― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 23 April 2005 22:38 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Saturday, 23 April 2005 22:39 (nineteen years ago) link
Great, great great band. And certainly a bit ridiculous on some level, but its not as if their referents weren't also.
― Dark Horse, Saturday, 23 April 2005 22:40 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Saturday, 23 April 2005 22:42 (nineteen years ago) link
― halitosis, Saturday, 23 April 2005 22:44 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Saturday, 23 April 2005 22:49 (nineteen years ago) link
― jake b. (cerybut), Saturday, 23 April 2005 23:12 (nineteen years ago) link
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.
― walter kranz (walterkranz), Saturday, 23 April 2005 23:27 (nineteen years ago) link
I was in the same class as Jason Pierce at school and I can assure you it wasn't a public one!
― Si Carter (Si Carter), Saturday, 23 April 2005 23:31 (nineteen years ago) link
― Amon (eman), Sunday, 24 April 2005 01:17 (nineteen years ago) link
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).
― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Sunday, 24 April 2005 01:34 (nineteen years ago) link
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.
― haitch, Monday, 25 February 2008 01:14 (sixteen years ago) link
the vox conti is one of my favourite sounding organs. these clever bastards had some pretty sweet gear
― electricsound, Monday, 25 February 2008 01:22 (sixteen years ago) link
how do you get that much rushing momentum out of two organ notes?
The brilliance of Spacemen 3, in a nutshell.
― stephen, Monday, 25 February 2008 01:25 (sixteen years ago) link
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
― electricsound, Monday, 25 February 2008 01:26 (sixteen years ago) link
jim we should form 'the australian spacemen 3 show'.
― haitch, Monday, 25 February 2008 01:53 (sixteen years ago) link
haha
i'll have to get a bowl cut wig
― electricsound, Monday, 25 February 2008 01:56 (sixteen years ago) link
getting bad haircuts to make music to get bad haircuts to
― haitch, Monday, 25 February 2008 02:06 (sixteen years ago) link
Can I be your tribute fan?
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 25 February 2008 02:24 (sixteen years ago) link
to answer that question i must pose my own: how do you feel about bowl-cuts??
― haitch, Monday, 25 February 2008 02:52 (sixteen years ago) link
so tell me, how do you feel about them?
― wanko ergo sum, Monday, 25 February 2008 03:00 (sixteen years ago) link
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
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 8 October 2009 04:38 (fourteen years ago) link
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.
― A polar bear you can see in a snowstorm (rockapads), Thursday, 8 October 2009 04:58 (fourteen years ago) link
Hmm. Try again.
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 8 October 2009 05:22 (fourteen years ago) link
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.
― That's not just me saying that, that's the Pentagon. (contenderizer), Thursday, 8 October 2009 05:52 (fourteen years ago) link
I'll try that. I think I may have only tried Perfect Prescription, Playing with Fire, and Dreamweapon.
― A polar bear you can see in a snowstorm (rockapads), Thursday, 8 October 2009 06:23 (fourteen years ago) link
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?"
― ...and the wizard blew his horn (Masonic Boom), Thursday, 8 October 2009 09:43 (fourteen years ago) link
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
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 19 November 2010 16:25 (thirteen years ago) link
Shoot. Happy Bday, guys.
― Trip Maker, Friday, 19 November 2010 16:26 (thirteen years ago) link
wow, I never they were born on the same day!
Happy Bday, guys.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0j21IIXpA0
― the 'Friends' experiment (Pillbox), Friday, 19 November 2010 17:08 (thirteen years ago) link
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.
― twisted sister hazel dickens (Stevie D(eux)), Friday, 19 November 2010 18:11 (thirteen years ago) link
listening to magic lantern, so that sort of almost counts
― naked human hands and a foam rubber head (contenderizer), Friday, 19 November 2010 18:16 (thirteen years ago) link
not really. happy b-day tho
Magic Lantern doesn't count :)
― Stockhausen's Helicopter Quartet (Elvis Telecom), Friday, 19 November 2010 18:45 (thirteen years ago) link
dunno that it will be of interest to anyone but me, but i just picked up a 2LP "fan club" reissue of taking drugs to make music to take drugs to, a classic S3 boot from way back. originally released in 1990 on father yod records. said by the band and many fans to be one of their best recordings, perhaps the best period. a faithful reproduction of the original packaging & pressing, plus an extra LP's worth of contemporaneous tracks tacked onto subsequent CD editions. nice to have and quite affordable.
― normal_fantasy-unicorns (contenderizer), Thursday, 13 January 2011 23:37 (thirteen years ago) link
hey, should I get Recurring? love everything else and passed on it at the time
― Mangrove Earthshoe (herb albert), Thursday, 13 January 2011 23:47 (thirteen years ago) link
it has some great moments
― karajan camping (electricsound), Thursday, 13 January 2011 23:49 (thirteen years ago) link
Recurring is great!! albeit a pretty big anomaly in their catalog. it doesn't really sound too much like anything before or since by either Kember or Pierce.
― assorted curses (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 13 January 2011 23:50 (thirteen years ago) link
there are loads of drum machines and synthesizers on it
didn't really get it at the time, but it's pretty great in retrospect. it's fragmentary and covers a lot of ground, with a few tracks echoing playing with fire, several pointing toward lazer guided melodies and others suggesting avenues i wish they'd stuck around long enough to explore more fully (synth-pop!). def worth picking up, esp if you've heard & love everything else.
― normal_fantasy-unicorns (contenderizer), Thursday, 13 January 2011 23:57 (thirteen years ago) link
groovy, sounds like I really would've hated it in '91 but will totally dig it now.
― Mangrove Earthshoe (herb albert), Friday, 14 January 2011 00:10 (thirteen years ago) link
i'll also get behind Recurring, awesome awesome album
― ilxor this could be a standout thread for you imo (ilxor), Friday, 14 January 2011 02:34 (thirteen years ago) link
the only spacemen 3 record i've got is sound of confusion & tho i like it quite a lot i find they're a bit too tightly wound for their own good? feel like the restraint is a bit much & potential rock n roll energy is wasted, esp lead guitar parts & vocals. wondering if any of the other records are a bit looser or something
― flopson, Friday, 14 January 2011 02:42 (thirteen years ago) link
Well, that Taking Drugs reissue is a lot of the same songs from Sound of Confusion in demo form.Looser, rawer...I prefer those versions for sure. You should check out the live stuff. Performance was a life changer. "Suicide" could be their single greatest contribution.
― Trip Maker, Friday, 14 January 2011 02:50 (thirteen years ago) link
"it doesn't really sound too much like anything before or since by either Kember or Pierce."
Pierce okay sure, but Spectrum is basically Kember re-making the first half of the record over and over (to great effect mind you, but still!)
― Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Friday, 14 January 2011 04:08 (thirteen years ago) link
feel like the restraint is a bit much & potential rock n roll energy is wasted, esp lead guitar parts & vocals. wondering if any of the other records are a bit looser or something
― flopson, Thursday, January 13, 2011 6:42 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark
well, what trip maker says is true, the taking drugs demos are a bit looser and wilder, but the difference isn't radical, and there isn't anything as heavy as "o.d. catastrophe" on taking drugs. so the rock & roll energy level is comparable, imo. performance is similar: amped up, but not a different band or anything. to my mind, their restraint is their greatest strength, and they never rocked much harder than what you hear on sound of confusion, stray tracks like "revolution" and "suicide" excepted.
― normal_fantasy-unicorns (contenderizer), Friday, 14 January 2011 04:19 (thirteen years ago) link
Is it OK to like this both this band and at least one Tortoise record?
― I will always think of you, while (quite) fondly, myself (Evan), Friday, 14 January 2011 05:01 (thirteen years ago) link
it's not as much rocking out as just like idk, swagger. i'm really into this sound and obv they're a classic band but this is one thing keeping me from rly falling hard. i'll check out the demos
― flopson, Friday, 14 January 2011 05:03 (thirteen years ago) link
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
― brimstead, Tuesday, 4 August 2020 03:10 (three years ago) link
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.
― Branwell with an N, Tuesday, 4 August 2020 08:28 (three years ago) link
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.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 5 August 2020 02:36 (three years ago) link
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.
― Cow_Art, Wednesday, 5 August 2020 04:39 (three years ago) link
Suspected as much!
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 5 August 2020 14:16 (three years ago) link
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
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 6 August 2020 03:57 (three years ago) link
(Or maybe an old album. He's been adding a slew of stuff over the past few days.)
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 6 August 2020 04:00 (three years ago) link
sonic boom on da BiS
https://beatsinspace.net/playlists/1060/
― karl...arlk...rlka...lkar..., Thursday, 17 September 2020 16:26 (three years ago) link
LOL, my dead husband (tm) loves Kraftwerk even more than I do!
― Grebo Jones (Branwell with an N), Thursday, 17 September 2020 17:42 (three years ago) link
Oh shit ziggy stroom aka nosedrip did the other set too, what a night of joy on BIS
― all cats are greys (NickB), Thursday, 17 September 2020 17:50 (three years ago) link
Strong mojo uncle vibe to that BiS mix, thanks uncle pete
― kites aren't fun (NickB), Tuesday, 29 September 2020 12:11 (three years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvaf1-2Xnmw
― Elvis Telecom, Wednesday, 11 November 2020 08:42 (three years ago) link