . . .
the other reason we like the name is that it was probably the
most high profle animal experiment ever—Laika died up
there in her capsule—and we are strong believers in animal
rights and things that seem kind of obvious to us, like not
eating them. 29
While innovation represents an essential component of artistic originality,
concern about animal experimentation and sacrifce emerges as a recurring
theme in Laika-themed songs across several genres. For example, american
folk singer Kyler england uses phrases from the beloved nursery rhyme
“twinkle, twinkle, Little Star” to frame an almost maudlin tribute to a brave
dog sacrifced for human ends: “like a diamond in the sky / gave your life
for humankind / what a view it must have been.” 30 In the hands of amoree
Lovell, the portland-based rocker cited in this essay’s second epigraph, the same
material gets an almost silly gothic twist, replete with rollicking arpeggios,
cello counterpoint, and moaning bass chorus background. Others, such as the
retro rock group Sputnik, eurodance star Ice MC, and the grunge rock group
pond, denounce the human forces behind Sputnik II with little or no trace of
irony. the lyrics of pond’s “My Dog is an astronaut,” for example, expresses
this wish for Laika:
I hope she sails on and on across the universe
fnds there some new world where she’ll be safe from man’s
experiments
that don’t have come home parts
In many of these songs, Laika is no longer a stray dog captured for
laboratory research, but rather an abused or abandoned pet. Since most people
more easily relate to dogs as pets or companions than as research subjects, this
slippage facilitates an emotional connection with Laika’s experience even as it
obscures the reality of her life. Other kinds of identity ambiguity in musical
tributes to the space dog involve the performer appropriating a canine identity
28. “Laika,” http://www.laika.org/index_main.shtml (accessed January 25, 2008).
29. “Laika,” http://www.laika.org/index_main.shtml (accessed January 25, 2008).
30. Kyler,“Laika,” A Flower Grows in Stone (Deep South, 2004).