Spacemen 3 - classic or unutterably shite?

i thought it was marcello as well.

"wasting your time giving a shit what rockstars do in their spare time or in particular picking one activity (drug taking)"

No-one's wasting their time here except you typing out that crap (and you know it to be crap too kid) and me typing out a response to it.

. . .

"becoming so preoccupied with it's effects on music when in reality there's absolutely no way of ever proving it's been involved."

Who is preoccupied with rock stars and drugs? I think perhaps it might be your good self, since you seem to be in such denial about the role drugs play in creative processes, particularly music. I'm not trying to 'prove' anything nor do I have any interest in doing so. I don't care one iota who does what but when something becomes an aspect to a subject of interest, whther you like it or not, you or anyone would be foolish and ignorant to ignore or disregard such an aspect.

. . .

"I think this point is still lost on you though since you persist with other red herrings like the above."

What red herring are you referring too old chap? The story I supplied - I think it was just for the purposes of being amused, not as a profound explanation of the interpretive necessity when listening to Spacemen.

Perhaps you should post your portfolio of reviews to clarify the point for me.

Similarly classic is Ned's first post on this old thread, which just had me laughing my breakfast out of my nose in a most inelegant fashion. Old threads just keep on giving.

I don't really agree with Ned's comment but I do agree it's awesome and it STANDS THE TEST OF TIME and stuff! Yes.

As for the comments above about American post-rock and jazz--Sorry, but Talk Talk and Bark Psychosis were way bigger British influences than Spacemen 3. Which isn't to say they were primary influences. I'll take Slint over Spacemen 3 any hour of the day, and so would many Thrill Jockey people, I bet.

To me, your post doesn't do their songwriting justice. They were also really into sound and had a lot of cool things going on on their records, tone-wise. I don't know if I like the post-Perfect Prescription records so much.

I was going to say that they had more of a sense of humor than the Killers, too, but actually the Killers are quite amusing (intentionally so, I think).

Y'all might want to reread the comment a bit, which while hyperbolic is not claiming S3 influenced *all* bands vaguely or clearly labeled post-rock, and does not automatically deny the potential influence of those two (very fine) bands at all.

And another thing--they sucked away attention from Sundial, who deserved it more.

I think the tribute songs were a part of the intentionally stoopid humor in their music along with the drug stuff and the God stuff. They weren't really serious about how their music was intended "for all the fucked up children of the world."

Great, great great band. And certainly a bit ridiculous on some level, but its not as if their referents weren't also.

One night when I was pretty drunk and living in a large loft space I played the Sound of Confusion very loud and it all just clicked. I think they are the band that took me the longest to "get" and probably the biggest 180 degree shift in opinion I've ever had.

I was in the same class as Jason Pierce at school and I can assure you it wasn't a public one!

Jason is usually quite humble in interviews, you're probably thinking of Sonic, who used to regularly glamourize drugs in interviews (to the point that 85% of the dialogue was centred around drugs).

playing with fire is pretty remarkable when you consider how heavily the earlier stuff hung off everyone they were ripping off. it actually does transcend all that. how do they possibly get 'i believe it' to sound so... i dunno, how do you get that much rushing momentum out of two organ notes?

it's all classic though, really. i used to put that 18-minute long version of 'rollercoaster' on repeat and stare at the wall for hours.

the vox conti is one of my favourite sounding organs. these clever bastards had some pretty sweet gear

how do you get that much rushing momentum out of two organ notes?

The brilliance of Spacemen 3, in a nutshell.

and of course don't get me wrong, i don't think it's just the gear by any means. but it don't hurt

jim we should form 'the australian spacemen 3 show'.

haha

i'll have to get a bowl cut wig

getting bad haircuts to make music to get bad haircuts to

Can I be your tribute fan?

to answer that question i must pose my own: how do you feel about bowl-cuts??

so tell me, how do you feel about them?

Might have been posted elsewhere on ILX already but if not -- the first in a series of exhibitions dedicated to the art of Natty Brooker, who performed in the band early on, did artwork for them as well as early Spz and generally is a big part of the legacy of it all. Very sadly, he has been diagnosed with terminal cancer; the upcoming exhibitions are meant to celebrate his work and life. He won't be attending due to his health, but the LA opening this Saturday will feature the very cool Will Carruthers as host; prints are available for sale. Further openings in the future will be in New York, London, Berlin and Amsterdam. You can find more information here:

http://willcarruthers.blogspot.com/

http://losangeles.going.com/event-666993;Spacemen_3s_Natty_Brooker_Print_Show_Opening

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=236361510161

Ugly link there for the second one -- just go here instead

i tried getting into this band a few years ago, but just didn't feel it. and Loop is one of my all time favorite bands.

Hmm. Try again.

If you dig Loop, pick up a copy of The Sound of Confusion and play it really, REALLY fucking loud. 2:35, Mary Anne, O.D. Catastrophe. Blast the hell out of that shit. In a car if you can't do it at home. Should do the trick.

I'll try that. I think I may have only tried Perfect Prescription, Playing with Fire, and Dreamweapon.

I want to go to that, but I'll wait for Berlin or London. At least now we have a fun new way to play "where in the world is Will Carruthers?"

It's Spacemen 3 day today according to Dan P. of Abunai (in that Mr. Kember and Mr. Pierce were both born today back in 1965).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg5D-CqDoI8

Shoot. Happy Bday, guys.

wow, I never they were born on the same day!

Happy Bday, guys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0j21IIXpA0

Any day that gives me an excuse to listen to more Spacemen 3 than I already do is a very, very good day in my book.

listening to magic lantern, so that sort of almost counts

not really. happy b-day tho

I really appreciate some of the recent breakdowns re: pressings and sound, I have Taking Drugs CD on US Bomp, SOC CD on UK Refire, PP CD & LP on US Genius, PWF CD and LP on US Bomp, Dreamweapon CD re on US Sympathy (I regret selling my Fierce OG) and OG Recurring CD on US Dedicated. so I think I'm good except for picking up FP and the singles comp someday. I never really clicked with any of the live stuff but damn do I love their studio work.

Recurring: Jason's side >>>>>> Sonic's side.

Yeah, this was the album where Sonic ran out of ideas and began an exercise in self-parody

Damn y'all I had no idea "Recurring" and "Big City" were so controversial! As a massive Kraftwerk/electronic music stan, it just scratches a very particular itch for me, I guess

yeh I'm surprised too, every S3 fan I've ever known loved Big City. when those farfisa chords come in halfway thru, it gets me every time.

As a massive Kraftwerk/electronic music stan, it just scratches a very particular itch for me

This is 100% OTM. It's funny because I think I actually went backwards? That it was Sonic Boom's interest in analogue synths way back in the 90s, that actually opened up the world of krautrock in general and Kraftwerk in particular to me.

My memory of what happened around Recurring was it came out at a point where Spacemen 3 were already breaking up, and there were already solo albums and 12"s floating around. So that in comparison to what had come before, and what came out just after, it felt a little bit of a letdown. It definitely had a sad undercurrent to it, like, "wow, my favourite band is breaking up? Bummer." Which affected my impressions of the album at the time, followed quickly by "wow, I now have TWO favourite bands and they're both amazing?"

I also distinctly recall that when I swapped my (bought on release) vinyl of Recurring for a later CD a few years later, I listened to it again and had a much more positive impression of it - and realised I had been overly harsh towards it. And Big City has aged incredibly well, it has got better with time.

Cow_Art thank you for that release breakdown, been dreaming about a simple cribsheet for S3 releases like that for a while

My own introduction to S3 was the solo Spectrum album Sonic released as discussed a few posts back -- it was a new release at the time and one of the first things I reviewed for KLA at UCLA as a DJ preview. I'm not really sure I'd heard anything quite like it before, honestly, but I was listening to a lot of stuff for the first time all around then, and it was enough for me to get very interested in who he was and this band of his was. Prompted by all this I gave it a relisten yesterday and it holds up very nicely.

I'm kicking myself because my first exposure to S3 *was* the fabled Glass vinyl - purple swhirlies, black vinyl - and I have no idea what happened to my record collection, if it's still sitting in a box, or if my Mum has thrown it away. Because it has never quite sounded right in the reissues. (I'm going to cry if I start thinking about all the rare Spacemen/Sonic/Spz vinyl I used to have 30 years ago.)

I didn't hear the solo sonic LP until the reissue, hence my timeline confusion above (thanks for clarifying fh). A friend had a copy with the swirly thing on the front but I'm not sure he ever played it in my presence.

(2013 it says. lists Jason in the credits. And Jo wiggs)

yeah I remember seeing that pinwheel Spectrum LP at the record store but it was too pricey to take a chance on (I snagged the reissue and... it's not my favorite Sonic Boom work)

The only Sonic stuff that I'm fully on board with is Soul Kiss & Highs, Lows, Heavenly Blows. There are lots of other good things scattered across his releases but his range is pretty limited. There's a comp of singles and whatnot called What Came Before After that is pretty good.

I stumbled upon a huge wad of used EAR cds at the Amoeba in LA and I was SO STOKED. Worked my way through them and it was a bit of a slog. Mesmerized is the only one I kept.

Yeah that one is my fallback -- I do love the rest for different moods but Mesmerized just seemed to get Sonic's ability to embrace warm drift perfectly, not having to worry about creating songs as such.

Ned, I read and reread your Spacemen 3 reviews several times back in the day. I came to them through Spiritualized and Allmusic led the way. Thanks for that. In college I would stay up way too late devouring Allmusic.

You're most welcome! Glad to know that was a bridge to more.

the first song on that sonic boom spectrum album is so gorgeous and lonely, I think the cover of my vinyl copy had a cardboard roulette wheel you could spin

forever alien completely blew my mind at the time, I could not comprehend it, it sounded like sonic boom tried to record an album while several ufos were landing all around him

OMG, Forever Alien is an absolutely astonishing piece of work. It was just kinda... not where my mind was at when it came out, but it was an album I have revisted again and again, and realise just how formative Sonic Boom was, towards shaping everything I love in music. It's so slithery, and alien-sounding - there's this real kinda 80s mythology that synths are supposed to sound clinical and cold. (Actual Kraftwerk... does *not* sound cold, they can sound clinical, but their tone is very warm.) While Pete took the idea of "what if synths were a living alien intelligence" and ran with it!

I'm so lucky I actually got to see him do that shit live when I first moved to the UK, because transporting the gear necessary to generate those sounds was so obviously never going to happen.

So much of the E.A.R. stuff is... patchy, but when it's good, it's amazing. I recently got out a load of E.A.R. records and started re-listening, because when I'm having a bout of really bad hyperacusis, they're one of the few things I can listen to that doesn't trigger it.

Hm, so out of curiosity, any particular difference between the two versions of Forged Prescriptions? There was that John Rivers-remastered version from two years back, besides the original back in 2003.

Didn't realize the different cover was supposed to be remastered. I know that when FP was initially released Sonic was involved and seemed rather proud of it. By the time the newer one came out things would have soured between Gerald Palmer and him, so I can't imagine Sonic had anything to do with it. And Space Age hasn't shown any particular inclination towards caring about sound quality.

It would be cool to compare them, but I suspect that the new cover and remastering are geared only toward selling the same album to the same people twice.

Suspected as much!

Anyway as long as we're all here, Sterling Roswell has a wonderfully titled Bandcamp site:

https://sterlingroswellvortexionvalveloopdecoderprojectresearchfacilty.bandcamp.com/

And among other things a new album just out (but Bandcamp Friday is about to happen so there's that):

https://sterlingroswellvortexionvalveloopdecoderprojectresearchfacilty.bandcamp.com/album/the-psychedelic-ubik

(Or maybe an old album. He's been adding a slew of stuff over the past few days.)

sonic boom on da BiS

https://beatsinspace.net/playlists/1060/

LOL, my dead husband (tm) loves Kraftwerk even more than I do!

Oh shit ziggy stroom aka nosedrip did the other set too, what a night of joy on BIS

Strong mojo uncle vibe to that BiS mix, thanks uncle pete

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvaf1-2Xnmw