What Would the Aliens Think?

When the Voyager spacecraft were launched to explore our solar system in the late 1970s, they bore with them a gold-coated, copper phonograph record which featured music by Bach and Peruvian pan fluters, greetings from folks from the likes of Vietnam, Poland and the United States and sounds ranging from a babbling brook to the rumble of an internal combustion engine. (Read more about the record here.) NASA scientists and, notably, Carl Sagan, hoped an alien intelligence finding Voyager and successfully decoding the data on the record would have a glimpse of what life was like on Earth when the Voyagers were launched.

It's a fair bet, though, that eefing wasn't included. Here's a sample:



I vaguely remember this from Hee-Haw, but, of course, was too young to appreciate this oddly American musical style. What would the aliens think? It's hard to say.

Ray Stevens does a little eefing in his albums. It's quite possible Spike Jones knows of it, or at least regarded it as a musical novelty akin to his own. But it's hard to see how eefing could enter the pop mainstream. Anyone interested in forming a new eefing and hamboning group, let me know.

Also, boys, I love the suits. If I could fine one like it (bargain-basement lime-green polyester) I'd wear it in a heartbeat.