Comments on: Songs Steve never let me play #4

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:01:44 +0000

Bret, I’m quite the fool and I hereby give you permission to allow an alien species to take over my house, in a hostile manner.

By way of apology, allow me to offer undeniable proof of extra-terrestrial life…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OacAgQO9vvo&feature=related

By: bret

bret — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:44:49 +0000

Dan, I was just joking about the “War of the Worlds Broadcast” thing. I thought it was obvious enough (how would people in the 70′s think that a news report was coming from the Victorian era?) but it’s ok, such is the nature of internet communication.

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:36:26 +0000

Bret I think you’re conflating Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of War of the Worlds with the Orson Welles radio play of the book in 1938 (more here – http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/0617_050617_warworlds.html). We’ve all done it.

I know what you mean about growing up in the 80s. A lot of 80s production has long since lost its initial appeal for me.

This is good though, trust me. The whole listen is varied and in its more prog-rocky or hammy moments might be all a bit much. But there seems to be a real experimental edge to the sound, and this track in particular retains a genuine oddness to it. (On the album, by the way, it’s split into two parts, sandwiching eleven-and-a-half minutes of brilliant P.Lynott raging – get in).

By: bret

bret — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 06:17:55 +0000

I heard that when DJs originally played this record on-air, people tuning in halfway through thought it was an actual news broadcast and Martians were actually invading the Victorian era. Confused looks reigned the day.

Being a huge Yes fan, I was inspired to investigate “Journey to the Centre of the Earth” by the Steve Show’s discussion of it. I really enjoyed that and so I’ll probably have to check this one out as well.

A constant problem though, is that I grew up in the 80′s when the soundtrack to every movie was synthesized and it almost feels like I’ve been inoculated against really getting into these kind of sounds. It’s like one minute I’m thinking, “This is interesting” and then thereafter I can’t stop thinking about “The Neverending Story”.