Forged Prescriptions
''The Perfect Prescription'' is the second studio album by British neo-psychedelic band Spacemen 3, released in 1987. It is a concept album, "a vision of a drug trip from inception to its blasted conclusion, highs and lows fully intact." Pitchfork Media listed it at #50 in their list of the greatest albums of the 80s. Content The music becomes progressively more orchestral and serene until the high of the trip, represented by "Ecstasy Symphony"/"Transparent Radiation (Flashback)," moving on to the moment of realisation where the high has faded and the comedown ensues, represented by the harsh opening guitar chords in "Things'll Never Be the Same." Coming down is represented in the blues-based "Come Down Easy," while the potentially fatal effects of an overdose are portrayed in the final track, "Call the Doctor." The music was written by the band, except "Transparent Radiation," which is a Red Krayola cover from the 1967 album Parable of Arable Land. The band also borrows heav ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3 were an English neo-psychedelia space rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce, known respectively under their pseudonyms Sonic Boom and J Spaceman. Their music is known for its brand of "trance-like neo-psychedelia" consisting of heavily distorted guitar, synthesizers, and minimal chord or tempo changes. Following their debut album '' Sound of Confusion'' (1986), Spacemen 3 had their first independent chart hits in 1987, gaining a cult following, and through albums ''The Perfect Prescription'' (1987) and '' Playing with Fire'' (1989), went on to have greater success towards the end of the decade.Lazell, Barry (1997) ''Indie Hits 1980–1989'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 213 However, they disbanded shortly afterwards, releasing their final studio album ''Recurring'' post-split in 1991 after an acrimonious parting of ways. They gained a reputation as a 'drug band' due to the members' drug-taking habits and Kember's candid interv ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Concept Album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Sometimes the term is applied to albums considered to be of "uniform excellence" rather than an LP with an explicit musical or lyrical motif. There is no consensus among music critics as to the specific criteria for what a "concept album" is. The format originates with folk singer Woody Guthrie's ''Dust Bowl Ballads'' (1940) and was subsequently popularized by traditional pop/jazz singer Frank Sinatra's 1940s–50s string of albums, although the term is more often associated with rock music. In the 1960s several well-regarded concept albums were released by various rock bands, which eventually led to the invention of progressive rock and rock opera. Since then, many concept albums have been released across numerous musical genres. Definiti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pete Kember
Peter Kember (born 19 November 1965), also known by his stage name Sonic Boom, is an English singer and record producer. He was a founding member, vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist of alternative rock band Spacemen 3, lasting from 1982 until the band's dissolution in 1991. He is now based in Sintra, Portugal. He provided the production on MGMT's second album ''Congratulations,'' Panda Bear's albums ''Tomboy'' and ''Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper'', and Beach House's album '' 7''. As a solo artist, Kember has recorded as Spectrum and E.A.R. (Experimental Audio Research), parallel musical projects with recordings under both names occasionally only featuring Kember. He has occasionally performed live under both monikers, most recently in 2008–11 as Spectrum, touring as a band in America and Europe. Kember has played and collaborated with a number of artists, including Stereolab and Yo La Tengo. Music career Influences In discussing music that was important to him, Kember ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sun Ra
Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific output, and theatrical performances. For much of his career, Ra led "The Arkestra", an ensemble with an ever-changing name and flexible line-up. Born and raised in Alabama, Blount became involved in the Chicago jazz scene during the late 1940s. He soon abandoned his birth name, taking the name Le Sony'r Ra, shortened to Sun Ra (after Ra, the Egyptian god of the Sun). Claiming to be an alien from Saturn on a mission to preach peace, he developed a mythical persona and an idiosyncratic credo that made him a pioneer of Afrofuturism. Throughout his life he denied ties to his prior identity saying, "Any name that I use other than Ra is a pseudonym." His widely eclectic and avant-garde music echoed the entire history of jazz, from ragtime and ea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kick Out The Jams
''Kick Out the Jams'' is the debut album by American proto-punk band MC5. It was released in February 1969, through Elektra Records. It was recorded live at Detroit's Grande Ballroom over two nights, Devil's Night and Halloween, 1968. The LP peaked at No. 30 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, with the title track peaking at No. 82 in the Hot 100. Although the album received an unfavorable review in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine upon its release, it has gone on to be considered an important forerunner to punk rock music, and was ranked number 294 in both 2003 and 2012 editions of ''Rolling Stone'' " 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" lists, and at number 349 in a 2020 revised list. Release The album peaked at number 30 on the ''Billboard'' albums chart, "in the wake of a publicity blitz", wrote Robert Christgau in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981). In Canada, the album reached #37. While "Ramblin' Rose" and "Motor City Is Burning" open with the ba ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mayo Thompson
Mayo Thompson (born February 26, 1944 in Houston, Texas, United States) is an American musician and visual artist best known as the leader of the experimental rock band Red Krayola. Background His formal education includes Garden of Arts Kindergarten until Holy Rosary Elementary School through fifth grade, then Moye Military School until high school at Cascia Hall College Preparatory School, from which he received a diploma in 1962. He went on to study at St. Thomas University, trying variously, off and on, in some cases simultaneously, pre-Law, Creative Writing, English and American Literature, Philosophy, and Art History, before dropping out and starting The Red Crayola with Frederick Barthelme in 1966. In college, Thompson began to find an affinity for jazz, "I learnt an awful lot from jazz". He states in the Red Krayola 1994 live documentary of their Japanese tour, "I was more interested in composing new material than interpreting old material". 1950s In 1955, Mayo Thom ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Frederick Barthelme
Fredrick Barthelme (born October 10, 1943) is an American novelist and short story writer, well-known as one of the seminal writers of minimalist fiction. Alongside his personal publishing history, his position as Director of The Center For Writers at The University of Southern Mississippi and editor of the nationally prominent literary journal ''Mississippi Review'' (1977 - 2010) have placed him at the forefront of the contemporary American literary scene. He is currently the editor of New World Writing (formerly Blip Magazine) Early life Barthelme was born in Houston, Texas. His father, Donald Barthelme, Sr., was a well-known and highly active Modernist architect in the city. The atmosphere of intellectual and aesthetic vigor encouraged by their father, pervasive in Barthelme family life, is described in ''Double Down: Reflections on Gambling and Loss'', a memoir co-written by Frederick and his brother, Steven. His other brothers, Donald and Steven, emerged from the creative h ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Street Hassle
''Street Hassle'' is the eighth solo studio album by American musician Lou Reed, released in February 1978 by Arista Records. Richard Robinson and Reed produced the album. It is the first commercially released pop album to employ binaural recording technology. ''Street Hassle'' combines live concert tapes (with overdubs) and studio recordings. Production All of the songs on ''Street Hassle'' were written by Reed, including "Real Good Time Together", a track that dates back to his days as a member of the Velvet Underground. Recording of a live album began in Munich and Ludwigshafen, West Germany. Unlike most live albums, the audience is completely muted from the mix during the concert recordings. Upon returning to the United States in August 1977, Arista Records told Reed releasing a live album was not an option, which began the NYC studio phase of the album. Then, producer Richard Robinson left the project after a fight in the studio. Determined to carry on, Reed moved the procee ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Peter Kember
Peter Kember (born 19 November 1965), also known by his stage name Sonic Boom, is an English singer and record producer. He was a founding member, vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist of alternative rock band Spacemen 3, lasting from 1982 until the band's dissolution in 1991. He is now based in Sintra, Portugal. He provided the production on MGMT's second album ''Congratulations,'' Panda Bear's albums ''Tomboy'' and ''Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper'', and Beach House's album '' 7''. As a solo artist, Kember has recorded as Spectrum and E.A.R. (Experimental Audio Research), parallel musical projects with recordings under both names occasionally only featuring Kember. He has occasionally performed live under both monikers, most recently in 2008–11 as Spectrum, touring as a band in America and Europe. Kember has played and collaborated with a number of artists, including Stereolab and Yo La Tengo. Music career Influences In discussing music that was important to him, Kember ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jason Pierce
Jason Andrew Pierce (born 19 November 1965 in Rugby) is an English musician. Currently the frontman and sole permanent member of the band Spiritualized, he previously co-fronted the alternative rock band Spacemen 3 with Peter Kember from 1982 until 1991. He has worked under the name J. Spaceman. Music In between his work with Spiritualized and Spacemen 3, Pierce has been active with a network of free jazz players and improvisers, collaborating with acclaimed artists, including Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Dr. John, Primal Scream, Daniel Johnston and Yoko Ono. In 2006, Pierce released his first solo album, '' Guitar Loops'', a limited release on Coxon and Wales's Treader record label. Also in 2006, he composed the original score for an art installation called "Silent Sound" by British artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. The live performance at St. George's Hall in Liverpool was recorded and released as a limited edition signed and numbered CD. A second performance of Sil ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Although not commercially successful during its existence, the Velvet Underground became regarded as one of the most influential bands in the history of underground and alternative rock music. Reed's distinctive deadpan voice, poetic and transgressive lyrics, and experimental guitar playing were trademarks throughout his long career. Having played guitar and sung in doo-wop groups in high school, Reed studied poetry at Syracuse University under Delmore Schwartz, and had served as a radio DJ, hosting a late-night avant garde music program while at college. After graduating from Syracuse, he went to work for Pickwick Records in New York City, a low-budget record company that specialized in sound-alike recordings, as a songwriter and sess ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Parable Of Arable Land
''The Parable of Arable Land'' is the first studio album by the Red Crayola (also known as Red Krayola) which features free improvised pieces involving industrial power tools and a revving motorcycle dubbed "Free Form Freak-Out" as well as notable instrumental cameos by label mate and 13th Floor Elevators frontman Roky Erickson. The album's title was coined by bassist Steve Cunningham. The album was considered psychedelic music when it was introduced, but later assessments describe it as a forerunner to avant/noise rock. With this album as introduction, Ritchie Unterberger assessed the band as a precursor to industrial rock. The Familiar Ugly The Familiar Ugly was the group of 50 people who joined the Red Crayola on stage with music that was made on anything from industrial power tools to a revving motorcycle, they perform on the "Free Form Freak-Out" tracks that are present between each song on the album. Rick Barthelme later reflected. "At heart we were as elitist as could ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |