Hidden Treasures - Blast Off!

[Scott]

I'm back...


And full of ideas! I had a blast posting the Album of the Week this past month, but this playlist is my special place and therefore I'm most comfortable presenting hidden treasures. I love digging deep into my collection and fishing for tunes that arent the biggest hits or most well known tunes... I have a few different topics I want to explore and some showcases that I have thoughts on, I even have a new showcase idea but you'll have to wait and see how that one works out- it'll be cool trust me!


But for my first week back I wanted to start exploring the idea of Outer Space and how the classic rock we love so much translates that into song. So there's nowhere better to start than right here on Earth! Where we go from here who knows, but one things for sure, we're looking up! But first, lets take a quick moment and see what pther resources have to say about our musical space odyssey...


Songs or other musical forms influenced by the concept of outer space have appeared in music throughout history, both in instrumental and vocal pieces with lyrics. As early as Ancient Greece, Pythagoras believed in something called the "harmony of the spheres". He believed that since planets and the stars all moved in the universe according to mathematical equations that these mathematical equations could be translated into musical notes and thus produce a symphony. This idea was explored further throughout Western history under the theories of Musica universalis. Some more recent and widely different examples are The Planets by Gustav Holst, and the song "Space Oddity" by David Bowie. Outer space also appears as a theme in "space age" retro pop music, such as Stereolab's Space-Age Bachelor Pad Music.


Music about outer space attracts enthusiastic listeners from all walks of life. Some have created web pages to share their interests. NASA, JPL, and the US Governmental Centennial of Flight Commission even have a webpages showcasing and discussing music about outer space.


Lets start the Journey!


PLAYLIST --> http://www.podsnack.com/CA69EFD9E8C/avxk5hz7

	Billy Thorpe 21st Century Man 1980 1 - 1991 21st Century Man is part two of an intended trilogy which tells the story of Earth's demise via nuclear war. Surviving humans are rescued by humanoid aliens from another world, and taken to live on another planet ("Caledrus"). Billy's character fathers a new race with "the Sun King's daughter", also referred to as "The Queen of All The Universe." This is great rock and roll from the era where synthesizers and hard rocking guitar freely intermingled. On this project, you'll hear the best of fat analog synthesizers, spacy sound effects, and balls-out rock and roll.
	Porcupine Tree Lightbulb Sun 2000 2 - Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before it is Recycled "Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled" features a speech by the leader of the Heaven's Gate religious cult. This U.S. cult believed that they were from another planet and only visiting earth. In order to return to their own "dimension" before the earth was "recycled", such extraterrestrial entities must find each other and commit mass suicide. The words are taken from the video they made before killing themselves to explain to the rest of the world why they had done it.
	Electric Light Orchestra Time 1981 3 - Ticket To The Moon While the two preceding ELO albums, Discovery and Xanadu, were heavily influenced by pop and disco, Time is much closer to ELO's roots of progressive rock music. Songs like "Ticket to the Moon", "The Way Life's Meant to Be", "Rain Is Falling", and "21st Century Man" are reminiscent of material from the A New World Record through Out of the Blue era of ELO, while other tracks explore new influences such as new wave ("Twilight", "Yours Truly, 2095", "Another Heart Breaks", "From the End of the World", and "Here Is the News"), reggae ("The Lights Go Down"), and rockabilly ("Hold On Tight") with the core ELO sound. The album reached number 1 in the UK Albums Chart. The hit single "Hold On Tight" proved to be the band's last top-ten single in both the US and UK, and the album itself achieved Platinum and Gold status in the UK and US respectively.
	Foreigner 4 1981 4 - Girl On The Moon Released in 1981, 4 would be that album. In producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange -- fresh off his massive success with AC/DC's Back in Black -- guitarist and all-around mastermind Mick Jones found both the catalyst to achieve this and his perfect musical soulmate. Lange's legendary obsessive attention to detail and Jones' highly disciplined guitar heroics (which he never allowed to get in the way of a great song) resulted in a collaboration of unprecedented, sparkling efficiency where not a single note is wasted.

[Niels (Mod)]

I don't mean, that you shouldn't post it from time to time, but if you made a statistic regarding which bands are posted the most at CRB, I'm positive, that top 5 would be american AOR-bands.

I don't mind american BANDS, but I do kind of mind the same kind of bands, being mentioned over and over..

Why not try to post some other stuff instead ?

I tried to start something with my Beatles/The Who/Zeppelin-post, but it died a quick death.

I appricialte the work, you guys do in here, and if I had the time, I could post a lot of that stuff myself.

I only wish, that sometimes, more of "my" music was represented around here.

What if we had a month or so, where nobody could mention Foreigner, Journey, The Eagles and stuff like that, here and on the Facebook-page? Nah, that is impossible.

I don't feel. that you're knocking me. I'm just glad to get a respond.

[RJhog (Admin)]

I wouldn't say your post about The Beatles/The Who/Zeppelin died a quick death.  It got timely responses from the same three people who consistently respond to (and start most of) the discussions here.  

But what you don't realize is that the question you asked was not easy to respond to.   Unless those three bands happen to be a person's all-time favorites, how is that person gonna know what the non-album tracks are?  The only one I knew for sure, and that's because I had just seen something on another site referring to it, was Hey Hey What Can I Do.  I had to look up non-album tracks from the Beatles.  But had you asked us to name our top 3 tracks by those bands, or their top 3 albums, or which of them did we like best, it would have been easy to respond to.

We could certainly try the month without mentioning the AOR bands, followed of course by a month of not mentioning The Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Steven Wilson and Rush.  

[Jon]

I believe I have went a month without posting something from an AOR band. Am I free to go on now?

[Niels (Mod)]

Fine by me. Then we can post music by and discuss (60's-70's era) The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Deep Purple, Hendrix, Dylan (even though you all hate him), Frank Zappa, Free, The Faces and Tom Waits, 

Or classic NWOBHM-albums/bands. Yesterday it was exactly 35 years ago, that "Iron Maiden" and "British Steel" were released. I "celebrated" by playing both albums at home, and we could had discussed both albums, regarding which one is the best, most influentional etc etc.

[Jon]

British Steel was posted a few weeks ago in AOTW.

[Niels (Mod)]

Sigh! It was, wasn't it.

I was just trying to make a point.

[Scott]

I am the NWOBHM man!

All kidding aside. My older brother bought Van Halen and Foreigners debut albums on the same day. Those two albums and bands are forever linked in my mind.

[RJhog (Admin)]

Heard a Stones song on the way home tonight.  Makes me wanna buy some Stones albums.  I think it was Rocks Off.  My XM display only shows 10 characters, so I think that was it.  But I liked it.  I also would like to buy some Kinks albums.  If that makes you feel any better...

[Niels (Mod)]

It actually does.

"Exile On Mainstreet" is by far the best Stone-album.

Regarding The Kinks, I would start out with "The Ultimate Collection", a double CD, if I were you. They are not really an album-band imo.

[Jon]

This was a decent listen, considering I gave you the idea for Billy Thorpe. However, you forgot to mention one of the greatest "space" songs (outside of the Major Tom songs) and I need to ask "WHY"??????

The last man to be here was never heard from again
He won't be back this way till 2010
Now I'm riding on a fountain of fire
With my back to the earth, I go higher and higher

That's as spacey as you can get!

Did Billy Thorpe ever finish that trilogy? I would assume that "Children Of The Sun" was part of it and I would check to see if there was a third album, but am too lazy to do so.

Porcupine Tree is aight.

I like that ELO song, the album is pretty good as well. Didn't think so when it first came out, it was nothing like the previous album, but now I like those post-"Discovery" albums.

That Foreigner song is ok, but could have easily been replaced by one of the greatest space songs, ever. 

Now I wonder if Rjhog actually did do a better job with this........

[RJhog (Admin)]

Thorpe - Not at all familiar with this, but it was pretty decent.

Porcupine - All I have to say is that Wilson's solo stuff is so much more boring than Porcupine Tree's stuff.  And that's even true with a song like this that has no singing, just talking.  I'll take Porcupine Tree.

ELO - I have this album, but I've never listened to it.  I need to change that, because this is very, very good.  I just think Lynne has a great voice.  I really want the complete albums box, but I have almost all of the albums in it, so I guess it's just a waste of money.  Oh well, I need to spin this.

Band That Niels Doesn't Like - I've certainly heard this before, but I really listened better this time than ever before.  It really has a hypnotic feel to it that I never noticed before.  Very cool.

Four very nice choices this week Scott.  Welcome back.

[Niels (Mod)]

Oh no no, I do like Foeigner, or did, and especially this album.