This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
The music-video "Mutual Core" (2011) by Björk, starring hot tectonic forces and sensual strata, is by far not the only examples of how geology and paleontology could inspire musicians and songwriters. There is something for everybody, from rap to classic music, from hard rock to blues, from the Archean to the Anthropocene - all the "Deep Time" you want.
The German music group "The Ocean" released in 2007 a hard rock album entitled "Precambrian", the four single CDs are named after the four erathems of the Precambrian (Hadean/Archaean/Meso- and Neoproterozoic) and the single songs after the single periods (Tonian, Cryogenian,…).
The Precambrian fossils of the Canadian Burgess Shale are one of the most important examples of early macroscopic life forms and based on the popular book "Wonderful Life" (1989) by paleontologist Stephen J. Gould, Rand Steiger composed in 1994 music for a large orchestra, entitled appropriately "The Burgess Shale" and featuring fossils like Pikaia and Hallucigenia.
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