The synthesizer, a much-maligned instrument struggling to overcome its association with the cheesy sounds of '70s and '80s glam rock, still has a reputation of silliness among rock purists. But the instrument is unfairly mocked, especially taking the genre of space rock into consideration. In the hands of these aural pioneers, a new blend of traditional guitar and the futuristic tenor of new instrumentations make a sound that's more Asimov than Aerosmith.
Space rock earned its credentials starting with the popular appeal of acts like The Byrds, whose 1966 album "Fifth Dimension" contained the kind of dense science fiction content that would go on to be picked up by other acts like Great Britain's King Crimson. Britain became a major hub for acts that might be classified as space rock, including the ever-popular Pink Floyd. While they are now dorm room staples, Pink Floyd showed an aggressive form of experimentation even before Syd Barrett left the band. Their first album seemed to reject the over-indulgent prog-rock of the time in favor of a sound that fused the sterile aesthetic of instrumentals with the longing and loneliness of the science-fiction classics that were emerging in the face of political and social upheaval.
With the success of Pink Floyd, other acts tried their hand at the material. Both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones released tracks dabbling in the genre, but ultimately it would be new, fresh bands who would expand the reach of this particular strain of electronic experimentation. By the time David Bowie released his debut "Space Oddity" the same year man first walked on the moon, the genre had reached its nadir, accepting the mantle of new psychedelia during a time of unprecedented drug use and experimentation.
Despite Bowie's and Floyd's popularity well into the '80s, space rock lost much of its popularity to the savage sounds of punk rock and more traditional and less experimental forms of rock 'n' roll. Until the '90s the genre stayed mostly underground, while new genres like shoegaze and noise rock appropriated the droning sounds for their own purposes. But it managed to stage a revival in the mid-'90s thanks to a renewed interest in experimental guitar sounds. Acts like Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine renewed the cult of the guitar and bands like The Flaming Lips and Spiritualized flaunted their sci-fi aesthetic. With a newfound enthusiasm for the aging genre, modern music has taken these influences to great lengths, and the future looks bright as well. If you want to understand the evolution of space rock, here are a few places to start:
Pink Floyd's "Animals" and "The Dark Side of the Moon" Almost everybody has had some experience with Pink Floyd, and most of the particular songs on these albums have been played to death on your local classic rock station, but no one defines the genre with such a recognizable sound. "Dark Side of the Moon" is the more overtly conceptual of the two, exploring themes of alienation and insanity while wrapping itself up in a love story about what death may or may not be like. "Animals" is a little bit more accessible, as it is essentially a retelling of George Orwell's satirical novella "Animal Farm," but both albums feature the same droning guitars, sparkling synthesizers and ambitious instrumentals that go on to create the defining sounds of space exploration.
The Flaming Lips' "The Soft Bulletin" Referred to by critics as "Pet Sounds" of the 1990s, "The Soft Bulletin" was a turning point for the Flaming Lips, who went from generic melody-based songs to experimental pop that earned them the role of indie tastemaker for the turn of the millennium. The miniature musical tirades and quirky, upbeat lyricism took the tenants of the space rock movement and freed it from the dour apathy of its thematic forefathers. Songs like "A Spoonful Weighs A Ton" and "Slow Motion" show the range of the movement and its ability to take an old song in new directions.
Spiritualized's "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space" The title track of this album tells the whole story: Its bleeps and technological sounds mix with distant guitar chords as leader Jason Pierce's dreamy, meandering singing creates a layered sound that fuses into a perfect deep-space soundtrack. Though it came out the same year as Radiohead's "OK Computer," "Ladies And Gentlemen" takes the same topic and runs with it further, crafting an album that is challenging in its scope and impressive in its vision. Spiritualized has since crafted other indispensable albums that delve into both the earthly and the otherworldly, but this album shows off the perfect combination of the two - a science fiction look at the fabulously mundane.
You can reach this staff writer at mrichardson@theeeagleonline.
