This...is Radio Spiritualized

[throb]

Hi,

So, I host a show on a (very) local community radio station based in deepestr, darkest Somerset. Normally the show focusses on IDM & electronica but I've been given the go-ahead to record a one-off two hour show all about Spiritualized. A potted history of the band, selected tracks etc. etc.

I'm quite excited about this and want to do the best job I can. I need your help! What tracks would you play? Which milestones would you talk about? Any ideas greatfully received (I'll give you a shout out that you probably wouldn't hear as well!)

Thanks in anticipation

Peace and love

(Th)Rob

[The Dr]

bookend the show between the two (album/elvis) different versions of ladies and gents!

[plastic37]

Wow!
Great project.
No pressure!

I wouldn't be able to resist the temptation to spend a while going on about the background of mid 80s indie and how Spacemen 3 briefly shone yet continue to radiate. The story of the band's demise is a great messy tale - love, drugs, egos, the music business.

Milestones - errr... I've never thought of Spiritualized in terms of milestones or eras but i guess that The Royal Albert Hall gig in 1997 is something you could focus on. Perhaps the formation of the band as a milestone in Jason's career.

The LAGWAFIS gigs might be worth focusing on.

If i were to tell my story of the history of Spiritualized i suppose i'd inevitably end up focusing on the gigs i attended. How they were different in 199X/20YY/201Z etc Maybe my personal stories from the gigs cos i think you might have trouble telling your audience anything that isn't already out there unless its unique to you. I'm sure you have a few good Spiritualized associated gig going yarns.

Talk about the record sleeves - the special packaging - that'll make for interesting radio.

[plastic37]

As you are in Somerset why not use the various Glastonbury appearances as a device to split it up?
Get a quote from an Eavis.

[mojo filters]

As you are in Somerset why not use the various Glastonbury appearances as a device to split it up?
Get a quote from an Eavis.

I like that as a structure - it gives you a degree of conventional chronology, with some space for artistic licence and journalistic verve.

The 1992 live Glastonbury "Shine A Light" would be good for the 1st full track, as it has the signature live sound of the band from back then until the present (ie one of the few things that's still consistent with how the band was 20+ years ago).

Then you can contrast the quintessential live versions of "Shine A Light" with the original album track, as a neat and oblique way in to the whole area of how live performance has always been so important to the Spiritualized dynamic (as referenced so many times by Jason).

Whilst the last RAH gig was my second favourite Spz gig, I think those gigs get mentioned by lazy journalists for the wrong reasons (such as a shorthand for saying "this band can actually fill the smallest truly iconic venue in London"). Also by far the worst Spz gig I saw was on the LAGWAFIS tour with that incarnation of the band - the 1997 recording is not a fair reflection of the band at the time, it benefits too much from the extra musicians plus overdubs, polish etc.

I'd be tempted to avoid any cliche stuff such as "formed from the ashes of perennial underachiving space rockers Spaceman 3" stuff. I personally would not bother even mentioning AWTYWM as it's a pretty boring "milestone" in the band's history.

I'd also not mention the oft-repeated story of the illness in 2005. It really irritated me when professional music writers were still referring to that when interviewing J / reviewing Sweet Heart, Sweet Light - the 2005 Evolution Festival gig is far more worthy of note, Jason was in fine form that night - and as a grateful fan that's far more significant to me.

Anyways good luck - you have a job ahead if you I'm quite envious of. As a habitual Radio 4 listener since childhood, I often dream of how I would do in translating my skill and experience writing about music to the radio documentary format, hence I consider you very lucky!

[mojo filters]

bookend the show between the two (album/elvis) different versions of ladies and gents!

Would you bookend a Verve documentary with "Bittersweet Symphony"?

[The Dr]

bookend the show between the two (album/elvis) different versions of ladies and gents!

Would you bookend a Verve documentary with "Bittersweet Symphony"?

...one seems to be a defining statement of a band and the other is just a song that got popular...

[mojo filters]

bookend the show between the two (album/elvis) different versions of ladies and gents!

Would you bookend a Verve documentary with "Bittersweet Symphony"?

...one seems to be a defining statement of a band and the other is just a song that got popular...

No offence intended, but I struggle to make sense of that!

If Ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space is "the defining statement of a band" - how do you account for the implicit failure in that "statement" to represent the iconic Spiritualized guitar sound - from the distorted riff that introduces Hey Jane to the blooming arpegios that accompany Lay it down slow ... all from (the original Seth Lover-designed pair of humbucking Wide Range pickups that contribute to) Jason's preferred guitar - the '72 Thinline Telecaster, the sound we all know, love and recognise...

Whilst the lyrical content may be a good representation of the common language used across the whole Spiritualized canon, through every iteration of the band - from the early demos of Walking With Jesus to the quite recent and magnificently epic So long...

... I think a comparison of any and all versions of LAGWAFIS, from the rare Mercury promos featuring the "Elvis" lyric, to the beautiful Acoustic Mainlines versions - where a previously underrated song (Anything More) made a beautiful pathway into that track - this as a whole still is not properly representative of the totality of the band's output, nor it's range - but I admit it makes for an easy peg on which lazy journalists, lacking the prerequisite familiarity with all the band's work, can metaphorically hang a rather trite signature that then allows members of the public to make an easy and false assumption!

I understand there are a number of ways to skin the proverbial cat - but in this case the most time-efficient and effective would surely be preferred ... when one takes something one loves and presents it to the general public, is it not better to ensure that what one presents is accurate, so as not to confuse an audience one is inherently attempting to help?

[The Dr]

i meant more in the sense that it is the tone of the band, in my opinion, as in an entity which exists seperate to the 'normal' world and creates its own rules and world, but yes from your point you are correct

[natty]

Play the 13 minute version of Feel So Sad. Best thing they ever recorded. And it'll take up almost 1/8 of your show.

[BzaInSpace]

Personally I would go for what Charlie Parker said: "we let the music speak for itself"...

Natty's suggestion above is a great place to start!

[heisenberg]

I'd have to put Anyway That You Want Me on there. I know it's not much loved around here, but I happen to love it.

Chronologically, here's what I'd be starting with, and would probably have to whittle down due to length and for clarity. I daren't try rearrange this list into a running order for my own hypothetical radio show, as it's not required of me to do so (thankfully!). I feel displaying my selection this way shows my choices in a manner that's clear for the fan to analyse, and probably moreso highlights my glaring omissions!. It also might allow some chat/discussion/scorn to follow. Anyway...

Anyway That You Want Me (original single)
Feel So Sad (ideally 13 minute version)
Run (album version)
Shine A Light (album or live 92)
Take Good Care of It (Live version),
Medication (Pure Phase)
Let it Flow (PP)
Spread Your Wings (PP)
Ladies and Gentlemen (re recorded album version)
Electricity (Album)
Cool waves (album)
Do it all over again (album)
On Fire (Live/complete works vol 2 version)
Don't Just Do Something
Ballad of Richie Lee (Album version)
Cheapster (album version)
Rated X (Cheapster b-side version)
Sitting on Fire (iTunes festival version)
You Lie You Cheat (album version)
Don't Hold Me Close (album version)
Goodnight Goodnight (preferably a good Acoustic Mainline version with full Daniel Johnston outro, but the album version might suit just fine)
Hey Jane (album version)
I am What I am (album)
The Bridge Song (space project)

And to end....my favourite song of Jason's

All of my Tears (probably KCRW 2008 (?) version).

I must have omitted about 10 tracks to administer some kind of discipline.
I wouldn't repeat any songs as there's far too much good stuff to get through as it is. And didn't the man himself say one of the reasons he got tired of Spacemen 3 was playing the same song twice in one night?

[shalloboi]

I'd have to put Anyway That You Want Me on there. I know it's not much loved around here, but I happen to love it.

Chronologically, here's what I'd be starting with, and would probably have to whittle down due to length and for clarity. I daren't try rearrange this list into a running order for my own hypothetical radio show, as it's not required of me to do so (thankfully!). I feel displaying my selection this way shows my choices in a manner that's clear for the fan to analyse, and probably moreso highlights my glaring omissions!. It also might allow some chat/discussion/scorn to follow. Anyway...

Anyway That You Want Me (original single)
Feel So Sad (ideally 13 minute version)
Run (album version)
Shine A Light (album or live 92)
Take Good Care of It (Live version),
Medication (Pure Phase)
Let it Flow (PP)
Spread Your Wings (PP)
Ladies and Gentlemen (re recorded album version)
Electricity (Album)
Cool waves (album)
Do it all over again (album)
On Fire (Live/complete works vol 2 version)
Don't Just Do Something
Ballad of Richie Lee (Album version)
Cheapster (album version)
Rated X (Cheapster b-side version)
Sitting on Fire (iTunes festival version)
You Lie You Cheat (album version)
Don't Hold Me Close (album version)
Goodnight Goodnight (preferably a good Acoustic Mainline version with full Daniel Johnston outro, but the album version might suit just fine)
Hey Jane (album version)
I am What I am (album)
The Bridge Song (space project)

And to end....my favourite song of Jason's

All of my Tears (probably KCRW 2008 (?) version).

I must have omitted about 10 tracks to administer some kind of discipline.
I wouldn't repeat any songs as there's far too much good stuff to get through as it is. And didn't the man himself say one of the reasons he got tired of Spacemen 3 was playing the same song twice in one night?

this is pretty much exactly what i would play- i'd probably swap 'run' for 'angel sigh' or 'sway,' i'd try and fit in that 10-minute RAH live version of 'i think i'm in love,' and i'd probably play 'the waves crash in' instead of 'don't hold me close' but that's pretty much exactly what i'd play.

[herman]

Nice set, but I would definetly pop in "Stay with me", the New York LAGWAFIS show 2010 version.
Just thinking about that song gives me goosepimps!
And, I'm still a sucker for "Lay it down slow", a song not very popular on this board, but I allways loved that one.

[angelsighs]

why such controversy over selecting the Ladies & Gentlemen title track? it's hardly a Bittersweet Symphony style oddball in their discography. I guess it doesn't show their noisy/chaotic side but I'm pretty confident it's a pillar of their canon, surely?
we could argue all day about personal favourites but the list above looks pretty good to me. all you gotta do it make sure you cover all the bases- the lullabies, the rockers, the noise and the gospel etc etc

[natty]

Might be interesting to chuck one or two bits of Jason's remix work in there too if you've got them, just for some variety.

This is excellent:

LFO - Tied Up (Spiritualized Electric Mainline mix) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImKvcsX0ZwY

as is this:

Global Communication - Maiden Voyage (Spiritualized Mix) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j37wEkzsGlo

[coffeepotman]

I've never heard those 2 remixes, they are both excellent!

[The Dr]

why such controversy over selecting the Ladies & Gentlemen title track?

it's popular...

[niamhm]

why such controversy over selecting the Ladies & Gentlemen title track?

it's popular...

Its not controversial in its inclusion, its the implication I suppose of bookending the show with it, personally, if were using the bookending idea, I say Electric Phase, its not my defining song , but its a cool noise to hang sections/different periods on, maybe fade it back up a few times at appropriate points in the show, and not forgetting Electric Mainline, plus you would have to mention the fantastic artwork Jason brings to his work,

[ro]

Electric Phase ... and not forgetting Electric Mainline

I think so too.
endless cycles: key to some of the best Spiritualized sounds.
where would this band be without them?

plus you would have to mention the fantastic artwork Jason brings to his work

yah. A Spz record is the sum of its parts.

Have fun!
are you going to document the show?

[plastic37]

Another idea.
Get one of your bottle of scotch/40 a day mates to read the R Hunter Gibson quote from the first lp sleeve notes as the intro.

You know it's true.

The lilting intro track plays in the background...

Get her reading it over that slide in...

Maybe not all of it but do include: "...express from Rugby via the heavens" - there's your title right there!

What could i
do...

Then go all Smashy and Nicey in a cod Raaadio stylee intro to break the back of the pretension. .

I really like what Bill Drummond does with media requests. When he is contacted by producers for a contribution for a programme he sends them a 60 second piece. They might not want a 60 second piece so they can take it or leave it. I reckon that there are folks out there who would provide you with a 60 second MP3 of them talking about Spiritualized. And from those contributions you could shape something really interesting. And i am sure that some of those contributions from people on this board would be as interesting as those from NAMES.

I would urge you to stray away from playing full tracks and collect some interesting testimony. Give us something we won't hear anywhere else.

[The Dr]

why such controversy over selecting the Ladies & Gentlemen title track?

it's popular...

Its not controversial in its inclusion, its the implication I suppose of bookending the show with it, personally, if were using the bookending idea, I say Electric Phase, its not my defining song , but its a cool noise to hang sections/different periods on, maybe fade it back up a few times at appropriate points in the show, ,

nice!

[clewsr]

I made a playlist for my kids which by coincidence included always together with you followed by the extended version of anyway that you want me.

The lyrics of the songs are of course different, but the essentially the songs are the saying same thing.

The effect is quite startling!

Anyway that you want me has all the boyish optimism of youth, while always together is sung by someone much older who has perhaps lost that optimism but still has the same desire, maybe desperation to be together.

Anyway, I think they work well together and it struck me after listening that including this most recent song, followed by the first would be a good segment. Although it would of course screw up any attempt to do the show in chronological order.