(November 2022) Episode 450 is SPACEMEN 3. They’re labeled neo-psychedelic (perhaps for their ample drug use) but I hear them as noise rock — a transformative band, molding elements of MC5, the Stooges and Lou Reed and creating sounds you hear later in shoegazers (My Bloody Valentine) and sonic adventurers (Yo La Tengo). Few if anyone else was doing this in the 1980s, and I regret not knowing them then. But beyond the noise, Spacemen 3 offered surprisingly infectious low-structure songs, the kind of stuff you’ll hear with Spiritualized (not surprising, since Jason Pierce led both), Brian Jonestown Massacre and Beta Band.
Favourite album: Playing with Fire
Favourite song: Suicide
Compared to expectations: ↑
Recommendation: strongly recommend. Beautiful noise: Suicide, Revolution, Rollercoaster. Low-structure songs: Come Down Easy, How Does it Feel?, Hypnotized, I Love You
Opus Project 