#be bop deluxe

[jt1674]

[rockingreads]

Jason Heller: Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-Fi Exploded (2018)

It takes a special kind of music nerd to travel the galaxy to assemble a definitive history of space rock, but Jason Heller was up to the task, thanks to his past experiences as both a music journalist and a Hugo Award-winning sci-fi author.

Make no mistake: Bowie is name-checked in the title (to boost sales, no doubt) and his crucial missions into the void -- as Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust, on "Ashes to Ashes" and even Black Star -- provide a convenient through-thread for Strange Stars, but the book leaves no asteroid unexplored in its quest to document the intersection of music and space.

So you can of course expect ample coverage of key contributors like Pink Floyd, Parliament, Hawkwind, Jefferson Starship, UFO, and Sun Ra, whose works across such a diverse range of styles obviously expand the book's scope beyond space rock to "space music."

But you'll also marvel at the extensive list of part-time space cadets that Heller is diligent enough to include: e.g. Black Sabbath, Yes, ELP, The Who, the MC5, the Grateful Dead, Rush, Blue Öyster Cult, Be Bop Deluxe, Steely Dan, Labelle, Ultravox, Kraftwerk, and far too many Kraut-rock bands to list here.

And then there are the outright obscurities he rescues from the cosmic depths: Julian's Treatment, Seventh Wave, Cloud One, Klaatu, Klaus Nomi, Midnite Star, and legitimate lunatics like Ramases, whose Space Hymns LP shown here harbors some rather average music, but yields one hell of a backstory!

Amid all this, Heller also draws useful parallels between the artists and relevant concurrent events in world history and popular culture, whether these cross into film, TV, literature, video games, or the early '70s "Funk Robot" dance craze!

Point being: if you blast off into the unknown with Strange Stars, know that your curiosity about space rock had better extend well beyond Bowie, or even Floyd and Hawkwind, because there's an almost infinite array of strange worlds awaiting discovery in the far reaches of our musical Universe.

Featured Records:

Ramases: Space Hymns (1971)

Pink Floyd: A Saucerful of Secrets (1968)

Parliament: Mothership Connection (1975)

UFO: Phenomenon (1974)

Hawkwind:  Warrior on the Edge of Time (1975)

Buy from: Amazon

[mostlythemarsh]

Friday Records

[bungitonthen]

2/11/24

hazard profile part 1 - soft machine

didn't matter anyway - hatfield & the north

shadow of the hierophant - steve hackett

trip to the fair - renaissance

arrow - van der graaf generator

the dabsong conshirtoe - caravan

maid in heaven - be bop deluxe

assault & battery / the golden void - hawkwind

squire - alan hull

just the same - gentle giant

rufus t firefly - stackridge

the salmon song - steve hillage

rhayader / rhayader goes to town - camel

modern times* - al stewart

ocean gypsy - renaissance

it's all over - nektar

free hand - gentle giant

(ring the bells and sing: progressive sounds of 1975)

*sound effects from EMI studios same as welcome to the machine?

[myost]

[now-playing] - be bop deluxe - modern music - 1976

[steelydans]

[canadianstud]

CD EXCHANGE WITH GLEN KELLAWAY FROM THE BASEMENT

[hardtickettohomevideo]

Schlocktoberfest XIV - Day 9: In Search Of...Bigfoot

You wanna go see Wizards again this weekend? I heard there’s a trailer for a new Sci-Fi movie that’s coming out next month that’s supposed to be pretty good. Cool, In Search Of is on. Let’s grok Spock.In Search Of…Bigfoot (April 28, 1977) The Entire Episode: *Spoilers Throughout*What’s This About: An old TV show from my youth where Spock was basically a precursor to Mulder and Scully. Here are…

[miraclerizuin]

music fight

[jt1674]

[bajaja-blast]

ik we’re all entitled to our own opinions, but ngl some of y’all are making me feel like a wanted criminal for liking Cracker Island, Song Machine & Humanz :/

[daphnebowen]

GUTS DELUXE ALBUM??? HOW WE FEELIN PEOPLE

[myost]

[now-playing] - be-bop deluxe - drastic plastic - 1978

[riddlegecko]

absolutely ecstatic to announce that i am now in a committed relationship with this album