Spacemen 3: "Big City (Everybody I Know Can Be Found Here)"

[video link]

I've been on a Spacemen 3 bender as of late. What deeply entrancing, beautiful, and spaced-out music they made in the 1980s and early 1990s. ("Taking drugs to make music to take drugs to.") I've gotten an even better appreciation of them as I've dug into their musical influences, from the Staple Singers and Sun Ra to Mississippi hill country blues and, of course, 1960s psych. Read more about their influences here. This morning I got my fix from this track, "Big City (Everybody I Know Can Be Found Here)," from their fourth and final studio LP, 1991's "Recurring." By this point, founders Peter "Sonic Boom" Kember and Jason "J. Spaceman" Pierce were on the outs, and the album is mostly divided between them. ("Big City" is a Kember track.) Of course, outside of Spacemen 3, Kember recorded as E.A.R. and Spectrum while Pierce went on to form Spiritualized.

David Pescovitz is Boing Boing's co-editor/managing partner. He's also a research director at Institute for the Future. On Instagram, he's @pesco.

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slida

I remember this one quite fondly, it was sadly crushed by some shelves in a horrible shelf-moving accident. This video is not in stereo for some reason, which drives me nucking futs. Here’s another one: http://youtu.be/tMqpxHY2nFs
- huskerdont
  
  Yeah, mono for me too–only out of one earbud–so I’ve put it on mute and synched it up with my iPod version, just for kicks.
- David Pescovitz
  
  Thanks! Switched it out in the post.
l337n00b

I’ve been re-listening to a lot of Spacemen 3 and Spectrum since Owsley died (http://boingboing.net/2011/03/13/owsley-stanley-lsd-p.html ). If you like late Spacemen 3 and you haven’t heard it before, check out “Owsley” by Spectrum from the album Forever Alien. I would never tell anyone that they are going to like it (I love it, but still), but it is an experience worth having.
http://twitter.com/tardiskitten thisbikeisatardis

Low’s cover of “Lord, Can You Hear Me” is one of my favorite lullabies. I have a lot of hazy memories of lying on the floor blitzed out of my mind during the summer of 98 listening to Spaceman 3 and Spiritualized and Low and the early Verve. Nothing quite like soul music about getting high.
huskerdont

Okay, and with the new link I find that the CD “Recurring” was re-issued with a 10+ minute version of the song, and here I am sitting with my little 5 minute version. Fuuuuuck.

I have Big City envy, yes.
m1kesa1m0ns

I’ve gone on pretty serious Spacemen3/Spiritualized/Spectrum/Loop benders myself, and it’s been a while. So I guess that’s what I’ll be doing myself this weekend.

The two that float my boat the most are “And Then I Just Drifted Away,” from Spectrum’s Highs, Lows and Heavenly Blows, and pretty much all of the rough mixes on the S3 comp Forged Prescriptions, though the tougher, louder take on “Things Will Never Be the Same” is the one that really sends me into head-nodding bliss.
3lliot

I was blessed with a private live performance of ‘If I were with her now’ by Spiritualized once, after a soundcheck at the Riverside in the UK. just me & the band in the entire venue. I sat in the middle of the dance floor, reclined against a pillar, & was summarily blown away. then got stoned with them after the gig. great people, great times.
- 3lliot
  
  I also met Loop, Verve, and Perry Farrell whilst working there. sound engineering is a great job.
Dan Selzer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3X_beHrwOk
swlabr

I am hearing more of a Kraftwerk/Stereolab vibe here than old blues/gospel, but that’s okay.

My favourite Spacemen 3 song is their swell cover of Red Crayola’s ‘Transparent Radiation’.