Born in 1978 and raised in the sketchy Ashburn district of South Chicago, Benn Jordan began playing jazz-influenced guitar before reaching the age of attending school. Without any proper musical training, his awkward style of inverted guitar playing and composition knew few restrictions and eventually panned out into full blown albums recorded on tape machines in his bedroom in the mid 1990’s. Being a one man band, Jordan grew quite fond of electronic instruments, which for a period of a few years dominated his compositions as he gained worldwide notoriety as an avant-garde electronic musician using the name “The Flashbulb”.
In more recent years (and 30-something album releases later), Jordan has focused his efforts on writing more cinematic pieces and using an instrumental style closer to his roots. On the other side of releasing music and touring, Jordan has become a sought after film and television composer, most notably writing for Dove’s viral “Evolution” campaign, and branding trademark melodies for companies such as General Mills and Toyota. These two worlds have merged in his hugely successful album “Soundtrack To A Vacant Life”, which is one of the first albums in the genre of cinematic music to receive mainstream attention without being attached to a feature film.
Suspended In A Sunbeam
The Flashbulb Lyrics
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...Every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena
Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light
Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark
The lyrics to The Flashbulb's song Suspended In A Sunbeam are an excerpt from the book "Pale Blue Dot" by Carl Sagan. These spoken words paint a poignant picture of the insignificance of humanity in the vastness of the universe. Sagan calls Earth a "mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam" and reminds us that every saint and sinner who ever lived resided in this one small corner of the universe. This phrase emphasizes how small Earth is in comparison to the enormity of the cosmos.
Sagan implores us to think about the rivers of blood spilled by generals and emperors for the sake of momentary glory and power. He laments the cruelty and violence of humanity towards itself, often over misunderstandings and hatreds. Our imagined self-importance, fueled by our delusion that we hold a privileged position in the universe, is revealed to be a fallacy. Sagan urges us to acknowledge that our planet is a tiny, solitary speck in an endless void of darkness.
This excerpt from "Pale Blue Dot" forces us to confront the reality of our place in the universe. We are a single, small part of an overwhelmingly vast whole. Our problems and conflicts, while real and meaningful to us, are insignificant in the grand scheme of things. The song encourages humility and an appreciation for the beauty and fragility of our planet.
Line by Line Meaning
...Every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam
All human beings who have ever existed on Earth are just tiny specks suspended in a single ray of sunlight.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena
The Earth is insignificant compared to the vast universe around it.
Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot
Many wars have been fought throughout history for the sake of gaining control over a tiny piece of land on Earth.
Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds
People on Earth often harm and kill each other due to misunderstandings, animosity, and hatred regardless of how insignificant they are in the greater scheme of things.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light
The idea that human beings are at the center of the universe and important is challenged when looking at Earth from afar, where it appears as nothing more than a tiny speck in the vastness of space.
Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark
Earth is a small and lonely object in the vast darkness of space, surrounded by endless galaxies and stars.
Contributed by Jason R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.