In Search Of Space

So, why do people bother listening to music that isn't Hawkwind? I mean, really?

OK, OK, I've actually spent some time today listening to, err, My Spirit Guide, Thom Yorke's Not-A-Solo-Album, because it's great headphone music, especially the way that he doesn't bother editing out all his breaths, in fact, on some songs, he makes a percussive rhythm track out of them, oooh, swooon...

OK, Hawkwind are not very fanciable, but still.

They're one of those bands that I associate with sitting in boys' bedrooms when I was young. Especially if dope-smoking was involved - J3ff L30n, W@nk Duu1, I'm looking at you - sitting up all night, giggling at the album artwork and puzzling through the lyrics. They seemed one of those things to be slightly embarrassed about, like being a Doctor Who fan over the age of 16. (though, funnily enough, I've come full circle on that, too.)

But then a funny thing happens when get over 30, and you no longer particularly *care* about being cool, or being embarrassed by the bands you like. Maybe it's even a slice of nostalgia, too.

I mean, they single-handedly *invented* Spacerock, halfway between the driving motorik intensity of Krautrock and wibbling out-there hippie psychedelia. They were trippy, they were weird, and what's more, they freaking RAWKED. Amazing guitars (wub-wub-wub and wah-wah-woooooaaaaaahhhhhhHHHHH), burbling synths and oh my lord, that BASS, high in the mix, often carrying the melody. Not to mention one of the top three best uses of FLUTE in modern music. (Who else can get away with flute in rock? Kraftwerk? Early Mercury Rev?)

Sorry for the diffuseness of this post. Hawkwind truly have eaten my brain.