Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

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olan
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Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by olan »

Not sure if this is the right bit of the board for this thread. Nice article though....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2 ... sicmonthly
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by Zenchan »

And the importance of 'realness; in his art, caused Pierce to turn down a large undisclosed fee to reform Spacemen 3 to play festivals this year.
My oh my . . .
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by spzretent »

''I mean, I would have liked to go and watch the battle of Waterloo when it happened but that doesn't mean I'm going to go and sit in a field somewhere and watch people act it out.''

Did you not think this follow up quote was more telling and actually pretty funny too?
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thinline
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by thinline »

what a fantastic interview....need I say more?
Hey man there's a hole in my reason that I gotta close...
SpacemanRob
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by SpacemanRob »

At the end it quotes Mister Lonely being on general release now. Anyone have any news on this?


Thanks
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by sunny »

Hmm yeah, great interview. :D

This bit unfortunately sums up my own lack of motivation/interest in ever finishing any of my tracks... :(
''Everybody thinks the finished product is the most important thing because that's the end result, the bit that everybody gets to see. But by the time the end result goes out, I'm finished with it, you know, I'm never going to listen to it again. But I had to somehow get it finished."
'Come and rock and roll me over, Let's get this damn job over.'
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by Horrorflick »

I loved Spacemen3, but I wouldn't want to see them now for the same reason I didn't go see Bauhaus for the eighteenth time during their last go or the Police, Led Zeppelin or the Who with whomever that jazz douche was taking over on bass for Entwistle. It's not the same thing anymore, why drag a corpse out into the sun to rot? Artists with any kind of integrity know when it's time to move on. If you had a gun to my head, I couldn't care any less about when "Guns and Roses" is supposed to release a "new" album. Didn't they try to throw a whole bunch of money at Morrissey to play with the Smiths again? He's ten times better on his own, and his success proves it.
spzretent
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by spzretent »

well it wasn't exactly the most amicable split in music history.

and I totaly beg to differ about Morrissey being better as a solo act. The Smiths were 10 times better. But you are right. I could care less if the Smiths reformed. If they did it would be HUGE!

But that Pixies reunion went down a storm didn't it?
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thinline
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by thinline »

Stone Roses reunion anyone? :lol:
Hey man there's a hole in my reason that I gotta close...
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by Horrorflick »

spzretent wrote:well it wasn't exactly the most amicable split in music history.

and I totaly beg to differ about Morrissey being better as a solo act. The Smiths were 10 times better. But you are right. I could care less if the Smiths reformed. If they did it would be HUGE!

But that Pixies reunion went down a storm didn't it?
I saw them twice when they announced the "sellout" tour, I loved it! Weren't they supposed to record another album or something? (Forgive my being that far out of the loop, Alan, but there hasn't been a whole lot of music I've given a crap about lately.) I think David J was right when he was talking about the Bauhaus reunion: It usually doesn't work out well when bands re-form and record. (It's fine if it's just a nostalgia-bucks tour, they can make bucketloads of money on them shits...) I do beg to differ, the Smiths were able sidemen, there's no questioning that, but Morrissey was the one writing those songs, and he is just as prolific a lyricist today.
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by Horrorflick »

thinline wrote:Stone Roses reunion anyone? :lol:
No. (Didn't they already try that?) I kinda dig some of Ian Brown's solo stuff, even if he is slightly tone-deaf...
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by mkb »

Horrorflick wrote:the Smiths were able sidemen
I'd say that you're damning them with faint praise here, especially Marr.
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by Fuzzhead »

Horrorflick wrote:the Smiths were able sidemen, there's no questioning that.
That's probably the most ill-informed, ignorant piece of nonsense I've ever read on here - and that's quite a feat.
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by estee »

i didnt think i could get anymore excited about the release of songs in a&e until i read "The sleeve, which features photography by Anton Corbijn"
great portrait shots by perou too
roll on the 26th may !!!
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by spazed99 »

Unfortunately the Anton Corbijn mention was a mistake, the sleeve however was designed by Farrow.
moop
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by moop »

spazed99 wrote:Unfortunately the Anton Corbijn mention was a mistake.
nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
estee
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by estee »

im still excited anyway :D
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by spzretent »

Horrorflick wrote:the Smiths were able sidemen, there's no questioning that, but Morrissey was the one writing those songs, and he is just as prolific a lyricist today.
For those of us who witnessed a Smiths show live, they were simply THEE MOST UNDERRATED live band of their era imho(discalimer). For whatever reason they were not really known as a great live act at least in any reviews I ever read. I used to take the UK weeklies with a grain of salt at the time so I probably missed the live reviews in NME & MM.

And that was a result of all 4 members working together and more significantly Johnny Marr's guitar.

Now the fact Morrissey wrote most of the songs may overshadow that fact a bit but they were an incredibly powerful live band that they are not given credit for.
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mkb
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by mkb »

spzretent wrote:Now the fact Morrissey wrote most of the songs...

I'm no expert on the Smiths, but I always thought that most (if not all) of the songs were co-written with Marr. Am I mistaken there?
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by warmgun. »

Too bad that Corbijn's photography isn't gracing the inner sleeve - it would have meant the marriage of several of my favourite musicians, designers and photographers. I'm sure it will be a beautiful package all the same - inside and out!
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by bunnyben »

mkb wrote:
spzretent wrote:Now the fact Morrissey wrote most of the songs...

I'm no expert on the Smiths, but I always thought that most (if not all) of the songs were co-written with Marr. Am I mistaken there?
marr music, lyrics patrick
'raging and weeping are left on the early road
now each in his holy hill
the glittering and hurting days are alomst done
then let us compare mythologies
i have learned my elaborate lie
of soaring crosses and poisened thorns'
angelsighs
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by angelsighs »

mkb wrote:
spzretent wrote:Now the fact Morrissey wrote most of the songs...

I'm no expert on the Smiths, but I always thought that most (if not all) of the songs were co-written with Marr. Am I mistaken there?
He probably means the lyrics and melody, which for some people is 'the song'. But the fact is Morrissey came up with his best melodies when working against Marr's unique soundscapes. His solo band meanwhile barely achieve 'servicable' in my opinion.

Im a big Smiths fan and i've never really been under the impression that they were a great live act. All the evidence i've got (live stuff on Hatful of Hollow, a bootleg DVD and the Rank album) hardly make a great case.


Anyway, love the article. This bit makes the album sound amazing:

Happily, Pierce can still make belligerent music too. The opener, 'Sweet Talk Like an Angel', seems to be about Bush and Iraq: 'And you say where'd you stand on the war? / Well, you stand right where you stood before / As far from the bullets and bombs as they fall.' Throughout the album there are interludes of church chimes, otherworldly beeps and odd noises. In places it could be mistaken for an album of elevator music made for funeral homes and released on electronic label Warp. It is quite a trip.


Funnily enough I remember J coming up with that little witticism about 'where do you stand on the war' in an interview around the Amazing Grace time.
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by bunnyben »

sunny wrote:Hmm yeah, great interview. :D

This bit unfortunately sums up my own lack of motivation/interest in ever finishing any of my tracks... :(
''Everybody thinks the finished product is the most important thing because that's the end result, the bit that everybody gets to see. But by the time the end result goes out, I'm finished with it, you know, I'm never going to listen to it again. But I had to somehow get it finished."
hey

whats this from?

'I was a barren wasted land...' cheers. google dosen't know as usual, useless!
'raging and weeping are left on the early road
now each in his holy hill
the glittering and hurting days are alomst done
then let us compare mythologies
i have learned my elaborate lie
of soaring crosses and poisened thorns'
spzretent
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by spzretent »

angelsighs wrote:
Im a big Smiths fan and i've never really been under the impression that they were a great live act. All the evidence i've got (live stuff on Hatful of Hollow, a bootleg DVD and the Rank album) hardly make a great case.
Therein lies part of the issue. I think this is a case where maybe you had to see them live to witness the power that came off the stage. Rank doesn't convey that at all. No live stuff i've seen or heard does. And I would also say I wasn't a huge Smiths fan. So thats not what this is about. Its just something I feel is overlooked about The Smiths.
Maybe someone else who posts here saw them and they could either agree or disagree with me.
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sunny
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by sunny »

bunnyben wrote: hey

whats this from?

'I was a barren wasted land...' cheers. google dosen't know as usual, useless!

Ooh, yes it's from what is turning out to be one of my favourite records ever... the band is 'Smokey and his Sister', a folk duo from around '67. From Cincinnati and then N.Y. It was given to me ('Come And Be Mine' in specific) and I'm not the most soppy or romantic of souls but it totally melted me. It is very, very sweet. It would be sickly so if it wasn't for it's fragility and what comes across as total childlike sincerity. I'd highly recommend it. The re-release CD can be easily bought, but the original Vinyl LP is something of a rarity.

You can check out snippets on Amazon. As for the lyrics I have not been able to find them anywhere online. My quote is from what I think I hear them singing. The actual song is 'Creators of Rain'. But I could have quoted any of them (I think my previous quote was one of theirs too).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Smokey-His-Sist ... 795&sr=8-1

http://playitagainmax.blogspot.com/2006 ... -1967.html

Sorry everyone for the long non-Spz post. I'm very enthusiastic about this record... :D
'Come and rock and roll me over, Let's get this damn job over.'
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by bunnyben »

sunny wrote:
bunnyben wrote: hey

whats this from?

'I was a barren wasted land...' cheers. google dosen't know as usual, useless!

Ooh, yes it's from what is turning out to be one of my favourite records ever... the band is 'Smokey and his Sister', a folk duo from around '67. From Cincinnati and then N.Y. It was given to me ('Come And Be Mine' in specific) and I'm not the most soppy or romantic of souls but it totally melted me. It is very, very sweet. It would be sickly so if it wasn't for it's fragility and what comes across as total childlike sincerity. I'd highly recommend it. The re-release CD can be easily bought, but the original Vinyl LP is something of a rarity.

You can check out snippets on Amazon. As for the lyrics I have not been able to find them anywhere online. My quote is from what I think I hear them singing. The actual song is 'Creators of Rain'. But I could have quoted any of them (I think my previous quote was one of theirs too).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Smokey-His-Sist ... 795&sr=8-1

http://playitagainmax.blogspot.com/2006 ... -1967.html

Sorry everyone for the long non-Spz post. I'm very enthusiastic about this record... :D
cheers! i checked on soulseek as i have no money till pay day and could only find two covers, one by cludine longlet and a better cover from ian and slyvia. such a beautiful song! so beautiful! also really digging the mcculloch/dyaln hair do!

http://www.bcb-board.co.uk/phpBB2/viewt ... &sk=t&sd=a

:lol:
'raging and weeping are left on the early road
now each in his holy hill
the glittering and hurting days are alomst done
then let us compare mythologies
i have learned my elaborate lie
of soaring crosses and poisened thorns'
Zenchan
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by Zenchan »

For the record, Jonny Marr wrote all the Smiths music on his own, then gave the tapes to Morrissey who came up with the lyrics on his own.

This is the reason why many of their songs have unusual chorus/verse structures - Morrissey didn't know what was meant to be what of Marrs compositions. There's a famous Marr quote where he said something along the lines of "Our system worked well for the most part, though every now and again what I thought was a beautiful heartfelt guitar composition would come back attached to a song like Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others."
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by Horrorflick »

I guess I really underestimated the fan base for Marr, Joyce and Rourke around here. PTFOOM, it was just an opinion. (Some of us around here have those now and again.) True, Marr and Morrissey were a pretty decent songwriting combo, but for myself, being of a scientific mind and all, I tend to look at things empirically first. Marr+Morrissey and their volume of work is incredible, yes and Andy Rourke is one of the best bassplayers of all time, no doubt. Mike Joyce was a douchebag (for suing Morrissey for all those royalties) and was completely replaceable at any point in the Smiths' career, but I digress. Let's cut to a few years post-Smiths and see what the lads have done lately. Marr: Electronic (!!?), fucked up an audition with (the living) Beatles, the Healers, some session work here and there, blah blah blah. Mike Joyce: Fuck if I know, who gives a fuck? Andy Rourke: Badly drawn Boy, some session work here and there, some "flamenco punk" side project shit that nobody knows about, etc. Morrissey: Hugely successful solo career that consistently sells out arena after arena, a loyal, rabid fanbase (a good percentage of which would probably die/kill for him), a very impressive volume of work that can, at times grate on some listeners, but for the most part contains thoughtful, intelligent lyrics that are (IMHO) beautifully presented and sung by the Moz. In addition to all of this, besides all of Moz's weirdness (vegan, pet peeves, etc.), he has an extremely able backup band who perform (very well, I think) lots of Smiths' cover tune in addition to Morrissey's already impressive repertoir of songs. But hey, what the fuck do I know?

P.S.

I know, all of this crap probably belongs in another thread...
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by runcible »

Horrorflick wrote: Morrissey: Hugely successful solo career that consistently sells out arena after arena, a loyal, rabid fanbase (a good percentage of which would probably die/kill for him), a very impressive volume of work that can, at times grate on some listeners, but for the most part contains thoughtful, intelligent lyrics that are (IMHO) beautifully presented and sung by the Moz. In addition to all of this, besides all of Moz's weirdness (vegan, pet peeves, etc.), he has an extremely able backup band who perform (very well, I think) lots of Smiths' cover tune in addition to Morrissey's already impressive repertoir of songs. But hey, what the fuck do I know?

P.S.

I know, all of this crap probably belongs in another thread...
You seem to be digging a grave of your own here as far as non Moz fans go. Personally I think the guy's music is really boring and my Smiths appreciation is limited to roughly 3 songs (which I regard very highly indeed actually - I wonder if you can spot them), but the Mozman himself comes across as deranged at best and downright horrible as worst. Morrissey fanatics are among the worst obsessional fans in music - far too self-assured and smug to take any other point of view into consideration. 'Tammy and Jim' sold out arena after arena for fuck's sake. As do Nickelback.

The royalties battle is something that made me feel slightly nauseous at the time as it seemed so obvious there was a plan to exclude the rhythm section from the money. So how you can rule that Joyce is an arse when he was obviously ripped off seems a tad blinkered.

Finally I don't find someone being vegan to be terribly 'weird' - vegetarianiasm and veganism are commonplace these days. I happen to eat meat but I work for a company that sells only organic products and we seem to be regarded as fairly normal.
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by SpacemanRob »

For the record, Jonny Marr wrote all the Smiths music on his own, then gave the tapes to Morrissey who came up with the lyrics on his own.
Spot on. However The Smiths, at times, were brilliant live. The Brixton Acacdemy gig was wondrous and the band really tight. A great example of 2 people making a band. Agree Johnny Marr, whilst maybe becoming a good producer, has achieved nothing since the split. Similar to how awful Richard A was as a solo artist. The Moz continues to write great lyrics buts has become lazy with the music. Ever since the split with Vini he has resorted to a real basic backing band and for me this has held back his solo efforts. Still agree with many on the thread that reforming has to be a backward step. This year alone the disappointment of both The Verve & JAMC has re-iterated the point. Hoping to see the same band again left me devastated. Tempted to sell my MBV tickets after these 2 disasters! Thank God Jason has real soul and wont ruin the legacy of SP3.
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by Shaun »

SpacemanRob wrote:
A great example of 2 people making a band. Agree Johnny Marr, whilst maybe becoming a good producer, has achieved nothing since the split...
It isn't all about achievement all of the time though, is it ? Real and genuine sense of fulfilment over huge (or moderate) commercial success can be just as much an achievement and as rewarding too. So he might not achieved huge success after the split but i'm sure that he's very proud of the albums and tour he did with Matt Johnson, and rightly so.
What more can the heart of a man desire?
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by SpacemanRob »

Hi The Jig - Looking back at my post i agree 'achieved' is probably the wrong word. I am not a Smiths obsessive but there albums are still brilliant and still get played in my house every week. Not a fan of Electronic and i don't share your love of The The. However i can assure you i am no commercial junkie and just wish he could hit those wondrous highs of The Smiths. Still, very few bands continually make great albums & i guess that is why we are all still here.

Thanks
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Re: Observer Interview with J. Spaceman

Post by Shaun »

SpacemanRob wrote:Hi The Jig - Looking back at my post i agree 'achieved' is probably the wrong word. I am not a Smiths obsessive but there albums are still brilliant and still get played in my house every week. Not a fan of Electronic and i don't share your love of The The. However i can assure you i am no commercial junkie and just wish he could hit those wondrous highs of The Smiths. Still, very few bands continually make great albums & i guess that is why we are all still here.

Thanks
Rob hello back, what was the quote during Mind Bomb sessions, Johnny just make it sound like Jesus meets the Devil ? In a round-a-bout way that's quite similar to how Spaceman describes his new album. And please Rob, i'd never consider you a commercial junkie.
What more can the heart of a man desire?
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