Spiritualized?

Musician and artist Daniel Johnston has become a cult figure amongst those in the 'know'.

This special concert brings together many of Daniel Johnston's admirers to perform on the same stage as him. Confirmed guests so far include Mark Linkous (Sparklehorse), Jason Pierce (Spiritualised) and Jad Fair.

An outsider with a history of mental illness, Johnston first came to the public's attention when rock legend Kurt Cobain was seen on MTV sporting Johnston's 'Goofy Frog' t-shirt design. Since then his raw and heartfelt music has been championed by everyone from Tom Waits to Beck.

The release of a compelling documentary The Devil & Daniel Johnston, which had the critics raving at the Raindance film festival, has further generated interest in this enigmatic figure.

Produced by the Barbican

I want to see that documentary though. It played in the SF film festival (at the same time as s1ocki's film!) and i missed it.

http://www.spiritualized.com/prescriptions/story.php?id=26

SPIRITUALIZED mainman JASON PIERCE is recovering after an illness left him close to death.

The star, who recently completed work on the band’s new album, is now at home after spending a lengthy time in intensive care for an as-yet-unspecified illness.

But in a posting on the band official website spiritualized.com, his partner Juliette says he is on the mend, but admitted that Pierce’s life was in serious danger during his spell in hospital.

The message reads: "So nearly dying twice in the last 2 and half weeks Jason has now and fantastically made an alarming and brilliant recovery and is due home today."

"He is still fragile and really weak weighing in at maybe 8 stone but love and happiness on his side. Weirdly he is still Jason though."

"No thoughts about how lucky he is just mentioned how mad it is that his record is written almost like he was ill before."

"Not that he's into esp and stuff just in the most beautiful way."

"Love to all and everyone who sent him get well wishes cos he needed it and must have heard it and thankfully he's here and back and coming home."

From Spiritualized.com:

21.07.05 | Jason's illness

As rumoured on the forums both here and at NME.com, J.Spaceman was recently taken critically ill but has been allowed home after a prolonged stay in intensive care and critical care.

Jason contracted advanced periorbital cellulitis with bilateral pnuemonia with rapid deterioration requiring intensive care and c-pap for type 1 respiratory failure.

A truly massive "Thank You" to all the Medical Staff and Nurses at The Royal London Hospital A&E, Cambridge Ward, Intensive Care and Critical Care / Cotton Ward whom all worked so amazingly hard on his treatment and recovery.

"Thank You" also to Intensive Care Dept at St Barts for his 2 day transfer there.

And thanks to all you for your good wishes and thoughts.

J Spaceman Guitar Loops

Recorded in one continuous take in June ’05 for John Coxon and Ashley Wales’ series of improvised music for their Treader label. Limited to 500 copies in gold embossed sleeve. Signed and numbered by Spaceman.

Orders open at 9pm 30.01.06. Limited to 2 CDs per person.
UK & Europe (£13 inc. P&P) Rest of the world (£14 inc. P&P)

Pierce then fired Linkous, Fair and Johnston.

Typical smackhead BS - unfinished, unedited, half-assed nonsense

No doubt we can look forward to live albums by-the-dozen cf Thunders/Nico.

And truth be told, it's not even worth the $18. I'm a huge Spacemen 3/Spiritualized/Spectrum fan, to the point where I even listen to and enjoy the Pure Phase Tones for DJs record, and this is the worst thing Jason has ever done.

Go buy the new Sunroof! record instead....

The last E.A.R. release was actually pretty good, though.

And at least these guys have the whole drugs excuse, so I've never had the same crushed expectations with them that I've had every time I hear the name Kevin Shields....

Hahahaha! fuckin' brilliant. please please let me steal this line from you.

Can someone tell me how to YSI post on ILM? I don't know the html code for links....

PS. To post a YSI link, you need to enter an email address of your own on the YSI form to receive the YSI link. Then cut and paste into a message here.

Will Carruthers here .
There is a little spiritualized news at the end of this message .

We have made a new lp . It's called "Home improvement for condemned buildings "
Mark Refoy and Kevin Cowen played guitar on it and Jonny Mattock played the drums.

It was recorded during the summer of 2005 in a soon to be demolished old office block in Leicester .
It's got ten songs on it and if you want to hear some of them please try out our new website
at www.willcarruthers.com .You will need flash installed to view it .
You will find some free mp3 downloads and some audio streams .
The album is available to buy through the website at this address .

http://freelove.moonfruit.com/goshopping

The first five hundred are numbered , signed and painted and decorated by my own fair hands.

We also have the psi love you album,(that I played bass on), and some rather nice handmade posters for sale .

If you go to this address

http://www.apolloaudio.com/26

You will find an online stream of four tracks from the album , plus a new version of van fever incident ...(now with added Mark Refoy)
This ep is available as a paid download for the price of four dollars .

thanks

ps ...also, possibly of interest to fans of Lazer guided melodies . Somebody kindly sent me fifty copies of a spiritualized bootleg , containing unreleased versions of songs ,, outtakes , rehearsals and a peel session from the Lazer guided melodies lineup.
There is some great stuff on here you won't have heard before .
If you would like more details please send an e-mail to frndly_fr@yahoo.co.uk.

This bootleg is called Friendly fire .
It features outtakes , rehearsals and the peel session from the Lazer guided melodies lineup.

The full tracklisting is :

OUTTAKES

I want you ////instrumental version , unreleased variant of glides and chimes .

shine a light ///very different from the album version ,diff vocals , diff ,mix ..unreleased

smile ///radically different , longer version ..unreleased

I want you ////twelve inch, unreleased instrumental version

REHEARSALS

these are from a good quality cassette recording of a Spiritualized rehearsal at Jason's flat in Rugby.They have been cleaned up and mastered and the sound is powerful if not totally hi-fi.

why don't you smile
you know it's true
amen
angel sigh
If I were with her now
run

PEEL SESSIONS:
Already released,but a nice little bonus .

Angel sigh
feel so sad
smile

there is a secret track at the end of smile ...which seems to be someone messing about with a sampler while somebody sings the bare necessities from the Jungle book in the background .
Not essential Spiritualized , but quite entertaining .

The cd's are professionally made, with nice artwork and quality printing .
We have very few of these .
We are putting together a list of people who want one. If you definitely want to buy this, reply to this e-mail address (frndly_fr@yahoo.co.uk.) stating how many you want .
When they are ready to be sent out ,(about three weeks)
you will be notified by e-mail and told how to pay for them .

They will be 12 pounds each including postage and packing.
You will need some sort of debit /credit card .
Included is an attachment showing some of the artwork .
thanks

I think payment is via paypal.
Ordered mine. No doubt they will go quick.

Someone tell Kate!!

wow, i would love to hear this. never been into paying for things like this though.

-- Giles Manius

OTM

Amazing Grace was horrid! I love Let It Come down but apparently one of the few who do. It was over the top but think it's the best lyrics Jason ever wrote and love the fact that he blew so much money making that record...but it worked.

Amazing Grace was definitely a step back, but there's a few great tracks on it all the same.

I'm having a real hard time uploading "Guitar Loops" as a YSI. I've had a firewall issue lately and I think this may have something to do with it.

It really is that bad, though, so you're not missing out on anything but disappointment....

I've tried emailing about that Spiritualized boot, has anybody else gotten a response? Not me, yet.... God I want this boot so bad.

jbc

Yeah , I did. The tracklisting and stuff was the reply I got.

I have written, but I fear I may be too late, alas. I'm going to go and see if I can get the new 'puter to play Will's MP3s now. :-)

I immediately thought of you and Chris when this came up. But my email to him bounced back.

I can't wait to hear this.

Anyway I just got an email from Will. He sent me the paypal address. £12 inc postage & packing.
Just paid.

Did everyone else get one?

Check... Got that one too.

email me, mine's for sale.

if you're thinking of 'the complete works' series, don't bother with volume 2 but volume 1 is *essential* ... perhaps my favorite SPZ release after LGM. the 'medication' EP is on there, as are a few versions of "feel so sad" and so much else.

(um, computer says no: http://www.scrawnandlard.co.uk/released_sessions.htm but maybe decent bootlegs exist. maybe this is the grumpy dj mentioned above - i remember the conversations being a bit terse)

sister ray's last release email had the loops cd listed for a tenner btw.

yes shakey, that was the style. there were two iirc. 'next track from spiritualized coming up. i'm not going to talk to them because, ha, they hate me. only joking... jason?' (band ignores dj and launches straight into song). radio 1 was only on medium wave at the time, i think, so recordings, the ones i didn't obliterate, are a bit fuzzy.

sez Sister Ray

Radio Sessions Volume One

1992-Radcliffe's Hit The North
1. If I Were With Her Now
2. Step Into The Breeze
3. Angel Sigh
4. Interview
5. Walkin' With Jesus
6. Medication

1993-Radcliffe on Radio One
7. Intro
8. Let It Flow
9. Sway
10. Electric Mainline

1995-Peel
11. Take Your Time
12. Walkin' With Jesus
13. Don't Go

It's pretty good. Don't Go is especially nice. Guitarloops is pretty shocking at first, but I'm warming up to it. It's definately nothing essential or worth paying a ton of money for.

Why not just search for it on slsk? It's not like it's THAT hard to find there.

Hit me up : Jerkstore

http://music.guardian.co.uk/rock/story/0,,1949789,00.html

Also, the "Acoustic Mainline" bootlegs I've been running across are pretty fantastic.

Louis, if you're ever in devon, we'll go drinking.

Stop Your Crying was a bad choice as a single though.

Huh? LICD was slammed as an over-indulgent mess. Amazing Grace was widely praised.

I'm happy to hear that people have been reversing their opinions on these records though ...

Nick OTM about the biggest flaw in LICD

I've still not gotten LAGWAFIS yet, funnily enough. I own all the others except Amazing Grace, but I've never felt the need to buy their 'masterpiece' because a) almost all the songs are on the Albert Hall disc and b) I've heard the album version of 'I Think I'm In Love' and it's nowhere near as good as the live one, although saying that I probably should have given it more than one listen. Gah, I've now got an urge to go and rectify this omission. I should probably act upon it!

It's still a really, really great record though.

uh, that's exactly what I said.

I've listened to LAGWAFIS right through now, and yeah, it's pretty good (highlight being 'Home Of The Brave', which is the only one here that significantly improves upon its own live version), but not exactly great. I'd still put Pure Phase at the top, followed by LICD, then probably the Albert Hall, then LAGWAFIS and LGM tied in last place (rly) (still good though!). I have no plans to buy AG.

It probably helps to know that Pure Phase was for a long time my only taste of the band.

(my favorite song is actually "Do It All Over Again" - beautiful little Phil Spector/George Harrison pop ditty)

I have seen them about six times and every show was great even when they opened for Radiohead in 1997/8. The only album I don't like was the last one, hope he does better next time around.

Glad you came out of it Jason, we need you around a bit longer.

The bill should have been reversed. JAMC opening. Curve next. Spiritualized closing.

Trivia: One of the dazed audience members hollering on FUI is me! I think Ned was at that show too...

Oh, and if this helps return me from the dead, I've bought and appreciated that new Acoustic Ladyland record, so your gospel hasn't fallen upon deaf ears!

He woke up!

From: Spiritualized

Date: Sep 13, 2007 8:46 AM
Subject: New Shows and New Info!
Body: The album is FINISHED, and I should hopefully be posting a track from the new album soon! To celebrate, there have been new shows posted in Spain, Denmark, and the UK, with several in planning for the USA.

Spiritualized Acoustic Mainlines will be playing their last show for
some time on December 9th at the Union Chapel, London, N1 2XD. Tickets,
£19.50 on sale Monday Sept 17th from:
Box Office 0870 400 0688 & www.livenation.co.uk

Stay tuned for more info!!!

Between this and the new Spectrum album it's a good day in Rugby

When does the Spectrum come out again? (And what label?)

Acoustic Mainline show in SF Nov 11 just announced, will be my first time seeing them in a few years. Last show I saw was surprisingly disappointing (he forgot lyrics, drummer missed a bunch of cues, etc.)

A truly massive "Thank You" to all the Medical Staff and Nurses at The Royal London Hospital A&E, Cambridge Ward, Intensive Care and Critical Care / Cotton Ward whom all worked so amazingly hard on his treatment and recovery.
And the new album is called... Songs in A&E.

Lordy Spiritualized are a boring band.

whoa. this means he was on my road for a while...

the Acoustic Mainline show I mentioned above was great btw

new sogns were really good

New album: 'Songs in A&E' due out May 19th.

New tour dates are all called 'Electric Mainlines'.

I didn't expect I'd end up being excited about Spiritualized again.

I have a funny feeling this will be more snooze-inducing than my anaesthetics database. But that could just be me.

Not arsed really. He's been essentially rewriting the same songs since 1991 and the arrangements have been getting increasingly predictable since 97. This is going to be a stripped down affair, isn't it? Which makes me wonder why anyone would bother.

the Acoustic Mainline show I mentioned above was great btw

I agree. They could have done with varying the approach a bit - it got predictable after a while - but it was a beautiful night.

Not arsed really. He's been essentially rewriting the same songs since 1991

more liek 1987!

but in general he's getting on a bit to be singing about what he sings about (being useless owing to heroin addiction). as with bobby gillespie (being awesome owing to heroin addiction).

Great, now I'm imagining their "Come Together" mashup.

The thematic content of Spz songs is utterly unimportant. I could care less if he's singing about drug addiction or dressing up his drummer in his girlfriends' frocks so long as it WUBS.

What makes or breaks a Spz album is the interestingness of the people playing with him, and how much free rein he gives them. Which, since the contract/sacking incident is about 0. Hence the snore-inducing factor of the album.

^^^could not disagree more - he's had a rotating cast of inconsequential sidemen since day one.

Lupine Howl lolz

Tracklist (allegedly);

'Harmony 1'
'Sweet Talk'
'Death Take Your Fiddle'
'I Gotta Fire'
'Soul On Fire'
'Harmony 2'
'Sitting On Fire'
'Yeah Yeah'
'You Lie You Cheat'
'Harmony 3'
'Baby I'm Just A Fool'
'Don't Hold Me So Close'
'Harmony 4'
'The Waves Crash In'
'Harmony 5'
'Borrowed Your Gun'
'Harmony 6'
'Goodnight Goodnight'

Spacemen 3 fan from way back, but I haven't been interested in Spiritualized since Ladies & Gentlemen... & the Royal Albert Hall live thing. Great records, but Jason's a one trick pony, and like w/ Stereolab, you reach the point of diminishing (or zero) returns after a while. "200 Bars" is still an all-time favorite, for reasons I don't fully understand.

Masonic Boom crazy off the money mark in every respect, but oddly accurate with regard to the pull-date.

Hope I'm wrong and that the new one crushes me.

I think he hit a bump in the road with Amazing Grace but Let It Come Down is a fantastic record, and lyrically/songwriting-wise he's certainly grown more clever/wry since his early days so I still have some faith.

(altho no I'm not expecting to be "crushed" either honestly)

The trouble with the straight and the narrow
Is its so thin I keep sliding off to the side
And the devil makes good use of these hands of mine

And if jesus is the straight path that saves
Then i'm condemmed to live my whole life on the curb
On the crossroad to the devil, I'll dwell and i'll count my years

You know that I got a little something I should say
I guess that I'm just so easily led astray
It's alright because I know my own way back home from here

And I don't fall of the wagon you know
I take a dive and go as deep as I can go
Don't hold your breath because I'm coming up slow, this time.

^^funny

So why is every album except the one recorded with all the same people from Spacemen 3 shite, then? Eh?

Oh wait, you all started with this band around LAGWAFIS. Say no more.

Jason Pierce has been writing the same song for the past 20 years. What makes them better is who else got involved. The moment he started bringing in the session players and letting no one else have a say, it started getting less and less interesting.

oh fuck you I've been listening to Spiritualized since the Feel So Sad 12" and was a Spacemen3 fan before that

I have no problem with people writing the same song for 20 years - viva la Ramones etc

So why is every album except the one recorded with all the same people from Spacemen 3 shite, then? Eh? Oh wait, you all started with this band around LAGWAFIS. Say no more.

Jesus Christ. I took issue w/ your description of the sidemen in question as "interesting", and don't believe they were ever given free reign, even in Spacemen 3 (whom I've loved since the Glass days).

And the lyrical content is hugely important, no to me personally, but clearly to Jason. It's not as though those words are just grafted on top of music that doesn't live & breathe the same themes. Everything works together, and that's what makes them great (when they actually are great).

That said, you're right, as I mentioned earlier. Something went out of the band around the time he sacked the original crew.

I mean I honestly can't believe that Pierce's music was significantly improved by the genius-level input of the guys from Darkside and Slipstream and Lupine Howl etc especially when all those bands' own records range from the unremarkable to the unlistenable

x-post

Um, considering I've actually recently sat down and had a conversation with said "sidemen" about how much free reign they *were* given in the early days of Spz, I think I might be more qualified to comment on that. But, you know, everyone has their own agenda.

x-post, actually I saw Slipstream a few weeks ago, and trust me, they were a HUNDRED times more interesting and memorable than any Spiritualized show of, oh, about the past ten years or so?

Sometimes bands are a magical combination of a certain group of people. Replace those people, and the chemistry is gone. This idea that it was all about Jason is a myth which he himself loves to perpetuate.

eh diff't strokes, I guess

Slipstream are still going?!

You might as well have told me there's a new HASTCo album.

Best SPIRITUALIZED bassist poll?

Sean Cook ftw, but I started with LAGWAFIS (acdtually seeing them a few weeks before it came out, so the set was mostly pre that. But anyway.)

Will Carruthers

I don't know if it's a question so much of "still going" or "back." It's down to just Mark and Jonny now, though.

I wasn't that bothered by their albums, but live they are freaking great. They've got the energy and they've got the wub. I was more than pleasantly surprised by the live show.

Again, silly lyrics, but so are Jason's AFAIK.

Spz are one of those bands where it makes a huge difference who the rhythm section is. You know, like most dronerock, based around drones as it is and all.

I'm a bit confused to these references to the "original crew" given that there was no stable lineup of the band between any of the albums. the guys that made LGM /= the band on Pure Phase /= the band on LAGWAFIS, etc

x-post WILL CARRUTHERS X 1000000

He showed me how to do the slide up to the octave on "Run" and I still can't manage it myself. Damn.

OK, get the broom, I am done namedropping.

My ideal SPZ backline = Mark, Will and Jonny.

That was definitely LGM, which is still my favourite album. I'm pretty sure that both Mark and Jonny were on board for Pure Phase. (Though Jason has a bad habit of not crediting drummers on the album sleeves.)

After that, it's very much a case of "if you change the handle and the blade, is it still the same axe?" for me. But I think LAG is massively overrated.

...now the "Will joins Spectrum" lineup that you bastards on the Left Coast got, *that* is something I wish I'd seen. :-( I probably would have exploded, though.

...now the "Will joins Spectrum" lineup that you bastards on the Left Coast got, *that* is something I wish I'd seen. :-(

It was pretty great, yeah.

::cries::

Yeah, well, Will's playing at my birthday party so NYEAH NYEAH NYEAH!

wait I thought you were done namedropping

Sorry. See, I explode and can't control myself just at the thought of Will and Sonic onstage together. ;-)

I'm a bit confused to these references to the "original crew"

Good point Shakey. You got me.

Original Spiritualized lineup was Spacemen 3 minus Sonic. And, yeah, that probably contributed to the greatness of the early singles and Lazer Guided Melodies.

But, re: Kate, that 1st band was replaced by an entirly new lineup for Pure Phase and Ladies & Gentlemen..., w/ Jason & Kate being the only carry-overs. Termination of that crew coincided w/ the onset of dullness, but it seems silly to ascribe causality, given the band's history.

P.S. I've read that Sonic & Jason were pretty dictatorial WRT the parts played by the other members of Spacemen 3, but I can't claim to have been there, so who knows.

It WASN'T an entirely new crew for Pure Phase. Pure Phase was the LGM lineup minus Will plus Sean Cook. The whole process was one of carry-throughs and slow attrition. By the time there were no original members left, the dullness set in. Which was around the time after LAG.

I'll take yr word for it, I'm just going by album credits (which I know, are not entirely reliable)

It WASN'T an entirely new crew for Pure Phase. Pure Phase was the LGM lineup minus Will plus Sean Cook.

-- Kate

1st lineup = Pierce, Carruthers, Refoy & Mattock, w/ Evans on keys, right? That's who did the early singles and LGM. Refoy and Mattock apparently performed on Pure Phase, but were out of the band before recording was done, with fill-in/completion work from others. By the time you get to LAGWAFIS, Pierce is the only constant.

History of the band as I understand it doesn't seem to argue for the idea that a core band was the key to their success. Especially if you like LAGWAFIS. Then again, I can't claim to be an expert, just a fan.

On second thougt, I have the feeling I'm being a contentious, pedantic dick here. I defer to those who know the band members more intimately than I do (which is to say, not at all).

idkidc, this album will crush

you're a spiritualized fan, Chris?

i only know ~25 songs, but i LOVE 70% of that music and enjoy another 25%

You're a big fan, right?

Well, I once was. After LAGWAFIS, I lost most of my interest. But the best Spritualized show I ever saw was in 2003, years after I'd written them off. I don't pull out my SPZ nearly as much as my spacemen 3 (and spectrum) records, but I still like them.

Good gig last night - backing singers, Doggen, no strings, no acoustic guitars, an awful lot of Amazing Grace material.

So they've signed to Fat Possum. Huh.

???? whhhaaaaat

well i mean, at least that means there's likely a new album on the way or something, right?

playing Royal Albert Hall in october: http://www.atpfestival.com/events/spiritualizedroyalalberthall.php

well they did do that Junior Kimbrough tribute album track, so it's not like this is completely out of the blue

xp

(track is amazing btw - one of their best of recent years)

Hmmmm....

http://www.thecreatorsproject.com/blog/a-look-at-the-new-installation-from-j-spaceman-and-jonathan-glazer

is this guy retired now or what

nah, he just did those LAGWAFIS shows recently & is working on a new LP. I thought Songs in A&E was is best in a decade or so, so who knows?

There were whispers that at least one of the two Sydney Opera House LAG orchestral shows last month was recorded. Hope so, the night I went to was 100% amazeballs.

(Though even better than a recording would be for them to come back every nine months or so and do it again.)

they are down as headlining one of the minor festivals here in the uk this summer

You might think that but you could be wrong. From the latest Spiritualized twitter post

Spiritualized have moved three of their forthcoming UK and Ireland shows back to February 2012 to co-incide with their new album, which is now set to be released early next year on the Double Six label.

London’s Royal Albert Hall remains the same whilst Edinburgh and Leamington Spa have moved back by a few days in October. New tracks will be previewed at the October shows.

Original tickets purchased remain valid for new dates or refunds can be made at point of purchase.

Standon Calling will be their only UK festival appearance of 2011.

October 2011
Sun 9 UK, Edinburgh, Queen’s Hall
Mon 10 UK, Leamington Spa Assembly Hall
Tue 11 UK, London, Royal Albert Hall

February 2012
Thur 23 Ireland, Dublin, Vicar Street
Fri 24 UK ,Manchester Academy
Sat 25 UK, Bristol Academy

so... you're saying that Standon Calling is one of the major festivals?

lol. isn't it invite-only or something?

The Spaceman's Story
Lazer Guided Melodies = I Love Drugs and I Love My Girlfriend

Pure Phase = I Love Drugs More Than My Girlfriend

Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space = I Lost My Girlfriend and I’m Left With Drugs

Let It Come Down = Withdrawal via Massive Orchestration

Amazing Grace = Withdrawal via “Back to Basics”

Songs in A & E = I Almost Died

Sweet Heart Sweet Light = I’m Still Alive

Are you doing a PhD?

Although, vg

'pure phase' is the only one i actually care about any more.

Top 10 Spiritualized Songs

(I am biased towards Jason Pierce's earlier experimental space rock phase rather than his later symphonic/garage rock phase.)

(In Chronological Order)

~ "Feel So Sad (Rhapsodies)"
~ "Take Your Time"
~ "Angel Sigh"
~ "Take Good Care Of It"
~ "Lay Back In The Sun"
~ "Spread Your Wings"
~ "Feel Like Goin' Home"
~ "Stay With Me"
~ "Shine A Light" (Live at Royal Albert Hall version)
~ "I Think I'm In Love" (Live at Royal Albert Hall version)

What are your Top 10 Spiritualized songs?

Roughly in order,

Broken Heart
Shine a Light
Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
The Ballad of Richie Lee
Do it All Over Again
Out of Sight
Cool Waves
Hey Jane
Feel Like Goin' Home
200 Bars

Oh shit, I forgot Stay With Me.

Feel So Sad (the rockier version)
Medication (EP version)
Cop Shoot Cop
Ladies and Gentlemen
I Think I'm In Love
Run
Say With Me
Feel Like Going Home
Electricity
No God Only Religion

I dig every version I've heard of "Feel So Sad". The Peel Session version is my favorite, alongside the original Rhapsodies version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_fYvWhANtY

I'll do my top 10 in order

1 - Won't Get To Heaven (The State I'm In)
2 - Shine A Light (either versh)
3 - Let It Flow
4 - I Think I'm In Love (Albert Hall versh onnnnnly)
5 - Medication
6 - Feel Like Goin' Home
7 - Don't Just Do Something
8 - Feel So Sad (Rhapsodies)
9 - Lay Back In The Sun
10 - If I Were With Her Now

Let It Flow is really, really amazing, deserves way more props, buried deep in the midst of their most difficult (albeit best) album tho

^^^turns out it was a single as well, silly me

Lazer Guided Melodies has always been my favorite because it has more clarity and flows better, in my humble opinion, however Pure Phase definitely gets props from me. It contains their most ghostly bliss-out "Take Good Care Of It", most uplifting climax "Lay Back In The Sun", and greatest closer "Feel Like Goin' Home".

I dig LGM more because I always felt the three instrumentals weighed Pure Phase down, plus "Good Times" is just a re-hash of "Lay Back In The Sun".

For years, I've listened to Pure Phase without those four tracks (10 tracks, 48 minutes) and in this incarnation Pure Phase is their best album.

Lazer Guided has only become my favourite album of theirs in the last year. I bought it over ten years ago and played it only a couple of times. I finally went back to it in the last two years and I loved it more and more each time I played it, it's the ultimate grower. I don't think they've made a bad record. Amazing Grace is probably my least favourite but it still has some beautiful moments.

I can't believe it took me this long to listen to Sweet Heart Sweet Light. It's Jason Pierce's best album since Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space.

Especially dig "Freedom" and "I Am What I Am."

This might sound heretical but I feel "I Am What I Am" is superior to
"Cop Shoot Cop".

After blasting Sweet Heart, Sweet Light in my headphones while wandering around outside, I've decided this is my favorite Spiritualized album since Lazer Guided Melodies.

In my mind, of course, it's impossible to top Lazer Guided Melodies, however, Sweet Heart, Sweet Light is superior to his previous three albums and (here's where I really upset the apple cart) it's even better than Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, to my ears.

"So Long, You Pretty Thing" is heartbreakingly beautiful. Brings tears to my eyes and, simultaneously, a smile to my face.

It is a great album but I prefer Ladies & Gentlemen and Let it Come Down. Pretty Thing is indeed beautiful, probably my second favourite after Hey Jane.

I even prefer Songs In A&E, it seemed like he was trying quite hard to refresh his sound on that record. Interludes, odder arrangements, Daniel Johnston, and all that. Sweet Heart seems a bit unfinished in the mixing stage or something, like he should have waited to get better before delivering the master.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W46GBFH1AmQ

Spiritualized are playing in Bushwick tonite at the ~200 cap. venue Secret Project Robot. Doors 8:00/Show 9:00/Ends at 11:00. $10.

That show was fucking awesome.

I have to assume Elvis Telecom ended up at that as well...

I have to assume Elvis Telecom ended up at that as well...

Actually I didn't. I didn't hear about the show until we were already on the Airtrain at JFK. Would have been annoyed, but already have tickets to see them at Pappy & Harriets out in Joshua Tree (which has quickly become my favorite place to see anyone these days).

BTW, Jason replaced most of the band again. New Spiritualized drummer is Kid Millions from Oneida.

they're playing Pappy and Harriets?!? say what's up to my bro for me lol

Kid Millions from Oneida.

also !!!!! love this dude

say whaaaat? That is crazy.

Pictures from the show: http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2013/04/spiritualized_p_5.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ8YqKT05Zw

Has anyone seen J. Spaceman solo? Worthwhile? He's doing a show in Champaign-Urbana in a couple of weeks.

Acoustic Mainlines show I saw 3 or 4 Christmases ago was near-solo (some of it was choir+orchestration, but not all) - one of my favourite gigs. So I'd say yes!

Where's he playing in C-U?

He's also doing in show @LPR in Sept.

http://www.lepoissonrouge.com/lpr_events/j-spaceman-and-kid-millions-september-11th-2013/

man sometimes I could listen to the various versions of Feel So Sad forever

> Where's he playing in C-U?

At the Krannert Center during the Ellnora Festival.

I've been listening to the whole discography (and I mean the WHOLE discography) the last few days and it's weird, sometime around Amazing Grace there's a real sonic shift, the low end tends to evaporate. incidentally that's the one album that feels like a real misstep. prior to that, through all the various incarnations of the band there's a real panoramic, wide-screen sort of sound that's very well fleshed out. things sound thinner now and I'm not sure why that is. I do like the last couple records but it feels like after Let It Come Down there was a kind of exhaustion that set in sonically, a retreat to this kind of more straightforward, washed-out sound.

that being said, So Long You Pretty Thing possibly the most elegiac thing he's ever written, god what a tune

Ended up going to the J Spaceman show last night. The stage set up was cool -- it's a huge, deeeep stage and sitting he was way up front under a wide spotlight with a Marshall half stack and to his left and a bunch of pedals in front of him. We missed the first couple minutes so not sure how he built it up, but he spent about 75 minutes layering loops. It took about 20-30 minutes to really start bringing it together...gotta admit I was a bit skeptical he was going to pull it off, actually. But the last 30 minutes were super cool -- like at least 5 or 6 different loops going with him playing over it all. Suuuper loud. Very cool.

There's a proper Spiritualized gig tomorrow in Philly that I think I'm going to though idk why they're touring since they played here less than a year ago and they have nothing new to promote. It makes me hope he does something like loop stuff for 75 minutes.

I love Spiritualized, but the band's innately conservative. I've not seen a lot of variety from show to show, which makes sense, because there's not a ton of variety from album to album, either. Arrangements tend to stick to the albums, too, no matter how many people on stage, the lyrics stay in sad gospel mode, and for all its free-jazz squonk I've never seen the band do a set that did not emphasize its songs. I've seen the band live maybe 8 times and I'd describe the most recent pretty much the same as I'd describe the first maybe 15 years ago. So basically, no, you're likely not going to get 75 minutes of loops.

That Spiritualized remains a great band is a minor miracle in and of itself. Maybe it's all that talking to Jesus about the deep hole in his soul.

Saw them in Raleigh over the weekend. They are definitely own a very specific sound and their approach could be described as conservative. However, I think bringing Kid Millions of Oneida in as a drummer has brought a small but welcome and noticeable change to the group dynamic. I also got to see the Radio City Music Hall performance of Ladies and Gentlemen a few years back and it was absolutely gobsmacking. I think you either get into the band and what they do full bore and keep loving and returning to it or not. I don't think they're the kind of group that's going to "evolve" in any dynamic way, but I've more or less loved every gig I've seen by them.

No argument. Love Spiritualized. It's just that given the nature of the music and its roots, I'm a little surprised/disappointed they never shake things up a bit, with drones, loops, skronk or basically anything that veers from the recorded arrangements. The band sticks to the script like pros, which they most certainly are, but it seems like Sonic Boom is the more seat of his pants of the pair.

New song new song new song

On April 19 (Record Store Day), Lefse will release a compilation called Space Project, which features songs by Youth Lagoon, Beach House, Mutual Benefit, the Antlers, and others that incorporate sounds recorded in space by the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probes. Spiritualized, under the name the Spiritualized Mississippi Space Program, contributed a track called "Always Forgetting With You (The Bridge Song)".

https://soundcloud.com/fatpossum/spiritualized-mississippi/

New song sounds remarkably like something that could be on side 2 of Recurring.

It wasn't until I listed to 6 straight years of country blues and modern drone that I come back to the Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized of my mid teens, and realize how fucking good they are. Spacemen 3 honestly did it all correctly, I couldn't ask for more.

loving the sound of this and the recent Cut Copy remix. always nice when he moves away from the more straightforward recording/mixing techniques

Hmm, nice indeed.

Anyone know what this is about?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BkR11FXIIAA8GKO.jpg

Kind of being blown out of proportion, and it's a pretty song:

http://www.nme.com/news/spiritualized/76469

I went to listen to some Spiritualized this fine evening on Spotify, I thought I would listen to those versions of Feel So Sad that were compiled on The Complete Works Vol.1

Strangely enough, Feel so Sad (Glides and Chimes) seems to be the #1 most popular song by them.

Does anyone know why? I mean it's perfectly lovely but its seems to be far and away the most played song by them which strikes me as odd. Was it used in a movie? some weird mix I don't know about?

This new BE ONE record that J. Spaceman was involved in is so beautiful, it's a concept album about bees? Fucking amazing. Better than any Spiritualized record I've ever heard.

I assume you haven't heard that many Spiritualized records then.

It's quite nice but I'm not sure I'd go that far.

Jason reporting on Instagram: "Impromptu recording session with #Follakzoid ...1 phone call, 2 songs, 3 hours, new personal record.."
https://www.instagram.com/p/BF_5wCVrP7V/?taken-by=jspaceman3

Okay, that bit peaked my interest.

http://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?ID=20304

fuck, ladies and gentlemen is 20 years old next year? gahhh

Jason Pierce Says Next Spiritualized Album Will Be His Last

Of the £2 million Spacemen 3 reunion offers, he said:

It’s a ton of money. But I think it’s too important for that, I really do. It’s been my life’s work to wave my small flag to show how important rock n roll is. You can buy those records if you want to hear the music. The argument that gets thrown at me is people didn’t see it first time. But there’s a whole history of mankind and I wasn’t there for most of it. Maybe I’m just stupid. I certainly need the money. Who doesn’t need that? Who couldn’t give half of it away if they did have it?

Whole interview here: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/jason-pierce-spiritualized-ladies-and-gentlemen-we-are-floating-in-space-barbican-a7402456.html

he has been hospitalized with pneumonia and liver disease since 2005

this is a very poorly worded sentence

Yeah, seriously. Being hospitalized for the past 11 years would make being in a band pretty tough.

I never saw S3 and would prefer it if they don't reunite tbh

can't blame him if this is his last record, he's had a good run and def been recycling ideas for awhile now. overall I think he really developed as a lyricist over Spiritualized's discography, kinda underrated in that respect.

^^ Agreed on SP3. Not seen them live either, but seeing them cover their own material now would probably suck. Also, Kember and Pierce have such different musical interests now.

Always found it compelling that one of Spiritualized's most achingly beautiful songs, Broken Heart, exists because Kate Radley dumped him for Richard Ashcroft :)

Hope it will be one hell of a final album. He must have a masterpiece left in him, I'm quite sure.

Always found it compelling that one of Spiritualized's most achingly beautiful songs, Broken Heart, exists because Kate Radley dumped him for Richard Ashcroft :)

lol he m/l makes fun of this interpretation in the interview but sure, it makes a good story

if they want to to reunite, they should reunite, not interested personally. saw a two piece spectrum do "transparent radiation" ~2008, that was good enough 4 me

"She Kissed Me, and It Felt Like a Hit" might be my favorite bit of druggy wordplay other than Ministry's "Dark Side of the Spoon."

sad to hear

sorry but have to go all fanboy and share that jason heard an old band's album and said he really liked it

proud moment there

hope he isn't in too much pain

Spiritualized/S3 are packed with lifts from/references to other bands. But I'd never caught this one before:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TOaUxgkLSg

Lots of people have covered it, including Steve Marriott:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diGqtwQcg_k

But clearly there is a lot of it in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYzCreXMKzI

huh weird that's a new one

Assume this isn't happening today now?

Fortunately the new album is also due next year… twenty years to the day since 'Ladies and gentlemen...'

— Spiritualized® (@officialSpzd) September 29, 2016

lol

Hehe.

20 years tho. Damn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QQeh7Txpu0

New interview with The Quietus: http://thequietus.com/articles/22946-jason-pierce-spiritualized-spacemen-3-interview
Oh J, always the perfectionist <3

“I feel like there aren’t going to be many more; I said a while back it may very well be my last record. I wanted to make something that was really worthy of that, a kind of glorious ‘this is what it’s all about’ kind of thing. And it reaches far – it covers a lot of ground. It’s not just another collection of songs – it’s a big record. It’s also [taken] years of work…I don’t want it to be a light undertaking. I want it to say something and be a big deal.”

Pierce tells me that making the record has been an all-consuming experience. I ask if he ever manages to unwind. “No, no. I just go crazy. I just get crazier and crazier and it’s not healthy which is kind of why I was saying I can’t see me doing this again. It’s like…it’s the only thing that matters and it shouldn’t be really. There’s so much else going on out there but it just consumes me. I can’t wait to get it down.” Does the album have a title yet? “No, not one,” Pierce tells me. “It’s just about there. It seemed for a while it wasn’t going to make sense and now it’s kind of coming together. It feels like it’s not far off. A couple of months and then I’ve got a finished record.”

That sounds very promising. Thanks for the link. Made me think of the Cormac McCarthy quote... "Anything that doesn't take years of your life and drive you to suicide hardly seems worth doing."

his music seems best served by a lot of studio time, given past albums. I do miss the analog warmth and studio tricks of the older records to the post-LICD albums, which all seem somehow crisper and more straightforward, there's a brittleness to them for some reason.

well they're playing at the Fillmore in SF on my bday so I guess I have to go

... and I went!

weird show, but mostly in a good way. a fair amount of "deep cuts", and the set mostly went chronologically through the catalog, from opening with "If I Were With Her Now"(!) through "Born Never Asked" and "Electric Mainline", "Please Stay/Don't Go", "Let it Flow". Nothing from "Let it Come Down", and only one song apiece from the more recent albums, ending with "So Long You Pretty Thing", which makes a great closer. Some rough edges and occasional sound issues, and I have no idea who is in the band now (besides Dogon, who is generally a great foil for Jason).

I was there too, for a while. Didn't love it, so we left about half way in. Just not a lot of energy. J was sitting down, facing sideways, and the rest of the band was just standing still. I really loved the set they did at the Boston MFA with the choir and J on acoustic guitar, but this one just didn't work for me...

I can't remember the last time I saw him stand for a show!

Don't think I'd personally mind the static stage appearance but I can see why others would. He did a show standing, statuesque and eyes closed the whole show, in 2001 or so that I saw. Worked for me.

He's been sitting through whole shows since the mid-80s!

have never seen him standing thru a show

I wasn't trying to say that it was unusual, just that it contributed to the lack of energy of the whole show. Like even when they were audibly rocking, everyone was standing dead still, the drummer was tapping away lightly, and the backup singers weren't even swaying with the music.

Must've gotten lucky seeing the Spaceman stand up then! (it was this one) Idk I was comfortable (sitting myself) to close my eyes for a lot of the time too, immersed myself. It was a great show.

hm, I went and had a totally different feel; I def didn't think it lacked energy (any more than you'd expect Spiritualized to lack energy); band sounded great; band lineup has been pretty consistent for many years now I guess, pretty much after Lupine Howl went off, I think most of them now have been there since then. I've seen this lineup three times now I suppose, this was as good as any; and markedly better than the original spacemen spiritulized lineup which was the first one I saw, who I thought (at the time) were boring.

that was def a different drummer than he had immediately post-Lupine Howl but idk what Kid Millions looks like, maybe it was him

and that was def also not Thighpaulsandra

Kid Millions is no longer drumming with them. I saw a couple of shows with him and they were awesome. Kid Millions is not really a light tapper. This wild show at Secret Project Robot in 2013 was very memorable:

https://youtu.be/5WacFq6cVaA

http://https%3A//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/0918049c8dc21dd947032eea23d95847.png

fairly consistent since 2009 or so.

fucking whatever bbcode

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/0918049c8dc21dd947032eea23d95847.png

ah so the other guitarist was still Coxon (I couldn't see him v well)

the drummer did not at all match my expectations for Kid Millions so I kinda assumed it was somebody else tbh

also tbh I don't think I've seen his touring band since 2009, last time I saw them it was just J and Doggen and a choir + string quartet

that's too bad about the show. the london 'follakzoid' sessions from earlier this year slay, especially "earth", and i'm stoked for an album proper

2 out of 3 attendees thought it was a good show! It just wasn't earth-shattering and there was no new material. still a bunch of surprises at least.

Weird, I've seen the band a bunch and can't remember ever seeing Jason sitting for a show. You'd think that would leave an impression.

Relieved to hear that he hasn't died, which is what I thought when I saw the thread had been bumped.

he seems to be in fine health these days

shakey have you read Will's book?

Is it worth the while?

Saw Spaceman 3 back around 1990 and all the (smallish) crowd were sat down for the entire set. Everyone just passed spliffs around all night.

My memory is a little bit foggy but I think it was more of a Sitar Music type vibe than Revolution/Suicide. Can't remember if the band themselves were sitting.

I haven't read Will's book. I've read that other Spacemen 3 bio, forget who the author was.

xp

I would read it given the opportunity but I don't have the $$ to spend on that kind of thing

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/515TgnsEoIL._SX328_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

This one, Shakey? It's fucking great. And also makes me think Will C's book has little to add to (but I could be wrong)

yeah that one

Great book.

I'm reading it now, about 2/3 of the way through, just getting to the formation of Spiritualized, thoroughly enjoying it. I really didn't know much of S3's history, despite being a fan for going on 30 years now, so I don't know how much is really new or revelatory here for someone more familiar, but he's a very good writer and storyteller. The chapters don't necessarily flow naturally from one to the next which gives me the sense that they were written at least to some extent as separate pieces over time and assembled into book form later, but I don't find that that detracts from it at all.

So I can't say if it's worth the while if you're looking for new insights into the band and its other members (it is for me), but definitely worth the while as a document of one person's experience in that scene at that time.

I've got both books but not read the Morse one in years. Will's book is great though. A lot of fun to read. It can be funny and harrowing at times

I feel like the Morse book is as good as can be expected, what w Jason not cooperating at all

(My post above was in ref. to Will's book if that wasn't clear.) xxp

it's funny how Sonic has turned out to be the one much more concerned about their legacy/rep. Jason doesn't seem to give a shit at all. That joint statement that came out last year about that reissue dispute was the first time I can recall him ever being involved w/anything Spacemen 3 related.

shakey did you see spectrum and sonic do that Spacemen 2 show in SF like....dunno, 15 years ago or something? I didn't, always kind of regretted it.

no but my bandmate did and he has a signed poster from it framed in our practice space

official Fucked Up Inside on CD: https://www.discogs.com/Spiritualized-Fucked-Up-Inside/release/11198690

The Glass Redux CD marks the first commercially distributed UK release on Compact Disc; faithfully re-creating the original sleeve design, the guitar effects pedals embossed and silver foil blocked it is now presented for the first time in a fold out gatefold card wallet.

er, reissue i mean

you know what i mean, you can read

pic.twitter.com/FpacqVtBl5

— Spiritualized® (@officialSpzd) June 2, 2018

A Perfect Miracle

New album (finally)?

ha

came to post this

there's another one

pic.twitter.com/qIt7hh7jUw

— Spiritualized® (@officialSpzd) June 3, 2018

The second one says "I'm Your Man" apparently. I wonder if we're getting a whole tracklist this way?

i hope it's a Wham! cover

george michael and andrew ridgeley were very much the j spaceman and sonic boom of the pop charts so it would be a fitting tribute

The second one says "I'm Your Man" apparently. I wonder if we're getting a whole tracklist this way?

― brain (krakow), Monday, June 4, 2018 10:25 AM (seven hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Good lord I hope not.

Stoked for new Spiritualized, but all this feels very "hi dere A&R how do i shot an album release in 2018 of I know do something daft"

of=oh

it'd be cool if he included these little morse code sounds in the songs in some subtle way

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4mJWCfGj8Jk

yeah these long cryptic rollouts suck. just give us a single and a release date J

Nice idea ∞. I don't mind a little bit of mysterious build-up, especially if it ends up fitting into some kind of concept and/or aesthetic for the album.

they erased all their tweets and instagram posts and redid everything in this orange thing, so i wouldn't be surprised if it's part of a new album art/aesthetic j's going for

i guess he's had enough of the drug references?

Spiritualized without the drug references is a contradiction in terms, no?

Another one today, which is this song:

https://youtu.be/BqeRA6ZbywU

Two new songs out on streaming services, Album's out on Sept. 7th. Both songs are pretty nice and typically lush, crystalline production, though "A Perfect Miracle" is awfully close to a retread of "Ladies and Gentlemen..."'s title track.

wow that is a very classic rock-y guitar solo on I'm Your Man

‘And Nothing Hurt’ was recorded by Pierce alone in his London home. In a press release, he said: “Making this record on my own sent me more mad than anything I’ve done before. We’d been playing these big shows and I really wanted to capture that sound we were making but, without the funds to do, I had to find a way to work within the constraints of what money I had. So I bought a laptop and made it all in a little room in my house.”

that's insane

and a bit of a bummer

but then he's always been pretty open about plowing whatever money he's made back into the band so maybe not that surprising that he's not a millionaire

I would not have guessed these were pure solo recordings!

Though on closer listen there do seem to be a lot more synthesized elements than usual.

eh, pretty he's not playing drums or those horns

This is what happens when I listen on my shitty work headphones.

The fact that he couldn't do it up how he normally would really is a bummer.

pretty SURE

I meant to say

oh he also said this

The biggest thing for me was to try to make it sound like a studio session. There are bits that I went to a studio to record – mainly drums and percussion. I mean, there’s no way I’m going to get timpani up my stairs. When I came to terms with how I was going to make the record, I assumed it was going to sound like Lee Perry – all flying in from different angles; all extraordinary and not hi-tech in construction. But I was new to it all, I didn’t have all the short cuts people use when they’re making records – I just sat there for weeks… for months… moving every level up bit by bit just to try to get the sounds right.

The press release

Do we have a tally on how many artists have used some variation of that stupid Vonnegut quote as a fucking title? Didn't Moby also just release an album with this title?? Like, thirty years after every screamo band had already exhausted it?

Welcome back, Spaceman, I salute you <3

I wanted to like this but having listened IDK, I was hoping the transition to working as a bedroom producer would have taken in him a new and more interesting direction. The last thing I want to hear is him recreating his post-Let It Come Down sound with cheaper production values.

Agreed, but post LICD has *a lot* of really bad songs. No high production value will make them better songs. These are at least p dece songs.

(not been able to blast these on my own stereo though, mind)

It's nice we're correctly treating LICD as a good album

It's his last good album, mos def

the last record was p solid though i can only remember "hey jane" and the closer really

xp I mean I think it's better than LAG... but am aware that's wild talk

"i'm your man" sounds great imo

xp I am... inclined to agree? LAG has all-time status, but LICD is an album I keep coming back to.

Thinking about it, it's really about whether on any given day I prefer the two longest tracks on each album /vmic

LAG became so classic, I'm burned out on parts of it. Come Together, Electricity, they're great, but I skip them nowadays. It's not that way with LICD.

"Life is a Problem" is one of his best sad bastard tunes.

(apart from the opener, On Fire, tbh, that piano gets on my nerves) xp

Don't Just Do Something is 'Think I'm In Love' glorious, Out Of Sight, Twelve Steps and Straight and the Narrow is one helluva run, before the final third kicks in. Perfect album (apart from the opener).

i'm having an argument on another board with someone who thinks pure phase is "easily their worst" so i'm revisiting it now. first, what, 6-7 tracks are absolutely unfuckwithable? and that's before "electric mainline" happens

Yeah that's bonkers. Shows you not to cheat on us on other boards! ;)

Pure Phase is the best one, I thought we all knew that

I listened to Pure Phase in the park yesterday for a long time and it sounded glorious. It's not the best (Lazer Guided Melodies and Ladies & Gentlemen feel slightly better realised) and there's a sense that some of the PP songs could have been arranged better, but the idea that it's their worst album when you consider some of the dreck they've released over the last decade is...

it's long and loose but its best moments are basically the peak of the band imo

all their albums up through LICD are great imo, the two after that are a bit spotty. The last one is very solid imo, and its closing track is one of the best things he ever wrote.

Video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vNrHoLS1zc

wait who is kathleen pierce and why is she being memorialized?

I think Kathleen Pierce is Jason's mum. Looks like she died around this time last year.

The last one is very solid imo, and its closing track is one of the best things he ever wrote.

Agree that that track is a banger, but I'd sooner listen to anything from the first two/three instead.

Another vote for Pure Phase.

I think I listen to Pure Phase more than any of the others. I saw them in a little club on that tour. Want to say the Dandy Warhols opened?

Polara opened on the PP tour out here (though the better show was a couple months earlier when Spz. opened for Siouxsie)

So weird, I guess the show I saw was in 1997, so must have been the L&G tour! Wow. Next time I saw them was opening for Radiohead the next year.

i'm going to the Los Angeles show on Oct 16 Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theatre. the pre-sale goes on sale tomorrow. i need a code!

Knock twice.

found it: There will be a Live Nation presale taking place on Thursday, June 14, at 10 a.m. Password: GOODVIBES.

i'm going to Spiritualized in Los Angeles. i think this will be the fifth time seeing them. very excited.

Based on the first two tracks this will probably be the first Spz tour I’ll sit out.

Never really got into sweet heart sweet light, is it good ?

Yes

Is it stating the obvious to say that the orchestrated Feel So Sad heavily apes Anthem from Powaqqatsi?

https://youtu.be/iyrrEyy7a6Q

Can't hear any similarity myself.

New album is streaming on NPR. Sounds promising.

https://www.npr.org/2018/08/30/641541125/first-listen-spiritualized-and-nothing-hurt

thanks for the headsup, BrianEmo!

it's p good, sounds much the same as the last one, oddly

Loving this so far. One of the most consistent albums he's put out since 2001 imo. It's pretty much a continuation of where he's been for the past 2 albums but I feel like he's perfected it here. Nothing will probably ever compare to Let It Come Down, Ladies and Gentleman, Pure Phase or his Spacemen 3 stuff mostly due to where I was at in my life but this is definitely my favorite since those days.

Also, can't shake the "Baby I'm Just A Fool" melody from "Let's Dance". Love em both but in my head it's acting as a sequel.

new record any good

it's decent and if you like Spiritualized you'll probably like it. the recording process seems pretty interesting in that he took an Avalanches-esque approach of piecing together most of the orchestration from tiny samples but it's not too apparent actually listening to it

hm, cool. saw them live on a and e tour, excellent

I think it's crap and I'm Your Man is the only song that isn't a snoozer but ymmv

Havent heard it yet but posting to say imago has bad taste in music so ymmv with his posts/his opinions

Take the hill in second gear
You can see my house from here

Lots of reports that last night's show was rather special

https://www.instagram.com/p/BoBeJeOHQhL/?taken-by=neilhalstead

Set list here: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/spiritualized/2018/eventim-apollo-london-england-6be9da2a.html

Looks like he's playing the album start-to-finish.

Going to eat my words above - we went to the Brooklyn show last night and it was terrific. All the new songs (especially that anemic first half) are 100% improved live.

Oh yeah? Will keep that in mind.

I have to say, there's a kind of thinness/brittleness to the production sound of everything post-Let it Come Down that bothers me a bit, and this one is no exception. Still, lots of good stuff on it.

very nice to hear Elvis Telecom. i'm seeing them in a few days. i fucking love this album, it's all i have been playing for the last two weeks. it has grown on me and now ready for a show.

You have posted 15,000 messages

man, i have been here a long ass time. it's actually not acurate as my phone says i have posted about 25 more than that. so i don't think my phone posts are counting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbO0xabMlhA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Boev1lbaNQI

That was awesome

on my way, so excited!

Fascinating new details on Spiritualized inner workings (abandoned sessions with Youth and Visconti? *still* losing money on tour???) for the obsessives. And some comments on Spacemen 3. https://www.vogue.com/article/jason-pierce-spiritualized-kings-theatre

still love this new album

elvis, do spiritualized still rip live

saw them on a and e tour and was surprised at how transformative and heavy it was

Spiritualized was one of my favorite bands for a long time, but it's been diminishing returns for years now. The new one is less half-assed than the last couple, but is pretty dull regardless. I'm not surprised they still do a great live show though.

elvis, do spiritualized still rip live

saw them on a and e tour and was surprised at how transformative and heavy it was

not Elvis but short answer, yes. i have seen them now three times. once on the Pure Phase tour, then i saw them as the opening band on the OK Computer tour. as you may or may not know they only had two US dates, one in New York and last nights in Los Angeles. i feel very fortunate that i was able to see this show. i think Jason might be having health issues, i don't know for sure but he did sit down the whole time and is very skinny but he sounded so beautiful last night. he had a 30 piece band behind him. adding him there were 31 people on stage, it was a very special night as there is no way he can do this for a full tour. they started with some older songs and then after around the seventh song they played the new album front to back. i have only been listening to the new album for the last few weeks so i knew it inside and out. i love the new song and now reading the above article it a very good last album ever by Spiritualized. they ended the show with the last song from that album and did a three song encore. they had a 10 women back round singers that made it feel like a southern church choir. as most of you know, a lot of songs have to do with Jesus so it worked very well. this show would have been a junkies paradise as i felt like i was on drugs when i was not. his voice is stronger than ever and his Spiritualized backing band was on point all night long. there were two drummers too. a very special band and i would see them if they add more dates, it was well worth it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hsn4xoyGaWM

He has performed sitting down since... 2000? And also often performed sitting down in S3.

I’ve seen them probably a dozen times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bHw_qhjMEU

hmm, i don't remember him sitting down when i saw him in '95 or '97 but i'm probably wrong.

xpost

oh, you said since 2000, yeah i missed 18 years of touring.

Orpheum Theatre, Los Angeles - October 16, 2018:

1. Hold On
2. Come Together
3. Shine a Light
4. Stay With Me
5. Soul on Fire
6. Broken Heart
7. A Perfect Miracle
8. I'm Your Man
9. Here It Comes (The Road) Let's Go
10. Let's Dance
11. On the Sunshine
12. Damaged
13. The Morning After
14. The Prize
15. Sail on Through

Encore:

16. So Long You Pretty Thing
17. Out of Sight
18. Oh Happy Day
19. Hold On (Reprise)

I love the new album but I have been left wondering how much better it would have been if he'd been able to have the gospel choir & orchestra on it a la LAGWAFIS.

It's great to have a chance to hear them like that in these live videos and I wonder if/hope we'll see another live album in the not too distant future. Or at least a bootlegged soundboard recording of one of these shows.

elvis, do spiritualized still rip live

saw them on a and e tour and was surprised at how transformative and heavy it was

It's somewhat difficult to answer this one. I've seen Spiritualized 16 times now - the first time was in 1992 when there were still a quorum of Spacemen 3 members in the band (Jon Mattock on drums) and the last time (until last week) was 21 years later at Pappy & Harriets during a Joshua Tree windstorm (Kid Millions on drums). Both shows included "Medication" and for me, that's about as good as it gets. LGM is my favorite album. Never really cared for LAGWAFIS much until I saw it performed live start-to-finish at Radio City in 2010 when that potential of krautrock gospel + Sun Ra transcendence finally lined up. It's that potential that keeps me coming back.

Both shows included "Medication" and for me, that's about as good as it gets.

inclined to agree here

I love the new album but I have been left wondering how much better it would have been if he'd been able to have the gospel choir & orchestra on it a la LAGWAFIS.

I would be so much happier with the new album if it was a well-recorded "wall of sound" with all of the players from these shows rather than something pieced together from Jason's computer.

I was thinking that, but if we didn't know that was how he recorded it, would we really be able to tell the difference?

Yes

thanks Elvis and Bee OK (also good to see you around again, seems like you have been around less lately)

you can definitely hear the difference between the live orchestration/performances on, say, Let it Come Down, and the patched-together sampled approach on the new one. budgets matter.

Very true

You're right I haven't been around much and when I have I have been on the baseball board. I'm still thinking about opening up a new Artist thread however. Not positive yet.

Xpost

I was at the Los Angeles show, and I was happy to see "Hold On" get so much shine. I have always loved that song and have never seen much praise for it around. I did think some details from the new record got lost in the wash with the big ensemble, but Lord, it washed over me.

I'm glad Stay With Me has come back into his setlists, that song is great and always felt like a kind of bastard child from between Pure Phase and LAGWAFIS that got overlooked

Complete Works like a warm bath this evening.

Vol.1, that is.

http://magazine.vinylmeplease.com/magazine/spiritualized-liner-notes/

ah that was really good

Signed up with VMP just to get this.

Got an original copy of LGM recently but haven't had a chance to listen to it. The only one I'm missing now is Live At Royal Albert, but I've heard that all vinyl copies are shit.

That was good, thanks. Fitting they should connect it with OK Computer, as Spiritualized supported Radiohead here when the latter was touring that album.

That's one of my biggest concert misses. We got to a ticketmaster location way early but there was some other big show going on sale at the same time. Spice Girls? A huge line of teen girls in front of us. By the time I got to the counter Spiritualized/Radiohead was gone. Couldn't even find a scalper at the show. We hung out in the will-call area hoping something would come through but at least we could sorta hear Spiritualized.

I remember the show here really well, actually. As a fan of both bands and albums I thought it was totally awesome they were on the same bill. It was at the Rosemont Theatre in 1998, which was the biggest place they had played locally but likely nowhere near the biggest local place they could have potentially played (and certainly smaller than any place Radiohead would ever play here again, and also bigger than any place I would ever see Spiritualized again, iirc). And yet as I remember it, Spiritualized, even with that album, hadn't quite clicked with many people at the time, or at least were totally overshadowed by the hype of "OK Computer" here, and as a sign of how much bigger at least Radiohead would get, I didn't even have a problem getting comped tickets to the show, as Radiohead wasn't quite at hip talisman level. But the next time they played Chicago was in Grant park in August 2001, which was memorable for lots of reasons: a huge happening, with perfect weather, the month before 9/11 fucked up everything forever.

I saw them in SF with Radiohead but left after Spiritualized.

Great story, it's always good (and somewhat of a relief) to see Pierce is in good spirits, doing well. I'm not joining a club to buy a record, but it does look nice. I remember the insane prices the 12x3" pill box went for!

I received the LGM Fat Possum reissue yesterday. Not a fan of reissues that change the album artwork, but this one is interesting. I had assumed that the blobby angel/devil were a computer graphic, but they are sculptures that were photographed. For the new cover they rephotographed them and you can see little cracks running through them if you look closely, especially throughout the fingers. Whatever they are made of hasn’t aged well, but it makes for a nice image.

Is it just a reissue or also remaster/bonus tracks?

yeah, i can see the vinyl being re-available is a useful thing but will the cds be any different?

No bonus tracks. Remastered from original sources is what the press release says. CDs available.

wonder how it sounds. one of those albums I know backwards and forwards.

*** Spaceman Reissue Program ***

Pure Phase - the sublime second album - reissued with new artwork on double 180-gram glow-in-the-dark vinyl.

Plus a new series of Pure Phase merchandise based on the original, vintage designs.

Available to pre-order now https://t.co/dbqnehvtTw pic.twitter.com/2Rk0OVaFU8

— Spiritualized® (@officialSpzd) April 27, 2021

I need to bust out my old Pure Phase cassette copy--love that album.

I wish this recent vinyl-only Spaceman/Coxon guitar noise/improv set was also available as a DL--def not going to appeal to everyone, but the samples are scrappy feedback catnip to these ears: https://boomkat.com/products/play-the-red-krayola-live-1967

Man. My vinyl budget is stretched impossibly thin right now but I kind of want to hop on this- Lazer Guided Melodies was sold out from every source I could find the day I found out about the reissues (through the Pitchfork review, because I guess I am out of touch now)

though hey never mind Fat Possum have a restock of the white vinyl (though bafflingly not the regular ol' black) up for preorder:

https://store.fatpossum.com/products/lazer-guided-melodies?variant=32321767538801¤cy=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=Cj0KCQjwsqmEBhDiARIsANV8H3afUq9aMlnSkVz5tdabVj-au4AAExB3i3IjiwBC8HxzWjKfJ6btbqQaAksnEALw_wcB

fat possum vinyl is not good ime but maybe they’re better now

Hm. I went to the Steve Hoffman forums and the response is...mostly good? There have been a couple of people who received moderately warped discs but Fat Possum are apparently very responsive about replacing them.

I just ordered, since I've never owned these albums in any physical format; if anyone else is considering, the code FATPOSSUM20OFF works and got me $12 off when buying both.

My copy of the black vinyl ‘LGM’ has the worst warp I’ve had in ages on the first disk (looks like a rollercoaster) bit it plays through fine. Overall sound is fine, not amazing. Have ‘Pure Phase’ on order.

ah good to know, TT... it always felt perfect on CD to me, the clean shimmering crystaline-ness matching the physical medium... in fact I grew up with the cd that had the glitch on “angel sigh” so when I listen to the cd I have now I still get a little tripped up when it doesn’t start over again 1:00 in lol

Spiritualized opening up for Neil Young somewhere in the USA 1996.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oSeSbU984o

Ladies & Gents being reissued on Fat Possum. They really screwed the pooch on the artwork.