Hawkwind
"Too wild and ugly for the rock & roll mainstream"
Watch what Moorcock, yes that Moorcock, has to say about Hawkwind in this 9 part BBC documentary.
Hawkwind; a little space fantasy, a little electro dystopian future, and a lot of drugs. Gets my vote for best Space Rock Band of all time and space. Although, honestly most their lyrics don't do much for me RPGwise. An exception would be Silver Machine -- "It flies sideways through time." Nice bit of recursion in the chorus too. Here it is live:
Also Spirit of the Age
"I am a clone, I am not alone
Every fibre of my flesh and bone is identical to the others
Everything I say is in the same tone
as my test tube brother's voice
There is no choice between us,
If you had ever seen us,
You'd rejoice in your uniqueness
and consider every weakness something special of your own
Being a clone, I have no flaws to identify
Even this doggerel that pours from my pen,
has just been written by another twenty telepathic men,"
Every fibre of my flesh and bone is identical to the others
Everything I say is in the same tone
as my test tube brother's voice
There is no choice between us,
If you had ever seen us,
You'd rejoice in your uniqueness
and consider every weakness something special of your own
Being a clone, I have no flaws to identify
Even this doggerel that pours from my pen,
has just been written by another twenty telepathic men,"
It's more their style, the atmosphere their art lives in. Each of these titles is the seed to an adventure:
"Warrior on the Edge of Time"
"The Fifth Second of Forever"
"The Wizard Blew His Horn" - also lyrics
"Kiss of the Velvet Whip"
"Sleep of a Thousand Tears"
"Star Cannibal"
"Wastelands of Sleep"
We Took the Wrong Step Long Ago and lyrics. One would be hard pressed to find a better theme song for a post-apocalyptic or dystopian campaign.
Hawkwind is often far out spacey and trippy.
Listening as I often do while writing up stuff for games I become enthused and filled with ideas. As if some of the copious acid they dropped finds its way into me via their music.
Finally, album covers are sort of a lost art. I could see these giving adolescent Norm the same sorts of thrills and bursts of creativity that early D&D art did such as B1 & B2.
Great post!
ReplyDeleteI was recently suggested about Hawkwind by the guy who owns the music studio where I rehearse with my current band. I'm liking it a lot, and I'm in the process of discovering the band.
You post comes in as providential.
*Your
ReplyDeleteGlad to here it. I was introduced to Hawkwind just a few years ago by my good "Music Geek" friend. Anything intelligent I know about music(which maybe null) is due to him.
ReplyDeleteI lost my stupidly extensive Hawkwind collection (some 20 albums, many with the crazy folding sleeves full of psychedelic artwork) to a flood in the basement some years back... I've just a handful of cds left. Although I hadn't been listening to any of that stuff in years, I was a bit heartbroken. Considering that most of the games I ran from the late 80s to mid-90s were to some extent influenced by that strange music, I feel they had a huge effect on me.
ReplyDeleteJust a few weeks ago, I bought 'Doremi Fasol Latido' from iTunes Store... but I skip the bonus tracks – they just don't sound right in the context.
By the way, didn't Michael Moorcock make a Hawkwind-influenced album of his own? 'Michael Moorcock and The Deep Fix: At the New Worlds' Fair', I believe? Anyone have that?
-noburo