What I’m trying to do at the moment is go back to our original intent, which is that the standard issue, the one that everybody gets and is available to everybody, is beautiful.
April 25, 2012 1:43 PM Subscribe
Jason Pierce goes through every Spiritualized album sleeve. The Spiritualized sleeves always have a great look to them -- and Jason Pierce sits down with MTV to go through and talk about each of them.
Also, the new video for "Hey Jane" is pretty keen too.
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space miniCD blister pack - genius
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:51 PM on April 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:51 PM on April 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
I personally think the new album cover is hideous. I can't stand it.
posted by blastrid at 2:06 PM on April 25, 2012
posted by blastrid at 2:06 PM on April 25, 2012
Ok what's the deal with the Spiritualized resurgence, I can't ignore it any more.
It probably has something to do with their new album being really good, their best since Ladies & Gentlemen.
..if it wasn't for the way it has been mixed and mastered, IMO...
Which is a shame because I have a feeling that some of the songs on the new record are really worth their while but it all just sounds too mushy with Jason Pierce's vocals way too loud in comparison and delivered as a downcompressed ..something.
And still most of the reviews I've read to "Sweet Heart, Sweet Light" won't even mentioned that.
So I guess there's either something wrong with my hearing or taste or the songs on this are really THAT good that most people didn't mind.
posted by bigendian at 2:07 PM on April 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
It probably has something to do with their new album being really good, their best since Ladies & Gentlemen.
..if it wasn't for the way it has been mixed and mastered, IMO...
Which is a shame because I have a feeling that some of the songs on the new record are really worth their while but it all just sounds too mushy with Jason Pierce's vocals way too loud in comparison and delivered as a downcompressed ..something.
And still most of the reviews I've read to "Sweet Heart, Sweet Light" won't even mentioned that.
So I guess there's either something wrong with my hearing or taste or the songs on this are really THAT good that most people didn't mind.
posted by bigendian at 2:07 PM on April 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
I don't hear anything wrong with the mixing/mastering.
posted by neuromodulator at 2:08 PM on April 25, 2012
posted by neuromodulator at 2:08 PM on April 25, 2012
What item said. Also how the hell does Jason Pierce of all people look like he's heading to his 30th birthday party? He's in his mid-40s and has lived a life that would kill most people several times over.
posted by Blue Meanie at 2:09 PM on April 25, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by Blue Meanie at 2:09 PM on April 25, 2012 [3 favorites]
Friend of mine shot that "Hey Jane" video, I'll pass along your compliments. Great song, too, the best on the album if you ask me.
I don't always like like Spiritualized's album art, but it's always been really eye-catching and original. Now if you'll excuse me, it's been a while since I listened to Lazer Guided Melodies.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 2:10 PM on April 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
I don't always like like Spiritualized's album art, but it's always been really eye-catching and original. Now if you'll excuse me, it's been a while since I listened to Lazer Guided Melodies.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 2:10 PM on April 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
Ha, they don't mention this, but it just occurred to me for the first time that this sleeve pointed lacks a, er, sleeve.
posted by koeselitz at 2:14 PM on April 25, 2012
posted by koeselitz at 2:14 PM on April 25, 2012
Anyway, for me, I like all their albums, and they all have little gems here and there, but the peak was absolutely the LGM/Medication EP/Pure Phase run. Pretty much my favorite music of all time.
Also, I went to London for the first two L&G entire-album shows a couple of years back, so if there's any others from the Spiritualized boards here (modlab, etc.) ... hi.
Spiritualized is on tour now and if they are playing near you I highly recommend going.
Finally, I've been considering making a mega-Spiritualized post since for years, and the meat of it was going to be the most excellent moshcam show. Enjoy.
posted by neuromodulator at 2:24 PM on April 25, 2012
Also, I went to London for the first two L&G entire-album shows a couple of years back, so if there's any others from the Spiritualized boards here (modlab, etc.) ... hi.
Spiritualized is on tour now and if they are playing near you I highly recommend going.
Finally, I've been considering making a mega-Spiritualized post since for years, and the meat of it was going to be the most excellent moshcam show. Enjoy.
posted by neuromodulator at 2:24 PM on April 25, 2012
Hm. I may have to give the new one a listen, but Ladies and Gentlemen is where Spiritualized starting going downhill for me - I can handle some songs that are utter chaos, but L&G tipped the balance a little too far, which is a shame, because if the middle section was just a bit shorter "Cop Shoot Cop" would be one of my favorite songs ever. And I don't know why I'm that way with Spiritualized, but I can sit there completely entranced by the whole of "The Diamond Sea" by Sonic Youth.
Anyway, I used to regularly visit some friends of mine in Irvine, basically 80 miles north on the freeway from my place. On the way home, usually on a Sunday night, I'd play Pure Phase, which, if I was able to maintain a speed of just over 80 mph the whole way back would perfectly coincide with the length of the drive, and "Feel Like Goin' Home" would end as I was pulling into the garage of my apartment building. I only hit the mark once or twice, but if felt like an accomplishment of some sort to do so. It's a great album for nighttime freeway driving.
I saw them live back in '04 or so, and they're playing here in a month or so, but I doubt I'll be able to afford it.
On preview, I pretty much agree with neuromodulator.
posted by LionIndex at 2:27 PM on April 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
Anyway, I used to regularly visit some friends of mine in Irvine, basically 80 miles north on the freeway from my place. On the way home, usually on a Sunday night, I'd play Pure Phase, which, if I was able to maintain a speed of just over 80 mph the whole way back would perfectly coincide with the length of the drive, and "Feel Like Goin' Home" would end as I was pulling into the garage of my apartment building. I only hit the mark once or twice, but if felt like an accomplishment of some sort to do so. It's a great album for nighttime freeway driving.
I saw them live back in '04 or so, and they're playing here in a month or so, but I doubt I'll be able to afford it.
On preview, I pretty much agree with neuromodulator.
posted by LionIndex at 2:27 PM on April 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
Ah LGM is one of my all time favorite albums. The artwork really set it apart and I still get a warm feeling it.
posted by borges at 2:34 PM on April 25, 2012
posted by borges at 2:34 PM on April 25, 2012
I have a glow in the dark Electric Mainline t-shirt from way back. Seeing Jason again next month... and agree with most here that nothing beats the run from LGM to LAGWAFIS.
posted by grimley at 2:46 PM on April 25, 2012
posted by grimley at 2:46 PM on April 25, 2012
The EP versions of Medication and Let it Flow ... nothing is as good as those two. I don't even mean musically, I mean in existence.
The Ladies and Gents shows were rather amazing. And not because of it being the album - I felt like losing the surprise of what song was playing next was a real loss with Spiritualized, and no Walk with Jesus or Shine a Light? Fuck that. BUT BUT BUT: when Ladies and Gents started, I feel like a good %25 of the room, myself included, started spontaneously crying, and it was amazing to be a part of that. I'm sitting there, having crossed the world to get to this show, and that song starts, and suddenly there's tears rolling down my face and I'm all "WTF Am I crying?" and then I realize the guy two seats down from me is too and then I glance back and freakin' everybody was crying. It was beautiful.
LionIndex, the Vancouver show was only like $20 so you should definitely check pricing wherever you are.
posted by neuromodulator at 3:00 PM on April 25, 2012
The Ladies and Gents shows were rather amazing. And not because of it being the album - I felt like losing the surprise of what song was playing next was a real loss with Spiritualized, and no Walk with Jesus or Shine a Light? Fuck that. BUT BUT BUT: when Ladies and Gents started, I feel like a good %25 of the room, myself included, started spontaneously crying, and it was amazing to be a part of that. I'm sitting there, having crossed the world to get to this show, and that song starts, and suddenly there's tears rolling down my face and I'm all "WTF Am I crying?" and then I realize the guy two seats down from me is too and then I glance back and freakin' everybody was crying. It was beautiful.
LionIndex, the Vancouver show was only like $20 so you should definitely check pricing wherever you are.
posted by neuromodulator at 3:00 PM on April 25, 2012
The Spiritualized sleeves always have a great look to them
If you say so.
posted by davebush at 3:08 PM on April 25, 2012
If you say so.
posted by davebush at 3:08 PM on April 25, 2012
LionIndex, the Vancouver show was only like $20 so you should definitely check pricing wherever you are.
Same here. It's just that tight for me at the moment. Also, the venue they're playing at is a good 20 miles away, which basically means the cost is significantly increased with gas prices.
posted by LionIndex at 3:09 PM on April 25, 2012
Same here. It's just that tight for me at the moment. Also, the venue they're playing at is a good 20 miles away, which basically means the cost is significantly increased with gas prices.
posted by LionIndex at 3:09 PM on April 25, 2012
I remember being hugely excited about the prospect of Let It Come Down. Then I realised the packaging looked like a flattened polystyrene Big Mac case.
posted by hnnrs at 3:13 PM on April 25, 2012
posted by hnnrs at 3:13 PM on April 25, 2012
God I have loved Jason Spaceman since long before Spiritualized. I too have been considering the ultimate Spiritualized megapost. At the top of mine is the full length HD video of him playing an acoustic outdoor show with a choir and orchestra in Iceland which I cannot unfortunately link to because YouTube's blocked at work. Also I should be working. I would also recommend the biography on Kindle.
I loved the artwork for Ladies and Gentlemen but the rest is kind of whatever. But I can still remember the instant the meaning of the title Lazer Guided Melodies hit me like a diamond bullet right in the center of my forehead -- I was lying on my girlfriend's couch, 1992, baked out of my gourd, staring at her even then antiquated CD player with a laser light warning sticker. Of course! Lazer Guided Melodies!
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 3:47 PM on April 25, 2012
I loved the artwork for Ladies and Gentlemen but the rest is kind of whatever. But I can still remember the instant the meaning of the title Lazer Guided Melodies hit me like a diamond bullet right in the center of my forehead -- I was lying on my girlfriend's couch, 1992, baked out of my gourd, staring at her even then antiquated CD player with a laser light warning sticker. Of course! Lazer Guided Melodies!
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 3:47 PM on April 25, 2012
Also, it's too bad live albums were disqualified, because this is not only the best one, but possibly one of the best album covers ever.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 3:50 PM on April 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 3:50 PM on April 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
More content from my mega-post that never was - a ridiculous library of live bootlegs.
posted by neuromodulator at 3:57 PM on April 25, 2012
posted by neuromodulator at 3:57 PM on April 25, 2012
"We got as close as we could for safety to the center of the eruption, and set up our equipment and our cameras. Then a man in a silver spacesuit marched up to where we were — and kept on walking."
posted by cjorgensen at 4:27 PM on April 25, 2012
posted by cjorgensen at 4:27 PM on April 25, 2012
Spiritualized sleeves, from Lazer Guided Melodies through to Let It Come Down were all wonderful. The Pure Phase glow in the dark one in particular - though there's nowt better to freak out one of your tripping friends than the inverse face relief of Let It Come Down; I still have a four foot square version of it somewhere that was made for record shop windows, and it scared the absolute piss out of my then flatmate when she encountered it for the first time.
Also: they're not my favourite band (though I do love them) but live, they can be a staggering proposition. The first time I saw Spiritualized live was on a joint tour with Mercury Rev and it was a brain-meltingly brilliant experience, all strobe lights and acid-drenched feedback. The third time I saw them was one of the most boring gigs I've ever stood through, a big, long, self indulgent two hours of sludge. The fifth or sixth time I saw them (heavily stoned, which most definitely helped) they were a howling blizzard of guitar noise. But the second time I saw them remains one of the best gigs that I've ever seen. I was sat with my girlfriend one evening listening to the radio, the old Evening Session on Radio One, and Steve Lamacq said "so tonight we've Got something a bit special, a live show from Spiritualized in Glasgow, playing songs from their forthcoming album, Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating In Space . They're on in about an hour, so if you can get down there, I would do." We jumped in a cab, headed for King Tut's, paid a fiver each, and good god, it was astounding.
King Tut's is a small venue, about a 200 capacity; the last time they'd played venues this small was just after they'd formed. Thighpaulsandra was debuting on woozy keyboards; Jason was wobbly and ragged of voice but the whole thing just fucking meshed. They played Sway, which descended into this big, lurching groove for about five minutes, before kicking into Shine A Light. But - contra to what LionIndex said above- Cop Shoot Cop was IMMENSE. It starts off as a Dr John shuffling blues., and builds and builds and builds and the strobes flash and it gets noisier and then it all devolves into massive squalling feedbacking queasy noise and someone bangs out a bar of God Save The Queen somewhere in the murk and it just keeps getting more and more ferocious and you think that this is now just atonal noise, free of key and melody and most of all time signature. And then. And then, the band making this massive, earsplitting cacophony, which owes as much to timing and melody as does the average burst of radio static, all catch each others' eyes as they destroy their instruments, and BANG! They turn on a sixpence and simultaneously lock into the groove of Think I'm In Love. It really was like watching a group of people with some weird, alchemical connection.
posted by Len at 4:35 PM on April 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
Also: they're not my favourite band (though I do love them) but live, they can be a staggering proposition. The first time I saw Spiritualized live was on a joint tour with Mercury Rev and it was a brain-meltingly brilliant experience, all strobe lights and acid-drenched feedback. The third time I saw them was one of the most boring gigs I've ever stood through, a big, long, self indulgent two hours of sludge. The fifth or sixth time I saw them (heavily stoned, which most definitely helped) they were a howling blizzard of guitar noise. But the second time I saw them remains one of the best gigs that I've ever seen. I was sat with my girlfriend one evening listening to the radio, the old Evening Session on Radio One, and Steve Lamacq said "so tonight we've Got something a bit special, a live show from Spiritualized in Glasgow, playing songs from their forthcoming album, Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating In Space . They're on in about an hour, so if you can get down there, I would do." We jumped in a cab, headed for King Tut's, paid a fiver each, and good god, it was astounding.
King Tut's is a small venue, about a 200 capacity; the last time they'd played venues this small was just after they'd formed. Thighpaulsandra was debuting on woozy keyboards; Jason was wobbly and ragged of voice but the whole thing just fucking meshed. They played Sway, which descended into this big, lurching groove for about five minutes, before kicking into Shine A Light. But - contra to what LionIndex said above- Cop Shoot Cop was IMMENSE. It starts off as a Dr John shuffling blues., and builds and builds and builds and the strobes flash and it gets noisier and then it all devolves into massive squalling feedbacking queasy noise and someone bangs out a bar of God Save The Queen somewhere in the murk and it just keeps getting more and more ferocious and you think that this is now just atonal noise, free of key and melody and most of all time signature. And then. And then, the band making this massive, earsplitting cacophony, which owes as much to timing and melody as does the average burst of radio static, all catch each others' eyes as they destroy their instruments, and BANG! They turn on a sixpence and simultaneously lock into the groove of Think I'm In Love. It really was like watching a group of people with some weird, alchemical connection.
posted by Len at 4:35 PM on April 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
Heh. The reason why I came to love L&G is because the weird omnipresent tone in the back of Pure Phase bugs me if I don't remember to ignore it, and my old copy of LGM had everything as one track, so I couldn't ever go to the songs I preferred or put it (easily) on mix tapes. So L&G was where I really got it.
(Then a proselytizing buddy forced me to listen to Spacemen 3 and I found that I love them even more — their Rollercoaster cover is maybe my favorite song ever).
posted by klangklangston at 7:15 PM on April 25, 2012
(Then a proselytizing buddy forced me to listen to Spacemen 3 and I found that I love them even more — their Rollercoaster cover is maybe my favorite song ever).
posted by klangklangston at 7:15 PM on April 25, 2012
Spiritualized, live in Reykjavik, Acoustic Mainline, in HD. 1 hour and 5 minutes playing live outside in a park with a choir and string section. His cover of Daniel Johnston's True Love Will Find You in the End at 9:05 is probably the most heartbreakingly beautiful piece of music I've ever heard.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 8:24 PM on April 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 8:24 PM on April 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
Friend of mine shot that "Hey Jane" video, I'll pass along your compliments.
Pass along mine, while you're at it. Seriously one of the most intense, beautiful and unsettling music videos I've ever seen (aside: needs an NSFW tag).
posted by troubles at 9:36 PM on April 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
Pass along mine, while you're at it. Seriously one of the most intense, beautiful and unsettling music videos I've ever seen (aside: needs an NSFW tag).
posted by troubles at 9:36 PM on April 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
Also how the hell does Jason Pierce of all people look like he's heading to his 30th birthday party? He's in his mid-40s and has lived a life that would kill most people several times over.
Indeed, he came damn close to dying in 2005. And I've read over and over that he was going through "chemotherapy" while recording Sweet Heart. Cancer seems never to be mentioned, I'm wondering if it was interferon for hepatitis C...
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:56 PM on April 25, 2012
Indeed, he came damn close to dying in 2005. And I've read over and over that he was going through "chemotherapy" while recording Sweet Heart. Cancer seems never to be mentioned, I'm wondering if it was interferon for hepatitis C...
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:56 PM on April 25, 2012
The Spiritualized sleeves always have a great look to them
If you say so.
posted by davebush at 6:08 PM on April 25 [+] [!]
Yeah, I say so too. A lot of people say so. Because it's true.
It's some of the most beautiful, detail-oriented, and complementary-to-the-music packaging out there.
Here's a link with some more information about it.
posted by ghastlyfop at 9:50 AM on April 26, 2012
If you say so.
posted by davebush at 6:08 PM on April 25 [+] [!]
Yeah, I say so too. A lot of people say so. Because it's true.
It's some of the most beautiful, detail-oriented, and complementary-to-the-music packaging out there.
Here's a link with some more information about it.
posted by ghastlyfop at 9:50 AM on April 26, 2012
Posting for obvious reasons.
I last saw them during the Pure Phase tour. It was spellbinding. The stage was set in complete darkness. The music commenced amidst a torrent of light and noise, silhouetting the band and creating an amazing visual effects on stage.
They played for an hour or an eternity. Alternating between 1 to 50 people on stage, the sound was overwhelming. Time simultaneously slowed and sped-up. A friend fell ill while I felt transformed. He still speaks positively of the show.
At the end, the lights went down. Scurrying noises were heard. When the lights came up, the stage was empty. We were left dazed and uncomfortable. As if a movie had just ended. Shuffling out, I heard nervous laughter.
I can't wait to see them on this tour.
posted by purephase at 11:58 PM on April 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
I last saw them during the Pure Phase tour. It was spellbinding. The stage was set in complete darkness. The music commenced amidst a torrent of light and noise, silhouetting the band and creating an amazing visual effects on stage.
They played for an hour or an eternity. Alternating between 1 to 50 people on stage, the sound was overwhelming. Time simultaneously slowed and sped-up. A friend fell ill while I felt transformed. He still speaks positively of the show.
At the end, the lights went down. Scurrying noises were heard. When the lights came up, the stage was empty. We were left dazed and uncomfortable. As if a movie had just ended. Shuffling out, I heard nervous laughter.
I can't wait to see them on this tour.
posted by purephase at 11:58 PM on April 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
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