In 2001, Zaitsev and a group of Russian teenagers created the “Teen-Age Message to the Stars,” which was broadcast in August and September of that year in the direction of six stars between 45 and 70 light years from Earth. The Teen-Age Message notably included greetings in Russian and English, and a 15-minute Theremin symphony for aliens. Unlike Drake’s Arecibo message, Zaitsev’s messages target nearby stars. So if anyone wishes to reply, we may receive it in the next century or two.

I’m all about instant gratification, so I totally dig the fact that they aimed the message much closer to Earth instead of deep space. I look forward to the aliens’ music release in 2108. I hear they liked “In Rainbows” and have decided to release it as a pay-what-you-want album.

I bet aliens don’t immediately think of The Day the Earth Stood Still when they hear Theremin music.

Theremin of the Damned

And in other Theremin news:

Fashioned from the leering, demonic head of a child’s doll, it’s [sic] eyes alight with an unholy crimson glow, truly this is an instrument for an emotionally stunted and traumatized sociopath or, perhaps, a high-school goth.

Theremin of the Damned [ectomo.com, also on boing boing, Gizmodo]

Interesting, but I think it’s got nothing on the creepy Theremin robot doll, Clara 2.0

Thanks to Andrew Cordani for these!