This Is Rock ’n’ Roll

The BU Today Sessions: Spitzer Space Telescope

By Alan Wong

Click on the video above to see Spitzer Space Telescope perform “California Condor.” Click to watch “Song of Voyage” and to watch “The River Styx.”

Armed with an acoustic guitar and a harmonica, Dan MacDonald is the effusive and energetic singer-songwriter behind Spitzer Space Telescope.

“My sound is a resurrection of traditional and ’60s revivalist folk music,” says MacDonald (CFA’10). “People tell me what I’m doing is different, but I think they just aren’t familiar with my sources.”

Beyond his musical influences, the visual arts major finds inspiration in archaic language and imagery or sometimes a single phrase comes to mind. “Art has been with me forever,” he says, “and it was the most practical career pathway for me.”

With an East Coast tour and shows at BU Central, the Cantab Lounge, and T. T. the Bear’s Place already under his belt, MacDonald plans to give music “one big try” after graduation. “If nothing happens,” he says, “I'll still keep going with it, but I will have to get a real job.”

Stay tuned every Thursday for the BU Today Sessions, shot on location at 808 Commonwealth Ave. and featuring performances by musicians, bands, and songwriters from the BU community.

Spitzer Space Telescope will perform on Wednesday, November 19, at the Middle East Upstairs, 475 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. T-shirts and two homemade EPs are can be purchased online.

Click here to watch other BU Bands, including Forest Henderson, and Interrobang?! perform.

Alan Wong can be reached at alanwong@bu.edu.

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