It's as close to drugs as I get these days, the last few days of the flu, and I was seeking a soundtrack to the fever break and the rancid sweat staining the pillow. John Prine's "Sam Stone" has always been a friend of mine, and this morning I wondered which was the greater line from that famous couplet ("There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes/ Jesus Christ died for nothing, I suppose."). Perhaps they can't be separated. Roy Wood's "Nancy, Sing Me a Song" had that otherworldly quality suited for the half-dream state to thrash in, and Skip James' eerie falsetto on "Devil Got My Woman" made me cry for mommy. The undisputed king of the saturated sheets, though, is Spiritualized's
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space. You can mutter "bombast" all you want, but in the throes of the fever grip the critical judgment tends to take a holiday, and this sounds like the fullest ambition met. The scale of this man's reach makes the glory of last Saturday's weeding effort feel rather small, and the lyrics have their moments, too ("Sometimes I take my breakfast right off of the mirror"). OK, it's r'n'r decadence 101, but a little self-mythologizing self-destruction almost sounds refreshing these days. Next time that useless doctor gives you the weak antibiotic, try Mr. Pierce instead, a drug for those too old to take the traditional variety.
3 comments:
was always a huge fan of spaceman 3 and never really got into these guys, though my wife loves them. but not long ago i was in the record store and heard amazing grace and was knocked out. of course someone from the store bought it, but i'm on the lookout now
Yea, i really love the Spacemen (the vinyl reissues sound amazing)but in the right mood Spiritualized is fanatastic, especially, gulp, on headphones. The production is unbelievably ambitious and, at least on this one, it works wonderfully. I understand all the criticisms leveled at this from Spacemen fans, but this is a natural progression- he's layering the kitchen sink over the top of his repetition, and some of it is stunning. I'd like to drop acid again just for this record, but I may have to settle for listening to it as the flu breaks. My only humble advice is to be patient, because there is plenty to absorb.
oh, believe me, i hear it all the time, but i'm stubborn, wife loves stoner rock, from this to queens of the stone age to warlocks etc.. even ween, sometimes i have to not hear what she is playing
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