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@ Devotional – thanks for your detailed and intersting review. Some of what you say makes a lot of sense in terms of my experience on the evening – personal issues with volume aside. I was disappointed overall, having travelled from London for the gig. But Elephant9 were superb and the rest of our trip in Norway was fantastic, so all in all it didn't matter. And as this was my sixth MP gig in twelve months, I had my fill of both good and incredible performances and as a result had first-hand experience of what it means for a band like MP to take chances and put themselves out there such that sometimes things don't work out, but when they do … they really do. Köln last autumn was a phenomenal concert and I'm quite happy if sometimes I get a Köln and other times I get a Drammen because the former more than makes up for the latter.
@Tomcat – thanks for the recommendations
@Johnny – And another new bassist, who was full of energy and apparently bringing them back to life on stage, also just got fired.
@Devotional – I'm glad you posted that "Hawkwind and Sonic Youth" quote. I was about to start looking for that. I do hear that intersection in places, even in later (than 1995) material, e.g. The Alchemyst.
@bionaut – thanks for the further MM recommendation.
I listened to Superjudge and Dopes to Infinity and although some of the music was likeable, I can't say I like the vocals and that pretty much ruins it for me. It's a type of American hard rock vocal style that really does nothing for me and even turns me off. I guess I thought it was OK back when Van Halen's first album came out because I like that album (though it was an exceptional album on its release), but for the most part I don't like the macho posturing vibe that seems to inhabit the style – at least I think that's part of why it doesn't work for me.
@bionaut again – Whenever I saw Hawkwind with a support, the support band didn't always seem a natural fit, but almost certainly always turned out to be really good and very interesting. The fact that Dave Wyndorf said he was offended and voiced the idea that MM were so much better than the band actually supporting Hawkwind (i.e. your band) seems reason enough not to hire MM as support. MM may have been a "better" band (although what "better" means in this case I have no idea), but I wouldn't mind betting your band were much more interesting and unique.
My first encounter with Hawkwind was one of my older brothers buying their first album and I was a little freaked out and intrigued by the wierd snake things on the cover. When he played it I really liked Hurry on Sundown, but most of the rest was a little lost on me at that time. Then in 1972 they made a highly memorable appearance on prime time TV playing Silver Machine, which was a suprising hit in the UK charts. After that nothing until November 82 when I fell in with some guys who were big fans. They were all going to see them so I bought a ticket and went too (though on a different night to them). I didn't know any of their material other than the aforementioned, none of which they played, but I was completely captivated. It was phenomenal – unlike any other band I'd seen up to that point. That driving space rock sound just sucked me in and that was it. Between then and 87 (when I moved to Canada) I saw them about ten times, and I've seen them again another half-dozen times in the last ten years (mostly just a shadow of their former selves). They stand a clear third in my list of most-seen bands, but I wish I had been able to see them in their 70s prime. I did get to see Calvert in concert once (in the mid-80s) – an altogether different experience – but brilliant too.
Being very late to Motorpsycho and only having a couple of months listening to a few albums and odd tracks before I saw them in October last year, that first gig reminded me so much of being back at Hammersmith Odeon at that first Hawkwind gig. Opening with ASFE followed by the glorious space jam of Intrepid Explorer and I was in heaven. I really shouldn't have been suprised when I found out Bent and Snah are fans.
Nice story about playing football with the Monster Magnet guy. It sounds like you probably have quite a few more stories to tell. I know nothing about their music so will check them out. I only recently first heard of them and had no idea they went back so far so figured your "1975" must have been a typo (more fool me). Anyway, I just did a little googling and came across some Shrapnel stuff too. I will give it a listen, but it looks like they were more of a punk band back then – even played at CBGB's. Nice. Looking forward to playing some MM later today. Any recommendations?
I have a compilation of recordings from 1998 (courtesy of and great thanks to The Other Anders) which includes a version of Young Man's Blues >> Master of the Universe from Frankfurt, but the date is different (1998-03-25). There's at least one other track on the compilation from Frankfurt on the date you have so maybe there's a mix-up in dates – I dunno, I still feel like a kid with a new toy when it comes to MP.
I'll have to give it another listen today.Enjoy the Monster Magnet gig tonight.
Magnificent! Great work. Really nicely edited. I just watched it and will most certainly watch it again. Wouldn't it be great if Bent and Snah could see it too. Thanks.
@ Johnny – Love it! Fantastic. Hmmm, I have friends to whom I've played various Motorpsycho songs and they just don't get it. I think maybe their listening is tainted by my obsession and perhaps overwhelming desire to want them to hear the glory.
So, do you find with all that objective reasoning you can predict whether you will like an act or not based on descriptions of their music and attitude?
I totally agree with what you all are saying about MP. For me there's no question about them being extraordinary, exceptional, having "the Spook" or whatever you want to call it. But given the legions of Yes fans (myself included) who have experienced ecstatic bliss during And You and I or Awaken or felt rapture during a Steve Howe solo during the culminating passage of Siberian Khatru, or a Howe/Wakeman solo-off during the final jam section of Roundabout or Starship Trooper, I would beg to differ that they don't bring the feels. Just because you don't feel it, doesn't mean it isn't there. If it wasn't there, thousands of people wouldn't have gone to their gigs.
The same goes for any artist. Believe it or not, there are lots of people out there who are left cold by the Grateful Dead's directionless noodling, or Kraftwerk's mechanical dirge, or Captain Beefheart's cacophanous noise. I do understand what you're saying about Yes and Rush (I could say the same about Dream Theater), but the feelings, the emotions we experience when we listen to music (whether it's the Dead's beautifully adventurous exploration of the space, Kraftwerk's funky drive, or Beefheart's dark night of the soul) is surely a much more subjective matter.
2019-07-18-20 Bukta – Tromsø Open Air Festival (https://bukta.no/band/motorpsycho/)Posted in error. D'oh!
Space is dark, it is so endless
When you're lost it's so relentless
It is so big, it is so small
Why does man try to act so tall
Is this the reason, deep in our minds?
It does not feel, it does not die
Space is neither truth nor lie
Into the void we have to travel
To find the clue which will unravel
Is this the reason, deep in our minds?
The secret lies with our tomorrow
In each of us is a hidden sorrow
The path goes onward through the night
Beyond the realms of ancient light
Is this the reason, deep in our minds?
@ Bartok
Thanks. You're right – we don't need to bring this stuff in here. It's everywhere else and it'd be nice to have one haven. I apologise to all concerned for my contribution to the divisiveness of the conversation, and to Norman personally for allowing my personal convictions and observations to get the better of my usually more positive nature. It's ugly and to be honest I don't really like myself when I get like that.
Sail on Psychonauts
@ Valderrama
I agree with you. The current direction is unsustainable. But reaching this point was somewhat inevitable. While humans have the facility to be caring, friendly, sharing, helpful and all the other so-called positive traits, we're also greedy and selfish. Unfortunately it is nearly always the case that the greedy and selfish win out because the friendly, caring people don't want to rock the boat while the greedy and selfish don't care. So we've been heading in this direction since the beginning. The current state of affairs (as described by the Doughnut Economics video) of neoliberal economics, as ushered in by Thatcher and Reagan – and coninued by Blair, Clinton and all those around the world that either jumped on board or were cajoled, bribed or blackmailed to join in – is a kind of heightenend version of that and is epitomised by consumerism and the idea of continued growth that you point to. And indeed, there does not seem to be any large enough group of people in a position of power willing to challenge it.
In my opinion we face and will inevitably experience the breakdown of society as it currently exits and see billions of people die over the next hundred years – through climate change, lack of resources, lack of food and water, and the concomitant wars that will follow. Am I being overly dramatic. I guess my grandson will find out.
I'm not familiar with doughnut economics but I watched the set of videos to which the article pointed and it seems to me it's heavily based in socialism – but I guess updated for the current climate. It makes sense to me, but the videos didn't seem to offer practical solutions only a theory. However, I'm a big believer that theories are a good place to start. The videos talk about sustinability (though without using that word), distribution and resdistribution of wealth, sensible use of the commons to everyone's advantage and engaging in personal economic common sense (i.e. living within your means and dialling way back on the consumerism).
Personally I live like that to a fair degree and would like to move further in that direction. I think a really big change could be made if we start by changing the emphasis in education – but that has to go hand in hand with a sincere adoption of new lifestyles by those who have already left education. I would see people
– learning to grow their own food, and raise their own livestock (if meat is what you're in to – though a surge towards vegetarianism is really what's required at the moment)
– walking, cycling and using public transport rather than having personal motorised vehicles, whether fossil or electric
– working and trading within smaller communities
– valuing work more equitably
– community ownership of the commons
– more cooperatives
– and so on.
However, even though much of this will be forced on us, there will still be selfish, greedy individuals who won't play and they will most likely be the ones with the guns. So, well we all know what that means.
@ Norman – Fantastic post! Thanks for taking the time and effort. There's so much here to work with. However, I've been down that road so many times it's like banging your head against a very dense brick wall because regarding "lack of arguments and persuasive power", whenever I try that with people who match your self-description, by putting forward intelligent arguments drawing on the academic literature that I read day in and day out and avoiding reference to the press and TV news, both of which are over-rated and too narrowly focused to see the big picture, their response is that I'm acting like I think I'm better and more intelligent. It's a no-win situation. By what you've expressed in your post you're quite clearly all the things you claim to see in the people you describe on the left.
As for you feeling insulted by my suggestion that you get over yourself: seriously, quit whining, get over it.
@ JERO
I've been thinking about how to respond to your post – but I still can't imagine how to do it without getting into another long post. lol.
Palmer was always my favourite of the three – I never really got on that well with ELP. A few tracks are great, but mostly … meh. I saw Palmer with his current trio (guitar, bass, drums) four or five years ago and they played the best version of Tarkus I've ever heard – really vital and vibrant.
I always used to say to my Beatles-loving friends, they were great, groundbreaking and all that, but Yes took it all to a much higher level. Like MP respecting Yes et al. Jon Anderson and especially Chris Squire really respected The Beatles. But the bands that follow always have the opportunity to take what their forebears did and run with it. It's only a few special ones who actually do.
These days I find it a little pointless to compare the bands I love and consider real greats. There are three bands in my life that really have my heart like no other – Yes, Solstice (little-known British folk-prog est. 1980s) and MP. Who knows why we love the bands we do, or why we think they're head and shoulders above others as far as our personal feelings are concerned (though I could make a good case in all three instances). I'm just thankful I found MP while I'm still able to appreciate them and I plan on appreciating the shit out of them as much as I can.
